January 2019 update:  I wanted to update this recipe because it is still a favorite, but I make it a little differently than I did two years ago.  I now use 6 cups vegetable stock instead of 5 to make it a bit thinner (like my broccoli soup) and I use my emersion blender to puree it more.  Also, I previously used chicken broth, but have since switched to vegetable broth which I think has more flavor.  

The newer pictures in the brown soup mug show the more pureed thinner soup and the older pictures in the small crocks show the thicker soup.  You can make it either way, we just prefer the more pureed soup.  It is so good that the kids literally scrape every last bite out of the pot.  We seem to have just the right amount for our young family, but as the boys' appetites grow as they get older I predict I will be making double batches of this yummy cauliflower soup.  ​

These are my favorite muffins in the whole entire world and the universe.  That's how my seven year old would express his appreciation for these delicious banana nut muffins so that's how I will too. Because they really are amazing with buttery goodness and just the right balance of sweetness in each delectable bite.  

I signed up to donate a dozen banana nut muffins to the concession sales at my son's swim meet last weekend.  So I made a double batch of my favorite one bowl banana bread (which I make all the time) and baked it in muffin pans for less time than my bread recipe.  This made two dozen muffins so I had some at home for the kids and a dozen to donate.  They were perfectly delicious and pretty easy to make plus they take a lot less time to bake than banana bread.  

When I have browning bananas, I stick them in the freezer.  Then I have easy to mash ripe bananas whenever I want them.  I simply thaw them in the fridge on a plate, then peel them, mash and bake them into delicious banana bread or muffins.  

Ingredients:
Makes 12 muffins
1 1/2 C. (about 3) bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/2 C. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C. granulated sugar
1/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. honey
1 3/4 C. flour (I use 1/4 C. rice flour and 1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place muffin liners in a muffin pan.
2.  With a wooden spoon mix bananas, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.  
3.  Next stir in the sugars and honey.
4.  Lastly, stir in the rest of the ingredients, stirring until combined.  Batter will be thick.  
5.  Scoop batter into muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.  (Mine are perfect at 23 minutes)
6.  Remove from pan and cool  on a wire rack.

Disclosure:  I received products to facilitate this post.  All opinions are honest and are my own.
​

The first time I made this dish was Mother's day, last May.  We don't go to restaurants much because 1) it's expensive and we usually feel like we eat better food at home and 2) we have four kids.  It's almost always easier to prepare simple meals at home than to try and take the kids out to eat.  So on Mother's day last May, I made this pasta.  It was perfect for a simple meal at home that was nice enough to celebrate me and our little family.  

This has since become one of our favorite meals so when Tresomega Nutrition sent me a box of their pasta and virgin coconut oil to try, I knew exactly what I was going to make.  

​I had always made this dish with olive oil, but tried it with Tresomega Nutrition virgin coconut oil and it was delicious.  Any type of spaghetti or angel hair pasta works well in this recipe, but I can honestly say I really really like this Tresomega gluten free quinoa spaghetti.  It's organic and made from rice, quinoa, and amaranth.  So if you are looking for a healthier pasta option, this one tastes great and has a nice texture.  (It seems like regular spaghetti to me which is a must when trying to get the kids to eat healthier pasta.)  

Try this delicious, simple meal with buttery garlic shrimp, mushrooms and asparagus that your whole family will love.  

Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 T. butter
2-3 T. Tresomega Nutrition Virgin Coconut Oil or olive oil
2 tomatoes, diced
8 to 10 fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, broken into 2 to 3 inch pieces
1 sweet onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
Splash cooking sherry (optional)
1/2 C. vegetable broth
1-2 lbs. raw shrimp, peeled
Fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
Lemon to squeeze fresh juice over finished dish (optional) 
1 lb. Tresomega Nutrition Gluten Free Quinoa Spaghetti (2-8oz. boxes)

1.  Boil water to cook pasta separately.  
2. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet or wok at medium to medium/high heat.  Add tomatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, onion, and garlic and stir-fry until asparagus is tender.  (I grind some salt and pepper on while cooking.)
3.  Add a splash of cooking sherry or white wine and the vegetable broth.  
4.  Add shrimp, more salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until shrimp turns pink.  
5.  Serve over cooked spaghetti.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice if you like.  

I love making Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread for special occasions and at Christmas I like to make it in the shape of a wreath.  I put in it a pie pan to look like a wreath and make a bow out of dough for the top of the wreath.  It adds a festive touch to our Christmas morning breakfast and the kids love it.  

This may look complicated, but it's not.  I make the dough in the bread machine. See step by step directions here.  

