Damn Delicious Meal Prep: 115 Easy Recipes for Low-Calorie, High-Energy Living

I am super excited about Damn Delicious Meal Prep! I am always trying to eat healthier and trying to plan ahead. This cookbook helps with both goals. I already reviewed Chungah Ree’s first cookbook, Damn Delicious: 100 Super Easy, Super Fast Recipes. In case you missed that one, Damn Delicious is a blog written by Chungah Rhee. Her recipes are simple but flavorful and include a nice mix of traditional American with Asian and Mexican inspired dishes. Just the type of food my family loves! So when I saw that she was putting out a meal prep cookbook, I was psyched! If you don’t know what meal prep is, it just means prepping meals ahead of time. Some people have elaborate meal prep systems which involve picking one day a week (usually Sunday) to cook and prep as much food as possible for the week to come. I actually did a meal prep system (where I paid for recipes and prep instructions) for awhile, and there were a lot of things I liked about it. I did enjoy spending most of Sunday cooking; that’s relaxing for me. And I loved not having a lot to do when I got home…

Food for Thought: Mother’s Day Ideas
Favorite Things , Holidays , Recipes / April 19, 2019

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Here are some gift ideas and some recipes if you want to pamper your mother, which I’m sure you do! This recipe for Homemade Strawberry Cake looks pretty easy and yummy. I would love it if someone made this for me for Mother’s Day! Serving brunch! Use this frittata template to cook up a simple dish with things you already have in the fridge. I have been making this for dinner a lot. Here are a bunch of ideas for the stylish mom: Over 40 Lovely Mother’s Day Gifts Ideas Flowers are always a good idea! 18 Best Flowers for Mother’s Day And here’s a great list of movies to watch with your mom: 25 of the Best Movies to Watch on Mother’s Day. I’m partial to Bad Moms! LOL I hope you all have a great weekend! See you next week.  

Easter Menu Ideas
Holidays , Recipes / April 17, 2019

So I meant to try out a recipe from my latest issue of Southern Living, but I can’t even find the magazine! Anyway, I decided instead to just work on a menu plan for this weekend and share it with you. Appetizer: Deviled Eggs So for starters, I have to make deviled eggs. The first link is for a pretty standard recipe that I usually make. The second link is a complete deconstruction of the deviled egg. I think I would get in a lot of trouble if I don’t make the standard eggs, but the Bon Appetit recipes does seem easier. Deviled Eggs from A New Turn in the South Deviled Eggs Are a Waste of Time. There, I Said it! Main Dish: Ham I think ham is the only thing I have ever eaten at Easter, but I assume there are other things you could eat. I usually don’t do anything to fancy, because ham is pretty easy. This recipe for Glazed Easter Ham from the Pioneer Woman looks promising. But I may try to cook my ham in the slow cooker this year: Crockpot Brown Sugar Ham Side Dish: Potatoes I think I have mentioned several times…

So Good: 100 Recipes from My Kitchen to Yours

I picked up So Good: 100 Recipes from My Kitchen to Yours at the library and knew that the guy on the cover looked familiar. Then I read the first page and found out the book is written by Richard Blais, a contestant on Top Chef. I haven’t watched it in years, but I used to love Top Chef; and I had a vague memory of this really arrogant Richard guy. Anyway, I started to look through this cookbook, and I would say that my first impression of a pretty arrogant chef was correct. Blais introduces this cookbook by saying that these are the types of things he cooks for his family, and the recipes don’t include all the experimental techniques that he showcased on Top Chef or in his restaurants. But as I was looking through the recipes, I was not finding a lot that didn’t have unusual ingredients or techniques. My son picked up the book and asked for me make the fried chicken recipe. I have never fried a chicken in my life, but I thought I would give it a try. Unfortunately, this is a pretty time-consuming recipe, and I just haven’t had a chance to try it…

Food for Thought: Spring Entertaining
Favorite Things , Holidays / April 12, 2019

I hope everyone had a great week. We are finally getting some spring weather around here. I’m sure a lot of you will be cooking for Easter or other spring celebrations, so here are some helpful links to get you inspired. I love all Damn Delicious recipes. Might have to try out this Creamy Potato Gratin, although my family always insists on Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes at holiday meals. I don’t love Peeps, but they look cute in an Easter basket. Might have to try out the Chocolate Caramel Swirl Flavored Marshmallow Chicks. Get Ready for a Ton of New Peeps Flavors for Easter If you’re hosting a get together, you might need some ideas about table settings. Check out these posts: Setting a Gorgeous Easter Table Pretty Easter Finds for 2019 Spring and Easter Tablescape Ideas How to Set a Passover Seder Table So, everyone enjoy the nice weather and your spring get-togethers! See you next week.

Crisp, Lemony Baby Yukons
Recipes / April 10, 2019

Serves six 3 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes 3 cups chicken stock 1-2 lemons 2 cloves garlic, smashed olive oil sea salt Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the chicken stock into a medium-sized pot and stir in the zest of a lemon or two and the garlic. Add the potatoes, bring to a boil, cover, and cook for about 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving the lemon zest from the stock, and allow them to cool a bit. Gently flatten each potato with large knife, rolling pin, or small skillet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and the lemon zest, and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are crisp. Sprinkle with lemon juice and a bit more salt. My notes: These are yummy. Make them as soon as possible! My only note is that I cut the recipe down and all of my liquid was used up pretty quickly, so keep your eyes on the broth. Adapted from My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichel

My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life

I love everything that Ruth Reichl writes, and her cookbook My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life is no exception. I was introduced to Reichel by reading her wonderful memoirs about growing up with a mother who had no interest in food. Reichel went on to become the New York Times restaurant critic and then the editor of Gourmet magazine. This cookbook was written right after Gourmet was shut down, and she found herself suddenly out of a job. It’s a unique cookbook. I have read novels and memoirs (including Reichl’s) that include some recipes. I have also read cookbooks that have well-written introductions to each recipe. But this really is a combination memoir and cookbook. It’s written as a journal of the year immediately after the demise of Gourmet, where she had worked for ten years. Arranged by seasons, the diary and the recipes are basically interwoven, and many of the recipes are stories in their own right. The recipes are also written up in a totally unique way. She lists the ingredients as either “pantry staples,” which she defines in the introduction of the book or “special ingredients.” And the recipes are written more in a…

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