 I've got a proud Mamma moment to share: My lemon tree is bursting with lemons!🍋 Sorry kids - I'm proud of you too but you're adults now and fully responsible for keeping yourselves alive.😅 My lemon tree on the other hand, is fully dependent on me for all of it's needs: light, water and nutrients so technically I can claim it as a dependent, right?😂 Every October I have think of a new way to convince my husband to drag my giant, thorny lemon tree indoors to protect it from the cold.🥶 Having this tree reside in our bedroom all winter is less than ideal. Getting accidentally stabbed by a thorny branch in the middle of the night while trying to squeeze past on the way to the bathroom is brutal but the fact that it drops nearly all of it's leaves the minute that it's brought indoors - is worse. 😬
Turns out that my lemon tree wasn't dropping leaves as an expression of displeasure about being indoors. It was dropping leaves because it was being deprived of light.☀️ I feel like a bit of a slow learner because it took over 10 years of lemon growing for me to figure out that all my tree needed to thrive in the winter was a grow light.🤦🏻♀️ Sure, it looks like I've got a weed farm in my bedroom but my lemon tree is happy and healthy.🪴 I've been having the best time trying to come up with the perfect ways to use my home grown Meyer lemons.🍋 I have no idea how to pronounce the name of this chicken and rice soup with a bright, lemon broth but I CAN tell you that it's delicious. 😋  Avgolemono Soup 3 pounds chicken thighs 2 onions, chopped 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 carrot, sliced 2 bay leaves 2 1/4 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon oregano 3 quarts cold water 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2/3 cup Arborio rice 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon pepper pinch cayenne 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
 Add back to pot and add chicken. Cook until warmed through.  Ciao!
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 There must have been a whole lot of Georgia kids who wore their pajamas inside out on Thursday night because we woke up to a blanket of snow on Friday morning.❄️ I honestly never heard of that superstition until I moved to the South but I kind of love that Southern kids take meteorological matters into their own hands. One the coolest things (pun intended😉) about living in a part of the country that only experiences snow once every 10 years or so is that fact that I get to see it through the eyes of children who are seeing snow for the very first time in their lives. These kids know how to make the best out of a snow day. They bundle up in their warmest gear, drag their boogie boards and garbage can lids to the steepest hills in the neighborhood and head down with reckless abandoned.🛷
I took these pictures on my snowy walk around the neighborhood on Friday. I enjoyed seeing the normally vibrant yards, blanketed in white. I also got a good laugh at watching the neighborhood kids (and adults) making snow angels and snowmen in their yards.⛄️  This recipe is for all of my fellow Georgia friends who weathered last weekends storm. No judgment if you got caught up in the hype and accidentally bought a little too much bread and milk in preparation for the storm - I got you. A good french toast recipe is going to be you're best friend this week to use up all of those superfluous supplies.🍞🥛 This croissant french toast is decadent and scrumptious but fear not - if you've got regular leftover bread and milk - you can use those too. It's the thin layer of cream cheese and fresh strawberries really makes this french toast recipe extra special.🍓  Strawberry Croissant French Toast Bake 10 Croissants 8 ounces cream cheese ¼ cup sugar 10 fresh strawberries 6 eggs 1 cup half-and-half 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
Pour egg mixture over croissants. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours.  Bake croissants, covered, for 25 minutes at 375.   Ciao!
 There's a winter storm approaching Georgia and baby it's cold outside.❄️ And with snow in the forecast you know that I had to make a trip to the supermarket to do a supply check.❄️ It's wasn't only to stock our pantry but also to document the food hoarding that happens every time there's a threat of a wintery weather in Georgia.🍞🥛🤣 These photos of the bread aisle and dairy case were taken at the Wal Mart in my neighborhood last night. We may not have the proper coat or boats to weather the storm but we WILL have the ingredients to make french toast when the storm hits. 😅
For those of you who aren't aware, the threat of ice causes chaos for Southerners. We don't have the proper equipment to prepare or clean the roads during a storm and for reasons that I cannot explain, we forget everything we ever learned about driving at the first sign of a snowflake.🚘 As you might imagine, everything comes to a screeching halt when the snow starts to fall in Georgia. Schools and businesses shut down and the entire state takes a "snow day." ❄️  I was born and raised in the part of Ohio that experiences "Lake effect snow" every winter so I know about all about winter storms.⛷️ BUT I've lived in the South for nearly 25 years and over time, I feel like I've slowly morphed into a Southerner.😂 One of the things that I do remember about growing up as a kid in a snowy climate is that my mom always had a steaming mug of hot chocolate or a pot of hot soup simmering on the stove when we would come in from sledding or our snowman building escapades.🛷⛄️🍜 It still believe that the quickest way to warm up from the cold is from the inside out. So to all of my friends out there who are being affected by this cold winter blast: here's an easy chicken soup recipe to warm you up.  Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup 1 cup celery, chopped finely 1 cup onion, chopped finely 1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced 1/2 Tablespoon garlic, minced 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 4 bay leaves 8 cups chicken broth low or no sodium 3.5 cups egg noodles (8oz), cooked  Combine all ingredients in crock pot, except for egg noodles.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove chicken and dice or shred.  Add noodles and shredded chicken to soup.  Stay warm out there friends.
