Here in Fresno it is pouring rain! So when you entertaining wouldn’t you like to serve something warm and comforting? You know, like soup or chili? Of course not! I mean bowls are hard to handle and spill easily, right? There are options!

I can’t be the only on who has a million mugs (each with a story . That is a perfect way to serve soup or chili when you are entertaining a group! This isn’t the time to pull out your matching white mugs but it is perfect for your mix and match collection. That way everyone knows which mug is theirs! Then you have a handle to hold it and they are deep enough that you can keep a spoon securely!

This is a win!!

This was our Valentine’s Day dinner! We had bacon wrapped Filet, lobster tail, broccoli and Brazilian Cheese Rolls.

We all have those nights that we are going out but need to feed our kids or leave something the sitter can make. But I am kind of picky about frozen food. The kids need to have some vegetables, it needs to taste good, and not be greasy! It also needs to be easy enough that my sitter can make it while chasing my 4 kids;). Another component is wheat;). Since NerdDad and I are both gluten free, the kids kind of look forward to getting something with gluten when they eat dinner without us;).

So my kids were stoked to be able to try Bertolli’s Roasted Chicken and Rotini. They felt it was fancy and very grown up! My sitter said that it was easy to make and didn’t take a lot of work. The problem we found is that the younger 3 really wanted more pasta and less veggies but isn’t that how little kids always are? But my sitter and my 10 year old absolutely loved the soup!

I think that this soup is a great meal option! It is better for you than any fast food and probably quicker! Keeping this in your freezer is a pretty smart move! So check out more by visiting Bertolli’s Website, Facebook or follow them on Twitter!

(Disclosure: I was compensated to review Bertolli’s Meal Soups by GigCoin. But while they picked the subject the opinions were all mine!)

Super Bowl parties are always a lot of fun! We want to make sure that they are fun and easy for the host as well as the attenders! That comes for balancing both time and money! There are some easy ways to get the most out of your party pennies and your weekend.

1. Don’t make everything and don’t buy everything! Analyze what is a good investment of time to money! If the ingredients are expensive or the process time consuming then choose to buy that dish! A good example is tortilla chips. You can get a giant bag at Costco for less than $4! It would take you hours to make them and due to the process, they probably wouldn’t be as good;). But ministuffed red potatoes/potato skins are super cheap and easy to make! And refried beans are even cheaper and easier;).

2.Use you attendees for those items you don’t want to cook!!! I know that things like wings and breaded cheese sticks are very popular but they are hard to perfect at home. This is the perfect thing to ask someone to bring! You just mention that you saw a coupon last week (which I did;) and that would be an awesome contribution! Then they feel good because they get to bring something and don’t have to cook! Win/win!

3. Be honest!!! We all want to offer a variety of veggies but no one ever eats them! I love the look of the $10 veggie plate from Costco. But do you know how many times I have had left over broccoli that I have cooked for dinner or the tomatoes I later have to use in salads? Umm, just about every one;). Save yourself some money and buy a few pounds of baby carrots for a couple of dollars. Those will actually be eaten! And you don’t need celery unless you are serving wings or Bloody Mary’s;).

4. Themed food that all works together and can hang out all day is always a win! I tend to go with a Mexican theme.  Up to a few days before I will make a huge batch of beans in the crockpot. I will turn most of them into refried beans the day of. People are always impressed with homemade refried beans but it is so cheap and easy! Then the day of I put a big old cheap pork roast inthe crockpot with plenty of seasonings and make a batch of rice in my rice maker. I pair them with fresh corn tortillas from Vallarta (or any Mexican grocery), Costco tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, shredded lettuce, limes and queso fresco. Then let everyone eat how they want! Some will have carnitas tacos, some will do nachos and so on. Everything will hold great all day!

5. An easy alcohol plan! We are not big drinkers so I always have ice tea and soda on hand even if we do have alcohol. Every party planner I have ever read says to focus on 1 signature mixed drink. For a Mexican theme you can always go with maragarita’s. You have the cocktail and the components so an industrious gues can make what ever they want out of the components;). And if you are beer drinkers have plenty of just 1 kind on hand. When you have to many drink choices it can be over whelming to figure out how much of what to buy;).

I wouldn’t shop for alcohol at the grocery store. I would hit Costco or Beverages and More. You can get on the BevMo frequent buyer plan an,d even if you are like me and only buy alcohol once a year, it adds up! Also you get emails so you know when your favorite brands are on sale. Extra win? They take manufaturer’s coupons!!!

6. Dessert is essential! It doesn’t have to be fancy but does need to exist! Have a batch of brownies or some cookies. Pair it with a bowl of candy and you are good.

And I have left my number 1 rule to the end….DON’T HAVE FOOD THAT YOU OR FAMILY WILL NOT EAT AS LEFTOVERS! No one wants to ever run out of food. So make sure you will eat the leftovers. Then when you are still recovering the next day there will be plenty to eat in the house!

Entertaining is really that easy!

I think there is not a dish more perfect than a simple dish of roasted red potatoes. To call it a recipe seems wrong but this is how I do it. I take red potatoes and cut them up. Place them in a baking dish. Season them generously with Pappy’s seasoning (or any seasoning blend you like). Douse with oil and toss them all together. Place in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. Cheap and easy.

This is a great gluten free throw together dish on a weeknight It is a little spicy and satisfying!! Nom nom.

Ingredients:

2 packages of rice noodles
3 8 oz packages of Farmer John sausage links (we are a meat heavy family)
1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 tsp salt
1 tbls dehydrated onion
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp minced garlic

Process:

Prepare the noodles (soak them in boiling water, then rinse them in cold water and drain). Crumble and fry spinach. Do not drain!!! Throw in onion and garlic. Then toss in noodles and stir. Coat the noodles in the sausage and oil from the sausage. Then add the salt and paprika. Stir again. Then add the spinach. Toss and continue to cook until it is all heated through. Then serve.

So easy! So good!

And I am home from CES! So my first home cooked dinner was a steak bowl! It was made with leftover steak, rice, broccoli, a little shredded cheese and taco sauce. The magic with the steak is to originally cook it only to rare. Then when you reheat the steak it is perfect! So the last time we had made steak we cooked a little extra.

Yummy and so very easy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk or soy milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups tapioca flour
2/3 cup grated mozzarella
2 beaten eggs

Process:

First, combine the butter, water. milk and salt in a pot. Bring to just boiling and turn it off. Then mix it with the tapioca flour until just combined. If you mix it until it is completely smooth you will make flat rounds. Then leave the mixture to sit for 10-20 minutes until the flour rehydrates and the mixture cools. Then stir in the beaten eggs and cheese. The texture might be like cottage cheese. Then I use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

They are best the day of but will last a day or two. I am currently experimenting with freezing scenarios;).

Tonight we Zuppa Toscana knock off soup with tapioca cheese biscuits (I will put that recipe up this week). I did switch out the kale with fresh spinach!

Ok, I said I would try to do a picture a day but I didn’t promise they would be great food;). Today was a Starbucks kind of day!