When I’m hosting family and friends – in groups big or small – I always try to lean on menu items that are customizable to guests tastes and preferences. It makes it easier when guests can pick and choose some elements of their dish to make their meal best fit their needs (particularly this time of year when lots of people are on New Year’s diets!). My grazing boards are always a big hit, and I thought I’d take that same concept and translate it to a DIY salad bar board so that guests could mix up their own combination of toppings and dressings with lots of leafy greens.
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As a parent, I often feel like I’m James Bond on a secret mission. The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to do anything in your power to trick your toddler into eating vegetables. My latest sneaky-veggie-hiding spy tactic is in everyone’s favorite breakfast treat: waffles. The amazing thing about a waffle iron is you can waffle almost anything! I have been keeping some cauliflower tots in our freezer to add to Jane’s dinner plate every so often, anything dipped in ketchup is a sure bet for her. With a bunch of leftover tots on hand, I experimented with pressing them in the waffle iron and the outcome was delicious. They pressed together and resulted in a crispy, savory hashbrown-style waffle.
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I’m dedicating this week’s download post to all things Valentine’s Day! Swapping out my usually book list with some of my all-time favorite romantic-reads, rounding up a few local brands with lovely Valentine’s gifts, sharing kid-friendly ideas for celebrating the holiday, and pulling some sweet treat recipes to add to your sweetheart menu from my archives! 
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We have reached a stage in home ownership where a lot of the big problem areas have been tackled. For example our home office used to be a hair salon and our bedroom had a kitchenette in it — we’re talking for real problem areas. There are still lots of tiny projects left to do, and the annoying thing about tiny projects is they’re SO easy to ignore. My friends at Chasing Paper asked if I wanted to try out some of their removable wallpaper from the Darcy Miller collection and I jumped at the chance to finish one of those tiny projects I’ve been putting off for ages in Jane’s playroom.
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Over the holidays my husband and I did an overnight at the TWA Hotel in New York, and one of the highlights was our cocktail hour on Connie — the TWA plane that has been restored and turned into a bar and lounge. We ordered our drinks (martini for me, old fashioned for him) and settled on a hummus plate for a snack to fill us up before we went into Manhattan for a Broadway show. Our little mezze platter arrived along with our drinks and it was such a surprise hit — the hummus was delicious, the veggies were colorful and fresh, and the whole dish filled us up much more than we had expected. I’ve been thinking about it ever since and wanted to recreate it!
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Anyone else feel like you need to eat all the vegetables the day after the Super Bowl? We had a fun weekend with a taco & margarita party at a friends house, and snacked our way through some homemade buffalo wings last night during the game so I’m ready for a week of healthy eating. I have a new recipe to share today for these easy hoisin turkey meatballs that I served with shredded carrots, pickled onions, and a tangy sriracha sauce over lettuce wraps. They make for great leftovers to pack for lunch, and I keep a few sriracha-free to serve with rice for a kid-friendly version. Scroll down to get the full recipe, and if you’re looking for more healthy, family-friendly dinner ideas visit a few of my blogger friends who are also sharing recipes today too: Home with the Wileys | Lilies And Lambs | Caitlin Houston | Purely Simple.
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I need to admit something: I’m not actually throwing an Oscars viewing party. I used to have a few of my work friends over to watch the Academy Awards back when I was young and fun and didn’t mind staying up late on a Sunday night. These days, it would be a certified miracle if I didn’t fall asleep on the couch before they announced Best Picture. The good news is, I’m an entertaining blogger! Which means I get to throw fake parties a week before any actual holiday or event in order to share my fun ideas for hosting your own celebration! So, I put together some ideas for a Hollywood-inspired, black tie grazing board to get ready for some awards show viewing this weekend. I won’t be sharing this with any Oscars night party guests, but I will certainly be making a mini-version for myself because I need to fuel up on snacks while I’m judging the red carpet from my cozy spot on the couch.
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The commercials, the half-time show, and the snacks! Ok, the football too, but really it’s about the snacks. Brainstorming delicious bites for the Super Bowl is an annual tradition for me on the blog. I love my classic game day dishes like Mexican layer dip, buffalo chicken, and pigs in a blanket, but it’s such a fun night to indulge and try new recipes too! I have a big round up of over 30 recipes from to inspire your menu for the big game – from savory to sweet and a little spice mixed in too! Scroll down for all of the ideas, and warning: you may be hungry!
Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I know we’re all trying to eat healthy in the new year, we’re sticking to our resolutions, and I’m here with the most delicious temptations to lure you over onto the dark side. The spinach-artichoke-dip-stuffed-garlic-knot-dark side. I’m right there with you –trying to be good, exercising, eating well-balanced meals. I just can’t help it though, my brain thinks up these delicious snacks and with the Super Bowl next weekend, I had to do it! I had to throw cream cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts, mozzarella and garlic into my food processor and mix it up into a savory filling for fluffy pizza dough bites, I had to brush melted butter and garlic on top, and I had to write it all down and share with you. Scroll down to get the full (delicious) recipe below, you’ve been warned!
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Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi was the food craze of 2019, and my sheet-pan recipe for turning it into a tasty weeknight dinner was my top post of the entire year! When I saw the news that Trader Joe’s was releasing a brand new version this year — Kale Gnocchi — I couldn’t get to the frozen food aisle at my local TJ’s fast enough! I used a similar method for cooking the Kale Gnocchi (ignoring the instructions on the bag, which give a soggy, unpleasant result) and baked them on a sheet pan until warm and crispy. Also on my sheet pan, Trader Joe’s frozen turkey meatballs, sweet butternut squash, shallot slices, and cherry tomatoes that burst and release their flavorful juices. To finish the dish off, I drizzled the roasted kale gnocchi, meatballs and veggies with a thyme-infused brown butter and lots of fresh parmesan cheese. The result was delightfully tasty, and dare I say even a bit more addictive than its cauliflower gnocchi predecessor! Get the full recipe below:
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