pot of gold

Sadly, our favorite farmers' market is closed for the season. On our final trip I did manage to score one final fresh fruit - beautiful golden pears from local orchard. Jackpot! I mean, what's a better way to sneak in more fiber and vitamin C in my carnivore and kid?

Since I had a few apples left from my CSA too, I decided to use the Whole Foods recipe finder phone app (a must have for any foodie out there) to see what I could make with what I had on hand. And what do you know, up popped this recipe for a spiced apple and pear crisp. What's great about this recipe is that it is heavy on the spices (and thus the flavor), but not on the sugar. Plus, the rolled oats are touted by some for helping lower cholesterol and decreasing heart disease.

Best of all, this bubbly pot of fruit was an instant hit at this house. I love when I can get my family to scarf down things that are good for them like pears, apples, and oats. The simple sound of them scrapping their bowls is golden. Hope you get a chance to enjoy it too!

falling in love all over again

Sometimes I get so caught up in all the great fresh food that comes in the summer, that I forget how comforting fall food can be. From cinnamon sweet potatoes to juicy pears to creamy mac and cheese, fall has some pretty fantastic dishes to enjoy.

Since I am using up the final bits of my CSA, I thought I was start my renewed love affair of all things fall with some of the eightball squash that I had left. If you can't find these, try acorn squash instead. They are pretty prevalent these days.

Start by gathering the following: 

2 winter squash, halved

4 tblsp of butter

1 box of stuffing

1/3 cup baking raisins

herbed goat cheese for topping

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place on a lined baking sheet cut side up. Place one tblsp of butter in each half. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour. Remove from oven and set aside to cool a bit. Make stuffing according to package. Stir in raisins. (note: baking raisins are more juicy and will taste better in this dish than regular dried ones.) Scoop stuffing into each squash half. Top with goat cheese and serve.

The sweet raisins, creamy cheese, and herby stuffing were the perfect compliment to the smooth squash. Truly a fantastic dish to make you fall in love with fall food all over again.

menu ideas:
Stuff them with your own stuffing and cranberries and you have a really special vegetarian main dish that would be perfect for Thanksgiving! Just be sure not to use any animal broth or bits in your mix. Of course, this marvelous main dish is also fine on any other fall day. I had it recently when the carnivore had a slow cooked chicken. We also each enjoyed baked sweet potatoes and sauteed green beans.

celebrate good times

The carnivore and I recently celebrated four years of wedded bliss. Sometimes it feels like it has been much longer than that (in a good way, people), and sometimes it feels like just yesterday we were in Mexico with all our friends and family reciting our vows.

I think its important to mark these occasions in our lives. So, even though I had a toddler who was in my pantry feeding the dogs milkbones and a new born who was sure to wake any moment, I took the time to make a special dinner for us. This included everything from lit candles to breaking out the china. Most importantly, it also meant making a real dessert. Since my time is limited though I had to find something with a big wow factor for minimal effort.

Enter the Pain au Chocolat I found on one of my favorite websites, Everyday Occasions. (I want to live in this woman's house and eat her food.) You can see the original recipe here. Since I was making this for just us, I only used one sheet of puff pastry and 4oz of semisweet chocolate, but I followed the other instructions.

Can you say amazing? This dessert was phenomenal...and ridiculously easy. (It was basically breaking up some chocolate and rolling it in dough.) The perfect way to celebrate our four years together. Even if things are a little different (and better) today than when we said our I do's!

love me two times

I love to cook, but my time to do so is seriously limited these days now that I have two kids under two.  So when I plan out our menus for the week, I always make sure my meals last for two nights. One night I cook, the next I reheat leftovers. This way I still get to enjoy cooking, but I get to stay sane too.

They key is finding dishes that will not only reheat well, but that my carnivore and little man will look forward to eating again. My go to is always pasta. Its a crowd pleaser and it can easily be adjusted for the two types of diets we have in our house.

Recently, I made these dishes. I took the two time theme even further by using two different kinds of pasta - whole grain penne and regular bow tie. The different textures and tastes are fun for the kid if nothing else. To make your own you need the following:

3/4 box of whole grain penne
1/4 box of bow tie pasta
2 tblsp of olive oil
kosher salt
pre-made alfredo sauce
frozen meatballs
1 head of broccoli
1 portabella mushroom

Start by boiling the pasta for about 10-12 minutes. Then chop the broccoli and mushroom, after cleaning thoroughly. Toss with oil and salt in a large pan. Saute until soft. When pasta is ready, toss with alfredo sauce. In the meantime, heat the meatballs according to package instructions. Then plate. In out house we had one pasta bowl with pasta and veggies, one with pasta and meatballs, and one with all of the above!


By taking advantage of pre-made options at the grocery, like the sauce and meatballs, I am able to save even more time. You can, of course, make these from scratch too. But with two babies, I am just happy to have a meal to serve everyone...twice.