Blogspot - Recipe Scratch Rusia

  I love this system for weeknight dinners.  This dinner took me 5 minutes to prepare - I sliced the potatoes and radishes in half, then I put some goat cheese under the skin of the chicken.  I drizzled everything with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of salt.  It went in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes (except for the asparagus, I actually took it out after the first 10 minutes so it didn't get burnt to a crisp).  While it cooked, I cleaned up the cutting board, unloaded the dishwasher, put the groceries away and set the table.  All of this started at 5:30 immediately after we'd gone to the grocery store.  By 6:00 dinner was ready, the kitchen had already been cleaned up (during the 30 min cook time) and Mike walked in the door for dinner. I used two Large Baking Sheets ($10) with Parchment Paper ($10) you can find in my store, here > This isn't the dinner anyone would request for their birthday, and it is definitely on the list of "ligh...

Chicken Piccata with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes & Angel Hair We have this for dinner probably about once a week - one of everyone's favorites.  It is one of my very favorites because it takes 20 minutes to make (seriously - I timed myself!) and everyone in our family loves it.  It is fairly healthy with lots of spinach, chicken and tomatoes and not too much pasta.  It also feels light, but still filling and very flavorful.  I love that I can stop by the store and have this on the table so quickly and everyone is excited about dinner. I haven't done a new dinner recipe in a while - a really long time.  I think I've fallen into the same trap of most moms... feeding people every single day.  Emma's tastes are simpler than ours, and though she is a fairly good eater, she doesn't want to try something new every night and, frankly, neither do I.  We take comfort in our favorites - pasta, tacos, burgers, roasted chicken, soup, etc.  So, when I realized...

At some point over the last few weeks, Spring completely and abruptly merged into Summer.  It is hot here.  Hot!  There is nothing I detest more than super hot days than cooking in a hot kitchen on super hot days. For this week, I'm planning to stock our refrigerator with cool, flavorful and simple things that we can easily turn into lunch or dinner.  Its our favorite way to eat during the summer.  I usually marinade something for the grill like chicken, steak or shrimp, then we make up the rest of the meal with refrigerator favorites. See all of the my Summer Inspiration Posts & Recipes, here > Here are some of the recipes I'll be whipping up this week to keep in the fridge :  Chicken Salad, recipe here > Emma LOVES chicken salad, so I usually make a big at the beginning of the week for our lunches.  She takes it in a small kitchen container to eat with ritz crackers and I usually have mine with a half of an avocado or as a sandwich.   ...

Happy Monday : )  It feels like a Monday - in the best way.  It is slightly warmer than usual outside (but getting colder by the minute), grey and misting.  The warm, wet weather over the weekend made it feel like Spring should be just around the corner, but I know it isn't.  In the meantime, I am bringing some spring inside.  I finally got all of my paper whites cleaned out over the weekend - they were definitely on their last leg.  I replaced them with some spring bulbs.  I so enjoy growing something inside during the holidays months (paper whites and amaryllis), that I like to keep it going until spring. These, on our dining table, are muscari.  On our baking counter I have a large urn planter filled with daffodils and a small terra-cotta planter with tulips.   I have a couple of more terra-cotta pots on my office bench with more tulips. Emma and I also cleaned out my dead boxwoods in the windowboxes (DIY link) over the weekend (insert ey...

Family Dinner Goals No matter what time of year (beginning or otherwise), I am always looking for a way to make our family dinners easier, more interesting, healthier and more frequent.  Aren't we all?   I'm going to start a new Family Dinner series on the blog.  Wish me luck sticking to it - ha!  Seriously, though, I'm so passionate about our family sitting down together 3-4 nights a week.  The ritual of sitting down to a family dinner is my favorite part of the day.  I know that lots of kids and busy schedules can get in the way, but we are in charge of our homes and our families.  The time we spend across the table from one another, talking about our days is so key for keeping a strong family connection.  So, I'm going to come up with some great ideas for making Family Dinners easier, give ideas on fun  kid friendly table settings and recipes.   Last Fall, I wrote a lengthy post about our commitment to Family Dinners, h...

Oh my have I been waiting to share this.  We made this two weeks ago and it is about to happen again this week - that's when you know it is a good one.  There are so many great things going on with this recipe. There are a couple of secrets that you must do to experience all it has to offer.  1) Salt the pork 2 hours before cooking - and use lots of salt.  It really makes the dish very tasty.  2) Serve with Apple Butter.  The pork, apples and onions become very salty, and the sweet, cold apple butter does amazing things when dolloped on top.  3) Serve with Cheddar Grits.  If you've never made grits before, don't worry, they are so easy.  The creamy, savory taste is amazing with the salty, sweet pork.  Finally, 4) Serve with the Autumn Harvest Salad.  Normally I only enjoy cold, crispy salads, but something about serving this on a warm plate with warm food, almost wilts the greens and the balsamic mixes with the sauce.  It almos...