#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛
Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged photo, but Lola just has ZERO boundaries and Clifford is exceptionally patient. 😂
I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s so good for you), so when I saw that a local patisserie has a smoked salmon croissant available (weekends only), I added it to my list of things to seek out. I popped into @chocolatinenj early on Mother’s Day and was rewarded with this deliciousness. Layers of soft flaky croissant dough, tender smoked salmon, light whipped cream, thinly sliced red and green onion slivers and dotted with capers… it was every bit as amazing as you’d imagine it would be. If you’re local, don’t sleep on this one. 😋
Weekend photos in review, the belated edition. 1/ Weekend photos in review, the belated edition.

1/ hit up a few yard sales and snagged this beautiful pasta dish from Italy with my favorite color for a buck, 2/ and one of these printer trays came home with me too, 3/ pre Mother’s Day celebrations with 30 local moms, 4/ finished the weekend supervising furniture assembly
Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd bir Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd birthday. Unfortunately she’s not here to celebrate because she died suddenly at age 49. I think of her often … every Mother’s Day because we spent most of them together since her husband worked weekends … when I discover a new food adventure (we once did a day long donut crawl) … when I’m sharing a special time with my kids knowing that her then-11 year old is growing up without her. Before she passed, I always appreciated every day, but since then, even more so. You never know what the next day can bring, so relish in the sunshine, surprise rainstorms, making wishes over railroad tracks and all the wonderful randomness life can throw your way. Don’t waste a single second, say yes, live on the outskirts of your comfort zone, laugh often, tell people you love them, give eight second hugs, and squeeze every ounce of joy you can out of life. Do it for the people who can’t. ✨
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Recipe: One-Pan Roasted Chicken and Broccoli {Bobby Deen}

March 31, 2014 · Narrative

Looking for a quick and easy dinner that is no muss, no fuss? This one-pan dish from celebrity chef Bobby Deen might be just the thing.

WPIR - dinner-001

Last week, Nick and I were having a healthy debate about vegetables. Namely which ones he would and wouldn’t eat. I was complaining that there were so few vegetables the kids like, but, really, as we began listing what they would eat (tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes, broccoli, and sometimes carrots), it’s not terrible. I just can’t.eat.broccoli.every.day.

Ya feel me?

So they both promised to be a little more willing to try more things, and I promised to not complain as much.

Compromise.

And then, as luck would have it, I found another broccoli recipe.

Of course.

But really, there is no way you can skip this one.

I mean, it’s SO simple. Chop the broccoli and toss it in a roasting pan for ten minutes with a few ingredients. Chop the chicken and mix it with a few ingredients and toss it in aforementioned roasting pan.

Dinner is done in twenty minutes.

Thank you, Bobby Deen.

Untitled

I plated Nick’s dinner after Madeline and I ate, because he was finishing up a school project. He hoover’d the entire plate and then, spying the leftover chicken and broccoli on the baking pan, asked if that was being saved for anything special.

And then it was no holding him back.

He declared the chicken “the best ever,” praise I found slightly surprisingly because, while the chicken is good, I wouldn’t have thought it was earth-shattering.

But if you think I’m going to complain about a clean plate…

Both kids ate all their dinner. Madeline eating just enough to secure a few Thin Mints for dessert. Enough dinner leftover for two kid meals.

No, not those kid meals.

All better now.

All broccoli. All the time.

Make it and join the Clean Plate Club.

Although I got this recipe from an issue of People magazine, it comes from Bobby’s new cookbook, Everyday Eats. A compilation of recipes, all 350 calories or under (this one is 272 calories per serving), and under 30 minutes. I might need to add this one to the list.

…

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Turnip Green Soup

June 15, 2010 · Narrative

Turnip Green Soup in Pot

As I was making this recipe the other day, I was silently cursing Jamie Deen, one of Paula Deen’s sons.  His smiling face was beaming down at me from the magazine clipping next to his recipe for Turnip Green Soup, and his directions for the soup were lacking just a bit.  In fact, they were currently causing me to burn the bottom of my stockpot.  Things like that don’t make me happy.  As an aside, and completely related to nothing but the Deen Brothers, I always used to forget which Deen brother was Jamie and which one was Bobby, but then I figured it out.  B = Bobby is the Bachelor.  If this is something that keeps you up at night too, feel free to use my little handy trick.

Back to the soup.  I was sure it was ruined, and that was making me mad, because chorizo, one of the ingredients in the recipe, isn’t exactly cheap, and coupled with the carrots, onions, and turnip greens, it would be a complete waste to have to throw the whole thing away.  And I hate waste.  Luckily I plodded along, following the recipe through to the end, and even though the bottom of my pot showed a recipe beyond repair, the proof was in the taste.

Hearty.  Tummy-warming.  Feel good stuff from the inside out.  Now I can hear some of you shaking your head, thinking “soup is for winter!”  Yeah, I never was one of those types.  I mean, the inside of the house is nice and cool from the AC, why not soup?  And this one isn’t a stick-to-your-ribs thick one.  Although it has lots of good-for-you stuff inside, the soup itself is chicken broth based, so it won’t weigh you down too much.

