Recipes Archives - Page 4 of 4

Legendary Bar-B-Q tailgating with Foster Farms chicken and Stubb’s sauces

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LegendaryTailgate #CollectiveBiasI’m currently in denial that summer is over and fall weather is only going to get colder. Here in Seattle, we’re not ready to give up on enjoying the great outdoors, and we’re enjoying every day before the rain starts in on us. This means hours spent on walks around the neighborhood, cookouts with family and friends, and evenings spent in the backyard watching the kids play and grilling up dinner.

As part of our autumn cooking, we’re enjoying grilling up a regional favorite with a Texas twist. By using local Foster Farms Fresh & Natural chicken and pairing it with Stubb’s Bar-B-Q and grilling sauces, we’re bringing grilling season back in a big way.

Super easy chicken fajitas with Foster Farms Simply Raised

I don’t know about you, but there’s a direct correlation between the amount of summer sun and the amount of time I don’t want to spend cooking. Basically, my goal each weeknight is to get everyone fed and happy so we can get outside and play as soon as possible to enjoy time as a family after work. So, when Foster Farms contacted me about trying out some of their Simply Raised antibiotic free chicken to create an easy weeknight recipe post, I jumped at the chance.

Why Foster Farms chicken?

Because there are no antibiotics administered, they are produced with no added sodium, given 100% vegetarian feed, American Humane Certified, and 100% natural {minimally processed, no additives or preservatives, steroids or hormones} and they are locally grown throughout CA, OR, and WA. Oh, and the kids love the commercials with the talking chickens.

My summertime meal criteria includes the following: 1) no oven use because it turns the downstairs into a sauna 2) as few pots and pans as I can manage 3) cook extra whenever possible to enjoy leftovers for multiple nights 4) quick and easy meals are preferred and 5) healthy is a must

One of my favorite easy weeknight meals that satisfies all of these criteria is chicken fajitas because they are full of veggies and goodness, can be cooked in one pan, and they are super quick to make and enjoy for multiple nights.

No-stress Easter dinner with HoneyBaked Ham

Some people are natural born hostesses with buffet tables stocked with everything they could need for gatherings of all kinds, recipes at the ready to wow, and the organization to pull it all together. For me, even the thought of entertaining used to really stress me out. I worried about whether I would have everything perfect for guests, I worried over how clean my house was, and most of all, I worried what I would serve to eat that would work well for a crowd.

But, this year I've been entertaining more and more now that it's just easier to stay home with a newborn and have everyone come to us. And, while I wish I could say I've gotten better about tidying up before house guests, the truth is that now I just blame it on the baby. But, there's one thing I've gotten really good about doing as a mom of three: delegating.

That means when someone says, "Can I do something?", the answer is, "Yes." Sometimes that something is just playing with the kids while I get stuff done, sometimes it's bringing a dish or two, and sometimes that means handing off my baby to the first one in the door so I can enjoy some much needed time using both of my hands. But, my best delegating has got to be the addition of HoneyBaked Ham to our entertaining routine. My #1 tip for surviving entertaining during the holidays is letting HoneyBaked Ham handle the food for me.

Back to school lunches made easy with goodnessknows

Do your mornings look a little like this these days? A whole lot of washing, chopping, preparing, and packaging for on-the-go has been happening around here lately.I feel like I’m constantly thinking lunch now that school is back in, and searching for clever ways to pack up all the food groups in a way that will actually be eaten. And, even though it’s only the third week in, I’m already running out of creativity.

Sure, some days I have all this energy and feel like making special bento boxes for everyone with cut up fruits, cheeses, and vegetables. But, some days I feel like a sandwich with a yogurt cup and carrots is good enough. For those days, I try and plan ahead and have something fun I can throw into the lunch boxes to add a little excitement without having to spend hours making it happen. Thank goodness for goodnessknows snack squares that are easy to pack, perfect for picky kids, and are a big crowd pleaser for kids and adults. Anyone who has tried these delicious snack squares know how amazing they are. But, if you haven’t tried them before, you are probably wondering what makes them this good.

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.When I was little, I loved helping my grandma cook and I would help her measure, stir, and taste test whatever we were cooking for our family. Aside from actual cooking, I vividly remember one of my main jobs was to carefully remove all the Campbell's Labels for Education so I could add them to her stack she collected in her kitchen drawer.

At the end of every visit, she would place that thick bundle of labels in my hand so I could take them to my elementary school that was saving them to earn much needed playground equipment. When I returned to school next, I remember taking that huge bundle of labels secured tightly with a rubber band, setting it on my teacher's desk, and hearing an audible gasp from every table at the sheer number of labels I had collected.

From soup, cereal, and snacks to dairy products, beverages, and school supplies, there are over 2,500 items that can earn points for your school and I've been saving Campbell's labels ever since I was little. Before I had kids, I would give them to my nieces and nephews, but now that I have kids, I have my own helpers in the kitchen whose job it is to remove those labels, clip them, and then collect them in our little tin canister on our counter to take to their own schools.

Homemade peanut butter in the Ninja Ultima Blender

The other day I realized we were out of peanut butter just as I was starting to make lunches. Instead of having to rethink what I was going to serve all week, I merely made my own peanut butter, right in the Ultima blender.

Roasted corn appetizer with manchego cheese and lime recipe

A few weeks ago, my cousin took me to one of her favorite Seattle restaurants, Señor Moose in Ballard, to try a corn dish that she adored. The description said roasted corn and epazote with cream, and I had a hard time imagining how that would taste, but I decided to trust her and take a chance. I’m glad that I did, because one bite of their famous Esquites appetizer, and I was sold.

I'm not normally one who likes creamy flavors mixed with citrus, but somehow in the Esquites, it just all blended together perfectly with the sweetness of the corn and the hint of spice. And, even though it's been weeks since I tasted it, I still dream about how delicious it was.

We’ve been playing around with creating a similar recipe here at home by looking up other fresh corn recipes now that our neighbors bring us ears of corn each week. We came up with our own version of the corn appetizer that uses manchego cheese instead of epazote and doesn’t have a cream base and wanted to share it so you can try it with all the fresh corn of the seaon. It’s not as amazing as what's at Señor Moose’s, but I must admit it’s pretty darn good.

Interested in trying it out? Let's get started: