Easy (and Freezable) Bran Muffins These bran muffins are my mom’s recipe, and they are a consistent staple in our freezer stash for easy grab-and-go breakfast (love it paired with a hard boiled egg) or even a quick snack! Yield: 48 muffins Ingredients: 1 box […]
Homemade English Toffee What I Used: 2 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup light karo syrup 1 lb unsalted butter 12 oz chocolate chips These pictures were taken while completing a double batch of the above recipe. (1) Butter wax paper and set aside. […]
Freezer-Friendly Mealoaf Meatloaf can be so incredibly easy to make and is, thankfully, a wonderful dish to prepare and freeze for later. This recipe is part of a lovely set that my mother-in-law gave me from their family’s archives, and it’s a […]
Mom’s Eat or Freeze Vegetable Soup Growing up, my mom would make the most delicious vegetable soup at least once a year. She’d freeze it for later, bring it camping, up to the mountains, etc. It was a staple in our home during the winter months, […]
Fresh or Frozen Lasagna When preparing food for our most recent addition to the family, we simply had to include lasagna. It is one of those meals that holds up well to freezing and can be paired with several different vegetable options to make […]
Two Handprint Salt Dough Ornament While there are several different tutorials out there for salt dough ornaments with one handprint, I wanted to make one that recognized both of my kids to give to our neighborhood babysitter. After trying out some different methods, this was […]
Toasted Pecan Pie What I Used: 1 nine inch partially pre-baked pie crust 1 cup reg brown sugar 1 cup light Karo corn syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp salt 4 eggs 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 2 cups pecans + perfect […]
Pumpkin Pie with Painted Leaves After years of trying to make fresh pumpkin puree work in a pie (always seems to taste “squash”-y), I am resigned to the fact that the canned pumpkin pie filling fits the gastronomical tastes of my family and myself best! […]
Aunt Sarah’s Green Beans These green beans are absolutely delicious! They can be served immediately or prepared ahead of time (follow steps 1-3 and store for 1-2 days before finishing). What I Used: 1.5 lbs fresh green beans 5 strips thick-cut bacon Garlic salt […]
Nana’s Mashed Potatoes What I Used: 8 small Idaho potatoes 4 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 cup half-half 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper Green onion for garnish (1) Wash, peel potatoes. (2) Quarter potatoes, place in large pot. (3) Barely cover […]
Southern Apricot Glazed Carrots What I Used: 2 lbs large carrots 2 Tbsp butter 1/3 cup apricot preserves 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp grated orange peel 2 tsp lemon juice Mise en place Wash and peel carrots Cut carrots on […]
Nana’s Stuffing What I Used: 1/2 large yellow onion (enough for 1 1/2 cup chopped) 3-4 stalks celery (enough for 1 1/2 cup chopped) 8 cups shredded bread (you’ll want to use a hearty bread that will hold up to moisture and […]
Evolving Thanksgiving Recipes Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that is seeped in individual family tradition. Since we moved around consistently growing up, my family never had a set list of traditional Thanksgiving fare nor a consistent group of people with which to […]
Uncle Peter’s Brine Turkey This brine turkey is simply amazing!!! It takes roughly 1 day of brining followed by 3 hours or so of prep/cooking on the day of serving. Overall, it was an amazing Thanksgiving bird and, prepared this way, also comes accompanied […]
Turkey Stock A terrific balance to the plentiful celebration that is Thanksgiving is the ability to reuse every aspect of the dinner beyond days of leftovers. Turkey stock is a wonderful celebration of this “waste not want not” concept. What I Used: […]
Brine Turkey Gravy What I Used: Preserved innards from Uncle Peter’s Brine Turkey Preserved turkey juices and spices IN PAN from Uncle Peter’s Brine Turkey 1-2 Tbsp canola oil 1/4 cup white wine 2 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp flour 1/2 cup water (1) […]
Pumpkin Puree Whether you’re trying to use every last component of that Halloween pumpkin or would really like to try “real” pumpkin pie this year, pumpkin puree is easy to make and incredibly versatile! Here’s how I process my pumpkins into beautiful, […]
