Fall is back and so is the craving for warm, Sunday morning breakfast treats. But before we hop into the car and head down to the local doughnut shop, or rip open a package of (gasp) Hostess Doughnuts, let’s take a look at what ingredients are actually in (full disclosure) my favorite treat.
There are so many things I love about fall. I love thick sweaters and tall boots, sipping cups of hot tea as I watch the fog rolling slowly over the mountains beyond my window…and of course I love autumn’s bountiful harvest of crisp, sweet apples – fresh and tart from the tree or caramelized and warm from the oven. Imagine my delight this morning when a friend and her son handed me a surprise at school drop off – a bag full of freshly picked apples from their tree (Thank you Kari & Aidan)!! I knew it was time to plunge into fall baking and seeing as it was a school night, I decided on these easy and delicious baked apples. There is nothing quite like the aroma of warm apples, cinnamon and spices filling the kitchen, watching my children press their noses against the oven door, anxious for whatever is baking to find it’s way into their mouths. (more…)
With an abundance of cherry tomatoes in the garden this year, I needed to find new ways to prepare these delectable gifts of summer. I got to work in the…
Our society has been raised on the Value Meal. The question, “Would you like to add fries and a drink to make it a value meal” has been offered for years as the cheap solution to a “complete” meal. When did we start accepting the $5.00 “Value Meal” into our lives? Was it while we were zipping home after an afternoon of soccer practice, and piano lessons, tired and desperate to feed our families? Was it on the way home from a job which didn’t pay nearly enough? Was it with our friends in high school, turning our spending money into burgers and fries? Or was it even earlier, in the back seat of our parents cars, as a treat for good behavior, or a job well done? The value meal has been around for too long, and today, September 17th, Slow Food USA has challenged our society to take back the value meal and return to the value of fresh, healthy food. (more…)
Part of our under $5.00 Value Meal series. Fish & Chips can be made with fresh, whole ingredients and not deep fried for a healthy and inexpensive weeknight family dinner.
A fresh, kid-friendly Slaw recipe for the whole family to enjoy. (more…)
Our Lunch box idea swap and Giveaway is still going strong. Contest ends Saturday September 10th at 11:59pm PST, so be sure to get your ideas in on the contest page for a chance to win an Applegate prize package worth $40.00.
We’ve been making lots of these Foot Long Fruit Roll ups lately. After my son asked, “Why don’t you make all the stuff on your blog for us more often?” I realized that in an effort to come up with new ideas, I had gotten away from the tried and true recipes my sons love. (more…)
“The Lunchable”. What can I say about those two little words that emerge as the never ending thorn in my side every school year. Those little compartmentalized boxes of “food” somehow creep into conversation and head the list of requests from my boys when planning school lunches. My boys want to peel slices of pressed, chemical filled “meats and cheeses” out of their cute little compartments and stack them on crackers and call it lunch. They want that because they see friends eating them at school. Friends eat them at school because they’re easy to pack. So what is a mom to do? (more…)
Our family has been trying to eat less meat. With a husband who eats vegetarian, the cost of free range/organic/grass fed meats and poultry, and the known health benefits to a veggie-centric diet, we have committed ourselves to exploring new ways to make dinners without meat. But centering meals around vegetables hasn’t been as appealing to the kids as a big, juicy burger – so this new venture has been a challenge. (more…)
Up the nutrition and cut the cost with these homemade Oven Baked Olive Oil Potato Chips.