Homemade Gatorade

I'm packing my bags and getting ready to race in Napa Ragnar tomorrow! It's a 12 person relay, each of us will be running 3 legs of the race for 24 hours from San Francisco to Calistoga...for a total of 200 miles. So needless to say, I need to be well hydrated!!

Turkey-Mozzarella Ciabatta Sandwich

Two weeks into school, we have a Furlough Day. It's very sad that our teachers/schools have to take an unpaid days here in California due to the economic conditions, but I gotta say...our family wasn't complaining too much. My daughter started 1st grade this year, and even though she was in Kindergarten last year, she was at school only half-days, so we have been having a hard time adjusting to full days (Mommy and kiddos both!). 

Pesto Chicken Roll-ups

 I love it when our grocery store does a buy 1 get 1 free deal on chicken. I cram our freezer full with as much as it can handle, and then we will live off of chicken for a while. So I'm always trying to find new things to make with it. 

Crepes

This is one of the "Ooh-la-la" meals I make for my family. Aren't Crepes fancy? I can't get enough of these. Even though they look light and fluffy, they are very filling. Especially when you throw in Nutella and whipped cream for the sweet ones!

Skillet Lasagna

Our family is craving Lasagna. With all the trimmings. In the middle of the summer with temperatures around 100° F. There's no way we are turning the oven on...especially with our single-paned windows and horribly energy-efficient house. Plus, I want to make something quick, and Lasagna can be pretty labor intensive.

Gluten Free Banana-Nut Muffins

My husband had been experiencing some stomach pain for several years, so our family decided to go on a gluten-free diet for a month to see if it would alleviate some of the pain. Who knew that cutting out all gluten products from our diet would be such a hard task! It definitely took a couple of weeks to get used to the idea that I couldn't just go to the store and buy any of the breads/tortillas/baked goods off the shelf. Plus I wasn't willing to pay buck-o bucks for the tiniest loaf of gluten-free bread you have ever seen! So I decided to make my own gluten-free breads, muffins, biscuits, etc. for a fraction of the cost, and in my opinion they tasted a lot better than anything you could buy in the store.

Pasta Salad

Happy Independence Day America! Many things come to mind when celebrating the 4th of July...BBQ's, fireworks, getting together with family and friends, red, white and blue. 

Green Goddess Dressing

What comes to mind when you say...Green Goddess Dressing? I envision a beautiful fairy with green hair that is queen of the forest; she takes care of all her fairy folk and forest friends. They feast on vegetables and greens from the forest and nearby pastures, and put a special kind of concoction on their salad that is delicious. Because they all admire the queen of the forest, they have named the dressing...drum roll please...

Chocolate-Cherry Cookies

If I had to choose between cookies and cupcakes(and NO you wouldn't choose both because you have better self-control than that!) cookies would win hands down, even if it were the best looking cake with fluffy frosting swirled on top. Nothing against cake, it's just cookies are way better in my opinion. 

Crustless Quiche

I love fancy words. Instead of saying "I am having a great day" I would rather say "I am having a marvelous (stupendous or extraordinary) day." If any of you have little girls, you are probably familiar with the Fancy Nancy series, where a little red head girl loves to use fancy words, and of course she especially feels fancy when she is speaking in french. Such a great way for children to expand their vocabulary!

Roasted Nutmeg Cauliflower

First ingredient...Cauliflower. One of my favorite vegetables. I love how versatile it is! It is easy to puree or blend into other foods, like mashed potatoes. Or it can be the main attraction like Cauliflower soup. 

Penne Summer Veggie Bake

I had the most overwhelming day this past week. I'm a planner by nature. I have a calendar that hangs up in the kitchen, and everything from doctor appointments to birthday parties and BBQ with friends are written down. So, when things come up that are unexpected and last minute, I can get a little overwhelmed because...they weren't on the calendar! That might be a good thing for me to work on...going with the flow and not freaking out when things don't go exactly as planned.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Power Muffins

"Mommy, can we please have some more of those chocolate muffins?" That's the question I got on a regular basis from my kids, ever since I whipped up a batch of scrumptious gluten-free chocolate muffins for a snack one day. 

Chicken Enchilada Rice Bake

This is one of our favorite family dinners, because it gets good reviews, it's a simple casserole meal to prepare that doesn't take up a lot of my time, and it has yummy enchilada flavors without the hassle of frying and rolling tortillas.

Valerie's Asian Coleslaw

This coleslaw recipes came to me from a friend who enjoys to cook as much as me. She has shared several wonderful recipes that our family enjoys, and I want to pass them on to you!

Lemon Cranberry Muffins

Spring is here! We sure have had some strange weather here in Northern California. A very dry, warm winter and the spring has brought rain showers and colder weather but very unpredictable.