My oldest daughter Cate got braces last week. She’s been a real trooper and it’s gone better than expected. But she is mourning the fact she can’t eat things like Kettle Brand Salt & Pepper Krinkle Chips for almost two years! (Seriously, though, she’s right. That sucks.) Cate usually eats wheat toast for breakfast and even that has been bothering her a bit. So this week I made my Grandma Blomquist’s homemade bread to cheer her up. My strategy worked.

This morning as I was dragging myself to the kitchen to get breakfast and lunches made, I remembered that Cate loves milk toast, which is basically toast soaked in milk. It’s a super old-school recipe and pretty much no one even knows what it is, but milk toast is delicious. And, despite being half asleep, I had a major LIGHTBULB! moment. Milk toast is the perfect breakfast for someone who just got braces, especially when that someone already loves milk toast. So I grabbed my homemade bread, made Cate milk toast and was declared the best mom ever.

The first time I made milk toast it was essentially because I was intrigued by the idea of this recipe, but I was not so sure that it would actually taste good. I had only heard people talk about it in a nostalgic way. Let’s be honest, nostalgic recipes can be hit or miss. I dove in anyway and am so glad I did because milk toast is AWESOME. It is mighty delicious and all my kids love it. I created a sweet milk toast recipe (as opposed to savory) and it’s a lot like eating bread pudding for breakfast. You can’t go wrong with that, amiright?

So, try this recipe. And then next time someone describes something as “milk toast” in a demeaning way, stand up for milk toast. Be sure to let that person know that milk toast is actually awesome. And send them this recipe. Everyone will thank me.

Milk Toast

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

I researched several different recipes for milk toast and landed on this version of my own, which is a sweet milk toast (not savory).

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 slices bread (preferably white and homemade!)
• ½ cup milk (divided into 6 tablespoons and 2 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon butter
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¾ teaspoon flour
• pinch salt
• butter for toast
• honey or cinnamon sugar for toast

Instructions

1. In a cereal bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of the milk with the flour, vanilla and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, whisk together the rest of the milk (6 tablespoons), sugar and the 1 teaspoon butter. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring regularly to avoid scorching. Cook until milk is steaming a lot and about to simmer. Give the cold milk-flour mixture a quick whisk then whisk it into the milk on the stove. Cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Toast bread, butter then cover with cinnamon sugar or drizzle with honey. Cut bread into bite-sized pieces then place in cereal bowl you used earlier. Pour milk mixture over the toast, stir and let sit for about 30 seconds, pressing the pieces of bread and stirring to get the toast to absorb the milk.
4. Eat!

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Clearly I am having a problem with getting my weekly menu planning done. Two weeks in a row that I’m posting on Wednesday AND I don’t even have a menu plan together. Let’s change “Wow, what a week!” to “Wow, what a month!” 😉

So, if you’re totally awesome and have your menu planned AND you happen to check in here even though the week is halfway through, please post your awesomeness in the comments!

As for me and my menu planning…I’ll at least get a lame post like this on up on Sunday for next week. 😉

Happy Eating!

So, are you wondering why I haven’t posted my weekly menu yet? It’s because I DON’T HAVE ONE! Yes, it’s Wednesday. I have no plan for the week and the week is halfway over. I also haven’t been to the store yet, but miraculously we aren’t starving. I am going to have to get to the store today, but this week just hasn’t been one for planning. I know, I know, life is easier when you do get the weekly menu plan together, but sometimes, well, it just doesn’t happen. (I blame end-of-school-year fatigue…and, just to keep it totally real, I have 2 weeks’ worth of clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away in the garage AND the fish bowls haven’t been cleaned out in the same amount of time, which just might kill the fish. So the weekly menu isn’t the only thing suffering around here. 😉 )

Here is a quick rundown of what we have been doing for dinner…

Monday: Roasted tri-tip with roasted veggies

Tuesday: Tri-tip tacos (holy deliciousness!)

Wednesday: Roasted Vegetable Egg Scrambles

Thursday: More Tri-tip Tacos

Friday – Sunday: Pretty sure the tri-tip and roasted vegetables will have run their course by Friday, at which point we’ll probably go with cereal. 😉 Okay, not really (maybe), but I just can’t summon the brain power to figure those days out yet!

Hopefully you are all having a more organized and productive food week than I am. If so, please share your menus in the comments!

Happy Eating!

Another week, another menu! Here we go!

