Camp BOOK IT! will run June-August, 2021, and is open to PreK-6th grade students (ages 4-12).
Set reading goals, have fun, and reward your students for their summer reading with free pizza!
kids
Recipe: Roasted Onion and Caramelized Onion Bisque
I saw a video online someplace (I want to say Facebook, but it could have been on Reddit too), and it showed how to make tomato bisque using freshly roasted tomatoes.
I was excited to try it since we’ve been getting tons of big tomatoes in our CSA box over the past two weeks and I had them sitting on the counter.
This recipe is simple, but it does involve a few steps and does take some time.
It’s worth it in my opinion.
Roasted Onion and Caramelized Onion Bisque
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 8-10 Tomatoes, tops cut off. If the tomatoes are not a uniform size, cut them in half /into large uniform hunks
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, diced
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 can (approx 16 oz) chicken or veggie stock
- salt
- pepper
- 1 Teaspoon each: Basil, Rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup half and half
- dash red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat Oven to 425 degrees. Place tomatoes/tomato hunks on an oiled-up baking sheet. Brush tomatoes with oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Roast tomatoes for 35-45 minutes.
- While tomatoes are roasting, melt butter in a stockpot, and over medium/low heat saute onions. in the last 10 minutes of cooking the onions, add the garlic and stir frequently to keep from burning. You will need to stir frequently.
- Place tomatoes in with onions, and add stock, and all herbs/seasonings, EXCEPT the bay leaf and red pepper.
- Using an emersion blender, blend soup until it’s smooth.
- Now that soup is smooth, add bay leaf and simmer for 30-45 minutes on low.
- Add half and half, stir well, add red pepper if desired.
- Serve topped with croutons.
Note: If you don’t have an emersion blender, pour tomatoes and onions into a blender and pulse until smooth.
This recipe does not make a ton of soup, as most of my soup recipes do. This recipe takes time, but it’s so good. It’s worth the time and effort for sure.
I recommend my 4-way grilled cheese to go with this soup too!
5/10/2021 Weekly Meal Plan
Last week on Tuesday night our fridge started acting up, and by Wednesday afternoon, it was no longer blowing cold air. the fan was broken. Thankfully we have the extended warranty, so they came out Thursday afternoon and repaired the fridge (replaced the fan).
As a result, we lost most of the food in the fridge, including all of the condiments. The meal plan for the rest of last week was scrapped.
I hit up the store to replace what was lost, but I wasn’t able to replace all of it, for some reason, there are some food shortages, probably because some items are made overseas and there are some countries that are seeing surges in Covid Cases as of late.
The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.
Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.
For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.
Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.
Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.
- Sunday: Take out (It was Mother’s Day after all)
- Monday: Big Ol’ Salad, fruit, protein shakes
- Tuesday: Salsa Chicken, Rice, roasted veg
- Wednesday: Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
- Thursday: Steak, potatoes, roasted veg
- Friday: Pizza/Takeout Night
- Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and /or leftovers
Please stay safe you guys!
Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?
Gives Kids Financial Freedom with Greenlight!
Greenlight is all about financial education for kids. They help them learn about money management through a safe, secure app where parents manage every dollar and see every transaction.
- The debit card for kids, managed by parents.
- With the tap of a button, send money to your kids — anytime, anywhere. No trips to the ATM, no cash, no hassle. For our family- This is key! I hate going to the bank to get the big kids allowance each week.
- Set flexible parental controls that are right for your family and get real-time notifications every time your kids spend money.
- After your 30-day Trial consumers are charged a $4.99 monthly fee for the service.
- You can upgrade to a custom debit card later and have a selfie on the card.
5/3/2021 Weekly Meal Plan
The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.
Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.
Over the weekend, I did some meal prep: I made a batch of Copycat Zuppa Toscana, caramelized onions and peppers, Roasted veggies, made a crumble-top coffee cake, and refilled the snack/school lunch box to make morning lunch prep even easier.
The grocery trip for the week was fairly small- Milk, coffee creamer, a few snacks for the kids lunches, meat-free nuggets, and a few other misc. items. We’re still working through our Dream Dinners order, and I’ve been making bigger batches of soups and entrees and stashing them in the freezer for busy nights.
For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.
Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.
Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.
- Sunday: Dream Dinner (Honey Mustard Chicken), Spinach Salad, Roasted Veg
- Monday: Fritatta, Salad/Fruit
- Tuesday: Soup & Biscuits
- Wednesday: Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
- Thursday: Dream Dinners and Roasted Veg
- Friday: Pizza/Takeout Night
- Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and /or leftovers
Please stay safe you guys!
Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?
Free Food Resources for May 2021 (San Diego County)
A new month means that it’s time for the monthly update of free food resources in San Diego.
You can still find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.
If you are located outside San Diego County, call 211. If you are not familiar with 211, here is their website and it can point you in the right direction.
Neighborhood Distributions for May 2021:
These Distributions are primarily fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.
Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide). The San Diego Foodbank website also has resources for Diaper banks, free food resources for seniors, and more.
If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.
Everything is Awesome! The LEGO® MOVIE™ WORLD Opening on May 27, 2021
My kids are going to lose their MINDS when I tell them about this! One of the places they have been missing over the past 13 months is Legoland.
THE LEGO® MOVIE™ WORLD is opening on May 27, 2021. It brings the streets of Bricksburg and experience the Park’s newest and biggest adventure which brings the blockbuster films THE LEGO® MOVIE™ and THE LEGO® MOVIE™ 2: The Second Part, to life.
This new land features six interactive attractions for all to enjoy.
