Today, this humble little corner of the Internet turns 18. Thank you to each and every one of you for joining me here. I never imagined sitting on my rust-colored couch in my studio apartment, all of 26 years old, that I would still be creating content for this site at 44. But here we are, and it has been one of the great joys of my life.
Thank you.
Morning Drop Off. School is back in session. Where did the summertime go?
Sloane has been attending preschool all summer, but once school officially starts, the morning routine becomes a bit more rigid (ie. stressful). So I spent part of the weekend prepping her clothes and mine for the morning rush — doing laundry, organizing the drawers, making sure our essentials are ready to go. Here’s hoping it will hasten our morning exit.
So what do I like to wear for drop off? Varley. It’s comfortable, looks good, and is easily washed if an errant bit of maple syrup finds its way onto my clothes. I can’t wait until it’s cool enough to wear this sweater with jeans (even if they’re fake jeans).
Back to school season is such an adjustment for everyone in the house. New classes, new routines, new people. We went through it earlier this summer when Sloane moved up classes — woof. So if your kids are starting a new school, changing teachers or beginning something new, good luck. It may take a few weeks to find equilibrium, but you will. Good luck to us all.
School Supplies. Speaking of falling back into routines, I am spending the week cleaning up my office and restocking my office supplies. I’ve been working from different parts of the house over the summer, and it’s time to get back to business. It’ll be nice to use my extraordinarily large monitor again. I also restocked my To Do List notepads and my favorite pens.
Pick Me Up. I needed an easy watch to help me end the day calmly, so I decided to rewatch Ted Lasso before starting the new season. (No spoilers, please.) Every time I watch it it makes me a little bit happier, but it also makes me want to move to London.
Kitchen Confidential. We are trying really hard to eat out less, especially during the week. It’s incredible how quickly you can lose the ability to meal plan, cook, and feed yourself. We are struggling to come up with recipes that we like that we can cook in less than 45-minutes. In our dreams, Sloane would also be interested in eating what we’re eating, but moving her off a diet of quesadilla and chicken strips is a long term goal.
I made this bulgogi with the meat from Costco — it was surprisingly easy and tasty. We also enjoyed this potsticker and smashed cucumber dish (I just buy peanut sauce from the neighborhood Thai place). I will also probably make this halloumi grain bowl this week.
If you have an easy-ish, tasty meals that your family likes to make on school nights and work nights, please leave them in the comments. Bonus points if a small child will eat it.
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Currently loving this quick recipe for salmon! Don’t skimp on the cucumber-avocado salad – it’s perfect. https://pinchofyum.com/bang-bang-salmon-with-avocado-cucumber-salsa
My family loves hummus and tomatoes, so chicken shawarma sandwiches made from pre-marinated Trader Joe’s chicken is one of our favorites. We roast the chicken with quartered red onion. Then I set out sliced cucumber, quartered cherry tomatoes, feta, hummus, tahini sauce, and olives. Everyone can choose to put it on a salad or a pita. We call it a choose-your-own-adventure dinner to satisfy small children’s needs to be in control.
The TJs Shwarma Chicken is a go to for us – we use it in a lot of ways, and definitely an easy meal.
Check out Downshiftology for easy tasty meals! We (kids included) love the Greek sheet pan chicken, the Mediterranean beef, and the lemony lentil chickpea soup… among many others. (Add rice for a fuller meal)
Thank you so much for this blog. It is only thanks to you that I leave the house looking reasonably pulled together. However, while I first came for fashion advice, I have loved the essays you’ve written lately.
I am all about the easy dinner and my family tends to be pasta heavy.
1. Chicken Spaghetti:
1 lb spaghetti
3 c / 1.5 lbs shredded chicken (love Costco for this)
1 t oregano
1 t kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Costco jar of RAO marinara
4 oz cream cheese
0.5 c parmesan + more for topping
Cook spaghetti according to directions then drain and return to pot.
Turn stove top on to low heat.
Add sauce and warm through.
Add cream cheese and parmesan and stir until blended.
Add shredded chicken.
2. From Cookie & Kate: Pasta with Lentils
1 c dry red lentils (picked through and rinsed)
1 bay leaf
1/4 t salt
2 c broth or water
Costco jar of RAO marinara
Pasta
In small saucepan, combine lentils, bay leaf, salt and broth. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium high heat, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer until the lentils are cooked through and tender (15 – 20 min).
Drain lentils and discard bay leaf.
Cook pasta
Combine lentils and marinara sauce in a pot, gently heat and stir to combine.
Use as sauce.
If your local library has cookbooks, I recommend checking out America’s Test Kitchen’s Dinner Tonight to see if those recipes work for your family. They have a nice variety of quick recipes that you can test run before you commit to buying.
Love starting with the library for cookbooks, too!
I’ve been following you for years and years and you’ve been so influential in how I present myself for work.
Dinner ideas – I would second the America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks. I have eventually realized for myself that when I mastered the basics of cooking and seasoning – I could figure out dinner from most anything in the fridge and didn’t need to rely on a recipe every night. If I make a protein and vegetable – then I usually cut up fruit and raw veggies for a side.
I wold also recommend getting one of the America Test Kitchen slow cooker cookbooks and cooking your way through it – you’ll figure out what you like in the slow cooker – and you can put those recipes on repeat! 🙂
This sheet pan gnocchi recipe is a family favorite that our kids enjoy too! We supplement the base recipe with a pack of Italian flavored chicken sausage for added protein. I stir every 10 minutes and cook for 35 just to get the red onion a little jammier and gnocchi a little crisper.
https://www.howsweeteats.com/2019/01/sheet-pan-gnocchi/
Thank you for making this space! I’ve been a fan for 10+(?) years now and appreciate the effort and hours you’ve shared with us.
