If my family’s sneezing, congestion and general uncomfortableness isn’t a sign that spring has officially sprung, I don’t know what is! The ...

If my family’s sneezing, congestion and general uncomfortableness isn’t a sign that spring has officially sprung, I don’t know what is! The ...
Chicken broth, chicken stock, bone broth... it's all very similar with a few subtle differences. This is technically a chicken stock because it ...
Happy New Year! I'm excited to continue sharing delicious recipes from my kitchen to yours. As always, 90% of what I eat year round is FOR my health ...
This has been a family favorite in my house since my kids were little. Though the cherished original recipe came from my mom, many tweaks have been ...
This is one of those recipes that use pantry staples as well as fresh ingredients that I almost always have on hand. It's adapted from an old Martha ...
I love a good fall morning and a cozy beverage, and I absolutely love seasonal ingredients, but pumpkin only being highlighted a few months a year ...
Meatballs are a good idea no matter the season. They are quick to make, freezer friendly, and make great leftovers. I keep several pounds of local ...
I'm not always ahead of the curve, but aside from my daily smoothies, there are two things I've been doing since the late 80's and 90's that have been ...
Hi Family and Friends! It’s been a little bit since I’ve posted any recipes and I hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying the beginning of ...
This tasty skillet recipe is a new family favorite. I fear the name of the recipe may not get your taste buds buzzing, but trust me, it's a delicious ...
Who doesn’t love a layered dip? I’m 100% certain that saying the words “7 layer dip” is assumed to be of the Tex Mex variety - a legit, scoopable, ...
A smoothie a day keeps the… Well, I don't know about keeping the doctor away but a smoothie a day has certainly been part of my day as long as I can ...
One of my favorite holiday side dishes is this stuffing. Though technically a dressing, as I would never in a million years stuff this in a bird ...
It's the most delicious time of the year! I'm pretty sure I said that same thing over 5 years ago when I began this little food blog. But it's true... ...
Cookie swaps and exchanges, front porch cookie deliveries, cookie plates at a potluck... all signs point to cookies being shared. Of all the desserts ...
Wraps are one of my favorite ways to take food on the go... which my family (and perhaps yours!) seems to need a lot of these days. Made with ...
I recently served this salad to my very happy, working from home hubby. It's such a simple salad but both of us delighted in the flavors - that was a ...
Pre-made, portable meals are my favorite, especially this time of the year when school and sports have ramped back up. Like so many with school aged ...
Every weekend, usually on Sunday, I have a list of kitchen staples that I prep for the week ahead. Some type of vinaigrette is always at the top of ...
Matcha green tea seems to be all the rage these days. During the summer, this is the drink I make after a day at the lake or pool, but also the one I ...
Cooking during the summer, at home or on vacation, is a true pleasure for me. Summer's bounty combined with high quality proteins I keep stocked up on ...
Another day, another smoothie in the Shoup House! After 15+ years we are still going strong with our smoothies. My kids regularly prepare a smoothie ...
"Don't overlook the oily little fishes" -Michael Pollan, Food Rule #32 Eating FOR Health... it's been a shift in my meal planning strategy for ...
When I looked back on my meal calendars, I noticed that this soup was always in heavy rotation January-March. At first thought, it made total sense. ...
File this dish under one of my top 10 (maybe 5!) favorite things to eat. The word hash was never one of my favorite words - brings to mind a college ...
It seems running out of smoothie names is going to happen well before I run out of sharing smoothie combos that my family enjoys! As I've said many ...
Egg muffins, sous vide egg bites and similar products are popping up all over grocery stores, big box stores and coffee shops - and for good reason! ...
With travel adventures a distant memory right now, I often find myself cooking food that reminds me of some of the wonderful places we’ve been. One ...
This is a "no recipe" recipe... but writing it down is a good way for me to remind myself about a great dish or send to a friend! Some time ago we ...
I had the pleasure of sharing this recipe in the January issue of our sweet local magazine, Hillsborough Living. It is not only a perfect recipe for ...