Ciao!  Another little known fact about me: I'm a VERY predictable when I go out to eat. Just ask my family.😂 I order salads when I go out for lunch - mostly because I love them and I don't enjoy making them for myself at home.🥗 When I go out for dinner - I usually choose a grilled chicken or fish option because it's a healthier than fried food.🍤 And on the rare occasion that I find myself at a restaurant for brunch - it's avocado toast for me - just because I love it. 🥑😅  I'm nothing if not consistent.😅 And because of that, I've tried a lot of different variations on traditional avocado toast and I've learned exactly what I like and don't like.🥑🍞 For me, it's all about starting with a thick slice of toasted multigrain bread and a perfectly ripe avocado. Finish it off with a sprinkling of fresh cherry tomatoes, a drizzle of sweet balsamic vinegar and top it all with the perfect fried egg and it's avocado toast perfection.🍳😋 It's not uncommon to see avocado toast served with a handful of arugula, fresh parmesan cheese, fresh herbs or sprinkled with some "everything" seasoning. I enjoy experiencing the different takes on it when I'm at a restaurant but when I'm at home - this is the version that I make for myself.😋  Avocado Toast 1 ripe avocado 2 teaspoons olive oil 2 teaspoons lemon juice pinch salt and pepper 2 slices crusty bread Toppings quartered cherry tomatoes dark balsamic vinegar reduction fried egg
 Add toppings.  Ciao!
 I spent so much time in my kitchen last month that I was starting to feel a little burnt out. Decorating hundreds of sugar cookies and baking dozens of Christmas desserts for weeks at a time will do that to a girl.🤣 So... I decided to take a much needed mini hiatus from cooking last week so we existed on leftovers and sandwiches.🌯🥪 I spent some time scrolling through the 92 recipes in my blog cue to find the inspiration to kickstart my 2025 meals. This Grilled Stuffed Snapper recipe jumped out at me because it's been in my blog cue for over 18 months. It was intended to be made out of a whole fish and finding fresh whole snapper in my little landlocked town proved to be VERY difficult so it just kept getting left behind.🐟😬  With my renewed energy and enthusiasm for cooking, I headed to the grocery store in search of a whole snapper. It was no surprise that I didn't find one but I did score a nice big snapper filet. So with the snapper filet in my car, I headed home to adapt this recipe that I'd waited so long to make.👩🏻🍳 Unfortunately, my inaugural meal of 2025 was a bit of a disappointment.😒 I don't know whether it's because I had to adapt it for a filet instead of a whole fish or if it was the flavor profile that I found off putting but either way - this wasn't my favorite fish dish. I hesitated to even share this recipe with you but I do think that there could be other people who might enjoy it. I still think that it's worthy of a try - especially if you're lucky enough to live in an area where fresh whole snapper is available.  Grilled Stuffed Snapper Stuffing 2 Tablespoons butter 6 scallions, sliced thin 5 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons fresh thyme 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated 1/2 poblano pepper, diced 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon allspice 8 ounces fresh spinach 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped Fish 3 scallions, minced 8 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 4 whole snapper, scaled 1/4 cup vinegar (I used dark balsamic but you can also use white) 2 Tablespoons butter lemon wedges
Place packets on grill and cook 15 minutes.  Transfer packets to a baking sheet. Let fish rest 5 minutes. Open packets, slide fish onto filet and serve with lemon wedges.
If you would like the whole fish version of this recipe - check out the printable version. Ciao! |
