Our little lady has her 1st Communion coming up, and it’s the same weekend as Cinco de Mayo! she already loves mexican food since most of it is safe! This will be fun filled family weekend as she connects to church a little more 🙂 Here is what we are thinking: Our Menu Tostitos chips and bean + cotija cheese dip Tamales from El Rey in Milwaukee, WI – confirmed nut-free (also our favorite at Christmas time) Mexican Rice Street Corn Corn Bread – we use the Betty Crocker brand since it’s safe, the Jiff brand is NOT. 1st Communion Cake – I’ll be baking it, and it might look…
Seared Sea Scallops in Vermouth Cream Sauce
If you live in the Midwest, you might have been rejoicing yesterday as your kids went off to school as the week has started in a “back to normal” routine – unlike last week, and the record number of consecutive days off! Below is a photo of the HIGH temperature last week Thursday. Our weekly grocery shop happened yesterday morning (Monday Morning Metcalfes Run) and I decided NOT to take a list. This was not a mistake, I wanted to grocery shop with an open mind, letting the creativity flow (lets be honest, this is not how I normally shop, but I was in a cooking rut, so new ideas…
Sheet Pan Steak Fajitas
Who likes easy dinner clean up?! *Raises Hand* Perfect recipe for weeknight cooking! Especially if you have tiny steak lovers! However, I would HIGHLY recommend grilling the flank steak over putting it under the broiler. The broiler worked fine, if you cook it 1-2 minutes on each side. However, it can easily become chewy and tough in a matter of no time. Flank steak is not cheap. For a little over one pound, we paid almost $12.00. This steak is delish, but you need to be careful in how you cook it. This recipe was good – and the kids did eat all of their food. But watch that steak!…
10 Minute Baked Potato
What?! Did you even know this was such a thing? We were in a hurry the other day, yet we were all craving a good, hearty meal. We had potatoes, steak, mushrooms and a bunch of herbs and shallots in the fridge. With less that 20 minutes to get dinner on the table, we googled this potato recipe, and now it’s a game change for us. All you need is a baked potato or 4. Rinse well, poke with a fork all over. Pop into your microwave for 5 minutes. Check on it, flip it, put it back in for 5 more minutes. I’ve made potatoes this way 2 times…
Chicken Enchilada Melt Subs
Happy Fall! It’s October 1st and we couldn’t be more excited about this month’s upcoming festivities; orchards, pumpkins, lattes, leaf piles, leaf peeping, camp fires, parties and trick-or-treat! Halloween is one of our favorite holidays to celebrate. As the kids get older, and our time to make meals becomes less and less due to their involvement at school + activities, my blog posts containing elaborate meals is diminishing by the day! I’m peeking back at prior posts thinking, “how the heck did I have TIME to make all that food?!” And the reality is, I didn’t. Opportunity Cost {A benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given up…
Zoodles & Marinara Sauce
Healthy pasta is my kind of pasta. Zoodles. Zucchini Noodles. Have you heard about these vegetarian noodles made from green herbs and vegetables? Well Ronzoni noodles are not exactly fresh Zoodles because that would require me to use an attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer that I do not have (or have time to do tonight); however, these noodles are very similar and have zucchini in them. Actually, it’s a great combo of spinach, zucchini, broccoli, parsley and kale. This product is 100% nut free. And not made in a facility with other nuts. At first, we were not sure about green pasta. I mean, green is my favorite color, but…
Basic Bean & Ham Soup
Last week we had a lovely ham at my Mom’s house in Milwaukee for Easter Sunday. We came home with lots of leftovers. We decided to make a simple weeknight ham and bean soup. It was ready in 20 minutes. Very easy and most of the stuff you’ll probably already have in your fridge. If you don’t have ham, add extra beans. But the ham flavor actually really makes this soup. You don’t need to add any extra salt because the ham does it all. Ham & Bean Soup Ingredients: 2 cups cubed, fully cooked ham 2 celery stalks, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 1 yellow onion, chopped 4…
Slow Cooker Carnitas Tacos
