 My kids were 10 and 13 when we took them to Disneyland for the first time. I spent months planning, organizing and packing to create a magical Disney vacation. We dined with princesses, we rode the newest rides and we met all of their favorite Disney characters. 12 years later, the only thing that my daughter remembers about the "great Davis Disney adventure" is standing in line for the Dumbo ride with her dad when the skies opened up. 🌧 Despite being completely drenched, they still proceeded to climb aboard the elephant ride and take it if or a spin. 🐘Her memory of that trip is shopping for dry clothes (and shoes) when they got off that ride. 🤷🏻♀️ As parents, we planned all kinds of extraordinary events in an effort to create lifelong memories for our children. The truth is that the things that they remember is usually the things that were never planned. The things that happened by accident and the things that seemed ordinary.  A lot of time was dedicated to meal planning when my kids were younger. I tried my best to make meal time fun while also providing healthy food for their growing bodies. If you've ever tried to meal plan for a family - you know how much work is involved. Planning, shopping, preparing, cleaning - it's a full time job. Not to mention the fact that when you've got more than one mouth to feed, you've got multiple opinions and preferences. I just asked my 22 year old what dinner she remembers most from her childhood. Her answer was fish sticks! 🤣🤣🤷🏻♀️ Seriously? Frozen fish sticks is what I made when Ben and I were going out to dinner and I just needed a quick meal to feed the kids. It was my go-to meal for babysitter nights - which is probably why they thought is was such a treat. 🐟 The other day, this same adult child was describing to me a new pasta dish that she tried for the very first time. A pasta dish with tuna and a creamy, white sauce. After listening to her describe this "tuna casserole", I informed her that she had consumed this dish many times as a child. She insisted that I never made it for her before. 😅 Kids. They remember the Dumbo ride in the rain and the fish stick nights but not my homemade tuna casserole? I'm pretty sure I did the same thing to my parents so I guess it's just the way our childhood brains work. Even though my kids might not remember them, rest assured, I've made my fair share of tuna casseroles over the years. I looked back at the recipe that I posted back in 2016 and decided it might be time for an update. I'm hoping that this leaves a bigger impression on my family than my previous tuna casserole. 😂  Tuna Noodle Casserole 8 ounces medium shells pasta 1 tablespoon salted butter 1 celery rib, diced 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced 1 cup frozen peas 2 (5-ounce) cans tuna, drained 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese Sauce 3 tablespoons salted butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 1 cup whole milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 3/4 cup sour cream Topping 1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
 Cover and freeze OR bake 24-30 minutes at 350. If frozen, thaw overnight and bake 35-40 minutes.  Writing blog posts can consume a lot of my time and sometimes I wonder if it's even worth it. Then there are days when my kids question whether or not I've made specific recipes and I'm thankful that I have the blog as evidence. It was never intended to be used as a deposition but sometimes, the proof is in the picture. 🤣📸
Ciao!
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 My love of charcuterie boards is boarderline obsessive. 🤣Little bits of lots of different kinds of foods - what's not to like? 💁🏻♀️There's no better way to serve a big crowd or even a few picky family members than to offer everyone choices. The only real issue with making charcuterie boards is that I only use small amounts of each item so I end up with a lot of "extras." I have a constant supply of half used jars of jam, open boxes of crackers, leftover meats and small bits of cheeses. I've gotten pretty good at using up most of the charcuterie surplus but then there are things like half eaten cheese balls and half jars of fig jam. 🤷🏻♀️  Sometimes those charcuterie leftovers work to my advantage though. I'd been staring at the aforementioned opened fig jam jar in my refrigerator for several weeks which is what led me to this gem of a recipe. The thought of letting the jam go to waste was more than I could bear so I did a little research on fig jam recipes. I was shocked at how many recipes there were and luckily, I stumbled on this amazing, balsamic and fig glazed chicken recipe. I'm a sucker for a great grilled chicken recipe and this one did not disappoint. I love the combination of the sweet jam and the acidity of the balsamic vinegar. It really makes a perfect glaze for this summer barbecue standout.  Balsamic Fig Glazed Chicken 3-4 Bone In Chicken Breasts 1 Tablespoon butter 1 medium shallot 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 clove garlic, minced 1 (12 oz) jar fig preserves 2 Tablespoons honey 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar 5 sprigs thyme ½ cup walnuts ½ cup gorgonzola – crumbled (optional)
 Spoon glaze over chicken. Top with more fresh thyme.  Bake 44-55 minutes in a 350 oven.  Sprinkle nuts and cheese over chicken if desired. Serve. In case your wondering why my chicken has no nuts or cheese - In short, I got a little too excited about eating this and I dove right in the minute that it was cool enough to eat. 🤣 Apparently, I was hungry. I'm sure that it would be absolutely delicious with walnuts and blue cheese, too.
Ciao!  Does anyone else think it's possible that this whole charcuterie craze is being fueled by a generation that grew up on lunchables? 😅 I didn't grow up as part of the "lunchable generation" but I do think it's likely that these original bento box style eaters have grown up and popularized the charcuterie board. The definition of charcuterie refers to smoked or cured meats. I use the term in a much broader sense and less of a literal interpretation. 😅 Some of my charcuterie boards don't actually include any meat at all. I labelled this creation an Independence Day dessert charcuterie board. 👇🏻  For the record, no matter what they're called - I'm on board with the charcuterie board movement. I love designing them. I love making them and most importantly, I love eating them. 😋  I designed this colorful creation over a bed of lettuce so technically - it's a charcuterie salad. 🤣 I started with a very basic recipe and then added all of my favorites. A layer of crisp romaine covers the bottom and ripe peaches, sweet corn, crispy red onion, turkey bacon, creamy avocado, blueberries, salty parmesan, fresh herbs and the most tasty, grilled chicken ever, decorate the top. 🍑🌽🥑That's the thing about charcuterie boards - I can add whatever I like. 💁🏻♀️  Rosemary Chicken and Peach Salad 3 Tablespoons sodium soy sauce 3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 Tablespoon honey 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 2 ears corn 6 slices turkey bacon, cut into thirds 1 head romaine, roughly chopped 2 peaches, sliced 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and sliced 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced Balsamic Dressing 1/4 cup olive oil 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
 Add corn, bacon, peaches, avocado and onion. Honestly, I think that the hardest part of this whole salad charcuterie process was eating it. 🤣 It was hard to get some of each ingredient on our plates along with some of the crispy lettuce from underneath. I considered dumping the whole platter into a bowl and tossing it but that kind of defeats the purpose of a charcuterie style salad. I guess if figuring out how to eat it is my biggest obstacle - I'm okay with that. 😉
Ciao! |
