Christina Shoup

Happy 2018!

January 7, 2018 by Christina Shoup 2 Comments

Beautiful blood orange trees

Happy 2018 to you all! I truly hope you had a great holiday season filled with family and friends. We sure did! Apparently, I failed to take a closer look at our family calendar because we ended up hosting 5 different holiday gatherings in less than 10 days- lots of work but completely worth it for the laughs and memories made. My hubby is a gracious co-host and an expert dishwasher and I very much enjoy the menu planning and the cooking- we make a great team.

Over the break we visited family in the Santa Barbara area and had a blast. The gratitude toward the firefighters is clear all over town and while several establishments were still doing fire/smoke restoration, the town seems resilient and grateful. We were happy to see our family safely back in their home and very happy to help support the local economy get back on their feet. A few of the tasty meals we had were from: Cava- a Spanish, Mexican restaurant on Coast Village in Montecito with dessert across the street at Here’s the Scoop- gelato with homemade waffle cones; Lama Dog in the Funk Zone- seafood burgers, fish tacos, german pretzels with cheesy beer sauce; and a great breakfast at the Montecito Cafe. Another great place we had a picnic from while wine tasting was Industrial Eats in the town of Buellton. A few of the sandwiches blew our minds.

Hole in the wall joints are always the best

My favorite- by far- was the hole in the wall taco stand East Beach Tacos. This place is insane! I haven’t stopped thinking of my ahi poke taco in a wonton skin and bahn mi taco. In fact, I could have eaten one of everything on the menu. They even have this super fun item on the kid’s menu called the Beachball- a favorite of my nephew’s and now my daughter’s. It’s a ball of sushi rice about the size of your fist and it’s stuffed with ahi tuna- poke style. Delicious. The super fun part about this taco stand is that it shares the same property with an old school (20 pitches for a token- score!) outdoor batting cage and serves local beers. I cannot even imagine the danger this place would be to our family if we lived nearby. With all the amazing eateries Santa Barbara has to offer- this is the first stop we will make on our next trip. To hold us over in the meantime, I asked (begged) Eric to go in front of the long line of people to take a close picture of the creative and inventive taco menu and will be recreating these in the very near future. My brain is going crazy about this place– after culinary school I might have to open this in the Bay Area! After my coffee/breakfast/lunch cafe, that is. Dreams…

It’s back to reality as we approach kids going back to school this week. I think we are all ready for routine, but I’m going to miss my sleepy kiddos stumbling downstairs with their blankets and settling in on the couch each morning. Back to rushed mornings, making lunches, and busy afternoons. Thankfully, after the first few days it gets easier and we have a few Monday holidays coming up for those sleepy mornings. Since we’ve been home the past few days we’ve been enjoying super simple meals such as: baked sweet potatoes, white beans with pancetta and rosemary; smashed avocado with aleppo pepper, sea salt, lemon and olive oil; shrimp tacos; kale salad; and carrot soup with lemon and ginger.

For the week ahead: I’ve got a few easy weeknight dishes planned. One exception, I’ve got a special dinner planned for Monday night as we will be celebrating Eric’s first day at his new job. I’ll take some time on Monday to make sure we’ve got a good bottle of celebratory wine, and everything for a yummy Italian feast of Eggplant Parmesan and Chicken Saltimbocca. And his favorite dessert, chocolate mousse for dessert. **Lest you get the wrong idea here- a celebratory Monday night dinner at home is no intimate candlelit soiree- it’s just extra special food that are favorites of the one being celebrated and are eaten in stages due to 2 out of 3 kids needing to be driven to and from sports and religion classes. We are just super proud of him and are excited to celebrate his new gig!(Will post recipes for these later this week as none of them are easily available online.)

Carrot Soup with Lemon and Ginger

85% of the meal made by my 8 year old

This soup makes you feel like you’ve been to one of those high-end wellness retreats where they pamper you with delicious healthy meals and take you out on nature walks around their property and serve you spa water with lots of magical ingredients to make you feel like a million bucks. For those of us in real life: make this soup (it literally takes 20 minutes after chopping a few ingredients), take a walk around your neighborhood while listening to your favorite inspirational podcast (my current fav is For the Love of Food series, Jen Hatmaker), and upon your return squeeze some lemon into your glass of water. Done. DIY Wellness retreat in between carpool duties. You’re welcome.

We made this recipe last night exactly as written, in fact, I chopped the ingredients for efficiency and my 8 year old made the rest. Don’t forget the squeeze of lemon at the very end and we skipped the optional sour cream dollop on the top- this soup just doesn’t need it. I only wished I had doubled the recipe- it made exactly enough for our family of 5 to have a bowl with a side of kale salad and garlic toasts. This was a huge hit with my whole family!

Fried Rice

This is such a great recipe that can be easily adapted to what you have in the refrigerator. It’s comforting, quick, and can be healthier if you increase the veggies (I add zucchini and more bell pepper) swap brown rice for the white rice, and use coconut oil for the canola oil. Obviously, you can add chicken, pork, shrimp or tofu for protein. We like ours with a generous amount of Sriracha sauce.

Note: I use my dutch oven pot because it contains all the extra veggies I add but if I had a wok, that would be ideal. Also, do not begin this without having everything prepped and ready to go. We are talking about a super quick dish over high heat that can be ruined with sad overcooked veggies or egg stuck to the bottom of your pan never to be scrubbed off entirely.

Beef Chili with Kidney Beans

This is another one of our go-to chili recipes. It is heavier on the quantity of ground beef (2 lbs) but makes a lot and I take care to use good organic, grass-fed beef. We rarely eat red meat, so when we do, it’s the best quality we can find and afford. This recipe has a good kick and requires my kids to dollop sour cream or Greek yogurt on top, but it’s full of flavor. I add two red bell peppers instead of one, coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil, and add an extra can of beans- white or black. The recipe brilliantly calls for cooking for 1 hr with the lid on and then for 1 hr with the lid off. Do this. The people at America’s Test Kitchen are no joke and they know these things after much trial and error. It makes for a deeply flavored, thick chili and the leftovers are awesome.

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From my cooking bible: The Complete America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

Growing up, these were a staple in our house. I remember running out the house to school with two hot muffins on a napkin. The recipe was included in our family recipe collection that my mom made for my siblings and me and I’ve enjoyed sharing them with my own kids. The batter couldn’t be more simple to make, can be left in the refrigerator for several weeks (don’t be alarmed by the strange tint of green the top layer takes on- it’s fine), and are best scooped and put in the oven the day of- I do mine while packing lunches. My kids enjoy them as a snack and are a respectable stand in for a sandwich when packed with a to-go packet of peanut or almond butter. I swap out the Crisco sticks for butter and add chopped walnuts but skip the raisins- they get a little too mushy for my liking. Alternatively, you can add the raisins when you are scooping so they are more fresh. Enjoy!

Batter splattered recipe- it’s well used!

Quick blog note: I hope the tag/category feature helps you find recipes more easily. I sure know it helps me! Also, I’m working hard on figuring out a better way to post recipes (an easy recipe card) when it’s not a linked recipe so you can view and print recipes easily. Stay tuned… I have a day job so it is taking me awhile to integrate all of it. 🙂

I hope you have a great week, avoid all those nasty germs out there, and enjoy all that a fresh year has to offer! Thanks for reading ~Christina

It’s the Yummiest Time of the Year

December 11, 2017 by Christina Shoup 1 Comment

Festive San Francisco City Hall

Happy December, everyone! We are in full holiday swing around here, although we have heavy hearts with the fires in Southern CA. And this time we’ve got family in the immediate area of the fires. We have great hope and prayer that the fires are extinguished- that the firefighters have continued strength as they fight exhausted hour after hour to get these fires contained.

On a positive note- I really love this season of preparing- not just in the kitchen, but the house, gifts, gatherings, our hearts, you name it. It’s the Christmas season and the excitement of our three kids truly makes it more fun as each year passes. Even as the skepticism about Santa and strange elves (warranted!) seems to be taking hold, the magic of Christmas is strong and it makes me smile ear to ear.

