{heart-shaped} egg-in-hole

It's snow day season in the Northeast! 

Whether the call from school comes in at 5am, or you go to bed knowing you'll have a 'leisurely' morning ahead, we might as well embrace the extra time we have to make breakfast, right?

"Egg in Hole" has become my go-to these past two weeks of {seemingly} endless snow days and delays. Any shape cookie cutter will do, but since it's February, I'm mortifying my boys with lovey dovey hearts.

All you do is cut the center out of piece(s) of bread, and

pop that center piece into the toaster. {You'll be treating the cut-out piece like toast.}

Then the outside crust goes into a buttered fry pan, and you crack an egg into the center.

Use a butter knife to scramble the egg a bit {if your kids are like mine and will avoid the yolk if it's whole…}.

Flip it when the egg starts to set.

My kids love this meal a) because it takes a few extra minutes for me to make, which means a few extra minutes for them to play with their LEGOS and b)

b/c they can pick it up with their hands.

Voila! Egg in Hole. So easy, but seems special. Especially on a snowy morning.

with love

I have a sweet recipe to share if you want to show those around you some love...

and a very funny story behind these scones. Two years ago, I was racing to head out of town with my mom. It was our second year in a row going to Miraval, and I was feeling like Supermom. The morning of our flight I woke up early and baked a batch of scones for my younger son's class... realizing too late that I had used salt instead of sugar in the first batch. But did I throw them away? No. I still wanted to be Supermom (and make my flight), so I cut a sliver off each one, trying to figure out which had come from the doozy first batch and which were from the normal second batch and I sent them in to school.

To say they were a failure would be an understatement. In fact, I am pretty sure the teacher told me they were like salt licks. Hey, you win some you lose some. As long as you try. Speaking of... all of you busy moms try awfully hard 365 days a year. How about today you find a little time to show yourself some love? A walk with a friend, a virtual or real coffee date, maybe something as decadent as a facial or a massage? I kind of got a jump-start on that today, and I plan to continue it tomorrow... what you doing to take good care and love your (awesome, Supermom) self today?

We love our TEAchers

get it? Valentines gift for my children's (beloved) teachers...

"you rule" Valentines

How awesome are this year's Valentines for classmates?  

the red streak continues!

The red streak continues, though I'm totally losing steam... tonight I gave in to their backseat pleas on the way home from igloo building and paddle tennis, and detoured to Station Eats in town, letting the tomato and ketchup on their burgers count as the "red" part of dinner. Hey, as long as the judge is on board with that, then cool. Okay, so what else have I been serving up? A red frittata made with roasted peppers + sun-dried tomatoes, onion, bacon and cherry tomatoes ({drum roll} with enough leftover + some protein pancakes, so Mon/Tues breakfast are taken care of. Giddyup.).

Pre-sledding lunch was some of the beef ragu from the night before re-purposed as mini pizzas: toasted whole wheat English muffins topped with warm sauce + mozzarella + roasted pepper, then popped under the broiler. A comforting winter lunch made in 5 minutes...

Then, last night we were going out, so I made them {always wildly exciting for some reason} "breakfast for dinner": bacon (from the dip I was making) + red apples + half an egg and cheese on a whole wheat English muffin + some organic yogurt topped with granola.

If you have red ideas to get me through the next 12 meals, please leave me a comment. Or better yet, tell me where I can pick it up in town!

red breakfast for Valentine's (or cozy snow days): protein pancakes with creamy strawberry syrup

Remember the strawberry cream cheese I whipped up a few days ago? Well, it made a lot. A lot more than we were going to spread on sandwiches and English muffins this week... so yesterday, it moonlighted as a sweet dip for fruit (as is, no doctoring up needed, though one commenter on the FB page said she'd add "fluff" to it... which probably would be decadent and delicious. Shh, don't tell my kids that's even an option. They won't miss what they've never had.)

Today, I swirled in a little local maple syrup, warmed it a bit, and it became a delicious topping for our protein pancakes. So simple: cream cheese pulsed in the Cuisinart with thawed organic strawberries + a bit of maple syrup = creamy strawberry syrup!

Those of you who have made my protein pancakes know they are so easy, and are a perfect make-ahead breakfast. We usually make a big batch over the weekend, enjoying them that morning, and then have some at-the-ready for school days ahead. Today's "red" breakfast" also featured the crowd-pleasing Mamacat Q Tea's "Ruby Slipper" tea... and some eating with our hands. I'm picking my battles these days...

5th day of (pre-Valentines) red foods

pinwheels made with Maria and Ricardo's multi-grain tortillas + strawberry cream cheese + sliced fresh organic strawberries

I've made it (with bright red flames trailing me) through Day 5 of the "all red foods until Valentine's Day" challenge my younger son threw my way. So, that's about 10 meals down and (errrr), 18 to go. You'll see there was-- and will probably continue to be-- a lot of "re-purposing" of red foods so I can continue to come up with 3 meals/day... and not spend a lot of time in the kitchen. My little one was somewhat shocked to see another red breakfast (and maybe a little bummed because he just wants cold cereal). 

snow day from school, so lunch was at home: a Whole Foods frozen Stracchino and Arugula pizza doctored up with some cherry tomatoes to make it "red" + some of the strawberry cream cheese used as a dip for organic berries and red apple slices + a Tate's chocolate chip cookie

and for dinner: my go-to Beef Ragu (earthy, rich and comforting + it freezes perfectly, so make a big batch when you make it) over Tinkyada brown rice spiral pasta... with red wine 

snow day inspiration

I know a bunch of my Northeastern friends are snowed in today. I hope you are all cozy and still in your PJs? If not, then go put them back on. If you're like me (relaxing by the fire... it's a rough life, but someone has to make the most of this snow day, right?) you're ok now at the half-way mark, but you may be looking for some diversions by tomorrow. Good news: I've got you covered with some fun snow-day ideas + I've got another board of Valentine's day snack/craft/meal ideas so you can start thinking of how to win mom-of-the-week next Thursday...

the red foods keep on coming!

