Easy Recipes

These savory sausage bites are a perfect pairing of meaty sausage with melty cheese. The Italian flavor packed into these petite packages was inspired by San Diego's Gaslamp district, a historic region known largely as the seaside spot where fine diners and club-goers comingle. The Italian charm in the area has recently localized quite a bit into the adjacent region known as Little Italy.

It's back to school time, which means lots and lots of after school snacks. We have four little boys coming home every day looking for food and fun. This Yummy Dino Buddies bento box serves up a big bunch of both!

The sun is blazing overhead right now, and I’m actually starting to miss cloudy days. Perhaps that’s why I channeled those thoughts into my latest kids’ bento box, creating puffy white clouds next to a bright sunshiney tangerine.

I’d categorize myself as a pretty decent cook, but I run out of ideas just like any other parent. Sometimes, a quick fix is where it’s at! I love taking boxed or frozen meals and adding my own flair to keep things interesting and easy. Mac and cheese is a longtime favorite around here, so for a recent summer party I decided to mix things up with a macaroni and cheese bar.

Man, that's a click-baity title if I've ever read one! I hope you're not all expecting some epic Ziplock bag solution to help bring vegetables camping, or carrots sprayed with vinegar to make them last. I've tried all that stuff. It didn't work. Nope, our "hacks" nowadays tend to be more of the grab-and-go sort. Nate and I have four kids so when we say we have a simple solution, you're always going to find straightforward, honest, REAL answers even if it's something like "go to Target and buy this thing." Ka-bam. Problem solved. It's not always creative, it's not Pinterest-y, but it'll get the job done as fast as possible and it'll usually save you money.

Our family was hit with that gnarly flu last month, and everything got thrown out of whack around our house. It's all errands and doctor appointments and an obnoxious amount of time spent in the car while we get back up to speed. In order to avoid the drive-thru as much as possible, I've been toting along veggie muffins as a handy (and healthy!) snack.

If you haven't tried mixing quinoa with your yogurt situation yet, you're doing breakfast wrong. Don't worry, though, this pomegranate parfait will get you up to speed in no time.

This may come as a shock to most of you, but I'm kind of a minimalist in the kitchen. I prefer not to keep a ton of complicated ingredients around, sticking instead to some versatile basics that lend well to a plethora of different recipes. That's why chia seeds have become a fast favorite around here. They store for months without any fuss, and they work as easily into a chia pudding as they do a salad dressing, pancakes, protein bars, jam or muffins.

I have one of those kids who wants to know how everything in the entire world works. He needs to investigate every single thing to death. Thank goodness we have Mighty Machines and Bill Nye streaming on Netflix.

This is the most magical time of year. Everyone bundles up in their scarves to gather with friends, eat tasty food, and settles in eager anticipation of what's to come. Lots of people call this season "Christmas," but around here we know it as "Bowl Game time."