Happy Giving Tuesday! I am just loving that this day grows more and more each year! Before we get to this week’s menu (um, how is it Tuesday already? ACK!), I just wanted to share this with you…

Isn’t that goat cute? And the little hands holding him up are pretty cute, too! This goat is part of the Goat Squad and the kids and I will be taking pictures of him later today to share on social media to support Heifer International. Last year I traveled to Malawi to meet Heifer farmers and to witness the transformative effect Heifer has had, not only on individual lives but on families and entire villages. If you’re looking to join in on the #GoatSquadGoals Giving Tuesday fun, you can donate to Heifer here. I’ve seen first hand the good your money will do. In fact, it’s not just “good” it’s AMZING. If you want to specifically target your funds to go to the people of Malawi, click here.

In the spirit of Giving Tuesday and Thanksgiving, I am feeling especially grateful that I get to  plan my family’s menu for the week, even though I am late! Sorry there is no fancy printable menu and shopping list this week. We’re lucky I’m getting anything planned at all!

MONDAY:
– Ate out at Corner Bakery Cafe (seriously, the free kid’s meals…our whole family ate for $15 and it was great food. I’m hooked!)

TUESDAY:
– I’m gonna be honest, we’re going to eat at Luna Grill…more free kid’s meals and I haven’t gotten to the store yet since our trip!

WEDNESDAY:
– Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches
– Fruit and carrots

THURSDAY:
– Caprese Paninis

FRIDAY:
– Breakfast for dinner: waffles and smoothies

SATURDAY:
– Thanksgiving dinner! We had an amazing feast with our family in Utah, but we are wishing we had leftovers of our own here at home! I am cooking different Thanksgiving foods all week so that it will be easy to pull together on Saturday.

SUNDAY:
– Leftovers!

Your turn! Please share your menus for the week, even though we’re a few days later than normal!

Before we take off on our Thanksgiving travels, I have to share this super cute, crazy easy Thanksgiving kids craft with you. Owen brought it home from school. It’s so simple and so cute (and so delicious…I love Hunt’s Pudding Snack Packs for some reason!) even I would do this craft with my kids. That is really saying something. I’m like the anti-craft mom.

Materials:

• Chocolate Pudding Snack Pack
• Small Googly Eyes
• Construction paper, cut into feather shapes and small orange triangles for the nose

How To Make the Turkey Pudding Craft:

• Flip the pudding snack pack upside down.
• Using either a hot glue gun or scotch tape, attach the eyes, nose and tail feathers.
• All done!

You could even have the kids make these and then put them on the table at each place setting for decoration. It will keep them busy while the grown-ups are cooking and make them feel like they’ve contributed.

I never thought I would say this on the blog…but…Happy Crafting!

Happy Thanksgiving Week! I’m going old-school-This-Week-for-Dinner and doing a weekly menu post filled with all kinds of stuff. Here we go!

THIS WEEK’S MENU

We were originally going to be hosting Thanksgiving here at our home, but plans have changed and now we’re driving to Utah to be with family there. Which means I don’t need to plan a menu for this week because we’ll be traveling. But if YOU have a menu planned for this week, please share it in the comments!

THANKSGIVING!

This November I’ve been feeling a lot of gratitude. Things have also been a little quiet here on the blog, on my podcast and on my social media channels. You see, two weeks ago I was in a car accident. I’m not going to get into details for now, and I am recovering very well. That said, the accident was scary and unexpected. In the end, though, it could have been so much worse and, from the moment the car came to a stop and I knew I was okay, I felt nothing but gratitude throughout the entire experience. That gratitude carried me through. And now, entering the busiest time of year, I’ve not only been forced to slow down, but I’ve also thought a lot about just how lucky and blessed I am. Instead of feeling frustrated by not being able to do more this November I’m just taking it in stride and letting it be a positive experience. Here’s to a holiday season that is less about the busy and more about the gratitude and love.

That is why I haven’t been posting much or sharing any new recipes for Thanksgiving. But that’s okay, I’ve got tons of great Thanksgiving content on the blog already. If you’re looking for assistance for the big feast this week, I have some links you need to peruse!

• Click here to see every post I’ve shared on the blog with the tag Thanksgiving Prep. Clicking this link simply takes you to that blog category, where you can scroll through all the Thanksgiving Prep posts.
• I have tried pretty much every technique out there for cooking turkey with the exception of frying. Last year I finally figured out the formula for the PERFECT TURKEY. Click here for my Perfect Roasted Turkey post.
• Click here for my pie crust tutorial and favorite all-butter pie crust recipe.
• Click here for my Thanksgiving feast menu from 2 years ago. I link to all of my most favorite Thanksgiving recipes in that post, some of which I am sure I we will be cooking up at my sister-in-law’s home this year!

