I don’t have a recipe for you today. I don’t even really have a story. I just have a couple photos of my attempts to make baked sweet potato chips.

I’ve been working on a homemade baked sweet potato chips recipe over the past week, trying different temperatures, times and seasonings. But, so far, the results have been disappointing. I just haven’t found that sweet, crisp, salty chip yet. Read the rest of this entry…

Thanks to Crystal Light for sponsoring this post. To learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight.

Work. Kids. Life. It all adds up to a lot of stuff on my to-do list (and probably yours too!). And that can make it hard to find time to just take a breath and relax. But everyone needs that.

Finding time in my busy days for a little bit of me-time is crucial to my mood. That small gift to myself keeps me happy and smiling, even when the kids are exhausted and cranky.

Here are a few of my favorite things to do when I need a little time for myself:

• Reading – There is something fabulously indulgent about losing yourself in a book … whether it’s for a few minutes or for an hour. For me, cookbooks can be a fabulous, relaxing read. But so can a good lose-myself-in-it fiction book. Read the rest of this entry…

I’m sitting at my desk eating a turkey sandwich on 7-grain bread with a smear of roasted red pepper hummus and a slice of Swiss cheese. It’s divine. I didn’t bother to cut it in half, though I am a devoted sandwich-cutter (as yesterday’s turkey sandwich, above, shows). The house is quiet, still even. My kids are both in school, and I am here alone, save the two crazy beagles who are taking their mid-day nap.

It’s so quiet.

I’ve worked at home for more than two years, since I left my wonderful staff job to freelance full time. And for the past two years, I have almost constantly had my kids underfoot. It was what I left my job for. But right now, I am grateful for the quiet.

Two years ago, I would rush and rush to drop Will off to school in the afternoons and hope that Paige would remain asleep long enough for me to get a little work done before she needed her afternoon dose of eat, play, diaper change, nap, repeat. Last year, we made it out on time to get to school more often than not, but after drop off would be a rush to get Paige into bed for her nap and prayers that she actually would take one.

But now it’s quiet, and I really like it — despite how unnerving it is. Today, I ate a whole turkey sandwich without anyone asking for a bite, or a glass of water, or cookies for dessert. Shortly, I might pick up and run to the store, just because I can. Or, perhaps I will clean (that doesn’t sound as fun though) or even kick back for a little relaxation. (More likely I will just keep working …)

Whatever it is, it feels so nice to have this little spot of time to myself. Although I love the happy chaos of my kids being constantly underfoot, I also need the quiet moments to recharge. That turkey sandwich was phenomenal … not necessarily because it was the best one ever (though it was really very tasty), but because it’s something I got to do on my own. And that is very good for everyone.

Read the rest of this entry…

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…

Do you have a pizza stone? I adore mine. It’s perfect for everything from making pizza to baking bread. Mine is well seasoned from lots of use, bearing little black marks like badges of honor where past pizzas and rolls have puffed and baked.

It’s been awhile since I made pizza at home, but this week I really wanted some fresh from my own oven. When I was planning our meals for this week, I specifically made sure to include extra chicken on the menu so that I could reuse the leftovers on a pizza for another night. Smart thinking, no?

So, where’s the pizza photo? Well, I failed to watch the pizza (always watch what you are cooking!) and it got a little … caramelized. It still tasted great. Will even ate the crust – which he never does.

As for the pizza? We topped it with the leftovers from my Roasted Rosemary Chicken recipe, about two slices of crispy, crumbled bacon and lots of mozzarella. It took all of 10 minutes to toss together (and really, most of that time was spent working the dough into a good sized circle). I can’t wait to make the whole thing again (including the chicken!).

So good. Read the rest of this entry…

NOTE: At the end of this post is the 2010 survey for Sarah’s Cucina Bella. Please take a minute to answer the questions. Thanks!

Recently, I was researching for an article on diabetes in children, and I came across some statistics that really got me thinking.

• Roughly 186,300 people under the age of 17 have diabetes in 2007.
• Type 2 diabetes, traditionally a disease impacting people over the age of 45, is on the rise among young people. Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, may be on the rise as well.
• Diabetes is one of the most common juvenile diseases.
  SOURCE: National Diabetes Education Program, “Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescence.”

When I was a little girl, a friend’s grandfather had Type 2 diabetes. He and his wife were kind enough to answer my myriad questions about it. He told me that he hadn’t always had it, but developed it when he was older. It was an adult disease. And as much as he missed pastries and the like, his health was more important.

