Camping with Kids Back when we only had one child, we camped as a family a lot. And while it wasn’t always super restful, it was SO fun. We do it a little less often now that we’re a bigger family, but I’ve learned a lot of tips from our various trips and wanted to share them today to help you get more fun out of your outdoors time with your kids....
At any time of the year, this Peach Puree is a great baby food that’s similar to apple puree but provides a different flavor experience. We love this not only as an early homemade baby food but also as a food that everyone in the family can enjoy stirred into yogurt or oatmeal. It’s so easy to make this peach baby food in minutes using fresh or frozen fruit. And you don’t even need to peel the fruit!...
Lunch Snacks The easiest way to ensure the kids have enough to eat at lunch is to add on a snack or two to the main meal. This can be as simple as tucking in a piece of fruit or a veggie pouch, or adding a snack bar on the side. This helps to hit more food groups and can be a nice safety net if you aren’t sure if the kids will eat the main part of the lunch....
Bánh Mì is one of the ultimate street foods from Vietnam. It has French and Vietnamese influences and is essentially a sandwich packed with savory meats and pickled veggies. A classic Bánh Mi sandwich is the kind of meal that turns an ordinary lunch into something special, bursting with bold flavors and vibrant textures. The balance of spicy, salty, sweet, and savory in every bite makes this sandwich irresistible! Whether you love pork belly, chicken banh mi, or want to go vegan with crispy tofu, there’s something about banh mi sandwiches that just works....
Kids Thermos I love having a thermos to send packed lunches to school and toddler lunch ideas for daycare because I have so many more options with hot foods in the mix. And it makes it easy to pack leftovers, too! We love using a kids thermos to pack mac and cheese, pasta, soup, chili, scrambled eggs, and pizza and chicken recipes, too. To help your family, I’m sharing the best thermos options for kids based on my real-life testing and market research....
When I made this St. Louis-style thin crust pizza topped with bacon, Italian sausage, green bell pepper, red onion, and sliced mushrooms for my family, they responded with words like “amazing”, “favorite”, and “best ever” while they reached for another piece. It was a HUGE hit at our house, which is saying something since we regularly make my regular yeasted homemade pizza dough recipe for our pizza nights and I wasn’t sure how everyone would feel about the cracker-thin crust that is almost closer to a tortilla pizza than a regular chewy pizza crust....
Toddler Tea Set So many toddlers love to play pretend and a tea set is a wonderful way to keep them inspired to use their imaginations—and play together with a sibling, parent, or even a stuffed animal. We’ve had many tea sets over the years (some better than others!), so I wanted to share my best picks based on materials, price, components included, and design. For younger toddlers, you’ll want to pick a tea set that’s durable and unbreakable since the pieces will likely be dropped on the floor at one point or another....
If you have ever had bland shepherd’s pie and thought you didn’t particularly care for the dish, prepare to have a total change of heart. Our recipe is easy to make and has the best flavor of any version I have ever tried thanks to using real ground lamb and a few flavor enhancers like just the right amount of herbs & spices to make the filling come to life!...
Who wouldn’t want to wake up to fresh, hot buttermilk biscuits loaded up with a creamy gravy full of flavorful pork sausage? So gather round the table, y’all, and don’t forget to bring your appetite! Every region has thier iconic dishes. When it comes to the American South, biscuits with sausage gravy is certainly one of them. Biscuits, of course, can go with just about anything, from smothered chicken to beef stew to fried chicken....
This recipe for Chinese restaurant-style broccoli in garlic sauce is quick and easy. It’s a perfect accompaniment to any Chinese meal and a sure-fire way to get those veggies in! Making Chinese restaurant style food at home is simple. You do need a variety of sauces, but once you’ve collected these you have many delicious meals at your fingertips. Here we’ve got broccoli in a medium brown garlicky sauce. It’s not too thin or too thick, but nice and saucy for soaking into your rice, which we all know is one of the best parts of Chinese food....
