Blog
Salad in a Bag
No, I’m not talking about a bag of salad you can buy from the grocery store but one you can make yourself! To make Salad in a Bag put 1 cup of leafy greens, ½ cup chopped vegetables, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of dressing per person in a plastic storage bag. For individual salads, use a quart size plastic bag and for a family size salad use a one-gallon size plastic bag. If you have reusable plastic or silicone bags, they are a great choice for this.
Make Ahead Salad – Really?
I love to cook and I prefer to eat homemade food most of the time, but I do not want to cook every day. For me, this means that when I do cook, it has to lead to multiple meals. This can be challenging when it comes to salads because a lot of salads just don’t hold up very well for leftovers. This month’s recipe is a solution to that problem! Club Salad combines a chopped vegetable salad and a pasta salad into a hearty meal that you can eat over a couple of days.
Elevate Your Dessert
I love dessert and always find myself wanting something sweet after my meals or throughout my day to satisfy my “sweet tooth”. I have been this way ever since I can remember. As a young child I relished birthday cake at parties for friends and family, so now I consider myself an experienced consumer of all desserts!
The Perfect Summer Treat
With summer in full swing, my kids enjoy having a cold treat when we get home from a walk or the pool. If it were up to my oldest, who is 5, she would love to have popsicles or ice cream cones every day. As a compromise, we make Frozen Pudding Sandwiches to keep in the freezer when we want a frozen treat. The combination of peanut butter and pudding is tasty and filling.
What Paige Makes
My 10-year-old daughter Paige loves to be creative in the kitchen. Baking and making sweet treats are her favorite things to do. When we have chocolate chips, it’s a given that she will be melting it and dipping whatever fruit we have in it! She also likes to use chocolate chips in Energy Bites and on Frozen Yogurt Bark. Yes, she gets her love of chocolate from her mom😊. With the warm summer days here, she also likes to make Berry Banana Popsicles for a cool treat. This is a simple recipe that she can make all by herself. It allows her to practice reading a recipe, safe knife skills and measuring ingredients. You can watch Paige make these in our How to Make Berry Banana Popsicles video and then make them yourself for a refreshing summer treat!
Peach Cobbler
Welcome to June! Summer is here and all of us at Spend Smart. Eat Smart. are looking forward to summer foods. This month we are going to focus on some tasty summer desserts. First up today is Peach Cobbler.
Taking Over the Kitchen
Last week Katy shared about how she includes her young children in the kitchen. My children are a little bit older and it has been fun to watch their skills and interest improve in the kitchen. Here are some of the things all three of my children help with in the kitchen:
Making (Messy!) Memories
I have fond memories of cooking and baking with my mom as a child. Some of my favorite kitchen memories include baking muffins and cookies, and making homemade beach plum jelly with fruit we would handpick from the beach. Being one of four kids, spending time with my mom in the kitchen allowed for quality one on one time, and now that I have children of my own, I see just how valuable that time can be.
Have a Happy National Walnut Day!
Sometimes in the mornings when I drive my children to school the radio announcer will tell us what we can celebrate that day. It may be a well-known holiday or something smaller. For example, today, May 13th, is International Hummus Day, National Crouton Day, and National Fruit Cocktail Day. We call it, ‘the day of the day’ and we get pretty excited about it.
Pizza Made Easy
Whenever I get asked what my favorite foods are, pizza is at the top of my list with tacos being a close second. There are so many options for pizza that I could write it into my meal plan several times in one week and not get tired of eating it. When I have a hankering for a slice (or two!), especially for lunch, Pizza Boats are a quick way for me to satisfy that craving.
The microwave is singing!
Occasionally I need recipes that require minimal time, effort, and equipment. I love cooking and making big meals for my family. But with both of our kids in activities during the week, sometimes a meal or a snack that can be made in the microwave is the way to go. My kids enjoy that our microwave is low enough in our pantry for them to help. My preschooler can practice her numbers by helping me use it for cooking, and when the timer ends it sings a little jingle which my toddler loves to dance to. Using the microwave throughout the day is a win for everyone at my house!
No Chopping, No Problem!
Last week I shared our April recipe of the month – Coleslaw Pasta Salad. It is a unique salad recipe because it does not have any chopping, so a knife is not needed. This week I would like to share some other Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipes that do not need a knife to prepare. Since I have already shared a salad, I have chosen recipes from other categories below.