These days, it’s not just an adult disease anymore. That’s frightening. I cannot imagine what it’s like for a family to address such serious health issues in a child. It just makes my heart ache to think about. Read the rest of this entry…

Living a healthy life is a major theme in my life — and my family’s life — these days. It wasn’t long ago that I had a hard time meshing my recipe development and my desire to be healthy. In fact, I struggled with it for a long time. Wanting to create good, tasty, craveworthy recipes just seemed to clash with wanting to be thin and feel good. I couldn’t figure out how to make them work together …

But then a few months ago, I had an epiphany. Actually, it was more of a mind shift. I managed to shake myself loose from the idea that to be good, a recipe needed to be built without calories or fat in mind. Man, was I wrong. And once I wrapped my head around that, I was able to start developing, cooking and writing about foods the way that I really want to eat.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, I have been thinking a lot about what to make and serve. Ultimately, I don’t want to abandon our hard-fought changes for any one day, so I am taking a healthy approach to the whole thing … even dessert. Read the rest of this entry…

In thinking about today’s post, I thought it was a little ironic that I wrote about getting your kids more active on Friday and am writing about sweets today. But irony aside, these things can really coexist. Afterall, raising a healthy family and leading a healthy life is not about deprivation. It’s about moderation, balance, joy … all wonderful things. So, yes, you can have a delicious cookie bar and a slim waistline.

When I decided to have a healthier 2010, it never once crossed my mind to stop baking things like these bars. My kids love to cook and I love to cook with them. Seems like a win-win, right?

Last weekend, Will and I made Chocolate Covered S’mores Grahams and they were dessert for most of the week. He actually wanted to make them again, but I spied a recipe for Butterscotch Blondies in Gorgeous: The Sum of All Your Glorious Parts, a book that I reviewed a few years ago. The idea sounded good, but I wanted a bar that was just a little different. So, I got out my trusty notebook, made some alterations to the recipe (adding chocolate, taking out nuts, trading half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat, etc).

When the time came to bake on Sunday, I got out an big bowl for Will to mix in. The ingredients filled only a small portion of the bowl, but using an oversized bowl is one of tricks of cooking with kids that makes it easier and more stress-free. Yes, the smaller mixing bowl would have been perfect for this recipe, but the larger bowl gives him room to move the whisk around in. That way, he learns how to work in this confined space, while allowing margin for error. The result? Far less flour spilled. And I noticed as he mixed that his movements are becoming more fluid. He really is learning how to sift gently. How awesome is that?

There are so many opportunities for kids to help with a recipe like this. I’ve notated in the recipe the sections that are perfect for kids to help with. And working together like that, to create something, is a great experience for them.

Anyway, back to the recipe. Once we finished mixing, pressing and baking, we were left with sweet cookie bars that are brimming with buttery richness and chocolatey goodness. I liked them. Shawn liked them. The kids adored them … What more could I ask for?

These will make a fab dessert for the kids this week. And for the adults too. Read the rest of this entry…

Looking for the perfect gift for the food lover (I hate the word ‘foodie,’ but insert that if you prefer) or your favorite home cook? There are so many awesome presents out there at every price point. So, no matter how much you want to spend this year, you can find a great gift.

Now, how did these presents get selected? Simple. These are the things that a) are indispensable in my kitchen or b) are on my Christmas list this year.  I love every single thing mentioned here. To make it super easy, I’ve arranged them in several price categories: Under $25, Under $50, Under $100 and Over $100, so you can find one that meets your budget.

Under $25

Oxo Good Grips Cookie Scoop – Know someone who loves to bake cookies? Then they need a good cookie scoop. I don’t know how I ever lived without the Oxo Good Grips Cookie Scoop. It was totally life changing when it came to scratch-made cookies. Not only do my cookies come out even and perfect every single time, but clean up is a breeze and I am never left cursing cookie dough-crusted spoons. The small one is perfect for most cookies and that’s the one that I bought more than a year ago. However, I am now coveting the large scoop too. The idea of making big, thick cookies is very alluring.

Microplane Grater/Zester – Every single homecook should have a Microplane Grater/Zester. Seriously. It’s an unbelievably useful thing. Why? It perfectly zests limes, lemons and other fruits (read: awesome flavor addition) and can also grate cheese into delicate ribbons — very pretty. Read the rest of this entry…

See those babies? They are the reason I left my full time job last year to work from home as a full-time freelance writer. And now you (or someone you know) has the chance to hire me!

A recent long-term writing contract is coming to an end and I have empty freelancing spots to fill – get ‘em while they’re hot! I am a freelance writer with experience writing about technology, parenting, pregnancy, food, politics and more.  I’m an expert at meeting deadlines and am extremely reliable.

Interested? Drop me a line at sarahATsarahscucinabella.com.