Much of what makes me smile each year are the traditions that our family has developed over the years. We all have them, right? My kids have come to expect certain activities in December, decorations around the house, and gatherings with family (because cousins are awesome!!) and friends (where brunch turns into dinner because you all don’t want to say goodbye). Nearly all of those traditions involve food- food to enjoy yourselves, food to share or serve to others.

Years into dating Eric, I wanted to continue a Christmas tradition that he remembered fondly from his childhood. There were two particular desserts- Tassies and Chocolate Mint Stripes- that I would hear about and I wanted to continue the tradition. There was one problem, those recipes were closely guarded and it wasn’t until I had a ring on my finger that I was given the recipes. Those recipes are dear to us and are a beautiful addition to the holiday recipes that I grew up with.

Exactly 10 years ago my mom made a family cookbook that contained a collection of recipes that we grew up with. They were the recipes that my siblings and I would call our mom for, quickly scribble down the recipe while we were at the store because the craving was so strong, only to lose the recipe and repeat the same story the next time we were craving a particular childhood favorite. This book was such a treasured gift to all of us. It included familiar recipes that we had growing up, ones that became favorites and some that we didn’t quite remember having but my mom swears were staples at family gatherings (why are nuts, mayo and green jello even allowed to be combined in a bowl anyhow?). The book also has family birthday dates, anniversaries, quotes, favorite scripture, and most importantly, some beautiful poetry that my mom wrote during some happy as well as trying times. The book is titled “A Mother’s Treasure of Family Favorite Recipes,” and that it sure is.

Here were are in December and the weeks, as expected, have gotten a little nutty. As much as we all have good intentions to minimize the “holiday craze” each year, try as we may, there is still a hectic busyness around town. A quick jaunt to the craft store to pick up something turns into a 35 minute line at the checkout counter. Each day feels like you don’t have enough hours in the day to get things done. (Why are kids allowed to have minimum school days in December?!)

As you know by now- I spend a ton of time in the kitchen. About the time I begin to complain about being too busy and I cannot seem to get things done, Eric will point out the batch of granola and double batch of muffins that I made mid-day. For this reason, I decided to take a week in December and skip cooking. For me that’s super hard- trying new recipes is very fun for me and this felt like a bit of a punishment. However, this past week I got so much done by staying out of the kitchen that I think this might become one of my new holiday traditions! Now that I was so productive with my to-do list, it’s back in the kitchen this week- and because my freezer is empty.

I’d love to share two holiday recipes that we look forward to each year and are part of our family tradition in December. Also, two soups that are healthy, easy and a perfect balance to all that sugar we tend to eat this time of year.

Sculpture Bread

The tradition continues

Eric grew up with this fun tradition of sculpting sweet bread into Christmas shapes and he was excited to establish this with our own family. We’ve been doing it since the kids were little but old enough to help with this project.

Little enough to sit on the counter

I gotta say, it has become one of our favorite family traditions. We’ve done everything from a wreath, elf, candy cane, and Santa, to an angel, reindeer, and Christmas owl?? We used to use Eric’s mom’s recipe for years until last year. We took a Day of the Dead cooking class and learned about a very similar sweet dough that is traditional in Mexican cuisine, but it had this wonderful orange zest studded throughout the dough and we decided to try that for our sculpture bread tradition. It was a huge hit! The key is to start the dough early- we usually start ours the morning of Christmas Eve and sculpt it just before we leave for our church service in the late afternoon. We let it rise while we are gone and bake it while we get ready for the reindeer- let it cool and wrap it up really well. We love to eat this bread with salted butter and apricot jam- perfect to enjoy while opening presents on Christmas morning.

Christmas wreath

Sugar Cookies- Christmas cut outs with frosting

This recipe comes from my family recipe book. I’ve made these cookies for as long as I can remember. Whenever we share these cookies with others- the recipe is always requested! I’m not totally sure what makes them so unique, but most sugar cookies are too floury, undercooked or just lack flavor. Not these- they are full of flavor, roll out perfectly and are delicious frosted or simply sprinkled with sugar crystals or sprinkles. My mom didn’t really have a recipe for the frosting because she made it up each year, but since I have given out the recipe so many times, I found one here that has worked for years.

Such a fun tradition

3 ¾ cups flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups sugar

⅔ cups butter, room temperature

2 eggs

2 TB milk

1 tsp vanilla (I like to do half vanilla and half almond extract)

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients with combined wet ingredients and beat at medium speed until well mixed, occasionally scraping the bowl. Shape dough into two disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours until easy to handle. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. On floured surface, roll one of the disks till ⅛” to ¼” thick. With floured cookie cutters, cut into various shapes. Place them on cookie sheets, ½” apart. Bake for 8 minutes, or until very lightly browned.

When cooled, you can frost them and add candy decorations when frosting is still wet.

Broccoli- Cheese Soup

My kids love this kind of soup and will order it if they see it on a menu or in the hot food section at our local grocery store. The problem is- most are so full of cream and cheese that the nutritional value of the broccoli seems to get lost. Recently, I treated myself to a new cookbook called Cooking at Home with Bridget and Julia (two longtime America’s Test Kitchen chefs). I have tried two recipes from the book so far and both knocked my socks off. This particular one made my kids practically lick their soup bowls. They all loved it! This soup is a gorgeous bright green instead of the pale green/white that we are used to- thanks to a healthy dose of fresh spinach that gets added in just prior to blending. It has zero cream and much less cheese than most recipes. I used the full amount of the sharp cheddar and reduced the parmesan a bit and we didn’t miss a thing. We had garlic toast on the side as well as a kale salad (more green!). It was quick and easy to make after a busy day. I hope you enjoy this!

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 pounds broccoli florets chopped into 1-inch pieces, stalks peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick

1 onion, chopped course

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

3-4 cups water

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 cups chicken broth

2 ounces (2 cups) baby spinach

3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (¾ cup)- I used sharp white cheddar

1 ½ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated fine (¾ cup), plus extra for serving

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, onion, garlic, mustard, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and baking soda. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
Add broth and 2 cups water and increase heat to medium-high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer half of the soup to a blender, add both cheeses, and process until smooth. Transfer soup to a medium bowl and repeat with the remaining soup. Return soup to Dutch oven, place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Adjust consistency with up to 1 cup of water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, sprinkling extra Parmesan on top.

Cook’s note: You could easily use an immersion blender to keep some of the texture as well as minimize extra steps and dishes. I used my Vitamix and blended the first batch until pretty smooth, and left a bit of texture with the second half of the soup. I also didn’t need the extra cup of water to thin as the consistency was perfect for us. Enjoy!

— “Cooking at Home With Bridget & Julia” by America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen; October 2017

Winter Minestrone Soup

This is another healthy, satisfying soup that gives you plenty of leftovers for a busy week. We love the garlic toasts or grilled cheese on the side. I make this as directed- yum!

Have a great week!

~Christina

One holiday down…

November 27, 2017 by Christina Shoup Leave a Comment

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Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Whether it was a large group or small, you had turkey or tofu, and were at home or elsewhere, gathering around a table for a shared meal is always a beautiful thing. I look forward to it every single year. So much to be thankful for…

This year ~~we decided~~ I informed my family we were skipping the turkey and doing a pork tenderloin. My immediate family didn’t mind as they don’t care much for turkey and certainly don’t love the leftovers so that was an easy decision. As for the guests, it’s best to give them a head’s up on the main dish switch-a-roo upon extending the invitation. Expectations and traditions run deep. We still did several of the traditional sides and everyone around the table was pretty satisfied with the dinner. Actually, it was one of the best Thanksgiving meals I’ve ever had thanks to a great collaboration from our guests. I’ll share some of the recipes soon as they would make an excellent Christmas or holiday dinner.

