MY KIDS MAY LIVE IN THE SOUTH NOW, but they still aren’t huge fans of chicken. Not fried chicken, not BBQ chicken, not chicken in general. Chicken just isn’t nearly as big of a thing in Rome, where they were all born. Fast forward to our move to the States and these Euro-rascals, the ones…
peaches & creamsicles
REMEMBER HOW I HAVE MORE PEACHES THAN our kids have partially dressed baby dolls thrown all over the house? We’ve done a health(ier) peach crisp, no sugar peach roll-ups, and a whole-wheat pancake with wedges of juicy peaches lining the top. Then we got serious. Into our trusty blender went fresh peaches, half & half plus…
healthy chocolate zucchini cake
WE’VE BEEN MAKING THIS HEALTHY CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE (and chocolate zucchini muffins) every week. Each time I pluck a couple of zucchini from our garden, they’re shredded and bound for batter. The recipe is easy, delicious and packed with veggies, which is more than you can say for most cakes, right? It’s a riff on the…
lettuce wraps with steak & carrots
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I JUST WANT TO TRY SOMETHING NEW. Despite how the kids might react. When I made lettuce wraps with steak and carrots, I knew there would be resistance from the knee-high critics but sometimes, every once in a while, I don’t care. If we agree that a win is when everyone tries a…
peaches & cream fruit leather
IT ALL STARTED WHEN I ACCIDENTALLY BOUGHT 1 MILLION PEACHES. Or something close to it. Paul’s family was visiting from Florida over the 4th of July weekend. There were many conversations about who was getting peaches between his mom, his sister and me and here’s the shocker, I mixed up the info. One trip to the…
shrimp, feta & corn pizza
I KNOW, I KNOW. What’s wrong with pepperoni? Not single a thing. We just happen to have a 5-year-old major shrimp lover at our house, so when I saw a similar idea in a magazine recently, I gave it a shot. As usual, the adults liked it more than the kids, except for the one, but…
Whole-Wheat Baked Pancake with Fresh Peaches
I LOVE MARTHA STEWART, I JUST DO. Always have and I’m sure I always will. A version of this delicious pancake appeared in a recent issue of her magazine and with a bushel of peaches awaiting their orders in our garage, I was inspired to make a big pancake of our own–and think back to happy…
sauteed swiss chard with garlic & lemon
I KNOW. YOU THINK YOU DON’T LIKE THIS. And you’re probably SURE the kids don’t. But they just might! Ours do, and I’m as amazed as you are. This Swiss chard recipe is based on one of our favorite side dishes from Italy, bitter greens sauteed in olive oil. The kids love it. Plus there’s…
12 cute kids’ foods you can actually make, really!
When it comes to getting kids excited about food that doesn’t involve shiny wrappers or fish-shaped crackers, I say bring on the cute. With four kids, ages 5 and under, I have only one rule in the kitchen: All ideas must be doable. (Do you hear me, Pinterest?) Kids begging for a banana while I’m…
melon & mint ice pops
IF YOU HAVE A TEETHING TODDLER, you’ll know why I made frozen melon ice pops last week instead of just serving the little rascals a few wedges of cantaloupe. These cool treats certainly aren’t limited to those walking around with three fingers stuffed in their little mouths though. Our preschoolers were cheering when they saw these pops come…