The Mothership

  My kids love ginger and the kick in these make them feel a little more adult - so it's ok to eat :) This recipe came from a friend, Gabi, who knows how to throw down a beautiful dessert. Ingredients: 2.5 cups (320g) flour  1.5 tsp. (8g) baking soda 3/4 tsp. (4g) cinnamon 1 tsp. (4g) ground ginger 1/2 tsp (2g) ground cloves 1/2 tsp. (5g) salt 1/2 tsp. (2g) cayenne pepper 1/2 cup (113g) softened butter 1/2 cup (112g) sugar 1 cup (209g) packed brown sugar 1/3 cup (110g) molasses 1/4 cup (70g) of egg whites extra sugar in a bowl for rolling 1/3 cup softened butter 3 cups of powdered sugar  3 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tbsp. lemon zest  Recipe: Heat oven to 375. Combine the first 7 ingredients and set aside.  In another bowl, cream the softened butter. Then add in the sugars, molasses, and egg whites. Stir until combined.  Add the flour and spices mixture into the butter and sugar mixture. Mix till all incorporated.  Take the dough and make small 1-2inch round b...

My 90’s kids know what hamburger helper is. This is a version of it minus pasta that makes me feel a bit better about the food going in my body. And it MOSTLY has all pantry ingredients give or take one. This also takes 30 minutes.    This makes enough for my family of five and leftovers for tomorrow.  Ingredients: 2 tsp. Olive oil or saute oil 2 lbs. ground beef 1/2 onion, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped More olive oil 2 lbs. small gold potatoes (they come in a 1 lb bag at the grocer) Salt & pepper 3 tsp. Garlic powder 3 tsp. Onion powder 2 tsp. Smoked paprika 1/2 cup of water 2 Tbsp. Yellow Mustard 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup of ketchup - or more if you’d like 1.5 cups of sharp cheddar cheese Green onions, sliced Recipe: In a large saute pan heat the oil on medium. Add in your onion, green pepper and saute for a minute.  Add the ground beef and separate all the beef as it cooks into small pieces. Cook for about 8 minutes total. Then take out of the pan...

  We eat a lot of chicken. So pairing it with other things makes me feel versatile. Make it in a crockpot and I’m all in! Ingredients: 6 chicken breasts, skinless Salt & pepper Cooking oil - I used avocado oil 1.5 cups broth (chicken or vegetable) 3 Tbsp. All purpose flour 2 cloves garlic, minced 1tsp Italian seasoning 1tsp paprika Red pepper flakes - optional 1/2 jar of sun dried tomatoes, chopped 2 Tbsp. Butter More salt & pepper 1 cup of heavy cream (or regular milk) Favorite pasta Basil Grated Parmesan cheese Recipe: Drizzle a tiny bit of coooking oil on the bottom of the slow cooker. Then, place the chicken breast in the bottom of the slow cooker. Drizzle a tad more oil on top. Then sprinkle generously. Salt and pepper over the chicken. In a bowl mix together the flour and chicken broth with a whisk. Add in all the seasonings. If you use red pepper flakes, just be careful as it can be spicy. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Then place the chopped sun-dried tomatoes o...

The cold weather has kicked in and I really was craving some wonton soup. I like my soups to have a of stuff, not just broth. I am a big fan of utilizing Whole Foods ingredients and halfway with prepared foods. Hence the frozen wontons because I don’t have time to make the pork put in a wonton and then cook the wontons. Also, cost effective is essential with the way these teenagers eat up in here. I feel like canned soup has gotten more expensive, higher in sodium, low in quality and quantity. And buying at a restaurant for the whole family would not be cost effective. I will double this next time for the size of their stomachs. Also - you can make this VEGETARIAN if you purchase veggie dumplings/wontons and use bacon bits that are actually soy. This took me 30 minutes from gathering items, to chopping, to my belly.     Ingredients: 2Tbsp. Sesame oil 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2-3 tsp. Of grated ginger (don’t skimp on this it makes the recipe) 6  cups chicken broth or veg...

Here I am, beginning  in the land of the teenagers and loving it. These people are the ones I wanted and prayed for when I was in high school. I love littles, so this comes a a huge surprise to me. These are truly some of the sweetest and yet unnerving years in parenting yet. And I’ve only approached the edge.  Each parenting season is harder than others in their own unique ways and each season is easier than another. I would give ANYTHING for the slower pace we had when the kids were tiny. Watching them learn things for the first time - it’s so much more concrete than watching your teen figure out their hormones. At the same time, my kids all know how to tie their own shoes and can prepare themselves accordingly to leave the house at a specific time- varied obviously by emotions, but they can do it. The sleeping schedule from the season of littles is least desired and yet - I could use a nap and a cuddle midday myself. The rocking to sleep and the little games that k...

These are so easy to make, especially if you have small amounts of time to gather steps throughout the day. Also - this is great for a range of palates because it’s easy to keep items separate instead of it all cooking together.  This makes enough for leftovers for the week.  Ingredients: 3 lbs chicken breasts 1/2cup olive oil 4 limes 5 cloves of garlic, minced 4 tsp. Honey 1 1/2 Tbsp. Ground Cumin 2 tsp. Coriander  Salt & Pepper 1 pineapple, trimmed and diced into bite size  1/2 cup cilantro, tightly packed then chopped 1 tablespoon diced jalapeño  1/2 red onion 1 lime 1/4 tsp ground cumin  Sliced avocado 2 cups vegetable broth - or a bit more 2 cups rice Dash olive oil & salt Cilantro lime salad dressing Recipe: Cut chicken breasts in half to make smaller pieces. Place in large plastic bag for marinade. Set aside. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, zest of 2 limes, 1/2 cup lime juice, minced garlic, honey, cumin, coriander, and 1 tsp each ...