And here we are- Thanksgiving all wrapped up and the first of December is not for many more days. It’s the biggest gift of the season- a bonus week! It can be a crazy time of year with lots of additional commitments, gatherings, festive parties, etc. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with a long list of to dos. For me, old school paper lists are the way to keep the crazy to a minimum. Similarly, a meal calendar posted in my kitchen gives me a sense of calm. Just knowing what we are having for dinner in the week ahead allows me to end each day with a little sanity, even if the day was a little nutty.

Below is what I have planned for this week. Days where I’m not planning on cooking are for leftovers or we use our freezer and pantry for something quick and easy. Go to meals for us include: bean and cheese tostadas, frozen Amy’s burritos, frozen Trader Joe’s pizza as well as TJ’s Mandarin orange chicken with frozen broccoli and rice. These items are almost always on hand and have saved us dozens of times from the more expensive and less healthy option of take out or delivery.

Have a great week!

~Christina

Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard with Garbanzo Beans

This is a super easy, healthy and satisfying meal. It calls for curry powder but has little to no heat. I add the full amount of cayenne and it still isn’t spicy. The plain/Greek yogurt is key for this dish. My kids all eat it and it fills them up so much that they don’t “need” a bowl of cereal an hour later. I’m sure that just happens in our household though… A few things: I add chopped carrot and saute with the onions, feel free to also chop the chard stems and add here as well, add 3 minced garlic cloves with the spices, and only add the chopped swiss chard in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Enjoy!

Asian Noodle Bowls

This is SO good! A huge hit and on regular rotation with my family. The Thai Kitchen brand has rice noodles and they can be found at Safeway or Amazon (6 box pack). You can easily leave out the shrimp (I cut each piece of shrimp into 3 pieces before sauteing) and add more veggies- I always add red bell pepper. Low-sodium soy sauce is a must and coconut oil is a great substitution for the grapeseed/high heat oil. Biggest tip for cooking this dish- have all ingredients prepped and ready, including the egg/sesame oil mixture. You can easily overcook or burn each step if you’re not ready with prepped ingredients. Trust me.

Cobb Salad (copied from earlier post!)

This has been a staple in our home for over 10 years. When the kids were little I began by making a deconstructed Cobb salad for them- basically putting chopped up hard-boiled egg, bacon, avocado, tomatoes and chicken right on their high chair tray. As they got older I’d make little piles on their plates (no foods touching each other, of course) and finally graduated into tossing all the components together with the lettuce and dressing and they gobbled it right up. I always left the crumbled goat or blue cheese on the side for anyone that wanted it. I tried to always stick to a rule that when we were eating tossed salads, stir fry, or other foods that had many ingredients all mixed up, that they could pick out one ingredient but had to eat the rest. I do believe this helped them to eat or at least try new foods when they would have otherwise turned their nose up to it. This trick might have ended up with food being thrown from a high chair or booster but for the most part it was a successful rule!

For this salad, I try to prep some of these ingredients on the weekend, in the morning or at least in the afternoon so that putting it all together in the evening is a piece of cake. You’ll need the following components:

Chopped romaine lettuce, sliced hard boiled egg, chopped tomato, crumbled bacon, diced rotisserie chicken, sliced avocado, and crumbled goat or blue cheese. Toss in a large bowl with the dressing below or a store-bought vinaigrette.

Homemade dressing:

2 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider, champagne, red wine or balsamic)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup or honey

¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of ground pepper

½ tablespoon mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Shake ingredients in jar or plastic container with tight fitting lid.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies with Browned Butter and Sea Salt

November 19, 2017 by Christina Shoup 1 Comment

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Cookies and I go way back. Anyone remember going to the mall with your friends and getting a bag of Mrs. Field’s mini cookies? I sure do! In fact, I loved those cookies so much I got a Mrs. Field’s Cookie cookbook for Christmas one year- one of two cookbooks I still have from when I was a kid.

Christmas gift from my middle school years

I’m not sure if my parents were trying to flatter me or what, but they always said my cookies were the best. It didn’t matter if they were from my new cookbook or the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag. They asked my secret and I shared that I always overflowed the teaspoon when measuring out the vanilla and did the same thing with the salt. Because baking is usually an exact science, this is obviously not recommended- I was a kid and I didn’t know any better. After making dozens of chocolate chip recipes in recent years, I am frequently drawn to the ones that call for two teaspoons of vanilla instead of the standard one. Hmm… maybe I was onto something as a kid.

I thought I had found the perfect chocolate cookie recipe about two years ago- it was an Alton Brown recipe which means basically a science experiment until he found the perfect recipe. And that he did. A cookie that was perfectly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Enough vanilla to really taste it and plenty of chocolate chips. It was this recipe that made me realize that using melted butter and egg yolks were the difference between a good cookie and an amazing cookie. These cookies have made many many people quite happy to be on the receiving end and that has made me very happy.

There was only one problem with this recipe- it was perfection on day one, but day two resulted in a flavorful, yet crumbly cookie mess. I’m not entirely sure what happens after these cookies sit overnight, but I always thought it might have something to do with the lack of egg whites. Dries them out perhaps?

I was pretty content with this near perfect recipe, until a beautiful friend brought us a cookie jar full of cookies from a new local cookie shop. They were hands down the best cookies I’ve ever had- that day, the next day and many days later. Antoine’s Cookie Shop in San Mateo is nothing short of amazing and in my mind had perfected the cookie, once and for all. How lucky are we to have them so close?! They offer about 10 different varieties and each one is memorable. However, there is one that I thought about the next day, and the next… the toffee cookie. It has such a wonderful flavor of caramel and buttery toffee chips with the perfect texture. But at $1.60 a cookie, I had to figure out how to make this cookie at home.

Enter browned butter… I had read several recipes lately that had browned butter and then Bon Appetite ran a recipe that combined browned butter with a toffee chocolate bar- brilliant! I figured if I combined the toffee bits and Guittard chocolate chips from Antoine’s Cookie shop, the browned butter from the Bon Appetit recipe, and the genius work of Alton Brown’s egg yolk and muffin method (combining wet to dry ingredients rather than the creaming method of creaming the butter and sugar till fluffy), I might have a pretty good recipe. But, there’s still the issue of the dry crumbly cookie the next day. Perhaps adding a whole egg and an egg yolk would help this issue. The result was a pretty spectacular cookie- my family agreed. The true test for me was to try the cookie the next day- was it going to be a crumbly mess or just as good the next day? Believe it or not, the cookie was actually better the next day, certainly in flavor but in texture as well. I tried half of a cookie with my coffee. Delicious. After my eggs and smoothie and I was no longer so hungry, I tried the other half, still delicious. I tried another half cookie after lunch (I’m lying, I ate a whole cookie) and it was still so good. My mom called about the same time I was having my second cookie of the day and I declared it the perfect cookie to her. She was on her way to the store and I’m certain she made sure to pick up some toffee bits and butter.

These are very easy with only an added step of the browned butter. Worth every minute…

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Browned Butter, Toffee and Sea Salt

Inspired by Antoine’s Cookie Shop and adapted from Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here For More Food and Bon Appetit

1 cup of unsalted butter

2 cups of flour, all-purpose

1 tsp baking soda

¾ tsp kosher salt

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

⅓ cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups chocolate chips, I use Guittard semisweet

½ c of toffee bits (found in baking aisle, or chopped up Heath bars from your hidden Halloween candy stash- I combined both in this recipe)

Flaked sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 or 350 if using a convection oven.

Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.

Add brown sugar, granulated sugar and browned butter to mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until incorporated. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix. Scrape bowl. Reduce mixer speed to low; add dry ingredients and beat just to combine. Mix in toffee and chocolate chips by hand or with a few turns of the electric mixer.