When the dough is prepared for a wreath, cut a strip of dough from the center to make a bow, then cut each remaining half in half again to get 4 long strips of dough.  Cut the strips again following the instructions in this post.  Then you put the layers of dough in a circular fashion in a pie pan instead of a loaf pan.  I've started lining my pie pan with a little sheet of parchment paper when making this bread and it makes clean-up so much easier.  

This warm sweet bread with its crispy cinnamon sugar coating will be the hit of your Christmas brunch!

Also pictured: Sugar Cookies and Bacon and Egg cups (the linked recipe is for ham and egg cups, but I used bacon and cheese instead)

Clam chowder is one of our favorite soups of all time and this one does not disappoint.  Rich creamy chowder with hearty potatoes and clams...it's more than just dinner, it's a culinary experience for the senses.  

This is actually pretty easy to throw together and doesn't take very long to make.  The only prep-work is dicing an onion and a few potatoes (no need to peel them).  Plus, canned clams are pretty easy to find in your local grocery and are affordable.  I usually keep some in the cabinet just for making clam chowder since it is one of our favorites.  

I often use vegetable broth in soups, but I like to use seafood stock when making clam chowder. Vegetable broth is fine, but I think the flavor is amazing when made with seafood stock.  

Homemade clam chowder is so much tastier than canned soup and not that much work.  Add this to your soup rotation for a delicious, hearty meal on cozy winter nights.  

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:  

2 T. butter
1 onion, diced
4 T. flour
2 1/2 C. seafood, chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 C. cooking sherry
2 (10 oz.) cans baby or chopped clams in juice
1 C. heavy or whipping cream
2 bay leaves
1 lb. russet potatoes, diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Heat butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook until softened, stirring frequently.  

2.  Sprinkle the flour over the onion and mix in.  

3.  Add the stock, sherry, juice from both cans of clams (reserve the clams), cream, bay leaves, and potatoes and stir to combine.

4.  Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently while the soup thickens.  

5.  Reduce the heat to a medium-low and cook, stirring frequently until the potatoes are tender.  (About 20 minutes.)

6.  Add clams and cook for about two minutes until the clams are firm.  Salt and pepper to taste.  

Disclosure:  The links in this post are referral links.

I don't know about you, but I have been doing most of my Christmas shopping online this year.  It's so convenient and I have gotten some really good deals.  I haven't been very good about using cash back sites over the years because I always forget about them and sometimes they don't seem worth the trouble.  

I got an email from Ebates the other day and I thought fine...I'll see if I can remember how to log in and see how this works since I am ordering gifts online anyway.  I was able to log in and there was a special promotion with really high cash back percentages.  I was ordering from Land's End so I typed Land's End in the search bar to see if they worked with Land's End and they did.  (Land's End has been having great 50% off sales most of the month.)  I got 12% cash back on my order which was over $9! 

I wish I would have been using ebates sooner this Christmas, but at least now I know how to get great cash back deals!  

If you are new to ebates and sign up through my referral link, you will receive a $10 bonus!  Cash back and a bonus!  That's a really big win!  

Since I haven't been a big ebates user in the past I wanted to see what someone else thought and found this great comprehensive blog post from The Selling Family.  From reading her post, I learned that ebates are paid four times a year through paypal or a check and there are coupon codes on ebates.com too.  Seems pretty easy to me.  ​

Disclosure:  I received complimentary product in exchange for an honest review.  

Are you tired of the over commercialization of Christmas? If you answered yes, then this is the sweater for you.  My husband couldn't resist this Seinfeld sweater from UglyChristmasSweater.com. They have so many funny Christmas sweaters that it is hard to choose just one.   My husband loves this sweater!  He has worn it to several Christmas parties already this year and I'm sure it will be making more appearances over the next two weeks.  

This cute Ugliest Sweater medal came with the Festivus sweater.  It would make the perfect prize for your Ugly Christmas Sweater party.  

To get into the true Festivus spirit, get a Festivus pole, have Festivus dinner, air your grievances, and participate in the feats of strength to celebrate Festivus like a true Seinfeld enthusiast.  Or just get this sweater and let Kramer and Frank Costanza show you how it's really done.  

Add a little fun to your next Christmas or Festivus party with a sweater from UglyChristmasSweater.com.   For more ugly sweater ideas follow UglyChristmasSweater.com @UglyXsweater on twitter, @ugly.christmas on instagram and @UglyXmas on facebook.  

​While we wind down from our Thanksgiving feasts, prepare to make more room for the good times and company that are bound to come. As we enter December, be sure to take a break from your monotonous routines to slow down and spend some quality time with loved ones. In preparation for the arrival of cherished friends and family, take steps to make your house feel like a home to all who enter this holiday season. 

