I kinda wish I could eat these all day long. Or at least after lunch. And again after dinner. I'm a sucker for toffee. Especially, toffee mixed with chocolate. And these soft, chewy "chocolate & toffee chip" bars make for an outstanding dessert, or snack. Or both. I've got some baking time on Friday...and I think I'm gonna add these to the list and make them … [Read more...]
Lunches Your Kids Can Make Themselves This Summer
For years, I've done news segments sharing recipes, ideas and kitchen hacks for helping you spend less money on groceries. And for years, my oldest son has asked at the time of each segment - "Can I do one with you sometime, mom?" Originally, I thought it was his fascination with the studio, the production, the cameramen, etc. But as he kept asking and asking, I found it's … [Read more...]
I Should Have Done This 2 Years Ago…but everything in it’s due time, right?!
When I shared the first ever "20 meals" plan using ingredients from Costco back in September 2013, I had no idea that it would "go crazy" like it did. That page has been shared over a million times (the number counts aren't accurate because we had to change the pages around at one point to avoid some issues, so the count started over!) This is the website traffic on the … [Read more...]
Crash Potatoes
Adore these potatoes. When I serve red potatoes in this "crash" style, plates are polished. My boys love them. And they also love talking about "crashing things" - because BOYS. It starts as "mom, are these those crash potatoes?" And then they proceed to tell me their best crashing stories. I try to sit there and try not to cringe, I try to be a good "boy mom" who doesn't … [Read more...]
Cheesy Broccoli & Ham Pasta
Comfort food. (Yes, even in the summer.) While I don't love baking in the summer, there are some afternoons/early evenings when we get home from the pool and I actually crave warm comfort food like this. I think it's the 'been outside in the hot sun, then come home to really cold A/C with a wet bathing suit on' thing - it really throws your body temperature off. So I end up … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Peaches and Cream Cobbler
Would it be okay to just eat this for dinner? It's got fruit. And bread. And milk. It seems balanced enough. Right?!? I may or may not have been eating this stuff right out of the slow cooker. I think it's the ginger. Don't skip out on the ginger on this one. Frozen peaches plus ginger plus cinnamon. Coated in a little sugar. With a cakey topping that 'bakes' on top in … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Cherry Cake
Yes, only 3 ingredients. If you don't count the ice cream or whipped cream that you could add to the top. To all my friends that we'll BBQ with this summer, I'll be bringing this every time. :) 2 cans of cherry pie filling. (I used 2 cans because I used my slow cooker is a 7 qt. Even in my 6 qt, I'd use 2 cans. I'd probably use 1 can for 4 or 5 qt. … [Read more...]
Creamy Ranch Chicken
This chicken is amazing. The sauce is amazing, the chicken is perfectly tender. I make my own cream of mushroom soup and ranch dressing mix for this one, but you could certainly use the can/mix from the store! Let this slow cook the day away, then stir in some cream cheese at the end to thicken up the sauce and mmmmmmmmm.... This just might be your family's new favorite … [Read more...]
Shredded Beef Tacos with Mango-Avocado Salsa
During the summer months, I get a bit obsessive about tacos and fresh toppings. Flour tortilla or corn tortilla. Shredded chicken, or shredded beef, or shredded pork. Those are the "base" options for my tacos. Then I have fun playing with different toppings for the tacos. Mango and Avocado is one of my favorite combos - both for these tacos, as well as guacamole, or … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Red Curry with Cod
Yes. It's as good as it looks. This is a simple red curry sauce with some veggies and the mild whitefish, cod. If you're not a fish fan, you could certainly substitute the white fish for small pieces of chicken, beef or pork. Also, this would be amazing with salmon too! Tip for slow cooking fish: remove any skin and then add to the whole fish into the sauce in the slow … [Read more...]