Using a mini ice cream scoop, place dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 2″ apart. Do not flatten; cookies will spread as they bake. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and firm but centers are still soft, about 9 minutes. They should look slightly underbaked in the center. Let cool on baking sheets for 5-10 minutes until set and slightly cooled then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy

A year later… and still meal planning

November 13, 2017 by Christina Shoup 4 Comments

Happy Fall everyone! It’s been just over a year since my last blog post. Anyone remember my last post about us suddenly buying a new home and putting our current one on the market? I’m happy to report all went well, we settled in fairly quickly, and we cruised right into the holiday season. Excited to share our new space with friends and family, we filled our calendar hosting gatherings that varied from 10 yr old birthday laser tag around the yard (crazy!), to Thanksgiving with family, Father Daughter Dance middle school pre-party, Christmas Eve dinner with friends, Memorial Day backyard fiesta, and many random taco bars to watch the “big game” and dinner parties in between. What I love about all of these events, both big and small, is that I can remember at least one memorable dish from each menu that stood out. The entire meal might have been good, but without fail, I can remember the one dish that everyone loved and was enjoyed by all. Funny enough, those are always the ones that I get an email or text about requesting the recipe for. I guess the takeaway is– don’t be afraid to have friends and family over! You can serve them a whole meal from your kitchen or someone else’s, and they will likely only remember one of those dishes.

A year later, which for me translates into my 11th year of meal calendars, I can look back on all the main events that occurred over the past year. So much of what’s on our monthly calendars show what life was like that particular month. As I have mentioned before, it’s my scrapbook of sorts.

January- predictably shows lots of salmon and veggies after the holiday sugar high. February- plenty of cold-weather dishes like chicken curry and soups as well as delicious, naughty super bowl treats. March/April- lots of standard go-to recipes like southwest chicken salad, chicken meatballs, and burrito bowls; showing little time with an epic ski season, flag football and baseball in full swing. May- with warmer weather and several family birthdays and holidays, the calendar shows special dishes like grilled scallops and asparagus, grilled tri tip with lots of yummy sides, and favorite restaurant reservations. June- early summer produce at the farmer’s market provided easy dinners like BLT sandwiches, shrimp tacos with corn, and quesadillas with grilled veggies. July- July was nothing short of crazytown. We lived at the ballpark the entire month and when our dinner wasn’t from the snack shack, it was in a container sitting in the stands. Thankfully, kale and couscous salad travels really well. Let’s be honest though, mostly it was snack shack dinner followed by a bowl of cereal at home or hotel. When it got really crazy, dinner came from a Chick Fil A drive through window- Ben’s first drive through! Maybe 3rd or 4th for Syd and Ry. I had never had a chicken sandwich from Chick Fil A, but now I know what all the fuss is about. Those things are delicious! August- summer’s bounty at the farmer’s market turned into delicious, healthy, easy dinners such as fresh tomato soup and homemade rosemary focaccia, ratatouille, summer veggie quinoa, and fresh basil pesto pasta. September- settling back into the school routine allowed for more predictable schedules and dinners at the table. On the calendar that month was roasted salmon and broccoli with a side of white beans and pancetta, a sheet pan dinner of braised chicken with tomatoes and bacon and an easy make-ahead stuffed shells dish. October- with good intentions to make cozy warm food and all things pumpkin, the weather suggested otherwise. We had a nice chilly fall week where beef chili, pork tenderloin, roasted brussels sprouts and acorn squash were on the menu, but then our heat wave came and we were back to grilled chicken pitas, veggie burgers and deli roasted chicken over mixed greens.

Here we are in November! After coming home from a much needed Mexican vacation with Eric, we had a few busy weeks and I was thankful for those go-to recipes that I practically have memorized. I can grab any scrap of paper in my purse, sit in my car in the local grocery store parking lot and meal plan for the next several days. Thank goodness for our little handheld computers where we can look up that recipe to ensure we have all the right ingredients and check our calendar to check for any late meetings, practices or games. There’s nothing worse than cooking a meal only to realize it’s only you and the cat home to eat it. Wait a minute… that doesn’t sound so bad afterall!

Some of those go to meals that we’ve had in the past two weeks include: Beef and Cheddar Hand Pies, Greek Chicken Pitas, and Baked Chicken Meatballs. All of the recipe links and notes are in previous posts, so just scroll down for those if you’re interested.

A new recipe I tried recently was from New York Times Cooking (usually a homerun!) that I sadly cannot recommend- Turkey Pork Sausage Meatloaf with Tomato Relish. It was very flavorful but the texture was so strange and heating it up the next day made it nearly inedible. I’ll stick to my other meatloaf recipes that are a big hit with my family. Bobby Flay’s Vegetable Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze that uses beef and pork and Ina Garten’s Meatloaf that uses ground turkey.

As I have done in the past, and life allows going forward, I will try to post my meal plan for the week on Sunday or Monday morning at the latest. My hope is that it will inspire you to meal plan for the week and perhaps at least one of the recipes makes your mouth water enough to give it a try. I will let you know if any of the recipes are new to me, but 90% of the time, the recipes I recommend are those that are already a hit with my own family. Nobody needs another recipe in their “to try” file that may or may not be a hit- let me waste my time and money for you. 🙂

This week is full of commitments in the evening for most of our family so I am planning accordingly. All will either be made in advance or can be left on the stove to accommodate all the different schedules we have going on here. No need for frantic pizza orders or drive throughs when you have a plan. But, as always, use pencil because life happens and plans change!

Coconut Chicken Soup

This is a quick and easy soup that you can adapt to suit your preferences. I use full fat, unsweetened coconut milk. Thai Kitchen (now organic and at Costco!) is my favorite. My kids despise mushrooms so I may cut back on the quantity or they can pick them out. While I love the flavor of lemongrass, I don’t love the woodsy texture. I will use the lemongrass for the amazing flavor, but will make sure to finely dice or cut even cut in large chunks and simmer in the soup and skimming them out before the last step. Our side dish will be frozen potstickers from Trader Joe’s or Costco. Yum!

Paleo Chili

This became a hit a few years ago when we went on a ski weekend with another family and I was in charge of one of the dinners. Cold + mountains = chili! The problem (beyond the lack of snow during the drought and not all that cold temps) was I only had chili recipes that either had beans in it (one of our friends wasn’t a fan) or was a thick Texas-style chili with lots of spice (not exactly kid-friendly). So, I found this recipe with great reviews and decided to try it. As with all chili, it’s best made the day before and reheated. It was a hit! Only change I made was to use ground beef instead of ground bison (but now you can find bison at Costco if you’re interested in trying). And because most of us weren’t actually following a Paleo diet, we loaded it up with sour cream, shredded cheese and green onions. Don’t forget a side of cornbread and butter, too. Trader Joe’s is a good one to have on hand.

Nordstrom Nicoise Salad with Herb-Crusted Salmon and Tuscan Roast Potatoes

I’m planning on having this salad twice this week. Once with salmon and the other with grilled lemon-herb chicken. It may seem like a lot of components, but if you plan correctly, you can have most of this done ahead of time or cut back on some of the steps. For instance, if you don’t want to buy a bunch of fresh herbs, you can shake on a little Italian Seasoning on the salmon and potatoes before roasting and you will get plenty of flavor for your salad. If your people, especially the little ones don’t like salad because it’s all touchy on the plate, then separate any of the components that they will eat or you want them to try and you essentially have the same family dinner. I skip the vinaigrette in the linked recipe and use this Balsamic Vinaigrette with Basil. Btw, this recipe link doesn’t include thyme, but I have Danielle Walker’s cookbook Against All Grain and the original recipe uses chopped up thyme. Be sure to use fresh basil and thyme! It’s so delicious I could drink it. I try to have a mason jar of it in my refrigerator at all times. One recipe makes plenty for at least two, maybe three large salads for our family of five.

