cooking

Celebrate National Espresso Month with Coffee at Home!

Abby H.Leave a comment

Coffee at home doesn’t have to be boring. With coffee shop prices rising (and let’s be fair, McDonald’s coffees are over $5.50 each these days), making fun, festive coffees at home matters more than ever.

We shouldn’t have to sacrifice a fun coffee or a little treat because of the economy. With a little creativity, you’ll be making yummy drinks at home in no time at all.

I’ve got an Amazon list here of my favorite Coffee bar items. 

The Top Three:

  1. A good Instant Espresso. I like Café Bustelo or Nescafé.
  2. A milk frother– not just for milk; it’s great for mixing espresso and hot water together.
  3. A variety of syrups. I buy small multi-packs like these to test new flavors. Whatever flavors I don’t like, I take to work and add to the coffee bar there.

Before you go out and buy anything, check for these supplies you probably have on hand: Coffee/k-Cups, Coffee maker (or French press or Keurig), creamer, milk, cream, sweetener, flavored syrups, chocolate syrup (if you like a mocha), double-walled tumblers with lids and straws for cold drinks, and insulated hot beverage cups with lids for hot drinks.

If you are looking for a few good recipes for coffee (not espresso) based drinks, check out my post here about my favorite French Press.  It’s got a recipe for a Café Misto and a Quick and Easy Café Mocha.

I mix three shots of espresso into my Premier Protein Shake each morning along with a lot of ice.

 

 

How to Plan for Thanksgiving on a Budget

Abby H.Leave a comment

Thanksgiving in the US is in four weeks, and it can be a very expensive endeavor. Here are some ways you can still throw a tasty feast for family and friends without going into the red.

The free Thanksgiving dinner items from Ibotta start 11/3/26, with a new item dropping weekly.

In the past, these free items have included: stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy mix, pie, instant mashed potatoes, and cornbread mix.

Many other cashback apps will partner with companies to offer cashback and discounts on traditional holiday meal ingredients as well. I recommend you check out my app page here to download a few of my favorites.

Aldi is doing their Thanksgiving meal deal again this year! This contains all of the ingredients for a dinner for 10 people for $39.00! It’s a really great way to save money and have a traditional feast menu.

Start by making your menu. Not all dinners are the same. Some Thanksgiving meals include foods from a family’s cultural background, while others stick to the traditional Thanksgiving foods. After your menu is made, shop your kitchen before you head to the store. You may already have some ingredients on hand. Instead of buying everything all at once, buy a few items on your weekly trip to the store. This spreads out the expense of the meal over several weeks.

Consider a potluck meal. Ask friends and family members to bring a side or dessert. Friends who are not culinarily inclined can be asked to bring drinks.

Forgo expensive dishes or dishes that are not very popular (looking at you, green bean casserole. I’m not a fan).

If you are having a small dinner or don’t want leftovers, consider a roasted chicken instead of a whole turkey, or a turkey breast. Both are smaller and more cost-effective.

 

Talk Back- How do you save money on traditional holiday dinners?

 

Oatmeal Recipe Round Up- National Oatmeal Day

Abby H.Leave a comment

Today is National Oatmeal Day, and oatmeal can be a forgotten ingredient in the kitchen.

In addition to a nutritious breakfast, it can also stand in place of breadcrumbs in Meatloaf and meatballs, or be ground in a food processor to be used in place of AP flour in baking recipes.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes using oatmeal:

Recipe: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe: Oatmeal Mix

Tasty Chewy Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies!

Recipe: Oat Flour Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Stockpile Cooking: Yummy Strudel Pumpkin Muffins

Oat Flour Banana Bread Recipe

Family Recipe: Apple Crisp

Celebrate National Pumpkin Day- Recipe Round Up!

Abby H.Leave a comment

October 26th is National Pumpkin Day. Whether you celebrate with a pumpkin spice latte or by carving pumpkins, this day has something for everyone.

Here are a few of my family’s favorite pumpkin recipes:

Don’t forget to check out my Halloween Events and Activities post here. There are all sorts of fun (and free) events all over San Diego County!

Recipe: Street Corn Enchiladas

Abby H.Leave a comment

Inspired by Your Barefoot Neighbor, this recipe is really tasty and pretty easy.

Ingredients:

  • 14 ounces fire-roasted corn (available frozen or canned- if you use canned, drain it)
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 T. Neutral cooking Oil
  • 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (Rotisserie chicken works great for this)
  • 28-ounce can green enchilada sauce. I like Las Palmas
  • 1 cup Sour Cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 4 T.  Elote Seasoning (or more, to taste)
  • 1 package corn tortillas
  • 4 cups cheese of your choice- I like Monterey Jack or Mexican Melting Cheese blend
  • Spray release

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the corn, bell peppers, and onion in oil until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
  3. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
  4. In a mixing bowl, combine the Enchilada sauce, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and elote seasoning.
  5. Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.
  6. I prefer to layer enchiladas, like lasagna, instead of rolling them. Spoon a little sauce into the bottom of the pan. Then lay down a layer of tortillas, veggies, chicken, cheese, and sauce. Continue to layer the ingredients until the pan is full. Top with any remaining cheese.
  7. Cover with foil and bake for 30-45 minutes. Remove the foil during the last 10 minutes to melt the cheese on top.
  8. Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Variations:

  • Gluten Free: Substitute gluten-free cream of Chicken Soup
  • Vegan: Omit Chicken. Substitute faux meat as desired, or increase the amount of veggies. Substitute sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and cheese for your preferred vegan versions.

 

Recipe: Choose Your Chip Cookies

Abby H.

Looking to switch up your classic chocolate chip cookie recipe this fall? I have just what you need.

