Catz in the Kitchen - Finding love around the table.

Weekly Menu for the Week of Jan 27

January 27, 2020 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Happy Monday to all of you friends! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Our weekend was fun but oh, so quick! Aren’t they always?

On Saturday we had to run a bunch of errands, but tried to make it fun for the kids. We ended up at Costco and guess what we FINALLY got! After two years of discussing a Traeger, we finally got one on one of those “too good to pass up” Costco offers. We’ve been using a classic Weber Kettle for our family (which we love!), but this past summer we began running out of space when we would grill on it, and, of course, it does take a while to heat up and a fair amount of work to manage. So we took the plunge and we’re so stoked! If you have one, let us know what your favorite recipes are!

On Sunday, we had a church potluck. This month’s theme was soup and sandwiches and it was so fun to see what everyone made. My mom brought a African Peanut Soup and it was amazing! I’m going to see if she’ll let me grab the recipe so I can share it with you guys. I made my slow cooker sweet potato & butternut squash soup with ham and cheese sliders. So good and so much fun!

Next month the theme is Italian food and I’m psyched!…

White Chicken Chili for Busy Nights & Tight Budgets

January 22, 2020 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Frugal, easily doubled or tripled, warm and comforting, endlessly flexible – what more could you ask from this delectable recipe for white chicken chili?

One of my favorite things to do with this blog and this sweet community of all of you who have chosen to read (and occasionally make) our recipes and stay connected on Facebook or Instagram is try to provide you with recipes that fit with your life. I know you are all busy, have families, and often strict grocery budgets and I truly want to help you feel encouraged when you begin your weekly menus and set meals on the table.

Which is why I need to apologize for just now getting this recipe to you. Because it’s a real winner! I’ve been making this white chicken chili for over a year now and it is just so simple and easy! I’ve made this for our family on numerous occasions and doubled it for company multiple times.

Did I mention that it’s only four ingredients? It’s also gluten-free and dairy-free. It’s also completely adaptable to what you have on hand in the pantry.

I’ve made this with boneless skinless chicken breast instead of boneless skinless chicken thighs. I’ve also made it with a mixture of both. I’ve even used rotisserie chicken in a pinch!

I’ve thrown in black beans when I was short on white beans, used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and even tossed in diced green chilis for more flavor.

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Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna

January 15, 2020 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

This easy recipe for slow cooker veggie lasagna is one of those crazy-day busy-parent end-of-day lifesaver kind of meals! Plus…leftovers! I’m going to tell you something, this recipe saved my life one evening. On a particular day back in October, Grace had a minor oral surgery to help bring a few teeth up with her…

Tex Mex Sheet Pan Breakfast

January 8, 2020 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

A one pan tex mex sheet pan breakfast…or breakfast for dinner? Count us in! This easy, flexible recipe simply puts great flavors on your table! Who doesn’t love a sheet pan meal? I know I do, and there are some really creative recipes out there that involve a sheet pan or baking sheet…or whatever you…

Whether you've tried this treat at a certain coffee shop or not, you're sure to love the creamy, citrusy winter goodness of these cranberry bliss bars!

Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars

December 22, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Whether you’ve tried this treat at a certain coffee shop or not, you’re sure to love the creamy, citrusy winter goodness of these cranberry bliss bars! This post originally appeared on Catz in December of 2012. Seven years on, cranberry bliss bars continue to be popular, Starbucks keeps making and selling them, and we keep eating…

Peppermint Fudge

December 21, 2019 By Chelsia Rief 3 Comments

It’s festive, fun, and easy! This simple recipe for yummy white chocolate peppermint fudge is a great choice for Christmas desserts or even cookie tins! This post originally appeared on Catz in December of 2011 – one of our earliest Christmas recipes! Since then, it’s been remade, modified a bit, and rephotographed. We’re sharing it…

Special occasion, holiday dinner, family get together? Keep it low stress without sacrificing the wow factor with this slow cooker pot roast au jus recipe!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast Au Jus

December 18, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Special occasion, holiday dinner, family get together? Keep it low stress without sacrificing the wow factor with this slow cooker pot roast au jus recipe! I can’t remember one time in my childhood when my mom made a roast for dinner. Occasionally the exception was made for fast food like Taco Bell or McDonalds, but…

Light, fluffy, vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting makes up the base of this treat, but it's the shredded coconut that makes them snowball cupcakes!

Snowball Cupcakes

December 13, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Light, fluffy, vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting makes up the base of this treat, but it’s the shredded coconut that makes them snowball cupcakes! My daughter Eden is cupcake-obsessed. In fact, one of her favorite series of books is called The Cupcake Diaries! You might remember her last cupcake post – the one about…

Weekly Menu for the Week of Jan 20

January 20, 2020 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

How is it already January 20th? Anyone remember last year when it felt like January was just dragging and was never going to end? They made all of those memes about it…anyone remember this?

I feel like my January hasn’t been as productive as I would like. I mean, in some ways it has been, but in other ways I just feel like I’m not getting to the things I really want to get to. How are you guys feeling about it?

Maybe we should just chalk up January as the year’s practice month and declare the official start of 2020 in February…who’s with me?

So we got a sprinkle – more like a dusting – of snow Friday morning. It was beautiful for the few hours it hung around and then the rain came back. Feeling a little like a sun-deprived drowned rat over here and I’m going to just keep on hibernating in leggings and sweatshirts and making comfort food.

YUM!…