Many years ago when I was away at college, I received the most delicious care package - these cookies! My brother's girlfriend, now wife of over 20 ...
The Christmas season would not be the same without these cookies! I've been making them since my kids were little and it's always a fun project to ...
Waaay back in the day, I sold these scones through my eBay store called Coffee Companions. Cute name, huh? During the hours I wasn't teaching 3rd ...
A perfect salad to begin a meal with or piled on a dinner sized plate next to a crusty baguette or hot cup of creamy soup. This salad is perfect year ...
If this isn’t a way to change up the work and school week, I don’t know what is! I recently made these turkey meatballs in the morning to prep ahead ...
It seems Starbucks and Trader Joe's have done a good job of creating pumpkin season. Pumpkin flavoring in everything from coffee to cereal, pasta to ...
Many years ago there was a restaurant called California Cafe in Los Gatos and it was a favorite date night spot for my husband and me. I ...
A good quiche is one of my all time favorite dishes. I frequently order it when I see it being offered on a restaurant or bakery menu and am often ...
These delicious, and incredibly simple panini have been a household favorite longer than I can remember! Something about the crispy buttery outside, ...
When my kids see this pumpkin cookie coming out of a hot oven, it is a tell tale sign that Fall has arrived. It’s a childhood favorite of mine, ...
It’s a very rare occasion that I fry something in my kitchen - I rarely pan or shallow fry, let alone deep fry. When I do, it causes quite a stir ...
The most used appliance in our house is our Vitamix... this is not a paid sponsorship, but rather a ode to my favorite appliance for almost 15 years. ...
This side dish is such a hit with my family that during the summer when green beans are in peak season, I make it on a weekly basis. Correction, my 13 ...
When your favorite summer desserts include all things fruit, you come up with new ways to use all that peak produce! Fruit crisps are one of my ...
For many of us, a simple trip to the farmer’s market can provide such joy these days. The aromas, the array of colors, and the people! Oh how nice it ...
Overnight oats are such a welcome treat in the morning, especially during the summer months when even the thought of a steaming bowl of anything makes ...
This refreshing smoothie is one of my favorite summer smoothies. The fresh peach and mint are such a great flavor combination. During the ...
This is a childhood favorite - a 4th of July staple for our neighborhood block parties, and even now, I crave it every single summer. It’s in ...
This is dish is a Shoup family favorite and was a perfect meal for our Father's Day dinner. We were enjoying some time in Lake Tahoe last week and ...
Summer is in full swing, and that means so is the snacking! These power bites are a great addition to your family's snacking repertoire - whether ...
This snack is a house favorite! During shelter in place it’s been the perfect complement to Zoom cocktail hour with friends. In pre-COVID-19 days, it ...
Bowls have been popular for some time now, and I’m in no hurry to have them go away. Grain bowls, poke bowls, burrito bowls, breakfast bowls, smoothie ...
For most of us with kids, a synonymous word with summer is the word snack. They begin early in the morning where a typical breakfast teeters on ...
With Memorial Day weekend behind us, the first heat wave has passed quickly followed by unseasonable rain, and school distance learning winding down - ...
Memorial Day weekend is usually Crazy Town in our household - usually falling right in the middle of two special birthdays. Combine those ...
Let’s talk about barbecue for a moment… I am not a huge meat eater. We eat mostly chicken and fish, as well as the occasional pork products- bacon, ...
I’m not sure where my love of Mexican cuisine began, but it is no doubt my favorite cuisine. “Authentic,” not authentic, Tex Mex, Cal-Mex, it’s ...
Years before Jamba Juice was a thing, my hometown of Bakersfield had a local shop called Bagels and Blenders. It was a favorite in our family ...
As a typical kid who grew up in the 80s, we ate our fair share of fast food- namely Taco Bell and Burger King. A popular item at the King was a ...
I cannot count how many smoothies we’ve made over the years, but I can safely say it’s in the thousands. My husband and I made them almost daily when ...
