My mama is famous for her Christmas baking. Every year she bakes loads of Christmas cookies, of every possible variety. Some are on a perpetually-refilled platter, ready to serve any guests who stop by. Others, she gives to friends, family, and neighbors in pretty tins. So this is a tradition I now carry on with …
Grandma’s Shortbread: Deliciously Simple Shortbread Recipe Read More »
Are you already starting to feel the cold this winter? Now that we’ve finally said goodbye to summer heat where I live, I’ve been craving all my favorite winter soups and stews and other slow-cooker hearty winter meals. With all the hype over instant pots lately, I’ve been debating whether I should put one on …
If you missed my last post, here’s the short version: the weather has finally turned cooler, and Essie and I are loving our homemade oatmeal for breakfast. Most of the time, I just make homemade quick oats for each of us every morning; Essie’s current fave is the Baked Apple Oatmeal recipe I published last …
Best Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipes: Overnight Oats & Morning Muesli Read More »
Fall has finally come to our neck of the woods. Which means that Essie and I are back to eating oatmeal most mornings for breakfast. If you think oatmeal is too fussy for a quick weekday breakfast, think again. Not only is oatmeal extremely filling and satisfying, but it’s also super-healthy when you make it …
Happy Labor Day! Do you have any final end-of-summer festivities planned for today? My mama recently shared this recipe with me for the perfect refreshing summertime drink: an easy-to-make Watermelon Cooler that kids and grown-ups alike will find cool and refreshing. This drink nicely solves the problem of what to do with all that leftover …
Watermelon Cooler: The Perfect Summer Time Drink Read More »
Have you ever had a homemade strawberry shortcake? If not, you’re in for a real treat when you try this recipe. Homemade strawberry shortcake is a quintessential summer treat throughout New England, where I grew up. So much so that many churches hold “strawberry suppers” at least once during the summer, as one of their …
The Ultimate Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Recipe Read More »
Need an easy make-ahead kid-friendly meal/snack for your next family road trip? Or an easy weekend-prep option for school lunches? Either way, these crescent roll recipes have you covered. The girls had a blast making these recently at our church cooking club. And with a week-plus of crazy schedules and travel ahead of us, making …
Does your family enjoy exploring new cultures through their foods? We do. Trying the local cuisine is always tops on my vacation list. Likewise, whenever I return somewhere I’ve visited or lived, I cannot wait to taste my local favorites again. Among my guilty pleasures whenever I visit Mexico is a plate of chilaquiles (CHEE-la-KEY-lays) …
Chilaquiles (Breakfast Nachos): Fun DIY Breakfast for Kids Read More »
The BEST thing to do with leftover Easter ham: Does your family eat ham for Easter dinner? Mine ALWAYS does. That’s because my favorite part of Easter dinner ham is all the yummy things you can do with the leftovers – yummy fried rice, the hash we all love, and especially Ham Casserole. When I …
If your family is anything like ours, Saturday is a lazy day when it’s hard for the kids to get out of their own way. All they want to do is loll around in their PJs all day (which I’m fine with) and feed themselves junk food (not so much). Getting them to the table …
The kids are back to school (or will be soon enough), the days are getting shorter, the nights are cooling off. For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s hard to deny it any longer: fall is coming. Fortunately, that means it’s time for lots of fall fun with your kiddos. The …
How To Make Your Own S’Mores Solar Oven: Looking for some summertime fun activities for your kids? S’mores always ranks at the top of my kids’ favorite summer activities list. And making solar oven s’mores is where easy kids’ crafts meets summer fun activities for kids. With supplies you already have on hand around the …
Summer Science Fun: S’Mores Solar Oven (Easy DIY!) Read More »
I’ll admit it. The name Yummy Summer Breakfast Parfait is a blatant attempt to follow my long-standing rule of giving foods appealing names. A recent scientific study at Stanford confirmed my practice: People are more likely to try strange foods with appealing names. But like other recipe names I’ve bestowed, it’s also based in reality. …
Does your family have a Tasting Garden yet? If not, and you have a little chunk of ground (or even a large pot and a sunny spot), you need one. Our Tasting Garden is the girls’ favorite spot in the front yard, and Essie especially loves to sample its goodies and share them with our …
French Toast is one of those things I’ve always known how to make. Don’t ask me how; I just have. It never occurred to me that anyone would need a recipe for French toast until a month ago. That’s when my husband, the more skilled chef in our household, got the uncharacteristic urge to make some. And …
Do your kids love tacos as much as mine do? Does your family need some new ideas for school lunches, now that we’re several months into the school year? If so, here’s the recipe for one of my kiddos’ new lunchbox faves: Take-Along Taco Salad. As soon as Essie saw this recipe in the January …
Last weekend my mom came for a visit. And since my energy is not up to par these days, she did some fun back-to-school things with the girls. Including making Back-To-School Cookies. What? You’ve never heard of Back-To-School Cookies? Well, I hadn’t either. Until my girls dreamed up this idea as a great excuse to …
OK – I can hear some of you groaning from here: “Roasted eggplant? You’ve got to be kidding me – my kid won’t eat that!” So don’t call it “roasted eggplant.” Call it roasted dinosaur eggs, or roasted purple plant, or whatever it takes to get you and yours to give this dish a try. …
It’s winter in the northern hemisphere, which is where most of you live, dear readers. Are you hibernating? Or are you out hunting for some comfort food? I recently stumbled across a collection of super-simple slow cooker recipes gathered for the New Year. As I scanned the pictures and titles, I could feel myself getting …
Are your kids going nuts, now that Christmas is over and school vacation lasts another week? Are they not ready to let go of their favorite holiday? Either way, making Christmas pizza for lunch or dinner might help. Why Christmas Pizza? If your kids are like mine, they could do Christmas 365 days a year. …