Been with you from the beginning, and while my life changes happened a few years ahead of you, I can still relate. Trust me when I say it gets better.
For dinners, look up Recipe Club from Kelsey Nixon. https://kelseynixon.com/ She’s full of great ideas that my whole family loves (10M/8F+parents)
We are a soupercube household. I balked at the price but it makes a surprising amount of difference to have a sturdy tray vs. cheapo silicone ones I’ve used before. It’s also the only meal prep system my husband has ever used voluntarily.
Our system looks like this:
Weekend day 1- cook a protein. Some of our favorites are Costco chicken thighs or breast with a jar of salsa in the instant pot, Skinnytaste harissa chicken, My Heart Beets chicken curry.
Eat said protein as a salad topping, freeze the rest in half-cup souper cubes.
Weekend day 2- cook a grain. We usually do brown rice. Freeze in half-cup souper cubes.
Weekday- cook a big batch of veggie or vegetarian protein in the instant pot. My Heart Beets zucchini curry, Spend with Pennies brown lentils, Chipotle-style black or pinto beans, etc. Eat with frozen rice, frozen protein, and/or salad greens. Freeze the rest in half-cup souper cubes.
Weekday- roast a pan of fresh vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, squash, bell pepper whatever. I just chop everything to bite-size, drizzle with olive oil, and add salt and pepper. Maybe a squeeze of lemon. Eat with frozen protein, rice, and/or salad greens.
Weekday with zero time or energy- frozen rice + frozen protein + frozen veggie.
Weekday with unusually high energy- big batch of soup, curry, or pasta dish. Freeze in 1 cup souper cubes.
We always have good condiments on hand (chili crisp, cilantro crema, gochujang, peanut sauce, tzatziki, Indian pickle) and every meal gets something fresh unless it’s a really rough zero time/energy day. But having a good supply of frozen bases makes getting dinner on the table a thousand times more feasible.
I highly recommend Caroline Chambers’ recipes, either from her cookbooks or substack. Some of our family favs are the pasta ala vodka, bbq meatballs, and peanuty pork and brussels over ramen.
She has subs for almost everything, the recipes are quick, and tasty but not fussy.
I second this. Caroline’s substack is full of easy to prepare and READ recipes. She puts the ingredient amount in the actual recipe, which is such a nice feature. She also provides substitutions for every ingredient. I love the recipes Anna listed above, but also beef basil bowls, greek sheet pan gnocchi, the grilled chicken pita chop, and her good soup (literally the name of the soup). Most of the recipes are quick enough for a weeknight.
I was surprised how far I had to scroll before I found a Caro rec! Agree with Anna and Emily, her recipes are great.
Two recommendations:
1. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024164-crisp-gnocchi-with-sausage-and-peas
our toddler devours this, but i have to make two packages of the gnocchi because he will grab a ton of it while i make the rest of the recipe!
2. Egg Roll Bowls – https://www.recipe-diaries.com/weight-watchers-egg-roll-in-a-bowl/
I use a recipe from an old Weight Watchers cookbook that i just kind of fiddle with, but this looks similar
The Well Plated Cookbook is also excellent for these kind of ideas
Happy Anniversary! Long time reader – thanks for all that you do.
I also came to recommend Caroline Chambers’ recipes. Her newest cookbook came out last week, What to Cook When You Don’t Feel like Cooking – Make it Fast, and is excellent. We’ve made a handful of recipes from it already and are really enjoying it. Serena Wolf’s latest cookbook, You Do You, has similar vibes (but is probably less kid-friendly than Caro’s).
Spaghetti and sautéed onions. Help a fry pan with onions. They cook down. Add olive oil in generous quantity. It’s straightforward, and something you can have around as a back up plan. Adding artichoke hearts and marinated mushrooms is yummy. Sauteeing mushrooms with (or instead of) the mushrooms is good. Add or remove whatever vegetables you may have around. Just a good go to, that feels more like a meal then another night of dumping a jar of sauce on pasta (which I also do).
And, never undervalue scrambled eggs to pull together whatever is in the fridge. If you have skills make it an omelet instead.
I’m recently on these turkey meatball thingies (I form them a bit bigger and oblong, like kofta shape). Perfect if you have an air fryer. I stole the recipe from a guy on youtube, “Life by MikeG”
Dump 1lb ground turkey into a bowl. Add 1/2cup store bought pesto and 2tbsp breadcrumbs. If you like them and feel like chopping, add 2-4 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes. Big pinch of salt, ground black pepper. Stir with a wooden spoon or mix/mash with your hand until everything is combined and even. Divide into 8 sections and form each one into an oblong kofta-like meatball. Fry in the air fryer on 385-390F for 8 mins, flipping halfway through. You don’t need any extra oil thanks to the pesto.
Prep takes legit 5-10 minutes and they’re cooked <10 mins after that. They are SO GOOD. Put a pot of white rice on before you start making the meatballs, and they'll be done at the same time. Or steam some broccoli, whatever.
Also these meatballs freeze really well; from frozen, you just pop them directly in the air fryer (no thawing) and cook for more like 15 mins at 375.
You might need to adjust the cooking times if you make them smaller or rounder.
These are a new staple in our house. We're kid-free, but I would make them for any kid.
we did a lot of meatballs when my girls were younger (and frankly still do even though they’re teens). A sesame ginger, traditional italian, I even found a “chicken finger” meatball…it is a good source of protein, I can prep them on Sunday or at lunch if I work from home and also an option to sneak in veggies if I chop them small enough. Also easy to intro new flavor profiles like teriyaki or something that might not go over as well with a new shape and new texture.