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…
Sweet Banana Bars
Two great things that go great together, banana bread and frosting. Typically I do not frost items that we eat for breakfast; however, I was in a pinch and needed a quick dessert. Frosting a banana bread that I had already made was the perfect, time-saving idea. And here is the recipe. Ingredients 1/2 cup butter, softened (unsalted) 2 cups sugar 3 large eggs 1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur) 1 teaspoon baking soda pinch of salt Frosting 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened (Kraft) 1/2 cup butter, softened 4 cups confectioners’ sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla…
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!…
White Chicken Chili
Baby it’s cold outside! We were not ready for the 18* Wisconsin weather this morning. Well, let me re-phrase that. I was not ready for this bitter cold. My kids on the other hand, all they can think about is, “MOM IS IT GOING TO SNOW? WE LOVE SNOW!” This chicken chili recipe will warm you up in no time. And if it happens to snow, you’ll be prepared for 3 nights of dinner, easy. That means you can snow blow your driveway and not worry about your tummy. This recipe makes a lot. So with that, we have thought of how we might recycle the leftovers. Chicken Chili over…
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…
Perfect Corn on the Cob
A few days ago, the kids really wanted some corn on the cob. It is not corn season, but who am I to say “no” to kids wanting to eat healthy food?! So corn it is! Since I’m not a griller, I needed to find a quick, weeknight friendly recipe to whip up this corn on the cob. Simple Genius had the perfect recipe. Typically we grill corn on the cob, but roasting it in the oven provided to be even tastier and juicier than usual. Ingredients: Aluminum foil rimmed baking sheet 4 ears of corn, husks and silks removed butter sea salt Directions: Preheat your oven to 450* Prepare…
Creamy Chicken-Tomato Skillet
Costco had a ton of those cute little cherry tomatoes on sale today – so we have to use them up. This recipe is from the May 2018 Cooking Light Magazine and is 20 minutes to make + super comforting. If you’re looking to spice up your weeknight meal plan, this is it! Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 1# skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper (about 30 grinds on your pepper mill) 1 cup grape tomatoes 1/2 cup sliced white onion 1 grated garlic clove 1 tsp rosemary 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 2 tbsp flour 1 package brown rice 3…
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…
New York Times Risotto
Wisconsin was almost 50* on Saturday creating some amazing outside play time with gorgeous shining sun! We took advantage and played in the yard to shake off the winter grumps. It was wonderful. When we came inside, we were pooped and watched a movie and meal planned for the upcoming week. I don’t recommend the My Little Pony movie. As I was reading the New York Times today, I found a tasty risotto recipe. I love risotto and so do the kids. It’s like fancy mac n cheese. It takes a long time to make, but it’s a labor of love and you can literally see the creamy goodness set…
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…
Menu Board 10/30-11/3
How is it Sunday night already? This weekend was so nice – had some girl time with my Mom and we saw Guys and Dolls at the theater and it was amazing – if you have a chance to see this performance, I highly recommend it. The singing was incredible, as was the acting and dancing. It made for a really fun night out. As a family today, we closed up our garden, and turned the soil over/played in mud, put outside toys away, raked leaves/rolled in them, got laundry going, packed nap mat bags, lunches for the week, showers, and lastly, menu planning + groceries. We’ve got a full…
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…
Quick Green Chicken Chili
One of the best parts of traveling is trying new food. And then taking that idea home with you and recreating it in your kitchen. I haven’t always been adventurous with creating delicious food. And I’m probably even more cautious now with a nut-allergic child. However, I still try to sample things I normally would not. Like Green Chicken Chili. I had a spicy version of this when we were in Chicago a few weeks ago. Technically, I consider myself a chili connoisseur. If a restaurant has chili, I try it. It’s a quest to find the BEST CHILI EVER! After we got back from vacation, I was flipping through…
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