Happy Memorial Day everyone! Hope you and yours are enjoying a lovely day together.

We woke up late this morning, had a little breakfast and then made a big batch of these cookies together. These cookies are a little hardier with a touch of oats, which makes them perfect for ice cream sandwiches (just take two cookies, spoon a little ice cream in the center, smush together and freeze until set). These will be the perfect dessert for the pool party we’ll be attending later today.

As for cooking with kids, cookies are perfect for making with your children since they offer ample opportunity for kids to get involved — even very young ones. Just be careful to realize if a step is just beyond your child’s ability. For instance, Paige today dropped two spoons into the running mixer while adding the flour … turns out, she still needs help holding spoons since she tends to let go once the flour is added.

What have you been cooking with your kids (or grandkids or nieces and nephews) lately? Share!

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This is the garden I have always dreamed of having. So excited that my efforts last year are paying off this year.

Next week … a look at the veggies.

Before I launch into the My Spending Diet update, two things:

1. My garden is growing! We’ve planted all our veggies and need to fence it all in (hopefully this weekend). Check in tomorrow for some pictures.
2. Today is 30 days until I turn 30. Hard to believe it’s so close. I expected to enter my 30s at a much lower weight … so I am going to work my butt off to get as close as I can in the next month. Check out my Facebook page for updates on my progress.

What Happened: I started off the week with $200 in cash. Groceries were about $120 for the week, so I started Monday with about $80. I splurged on pizza (about $12) Monday, since it was uncomfortably hot and the idea of heating the kitchen to cook was just too much. Tuesday, Will had a birthday party to go to so we stopped and bought a present and ground coffee, which we were out of ($30). I also let him get a few extra tokens at the Chuck E. Cheese party ($1). Wednesday, I needed gas ($20) and bread for dinner ($2). There were a few other expenditures in there too … In any case, it’s Friday and I have about $15 left.

Did I stick 100 percent to cash this week? Nope. Read the rest of this entry…

About a month ago, Shawn came home with a cookbook for me and I started cooking from it. This is the fourth recipe I have made (and blogged!) from Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals. Classic Tomato Spaghetti (which I made with farfalle) is anything but classic. It starts with red chile, garlic and basil cooked in oil. Then you add tomatoes (canned, that is) and more basil. Toss it with pasta and serve. All in all, it takes under 20 minutes to prepare. Read the rest of this entry…

Looking at this photo makes me wish I was making these again tonight. YUM.

A bee has been trapped between one of my kitchen windows and the screen since early this morning when Paige and Will spotted it. We have no idea how it got into the house, and I have no clue what to do to let it go without letting it in. Figures, since it’s a hot-as-can-be day. One where I would love to run barefooted across the lawn and through the sprinkler that is currently watering my newly-planted vegetable garden. If there was a textbook definition of “grilling day,” this would totally be it.

When it comes to grilling (or cooking anything in hot weather, for that matter), fast, easy and fuss-free are musts. I mean seriously, who wants to fiddle around with burners and long, drawn-out processes when the temperatures rise like this?

This recipe is all of that. It’s fast — the marinade takes seconds to make and then the meat just sits until it’s time to skewer and cook it. Easy peasy.

If you make this, serve it with some rice, a salad and another easy veggie. For hot and steamy days, the premade frozen rice available at many major supermarkets and stores like Trader Joe’s is a total lifesaver. I’ll be stocking up for summer.

Need some good grilling tips? Check out Tips for Better Grilling on Tablespoon – I asked experts for help on some common grilling issues, and their advice is great.

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Mentally, I am fully entrenched in summer. Picnics, beach days, camping, grilling … these are the things that totally fill my thoughts. But in reality, Will has a few more weeks of school. I have to work. It’s only May.

That’s okay. Summer break will be here soon enough, right?

In the meantime, I am working on new recipes for salads and the grill for this summer, like this Sweet Potato and Carrot Salad. The sweet potatoes are roasted, giving them that mouthwatering sweetness. Mixed with tender steamed carrots and a tangy dressing, this salad is perfect alongside grilled beef kabobs, burgers or whatever.

It’s a nice break from the typical potato salad, don’t you think? Read the rest of this entry…

Paige, Will and I made cupcakes this afternoon. There was no particular reason … it was just something we could do for a nice dessert.

Can I let you in on a little secret? This might come as a surprise — especially due to my fondness for cooking from scratch. Prepare yourself … When I make cupcakes, the cake usually comes from a box.

Yes, it’s true. I have a few cupcake recipes that I love like Black Bottom Cupcakes and Pumpkin Cupcakes. But usually, if I am making them, it starts with a box of chocolate cake mix. All in all, it’s great since making cupcakes from a box is a perfect activity for kids … there is minimal measuring and way fewer steps.

My secret to making that box great? I add one serving of instant coffee — usually from a single serv package. It makes the chocolate so wonderfully rich.

Once that part is out of the way, the frosting comes …

Butter, sugar, vanilla beans, milk. It’s a simple combination that creates an amazing, creamy topping. I like to pipe it on using a disposable pastry bag and a big round tip to make swirls. Other tips work fine, but that’s just my favorite.

For the kids’ part, they get to decorate the cupcakes with sprinkles of their choice. Paige is so exacting when she places hers on the cupcakes … Precision is a good thing, right? Will, on the other hand, just tosses them on (me too!).

Do you ever make cupcakes just because?
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Monday: Classic Tomato Spaghetti (from Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals), salad with Lemon Rosemary Vinaigrette, Italian bread

Tuesday: Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers and Parmesan Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries

Wednesday: Grilled Island Chicken with wild rice and salad

Thursday: Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Potato Wedges and corn

Friday: Grilled Rosemary Chicken with couscous and green beans

Another week … This was a hard one.

As a freelancer, I don’t receive paychecks on a predictable schedule. So, sometimes I go for weeks without receiving checks. Other times, like this week, I receive several all at once. And even with the best efforts, it can be daunting to not want to send a little of that money.

What Happened: The week started out ok. The kids and I planned and shopped for the week. I tried the personal allowance thing … um, yea. I need to think harder about what an appropriate personal allowance is since I spend that plus some.

On Saturday, allowance in hand, I bought lunch for the kids and I … and learned an important lesson about value. We went to a popular chain deli, where the bread is fab. I thought it would be a nice treat. The lunch we got was simple: two sandwiches, two apples … and it came to $15. Had we bought somewhere else (like the deli around the corner), we would have had two much larger sandwiches for $10 or less. And the worst part? I really wasn’t wowed by the sandwiches we had. It’s important that when you spend on a budget, like I am trying to, that you factor value into the equation. Next time? We’ll head to the corner deli … or just make lunch at home. Read the rest of this entry…

Two hours ago, I edited this photo and sat down to write about it … but then I realized the Grey’s Anatomy season finale was on and I had to watch it. OMG, Grey’s. (And yes, that is all I am going to say about that.)

We tried another recipe from Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals tonight. This time, it was Chicken Fajitas. They were just eh. We love fajitas, but these lacked some punch … Flavored with lime juice, smoked paprika and a dash of cumin, it could have used a pinch of something spicy and perhaps some salt. Read the rest of this entry…