I think my husband should have made last night’s dinner tonight–grilled steak over arugula salad, with fries. Not that we’re big on Valentine’s Day (I mean as a couple we’re not, as parents, yes!), but there’s just something about serving…
Chicken Cacciatore Cheat
After the mildest of falls, the weather has done a quick about-face and out came the winter hats and mis-matched mittens (I swear I had full sets when I packed them up last March!) along with my trusty Dutch oven….
Thai Peanut Chicken (Hold the Peanuts)
One of the hardest adjustments for our family after my daughter had her first severe reaction to peanuts was not being able to eat at the Thai restaurants we loved. The risk for cross-contamination is far too high to eat Thai food out, so I…
BEYOND GAME DAY CHILI
What happens when you pour in hot chili peppers, chili powder, ground beef, some sautéed garlic amongst other spices into a pot, simmered and served? There can only be one result, you’ve got yourself a delicious pot of chili! The…
Most Delicious Lamb Sliders
My kids went crazy for these–they begged to have them on a bun in their lunch after having had them for dinner. The next day for grown-up lunch, we de-carbed them and ate these scrumptious little lamb burgers with a…
QUICK RECIPE REFERENCE
Whenever you’re planning a dinner, always take pictures of recipes from the cookbooks so that when you go to the market, not only do you have your shopping list, but also a couple of backups in case you can’t find…
Arugula Pesto Skillet Pizza
Most markets these days do a decent ready-made pizza dough. We had a couple of families coming over on very short notice and I wanted to get the kids fed quickly, while also giving adults something to snack on once…
Turkey Logs
Necessity is most definitely the mother of invention. Last night we were trying to sell in a turkey burger to our daughter, but we had no buns…except…hot dog buns. So my husband seasoned the turkey, rolled it into a log…
Franks and Beans
Last week I had what is maybe my most favorite dinner to date. I made baked beans in the slow cooker before I left the house, and then my husband made a coleslaw that was so spectacular, and fried up…
Robin Tesoro The Berkshires, MA
Ready for a heart-warming-feel-good story in the middle of a deep recession? We sure were. When Robin emailed an introduction to her family business, Ooma Tesoro’s, we were awed by her and her husband’s resourcefulness and entrepreneurial spirit when the economy…
ICED COFFEE TRICK
My friend Gina introduced me to the coolest coffee trick ever and I’m still giddy with excitement! There’s nothing quite like a cup of iced coffee on a sweltering summer day. But having easy access to this earthy paradise transcends…
Tessa Kiros Tuscany, Italy
She is the writer of seven cookbooks that endlessly inspire us; we’ve been stalking her for years. Back when we were at Cookie, we xeroxed her book Apples for Jam, and used it as the inspiration for our lifestyle stories. She lives…