- Emmet’s Flying Adventure
- Unikitty’s Disco Drop
- Benny’s Play Ship
- Queen Watevra’s Carousel
- Build Watevra You Wa’Na Build zone,
- Meet Emmet and all his friends in Emmet’s Super Suite
- Enjoy tasty themed treats such as Cloud Cuckoo Crepes throughout the land.
I’m excited to take the kids to Legoland this summer! They are both itching to visit the new LEGO MOVIE WORLD and of course, the Legoland water park!
The LEGO MOVIE WORLD will be included in the price of admission to LEGOLAND California Resort. Guests can purchase tickets and reserve their spot through LEGOLAND California’s reservation system for their desired Park visit. For more Resort information, operating schedule and to make reservations, visit the Legoland Website here.
And if you are looking for some money savings hacks for Legoland, check out my post here.
Pizza Hut Book It Enrollment (2021-2022) is Open!
Woo Hoo! My Kids are stoked.
Enrollment is also open to all parents for Camp BOOK IT!, which will run June-August, 2021.
PreK students (age 4 by Sept. 1st, 2021) are now eligible for all BOOK IT! programs. Be sure to include those students in your enrollment!
The nice part about BOOK IT is that each teacher can choose to participate, it’s no longer a school wide program. Everything is done online, and certificates are emailed when they are earned. With the digital program, parents can use digital certificates in person, over the phone, or online, for carryout, delivery or dine in providing even more ways for them to celebrate their child’s reading accomplishments.
Get Started here! And remember to share this post with your teacher friends!
Everyone loves pizza- and nothing is better than FREE PIZZA!
Recipe: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
The kids have been begging for homemade cookies lately, and I’ve been busy with other stuff, so I haven’t had tons of time to make cookies.
I dug through the cupboard last week and realized that I had all of the ingredients except baking soda. I used the last half box I had to deodorize the kids bathroom.
So I turned to an old favorite, Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix. and because of the other ingredients, I used a smidge of baking powder (please remember that soda and powder are not interchangeable in recipes- it has a lot to do with the other ingredients and their pH/chemical makeup) and the cookies turned out perfect!
Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix contains leavening, so the added baking powder was just a little *bump* to make sure the cookies didn’t come out flat.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- One stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth preferred
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white/granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups quick oats, uncooked
- 2 cups of chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter.
- Add sugars one at a time and mix until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated fully.
- Mix in baking powder, salt, flour, and oats. Once all are blended into the dough, add chocolate chips.
- Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls on cookie sheets that have been greased or are lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking pad. I prefer silicone baking pads.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies rest 1-2 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.
This recipe makes approx. 3 dozen cookies. If you are allergic to peanuts, you can substitute sunbutter or your favorite nut butter. Do Not use Nutella- It contains a lot of sugar and other ingredients that will throw off the chemistry of the recipe and you won’t get yummy cookies.
Review of Everything’s a Deal (2 Locations in San Diego)
If you’re like me, you’ve been socially isolated/staying home for the better part of a year, wearing the same clothes, and it’s getting a little repetitive.
But at the same time, you don’t want to go to the mall. And as much fun as shopping on Amazon is, it’s hard to buy clothes on Amazon sometimes.
Last week, after I dropped the kids off at school and ran a couple errands, I found myself in South Bay. I remember that there used to be a discount/mark-down clothing store off of Palomar Road and interstate five, so I decided to drive down and see if it was still there. It is! And it’s even better than I remembered. It’s called Everything’s A Deal (it used to be Everything’s $5.00) and they’ve changed their store again.
The address is: 1141 Bay Blvd, Chula Vista, CA 91911
In a true wholesale try store the more you buy the cheaper the price per item becomes. If you buy between five and 10 items it’s $27.50+ tax for all 5 to 9 items. And the prices go down from there. Unlike a lot of discount clothing stores (I’m looking at a Ross) it’s not mostly trash/fast fashion/awful sweatshop crap.
Everything’s A Deal buys lots from well-known retailers (Sears, JCPenney, Nordstrom‘s Rack, or fifth Avenue, just to name a few) and they have a large warehouse-style store where everything is separated by size. All the plus sizes are together, all the small, medium, large, etc.
The nice thing is that the sale prices are for everything. Shoes, accessories, purses, close. They have kids’ clothes in men’s clothes too. So conceivably you could read your entire family there and some really cute outfits and not break the bank. Everything is new with tags. I bought five items and spent $29.99 after tax out the door. I got a jacket, address, two new T-shirts, and a really cute vest that I’m going to tie-dye.
All five items are name brand, and the jacket is a brand that is sold at Nordstrom rack. I googled the RN number and discovered that the original price of my brand new coat was $89.99. My two shirts had the tags still attached, my vest is from a brand I remember seeing at Macy’s, and my new dress, which is adorable, is from a brand that target sells.
There’s another location on Broadway in Lemon Grove (7696 Broadway Lemon Grove, CA) if South Bay is too far of a jog for you. Honestly, the stores are a great help for us, they help me stretch our clothing budget for new items. I’m able to afford better quality items for the same price that I would be paying at Walmart. And because the clothing swaps are going to be not happening for probably the next year or two, we won’t be able to pick up hand-me-downs or other secondhand clothing and household goods.
Clothing swaps are one of the ways that we are able to save a lot of money and keep the kids’ clothes. The kids are starting to grow out of the clothing that they have been wearing, and because there’s been no clothing swap this year, I don’t have clothing in the next size ready. I am going to have to purchase clothes.
I have been doing buying clothes and replacing our wardrobes little by little when I find stuff on sale and clearance that kids and I will like. This is mostly through jcp.com because they have such great sales and coupons. And I can combine those with cashback deals from online aggregators like top cashback, MyPoints, and Honey.
Hewes Family Fun 