Happy Friday! I have a TON of great food links for you today, but before we get to that I wanted to talk about something dear to my heart. Last October I had the chance to attend ONE’s AYA Summit in Washington, D.C. I have yet to write a post about the conference because there is just too much I want to share. I’m planning to do a series of recipes posts to tell the stories, but until then…

Pictured: Ginny Wolfe (ONE), Patricia Amira (The Oprah of Africa…she was AWESOME.)

Video from the AYA Summit has been posted on Flipbook. Click here to see the videos (you’ll need to set up a Flipbook account – it’s worth it!). I don’t even know where to tell you to start, but all of it is fascinating/informative/inspiring – that I can promise!

One of the women we heard from, Marquesha Babers, wrote a post for the ONE website. Please read it. Marquesha is an amazing young woman I was blessed to meet at the summit.

Pictured, left to right: Holly Gordon (Girl Rising), Patricia Amira, Danai Gurira (Playwright and, yes, Michonne on The Walking Dead), Marquesha Babers (Poet)

If you want to DO something right now to support ONE, click here! One of the reasons I love ONE so much is that they aren’t asking for our money, they are asking for our voice. Right now you can send a letter to your congresspeople urging them to reintroduce the Electrify Africa bill. It’s super easy and will make a difference.

Okay, on to some delicious food!

This week on Babble I shared a recipe for a Deconstructed Chicken Club. I’m finding that deconstructing foods is one of the best ways to get my kids to eat it!

On Parade’s Community Table I have 2 posts this week!

• 20 Ridiculously Delicious Ways to Make Pancakes
• 10 Fast and Healthy Lunches You’ll WANT to Eat!

And, lastly, if you’re pregnant or have just had a baby, be sure to visit the Solly Baby Blog to get ideas for Healthy, EASY Snacks for Nursing Moms.

Show and Tell time! Please share your own stuff!

Two summers ago we stayed in Falmouth, MA for our annual Cape Cod family vacation. One night we ordered pizza from a restaurant called Stone L’Oven and every last pizza was delectable. My favorites were the fig and prosciutto pizza (which I already created a recipe for) and a wonderful sweet potato pizza. Nate’s cousin Sara and I went back and forth endlessly about which one we liked more. In the end we couldn’t decide, they were both amazing!

I have finally recreated the sweet potato pizza in my own kitchen and it was delicious! This pizza has all kinds of wonderful ingredients, from salty bacon and gorgonzola cheese to sweet caramelized onions and sweet potatoes. Top it all off with a balsamic glaze and you’re in heaven!

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A note on the balsamic glaze – I used to make it myself until I discovered STAR’s Modena Creamy Balsamic Glaze. Their glaze is the perfect consistency for drizzling on pizza, so that’s what I use now. I highly recommend it.

Sweet Potato and Bacon Pizza

 

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This pizza is the perfect combination of salty and sweet!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Pizza crust of your choice (I use this recipe or good naan bread for my crust)
• olive oil
• 1 fresh garlic clove per pizza you make
• caramelized onions
• fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced (regular shredded mozzarella cheese works, too, but I love fresh)
• gorgonzola cheese, small chunks
• sweet potato, cubed
• bacon, cooked and chopped
• fresh spinach
• salt and pepper
• balsamic glaze (if you want to make your own, click here for instructions. STAR makes a bottled balsamic glaze that I love - click here for more info.)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Toss cubed sweet potatoes in olive oil and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a cooking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until soft.
3. Roll out pizza crust then brush on a thin layer of olive oil across the surface. Push fresh garlic clove through a garlic press then spread with your fingers over the oiled crust. Top pizza with caramelized onions, gorgonzola cheese, spinach, sweet potatoes, and bacon. Finish with mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake pizza how you normally do it for your crust recipe.
5. Remove from oven, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper then drizzle with balsamic glaze. Serve!

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Hello everyone! Today I’m doing something I have NEVER done before with my menu – I am copying and pasting last week’s menu! I had every intention of using that meal plan, but life took a little turn on Monday when I fell of the bathroom counter trying to kill a bug. Let this be a lesson to you – towel racks are only meant to support towels, not humans. I’m FINE, but it definitely threw my week off and I never did regular grocery shopping. I still cooked, but it was just throwing stuff together from around the house along with a few things I grabbed at Costco later in the week. Hence, my first ever weekly menu repeat! I debated doing this, but it’s a really good menu and I WANT to make it, so here we are!

