Ring in the New Year with Overnight French Toast Casserole

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Ring in the New Year with Overnight French Toast Casserole

This is a dish that our family makes for every big family gathering that included a morning, from New Years Day to Easter to Christmas morning and even had for one of my homecoming (or prom?) morning brunches!

I now understand why it was present every big family morning. This is the easiest dish to whip up. You make it the night before, stick it in the fridge then pop it in the oven right as you are getting ready the next morning. Let people think you spent hours cooking, but let yourself enjoy the special day.

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"I" is for (Dairy Free) Ice Cream!!

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"I" is for (Dairy Free) Ice Cream!!

Last week, we worked on the the letter “I” … and our project was ICE CREAM.

Much to Teddy’s surprise it was making ice cream.

We made double chocolate, coconut milk ice cream, and then had banana splits. It was simple, fun, and NOT messy.

Until we ate the banana splits that is :-)

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Bisquick (not necessarily quick) Chicken Pot Pie

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Bisquick (not necessarily quick) Chicken Pot Pie

OK, first off. How are you doing? Weird times, huh? Is anyone else strung out on family time yet? I mean this is A LOT of family time. A LOT of togetherness. A LOT of cooking for these hungry beasts all day long. I had no clue so much food was consumed by my family. Including the dog. No clue. I mean we eat pretty healthily, even the dog likes to snack on carrots (weird - yes) but it’s still a lot of food.

Here’s one of our favorite in between weather meals - pot pie! A 9x13 pan serves our family of 3 for 2 days - these days who knows? After a long day of playing in mud puddles or being outside in the damp spring weather it’s so comforting to smell the warm biscuits and veggies cooking in the oven.

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Italian Pot Roast

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Italian Pot Roast

Well that was a lovely 2 week break for fall before we dove straight into winter like weather. Pot roast is a meal that just feels right on wintery days. That being said, American pot roast is often extremely heavy with the gravy and potatoes and is just too more than I need (not that Teddy or Zach care, they will eat pot roast how ever I make it!).

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Chinese Cashew Chicken

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Chinese Cashew Chicken

Let’s talk every one’s favorite comfort food (next to mac’n cheese and ice cream) - Chinese food. Being gluten free makes eating Chinese food hard, the brown sauces usually contain soy sauce, and many restaurants don’t have gluten free soy sauce to sub out on the spot. Totally understandable. But I still crave it. What to do, what to do?

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Nanny's Peach Grunt Cake

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Nanny's Peach Grunt Cake

Fresh fruit from the farmers market gets me so excited.  To me peaches and apples might be my very favorite. signal a very special time of year.  Just like watermelon signals summer, and crisp apple says fall, peaches stand for the middle ground between the two.

Apples I buy in droves every weekend. When I find perfect peaches at the market I tend to buy a lot and make big plans for them.  Usually these plans involve desert.

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Baked Fajitas

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Baked Fajitas

Fajitas yes, having your house smell like Chili’s for a week, no. Fresh healthy crowd pleasing food, yes, Cooking over a hot stove in the summer, no.

Enter baked fajitas!!  Even though these fajitas aren’t seared in a flaming hot cast iron pan they are still packed with that southwest flavor that will leave you wanting more!  I love that this easily makes a big batch, because we all love these fajitas! 

Enter baked fajitas!!  Even though these fajitas aren’t seared in a flaming hot cast iron pan they are still packed with that southwest flavor that will leave you wanting more!  I love that this easily makes a big batch, because we all love these fajitas! 

Even better, you don't even need mixing bowls for the chicken and veggies, just toss them straight onto the pan.  One less thing to clean - now you are speaking my language. Now go forth and enjoy your summertime!

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Coconut Curry Cashew Crockpot Chicken

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Coconut Curry Cashew Crockpot Chicken

A fragrant sauce of coconut and curry mixed with sweet red peppers, tender cooked potatoes, and crunchy cashews, with chicken or chickpeas, made right in your crockpot! A dish fit for a dinner party or an easy weekday night in.  So so easy and incredibly delicious!  