Dried Apple Chips One of the things that I love about apples is how versatile they are! In addition to the typical things to make during apple season, our whole family also enjoys dried apple chips, which are surprisingly easy to make! What […]
Fresh Apple Pie with a Lattice Crust After picking an absurd amount of apples this year, I wanted to make apple pie(s) and, with the help of this recipe, set about making and eating/freezing several pies for us and our friends! What I Used: Crust: 2 nine-inch […]
Apple-Spinach Fruit Leather What I Used: 3 cups applesauce 1 cup packed fresh spinach (1) Process applesauce and fresh spinach in blender or food processor until smooth. You may need to add some water to get the pieces moving, but be careful not […]
Applesauce from Tree to Freezer All hail apple-picking season!!! As we do every year, we headed down to a local orchard and loaded up on dozens of pounds of apples intended for all sorts of homemade deliciousness. With a preschooler, toddler, and soon-to-be newborn in […]
Apple-Pear Pie with a Leaf Crust What I Used: Crust: 2 nine-inch pie crusts 4 large eggs Red, orange, and green gel food colors Filling: 2 lbs apples (about 4) 2 lbs pears (about 4) 1 lemon 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 2/3 cup white sugar […]
Fresh Crockpot Apple Cider Anticipating many guests this Fall with the imminent arrival of our third child, we wanted to be prepared with beverages to suit all ages and tastes. One of the most versatile Fall drinks is apple cider! It can be a […]
Apple Season Recipes There are two fruit seasons that we “observe” in our home, mainly for how much fun I have processing the fruit: strawberry season and apple season. Thankfully, we have an amazing farm/orchard within an easy drive of our home that […]
Melon Stars Whether it’s Fourth of July, an Astronaut Princess party, or a way to get kiddos involved in the kitchen, these melon stars are a wonderful way to enjoy melon season as a family with a fun twist! What I Used: […]
Juice Box Rocket Ships For my four-year-old’s “astronaut princess” party, she was very excited about the various crafts and preparations leading up to her party. This year was also one of the first times that she was able to express and execute her opinions […]
Freezer cooking Freezer cooking has been single-handledly responsible for helping me be more sane and more frugal. We are able to create monthly meal plans, follow them, and make dinner time a relatively low-stress time in our household while still enjoying healthy, […]
Easy and Lasting Play-Doh What I Used: 1 cup flour 1/2 cup salt 2 tsp cream of tartar 1 cup water 1 Tbsp vegetable oil Coloring (8-10 drops of liquid food coloring or gel coloring) Optional: glitter (1) Combine all of the ingredients (except […]
Mini Pretzel Dogs What I used (36 mini pretzel dogs) 1 1/2 cups warm water 1 tablespoon white sugar 2 teaspoons salt + more for sprinkling 1 package active dry yeast 4 ½ cups all purpose flour ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted 4 […]
S’mores Bites What I used: 12 graham cracker sheets 8 tbsp unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 3 envelopes gelatin 1/2 cup cold water 1 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 cup light corn syrup 1/3 cup honey 1/2 cup water 1 Tbsp vanilla extract […]
Soft Caramels Yield: 100 wrapped candies or 50 chocolate covered squares What I used: 1/2 cup water 2 cups sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk 1 cup light corn syrup 12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter […]
DIY Cupcake Stand What I used: Pencil String Cardboard (enough for two of each: 18″, 14″, 10″, 6″ circles) 2 large glass jars with twistable lids (I used sauerkraut jars) 4 sheets of poster board Ribbon Thick cardboard tube (the one used here […]
Dips for Veggies, Chips, and MORE Before I had kids, I valued the importance of having dips for vegetables, chips, and a wide assortment of other foods. Kids, however, have a way of changing the stakes on even the most basic things, and dips were no […]
Homemade Guacamole What I used: 3 avocados 1 lime (plus extra if storing before serving) 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 small onion 1/2 jalapeno pepper 2 Roma tomatoes 1 Tbsp cilantro 1 garlic clove […]
Homemade Ketchup What I used: One 6oz can tomato paste 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 pinch pepper 1 tsp ground mustard 1/4 tsp brown sugar Combine all ingredients in a bowl. If making in […]