Over the years, I have made hundreds  (maybe thousands) of batches of cookies, and I have substituted all sorts of different flavors of chips and extracts.

With the holidays approaching, there will be a lot of variety in baking chip flavors available at your local retailers. Some of my favorites include mlik chocolate, candy cane, pumpkin spice, butterscotch, and peanut butter. If you are an online shopper, The Bulk Priced Food Shop on Amazon has a lot of great baking chip flavors.

If you like a little more texture in your cookies, substitute one cup of the chips with dried diced fruit, or crushed freeze dried fruit, or diced candied fruit. Candied lemon peels are excellent in cookies with lemon extract, and white chocolate chips. Dried cherries go great with dark chocolate chips/chunks.

Change up the flavor with different extracts. I like cake batter, lemon, or almond in place of vanilla. Watkins is my favorite brand- they have a wide variety of flavor extracts. Rembmer Essential oils and baking extracts are NOT THE SAME THING.

If you are vegan or gluten-free, there will be substitutions at the end of this post just for you.

Choose Your Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup room-temperature butter (not melted, not hot)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/4 cups, all purpose, baking flour
  • 2 cups of chips, your choice

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until fluffy (about 1-2 minutes).
  3. Add sugars one at a time and mix until fluffy.
  4. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated fully.
  5. Mix in baking  soda, salt, and flour.
  6. Once all ingredients are blended into the dough, add chips.
  7. I like to refrigerate my dough for about 30 minutes, this gives the flour a chance to rehydrate, and for the flavors to meld before the cookies are baked. It really in my opinion it makes the cookie texture a little bit better.
  8. Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls on cookie sheets that have been greased or are lined with parchment paper. I prefer parchment paper.
  9. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.  Let cookies rest 1-2 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.

Variations: substitute half a cup of the room temperature butter for nut or seed butter of your choice. This will give your cookies a subtle nut flavor.

If you are vegan, substitute butter with your favorite plant-based butter, or hydrogenated shortening. Butter flavor shortening works best.

Additionally, you can substitute the two eggs for two flax eggs or egg replacer of your choice. It does affect the texture of the cookie, but if you are vegan or egg free, you’re probably used to the texture.

10/18/2026 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

The weather this week is going to be weird- Hot in the beginning of the week, and rainy and wet towards the middle and end. All I want is fall weather. I’m craving SOUP! I’ve got a few new recipes in the works- I’ll be sharing them once I make them.

I do my grocery shopping usually early on Saturday morning, after I inventory the fridge, freezer, and pantry (the forms I used are in this post- they are FREE). This week I didn’t buy a lot. We’ve got a lot of pantry staples, and I’m leaning into those, plus a lot of frozen veggies (from our last delivery of veggies for the local CSA. I cleaned, chopped, and bagged what we weren’t able to eat right away), and a big package of chicken breast.

Breakfast: The Big Kid has joined the Protein Coffee train with me. He has his with the equivalent of 2-3 shots of espresso in it, served hot. I take my Protein Coffee iced. 1 protein shake and 20 ounces of cold brew. The littler dude is on an Einstein Bros. Bagel kick. I buy them once every few weeks, pre-sliced, then I stash them in the freezer and pull them out and toast them as needed.

Lunch:  Monday through Friday, I pack my own and the kids’ lunches. I bring 5 lunches to work on Monday and stash them in the fridge. I pack the kids’ lunches each night before bed, except for the cold stuff and ice pack- those I put in when I get up in the morning. This week I have frozen entrees- there was a sale a few weeks ago, and I bought enough for the first 2 weeks of school. The big kid has basically the same lunch every day: Sandwich, drink, Quest Protein Chips, and a couple of cookies or whatever I made this week. The little dude has cheesy popcorn, mandarin oranges (2), a cheese stick, a yogurt drink, a cookie, and a fruit snack. Whatever keeps them fed!

Dinner: It’s a mixed bag of crockpot meals and quick-cook, easy dinners this week.

  • Monday: Italian Night
  • Tuesday: Crockpot meal-chicken chili

  • Wednesday: Smoothies and Charcuterie plates (this has become a Wednesday special)

  • Thursday: Quesadillas, beans and rice

  • Friday: Takeout night!
  • Saturday: Leftover Palooza
  • Sunday:  Crockpot meal- meatball beefy rice (recipe forthcoming), roasted green beans

National Food Bank Week- Helping Others in your Community!

Abby H.

This week is National Food Bank Week. If you’ve got a spare $5.00 or so, you can help your neighbors in need by picking up some canned/shelf-stable food and donating it to your local food bank or local free little pantry. Find your local food bank here, and your free Little Pantry here.

For those in need in the San Diego County area, check out my list of local food resources here.

Today is National Peanut Day!

Abby H.

September 13th is National Peanut Day!

If you don’t have a peanut allergy, this is a great day to celebrate this tasty legume. The peanut isn’t botanically a nut; it is related to beans and lentils.

We can credit George Washington Carver for bringing the peanut into our everyday lives. To learn more about Carver and his incredible career in botany, check out this article.

Here are a few recipes that my family loves that feature peanut butter:

If you love Peanut butter but need to avoid the natural fat/oil, I use PB2 in my protein shakes. If you also need to avoid added salt, Peanut Flour is a great option in place of PB2.

I love having Peanut butter on hand in my car snack box, so I use these Jif Cups or these By Nutz pouches.

 

 

 

Penzeys Sale: $35 for $50 in Gift Cards!

Abby H.

Penzeys is having a sale on $50 Gift Cards for only $35!

This is an amazing sale that only happens a few times a year. The best part: They never expire. Use them in-store or online.

This deal is back, but only until tonight- Monday, September 7, 2026.