Weekly meal plan: Easy comfort food dinners to usher us into a very weird fall
This is the first week I've worn a sweater all day, so it's starting to feel like fall, even down south where I live. We're ready for chili dinners and fires in the fireplace -- which is nicer than thinking about the long winter of social distancing that lies ahead...
Comfort foods for a tough week: Weekly Meal Plan 222
It has been a crazy week of fires and uncertainty for my family out west. And when things get uncertain, I turn to food for a bit of "normal.” Next week, I am planning five dishes designed to provide a warm hug from the inside out. Hopefully they’re good choices for...
Dozens of our favorite school lunch ideas that kids can make…even when school is at home
Just because your kids aren't in school in a traditional way doesn't mean that parents aren't thinking about school lunches. With so much on our plates these days (womp womp), it's a good opportunity for us to teach our kids to be more reliant, and make school lunches...
Weekly meal plan: Easy no-fuss Labor Day dinner ideas + meals for the rest of the week
Just a head's up: this weekend is Labor Day. It's not exactly like we're taking a break from anything to celebrate, but I'm always up for a chance to grill out. So, this week's meal plan gives you some ideas for a simple Labor Day with the family, as well as some...
Weekly Meal Plan 220: 5 easy family favorites for sliding back into the busy season.
Happy almost September! As we are all shifting from summering at home to schooling at home, things can feel a bit overwhelming for parents. (Not just me right?!). With so much that feels out of control in the world right now, I find that having a meal plan ready, and...
How to use up leftover pickle juice: 12+ creative ideas from from “oooh!” to “hmmm…”
When we saw a recent question about how to use up leftover pickle juice in our Recipe Rescue Facebook group, we thought we might be in a pickle (ha). But thankfully, we have the most helpful and creative readers in our community! They contributed a ton of clever...
Weekly meal plan: 5 easy meals for the week ahead, including better-than-drive-thru fast food sliders. Yum!
Grab your pen and grocery list, because this week’s meal plan is ready. For my family, we've hit the beginning of back to school season, and mama is already tired. If you're not already here, you will be soon! Let's just say, spending extended time in the kitchen...
Weekly Meal Plan: 5 late summer recipes your family will gobble up
I looked at the calendar this morning and...I couldn't believe it's mid-August. I swear it was just mid-March like yesterday. And here we are, still feeding our families day in and day out, despite our constantly changing plans and routines. Yay us! On the other...
What to make with the fresh veggies in your August CSA box
Many of us on the Cool Mom Eats team have made the leap to CSA memberships this year, since COVID-19 has limited our access to farmer’s markets in town. And sometimes we get some ingredients that we aren’t used to cooking with — which can be fun! But also, a little...
Weekly meal plan: 5 super easy dinners your family will love, if you’re a little tired of all the cooking
Grab your pen and grocery list, because this week’s meal plan is ready! This week I’m embracing the hot summer weather, with quick and easy summer dinners. And you know how much we love easy recipes, any time of year. But especially right ow. I don't feel like...
Does spicy food really cool you off? Here’s what the science says.
If you haven't noticed, it's summer. And it's hot. Like, miserably hot. My family thought we'd enjoy a relaxing dinner al fresco on the back porch and, just...nope. But it got me thinking...is there anything to the saying that spicy food actually cools you down? Most...
3 gazpacho recipes to keep on hand for summer, from totally authentic to quick and easy
Gazpacho is one of our favorite go-to dinners for hot summer nights because it's cool, it's easy, and it's sooo good. Add a salad -- or maybe grilled cheese for the kids -- and you have a satisfying, lighter dinner with very little work. Plus, gazpacho is the the...
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9 helpful tips for making a homemade gingerbread house. Learn from my successes….and uh, failures.
I never thought I'd be the person offering tips for making homemade gingerbread houses, but you know, 2020. Chalk it up to the baking bug so many of us caught in 2020, but my kids and I attempted our own homemade gingerbread houses for the first time this year....
We love these 10 festive ways to package Christmas cookie gifts | Holiday Gifts
Even if you've picked out your perfect Christmas cookie recipe already, you might be looking for ways to package those Christmas Cookies as gifts. Though the big crowded cookie swap I usually attend every December is canceled this year due to the pandemic, homemade...
What to make for a smaller Thanksgiving this year: 8 ideas to help you see it as an opportunity
So many of our readers and friends are asking about what to make for a smaller Thanksgiving this year. While this may be the prudent choice, I know it still comes with a lot of feelings. So many of us are skipping travels plans and raucous gatherings with...
12 of your favorite tips to save money on groceries: We’re stealing all of them!
We always want to save money on groceries, but now more than ever. In fact, on a recent Cool Mom Eats Instagram post, Terre N. mentioned that her grocery bills have seemingly doubled since Covid struck. And, boy, can we relate. One side effect of all this...
8 spectacular Halloween dinner theme ideas for a fun, safe night at home
With lots of families looking for trick-or-treating alternatives this year, one of Liz's suggestions was to host a fun Halloween themed dinner with the kids. Which, by the way, is a great idea for teens who may have outgrown trick-or-treating too, or a fun option...
Recipes
5 nights of comfort foods: A meal plan to get you through heck of a week
2021 is going to have to shape up soon, because we didn't think we'd be hitting the comfort foods so hard right now. How are we coping with the early sunsets, cold weather, anxiety-provoking news, and kids that still need love and care and feeding? Um, with mac and...
These are my 13 favorite new recipes I discovered for my family this year. Pandemic silver lining!
One of bright spots of 2020 is that I have discovered so many amazing new recipes for my family, stemming mainly from my newfound love for meal planning. Yes, meal planning! Who would have thought? Pre-Covid, I really was more of a wing-it-at-the-grocery-store kind...
DIY hot chocolate bombs make the best last-minute food gifts: 4 recipes, from super simple to OMG
Hot chocolate bombs have been blowing up (heh) my Instagram feed lately, so I decided to find some great recipes to make my own hot chocolate bombs at home. And wow, so many! It turns out that whatever your commitment level, you can find a DIY hot chocolate bomb...
10 of our readers’ favorite pie recipes for the holiday season. Move over bread, we’re baking pie!
Several weeks ago, a member in our Recipe Rescue group sent out a plea for your favorite non-pumpkin, non-pecan, non-cherry/apple/strawberry rhubarb pie recipes (to please a picky husband, should that matter), and our readers all seriously delivered. What a...
Save time and money with 5 slow cooker dinners under $10 each! | Meal Plan 233
Budget slow cooker dinner recipes are my whole mood right now. I don't know about you, but I'm short on time with the holidays here, not to mention all those holiday gifts taking a healthy bite out of my budget. So for this week's meal plan, I planned out...