​Decorate your home with coziness in mind
 
With the weather becoming increasingly colder or snowier, your guests are going to be in search of warmth once they hang their coats by the door. When giving your home a makeover for the holidays, be intentional about incorporating coziness into your decor. Keep these tips in mind:

• Partner big fleece or knit textured blankets with oversized pillows when reviving your living space to create a sitting area your guests can’t wait to cozy up on and chat.

 

• When decorating the walls or mantle, incorporate welcoming signs with saying about faith, family, and friends in order to remind your guests they are welcomed in your space.

 

• Add candles and foliage to the center of your dining table to make the place where loved ones share meals feel more complete.

 
Tis the season to break out the tree and Christmas decor! Placing a tree into the corner of the room will fill up space. Yes, it may make the room seem smaller, but the aesthetic of pine partnered with shiny ribbon and white lights will be sure to make the room feel cozy.  Already have a tree in your living room? Try for a smaller one in your dining area!

​Allow your rooms to feel lived in
 
When expecting company, it is normal to feel the need to make your home look as tidy as possible. Making sure surfaces are wiped clean and messes are tidied up is one thing, but sometimes a room that looks too pristine and bare can work against you. This can make your guests feel uncomfortable making themselves at home in your house out of fear of messing things up. You want your loved ones to feel like members of your household, not just visiting guests.
 
Take cues from farmhouse style living rooms, which utilize design techniques like draping blankets over chairs rather than neatly folding them away in order to make the space feel utilized. Leave out coasters and wicker baskets full of books in order to subtly convey that they do more than simply admire the space from afar. Play some festive music or leave a holiday movie playing on the television to create background noise. There are tons of fun Christmas movies available to choose from!
 

​Showcase memories with photos of friends and family
 
Show your loved ones they are valued by displaying your favorite memories that you’ve shared together. This is a great opportunity to get creative with frames as a significant aspect of your home decor. Fill the spaces your guests will spend most of their time in with lovely stills of moments spent with one another.
 
Have too many photos to choose from but not enough frames? Before guests arrive for your big holiday gathering, create a wall of gratitude and post all of your favorite photos with loved ones. Use paint-friendly tape to prevent damage and sticky notes to create fun captions next to the photos. For a more designed focused take, try out a geometric wall display. For a quick and simple tactic, hang up the photos on a twine clothesline. Get into the spirit of the season by only displaying photos taken during past holiday gatherings!
 
Let laughter lead the way!
 
Although it’s wonderful to want to be the perfect host, try to be mindful of spending more time creating new memories with your loved ones rather than catering to them. After all, how else are you going to get new photos to add to your wall of gratitude?
 
Remind yourself that those dishes will still be there when everyone has said their goodbyes, and a slightly disheveled living room is just a sign that people enjoyed themselves. Let the laughter of friends and family fill your house and you’ll quickly realize that the best way to make your four walls feel like home is by filling it with people who you love most. 

Disclosure:  I received complimentary product to facilitate my review.  All opinions are honest and are my own.  

I have a toddler who really needs his afternoon nap.  Honestly, the calm and quiet in the house is good for me too.  Naps are a win/win.  Most days he sleeps really well, but add in brothers playing (when home from school) or dog barking if the mailman comes to the door (we are dog sitting for family) and the whole nap situation can get really out of whack.

In the summer months I run a fan in his room during nap time both to keep it comfortable and provide white noise.  I was considering looking into getting a white noise machine since it's too cool to run a fan so I was happy to try the AuCuTee White Noise Sound Machine.  

This has been a handy little appliance.  I have been running it for the entire nap time in the afternoons and running it on a 30 minute timer at night.  It has been working wonderfully at helping our toddler take good solid naps every afternoon and at helping him fall asleep quickly and easily at bedtime.  

This little machine is so easy to use.  Simply plug it in and turn it on.  There is a 30 or 60 minute timer switch (pictured on the left) and an on switch which has a lower or higher sound option (pictured on the right).  

Once you turn it on, you can rotate the top of it to adjust how much air flows through it which adjusts the sound even further.  

I had the perfect picture of this sweet sleeping boy and then Sage, the dog, came running in excitedly and his eyes popped open before I got the shot.  LOL  He sleeps so well with his AuCuTee sound machine that I usually have to wake him up to go get his big brothers from school.  Sage gets really excited about getting the boys and rides along so she just couldn't contain herself.  

AuCuTee has generously sponsored a giveaway of 5 White Noise Sound Machines!  Enter here to win on the rafflecopter form and I will select 5 winners!  

Pact Organic has a deal today on sock gift sets for the whole family.  These are the most comfortable socks.  I love my Pact organic socks and already ordered some of these sets for gifting this year.  You can save 20% off your order through my referral link.  I put Pact Organic in my gift guide because I love them!  Looks like you can also use coupon code GIFTGREEN for free shipping today.  (not sure how long the code will work)