Perfectly Creamy Humus What I used: 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup tahini One 15-oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 1 garlic clove 2 Tbsp olive oil (plus extra for serving) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground cumin 2-3 Tbsp water Dash paprika Mise-en-place […]
Snackadium Tutorial with Templates This project was an absolute joy from start to finish. I now have a functioning “snackadium” that I can reuse, and so can you. I’ll first describe how to construct the actual “stadium,” and then I will give you my […]
Lined Field Tablecloth (Artificial Turf) What I used: Artificial turf (available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc) Vinyl transfer material Silhouette machine Hashes, dashes, and numbers Athletic tape (1) Cut the artificial turf to cover your table plus extra to allow for wrapping the turf under […]
Parking Lot Tablecloth When I was looking for a way to display a snackadium at my son’s recent football-themed birthday party, I knew I wanted to do something a little different. Being a hyper-logical person, it didn’t make sense to me to do […]
Pumpkin Helmet Fruit Bowl With mid-football season occurring during prime pumpkin season, this idea is a great addition to any tailgate or football themed party! Also, with the carve-able potential of pumpkins, you can get as detailed (or not) as you’d like without compromising […]
Referee Beer Bottle Labels When I was looking for a simple way to customize beer bottles for my son’s 1st birthday party, I came up empty. I found several coozie-style options, but those were too expensive for our purposes. After plenty of success with […]
Water Bottle Labels From weddings to showers to birthday parties, water bottle labels are some of the least expensive, easiest ways to personalize a special occasion. What I Used: Labels (see below for some printable options) Water bottles Full page labels or cardstock […]
Football Field Jello ***While not specified throughout this post, kids (over 18 months) can definitely help with this recipe by stirring and pouring ingredients except for the boiling water. They especially love licking the spoons after stirring!*** What I Used (9×13 dish): 5 […]
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Yield: 2 cups pumpkin seeds (roughly) What I used: 1 pumpkin (this was previously painted as a Halloween decoration) 2 cups water Table salt 2 Tbsp olive oil (1) Start by cutting a hole in your pumpkin and scraping out […]
Sanity-Saving Breakfast Cakes These “pancakes” have, quite literally, saved our sanity in the ongoing balance of feeding our children relatively expedient and healthy meals. The recipe for these “cakes” (as we call them) is absolutely jammed with guilt-free ingredients. There are vegetables, fruit, […]
Mise en place Mise en place (pronounced MEEZ ahn plahs), or “setting/putting in place” in French Maybe it’s just me, but one of my least favorite things about cooking from a recipe is thinking that I’m all set with my ingredients, only to […]
Simply Amazing Pie Crust ***KIDS IN THE KITCHEN: Starting at about 3.5, my daughter LOVED helping with the “processing” part of the recipe. Since we use a pastry cutter (instead of knives or a food processor), she can be very involved with this part […]
Football cupcakes and smash cake As someone who always loves trying new things, I wanted to attempt a red velvet flavor for my son’s birthday cupcakes. Given the fact that we were using Ohio State colors of scarlet and gray, this seemed like a good […]
- How to soften butter in the microwave
The trick to softening butter is to retain the integrity of the butter while heating it to a workable temperature. You absolutely do not want to melt the butter as you heat it. (1) Place necessary amount of frozen or […]
Buckeye Candy Yield: 200 balls What I Used: 2 cups peanut butter 1 lb unsalted butter (room temperature or softened) 3 lbs confectioner’s sugar (roughly) 3 tsp vanilla 24 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels 1 /4 block paraffin (you may choose to temper […]
- How to temper chocolate in the microwave
While there are many different ways to temper chocolate (double boiler, immersion blender, etc), I prefer the ease of the microwave and the good ole seeding technique. The general rules are to get the chocolate warm but not too hot, […]
