I realized last week it’s officially soup season here – we couldn’t leave the house without sweatshirts in the morning! Really can’t say I’m sad about the return of fall weather.
Cooler days mean I’m craving cozy dinners – and this one just hit the spot! It’s an old favorite – and a fresher-tasting version of the soup you get at an Italian chair restaurant. (If you know, you know!)
Continue readingThe kids are finally back to school.
After a stint of virtual school and then a year of homeschool, having them back in school feels so weird. We’re definitely out of practice of having to leave the house on time every day.
And, I had totally forgot how done everyone is by the time dinner rolls around. They are tired and hungry and our days of leisurely family dinners are officially on sabbatical. “What can I get on the table quickest?” is the current name of the game.
Continue readingI received product samples from Sam’s Fresh Salsa to help in the creation of this post. All opinions are my own.
Yes, it’s summer, but the weather here hasn’t felt like it the last week or so. All the dreary, rainy days have me craving comfort food so I took one of my summer staples – salsa! – and turned it into the perfect rainy-day dinner.
Tender chunks of pork are stewed in a couldn’t-be-easier verde sauce and then buried in piles of fluffy cornbread dumplings. Finish with a dollop of sour cream and you have the perfect meal!
I created this recipe for Sam’s Fresh Salsa Blogger Recipe Challenge and couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out!
Continue readingThere are so many traditional cookout foods – and so many of them are light on vegetables. I love a good potato salad but I also love my greens so I’m always excited when they find their way into an outdoor party menu. Thus, it seemed appropriate to wrap up #BBQWeek with a hearty salad that’s still perfect for an outdoor gathering.
This salad is full of the bounty of summer and make-ahead friendly which is perfect for entertaining. Simply dressed greens, tomatoes, and grilled onions are topped with grilled steak, avocado, basil, and almonds in this drool-worthy dish. It will serve four as a meal in itself – or more as part of a larger spread.
Continue readingHow’s life lately? I mean really – are you hanging on?
I’m hearing from so many friends that they’re overwhelmed. There are so many balls in the air that things like dinner just get pushed to the back burner. They want to make dinner but they can’t handle more work.
This is a great meal for those nights.
Hot sandwiches make a great, easy dinner. These are individually wrapped – making them easily customizable for each family member – and warmed in the slow cooker – which makes the cook time flexible.
Continue readingBack-to-school is busy! Whether you’re going in person or virtually, I’m sure that as soon as you hit that first day of school, your calendar suddenly looks a lot more full.
Often, that makes getting dinner on the table harder. Easy becomes the name of the game.
If you’re looking for some new, easy dinners for back-to-school, I’ve rounded up a dozen of my favorites!
Continue readingIn all honesty, I don’t mind cooking dinner every night during quarantine. Cooking calms me – and making dinner is part of my regular routine anyway.
What I do mind? All the dishes. I swear quarantine has tripled the number of dishes that need to washed. So, my new policy for summer to to just throw everything on the grill whenever humanly possible.
This dish is the perfect summer dinner because it’s cooked entirely on the grill and then tossed with a simple sauce. It’s done in less than a half hour, and the dishes are minimal.
Continue readingYou know that everything-but-the-bagel seasoning that’s all the rage? I’d had it in my cabinet forever and finally broke it open one night when I was trying to throw together dinner last minute.
This chicken was the result, and the kids happily ate it and I patted myself on the back for a successful dinner and moved on.
The kids didn’t, though. They kept asking for it again. And again. And then one night, Jake asked, “Mom, don’t you want to blog this one?” So, here it is. If you like this one, you can thank Jake for kicking my butt into gear.
Continue readingToday is Good Friday, and the wrap-up to another year of the Lenten dinner series. It’s a heavy day for Christians made heavier for everyone by the current pandemic. I chose something comforting for today – because I think right now we all need it.
This pot pie is just loaded with veggies so it’s hearty in the best way. The filling is flexible – but I chose veggies with a longer shelf life so this could easily be a “week 2 meal” if you’re trying to space out your grocery trips.
Continue readingToday marks three weeks of social distancing for us. We are trying to stay home as much as possible in this weird, temporary normal, which means my 2-3 grocery trips per week have been severely cut back – we made it 18 days before our first grocery run and we’re hoping to make it another 2-3 weeks before going back.
If you’re trying to space grocery trips, this is an ideal meal for week two. The vegetables used here hold up pretty well to a week in the fridge – and even if they start getting a little soft, you’ll never be able to tell after roasting them!
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