Ground Turkey Enchiladas

No link here because the “recipe” is written on a scrap of paper that is barely legible. We had this a few years back at a family get together and my sister-in-law who brought the dish gave me the recipe on the spot. Our family has enjoyed it many many times and I’m happy to pass it along to you. Easy, healthyish, and most importantly, my kids cheer when they see it on the calendar. Warning- it can be on the spicy side, which two out of my kids enjoy, but make sure to get the mild Hatch sauce and have sour cream on hand to help with the heat. A side of black or refried beans and chips is not a bad idea.

1 lb ground turkey thigh (dark meat)

1 small can of diced Ortega/Hatch mild green chilies

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 14oz. can of refried black beans

~2 c shredded cheddar, jack or colby jack cheese

1 large can of Hatch Enchilada sauce, mild

~12 corn or flour tortillas

Green onion

In a glass pyrex baking dish, spray non-stick oil and cover bottom with a thin layer of sauce. Brown ground turkey, drain oil, and mix in taco seasoning according to packet directions. Add refried beans and mix until combined. Divide meat and bean mixture among tortillas, top with cheese and roll up. Place rolled tortillas in the baking dish nice and tight and top with remaining sauce. Be sure to cover enchiladas completely and top with any remaining cheese. Bake at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes and top with sliced green onion before serving.

*When I make this dish later this week, I will pay attention to exactly how many enchiladas it makes. The reality is, depending on how many mouths I need to feed I can adapt the recipe accordingly. Need to stretch the recipe because the playdate went long and you’ve got more mouths to feed? Perfect- add another can of beans, add more cheese or use smaller fajita sized tortillas and serve with a fruit smoothie. Or if you use Kirkland Organic ground beef from Costco, those prepackaged squares are more than a pound (1.13lbs, I think) and you have more filling than you need. Or mix If you’ve got extra sauce, go ahead and dip your tortillas in sauce before adding the meat/bean mixture to make them extra delicious. Point is, this is a very adaptable dish that I make differently all the time. Bonus- it’s very freezer friendly, so make up a double batch!

Banana Flaxseed Muffins

These are tasty healthy banana muffins and are going in school lunches this week. I use almond milk and trade off between using coconut oil or melted butter, both are good. I often use toasted and chopped walnuts and mix in with the batter rather than sprinkle on top. Very adaptable with Cup for Cup flour to make gluten free or any dairy-free milk for allergies. All ingredients, including the ground flaxseed, are found at Trader Joe’s. (Swear I don’t have an impending job at TJ’s in their marketing department, it’s just a great store!)

Happy meal planning this week and please let me know if you have any questions or if you end up trying any of these recipes! Have a great week ~Christina

Big changes around here!

October 2, 2016 by Christina Shoup Leave a Comment

Happy October!! Just when I thought fall couldn’t get any busier, we bought a new house and put our current home on the market- all in the past 2 weeks! To say we’ve been a little crazy is an understatement. Buying a new home and all that it entails is a big deal, but as I think you’ll all agree- nothing is as disruptive as having your own home on the market and available for showings at any minute WHILE you’re still living in it. WITH KIDS! I must say they’ve been troopers, have demonstrated great patience with me as I yell like a drill sergeant every day to pick up their stuff, make their beds like a hotel, and avoid globs of toothpaste in the sink. The daily vacuuming, sweeping, and all tasks to make it look like we don’t live here is exhausting for everyone. I think it will all come to an end fairly quickly and we can get on with preparing for our move in less than 2 weeks!

We are all very excited about our new home- just about a mile from our current one. We look forward to a floor plan that works better for our family and a flat backyard for the kids. While I will miss my beautiful kitchen, and really nothing can top its charm and beautiful views, I very much look forward to creating new memories in our new one. Filling the dining room with friends and family for many years to come makes me happy just thinking about it. I’m already thinking about the first meal I’m going to make when we are settled. I still remember the first meal I made in our current home nearly 3 ½ years ago just 2 days after moving in. (Thank you past meal calendars!)

First meal in our current home: Roasted salmon with honey mustard, mixed green salad with pears, feta and almonds, and a side of broccoli and corn

Some were impressed that we could get settled that quickly (I am my mother’s daughter after all), but since I don’t feel at home anywhere until I have made a meal for my family in my own kitchen, the motivation is there to get it done.

So… what has the Shoup family been eating the past few weeks??? For the busiest days of preparing the house for sale, I was able to make beef chili on the first day and we ate leftovers for another day or two. Then, the heat wave came and it was over 90 degrees in my house with no A/C, so turning on my oven with frozen items was not an option- we went out for dinner probably 3 days out of 4. That gets old very quickly unless you’re on vacation! The next week when the weather cooled off, my freezer became my go-to. Frozen beef hand pies, frozen chicken meatballs and frozen Trader Joe’s orange chicken. Another day I picked up a roasted chicken from the store and a few other ingredients to make a Southwest barbequed chicken salad- a staple in our home. (More on that in a future post.)

Busy month!

I anticipate this next week being a little calmer and have planned some easy, flavorful dishes for dinner. I also realized that I have needed a few more options for a quick breakfast in the morning and have included a few recipes for that as well. I’m going to make both today or tomorrow and hopefully our mornings of picking up the house will go smoother with breakfast already made.

As always, thank you for reading and for sharing in my love of Food, Family and Friends. Have a great week and feel free to share if you end up trying any of the recipes below!

Mexican Chicken Soup

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mexican-chicken-soup-recipe.html

This is a cross between a feel good chicken soup and tortilla soup. It makes a ton and is great for leftovers, not to mention packed in a thermos for school lunches. It’s not spicy, very healthy, and has lots of flavor. Good toppings are a must- sour cream, cilantro, shredded cheese, and crushed up tortilla chips.

Mississippi Roast

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017937-mississippi-roast

*New recipe* I’ve read/seen/heard about this recipe for quite some time now and have never tried it. People RAVE about it on many a food blogs. There was definitely a time when I would have made it with any old piece of meat and very happy to throw in a few packaged seasoning mixes and called it a day. However, as my headaches/migraines have only increased and other members of the family have had sensitive tummy issues, the original recipe as it was written with many undesirable ingredients in these packages is something that I have passed on despite the positive reviews on this dish. There’s even a fun back-story (more in the link) about how the recipe became so popular and I’m a big sucker for recipes that have deep meaning for friends and family. This all changed when I came across the same recipe revamped by the New York Times with alternatives to the packaged ingredients. A few easy steps with ingredients I already keep on hand, a good piece of quality beef, and about 6-8 hours of hands-off cooking, and I think we are going to enjoy a great meal! I’m going to serve it with roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. If I’m feeling generous, I may even make mashed potatoes for the two people in my family who enjoy them as I think something to soak up all the gravy that this dish produces would be a good idea.

Quick Tikka Masala

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/quick-chicken-tikka-masala-56389806

This is a hit in our family! It calls for garam masala and it can be found at most grocery stores. It’s also sold in small portions so if you don’t want to commit to another spice in your cabinet that may go to waste, you can be sure it’s not expensive and worth adding it to your shopping list. I only have two recipes I use it in, but I still think it’s worth having it. Alternatively, you can use curry powder for a similarly flavored dish. If your kids aren’t very adventurous with spiced (not spicy) foods, this is a good one to try because the tomatoes and tomato paste kind of sweetens the dish. Serve with naan warmed in the oven to dip all that yummy sauce or over rice of any kind. The leftovers are even better the next day.

Apple Muffins

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/apple-muffins-recipe.html

I’m sneaking in one last apple recipe before all things pumpkin happen in October and November. These are really tasty! I make them just as the recipe says. I usually have whole wheat pastry flour, but if I ran out I’d use whole spelt flour or half whole wheat and half all purpose flour. If you don’t eat the entire batch out of the oven, they are best stored in the refrigerator. My family seems to like them cold just as well as warm. They also pack well for snack or school lunches.

