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Bacon Gouda Burgers

April 12, 2016 By Chelsia Rief 6 Comments

This bacon gouda burger is juicy, flavorful, and will impress all your friends and their tastebuds at your next backyard barbecue!

This recipe originally appeared on Catz in September of 2014. The pictures and recipe have been updated. And you should grill these...now.

Is more like summer or fall where you're at? For me, it's still summer. It is still 80+ degrees and sunny, humid, hot, you name it! WHYYY?! Anyways, because it's still acting like summer here, we have a grilling recipe for you. But if it is fall-like where you're at or your a sports nut, this would totally work for tailgating and watching football.

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Tuesday's Tidings for April 12

April 12, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hers

1. I broke down and finally bought a new curling wand. I went with the NuMe 32MM classic wand and I'm loving it. It gives my hair the beach waves that my other tiny wand didn't give me and the handle is a really beautiful hot pink color! These wands can be a little spendy if you don't catch them on sale...but they almost always have a sale going and I would say it is worth the investment. In addition to the wand, I have to recommend this Sea Salt Texture Spray! One bottle has lasted me almost a year and it smells so good and has some really wonderful ingredients that are good for your hair. If you want to watch the tutorial on how I style my hair for beach waves, you can watch this one.

2. I can't decide which brownie bar I want to make first. This one or this one!

3. Josh just told me he's got an Einstein Bros. Bagels down the street from his office and now I'm needing bagels in my life. I love their bagels and schmears. Have you had their bagels before? What's your favorite? [Read more...]

Weekly Menu for the Week of April 11th

April 11, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Happy tax week everyone! Yes, you heard me correct. If you haven't filed your taxes yet, you've got five days to get er' done! Hopefully, you're done, though.

I'm feeling so thankful that we had two days last week that got into the 80's! On Friday, we skipped our pizza night and opted to grill some burgers outside and let me tell you, they were the best tasting burgers (except for the In-N-Out ones we ate last month) that we've had in a long long time!

#almostgrillingseason #cantwait #grillallthefoods

But, the 80 degree days are gone this week, being replaced by those partly sunny (or partly cloudy, depending on your point of view) blue sky days with some rain and clouds. Which I guess is more typical of April in the PNW.

Our menu this week is on the tasty, but simple side. Easy weeknight dinners all the way around and all family favorites. Some repeats that we didn't get to. Win/Win/Win!

Check out some of our past menus for more great dinner options. Have a great week everyone!! [Read more...]

Slow-Cooker Sloppy Joe Sliders

April 6, 2016 By Chelsia Rief 6 Comments

Sweet & tangy, slightly sophisticated and fun, these slow-cooker sloppy joe sliders up the ante and are perfect for your game day munchies!

This post has been updated from the archives. The pictures have been updated - the original post appeared on Catz in January 2014.

If you were to ask me when the Super Bowl is, I would say, "On a Sunday?" That's right, I have no idea when the Super Bowl is, except that I'm fairly certain that it's on a Sunday. Also, if you were to ask me who was playing in the Super Bowl, I would also not have the foggiest idea of which teams are facing off. Has it even been decided yet? Fortunately for me, Josh doesn't really care either, although I'm sure that he at least knows who is playing and when they are playing. He's a guy. Guys need to know these things so they can tweet to their friends and talk about it at work. I'm a stay at home mom. I don't think Grace, Eden, or Christian would care much. The girls would probably stare at me like I'd lost my mind and try to bring me back to earth by telling me which new My Little Pony they just acquired on their iPad game and Christian would probably just stare.

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Weekly Menu for the Week of April 4th

April 4, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

I hope you all had a nice week/weekend. The sun was out in our area and it was beautiful and warm! It finally felt a little bit like spring!

We took off on Friday and spent the day at the beach and it was sunny and beautiful, though a bit chilly! On Sunday, Josh built us a new box planter for our garden. We never got to make one for the new house last year because we had just moved in and missed planting season. I told Josh Sunday morning that he should make us one since the weather was nice, and we still had some wood from other projects around the house. We got the base of a garden built and planted, along with two blueberry plants, but we still have plans to add on to the garden and add more fruits and veggies.

I'm glad we worked on it on Sunday, because today it's cloudy and the rain is coming and going. Great for the plants but not so much for my mood...

Josh and I did have plans of posting a couple of recipes last week, but we had a family situation unexpectedly come up and it drew us away from the computer completely for a few days. There are still a few issues that could arise with the situation that we're dealing with, but I do hope to get a recipe up, along with something new we've been wanting to share with you.

Until then, here's this week's menu. I hope you find it helpful as you plan your menu this week. Of course, if nothing on this week's menu sounds good, feel free to check out past menus!

