Category: Recipes
Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
I have two words for you: Christmas. Cookies. (I am ridiculously thrilled to start Christmas cookie season. What? That’s not a season? Come on!) The other night I was talking to Cate online and confessed that while I was excited for Thanksgiving, I was more really super excited for the day after Thanksgiving — and [...]
Mediterranean Whole Grain Calzones
Weeknights can get so crazy. When the kids get home from school, it always seems like a mad rush to do homework, sometimes have a snack and get dinner going. But I am usually still working. And trying to oversee said homework. And managing a house full of kids and dogs. This all creates a [...]
Stress-Free Thanksgiving: Decadent Cheddar Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Apples
Thanksgiving is a mere days away now, and if you are like me, you probably know what you are making. But I am going to urge you to rethink your mashed potatoes — seriously. For me, they tend to be almost an afterthought — the thing I make because I have to. But mashed potatoes? [...]
Stress-Free Thanksgiving: Buttery Garlic Asiago Crescents
When I arrived at my children’s school yesterday for a parent-teacher conference, the teacher’s aide from my daughter’s class was waiting in the hallway to give the teacher something. She’s a kind woman, closer to my mother’s age than my own, who bears a striking resemblance to my friend Elayne who passed last year. I [...]
Garlicky Shrimp, Spinach and Asiago Pizza
Thanksgiving is now less than a week away. But we’re going to take a tiny break from all the Stress-Free Thanksgiving discussion to talk about something equally important: Friday night fun. Just about every Friday, the kids and I dash off to the library for books and movies after school. And when we return, we [...]
Barbecue Meatballs Appetizer
In a nutshell: Juicy barbecue seasoned meatballs are bathed in sweet honey barbecue sauce. Ok. Ok. Meatballs? For Thanksgiving? In barbecue sauce?!? Yes, I know it’s unusual — for Thanksgiving or otherwise. But these are seriously good — and they are just right for pre-big Thanksgiving dinner munching. Making these is simple and can be [...]
Apple Asiago Prosciutto Bites
Today is a very special day. See, the lovely Rachel from Rachel Cooks is expecting her second child. Her little man is scheduled to make his debut in December. With her due date nearing, it’s time to celebrate with a surprise virtual baby shower. Surprise, Rachel! And congratulations. As many of you know, I have [...]
Stress-Free Thanksgiving: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Onions, Bacon and Cranberries
On Thanksgiving, my husband cooks our turkey. It goes in the countertop rotisserie and spins around, cooking for a few hours. It’s always juicy and so flavorful, and everyone dives for it. But me? I am all about the side dishes. There’s something exciting about a table loaded with squash, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green [...]
Stress-Free Thanksgiving: Cranberry Citrus Martini (and Don’t Forget the Drinks)
Confession: I’ve been known to carefully plan holiday dinners but totally forget about drinks. Usually it’s my husband who clues into the conspicuous absence of beverages. He asks me if I bought anything to serve for drinks. And my response? Usually something like “Well, there’s water!” He’s not fond of that answer. Don’t worry — [...]
Stress-Free Thanksgiving: Roasted Vegetable Barley Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
One of the keys to planning a stress-free Thanksgiving lies in the planning aspect. Good planning doesn’t just center around dishes that complement each other — the dishes also should make sense in terms of timing. For instance, if you have one oven (which clearly needs to cook the turkey) and only four burners to [...]