Turnip Green Soup

It whips up in nothing flat and has been keeping me pretty satiated for lunches for a few days now.  With our farmer’s markets finally in full swing, my greens and carrots came from there, and this was the perfect use for them.  So whether or not you can tell the Deen boys apart, or just want something yummy and (reasonably) healthy that you can ladle up for a quick lunch or light dinner, you might want to give this one a whirl.

Tomorrow?  Our Summer Bucket List.  See ya then!

Project 365
June 15, 2010, Photo #111

Beer-Battered Cod

This will be one of the recipes you’ll hear very little about when I do my round-up at the end of the month.  A Beer-Battered Fish recipe from Cooking Light.  It was fine, certainly edible, but not the end-all-and-be-all recipe to stop the search.

…

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Bobby Dean’s Ghoulash

December 21, 2009 · Narrative

Ghoulash

I am so far behind on recipes and various things to tell you about, it’s staggering.  Usually I know exactly what I’m going to write about before I even get near the laptop, but tonight … I was torn.  There are just too many possibilities!  But then I spied this picture of a ghoulash recipe I made last week, and thought it would be the perfect thing to kick off this crazybusy holiday week.  Who doesn’t want an easy, peasy, family-approved one pot meal on one of the busiest weeks of the year?

Last week, when I was trying to plan my menu for Christmas Eve dinner, I grabbed Y’all Come Eat, a cookbook from Bobby and Jamie Deen, otherwise known as Paula Deen’s sons.  After just a few minutes of flipping through the pages, I had folded down more than a dozen corners of recipes to try.  This was the first recipe I’ve tried from the cookbook, and I think we’re off to a good start.

Bobby says that his mom’s Ghoulash was one of his favorite foods growing up, and she still makes it for his birthday.  When it’s not his birthday, he whips up his own version, sometimes topping it with sour cream and jalapenos.  I love recipes that lend themselves to personal toppings.  (I topped mine with sour cream and shredded Cheddar)

Whenever I’m trying a new recipe with the kids, I tend to hold my breath.  They are, without a doubt, my toughest audience.  Nick can love something one day, and outeat any adult, and then the next day swear that it’s never passed his lips.  My little fickle foodie.  As for Madeline?  Well, her biggest issue, aside from the fact that she wears most of her meals, is that she doesn’t want to sit still long enough to eat.  The high chair is history, so getting her to sit and eat a meal, unrestrained, is a challenge at best.  For this meal, she ate a few bites at the table, and then took off.  After dinner, as I was cleaning up the kitchen, her and Nick were racing around on an invented obstacle course.  Every time she raced past me, I stuck out the fork and she’d stop for a bite.  A small enough bite so I didn’t have to worry about her choking while running, of course, but a bite just the same.  By the time they were done with their sprints, she had polished off the whole bowl.  She’s an adorable piece of work, that one.

As for the recipe?  Both kids loved it, as did the babysitter, who is picky about ground beef.  I liked that it was a one-pot meal and a crowd pleaser.  It’s totally easy and uses basic ingredients that will satisfy most picky palates.  The ease of cooking the pasta right in the same pot, and the one pot meal aspect makes it a perfect weeknight meal, especially this week when time is short but your to-do list is long.

Good job, Bobby Dean!…

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#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛

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#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛
Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged photo, but Lola just has ZERO boundaries and Clifford is exceptionally patient. 😂
I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s so good for you), so when I saw that a local patisserie has a smoked salmon croissant available (weekends only), I added it to my list of things to seek out. I popped into @chocolatinenj early on Mother’s Day and was rewarded with this deliciousness. Layers of soft flaky croissant dough, tender smoked salmon, light whipped cream, thinly sliced red and green onion slivers and dotted with capers… it was every bit as amazing as you’d imagine it would be. If you’re local, don’t sleep on this one. 😋
Weekend photos in review, the belated edition. 1/ Weekend photos in review, the belated edition.

1/ hit up a few yard sales and snagged this beautiful pasta dish from Italy with my favorite color for a buck, 2/ and one of these printer trays came home with me too, 3/ pre Mother’s Day celebrations with 30 local moms, 4/ finished the weekend supervising furniture assembly
Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd bir Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd birthday. Unfortunately she’s not here to celebrate because she died suddenly at age 49. I think of her often … every Mother’s Day because we spent most of them together since her husband worked weekends … when I discover a new food adventure (we once did a day long donut crawl) … when I’m sharing a special time with my kids knowing that her then-11 year old is growing up without her. Before she passed, I always appreciated every day, but since then, even more so. You never know what the next day can bring, so relish in the sunshine, surprise rainstorms, making wishes over railroad tracks and all the wonderful randomness life can throw your way. Don’t waste a single second, say yes, live on the outskirts of your comfort zone, laugh often, tell people you love them, give eight second hugs, and squeeze every ounce of joy you can out of life. Do it for the people who can’t. ✨

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