Scrambled Egg Muffins

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/222586/scrambled-egg-muffins/

My family likes to call these “egg pucks.” This is a good starter recipe and I’m sure it’s delicious as written, but I make several changes to suit our tastes better. I like to sauté veggies such as red bell pepper, green onion and spinach in a little olive oil just until soft and divide equally among the muffin cups. Then I sprinkle on diced Canadian bacon or cooked crumbled bacon on top of the veggies followed by a pinch of grated cheese. Finally, I pour the egg mixture on top of each muffin cup and bake as directed. They heat up really well for a quick and healthy breakfast during the week.

PS- I love this muffin tin and have had great success getting these little pucks out of the pan with ease! No need to grease the pan. https://www.amazon.com/OvenArt-Bakeware-Silicone-12-Cup-Muffin/dp/B00CNVBCLK

You can download the PDF of the October calendar below!

oct-2016-calendar

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Easy weeknight meals anyone?

September 11, 2016 by Christina Shoup Leave a Comment

Anyone worried my family didn’t eat this past week due to a lack of post? I’m not going to lie, it was just one of those weeks. A busy holiday weekend, followed by a busy week with a big school event, followed by all kid activities/sports in full swing as well as weekly games now in the mix all while having several headaches and migraines… the fact that we ate anything at all is a wonder. Beyond a few planned meals, I went to the store more than my standard two times, we ate frozen Trader Joe’s stuff, had Door Dash deliver our favorite Mediterranean salads, and grabbed food after a game and at a school event. Needless to say, I’m happy to get back in the kitchen this week.

Also, I realize it’s becoming harder for you to navigate through the blog with all the recipes in links as well as not having them indexed. Trying to find a recipe in a previous post is probably not super easy. Know that I want to make this easier on you, and me. As soon as I get time with my favorite IT guy, I will make the website/blog more user friendly. For now, I hope you enjoy the recipes below. Have a great week!

White Chicken Chili (Crockpot)

http://iowagirleats.com/2016/01/11/crock-pot-white-chicken-chili-recipe/

*Trying a new recipe* We are going to have this tonight after my son’s late afternoon baseball game and I know we are going to come home hungry! I’m going to prep it in the morning, let it cook, do the final simple step about an hour before we leave for the game and let it sit on the warm setting so when we get home it’s ready to go. I think it’s going to be tasty and hope it’s good enough to go in my recipe binder- only the best make their way in there!

Mexican Lasagna

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/mexican-lasagna-recipe.html

This is a great recipe to make-ahead and cook later, or make/cook ahead and reheat an individual portion when you need to eat dinner in waves. It’s adaptable because you can use ground beef, ground turkey, or no meat at all. You can also change out whatever canned beans you like or have on hand as well as make it gluten-free and use corn tortillas. Most importantly for families with younger kids- you can control how mild or spicy you want to make it depending on which salsa/taco sauce you use. We like to top ours with sour cream and sliced avocado and serve it with tortilla chips. This week I am planning on leftovers the following night. It might even be served on paper plates for a truly easy dinner- score!

Salmon with Honey Mustard

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017244-roasted-salmon-glazed-with-brown-sugar-and-mustard

This is a tasty recipe and with 3 ingredients it couldn’t be an easier dinner to throw together. This particular recipe calls for Dijon mustard and brown sugar, but I also like whole grain mustard and honey mixed together, spread on top of salmon and grilled on the barbeque (on a sheet of foil with the edges turned up to make a “pan”). Basically, whatever you have on hand works and whether you want to turn on the oven or fire up the grill. Personally, I like to keep the fish smell outside if I can help it! I often like to serve salmon with roasted broccoli, Brussels sprouts or sweet potatoes and either a mixed green salad or kale salad with lemon vinaigrette. Easy, tasty, healthy dinner!

This week I’m serving it with this kale salad and adding dried cranberries and chopped green apple. It’s very similar to one made at our local Urban Bistro and my kids and gobble it up. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/kale-brussels-sprout-salad-368295

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/grilled-drunken-shrimp-tacos-recipe.html

*Trying another new recipe* You may want to wait for the update after our family eats it before you waste your time and money on expensive shrimp. Let me waste my time and money! I think it’s going to be good though. One thing I’m not great at is making up my own recipes. One thing I am pretty good at is finding tasty recipes. That’s why my family thinks I’m a great cook- I rarely have a dinner flop because I spend a lot of time pouring over recipes online and through my cookbook collection that I can easily spot a bad recipe. Another great resource and where I’ve learned a ton about how ingredients grove with each other, is the show America’s Test Kitchen. It’s a PBS show and it’s a bit geeky, but they really talk through recipes and all the different ingredients and methods they test until the recipe is the best it can be. I generally don’t trust much of what I see on Pinterest- although my mouth waters when I look at all the yummy dishes, it’s such a random mix of sources. It’s so discouraging to spend time and money on ingredients for a recipe only for it to not turn out. I love to try new recipes, but once inspired by Pinterest, I often stick safely within my trusted websites and cookbooks. #recipesnob?!?

Since this is a weekend meal, it will also be served with chips and salsa/guacamole and a side of black or refried beans. There’s also a pretty good chance it will be served with a nice cold Corona with a slice of lime.

Wait, there’s more! Because we are having leftovers one night this week and frozen beef and cheddar hand pies another, I thought I’d share a few extra non-dinner recipes that I made last week or will be making this week. Hope you enjoy!

Apple Spice Cake

http://www.marthastewart.com/351254/apple-spice-cake

September always signals apple season for me even though I feel like I can get great apples year-round. Some of my friends from other parts of the country have fond memories of the changing seasons and apple picking with their families- I cannot tell you how many times we’ve talked about apple picking, apple cider and donuts in the fall. And since I grew up in California where we are lucky to get a passing cloud, I can only imagine bundling up and trouncing though the apple orchards, steamy cups of hot cider and sweet puffy donuts. In honor of my friends’ fond memories, and because it’s officially apple season somewhere- I’m baking with apples, dammit!

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve made this bundt cake. It’s super easy to make and makes a tasty snack or dessert. I have never made the caramel sauce but I can imagine it’s delicious. The cake is perfectly sweet even without the additional sauce.

Confession- last time I made this, I went to flip my bundt pan over to get the cake out and only half of the cake released from the pan! Speaking of wasting time and money!!! What a mess. Even worse, I was taking it to a friend with a new baby and there was no way I could deliver that pile. I greased the pan properly, but I had been thinking my pan was on its last leg and now I know it’s time to get a new pan.

PS- This is my absolute, never has failed me yet, line of nonstick pans and I have several sheet pans and loaf pans. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/bakeware/bakeware-williams-sonoma/bakeware-usa-goldtouch/ Unfortunately, they don’t make a bundt pan in the Goldtouch line, but I have also had luck in the past with this line: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/anniversary-bundt-cake-pan/?& When I get a 20% off with free shipping coupon, I will own this bundt pan!

Layered Mediterranean Dip

http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2012/02/layered-mediterranean-dip/

I brought this dip with pita chips to a barbeque last weekend. As expected, it was a hit, just like the other 5 or 6 times I’ve made it. Not many dips are very healthy, but this one really is! It’s easy to make, (just a lot of chopping) and impressive to look at. Your friends will ask you for this recipe!

French Toast Waffle Sticks

http://thebakermama.com/recipes/french-toast-waffle-sticks/

These are a fun change to the weekday morning breakfast routine. It does require me to get up a few minutes earlier and throw on a hat for morning drop off, but my kids love this treat and it’s worth the minor extra effort every now and then. They are very quick and easy, and are a great way to use up that dry loaf of bread that even peanut butter and jelly cannot save. I give the kids each a tiny bowl with warm (real!) maple syrup to dip and they are all pretty happy. So far, sourdough bread and whole wheat have been favorites. A fruit smoothie with Greek yogurt and we’ve got a pretty yummy breakfast!

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When you know better you do better

August 28, 2016 by Christina Shoup 5 Comments

Some farmer’s market love from Eric

Let me first say that I truly appreciate all the feedback since I’ve started this little blog. I have really appreciate our texts, emails, posts, and comments at school to let me know how much you’re enjoying it. It’s been fun for me and I am enjoying it more than I thought. So many of you have been kind enough to share your tips, suggest new recipes, and commiserate about the stress and hassle of getting dinner on the table each evening- thank you!!