Busy families, this one is for you! I highly suggest making it on a Sunday night so it’s ready for your busy week ahead. This is easy 2 or 3 meals for a family of 4. It was too sunny in our kitchen when I took this quick photo, but you get the idea of how YUMMY it was!!! We also sliced up some watermelon to eat with it, too. For a short cut, I picked up pre-made pico de gallo from Metcalfes produce section, but canned salsa works, too! I like quick toppings with little to no prep time. I griped a little on IG live about this recipe…
Spring Carbonara
If you saw me on IG live cooking, you certainly got a nice preview of this dish, Spring Carbonara, inspired by Cooking Light Magazine! Also, that was Neuskes Bacon in my mouth while I was talking, sorry about that. Sometimes you need to sample as you cook! Actually, I encourage it! This recipe sets up really quick, perfect for weeknight cooking. There are no short-cuts on this one, just super fast and easy. It’s almost asparagus season, and that makes me so happy because it’s a flavorful vegetable! Asparagus season reminds of when I was in Stuttgart, Germany, for work a few years ago. EVERYTHING had asparagus in it, and…
Christmas Eve Dinner ::: Nut-Free & Vegetarian
Christmas Eve is quickly approaching and I like to keep things super simple, especially when family is visiting. I’d rather be spending time WITH them, not doing tasks in the kitchen. That’s why we choose to make classic Spaghetti and Meatballs for Christmas Eve. We started this tradition a few years ago, and it works perfectly. It’s a meal everyone likes (even littles) and it takes little to no time at all. The meatballs can be made in advance, just warm through in the oven for a few minutes during your party. We’re having 7 for dinner on Christmas Eve, the yield on this menu is about 8. You can…
Sunday Night Beef Roast
It’s cold, damp and dark in Wisconsin, so it’s the perfect time to make a hearty and filling Beef Roast with Vegetables. So bring out your dutch oven, turn on your fireplace and snuggle in with this winter favorite recipe. It’s the perfect addition to your Sunday, especially if you’re hanging out with friends or family before your busy week starts. The yield on this is about 6-8. We made it last week and it was excellent. I was busy searing the meat on the stove top, about 4 minutes on medium- high each side, when I realized I did not have any red wine to add to this recipe.…
Nut Free Thanksgiving Menu
Tradition gives us hope and happiness, and while I know it won’t be the same this year without my husband’s Mom here (we miss her so much already), we are going to try to incorporate some of our usual traditions to help carry us through to a new beginning and happier 2018. Especially for the kids. They need this the most, to see how we persevere in light of adversity. For thanksgiving this year, we’re going to use the staples most of us have had, sans the nuts, as per usual, except the one cooking in the kitchen! Here’s what we are thinking. Do nothing. Do absolutely nothing, call Whole…
Cheesy Chicken Fajitas
Monday Hustle was fierce today! After a really nice weekend, it was great to get back into our routine today, meal time being part of it. If your kids are choosy eaters, this may be a good transition recipe to try. It has many favorite ingredients found in Mexican food that almost all kiddos love. Just changing the flavor a bit, or adding/subtracting favorite ingredients may help your littles become more diverse eaters. Don’t give up, it’s a process. Modifying their favorite meals is one way to get their taste buds to open up a bit. This weeks menu is posted to my IG, thanks to Cooking Light Magazine. Yesterday…
Slowcooker BBQ Pork Sammies
It’s Sunday Funday! This morning we had some fun family time mini golfing at Vitense Golfland. Truly, this place is made for kids who want to mini-golf but still have a ton of energy to “do-stuff-besides-golf.” It’s been ranked nationally, and is the number one place in Wisconsin to mini golf. When I say it’s made for kids, I mean every other hole has a slide (for big kids, too), or an activity of some sort; rocking motorcycles, zip lines, light house climbing tower, giant Giraffe, climbing walls, bridges, you name it. Oh, and having your ball roll into the water, don’t worry, it’s meant to. Who doesn’t LOVE splashing…
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