Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a nice holiday weekend!

I was stumped planning this week’s menu, but I finally got it all figured out. Why is it so hard coming up with ideas sometimes? It’s weird!

MONDAY:
– Labor Day! We are hanging out with friends all day, so I doubt I’ll make it to the store…I’m thinking we’ll end up hitting In ‘n’ Out or something!

TUESDAY:
– Chili

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Kai Pa Lo

THURSDAY:
– Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Pasta in Cream Sauce with broccoli and chicken added

SUNDAY:
– Coconut Curry Chicken with Rice (sauce from Costco)
– Veggie

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

Okey, dokey, post your menu in the comments! We want to know what you’re eating!

Hey friends! I don’t have any food links to share this week, so let’s just watch some TV, shall we?

Okay, Netflix is killing it. I have three shows I need to share.

First, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood is on Netflix! Well, 20 episodes are, anyway. Just like with Reading Rainbow, we are pumped in our house. Both of those shows are the best and I’m so glad my kids can watch them!

Second, the kids and I watched On the Way to School this week. It’s a wonderful documentary to watch with your children and all three of my kids were interested and engaged the whole time. It follows four children from four parts of the world as they make their way to school in the morning. For me there were definitely moments of “What difference did it make having a camera there?”, but the film was still well done and impactful. Big thanks to our friends Nikki and Brian for letting us know about it! Also, if you are prone to crying, keep a box of Kleenex handy.

My third recommendation for the week is not for the kiddos. In fact, keep the kids far, far away! Nate and I started watching the Netflix original Narcos this week and we are hooked. Narcos follows the story of the infamous Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar and the DEA agents who worked to take him down. Basically the whole time I am watching this show, I can’t stop thinking, “How is this real?!?!?!” This show is very well done and engaging, as well as disturbing and shocking. So, if you’re into drug cartels and stuff, this one’s for you! 😉

Today is more of a PSA than anything. Sometime over the last year I discovered that our Albertson’s grocery store sold tortilla chips in the deli section. The chips had a sticker that said “Made here” and they looked pretty good, so I grabbed a bag.

HOLYCRAPTHECHIPSWERESOGOOD.

Like a million times better than any other tortilla chips you can buy. They’re just so fresh and the texture is just so good and it sort of tastes like if you made the chips yourself, which of course you will never ever do but now you don’t have to.

So, anyway, the Albertson’s where I got the chips closed down, so for the last 6 months I’ve been driving to another Albertson’s farther away JUST to buy chips. I usually buy like 3 bags at a time and I’m pretty sure the employees there call me the Crazy Chip Lady behind my back.

Then the other day my friend Debbie was like, “Um, they have those at VONS, too.” VONS is way closer to my house than Albertson’s, so I was like, “WHAT?!?!?!” and promptly went out and bought a bag. The VONS “homemade” tortilla chips are exactly like the Albertson’s chips and basically now I can die happy.

SOOOOOO…what is the point of this post? If your grocery store sells tortilla chips that are made on site, usually found in the produce or deli section of the store, you should be buying them and eating them and not buying any other tortilla chips ever. I have no idea how many stores do this in how many states, so I don’t know how helpful this advice is for you. But you need to at least investigate. The chips will change your life.

Can you tell I might be a little bit teensy weensy addicted to and obsessed with these chips? In my defense, everyone I introduce the chips to feels just as passionately, so I’m not totally crazy. I swear.

The very first recipe I ever made on my own was my Grandma Blomquist’s Brownies. I was in 5th grade and the experience was very memorable for me, not just because I burned both some chocolate and my arm in the process, but also because the brownies came out great, starting a lifetime of brownie baking.

Last week when Cate was in charge of dinner, she asked if she could bake something for dessert on one of the nights. Of course I pulled out my grandma’s brownie recipe. I’ve never written a post about the brownies, but I did put the recipe on the blog ages ago with a cute picture of 2-year-old Cate stirring the batter. Last week when Cate baked her first batch of brownies, I took a few photos for a Babble post I’m working on. Today, as I got this post ready, I stuck the photos side by side and it made me smile. It also made me a little sad. Where did my baby go?!

I needed to take some nice photos of the brownies for this post, so I asked Cate if she could whip up a batch for me. She happily complied. I’m kind of loving this whole Cate cooking thing, especially since her “thing” is brownies.

These brownies are on the fudgy side of the brownie continuum, with a delicious crispy crust on top. It’s a basic, reliable and wonderful brownie recipe. Although, the brownies always taste best when my Grandma Blomquist or Cate bakes them!

Grandma Blomquist's Brownies

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

My grandma's recipe that my family has been making FOREVER. Fudgy with a crusty top!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons butter
• 2 ounces baking chocolate (substitution: 6 tablespoons cocoa + 2 tablespoons butter)
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 well beaten eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease/butter an 8" x 8" baking pan.
2. Melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan. Add corn syrup and baking chocolate and stir until all melted. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in sugar.
4. Stir in eggs after the sugar has been mixed in.
5. Stir in baking powder, vanilla and salt. Slowly stir in the flour until well combined.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, until fork comes out clean.

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