As I'm frantically planning, shopping and prepping for the big day, I've found myself going back into the vault of favorite Thanksgiving Day posts to remind myself how we pulled anything off in years past. And inevitably, I always go back to our most Tried-and-True Thanksgiving Day recipes and painstakingly timed plan, starting with when to prep and when to turn on the...

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Pretzel-Crusted Chicken is one of those recipes that shows up when you search "kid-friendly dinners" next to Fish Sticks and Mini Pizzas - and one I typically would gloss over. But there was something about this recipe from Food & Wine I could not get out of my head. Maybe it was the short ingredient list (five, not including oil and water), quick...

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I recently commiserated with some other moms at pickup on how much we dreaded hearing "What's for dinner tonight?" That's when I blabbed on about how meal planning has saved my sanity on many a weeknight. Sure, it takes careful planning, research and creativity when figuring out a week's worth of dinners plus a grocery shopping list. But when the kids ask "What's...

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About a 1½ years ago, I had the opportunity to try Just Add Cooking, the Boston-based meal kit delivery service. They were one of a select few meal kit delivery companies in Boston at the time, encouraging families to skip takeout and start cooking again. They promised to menu plan, shop and deliver your groceries to your door. All you needed to do...

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Harvesting Ground Cherries at the Lowell Elementary School Garden I feel incredibly lucky that our elementary school has a fantastic learning garden. During the school year, students help prep, plant and maintain the garden. During the summer, families volunteer to take care of the garden, making sure the beds get plenty of water, weeding as needed and harvesting ripe vegetables. Last week was...

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Yes, it is way hot. But it's also August and after the brutal winter we had earlier, I've embraced the heat and humidity here in New England. It is hard to deny the weather has definitely affected my cooking mojo. Lots of simple dinners cooked on the grill around here lately. But even I'm now groaning when BBQ chicken and corn are on...

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We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for some exciting news. Just got a tip that NBC is teaming up with NBA All-Star LeBron James for a game show gives teams of two a chance to compete for life-changing cash prizes. Auditions are THIS SATURDAY, JULY 11TH from 10am-4pm at Vanderbilt Kitchen and Bar. Good Luck! Disclosure: Sponsored post by Glassman Media. As always,...

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Brushing off the cobwebs both on this blog and on our grill for a special Memorial Day post! We're doing a happy dance here as this weekend is the unofficial kickoff to summer. In celebration of such a joyous occasion, I'm digging into the "vault" and pulling out some of our all-time favorite grilling recipes: BBQ Chicken Throwdown: David Chang v. Martha Stewart:...

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I have been trying loads of new recipes lately, I think partly due to the arrival of spring plus I needed something to shake things up from the winter rotation of soups and comfort food. Here's a menu plan for 5 delicious dinners for this week - or any week really. If your family is anything like mine, this will be the best...

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Free Ben & Jerry's! Plus an added mission (it's like a cherry on top).  I love blogging, especially if I'm able to amplify a message that's truly important to me and my family. So when I heard that the Ben & Jerry's has teamed up with Green Light Movement, I couldn't wait to spread the word. Ben & Jerry’s is committed to making...

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It's been a little quiet over here as I've been busy juggling duties here and here, all the while working as my kids' personal uber driver after school. But that has not stopped me from trying new recipes and cooking dinner almost every night. And yes, most recipes fall under the "Quick" and "Easy" categories as of late. So when I found this...

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For this week's meal plan I'm uncharacteristically winging it. Thanks to a busy weekend and ANOTHER winter storm, I was scrambling just to go grocery shopping before getting snowed in. So I did what umdaddy often does and bought anything that looked fresh, only later to figure out what to make for dinner. I'm a planner. I like to follow a recipe (or...

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This week's meal plan from my 6-year-old So this week I enlisted the help of my 6-year-old for this week's meal plan. I was half expecting it to look something like this: Monday: Mac & Cheese Tuesday: PB&J Wednesday: Pizza Thursday: Pasta  Friday: Pizza (again) So there was a little of that, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some dishes that were...

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(photo credit: ChopChop Magazine) I'm planning this week's meal before the big New England Patriot's playoff game (we're Pats fans here). As I'm digging through cookbooks, magazines and websites trying to figure out what to make for dinner this week, all I can think of is "Do Your Job" - the new rallying cry for our home team. Yes, I'm going to do...

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Amazing. Made it through the first full week of the new year without breaking any resolutions! One reason I'm able to stick to my resolution of eating healthy and trying at least one new recipe a week is menu planning. I write about menu planning here, and still use this handy Meal Plan and Shopping List from Real Simple. It doesn't get more...

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