For many of us, school and fall sports are well underway. I might have over-planned last week’s meal calendar just a bit. I stuck to the plan, and my family appreciated each meal, but I underestimated how busy and tired I’d be with school and sports starting all in the same week. I planned for one day of leftovers, but what I really needed was either another day of leftovers or something easy from the freezer. Rookie move. This week is looking a little nutty with busy days and several evening meetings. One of my favorite sayings- When you know better you do better! Here’s to an easier week of getting food on the table. And, let’s not forget we’ve got a nice long weekend ahead of us!

Turkey Chili with White Beans

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/turkey-chili-with-white-beans-3090

There are many chili recipes out there, and I’ve made several different kinds myself. Over the years I’ve tried many variations- beans vs. no beans, ground beef vs. cubed, tomato sauce vs. chicken/beef stock/beer, spicy vs. mild, quick and easy vs. simmer all day, etc. This week I am cooking my favorite turkey chili because it’s quick and easy, full of flavor and provides leftovers. It’s always a hit and the recipe is usually requested when I share it with family and friends. I serve it with all the toppings: cilantro, shredded cheese, green onion, avocado, and sour cream. A side of cornbread- Trader Joe’s box(!) or crushed up tortilla chips is yummy, too.

I make it as directed with these exceptions: I substitute the 3 cans of white beans for 1 can of white beans, 1 can of black beans and 1 can of dark red kidney beans. I like the variety but anything works. I also use dark turkey thigh instead of more lean turkey breast- it seems to have more flavor. Finally, I add about a cup of frozen corn in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

*Bonus- the leftovers are even better the next day after the flavors have had a chance to develop.

Frozen Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken

You’ll recall me saying a few weeks ago that once school starts you’ll see “Trader Joe’s frozen something” on my meal calendar more often. Well, this is one of those go-to meals for busy nights. I actually cook 2 packages for our entire family and there’s always a little leftover. I serve it with a side of broccoli and frozen jasmine or brown rice- all from Trader Joe’s. Not the healthiest meal, but it couldn’t be easier and my kids absolutely love this dish.

*Caution- Once I packed a few servings in Tupperware for Sydney and I to eat in the car on the way to a “birds and the bees” class. I figured we needed full tummies for the night we had ahead of us. The darn chicken dish didn’t sit for more than 30 minutes in the Tupperware before it steamed its crunchy outside right off and into a nasty mushy layer making our dinner nearly inedible. Lesson #1- do not make this ahead of time and certainly don’t package it! Lesson #2- if you’re going to take your kid to such a class, treat them to a nice juicy In & Out Burger, fries and shake.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/12/03/recipe-best-pulled-pork-crock-pot/

This is a household favorite and I’m excited to get it back into the rotation. Thankfully, my friend Marina reminded me of this dish and I am happy that she did! It’s a great dish for the crockpot that can cook all morning or afternoon and can sit until you’re ready to shred the pork and add BBQ sauce. We love the pork on Hawaiian rolls with a side of coleslaw (nothing fancy here- bagged shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, and Marie’s coleslaw or poppy seed dressing) and baked beans.

Labor Day Menu

Tomato Pie, Grilled Sausages, Corn Salad, Watermelon Wedges and Butterfinger Pie

I made a very similar menu when we had some friends over this summer and thought it would make a great Labor Day menu as well. Make one or all of these dishes and you won’t be sorry. At first glance, it probably doesn’t look like an easy menu, but each dish only has a few ingredients, very easy to prepare, and is full of summer flavor. Enjoy!

Tomato Pie

I know what you’re thinking… tomato what?! This has been a favorite of mine since childhood. My mom used to make this when we had company over and guests always requested the recipe. Years ago she gave my siblings and me a wonderful Christmas gift- a book of family recipes and this one made the cut. I make it several times each summer and this year is no different. It makes an impressive and delicious dish when you entertain but is simple and comforting enough to make and bring to a friend with a new baby.

Make it easy on yourself and buy pre-made pie dough and unroll it right into a pie dish. Poke a few holes in the dough and cook as instructed before filling your pie shell with the tomatoes and cheese mixture. And, don’t bother peeling the tomatoes, it’s unnecessary!

Right out of the family recipe collection

Strange looking crust but that didn’t affect the taste

Corn Salad

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fresh-corn-salad-recipe.html

This is delicious, super easy, and I make it as directed. Fresh corn is really important here!

As disturbing as this photo seems, it’s a great way to cut corn off the cob and catch it in a bundt or angel food pan.

Butterfinger Pie

This is hardly a recipe but here’s another favorite from my childhood that was included in our family recipe book. My kids nearly died when they were at the grocery store with me and I asked them to go find 6 Butterfinger bars. One of them said, “What is this, Halloween or something?” My candy bar-deprived children declared this the best dessert ever and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to include it in my very own family recipe book someday.

4 ingredients!

Plans change, so use pencil!

August 21, 2016 by Christina Shoup 2 Comments

Meal planning always begins with the best intentions- a nice balanced week of food, a mix of simple and more involved recipes and different types of cuisines. Last week the planning was no different, but the execution was not as easy. Several days last week I wasn’t feeling super and in the late afternoon the meal I had planned on making just didn’t sound great to me. I texted Eric each afternoon and asked, “What sounds better- fish tacos or cobb salad? Beef hand pies or chicken lettuce wraps?” He thought the service around here was amazing! I didn’t want him to get used to the changing daily menu choices so I fessed up that nothing sounded good to me and that while I was happy to cook it was his job to pick the meal.

That’s the beauty of using a pencil with a good eraser when meal planning. What I had planned on for Sunday night’s dinner got moved to later the following week due to a last minute family birthday celebration. Wednesday’s dinner got moved to Monday because I had all the ingredients and no time to go to the store. Friday’s meal wasn’t made because I needed a cooking break and moved that meal to Monday. It usually all works out. My goal over the past few years has been to meal plan so that when the plan changes, we don’t end up wasting a bunch of food that goes bad and has to be thrown out. All of us are guilty of that right? And it doesn’t feel good at all…

I have finally found a way that works for me and that is to break up the grocery shopping into two times a week. This will be different for everyone, but as I wrote in a previous post, I look at my calendar on Sunday, and then make a meal plan for the entire week, including at least one of the following weekend days. I go to the store on Sunday or Monday as well as the farmer’s market to get me though 3-4 dinner meals, breakfast, lunches, snacks, etc. If I made everything as planned, then I shop for the rest of the week/weekend. If I had to make a change- last minute dinner invitation to someone’s house, meeting went longer than expected, the flu hits our house, etc. then I adjust accordingly. When I used to shop once a week, my cart looked like I was stocking up for a big storm to hit, not to mention the issue of enough refrigerator and pantry space. So, taking two trips to the grocery store a week is what generally works for me.

Speaking of taking two trips to the grocery store, I get to do that completely kid-free beginning in a few days! Camp Mom is about over and I think we are all finally ready to throw in the summer beach towel. I’ve got some easy recipes planned for the week, as well as using a yummy one from last week that I didn’t quite get to. It’s also the time of year that I need to pull out those easy breakfast and snack ideas. During the summer I pretty much only make my kids dinner- they are in charge of making their own breakfast, snack and lunch. It’s just a nice, well-deserved break for me. Kudos to all of you that have your kids make their own school lunches. I’m just not there yet! I want to be, but it’s not the morning battle I choose right now.

A few recipes I’m making this week:

Baked Chicken Meatballs

https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/10/baked-chicken-meatballs/

These are really easy to make ahead and bake at dinnertime. They are full of flavor and a great recipe to double or even triple and freeze for another day. I often serve them with roasted sweet potatoes or Brussels sprouts and a Caesar salad. You can also toast some rolls and make a tasty meatball sub sandwich with your favorite pasta sauce and melted mozzarella/provolone cheese on top.