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Mainly Vegetable Turkey Bolognese (Parents: Just Call it Meat Sauce)

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Mainly Vegetable Turkey Bolognese (Parents: Just Call it Meat Sauce)

We are a busy bunch, late meetings, conference calls, school, work, practices, playdates.  So even though we may crave that hearty meal, some days we forget to meal plan, or are just too tired to cook.  That's where this bolognese comes in.  Oh, did I mention it is jam packed with veggies and your kids won't know at all?!  I call that a winning combination!

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Moroccan Chicken Kabobs

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Moroccan Chicken Kabobs

To kick off the summer cooking season this weekend Zach and I made grilled Moroccan chicken kabobs.  I know what you are thinking though, kabobs.  Boring, dry, bland, and tired.  Not these.  This blend of spices has a base of paprika with a touch of heat from cayenne (remove if you or your kiddos aren't fans of spice) and then the flair of exotic from the cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and cumin. 

These kabobs are as easy as marinating the chicken in lemon juice, olive oil, and the spice blend  and then grilling!  So since I prepped the chicken earlier in the day, we had nothing to do but cut the veggies that evening and there was no kitchen clean up either!  Just marinade the chicken for the day and then slide them on kabobs (I prefer to skewer the chicken all together) and grill them to perfection.  

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Basil Curry Coconut Chicken

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Basil Curry Coconut Chicken

This week and last has been just what the doctor ordered (never mind the allergies).  Sun and blue skies every day all day, and endless play.  We spent our days outside playing and running and eating picnic lunches.  Teddy was dirty head to toe every day and as happy as could be.  

On days like these, making dinner is the last thing on my mind! Enter this crockpot basil curry coconut chicken.

After a week of beautiful sunny, almost summery days you might be thinking making a crock pot meal is crazy.  It's warm out, the type of weather for grilling and salads.  Aren't crock pots reserved for the fall and winter?  Not if you have the right recipe!

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Mediterranean Chicken Bake

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Mediterranean Chicken Bake

Spring is a fickle beast.  Cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon, and cool again in the evening.  Then the next day cool and windy and drizzly. And the next day bright blue skies and almost 70 degrees.  

These cool spring days have me craving healthy veggie filled dinners but also something warm and comforting.  This is the kind of dinner that fills that special category perfectly - especially when the chicken soaks up the flavor from sautéd and roasted artichokes, carrots, onions, sundried tomatoes, and spinach.

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Cabernet Pot Roast and Veggies

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Cabernet Pot Roast and Veggies

Weather like this makes me crave a good hearty warm meal.  But after having been up with the kiddo since 3:30AM I didn't have the energy to do much besides pour a bowl of cereal, let alone cook a big meal.    Luckily this pot roast takes all of 20 minutes to prepare, thanks to Trader Joe's Cabernet Beef Pot Roast.  It's an amazing find that changed my cooking life.  Not joking.

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Broccoli Slaw Stir Fry

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Broccoli Slaw Stir Fry

So this dinner is one of Zach's favorites.  If he could have it on the menu multiple times a week he would.  And honestly, it is so easy to make I probably wouldn't object except for the fact that there are so many things that I like to cook and eat!  

When I say this meal is an easy meal to make I am not making light of anything.  When I made it last week I started at 7:05 and we were putting it into our bowls at 7:30.  That is under 30 minutes for a fresh, hot, home cooked dinner.  Pretty rockstar if you ask me.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons, Olives, and Raisins

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons, Olives, and Raisins

Chicken tagine is one of our family's favorite dishes.  The cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and cayenne, ginger and garlic fill the house with a spicy warmth as the Chicken, raisins, olives, carrots, and onions slowly stew together.  It is such an easy meal and adds a nice balance to our regular menu of Asian, Mediterranean, and American fare. 

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