I don’t know about you, but I crave (and plan!) food based on the weather. The cooler weather and hunkering down in March and early April likely had ...
It is no secret in my family that I could eat mexican food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One way to sneak in my mexican food craving first thing ...
I’m a sucker for a good bean dip, but then again, who isn’t? Good old fashioned 7-layer Tex Mex bean dip is one of my all-time favorites. ...
As we continue our 5th week of Shelter in Place here in the Bay Area, a bit of the panic has worn off and we have all begun to find our new normal. ...
Homemade hummus is too easy not to make at home and far superior to what you can typically find in the grocery store. Brands seem to vary widely ...
I’m not sure if we are the only ones, but the older my husband and I get, the more the old saying, “less is more” seems to apply to our lives. ...
A few years ago my husband and I were celebrating our anniversary in Cabo San Lucas at the beautiful Resort at Pedregal. Our vacation was at the ...
Frittatas are a perfect way to use up veggies that may be past their peak freshness, small chunks of random cheeses in your fridge drawer, or leftover ...
Here is the meal plan for a 5 day reset. Any of the dishes with an * will be a recipe on the blog in the coming days. Any dishes with ** already ...
A few weeks ago my family and I enjoyed a fantastic family trip to Vancouver and Whistler. Canada is one special place! Besides those friendly ...
Homemade granola is such a staple in our house, I often forget what the store bought version tastes like, but I vaguely recall it resembling overly ...
It’s late July and the local farmer’s markets in the Bay Area are overflowing with summer’s bounty. I don’t usually have a go to list from week ...
Back in my early twenties, when my friends and I wanted a drink, liquor cabinet foraging was a pretty regular occurrence. I was legal, working ...
One way to enjoy a summer evening at home is to have an easy, stress-free seasonal meal planned. Even better if it’s a hit with the whole ...
It's supposed to be sunny and warm outside- it's mid-May in California after all. The sun is coming, we just have to wait several more ...
Spring has definitely sprung in Northern California! The temperatures in the Bay area have my kids barefoot and jumping in the chilly pool after ...
Last week I made these little muffins when I should have been packing for a big family vacation. I knew we had an early morning flight and the ...
We've been home from a Hawaiian vacation for less than 24 hrs and the relaxation is already a distant memory! Sound familiar? So much fun, sun, sand, ...
The ultimate goal of Restaurant Week, beyond showcasing our new skills and amazing food, was to get us ready for our externships and working in a ...
With just days to go before we had to begin preparing for our big Restaurant Week finale, we enjoyed a few super fun days at school. Early December ...
Weeks 11-14 of cooking school have come and gone, as they took place in November. Any parent knows that once the first holiday of the season hits- ...
It’s no surprise, but weeks 9 and 10 were full of many fun experiences and tasty dishes. There were at least two days that I declared, “this is my ...
Happy weekend, friends and family! I hope you all had a great week! I am so glad it’s the weekend because I’m not sure I had another 6-hr cooking ...
Hi Friends and Family! I hope you all had a good week. Aren’t Fridays the best? Leaving San Francisco this afternoon under the bright blue sky and ...
Happy Sunday, friends and family! I have never appreciated my weekends more… getting some rest and relaxation is not just wanted, but absolutely ...
Is it the weekend yet?!? I want to make brunch! Last week was Egg Week and I’m dying to put these new egg skills to good use. We had a full week of ...
Last week at cooking school was a blast! We started the week with a super fun Taste Workshop by the fabulous Barb Stuckey. I read her book Taste What ...
Happy Labor Day, Friends and Family! I cannot think of a better placed 3-day weekend on the calendar than this one. Kids are back in school, weather ...
Happy Friday, friends! I hope you all had a great week. If it's 5 o'clock where you are, congrats! If you're still a few hours away like we are, ...
August marks an important month for me. Exactly a year ago I began looking online for classes for home cooks. My plan was to give myself a ...
For my close friends and family, you know the past few weeks have brought lots of sadness and anxiety with the disaster that has unfolded in ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...