MONDAY:
– Spaghetti

TUESDAY:
– Chicken Tortilla Soup

WEDNESDAY:
– Hamburgers

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Roasted Vegetable Scrambles

SATURDAY:
– Nate and I are going to the U2 Joshua Tree concert! Can’t wait! (Plus Lumineers open for them, it’s going to be so fun!)
– I think I’ll just leave money for pizza for the kids and the babysitter!

SUNDAY:
– Tri-Tip
– Roasted vegetables

Click here or on the image above for a printable PDF of this week’s menu and ingredients list!

As usual, PLEASE share your own menus in the comments!

Also, I have two giveaways running right now and they are both awesome…make sure you go enter! Click HERE and HERE. 🙂

Have a great week!

Guess what? I have another fun Mother’s Day post for you, complete with an easy, delicious recipe and an equally delicious giveaway!

Each year I create a post in conjunction with Fair Trade USA to celebrate Mother’s Day and this year is no exception! As usual they sent me a box of goodies (which we will be giving away to one of you lucky people in just a moment) to inspire a Mother’s Day baking project.

This month has been super busy and as Mother’s Day has approached I haven’t had a lot of time to bake. Normally when Fair Trade sends me a box of goodies they include a baking mix from Immaculate Baking Company. I haven’t ever used the mixes in my posts because I normally create my Fair Trade recipes from scratch. This time, however, I decided to embrace the ease of the cookie mix, adding a fun twist to make it special.

First off, the Immaculate Organic Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix is so, so, so good. Whether or not you add my fudgy thumbprint you’ll be happy with this mix. But the fudgy addition really takes these cookies over the top. Today’s recipe kind of had a longer journey than most of my recipes. First I tried to make cookie cups with a fudgy center but it just didn’t work practically or visually, but they tasted amazing. So then I tried stuffing the cookies, which worked pretty well but not exactly what I envisioned. So then I tried a thumbprint and it worked! The fudgy “button” goes so beautifully with these cookies and you will love them, especially since it’s so easy to throw this dessert together! 

The most wonderful part of this recipe is that using Fair Trade ingredients means you can celebrate strong women and mothers throughout the world by supporting their livelihood. I’ve read so many stories about how Fair Trade helps women in so many countries and I love it when I can incorporate as many fair trade ingredients as possible into my recipes. The infographic above is a great summary of why Fair Trade is so cool! For today’s recipe I used the Immaculate Organic Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix as well as Guittard’s Extra Dark Chocolate Chips, so it’s a Fair Trade double whammy! The recipe is below…but first…

The giveaway! Fair Trade will send one of you lucky people the same gift box I received, which includes product from the following companies:

• Wholesome Sweet
• Kashi
• Chuao Chocolatier
• Guittard
• Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle
• Frontier Co-Op
• Numi Tea
• Immaculate Baking Company
• Spectrum
• SunRidge Farms

To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is a leave a comment on this post before Midnight PT on 3/25/17! That’s it! Easy peasy…as easy as today’s recipe, which I will give to you now! The randomly-selected winner of this giveaway was Comment #24 Michele. Congratulations, Michele!

Fudgy Thumbprint Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

A fair trade-friendly recipe that is easy and delicious!

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 22 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 Immaculate Baking Company Organic Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips (Guittard is my favorite and they are Fair Trade!)
• ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
• Pinch salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF (or 350º for a dark non-stick pan).
2. Follow directions to mix the dough for the cookie mix.
3. Once dough is mixed, put chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and salt in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high in the microwave for 45 seconds, then stir until all chocolate has melted.
4. Let chocolate mix cool for a few minutes. While the chocolate is cooling, create 1-tablespoon rounded cookie dough balls. With your thumb press a well in the center of each cookie dough ball, then place ½ teaspoon blobs of the chocolate fudgy filling in the center. If the chocolate is sticking to your fingers a lot, just get your fingers a little bit wet with water. Keep in mind, the shape of the chocolate will look how it looks after baking as it did before, so if you want the chocolate nice and smooth, smooth it out before baking!
5. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool before eating.

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Sponsored by General Mills Cereals

Happy almost Mother’s Day! To celebrate I have a fun and EASY craft idea for the kids in your life as well as some love for TO THE MARKET, one of my most favorite companies. And a beautiful giveaway that will have 20 winners (woohoo!).

As you know I’ve worked with General Mills Cereals in the past. They approached me recently about coming up with a fun craft idea using up-cycled cereal boxes with my kids. I AM NOT A CRAFTY PERSON. But when I told my kids about the project they were all in. You see, they are crafty people. I’m not entirely sure they are my children. Anyway, my kids were doubly in when they learned they would have to eat some of their favorite, yummy cereals, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios, in order to make the craft happen (empty cereal boxes are a necessity!). Basically, this is their favorite post on my blog ever.