If you have your Thanksgiving feast planned, please share that in the comments! Links to recipes always welcome!

GILMORE GIRLS IS ALMOST HERE!

Forget the accident, I think the new Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life episodes airing on Netflix the day after Thanksgiving is why I am feeling truly grateful this year. Just kidding! (Mostly.)

Netflix sent me an adorable package filled with goodies to help us enjoy the new episodes. I’m still not sure if I’m going to bingewatch or spread out the new episodes, but the mailer got me and my girls watching old episodes together this weekend and it’s been so much fun. Nate is still flummoxed by the fact I can watch Gilmore Girls over and over and over again. (To be honest, I’m a little flummoxed by it myself.) Psst…I have an inside source who has already seen the new episodes. This little birdie didn’t give me any details (it’s a good birdie) but she did say that the new episodes are SO GOOD. Are you as excited as I am?!?!?! WOOHOO!!!!

And with that I am DONE. I kind of love today’s post. I don’t have to plan a weekly menu (I know, ironic). THANKSGIVING! And GIMORE GIRLS! As I mentioned before, if you have a weekly menu and/or Thanksgiving plan to share in the comments, please do. And, of course, any and all discussion of the Gilmore Girls is welcome! Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Hello! Once again I’m a day late and a dollar short, but at least I’m still getting my meal plan done! I won’t got into details, but I was in bed a lot last week and am finally feeling better, so here we go!

MONDAY:
– Corner Bakery Cafe takeout – kids eat free night 🙂

TUESDAY:
– Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches
– Fruit and carrots

WEDNESDAY:
– Spaghetti Bolognese
– Salad

THURSDAY:
– Sausage with red beans and rice
– Salad

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out/Takeout night

SUNDAY:
– Breakfast for dinner: Waffles and Smoothies

Click here for the printable PDF of the menu and ingredients list.

As usual, your menus from last week were such a help as I planned, so, thank you!

Your turn! Please share your weekly menu in the comments! Thanks and have a great week!

Hi everyone! It’s been a crazy weekend, so I’m just now getting to the meal plan. Sorry I’m late!

MONDAY:
– Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches
– Fruit and carrots

TUESDAY:
– Carnitas Tacos
– Guacamole and chips

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Pasta Salad
– Garlic Knots

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Eat out night

SATURDAY:
– Dinner on the grill! Veggie kebabs + some sort of meat
– Fresh fruit

SUNDAY:
– Leftovers or Breakfast for Dinner (waffles and fruit)

Your turn! Share your menus in the comments! Thank you, everyone!

The podcast is back! Yippee! We’re kicking off the second season with a really lovely interview with author Nicole Blades and her family’s beloved Caribbean Coconut Sweet Bread recipe. Before we get to the recipe and shownotes, a few quick notes about Nicole! Nicole is a novelist and journalist who has been writing since third grade. She’s worked for magazines like Essence and written articles and essays for pretty much everyone, from NYTimes.com to WashingtonPost.com and more. She also has a blog (link below!) and her second novel “The Thunder Beneath Us” published last week (congratulations, Nicole! Woohoo!). Nicole and I could basically talk forever (we pretty much did) and in this episode we hit on all kinds of topics, everything from the virtues and vices of digital communication, vegetarianism, ancestral DNA tests and, of course, FOOD.

Nicole shares two recipes in the podcast. One of them is for Caribbean Coconut Sweet Bread, a recipe that really represents family for Nicole. I wanted to make the bread before the show went live so I would have good photos to include. I am so glad I did. This bread. It is dangerously delicious! Nicole also took photos of the actual recipes she uses. The French toast came from an old magazine and the sweet bread is in an old Caribbean cookbook. I am so happy to have those photos to share with you, too. Hard copy recipes are one of my favorite things in the world.

I think it’s time we get down to business! First the shownotes, then the recipes, then the podcast itself! Enjoy!

Shownotes:

• For all things Nicole visit NicoleBlades.com
• The Thunder Beneath Us by Nicole Blades (her second novel that came out last week! woohoo!)
• Earth’s Waters by Nicole Blades (Nicole’s first novel)
• Ms. Mary Mack – Nicole’s blog
• Article about the impact of meat demand on climate and projections for 2050
• How to Email by James Hamblin for The Atlantic
• Ancestry.com DNA Testing
• Marbled, Swirled and Layered cookbook by Irvin Lin
• I’m Judging You: The To-Better Manual by Luvvie Ajayi
• Make It Easy cookbook by Stacie Billis

Left: Loaves sprinkled with granulated sugar; Right: Loaves brushed with sugar water. Both techniques work beautifully.

