Ok, friends! I mentioned a few weeks that my friend, Missy, and I were planning something fun and here it is: COOK BY THE BOOK! On several occasions during the last few years, Missy and I have commented to each other on how even though we have such great cookbooks, the convenience of internet has caused us to fall into the habit of quickly searching the web for a recipe rather than perusing the pages of our now dusty cookbooks. Anyone else? So, we're bringing back the cookbook! We're setting a goal to use our cookbooks (culinary magazines count too) regularly and post our recipe reviews on our blogs. For my first cookbook spotlight, I'd like to introduce you to A Literary Tea ... Read more
Snapshot Saturday: A Week of Meals
Today's snapshots are all about food! I'm a food pic girl. If someone posts a photo of their lunch, cookie, or cup of coffee I immediately think, 'Oh, that looks good! I hope they share the recipe!' I also like to take pictures of my own plates of food (My kids and husband will attest to that!) as a way of sort of cataloging meal ideas. Today I’m sharing pictures of the meals we ate this week. I challenged myself to make as many meals as I could with what I already had in the fridge, freezer, and pantry and make them as healthy and colorful as possible. If food pics aren't your thing, I get it and it won't hurt my feelings if want to skip this post and check back another day. ... Read more
Simple Summer Table
Happy Monday, friends! I promise the wedding posts are coming this week, but while I'm working on those, I thought I'd quickly share about our Father's Day meal. Our family hosted this year, and it was also my sweet sister-in-law's birthday so I wanted to put together some tables that would be pretty for my SIL but not too frilly for the dads being honored. Having just had the wedding the weekend before, I didn't even have a plan for the tables except that I would probably use some patriotic papers goods I had on hand and do an "All American Dad" theme. But then the day before Father's Day I noticed the 10 potted rosemary plants on my porch that were left over from the wedding (details ... Read more
Sunday Lunch
Let’s talk Sundee lunch. No, that's not a typo. It's just how we say it around here, except it's sort of blended together into one word: "Sundeelunch". Say it to yourself and see if that doesn't have a happy sound to it! There's just something special about a meal that follows a time of worship. Feeding our bodies after being fed the Word is like a celebration, and most everyone I know has their own unique way of setting this meal apart from other meals of the week. For some, a homecooked meal with all the fixings is the way to go, while for others, eating out with no kitchen cleanup is the real treat. Occasionally, our family will brave the crowds and eat out (Asian and Mexican restaurants ... Read more
Weeknight Fried Rice
Our family is in a season of busy, bustling weeknights with my teen daughter going to evening soccer practices, and my son taking taekwondo two nights a week. It's taken some trial and error, but I think we've finally settled into a workable dinner routine that still gets us together around the table with a homecooked meal most weeknights. In order to make this work, I'm always on the lookout for meal ideas that are quick to put together and easy on the budget, but still as healthy as possible. I recently tried this Ground Beef Fried Rice recipe from The Salty Marshmallow blog that uses ground beef, rice, and frozen veggies. Our whole family LOVED it so I just had to share the recipe ... Read more
Family Nativity Dinner
For about the last ten years, our family has kept an annual tradition of a Nativity Dinner in December. Some years it's just us, some years we invite friends, and some years we use the menu for our small group Christmas party. Since we were home for Christmas Eve this year, we planned our Nativity Dinner for that night, with just us, and it was so special! I arranged my tablescape earlier in the month to stay set up through all of the holidays, New Year's included. My table arrangement is similar to last year's New Year's table, but with a few tweaks. And I kept with the same Christmas Biltmore inspiration I used in the den. This was such a fun and colorful table to put together, ... Read more
Swiss Family Robinson Feast
For a summer read aloud with my son, I chose the unabridged Swiss Family Robinson. I LOVE this book. The unabridged version includes so many amazing details that abridged versions omit. It is packed full of inspiring adventure and countless character-building lessons. I’d need a week of posts to cover them all! We read this with my girls one summer when they were younger and concluded the reading with an island party that included a seafood feast, oceans crafts, silly lobster hats, and watching the Disney Swiss Family Robinson movie. We’ve held such fond memories of that summer read aloud with our girls, that I knew I wanted to read it again with my son. Of course, we repeated the ... Read more
One Week. Six Meals.
I love menu-planning! But sometimes I get into ruts and find it helpful to look at menus posted on other blogs and Instagram. Seeing what other women are cooking really inspires and motivates me to get in the kitchen. Last month I participated in the 31-day "Happy Homemaker Challenge" on Instagram, hosted by Whitney at Come Home for Comfort, and one of the photo prompts was called "On the Menu". So after posting my menu for the week, I thought I might as well snap a photo of each night's meal and post them here. Our weeks are pretty busy, but I still want to put healthy meals on the table. These are a few of my easy go-to's for quick, healthy weeknight meals. Monday~ Greek turkey ... Read more