Grilled Cheese

Simple, yet perfect for a foggy day like today...my husband taught me how to make the best grilled cheese at the beginning of our marriage, and I've never turned back!

Used sliced parmesan bread (from Fresh n Easy) and butter (I soften the butter so it spreads easier, about 7-10 seconds) the outsides. Then sprinkle parmesan cheese onto the butter and lightly sprinkle shredded cheese on the outside. Flip to outside quickly so all the cheese is under bread, grilling. Add shredded cheese inside the sandwich and put the other buttered piece on top. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese and shredded cheese on that side for when you flip the bread over. Results are the most amazing crispy cheese on the outside, soft cheese on the inside grilled cheese sandwiches.

Grilled Cheese

Butternut Squash Soup

so now that lobster season is back, i've been trying to think of fun, festive fall sides to go with. after all, my husband has perfected lobster scrambled eggs, lobster mac n' cheese, lobster grilled cheese, lobster dip, everything lobster...

today, after cleaning the house (and loving every minute of it!), i decided the fog was beckoning me to stay in my kitchen and get creative. so i set out to do something creative with my butternut squash that my husband harvested...

so i found this recipe for butternut squash and pretty much followed it, with a few tweaks here and there...

i cut the squash in half, dug out the seeds, laid them face up in the baking dishes. i then drizzled olive oil on top, sprinkled pretty liberal amounts of salt and pepper, and then decorated with ginger, ground cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, and cloves. i roasted them for 30 minutes on 375 and then turned them over and roasted them for another half hour. then i dug out the meat inside half the squashes and blended them with whipping cream. then i sauteed 1/4 of a chopped white onion and one chopped shallot. blended it all together. then took out a dutch oven, sauteed a shallot with olive oil and poured the soup mixture in, and then the scooped out meat from the other half of the squashes. finally, simmered the soup and dished it out! had enough that i was able to bring them to our somis neighbors too!:)

Fresh 'N Easy

I had my doubts.

It seemed grim and looked expensive.

I have to admit, my husband went first.

...and we haven't turned back since.

If you want amazing prices and good food,

look no farther.

The best sourdough bread

the yummiest, thick english muffins,

pomegranate seeds....

Try it.

You'll love it.

My favorite part:

The $5 off coupon I get in the mail every week!

This week's deal:

A box of Macaroni and Cheese 99 cents. There are other off brand ones for 39 cents, but I thought that for a few cents more, it was nice to know the brand...

Anyways, Mac N Cheese is amazing if you mix cream cheese in with the packet, the butter and sub 1/2 of the dairy needed with heavy whipping cream and then milk. YUM. Pop some cooked and cut hot dogs in, and you have yourself an afternoon lunch for your toddler. (Okay, maybe I "sampled" some....)

great baking activities for toddlers

What a blessing Jiffy Mix was today for my little man and I to bake today! I highly recommend the 50 cents it takes to buy a box, as there are three ingredients and it is a very simple and enjoyable activity for the both!

fresh tomatoes

so we decided to use the freshly picked tomatoes from ours and our friends' backyards and create a delicious pasta that i found in my newest favorite read. seriously, i am not kidding, i highly recommend that you pick up rita konig's book "Culinary Trickery: How to Get Dinner on the Table Even if You Can't Cook". i have loved every minute of reading books by Rita, and i am hoping she puts some more out soon. again, i recommend "Domestic Bliss"; which was also a brilliant read, and helped me to desire to make my home a more beautiful version of itself.

strawberry shortcake, Grandma Nancy style

ok, so when i was a kiddo, my Grandma Nancy made me the best darned "Strawberry Shortcake"

....i took it for granted when i was a kid. today we (my hubby and i) made it together, and it was better than i even remembered it...

a perfect summer treat....

if you don't have time for the dough for the biscuits, make it with bisquick, so easy.

for the whipping cream, mix a cup or so heavy whipping cream with a tablespoon of sugar. (that was for two people)

and....if you're old fashioned like my Grandma was, pour a little trickle of milk on top. it's actually surprisingly good.

what to do with a bucket of lemons?

so it's been what, a year since i blogged about food? not my forte i guess, but i have come to understand a few things about what i love and what i need to do in the kitchen:

1. i love to cook with my husband more than doing it alone.

2. i am super weird about clean counters, i am learning how to "get my hands dirty".

3. it's fun when there's a theme each week. (this week's theme is fruit)

4. it's okay that i am not cooking every day in the kitchen. my husband LOVES cooking and i love cleaning and helping him in the kitchen. that is what God made us for.

so here's my first installation of our fruit-themed week:

after a jaunt over to my friend beth's house for a bucket of lemons (seriously, it was a full bucket...oops, got carried away), i sat scrolling through foodnetwork.com looking for recipes. i finally came across this one: Lemon Cream Meringue Pie.

it was to die for. a lot of work, but worth every bit of it.

(*we substituted homemade graham cracker crust for the dough one)

batter blasters

for the cost of a fancy cup of coffee, you can have pancakes made at ease. seeing your kiddos enjoy: priceless.

just wanted to take a second to give my fellow cooking fans (1=thank you Jenny for reading my cooking blog :) out there a delightful little plug for batter blasters. we've been buying them for a few years now. all i have to say is:

no prep work

no mess

no clean up

simply throw away the can after making pancakes. seriously, can it get better than that? and they are organic, for those who are concerned, and taste great!

try them out, they are in the dairy aisle of albertsons, vons and ralphs, usually near the cool whip or milk area!

new years resolve

i did it. first new years goal underway. i am cooking ONCE a week.

this week, it was rachel ray's recipe:

Cumin Pork Tenderloin

with

Spicy Creamed Corn *

*the only thing to add to it is a block of cream cheese. Lessen the amount of stock as well, to make it thicker.

I give it four stars out of five. (The only reasoning is that pork isn't my favorite, because I think it is super salty.) But the creamed corn is out of this world!!!!