Pictured: The original recipe from the cookbook “Caribbean Cookbook” by Rita G Springer

Caribbean Coconut Sweet Bread

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

This recipe is adapted from the book "Caribbean Cookbook" by Rita G. Springer. Nicole shared the recipe with me along with a few notes about how she modifies it. I have written it up in my own words below!

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 150 grams sugar (this is ¾ cup sugar minus 1 tablespoon)
• ½ pound melted shortening or butter (Nicole and I use butter)
• ¾ cups milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated unsweetened coconut (important to use grated unsweetened; Nicole said it's best if you buy a whole coconut, crack it open and grate it yourself, but store-bought grated unsweetened coconut works, too)
• Sugar for sprinkling OR equal parts sugar-water mixture, for the top of the bread
• Optional Stuffing: ⅓ cup unsweetened grated coconut + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + ½ tablespoon sugar mixed together

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl then stir in sugar. (I used my KitchenAid mixer, which I highly recommend if you have one.)
3. Add melted shortening/butter, milk, egg and vanilla extract. Stir in coconut.
4. Blend ingredients well (this is where the mixer comes in handy!).
5. Knead slightly on lightly floured board or knead in your mixer with the dough hook for a couple of minutes.
6. Divide dough into two, shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans, ensuring dough does not fill the pans more than ⅔ full. Optional: Stuff the optional "stuffing mixture" from the ingredients list above into the center of the loaves, opening the loaf and putting the mixture in the middle and then reshaping the loaf again before putting it in the pan.
7. Score the top of the loaf (Nicole likes to make Xs, a long line down the middle is pretty, too!) and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Alternately, Nicole likes to brush the tops with a sugar-water mixture (use equal parts water and sugar, about ¼ cup each - mix together and let sit a few minutes to dissolve before using). About every 5 minutes or so during the cooking time brush the loaves with the sugar water. Either technique works beautifully.
8. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until bread is golden brown.

Notes

The bread is quite crumbly but far from dry...the flavor and texture are wonderful! Just use a serrated knife when slicing!

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Here is Nicole’s favorite breakfast recipe, a French toast recipe she tore out of a GQ magazine many years ago!

GQ French Toast

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Nicole Blades found this recipe in a GQ magazine many years ago.

Serves: 4 slices

Ingredients

• 2 page eggs plus 1 yolk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 pinch of cinnamon
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 drops vanilla extract
• 1 drop almond extract or dash of amaretto
• 4 slices brioche or other high-quality white bread, cut 1 inch thick (Nicole uses a brioche bread made in France that is sold at Whole Foods - whatever bread you use, make sure it's good - that's the key!)

Instructions

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients except the bread. Cook in a skillet greased with unsalted butter on the stove over medium heat like you would any regular French toast!

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It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes! It helps a lot!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Hello, friends. I’ve been dying to tell you about something since June and today is the day when I get to finally spill the beans! I met Bono. At Shangri La, the house Bob Dylan and his band bought and transformed into a recording studio that is now owned by Rick Rubin. And take a picture with Bono and a group of badass women activists. For Glamour magazine. SO CRAZY!

Photo credit: Sam Jones

Each year Glamour honors “Women of the Year.” This year Bono is being honored as their first “Man of the Year” for his work through ONE specifically supporting ONE Girls & Women and the Poverty is Sexist campaign. I had the chance to hear ONE co-founder Jamie Drummond speak a few years ago. He talked about how ONE came about and how Bono initially got involved. To sum up what he shared, Bono is the real deal, who totally knows his stuff and chooses to work on issues that are complex and generally not well understood by the general public but have massive positive impact on millions of people. Meeting Bono was an honor and when I mentioned to him that I had traveled with ONE and Heifer International to Malawi, he started talking in detail about what is happening in Malawi right now. (PS: Things are not good. Currently severe drought is causing a food emergency. Click here to learn more about what is happening. If you would like to donate specifically to help the people in this country I hold so close to my heart, click here. I just donated myself, in fact. All the cool kids are doing it. PEER PRESSURE!)

Glamour gathered a small group of women activists to pose in a photo with Bono for the article and I was lucky enough to be one of those women. It was a really amazing group and I loved hearing all the different ways they support both ONE and RED, through businesses they run to university campus work and much more.

There you have it. Bono and I are besties! In related news, I’m pretty sure they didn’t use the photo where we were all holding hands because I probably looked super stressed because “what if I move my pinky finger or squeeze his hand or something weird and he’ll for sure feel it and oh my goodness hold STILL and just keep holding Bono’s hand.”

The article will be featured in the December print issue of Glamour, which hits newsstands today! (I think my parents may buy them all, so if you want a copy, hurry.)

I have to finish this blog post with a plea for you to check out the Poverty is Sexist page, where you can learn more about the campaign, read ONE’s full report on how poverty disproportionately affects girls and women and sign the letter showing your support!