MONDAY:
– Chicken Fried Rice (going to go for something like Behihana makes)

TUESDAY:
– Penne in vodka sauce (thanks to Michelle for the idea!)
– Garlic bread and salad

WEDNESDAY:
– Golden Moroccan Lamb Stew (another Penzeys recipe we’re trying) with rice

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Carnitas tacos
– Guacamole and chips

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Leftover carnitas

Click here for the free printable of this week’s menu plus the shopping list!

You know the drill, please share your menu for the week, even if it’s the same exact one as last week! Apparently that’s kosher around here. 😉

Happy Friday!

Today I have two posts I wrote for Babble that I’m super excited to share with you.

First, the kids and I made Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs. I found the recipe in a Cook’s Illustrated magazine and it was GENIUS. I will never cook ribs another way again!

If you like chai tea and bourbon, then you will LOVE this recipe for Bourbon Chai with Spiced Bourbon Cream. That cozy little drink should definitely help those of you currently buried in snow!

Show and Tell is for the whole class – share your stuff!

I think it’s time for another Crazy Easy Chicken Recipe! Today’s “recipe” is one of the first things I ever cooked. Even though this non-recipe recipe is beyond easy and simple, it’s incredibly tasty and versatile. In fact, I don’t know why I don’t cook chicken like this more often.

Italian dressing is kind of magical. It’s one of those ingredients that can quickly add flavor to all kinds of recipes. My favorite uses are in potato salad and for marinating chicken, which brings us to today’s recipe!

All you need is chicken and Italian dressing. That’s it. You’re done. Be sure to stab your chicken as directed. That is the key to making your chicken extra tender and filled with that Italian dressing flavor.

Italian Dressing Chicken

 

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This chicken is great topped on salad and served on a sandwich!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Italian dressing

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Stab the chicken breasts on both sides a TON with a fork.
3. Put chicken in a small bowl and cover with Italian dressing, flipping chicken to cover completely. You can cook immediately but letting it marinate for about 30 minutes in the fridge is even better!
4. Place chicken in a baking dish, pouring any remaining dressing in the bowl over the top.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until inside of chicken is no longer pink and the internal temperature reaches 160º F. Don't overcook to keep it moist and tender.
6. I didn't provide measurements because this is a CRAZY EASY recipe and you don't need them! Just eyeball it, you can't mess it up!

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Hello everyone! Hope the holiday weekend is treating you all well. Let’s just get right to the menu!

MONDAY:
– Chicken Fried Rice (going to go for something like Behihana makes)

TUESDAY:
– Penne in vodka sauce (thanks to Michelle for the idea!)
– Garlic bread and salad

WEDNESDAY:
– Golden Moroccan Lamb Stew (another Penzeys recipe we’re trying) with rice

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Carnitas tacos
– Guacamole and chips

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Leftover carnitas

Click here for the free printable of this week’s menu plus the shopping list!

I absolutely love reading through all of your menus each week. Thank you so much for posting! Can’t wait to see what you all have planned for this week!

Happy Valentine’s Day! And, yes, Friday Show and Tell is happening on Saturday because the kids were home from school yesterday and we had a fun family day at the beach (sorry snowbound friends!). Anyway, here are a few things I wrote in other places this week:

• On Babble: Copycat Recipe: Kettle’s (Addictive) Salt and Pepper Potato Chips
• On Parade’s Community Table: 15 Fabulous Ways to Enjoy Granola

Let’s talk Netflix for a moment. We are really loving their original series and now there are too many to keep up! Nate and I just finished watching The Fall. It was great, albeit disturbing. And the ending. Geesh! It’s still a few weeks until the Underwoods return. Too bad the third season wasn’t up in time for Valentine’s Day like last year…it was such a romantic way to spend the holiday. 😉 I also just saw the preview for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Tina Fey’s new show on Netflix starring Ellie Kemper. It doesn’t come out until March…can’t wait! So much great TV, so little time!

I hope everyone has a chocolate-filled Valentine’s Day! And don’t forget to post your own stuff for Show and Tell!

Years ago I wrote about cheese paper here on the blog. Back then I didn’t know much about the stuff and it wasn’t very easy to buy. Luckily for all of us cheese paper is more accessible these days (thank you, Internet) and I actually use it myself now, so I feel like an updated post is in order!