Van's whole grain frozen waffle topped with homemade strawberry cream cheese + Applegate Farms chicken-apple sausages + organic raspberries and banana + Red Jacket Orchards Strawberry Apple Cider

Yep, I'm kind of smitten with myself. I'm pretty much knocking the socks off of my 6-year-old, who challenged me to make "red meals" from February 4th until Valentine's Day...

(leftover) ravioli with Rao's marinara sauce + chicken from the night before's batch of bone broth + watermelon + cherry tomatoes + Earthbound Farms frozen cherries (which thawed by lunchtime)

(leftover) red pizza + an organic strawberry + organic red pepper spears + a beef and bulgur meatball in homemade orange-basil tomato sauce

strawberry cream cheese

Easiest Valentine's-themed recipe ever? Strawberry Cream Cheese! In a Cuisinart, pulse cream cheese and (thawed) frozen or fresh strawberries until desired consistency and flavor.

Look for this (wildly exciting) bright pink spread to appear in upcoming lunchboxes!

more red foods

Van's frozen whole grain waffle + organic strawberry yogurt + strawberry "syrup" (simply thawed organic berries pulsed in the blender until smooth)

I'm not going to lie... I was so busy today that I was a little bummed I'd taken on my younger son's challenge of serving something red at every meal until Valentine's Day. It would have been way easier to mindlessly pull something out of the fridge/freezer/pantry... But, I'm not giving up after 4 meals. (Or maybe I will, but I am not giving up today.) Lunch was cream cheese and raspberry jam sandwiches, red apples and red grapes... and I forgot to photograph it. But, dinner was awesome because both kids excitedly shopped for the red ingredients and helped me to make red veggie pizza:

toppings were: cherry tomatoes + garlic-roasted tomatoes (from Whole Foods' olive bar) + roasted peppers + fresh red peppers

it took about 45 minutes to make the pizza... because every. veggie. was. placed. on. the. pizza. one. by. one.

that's ok though. i enjoyed a glass of wine and heard all about school while they worked their sous chef magic, and we ended up with this. perfection.

red veggie pizza + roasted beet salad (from Whole Foods' salad bar) + green salad with red wine vinaigrette + red apples

day 2 of red meals? check!

continuing my 6-year-old's challenge to serve something red at every meal between now and Valentine's Day...

construction meeting on-the-go breakfast: strawberry yogurt cup + homemade strawberry-filled scone + "hug" cereal + half a banana

lunch: heart-shaped roasted red pepper goat cheese spread/cheddar sandwiches + red pepper spears + Kefir + cinnamon apple sauce + frozen strawberries (that will thaw by lunchtime)

dinner: cheese ravioli with Rao's marinara sauce + pears

red food until Valentine's Day?

red peppers + banana + cheese toasts made with flax seed bread, Vermont Creamery Roasted Red Pepper Creamy Goat Cheese and shredded cheddar + ribs (leftover from our Superbowl feast)

My 6-year-old challenged me to make "red food" from now until Valentine's. Game on, little man. I'll pop pics up in case you have been similarly challenged (or are looking for a fun way to expand your little ones' variety of foods these next 10 days). The challenge came too late to go to the market, or to be too creative, but meal #1 got a thumbs up from the judge.

date night worthy... and still so simple

Love it! My Quick & Easy Bouillabaise was featured at a date night in Cincinnati. Reader photos (and rave reviews) are the best.

my counters make me swoon

remember the sneak peek at the counters last week? well, they are in (!!!)... and i. am. in. love.

a new food crush yesterday and a counter crush all in one week? love is in the air, people. speaking of, I've got you covered with Valentine's snacks, treats and more too.  so go on and get ready to tell someone you love them.

simple homemade berry syrup

Cobbling breakfast together has sort of been the norm these days. And most days, I do a pretty darn good job. But, instead of winging it and hoping for the best, I am kicking our summer off by starting a 3-week real food "cleanse" (meaning focusing on putting only good stuff in my body, to allow some of the bad stuff to exit) tomorrow. Mantra #1: be organized and have good foods on hand and prepped. And yes, my family is coming along for the ride. I'll be augmenting the children's meals (and Jeff's if he wants), basically using what I am having as my "main" as their side, since they certainly do not need to de-puff. So, today's breakfast might have been the last pull-it-together for a while. Unless, of course, I plan to have this awesome, simple, "syrup" on the week ahead's menu.

Organic Berry Syrup

organic strawberries
organic raspberries
raw honey (optional)


In a Cuisinart, pulse the fresh berries, and raw honey if you are adding it for sweetness, until pureed. Syrup can be used as a waffle or pancake topping, drizzled over yogurt or fruit salad, or added to smoothies for sweetness. Enjoy! 

Valentine's breakfast: pink oatmeal

Oatmeal (made ahead) mixed with organic strawberry puree (frozen strawberries thawed bit then blended in the blender, nothing else added), topped with fresh raspberries. Served with with a cup of pink juice (that you can make... I bought raspberry-apple juice from Red Jacket Orchards)