Happy Saturday, Mama. On Saturdays I rise early and bake for breakfast; and I always double the recipe so that we can have a baked treat with our eggs and potatoes on Sunday morning. Today was Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins—our absolute FAVORITE way to use up mushy, over ripe bananas. And because it’s Saturday,Continue reading “Saturday Baking”
Category Archives: Food
Saturday Morning Baking
Before I was a mom, I thought that when I had kids, I’d bake all the time for them. And then…I had kids. And I realized that I was only baking on birthdays and holidays. It felt like there was never time and space to make it part of our regular rhythm. But as weContinue reading “Saturday Morning Baking”
Wanna See Inside My Fridge?
Hey Mama, Here’s a sneak peek of our fridge, and how it looks on a typical weekday. It’s almost 20 years old. It’s missing one of its fruit/vegetable drawers (see that blue basket on the bottom right?). It doesn’t have pretty transparent containers. And sometimes, (gasp!) when we have a lot of white rice leftover,Continue reading “Wanna See Inside My Fridge?”
Weekly Meal Rhythm
Hey Mama, Want to know a secret? We RARELY, if ever, eat out anymore. Or do takeout. Perhaps once a month, if that. But it never used to be like that around here. We would go out or order in at least once a week or more. It was really hard on our budget—and onContinue reading “Weekly Meal Rhythm”
Simple Valentines Celebration with Kids
Hey Mama, We had a simple Valentine’s breakfast this morning. Steve and I gave each kid a new (to them) book, and the kids gave valentines to each other (and gave each other long envied Pokémon cards from each other’s collections—now THAT’S love). Breakfast was food we had on hand. Bananas. Walnuts. Chocolate croissants fromContinue reading “Simple Valentines Celebration with Kids”
Elevate the Everyday
Want an easy win, Mama? Invite your kid(s) to a homemade sundae bar. Fill a muffin tin with whatever leftover odds and ends you have on hand. (I used crushed cookies, mini marshmallows, M & Ms, white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips and broken pretzels). Scoop some ice cream into mason jars or drinking glasses,Continue reading “Elevate the Everyday”
Simple Lunch Routine
Hey Mama. It’s summertime. How’s your lunch routine going? We eat a lot around here. With 5 kids someone is always hungry. While I’ve had dinners figured out for awhile, lunch somehow always got to me. I wouldn’t think about it until someone was STARVING, and then the mad dash to throw something together wouldContinue reading “Simple Lunch Routine”
Sunday Breakfast
We eat almost the same breakfast every Sunday. Scrambled eggs. Roasted potatoes. Baked goods leftover from Saturday’s baking. Since we all know the Sunday morning plan, we’ve fallen into a comfortable routine. Mr. 8 gets up and cracks eggs. He cracks them one by one into a smaller bowl, then dumps this into a largerContinue reading “Sunday Breakfast”
Recipe for Sofrito
Recipe for Sofrito •2 Bell Peppers 🫑 •2 Onions 🧅 •One Bunch Cilantro 🌿 coarsely chopped •One Whole Garlic Bulb 🧄 chopped •1/2 cup Olive Oil 🫒 •1 tsp. Salt 🧂 Process in blender until all ingredients are combined. Store in covered jar in refrigerator up to one week, or freeze in ice cube tray,Continue reading “Recipe for Sofrito”
Some Thoughts on Capsules
There’s a lot of talk these days about “capsules”. I found a definition online that really resonated with me: a capsule is a concise, curated collection. And I realized that I use capsules in a lot of places, not just in my clothing choices, but in much of life. In our family, we have aContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Capsules”
Next Door Hope 