Well, Phoenix finally cooled down and we are looking to warm up a bit! This is the time of year when I absolutely LOVE having a gas stove because it heats up our whole kitchen and living room and makes everything super cozy… it also minimizes how much we need to turn on our heater! Continue reading
Cultivating Memories
As we head into the holiday season, I’ve been reflecting how best to intentionally spend my time. It feels like there’s extra pressure this year to make it special as it’s the last Christmas my son will be an only child and that makes it tempting to try and do ALL THE THINGS. But I don’t want to do all the things and feel the consequences of an already difficult pregnancy under the added stress of exhaustion. And for that matter, I don’t just want the holidays to be the time we’re consciously choosing ways to make memories with our kids. Continue reading
Squashfest 2.0
I promised to share a few more recipes for the huge varieties and quantities of squash we got in our CSA earlier this month so I’m back today with that…
Sadly I ran out of room on my phone for pictures during Thanksgiving and deleted the food pictures that went along with this post… ooops! I can still share these yummy recipes with you though so hopefully that makes up for it.
The focus of these recipes was on using the yellow squash we got. We shredded it all in the food processor and then I made Yellow Squash Cheddar Biscuits. They were delicious and even tasted good the next day (something I always worry about with baked goods.) They even tricked my toddler into eating the yellow squash- a vegetable which is definitely not his favorite.
That left us with about half of the shredded squash and I wanted to try something a little different with it. I have a great family recipe book my mom made me as a bridal shower gift and there is a favorite holiday recipe in there for a hash brown casserole. Recently we’ve been substituting in zucchini pancakes for hash browns at breakfast so I thought we’d try out that recipe subbing in half yellow squash and keeping in half the hash browns. This casserole is definitely a winter meal- it is filling, heavy, rich, and delicious. It includes a cream of celery soup, onion, LOTS of cheese, sour cream, and of course butter. (My theme for the holiday season comes from Amy of the Little Women movie- “Isn’t butter divinity?!”) And since I don’t have any stomach for syrupy/sugary sweet things this pregnancy, I’m leaning into the rich, buttery, creamy holiday options!
Tis the season for warming meals, kind words, and getting creative. This new twist on an old recipe paid off for sure!
Abundance and Gratitude in the Midst of Distress
I think it’s safe to say that despite it’s blessings (so thankful we are expecting another baby, so glad I’ve made new friendships and strengthened old ones, so worth it to take a big trip before the insanity of baby #2 started…) 2016 has been a ROUGH year for a lot of people. It has definitely been a rough year for my family and myself. Continue reading
Cooking: Squash Fest
One of my favorite things about fall is fall produce and the return of one of my favorite CSA programs (they shut down for the summer here in AZ)- we got a TON of squash varieties last weekend so we’ve been brainstorming how to use all of this zucchini, grey squash, and yellow squash. Here’s a small sampling of the recipes we’ve been trying: Continue reading
Cultivate Kindness
I don’t know about you, but 2016 has been rough for us. Exhausting, discouraging, full of hard work and lots of blessings too, but mostly we are looking towards 2017 and praying things feel a little less difficult. Or at least difficult in different, meaningful ways given that we have a newborn on the way… Continue reading
What I cling to on my hardest days
I needed to make this list today. I thought others might need a reminder too: Continue reading
C is for Cultivate
WOW. We are somehow down to only two months in 2016. I am looking forward to cooler weather, upcoming holidays, and re-centering. This month I want to start focusing on cultivating the habits and values I hope to bring into 2017 and our growing family. I started cultivating some great routines last spring and then got majorly sidetracked after being so sick for so long and I am looking forward to trying to get back on top of them, while still knowing that I am going to be tired as I head into my third trimester and then probably even more tired the beginning of next year (though hopefully feeling better!!) Continue reading
Meatless Monday: Protein before the Candyfest
We made two meatless and tomato-less treats for dinner yesterday which means it hit everyone’s dietary needs all at once. We made some modifications to both the recipes to use what we already had in our pantry (because that’s the theme for the rest of the year- out with the old, before we’re ready to stock up for the new!) and while that turned out just fine with one recipe, I think I wrecked the other… LUCKILY the one that worked is packed with protein to help you (and your littles) ride out the Halloween sugar highs… Continue reading
C is for Curried Lentils, Crockpot Cooking, and a Cast-iron Skillet
My husband and I have a love of spicy food. This means we tend to eat a lot of ethnic food that contains a kick. Due to our location (Phoenix) and ease/price of ingredients, that often means Mexican food, but we are also huge fans of Thai and Indian food. Continue reading
Alphabet Resolutions 