Have a great week everyone! [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for March 29

March 29, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hers
1. This grilled chicken pesto salad I had at the Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney has got me craving more big time! As soon as the weather drys up, I'm recreating this! Don't even get me started on their crazy, addicting crack-like beignets!

2. I finally finished The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I can't say I enjoyed it as much as the previous Narnia books. Have you read it. What did you think?

3. Just because Easter is behind us doesn't mean you should stop looking for awesome brunch recipes! Brunch should be an all year long celebration! (As should Easter!) 30 Easter brunch ideas guaranteed to make you hungry! You're welcome!

His

1. I just finished Jay Winik's latest masterpiece, 1944, one of the many books I was super excited to receive as gifts for Christmas and my birthday a couple of months ago. Wow. It was not what I expected, and it is a gut-wrenching read. Winik focuses on the Holocaust and all of the opportunities the West had to intervene, sometimes just to save a few lives, but sometimes to save hundreds of thousands. With the exception of a few especially guilty parties in the State Department, he is not critical or judgmental, but seeks to weave a cautionary tale, a regretful reflection, if you will. Everyone should read it.

2. I had a flat tire the other day, in the pouring rain in my dress shoes and slacks. Frankly, it's a first world problem - roadside assistance is a phone call away, a spare's in the trunk ready to go, etc, etc, but it's still frustrating when you're in the rain dealing with it. The next day, I was driving home, again in the pouring rain, and I saw a young couple by the side of the road with an Oregon State Trooper pulled over behind them. I didn't see the trooper anywhere, and then I realized he was down on the ground working the jack and replacing the tire! I know there are bad apples out there, and the cops can get a bad rap, but our local and state police have always been impressive in my experience - helpful, professional, above and beyond. Just felt like that needed saying.

3. Iran has it's human rights issues, but at least goldfish are getting the respect they deserve from Iran's president... Wait. What.

Weekly Menu for the Week of March 28th

March 28, 2016 By Chelsia Rief 1 Comment

I hope you all had a very wonderful and memorable Easter with your family and friends. Our Easter was delicious, fun, and super relaxing, which was just what we needed.

However, it did rain off an on throughout the day so we did our Easter egg hunt inside. It's so fun to watch the kids get excited to find eggs with little treasures hidden inside them. Grace is nearly 12 years old and it makes me sad to think that these are probably her few last years of looking for eggs. But for now, all the kids LOVE to participate and I'm just sitting in the background memorizing the smiles on their faces and their high-pitched giggles.

For most of us, spring break is now over and this Monday is back to reality for our families. Also, we reach the first week of April this week! February and March are over and the homestretch of the school season are before our eyes. We usually end our homeschool year anytime between the end of April and the end of May.

In so many ways I feel like the school year just started and here we are and it's spring (FINALLY) and the school year is coming to an end. I'm excited because I love the lazy warm days with the kids. Life just slows down a bit.

But for now, it's still March and I have this week's menu for you. Check out past menus for some more great dinner options.

Have a great week everyone!! [Read more...]

Easter Recipe Roundup

March 24, 2016 By Joshua Rief 1 Comment

In need of some culinary inspiration for the potlucks, breakfasts, and family dinners this holiday weekend? We've got you covered with fifteen recipe candidates you should consider cooking up! [Read more...]

Carrot Cheesecake

March 22, 2016 By Chelsia Rief 3 Comments

When I was trying to decide if I wanted to make a dessert or side or main dish to share with you for Easter, it was kind of a no-brainer. Of course, I was going to make dessert. I don't know about you, but I look forward to the dessert when it comes to a holiday meal. Not the side dish. Not the rolls. Not the main course, whatever that may be for you in your family. (For us, it varies widely depending on who we're spending the holiday with.)

I haven't been posting too many desserts lately on the blog seeing as the last few were for Valentine's Day. Which, I guess wasn't too long ago, but I just haven't been making many sweet treats for the family. I blame the leftover Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day candy we've had in the house. (We're slow eaters, apparently.) [Read more...]

Weekly Menu for the Week of March 21st

March 21, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hey, guys, we're back! Thanks for being so patient and understanding on our very light posting schedule last week. Josh and I flew down to Pasadena on Wednesday for a work event and came home Friday night. We had a blast seeing family, eating some really good food, and having some time alone, but I was ready to come back home to my kids on Friday. Well, technically Saturday, since that is when we picked them up from their grandparents.

Did you all have a nice St. Patrick's day? I hope you had a chance to check out the recipe round-up we posted on Thursday. And now Easter is this Sunday! Is that nuts or what? Just so you know, we have a great Easter Pinterest board you can check out and get some fun ideas for recipes.

It's good to be back posting this week and I hope you find this week's menu helpful. Apparently, we had a couple of nice days while we were gone, but it's back to raining now and some of the recipes for this week reflect that rainy mood.

As always, be sure to check out past menus for some great menu ideas. Have a great week everyone!

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