I built a Trader Joe’s turkey out of gingerbread: A hilarious and vaguely cautionary tale.
I have a few different love languages. One is value and gift sets from Sephora. Another love language is Sister Act 2. My third love language is what brings us here today: Building things out of food. I. LOVE. MAKING. THINGS. OUT. OF. FOOD. Luckily, I have my...
Two easy Trader Joe’s meals my family lives on during the holidays.
Ah, the holiday craziness is upon us: Searching for the right gift, hosting family and friends (SO. MANY. MEALS.) and balancing the school concerts, parties, events and more. Believe me, I love it, but by the end of a school or workday, the last thing many of us want...
A Merry Berry holiday cocktail recipe perfect for Thanksgiving (or any winter celebration).
A few years back, we had the pleasure of hosting A Me-Time Holiday Party for some friends and fans at Sbraga, a super cool and totally delicious spot in Philly. Top Chef fans might recognize that name; this award-winning restaurant is owned by Season 7 winner Chef...
Weekly meal plan: 3 easy meals to get you to Thanksgiving, plus 25+ ideas for your leftovers
It's Thanksgiving week, which means you're going to be cooking a lot. Since we're going to be spending so much time in the kitchen, we wanted to find 3 easy dinners you can whip up quickly. Then, we're all about the Thanksgiving leftovers, and creative ways to use...
5 impressive but easy Thanksgiving pies. Skip the pumpkin.
I'm a huge fan of basically any pie recipe for Thanksgiving, but I admit I'm always looking for options that aren't pumpkin on our buffet. Yes, it's tradition and there are lots of ways to change up pumpkin pie and make it more creative -- but I also know it's not...
Easy, eco-friendly table setting ideas for a less wasteful Thanksgiving
Sandwiched between the plastic spiders and candy wrappers of Halloween and the blinking lights and tissue-stuffed gift bags of the holidays, I love that Thanksgiving offers us an opportunity to get back to basics. I'm turning my focus to family, food, and tradition....
Weekly meal plan: 5 easy cold + flu busting recipes for fall.
These cold-weather germs are out to get us, parents. Here in Nashville, some schools are talking about closing because so many kids are out with the flu. It's no fun, so we've rounded up 5 delicious cold and flu-busting recipes for your families. Cook these this week,...
9 vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes, from mains to sides, that even the carnivores will love.
If your'e looking for vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes that meat-eaters will like too, I am the perfect person to help. Because two years ago during the holidays, my paleo husband decided to turn vegan. Really. And he hasn't had so much as one cheese stick or single...
Friendsgiving food idea: Why this Apple Squash Gratin is my favorite, unexpected Thanksgiving side dish
Although Friendsgiving can be an event on the same scale as Thanksgiving -- depending how much cooking you're doing or how many side dishes you're expected to prepare -- it can also feel more relaxed than the usual big turkey day. Family tension is absent, kids (if...
A realistic 2-3 week Thanksgiving planning calendar for busy parents. Like duh, we can’t all start in October.
One look at the Thanksgiving planning calendars, and it brings up a whole lot of stress. I was supposed to order a turkey *when*? While Thanksgiving falls late on the calendar this year, it's still never enough time. Because my sister Karen has hosted Thanksgiving at...
How to choose the turkey that’s right for you: What do all those different terms mean? Argh!
Cooking a Thanksgiving turkey is always a little stressful – whether this is your 23rd Thanksgiving turkey in a row or your very first. What I've learned over the years is that guests (and their dietary restrictions!) change, budgets go up or down, labeling laws...
Weekly meal plan: 5 low-calorie comfort food dinners, so you can still fit into your pants this holiday season
We know fall is all about comfort food, but you know, we do still want to fit into our pants this holiday season. So, this week we're looking for low-calorie comfort food dishes that still give you all the satisfaction of their weightier counterparts. So grab a pen,...
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8 creative, easy ways to wrap a bottle of wine to make a holiday wine gift a little more gifty
Grabbing a bottle of wine and throwing it into a skinny, store-bought gift bag or just sticking a bow on top is pretty much my standard way to gift a bottle wine to any party hosts, close friends, or special teachers this time of year. But now I'm rethinking my...
We found the best grab-and-go gifts right at Trader Joe’s. Holiday shopping made easy!
I love that this time of year, I can accomplish both my food shopping and a lot of my gift shopping at at Trader Joe's, all at the same time. Lucky for me, Trader Joe's has some of my favorite affordable grab-and-go gifts that make it worth the 30 minute drive for...
The world’s easiest cocktail garnishes: 4 ridiculously simple ways to make your cocktails look pro with no skills at all.
This content is for readers 21+ which you probably are, because hi, it says "mom" in our website name. Please drink responsibly. Thanks to Drinkworks for sponsoring this post, because how fun is that? Well hello there! I'm that person who says, I'm going to...
Weekly meal plan: 5 make-ahead dinners for the busy holiday season
The holiday season is here in full force, and it can be sooo busy. So, we've found 5 great make-ahead dinners that will get you through these busy weeknights without too much stress. Use that extra time to go to holiday parties, get some shopping done, or just have...
Easy, eco-friendly table setting ideas for a less wasteful Thanksgiving
Sandwiched between the plastic spiders and candy wrappers of Halloween and the blinking lights and tissue-stuffed gift bags of the holidays, I love that Thanksgiving offers us an opportunity to get back to basics. I'm turning my focus to family, food, and...
Recipes
Weekly meal plan: 5 easy meals for the week ahead, with tips for stretching them to 7 meals
Another week is here, and yes, you still have to feed your family. Every single night. But we have your back with 5 easy weeknight dinner recipes that your family will love...plus smart ways to get more than just one meal out of each cooking session. At top: Loaded...
Weekly meal plan: 5 family friendly one-pot dinners
We're all working moms here, and we get that sometimes you just don't want to cook at night. A great trick we've found is to have some easy one-pot recipes in your lineup, so you can keep the cooking simple...and the cleanup even simpler. So here are 5 delicious...
5 easy recipes from Trader Joe’s to get you through January
Now that the afterglow of the holidays has faded, I can look forward to months of cold, dark evenings with lots of hungry faces looking up at me to inquire, "what's for dinner?" And if you too are dreading coming up with anything more complicated than cereal, stick...
Weekly meal plan: Easy comfort food meals that won’t kill your diet
This week we're looking for easy comfort food -- bonus points if it's all in one pot -- that still aren't too heavy. You know, for those of you out there still sticking to those healthy eating resolutions for longer than a week. So grab a pen, make your shopping...
12 tasty good-luck foods that the kids will like, to get the new year started right
Though I am not the biggest celebrant of New Year's Eve---why does it have to be so late?---I do love the tradition of starting the New Year off right by eating some traditionally lucky foods on January 1st. And I am so thankful that these "lucky foods" do not...