A few changes I make- I have made this recipe with diced pancetta (Trader Joe’s has this for a reasonable price) and diced bacon. Either way, if you cook the pancetta or bacon in the pan it will render enough fat to sauté the onions making the whole dish more flavorful. If you use precooked bacon, just add a touch of olive oil to the pan, add the precooked bacon diced up and it will crisp up in the pan and then you can add the onions and sauté. I also really like adding a mixture of ketchup and barbeque sauce- just brush it right on top before baking. It’s a favorite around here!

Thai Chicken Wrap with Spicy Peanut Sauce

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/thai-chicken-wrap-with-spicy-peanut-sauce-recipe.html

This is the kind of dish I make on our super busy Wednesday evenings. When all kids have practice or a game from 5-8pm, this is the kind of meal that is easy to prep ahead of time and keeps us from getting our dinner from a drive through window. The chicken can be grilled earlier in the day and the veggie and herb mixture only gets better as it sits. If both of these are done ahead of time, you can walk in the door and have dinner on the table in 10 minutes. Another idea is to pre-make them and wrap in foil, cut up a melon and put it in a container and you’ve got dinner on the go. Hmmm… maybe I look forward to these crazy Wednesday evenings!

Pizza Night

Four words for you- Trader Joe’s pizza dough. What kid doesn’t like to make their own pizza? I pick up the dough, a few toppings, a bag of romaine lettuce for salad and we’ve got an easy, quick and fun family dinner.

Egg Breakfast Casserole

There are a million recipes for these types of egg dishes. It’s a standard item in any breakfast potluck because it is easy, can be made ahead of time, and feeds a lot. This is a staple in our house, especially during the school year because I can make it the night before in about 10 minutes. I make it as directed, but if I have time and ingredients; I like to sauté diced red bell pepper, scallion, and spinach and put that on the bottom of the casserole dish before pouring the egg mixture in. This dish has been known to show up on the dinner table served with a fruit smoothie and nobody complains.

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Pineapple Zucchini Quick Bread

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/zucchini-pineapple-quick-bread

My kids love this packed for their morning snack or sliced with cream cheese in lieu of a sandwich. It makes two loaves and we usually plow through one before I get a chance to wrap them up and refrigerate. If your family has more restraint than ours does, then you can cool the loaves completely and wrap one up and freeze it. I make as directed with one exception- the recipes calls for “egg substitute” but I just replace that with 2 whole eggs.

Happy planning this week!

PS- The calendar below show Tomato Pie, Grilled Sausage and Corn Salad on the menu for next weekend. This will be in a future blog post, I promise!

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The Countdown…

August 14, 2016 by Christina Shoup 3 Comments

Where did summer go?? The first day of school is just around the corner for most of us and fall sports schedules are slowly trickling in. To parents and teachers, it seems September is just as or more important than January. In this “New Year” we all hold our breath, cross fingers, or say a little prayer that our kids’ schedules all don’t fall on one particular day of the week (always Wednesdays for us!). We might set goals for them (academic, personal, etc.) and we certainly set them for ourselves (I will say “no” more often or at least give my best “yes” to school committees and other community events). I can also feel myself tense up just a little at the idea of early mornings, packing lunches, and busy weeks ahead. But even with all the busyness of the start of another school year, as a teacher and now a parent, it’s still my favorite time of year.

This week, we’re thinking about getting back into routine and on a school schedule. I’m thinking about dinner and how to feed my family without the craziness – whether it occurs at the dining table, kitchen counter or in the car. To help with the busy days ahead, two of the recipes below would be great to double and freeze for another day. I also included a muffin recipe that our family loves and are great for a quick breakfast or school snack. They also freeze beautifully so you better believe I’m doubling this recipe and freezing at least half. I hope you enjoy the recipes below. Thank you for all your comments and feedback on the previous recipes- it means a lot!

Cobb Salad

Homemade dressing

2 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider, champagne, red wine or balsamic)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup or honey

¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of ground pepper

½ tablespoon mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Shake ingredients in jar or plastic container with tight fitting lid.

Fresh Cream of Tomato Soup

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cream-of-fresh-tomato-soup-recipe.html

I know what you’re thinking… hot soup in the summer? Yes, and for two reasons. 1) I live in CA by the San Francisco Bay and it’s just not that hot. 2) With fresh tomatoes and basil, it’s like summer in a bowl. I haven’t made it yet this year and I’m so glad I looked back on my previous summer meal calendars and found it on there many times! It’s a good one to double and freeze in mason jars to enjoy when fresh tomatoes are long gone. Although it has some cream in it, I’ve never had any trouble freezing, defrosting and reheating it. Sometimes we eat soup with a simple green salad, but everyone is a lot happier if I serve the soup alongside a gooey grilled cheese sandwich. Choose your bread (we love sourdough), choose your cheese (very fond of white cheddar), but always use salted butter. It makes all the difference. I learned that from my mama and she’s so right.

**I use an immersion blender or my Vitamix to blend this soup. I actually prefer the immersion blender (stick blender- cheap and super useful for many soups I make) because I like the soup to have a bit of texture.

Beef and Cheddar Hand Pies

http://www.marthastewart.com/1104125/beef-and-cheddar-hand-pies

My kids go crazy for this! In fact, my 11 year old just walked by my computer and cheered that it was on the upcoming meal calendar. It’s a little bit naughty with buttery puff pastry, but I serve it with a side of roasted broccoli, maybe push a little harder on my workout that day and feel just fine about this delicious dinner. I also double it and freeze the hand pies uncooked in freezer bags with parchment paper in between. The best part? You can cook them frozen directly from the freezer on a busy night!

Taco Bar

No recipe here, but we switch between grilled chicken/ground beef or turkey with soft flour tortillas and all the fixings (cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, salsa and sour cream) and grilled cod/sole (on a piece of foil) with some chili powder/lime seasoning in corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, lime and sour cream mixed with the adobe sauce from canned chipotle peppers. Chips, salsa and guacamole are always necessary and sometimes some refried or black beans, too. Yum!

*Short on time? Frozen Breaded Cod from Trader Joe’s are perfect to keep in your freezer for this easy weeknight dish- while they are in the oven, prep toppings and dinner is on the table in less than 20 minutes, I promise!

Grilled, Korean Style Steaks with Spicy Cilantro Sauce

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-korean-style-steaks-with-spicy-cilantro-sauce-105124

We don’t eat red meat very often around here but when we do, it’s got to be really flavorful! This recipe fits the bill… it’s full of spicy and bright flavors, though not super kid-friendly, ours eat a fair amount of spicy foods and can tolerate this dish. If yours don’t, make this anyway and throw some chicken apple sausages on the grill for those that don’t want the spice. I like to grill zucchini, red onion, and eggplant on the side as well as some couscous or jasmine rice. The best part about this is the leftovers! The next day, take a toasted roll and put some grilled veggies, sliced steak and sliced mozzarella on top. Drizzle with the spicy cilantro sauce and you have yourself a delicious steak sandwich.

** Use low-sodium soy sauce and be sure to not marinate for much longer than suggested or it can be a bit too salty.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

http://barefootcontessa.com/recipes.aspx?RecipeID=965&S=0

Easy, yummy, freezes nicely and my kids love them. Enough said! Wheat bran is not super easy to find, but Bob’s Red Mill makes an 8 oz. package and I buy several of them and put them in my freezer. Locally, Molly Stone’s and Whole Foods carries this product. Sadly, Safeway and Trader Joe’s do not. If you get a chance to make these, you won’t regret it!

**The first ingredient in this recipe is vegetable oil but it doesn’t tell you the amount until you get to the directions below- I almost made a mistake this morning making this recipe. Also, I often use pure maple syrup instead of honey. I buy it at Costco and it just seems easier to use than honey.