I was first introduced to cheese paper at the Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco. Their cheese paper has the adorable cowgirl logo printed on it (see picture here) and, I’ll be honest, that was the biggest appeal of the paper to me at the time – what a pretty way to store your cheese! As pretty as the paper is, it is actually very functional, too!

Cheese paper allows cheese to breathe while also keeping it wrapped properly, so it will last much longer and taste better. Click here to see the details about how cheese paper is constructed and how it works. Formaticum is the primary brand that makes cheese paper and it’s the kind I use. You can buy Formaticum cheese bags or a set with cheese bags and cheese paper on Amazon, but you can also buy all of their products directly on their website. I love both the bags and the paper. I have no affiliation with Formaticum – I just love their fancy, French cheese paper!

So, hop to it! Give your cheese a happy, super cute home!

I love Penzeys Spices. In fact, one of the things I miss most about living in Menlo Park is having a Penzeys store just down the street. Since the nearest store is now about 45 minutes away, I really appreciate getting the catalog that much more. And, unlike the store, the catalog is filled with all kinds of great recipes.

Nate got his hands on the latest catalog and requested that I make three of the recipes in it, so we’ve been doing one Penzeys recipe a week. I started with a recipe for Chicken Kai Pa Lo, a Thai soup served with rice and soft-boiled eggs. Kai pa lo is traditionally made with pork, but this particular recipe called for dark meat chicken.

This dinner was GOOD. Nate and I loved it and the kids all liked it, too. In fact, 7-year-old Anna was especially enamored with this dish and practically licked the bowl clean. Nate and I both agreed that this kai pa lo tasted as good as anything we’ve eaten at a Thai restaurant. I am so glad Nate got me to try this recipe. Penzeys once again for the win!

For the eggs, I highly recommend you follow my friend Irvin’s technique for making soft-boiled eggs. Our soft-boiled eggs came out perfectly. The soup itself has a wonderful Asian flavor that is very comforting, and the recipe is surprisingly simple to make. You won’t have to slave in the kitchen to make an impressive meal!

Chicken Kai Pa Lo

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

This recipe originally came from a Penzeys Catalog and was submitted by one of their customers Jennifer Sombutmai. I have modified the recipe by adjusting measurements and making them more specific, and I changed the meat used to speed the cooking process.

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Half of a medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 fresh garlic cloves, minced or pushed through a garlic press
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon chicken soup base (Penzeys sells this, I also use "Better Than Bouillon" from the store)
• 6 cups water
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 soft boiled egg per serving
• 1½ tablespoons Chinese Five Spice
• Chopped green onions (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. While the onions are cooking, mix together the soy sauce, garlic powder and white pepper. Rub this mixture on both sides of the chicken pieces.
3. Once the onions are translucent, add fresh garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Push the onions to the side of the pot a bit and add the chicken pieces to the center of the pot. Brown chicken on both sides, about 4 minutes a side.
4. Add the soup base to the pot then pour in the water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let cook uncovered until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. I use a thermometer to check for doneness - chicken is ready at 160º F.
5. Remove chicken from the pot and shred/cut into bite-sized pieces. Add the five spice and brown sugar to the pot, stir well, then return chicken to the pot. Simmer 5-10 more minutes.
6. Serve soup in a bowl with jasmine rice and a soft-boiled egg. Top with green onions if using.

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Hello everyone! Another week, another meal plan! Here goes…

MONDAY:
– Leftovers (we have so many from last week – all my meals got pushed later in the week because we had so many Super Bowl food leftovers!)

TUESDAY:
– Naan Pizzas
– Salad

WEDNESDAY:
– Easiest Ever Chicken Pot Pie
– Salad

THURSDAY:
– Cuban Fricasé de Pollo (chicken stew) – new recipe I’m trying!
– Rice

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Breakfast for Dinner: Yorkshire Pudding
– Fresh fruit

Click here for the free printable of this week’s menu plus the shopping list!

We didn’t get as many menus as usual last week…I think it must be because you were so busy being excited for Tom Brady, right? (Sorry, Seahawks fans! That was a GOOD game though, you’ve gotta admit!) Anyway, there is no football to distract us this weekend, so back to work! Can’t wait to see your meal plans for the week. Thank you for sharing!