So with the warmer weather returning (much warmer weather soon according to the weekend forecast…), it’s time to get back to one of my favorite drink varieties: the smoothie. Continue reading
vegetarian
A Favorite Christmas Tradition…
There are so many things I love about the Christmas and Advent season. The marvel of lights, the gorgeous music, the specifically Catholic traditions (I’ve been slowly adding to our nativity scene each Sunday, and when we have a little more space one of my first wish list items is an advent wreath!) Then there are the family traditions which are some of my favorites Continue reading
Winter Warmth
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
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!
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
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
Festive Halloween Stuffed Bell Peppers
So since becoming a single car family I spend a lot more time at home with my son instead of out at the children’s museum or zoo or even the library (though we are still frequent visitors to our local branch!), So I’ve made a conscious effort to keep things interesting for him on days that I have energy/am not feeling pretty sick. Continue reading
A Favorite Kitchen Tool and a Yummy Chickpea Salad
When I was engaged, I probably put way too much time and thought into my wedding registry. Continue reading
Cooking: Chili Mac
Here’s my problem with Pinterest inspired projects: They often don’t align with my end goal. One of the reasons I wanted to focus on cooking this year was to learn a few more go-to recipes for menu planning so we can cook ahead and/or take advantage of smart grocery shopping and sales. However, it seems that whenever I want to try a new recipe, I go to my Pinterest board or one of my few cookbooks I’ve kept and I end up asking my husband to go to the store for all kinds of ingredients we either wouldn’t usually cook with, or would enjoy cooking with but would never keep as part of our weekly menu! Not time or budget friendly at all! Continue reading
Alphabet Resolutions 