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Weekly Menu for the Week of March 4

March 4, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Tell me if I'm wrong, but last week felt incredibly long. We got to Friday and I was literally falling asleep in my chair at 7 pm. I was so tired. Actually, I feel like I have just been really tired a lot lately. I fell asleep before Josh the other night (before 10!) and I still woke up tired. I blaming the weather. And the fact that it's been a sad week...

We'll be traveling for a few days to attend a family funeral soon, so between the actual travel, the prep, and the unpacking, we won't be posting too regularly - I'm sorry! After we get back home and get settled, though, we should be back to sharing recipes and posts with you. I've already got several ideas!

I know it's the only first week of March, but it feels like it should already be the middle of the month and I just feel very turned around. One of those months. I am hoping to eat lot's of good southern food while we're gone (silver lining). I hear there is some fried catfish and okra in my future...I've never had okra...I'm a bit nervous about it! [Read more...]

"Pantry to the Rescue" Spinach Artichoke Mac and Cheese

February 27, 2019 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

Trying find a way to satisfy both the carnivores and vegetarians at your table? We think this Spinach Artichoke Mac and Cheese will do the trick!

We're back this month with another macaroni and cheese dish for you to enjoy! You may or may not remember, but at the beginning of the year, I asked my kids what they wanted to me to make more often for dinner. The vote was unanimous. They all wanted more macaroni and cheese (shocker!). Last month I made a Queso Mac & Cheese dish that my whole family loved and this month I'm bringing you a Spinach Artichoke Mac & Cheese that I know you are all just going to love.

If you follow us here at Catz with any regularity, you know that I really enjoy a good cookbook and often review them on here in case you're in the market for a new one. I shared one on Bread and Wine featuring the Winter Cassoulet, then I featured Magnolia Table's Banana Bread and talked about that cookbook, and...then there have been more. Some feedback I've gotten from some of you is that you would like more vegetarian or vegan recipes to cook from. I'm happy to oblige with that, of course, but after doing some research...our grocery store doesn't carry a lot of meat substitutes that maybe Whole Foods would carry...and I don't live near one. So at least the vegan part is a work in progress (currently seven recipes on the blog in that category...but, hey, 162 in the vegetarian one!). [Read more...]

Weekly Menu for the Week of Feb 25

February 24, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

You guys, I am so sorry that we didn't post anything last week. It was just one of those weeks that didn't come together exactly as we would have liked, but...real life, ya know! And honestly, from a cooking standpoint, I really didn't do that much. It was easy stuff like spaghetti (out of a jar!) and (gasp!) even some frozen food. We've all got weeks like that, right?

We had a nice weekend, though. We started out Friday evening off with pizza and a movie - we watched Leap Year with the kids - we watch it every February as a family. We love it and it is totally clean! On Saturday I made this guacamole chicken melt from That Low Carb Life for dinner and it was so so good and we watched The King and I as a family. We're trying to watch more musicals, despite occasional protestations from the kiddos... Josh and I also watched First Man since we missed it when it was in theaters. It was very well acted and I learned a lot about the mission to the moon and about Neil Armstrong! [Read more...]

Grown Up Hot Chocolate

February 13, 2019 By Joshua Rief Leave a Comment

Feeling like you've outgrown your average hot cocoa? Make yourself some grown up hot chocolate from scratch with cocoa, vanilla, salt, milk, and cream!

Let's start with the obvious question - what makes this hot chocolate "grown up"? There's the obvious answer, which is that you can add bourbon to it. But it's grown up with or without a legally "adult" ingredient, because this is hot chocolate from scratch. In my opinion, when you start your hot chocolate with unsweetened cocoa, milk, cream, salt, and vanilla, you've graduated past hot chocolate's infant, child, and adolescent phases and moved straight on to adulthood.

So, let's be clear - this is a hot chocolate recipe for everyone. Your kids will like it, too (provided you forgo the bourbon!), though they may find it challenging it to make - that's why it takes an adult! Okay, fine, I suppose a culinary-minded teenager could pull it off, too. It's not a challenging recipe, as far as recipes go - it's just advanced compared to opening a packet of instant hot cocoa!

[Read more...]

Weekly Menu for the Week of Feb 11

February 10, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

I don't know about you, but we were supposed to have some sort of "snowpocalypse" here in the Portland metro area of Oregon and the apocalypse failed to show up, at least here in the valley. Which was kind of a bummer because we spent the whole weekend dealing with the same cold we had a few weeks ago and the snow would have been pretty to look at.

But because of the colds, we did get a good start on our taxes finally! Ugh. ❄️ ?

At any rate, we're still trying to get everyone recovered over here and hoping to be better by Valentine's Day - which, by the way, I have no idea what we're going to do...which is kind of okay as I prefer a more relaxed Valentine's Day anyways. [Read more...]