There’s nothing fussy about this butternut squash almond bisque. It’s one of the simplest winter squash soup recipes I’ve made, and yet it remains my favorite. Creamed winter squash scented with warming ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper. This luscious butternut squash soup been on our thanksgiving menu for longer than I keep digital notes for (what you don’t have google docs of your Thanksgiving menus dating back to 2009?...
When it comes down to it, I’m team creamy dressings. Creamy everything if we’re heading down the road of full honesty. Ranch dressing is a traditional American dressing made typically from buttermilk, mayo, and some iconic spices and herbs. When it comes to making a vegan version of the dressing you can approach it in different ways. Certainly one of the ways could be swapping out the exact dairy/non-vegan products for their vegan counterparts....
The Classic Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich is one of the most famous sandwiches in the U.S. and undoubtedly one of the most delicious! But the folks from Philly are passionate about what is and isn’t a true Philly cheesesteak. Some strongly advocate for Cheez Whiz on the sandwich while others prefer melted provolone cheese or white American cheese. You’ll find plenty of Philly cheese steak recipes that call for sliced green bell peppers to be sauteed with the onions, but near as I can tell that’s not actually an authentic addition....
If you are struggling to get dinners on the table and looking for something your entire family will eat, this creamy sausage pasta is the perfect solution. Instead of chicken breasts or ground beef (probably the two most commonly used protein-staples for most households), we’re amping up the flavor with some mild Italian sausage combined with a creamy pasta sauce. I’m not claiming this is classic Italian cuisine, but it sure tastes like some of the dishes I’ve enjoyed when we have traveled throughout Italy....
Gnocchi, those pillowy Italian dumplings, have a rich history that dates back to ancient times, becoming a staple in Italian cuisine. This particular Creamy Sausage Gnocchi recipe is a modern take on classic Italian cooking, utilizing ingredients like Italian sausage and heavy cream to create a dish that’s both comforting and satisfying. This easy dinner recipe is a favorite for its ability to all-but transform your dining room into an Italian restaurant, making it a go-to for those evenings when you crave something special without too much fuss....
Whenever we visit family in Utah I like to stop by Cutler’s to pick up some of their famous frosted cookies. Cutler’s is a Utah institution with only three locations and they were around long before Crumbl Cookies which is their more famous Utah cookie counterpart. Since I crave these back home in California, I decided it was high time to add them to my collection of favorite Utah recipes!...
Butternut Squash Oatmeal We eat oatmeal as a family two mornings a week and I’m always looking for new flavors to try…that my kids will still eat! This easy version, which has pureed butternut squash in the mix and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice, is super fast and it’s super yummy. Serving veggies for breakfast is one of the easiest ways to ensure that our kids hit their daily recommended servings, but it’s often a hard sell....
Cherry Tomato Pasta I often have periods of time when I am completely burned out on cooking BUT having a few easy recipes in my back-pocket that I can make without a lot of work is a total game changer. Combining cherry tomatoes with garlic, basil, and olive oil makes a super fresh and delicious sauce—no cooking required—that really makes pasta sing. It’s delicious as is, or you can even blend up the sauce if that seems like a better option for your kids....
If you love these delicious caramel flavors, you’ll also love my Southern Caramel Cake, my Homemade Cream Caramels, and this Caramel Apple Eclair Cake! Flan was an acquired taste for me. When I first moved to New Jersey, I had an amazing multicultural experience with a lot of friends from different nationalities – Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican – who all LOVED making flan. It’s a popular dessert recipe in each of those and other Latin American countries, and was definitely the most popular homemade dessert for most of the people I was living around....
This easy Porcupine Meatballs recipe is perfect for any day of the week; whether you’re looking for a cozy meal or an easy weeknight dinner, this recipe has got you covered. It’s quick, straightforward, and guaranteed to satisfy your cravings for classic comfort food with a touch of whimsy. Porcupine Meatballs trace back to the era of the Great Depression, when home cooks needed to stretch their meals as far as possible on a very low budget....
