Perfectly Healthful Blueberry Banana Muffins

SONY DSC

So these have sort of become a weekend breakfast staple for us.  They are quick and easy to put together and the leftovers freeze wonderfully for quick breakfasts later on in the week.

They are healthful and full of nutrients without refined sugars and flours which makes me pretty darn happy…and pretty darn ok with the fact that my kids always want seconds. Continue reading

One Pot Asian Peanut Chicken + Noodles

SONY DSC

So I’ve got this thing for these one pot pasta deals that have been floating around the internet over the last couple of years.  Remember this one?  Well, I haven’t stopped experimenting. Continue reading

Southwest Chorizo and Bean Soup

SONY DSC

Well, my guess is, by now,  you have gathered that soups are kind of my thing.  We just click well, for so many reasons.

I love to make them as I go, adding this, that or whatever is left sitting in my fridge or pantry-it’s like piecing together a flavor puzzle; the pieces being whats available in your kitchen.  It teaches me so many dynamics about true cooking. What pairs well together, which flavors and textures don’t mesh.  Soups and stews tend to be my best learned lessons-and provide me my most creative time in the kitchen, which I love. Continue reading

Open Faced Roasted Salmon Salad Sandwich

SONY DSC

I once wrote an article about the positives of having a traveling husband.  And I totally forgot to include a very important perk.

When your husband travels, particularly to Seattle, he feels terribly bad that you are missing out on all the ‘fun’ so he has fresh fish from Pike Place Market sent home for you.  That Nickyboy.  He’s a total winner.  Continue reading

Sausage, Bean and Veggie Soup

SONY DSC

If you’re looking for a phenomenal tasting, ridiculously quick and easy recipe for a warm, cozy pot of soup head on over to Twin Cities Moms Blog, friends.  I shared a family favorite today that I’m pretty positive you will adore as much as we do.  I have shared the recipe with you in the past, but it’s been a while, so in case you’ve forgotten about it or missed it the first time around I thought it would only be noble of me to share it again.  Especially considering the forecast here in Minnesota for the weekend.  Oye.  A piping hot bowl of this stuff juuuust might come in handy…brrr!     Continue reading

Shrimp and Cauliflower Grits

SONY DSC

I sit here with the intent of being a good friend.   I really do.  I want to know how your holidays were.  I want to know about your resolutions.  The wonderful things you ate.  How much you {hopefully} enjoyed a little time off.  I do.  But I can’t.

I can’t possibly sit here with this little gem dangling over my head and write, even think, about anything else.  This gem I write of is called Shrimp and Cauliflower ‘Grits’ you guys.  And I have got to get over it.  It’s becoming a problem.

Let’s just get right down to it.   Continue reading

Apple Pie Oatmeal

SONY DSC

Breakfasts can get a bit monotonous in my home.  This Apple Pie Oatmeal is a favorite of my kids and an awesome way to switch things up from these, these and these breakfast favorites around here.

My four year old named this simple, healthy, quick number “Apple Pie Oatmeal” and for very valid reasons.  It’s rich, comforting and has all those wonderful flavors that apple pie has to offer without all of the hassle and useless ingredients.   Continue reading

Carrot Spice Cake Bars

SONY DSC

One bite of these yummy bars and I was immediately taken back to grade school.  My elementary school had some pretty amazing hot lunches they served; the same ladies in the kitchen every morning as the sun came up whipping the children up homemade, heart-filled food.  We were lucky; so different than things today, and because of it, I have serious aspirations of doing that lunch lady thing someday myself, in some capacity.

Getting nutritious, balanced meals into children’s bodies just once a day over lunch at school could be so beneficial for their health.  Regardless of what they are getting at home, how comforting to know they can be guaranteed one solid meal at school.  In my opinion, that should be part of the curriculum, along with a quick five minute chat with them about what they are eating, where it came from, and what it can do for their impressionable bodies.   Man, wouldn’t that be a game changer.  To me, this is just as important as learning about history or 2 + 2.  Because none of those fun facts and concepts can be properly maintained and applied without a healthy, nourished body to absorb it all. Continue reading

Cinnamon Pear Sauce

SONY DSC

So friends, as you may remember, I am a total fan of homemade applesauce.  It’s unbeatable…store bought varieties just don’t compare.  Not to mention when you make it homemade you’re not stripping away a ton of the nutrients through processing and preserving.  I’m just sold on the whole deal, especially considering how simple it is to prepare at home.

Now, theres a couple of kinds of food love, in my book.  Theres being a total fan, as I told you I was of the applesauce in the paragraph above.  And then theres Hallelujah, over the moon, this-is-out-of-control, party-don’t-stop food love.  This Cinnamon Pear Sauce?  I would classify it under the latter.   Continue reading