Smart Solutions for Busy Moms!
Resources for food bloggers… I love to cook, but have a lot more enthusiasm and creativity than I do actual skill, so not everything I attempt is exactly successful. But – blogging, just like life, is a constant work in progress, right? If you’re working on your food blogging skills in 2013 too – I hope you find something in this resource list helpful!
“When you’re in my house you shall do as I do and believe who I believe in. So Bart, butter your bacon.” – Homer Simpson…. Ok ladies. If you’ve read this site often, you know that I have far more enthusiasm in the kitchen than I do skills. Which means that all of my awesome cooking and baking ideas don’t always work out as planned. {Doesn’t keep me from trying though, lol.}
Need tips getting started with Meal Planning?… Last year, I told you guys a few times about my process of getting into meal planning. It is SUCH an amazing time and money saver for busy moms, no joke. Even putting together a basic plan, like Mondays are pasta night, Tuesdays are chicken, Wednesdays for soup and salad – can help organize your efforts. Planning things out, making one master grocery list, and being able to avoid that early evening, “ohmyheck, what am I going to make for dinner?” stress is priceless. So I’m excited to share a sweet deal to help you start the new year more organized…
Think about your favorite holiday memories… Most of them revolve around food, right? Big holiday dinners, birthday nights out, an anniversary event with food and drinks at your favorite restaurant. Family and food are what the holidays and celebrating are all about. For us – we do a combination of in-home and out and about… For the major holidays, we always do a big dinner at my house – Thanksgiving and Christmas we have around 50 people over here! I love having a way to give something special to all of my favorite peeps as a big ol’ special thank you each year. And it’s so much fun to see everyone in one place together – celebrating. We also love going out to eat, for breakfast. It’s awesome, in a different way – because I get to actually just sit and enjoy everyone during those times – without worrying about cooking and cleaning up!
So, when it comes to last minute Christmas gifts, restaurant gift cards are my fave pick! Whether they use them right away, for a great start to the new year – or wait and save them for a special birthday or anniversary – everyone makes special memories when getting together for a night out. And a really smart gift card idea is a Darden gift card – which are good as some of your favorite spots!
Olive Garden is a must stop for all Italian food lovers – and has some amazing deals right now on lunch specials, as well as some super delicious limited-time dinner options. And who can resist that unlimited salad and bread sticks with every order??
We don’t have a LongHorn Steakhouse here in town – but boyohboy, when we find when while traveling, we always stop to visit!! Steak is pretty much Mike’s favorite food – and Longhorn gets it right, every time. {Plus, unlike some steakhouses, they have great options for non-steak lovers like myself, too.} And visit their site today to enter to win steaks for a year!
Red Lobster is another HUGE fave of Mike’s – I don’t eat anything out of the ocean, and he would eat it all, in a big bowl smothered in butter, lol. But I love the atmosphere, and we go here often for big occasions to celebrate.
Buy one card, and it works at ANY of these restaurants. And – what’s even cooler right now – For every $25 you spend on a card for Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, or Red Lobster – you get a bonus $5 bucks. Spend $50 – get a $60 card. Spend $100, get an extra $20 on top of that!! That is a pretty sweet bonus. If you give it as a gift, it gives you an extra bit of generosity to your gift, totally free. If you were already planning a big meal out with the family, why not plan it for one of these restaurants? Then you can buy the gift card now, and make your budget go further. Good times, good people – and good food!
Get your Darden Gift Card today – and take advantage of this sweet bonus deal today!!
{Disclaimer: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Darden. I received a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.}
Mmmmm…. How I do love me some holiday carbs! … It’s true, a low-carb diet would never work for me. Breads, muffins, cakes, and their friends are some of my very favorite things. And there’s not much that’s yummier at the holidays than a good cinnamon streusel type dessert, right?
This recipe is SO perfect for holiday entertaining or gift giving – it’s super moist and delicious, and pairs perfectly with a mug of dark hot cocoa. Snuggle in with a good family movie, a warm cozy blanket, and enjoy! Or, if you’re in need of some homemade gift ideas, use these adorable holiday themed pans from Handi-Foil to present loaves of this yummy coffee cake bread as gifts! {Want to win your own set of a TON of holiday themed pans?} And, the recipe is super simple to make, using basic essentials you probably already have on hand. And if you want to see the Homemade Shake & Bake Chicken recipe that I made to go along with this Cinnamon Streusal bread for a totally simple – yet super delicious – dinnertime solution, check it out and watch the video in the post. Enjoy – and Happy Holidays!
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“Approach love and cooking with equal abandon.” – The Dalai Lama… Ok, it’s confession time – I’m not an awesome cook. Yep, I said it. As a mom, I feel like I should be more talented at this dinnertime stuff. But, while I may not have mad-kitchen skills, I do have enthusiasm and creativity. And those do count for something, right? Well, since I’m not a super chef – just a real mom, with a real busy life, who needs to get meals done real quick – I need a few secret weapons to help me out. I’m going to share a couple of them with you guys today, since I’m all about helping other moms get through the day a little bit easier too….