As a lovely Mother’s Day gift, General Mills Cereals sent me a necklace and bracelet set from TO THE MARKET. TO THE MARKET is a company that sells survivor-made goods from around the world. I’ve written about TO THE MARKET before and founder and CEO Jane Mosbacher Morris is one of my favorite people. She was even on my podcast at one point! (It’s one of my favorite episodes, by the way. Jane is the BEST.) Anyway, TO THE MARKET is helping SO MANY WOMEN and their products are beyond lovely. I have a very special place in my heart for their work.

The jewelry that General Mills Cereals sent was created by Haitian TO THE MARKET artists, with beads made from up-cycled cereal boxes. The beads are gorgeous. You simply cannot believe they are made from cereal boxes. Both my girls are enamored with the jewelry (I think Anna might steal it) and felt very inspired for their own cereal box crafting!

Which brings us to today’s craft. For real this is the best craft ever because the parent doesn’t have to do ANYTHING. Just give the kids some empty cereal boxes (the more colorful the better!), scotch tape and colorful straws. Then say, “Go make flowers!” All three of my kids, from ages 5 to 12, had a blast cutting up the boxes and getting creative. Anna’s flower ended up being three dimensional, Cate made an adorable bumblebee for the bouquet, and Owen went completely off book and made a ladybug with a heart to show that the ladybug loves me. I consider it all a crafting success! And I didn’t lift a finger. (Well, okay, I helped clean up the billions of cereal box cuttings strewn about the kitchen. But it was worth it.)

Lucky for our family my beloved mother will be here for Mother’s Day this year. She will be taking home the best bouquet ever!

Giveaway time! General Mills Cereals and TO THE MARKET are providing TWENTY of you lucky people with your own necklace made with upcycled cereal box beads. You can’t buy these necklaces, so this is the only way to get one! Here is how to enter: (Comments must be posted by Midnight PT May 25, 2017.)

• Simply leave a comment on this post!
• Bonus entry (leave a separate comment): Sign up for TO THE MARKET’s email newsletter! (If you are already signed up, just let us know and it counts!)
• Bonus entry (leave a separate comment): Sign up for the This Week for Dinner’s email newsletter! (If you are already signed up, just let us know and it counts!)

BONUS BONUS BONUS: If you head on over to TO THE MARKET’S Stories Blog, they are also giving away these necklaces and you can enter there, too! Yippee! Winners were randomly selected and have been notified via email. Thank you!

Happy Mother’s Day!

I partnered with General Mills for this post because they are committed to strengthening communities around the world through remarkable initiatives, nonprofits and causes that help strength people and the planet. General Mills Cereals partnered with TO THE MARKET to create these handcrafted pieces of jewelry from up-cycled cereal boxes as part of this commitment and to celebrate all the moms, caregivers, aunts, sisters and special heroes who fill the world with love.

Learn more about General Mills Cereals and its delicious line of cereals including Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charm, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and many more at www.generalmills.com/cereal.

I’m traveling for most of the week to attend the Mom 2.0 Summit. Which means meal planning is an absolutely MUST and meals are simple and straightforward for Nate and the kids!

MONDAY:
– Spaghetti

TUESDAY:
– Chili

WEDNESDAY:
– Hot dogs

THURSDAY:
– English muffin pizzas

FRIDAY:
– Eat out

SATURDAY:
– Chicken Tortilla Soup

SUNDAY:
– Mother’s Day – I’m not making plans! 😉

Click here or on the image above for the printable PDF of this week’s menu and ingredients list.

Okey dokey, you know the drill! Please pretty please share your own meal plan in the comments! Thank you and have a great week!

I was just browsing through last week’s menus and it was just so FUN. So many little insights into your lives, it was happy/touching/sad/wonderful! It’s kind of amazing what a meal plan can communicate. So, thank you once again for sharing each week…both your food and a bit of your lives!

It’s Monday, so thinking I need to get on this meal planning train…here goes…

Oh, and now it’s Tuesday! I got this planned and ready to go yesterday and never hit publish. UGH! Okay, here goes for REAL.

MONDAY:
– Chicken Pot Pie

TUESDAY:
– Tri-tip with roasted potatoes and vegetables

WEDNESDAY:
– Roasted Veggie Scrambles
– Smoothies

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Sausage, Pepper & Onion Hoagies

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Pasta and Bolognese

Click here or on the link above for a printable PDF of the dinner plan and ingredients list.

Your turn! Please share your food plans for the week!