The holiday season is coming at us fast! It tends to be my busiest time of year, since I write so much about food and entertaining. In fact, over here in blogger-land, I’m actually already in the midst of it – ‘tis the season for recipe testing and gift guide sourcing and prepping holiday content. I sometimes find that I spend so much time working on creative holiday ideas for my blog, that I don’t leave enough time to actually focus on slowing down to enjoy the holidays. I’m trying to change that this year — knowing just how precious this time is with little kids – and was putting some thought into how I can make it feel special.
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You know I love a good theme. In fact the only thing I love more than a good theme, is to bring that theme to life with fun food ideas. Weekend football viewing is sort of a big deal around here, and so I’m always thinking of fun ways to make snacks for these cozy fall gatherings around the TV (and then I store all of these ideas up for that realllly big football game that happens in February so you guys can make them at home!). I have a new one to add to my files that I can’t wait to share with you here today – mini football crab bites! I mean, these are pretty darn cute, right? 
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It’s that time of year in New England that the weather gets a little cooler, the sun sets a little earlier and we find ourselves spending a lot more time indoors (which can make you feel a little crazy if you live with a toddler!). I have been trying to see the bright side of the impending hibernations months though, and have been finding some fun activities for us to do indoors. One of those activities is to is cozy up on the couch and watch a good movie. Of course the best part of movie night is always the snacks. Since I like to go-big-or-go-home when it comes to any kind of snacks, I am all about finding ways to take my movie-viewing snack choices to the next level. I got to try some of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP new microwave popcorn and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try out some of my ideas for a DIY movie night popcorn bar.
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I got so many nice messages about my hidden-veggie post I shared last week (gotta trick those toddlers, man!) that I thought I’d keep my sneaky-veggie-hiding streak going today with another easy recipe. I’m always brainstorming dishes that I can make ahead since I do a lot of my recipe testing during Jane’s nap time. If I can find a recipe that works well and can be prepped in advance, I feel like I’ve got a winner. There is nothing better than pulling an already prepped dish out of the fridge and popping it in the oven for dinner. This recipe is perfect for prepping advance: I baked the butternut squash the night before when my oven was already on for another meal, and then I prepped the lasagna filling and pasta quickly during nap time. With everything rolled up and resting in the dish, all I had to do was put it in the oven to get the cheese and sauce bubbly hot, and dinner was on the table. As an added bonus, it’s packed with spinach and butternut squash (hidden, of course, under cheese and pasta). Get the full recipe below!
It’s been a busy few weeks here with the cookbook launching, the first book signings, and lots of planning for holiday content to wrap up the year. Crazy to think that October is more than halfway over, but time flies when you’re having fun. Speaking of time, it’s time for a little download of all of my favorite things, new recipes, and random thoughts!
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It is that delightful chilly time of year when all of my favorite comfort foods come back into the kitchen. My favorite fall comfort food to make is a big pot of chili (let’s be honest: I’m in it for the toppings — cheese, please!). We had a bunch of leftovers in the fridge recently from smoking a whole chicken, and my husband and I were brainstorming what to add to our dinner plan with the extra chicken. He suggested a chicken-chili, and I was craving enchiladas so we compromised and this recipe was the result! An easy, chicken enchilada chili that is packed with flavor from the spices, enchilada sauce, and sautéed peppers, onions and chilis. If you don’t have leftover chicken, just grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for this recipe! I served it with all of my favorite toppings (cheese, duh) and some warm corn bread muffins on the side. Get the full recipe below:
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I often throw together quick meals for dinner, little experiments, and forget to take the time to write down my recipe to share. It’s the extra-fast, throw-everything-in-a-pan, kind of meals that take me a few times to record, because I’m usually making them when I’m in a rush to get dinner on the table anyway! This is one of those recipes. I’ve made a few variations of this dish before it felt share-worthy, and when it came together this week I knew it was ready. It’s part stir-fry, part fried “rice” and it only takes one pan and about 20 minutes to get it on the table – my ideal weeknight meal!
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This is by far my most-requested blog topic to date: how the heck to feed toddlers their fruits and veggies without losing your mind. We are very lucky that Jane is a great eater, but even our foodie-baby goes through ups and downs at meal time. I’m always trying to think of creative ways to pack more vegetables into our meals in sneaky ways that won’t deter her from eating. Truthfully, these tricks help me get in more fruits and veggies too! Here are a few of my favorite ways to hide veggies (and fruit!) in tasty meals that even the pickiest toddlers will enjoy:
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Almost every weekend this summer we seemed to be packing our bags to head out for the beach or the mountains or to visit family. We were constantly on the road! As autumn rolls in, I’m happy to see that the calendar has us staying much closer to home the next few weeks. It makes me excited for some cozy Sunday afternoons watching football on the couch, getting ready for Halloween festivities, and finding plenty of reasons to entertain family at home. And for all of those reasons to celebrate, I’ve been thinking about some tasty fall snacks to serve at home.
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Dinner is always a challenge, but recently I’ve been a little more frazzled getting a meal on the table. A certain toddler in my life may have something to with that? I’ve been trying to do a little bit of meal-prep on Sunday afternoons so that we have at least one meal in the fridge that we can use for lunches or a quick dinner for busy weeks. My favorite kind of meal-prep recipe is one that I can make once and use in a few different meals, and this flavor-packed garlic and herb turkey meatball recipe is one of them!
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