Strawberries & Cream Overnight French Toast

February 6, 2019 By Chelsia Rief 5 Comments

Easy, fresh, bright, sweet, & creamy, this Strawberries & Cream Overnight French Toast features frozen Oregon berries so you can make it all year long!

I'm going to let you guys in on a secret. It's January and strawberries are not in season. I repeat, strawberries are not in season! I know this because, well, it is January and I don't know of many berries that thrive during the cold, rainy, windy, snowy months. And, well, I also bought two containers of strawberries last week for Josh's tres leches birthday cake and not only did the strawberries not look like they were in season, they also looked...bad. As in I had to pick through the containers looking for strawberries that didn't look mealy!

However, there is hope for us year-round strawberry lovers. If you've been reading Catz for awhile, then you know we love the opportunity to partner with our local berry farms, and this time, they come bearing the sweet, sweet news that when you buy Oregon Strawberries, you get strawberries that have been grown and picked at their peak from these same family farms to ensure all of that color and flavor we love. In fact, a little more than 90% of the strawberries picked have been frozen within 24 hours to ensure that their color, flavor, and nutrients have been locked in at the very max! Oregon Strawberries are grown and harvested with love, and I have to agree that it shows in the way they look and taste. [Read more...]

Weekly Menu For the Week of Feb 4

February 4, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

I think the weekends are getting shorter.

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this thinking.

At any rate, we had a great weekend, though it was a quick one. Josh and I took the kids out to brunch, something we don't do that often, so it was a real treat for them. Later that evening, Grace watched the kids so Josh and I could run a few errands and grab a bite out. We ended up going to JC Penney because we had a gift card and we were in need of new bath towels and stuff, so it was nice to not have to spend our own money on that stuff...because towels can be kind of a boring purchase (though an important one)! We did end up grabbing this 5 piece Mason Jar drink ware set for super cheap and I'm looking forward to using it during the spring and summer.

We also did a little shopping at Hobby Lobby! We've been inside Hobby Lobby a few times, but always when they are close to closing and have never bought anything. We ended up strolling several aisles and did end up buying a few (literally, just a few) goodies for the home. And I love them! [Read more...]

Pork and Peach Street Tacos

February 2, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

These pork and peach street tacos are a bright, light fusion blend of flavors and ingredients in a recipe that is healthy, quick, and, actually, beautiful!

It's winter and I know we're all craving comfort food. Steaming pastas, roasted meats, hearty soups, and brownies right?

Don't get me started on brownies. I have a weakness for brownies.

My point is, it's the dead of winter. All of our trees, plants, and yards look kind of lifeless and so we crave those foods that "spark joy" (can I use that here?) and make us say, "Mmm." I used to love winter more than I do now. Not so much of a fan anymore except for the snow, which we typically have to travel to. And the clothes, because I'm always cold and I could wear a cozy sweater every day. And the food. Winter food is just good!

But...I am most eagerly looking forward to spring. Not the allergies that come with spring here in the PNW...those I could do without, ya know. I love catching that first bud on a tree, or hearing the birds singing in the morning, or if you live in the country like me, the first "ribbets" of your resident backyard frog - well, maybe there are frogs in the city, too. [Read more...]

Queso Mac and Cheese

January 30, 2019 By Chelsia Rief 1 Comment

What happens when you cross queso dip and classic mac & cheese (with a little kielbasa for good measure)? You get queso mac and cheese!

Back in December while we were having dinner one night, I asked Josh and the kids what they wanted to eat more of. Josh said seafood and Christian and Eden said macaroni and cheese, while Grace said cheesecake.

All very different opinions, haha! That's what you get when you have six people in your family. I, of course am happy to try all of these things, and then I got an idea. What if I made one new macaroni and cheese recipe a month...?! That would make 12 different Mac and Cheeses for a whole year. The kids of course, loved that idea and even Josh was on board. [Read more...]

Weekly Menu for the Week of Jan 28

January 27, 2019 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

How was everybody's weekend? Can you believe that this is the last week of January? Who remember the month of January from last year? Remember it felt like it was the longest month ever, the January that never ended? How did this January feel? In my opinion...still slightly long. Everything I think feels long after a short December. Christmas always approaches way too fast!

We took it kind of slow this weekend. On Saturday, I accompanied Josh to a work gathering - a few people from his office got together for food and games. We brought our bacon and egg potato salad as our side (handy and easy to throw together). On Sunday, we had church and Josh took the three littlest kids to the annual auto show while I took Grace to Old Navy to try on clothes (basically trying to teach her the basics of a capsule wardrobe). I showed her how to style one dress seven different ways! (Proud moment for this mama!) [Read more...]