So, while I may not be whipping up gourmet meals {but I do get some super awesome simple kitchen tips each week from Whisked Foodie} – Baking is still kind of my thing. I love finding new inspiration on Pinterest to create super fun goodies, especially at the holidays. {Watch this week for a BOATLOAD of cool stuff to be posted on the site. Super excited. And, get this recipe for the Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake Bread here.} Here are a couple of other things that I totally love – year ’round, but even more so at the holidays… I love giving homemade gifts to friends and family. And I love a fun way to present those gifts. {Have you seen my Homemade Gifts Rock board?} And, a trick that I rely on to help me along with both of those, as well as ensure that I have very little to clean up, is to use super sweet tools like Handi-Foil pans.
Have you ever had that as a motto in your house – “You cook it, you clean it?” In my house I think it’s extremely fair – yet it also discourages me from wanting to cook sometimes, lol. Well, remember how I told you about my secret weapons in the kitchen? Well – let me give you a few awesome reasons to use the new Handi-Foil Holiday Baking Pans this season…
These pans work just as well making a regular dinner at home as they do for baking up special holiday treats. See them in action, and get some dinnertime inspiration too…
So, maybe I’m not the best cook out there. But I can make some pretty awesome basic meals for my family, on my frugal grocery budget, that look and taste delicious. And when I combine that with some awesome pans from Handi-Foil so that I don’t even have to clean up – I’m mom of the year, right? No more of that, “Sorry guys, after I clean up the kitchen I’ll come play.” No. Now I just throw the baking pans into the trash, and get on with my busy mom life. What’s better than that? And, if you want my super yummy Homemade Shake & Bake with Bacon and Parmesan Recipe, start with the basic mix from Kitchen Simplicity, then follow these easy peasy steps – and if you want the recipe for the yummy bread at the beginning, remember that it’s here: Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake Bread.
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Kid approved, family ready recipes that make healthy veggies bright and fun… I’m lucky. The kiddos in my house are pretty good fruit and veggie eaters. They help me and grandma grow a big garden out back, so they feel like those tomatoes, carrots, peppers, squash, and strawberries {along with the other abundance of goodies we have!} are their produce. That ownership really helps to encourage them to eat ’em up at meals and snacks. But even kiddos that love good foods benefit from a little fun at meal times, right? If you’re looking for some super fun ways to make veggies “new” again, you have GOT to check out the awesome ideas on the Birds Eye Kids Website.
The reason that the BirdsEye.com website caught my attention at first, is a super fun recipe called the Yakimaniac Veggie Martians. I mean, it’s a super cool creative idea, but that’s not what made it jump out at me. It’s because I’m from a city named Yakima, and the only time I’ve ever heard someone use the term “Yakimaniac” is in reference to people who live here! I knew it somehow how had to be connected… And sure enough, it is. These Martian-ized dinnertime plates let kids add personality to their meal with edible glitter, pretzel antennas, and veggie faces – and they were first featured on the super popular iCarly. And if you’ve watched much iCarly, you know that it’s set in Seattle, and one of the character’s grandpa is from a city called Yakima. Which is where this awesome recipe comes in! Very cool, right? {Every time I travel out of state, and people here where I’m from – if they’re a mom, they mention iCarly right away, lol. Most didn’t know it was a real city!}
Our Kid-Friendly Veggie SmoothiesAfter showing the kids the awesome Yakimaniac martians named after our hometown, I browsed through some of the other creative ideas – like Veggie Cupcakes and Green Monster Pizza, I decided to try out the Veggie Smoothie recipe, since we are HUGE fans of smoothies here in my house. {It is the easiest way to get a ton of healthy stuff into your kids daily diet!} It’s made with Birds Eye Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrots – all pre-sliced and frozen, meaning no prep. Mix ’em up in a cool gadget like the Magic Bullet, or whatever blender you have on hand, and you’ve got a super tasty smoothie packed with healthy vitamins. The bright-orange color totally got the kids excited – and the addition of the orange juice, honey, and fruit make is super sweet and yummy.
This was kid-tested in my house – two very picky little boys {6 and 9} and a toddler who has no other opinion than absolute love or complete hate. Verdict? 3 sets of thumbs up!
Try it here. It’s easy as can be to create – and might inspire some other cool veggie combo smoothies too. I’m thinking that carrots with apple sauce and juice, with a dash of cinnamon, might make a really interesting festive drink. And frozen blueberries, frozen broccoli cuts, and cranberry juice combine to make a pretty awesome smoothie – seriously. I’m not always a big veggie fan, so I rely on soups simmered in the crock pot, and cool fruit-veggie combo smoothies to ensure I get a big variety in my diet.
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For more awesome inspiration to help encourage healthy eating, and to simplify meal times in your house – be sure to follow Birds Eye Facebook and Birds Eye Twitter Page, for new promotions and product updates!
{Disclaimer: Photo credit one: Khawkins04. I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Birds Eye. I received product coupons to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.}
"The phrase "working mother" is redundant." I'm Meagan - a Momma, a Blogger, a Freelance Writer, and a total Social Media Junkie. I love sparkles and … [Read More...]
