What's cooking?

This is our dinner plan for the week. Eventually, I'm hoping to build these into a meal plan to post but for now, here's what's cooking for the week. Any applicable recipes are linked below.


- Baked Pesto Chicken
- Butternut squash
- Chicken piccata
- Turkey stuffed peppers

Spring has sprung!

Easter is just a week away and I cannot wait. I am not very religious which, I guess, is the whole point of Easter but let me have my moment here.

April means warmer temperatures, chirping birds and crocuses pushing through the ground. Baseball is on TV, it stays lighter longer and before you know it, it's Summer time! Here are my favorite Spring-y activities you can do as you count down to Easter.

Decorate your table with a Peeps centerpiece.


via Taste of Home.
Make Cinnabunnies for breakfast.


via Betty Crocker.
Turn yourself into the Easter bunny with a plate, paper and popsicle stick.


Create an egg shaped fruit pizza!


via Sugar Hero.
String some Easter egg garland!


via Eclectically Vintage.
Dye eggs! Love the ombre look.


via SAS Interiors.
Put together this Easter egg wreath. I am obsessed with this!


via Wine and Glue.
Bake this adorable bunny cake.


via The Cake Blog.
And last but certainly not least - make some Bunny bait! If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember that I made this for preschool!


via Around my Family Table.
I'm planning on making the Bunny cake (or something similar) for our Easter celebration. And the Easter bunny masks will be an activity we do during the week. I really REALLY want to attempt the egg wreath but we'll see. Hey….show me your Easter crafts!

Roasted Cauliflower

My kids love cauliflower but my husband…not so much. To be honest, it wasn't very high on my list of favorites either. But then I roasted it.

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into bite sized pieces
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
Pepper to taste


Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to coat.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour cauliflower onto baking sheet.
Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until browned and tender, turning every 10 - 15 minutes.
One large head serves 3 - 4 people.

This is a quick and easy side dish that you can throw together. Not to mention, it's pretty healthy as well. So many people like to use it as a substitute for mashed potatoes. I've seen recipes that compare roasted cauliflower to french fries but I wouldn't go that far. ;)

For the record, my husband ate every piece I gave him…and even admitted that it was pretty good. I'd say that's a check in the win column.

Sunny Sunday

It's only 46 degrees but the sun feels so good. Hurry up, Spring. We are getting a little impatient!

Our chicks are done with their brooding and are back in the egg business. Today, we're going to pick up two more babies that we'll keep in the laundry room nursery for a few more weeks. These chicks are supposed to lay pretty blue eggs. Very Martha Stewart like!

Happy Sunday!

…..Bueller?

Where does the time go? Seriously. What the actual hell?

There have been so many times that I've logged in, started a post and then somehow got distracted to the point where almost 2 months have gone by. I have so many random pieces of paper with blog ideas, all scattered around my life. I'm sure I'd be a blogging fool if I could, you know, find those pieces of paper.

Shit goes by so quickly and I cannot believe that it is (almost) April. I am so looking forward to being outside in the backyard. To say that we have cabin fever would be putting it lightly. I am planning a raised garden this year. I just want to dig in the dirt. I also want to "live off the land" as much as we can. My father in law has a huge garden every year so if I kill all of my plants, we will just live off of his land. ;)

Anyway. Hi, guys. Nice to see ya.

I am not ready for Sochi

But more importantly, Sochi is not ready for, well…..anyone.

US warns that terrorists could try to place explosives disguised as toothpaste on Russia-bound flights. http://t.co/jJECLdvyia #Sochi2014

— ABC News (@abcnews) February 5, 2014

Mass killing of stray dogs in #Sochi ahead of #WinterOlympics happening NOW: TAKE ACTION! http://t.co/fsY5bfZcna pic.twitter.com/VbrALVpu1w

— Animals Australia (@AnimalsAus) February 5, 2014

My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, "do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous." #Sochi2014

— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014

Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered pic.twitter.com/sQWM0vYtyz

— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014

Sochi hotel not quite finished, & has no record of my reservation. I'll go to the bar while they try to sort it. Oh. pic.twitter.com/HQjAm4UMHY

— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 4, 2014

This… IS.. SOCHI… pic.twitter.com/j1OXiuaPCQ

— Wylsacom (@wylsacom) February 4, 2014

Watch your step @Sochi2014 -- I've noticed on walkway and on sidewalks that not all man holes are always covered. pic.twitter.com/a5Nv4wu5iA

— Jo-Ann Barnas (@JoAnnBarnas) February 1, 2014

The tweets are endless. [Comprehensive list here]

I go between feeling horrified and laughing hysterically. I cannot imagine sending my child to Sochi so they can compete in the games. On one hand, they've worked so incredibly hard to make it to the Olympics. On the other hand, you have to worry about Black Widows and hope your child doesn't wear red, white and blue outside of the designated areas.

Also, did you know that there is not one gay person in Sochi? And gay athletes are actually biting their tongue because they're afraid of retaliation? WHY? The Olympics provide so much publicity and money. WHY! I am not great with history but I'm pretty sure that Russia has always been at least a little…..cringe worthy? Ugh.

Look, I'm not saying that every location chosen by the IOC has to be perfect. Every venue has had their problems. I'm just thinking that maybe, they could give more consideration to the Miss Congeniality of the group.

That being said, I will definitely be tuning in to the opening ceremonies on Friday. I'm all about the iceskating!

Chewy Granola Bars

I have a control problem and I know it. I like to know what we are eating. It is exhausting to make shit like this sometimes but it is so worth it. Have you read about the current state of food lately? It's scary. We aren't 100% free range/ organic/ pure/ unprocessed but I'm trying. Baby steps!

I made this on a whim and they turned out better than I had thought. The recipe is quick and most of the ingredients are things that you might already have in the pantry.

Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup crisped rice cereal
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp coconut oil
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Mini semi sweet chips

Directions
Spray an 8x8 glass pan with cooking spray. (I use coconut oil)
In a food processor, pulse the oats to break them up a little bit.
Add sugar, coconut oil and honey to a sauce pan and heat on medium heat.
Stir until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add vanilla.
In a medium bowl, mix oats and cereal.
Pour melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour oats into glass pan and press firmly. (I cover it with waxed paper before pressing)
Top with mini chips and press into the oats. Press quickly as they might melt a little due to the heat.
Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until they are set.
Cut and enjoy!

Children under 1 cannot have honey so keep that in mind when you're dishing these out. The original recipe is here .