instant pot chicken and potatoes

Creamy Ranch Italian Chicken and Potatoes {Instant Pot}

While I have no ambitions of being a straight-up food blogger, occasionally I’ll invent a recipe that’s just so good I have to share it. (And sharing it on my blog makes it super easy for ME to access it from my phone anytime I want to whip it up myself for dinner.) Ever since …

Chicken Soup Gravy Over Mashed Potatoes

Cooking From Food Storage {+ Recipe for Chicken Soup Over Mashed Potatoes)

Note: There are affiliate links to books and products mentioned below, which means I may get a small commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you. Although I haven’t (yet) done the next two planned posts in my Food Storage 101 series — the ones on long-term food storage and water — I …

cinnamon apple baked oatmeal

Settling In to the New House (+ Recipe for Cinnamon Apple Baked Oatmeal)

Our move this time around could not be more different than the last time we moved — last time, we only moved 15 minutes away from the apartment we were in before, which meant that friends and family (thanks to the lack of a pandemic, of course) could stay all day and help us get …

Quarantine Lunch Ideas for Kids

A Week of Quarantine “Making It Stretch” Lunches for the Kids

I have to admit, “quarantine cooking” doesn’t look much different than my regular cooking, because I was already in the habit of doing just one big grocery shopping haul at the beginning of every month with minimal (2, maybe 3) very small grocery trips in between for things like milk and produce (where I try …

Instant Pot Mexican Ground Beef and Rice Casserole

Instant Pot Mexican Ground Beef + Rice Casserole {30-Minute Pantry Meal!}

Even before quarantine life started, I was a big fan of pantry meals because I usually only do one big shopping trip per month and try to minimize trips to the grocery store for the rest of the month. I’m also a big lover of my Instant Pot, which I got for Christmas and use …

Honey Muffins

From-the-Pantry Honey Muffins

I’ve always tried to keep our grocery costs relatively low (usually around $450/month for our family of 5, which includes all household supplies like toilet paper and laundry detergent and diapers as well), but lately I’ve been trying to keep it even lower through meal prepping and not buying treats (oh M&M’s, how I miss …

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup + Our Favorite Breadstick Recipe

I’m not a fan of winter, but one thing I DO appreciate about the colder weather is that it greatly simplifies my dinner planning since I can start rotating soups and chowders back into the picture. At least once a week (usually on Mondays), we do a soup-and-breadstick night, which my kids are big fans …