On most Sundays, I spend the day meal prepping for the week. For me, cooking is a hobby and something that helps me decompress from a really busy week. My family knows this about me and usually leaves me alone so I can churn out recipes. I meal prep on Sundays because it is absolutely impossible for me to cook during the week. I’ve tried — many times — and it just never happens. Food ends up going bad in the refrigerator, which I absolutely can’t stand or we end up cooking a frozen pizza. So, meal prepping for me ensures we will have healthy-ish food for the week AND we use our groceries in a meaningful way. I’m not claiming to be perfect…
a food journey
Posts tagged “recipes”
A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking to myself how odd it felt to actually ease into Summer. It kind of felt that way weather-wise and I had high hopes that the first week of Summer break would be a slow entry. It kind of was until Thursday and then we hit the mid-90s and was slapped in the face with air that felt like a wet, hot blanket. Ah, there you are Summer. Might as well lean completely into it, right? I found some really delicious recipes that are the ying to the humidity’s yang if you know what I mean. Let’s go! Barefoot Contessa’s Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits (without the Cheddar) I love this recipe. It’s pretty much the only biscuit recipe…
Tagged: Alabama, Alexandra's Kitchen, Barefoot Contessa, Biscuits, Breakfast, Buttermilk Biscuits, Carbs, Caroline Chambers, Cooking, Creamy Corn Pasta, Dessert, DInner, Egg, Food, frittata, honey, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, June, Lemon Blueberry Crisp, lentils, Recipe, recipes, salsa, smitten ktchen, snacks, Summer, Vegetarian
When I was on Optavia way back when, I found a dinner that worked for me and I ate it almost every single night. Now, some of that was because I was following a certain formula (and it worked), but it was also super easy to batch cook and made my life easier. I’m not on Optavia anymore, but I still crave that dinner and decided to make it this week! Ingredients are as follows:Lean Ground Turkey (I use 90+%) cooked with Taco Seasonings (watch the salt)Cauliflower Rice (in a bag or on the stove)Spinach (lots of it)Bitchin’ Sauce (my fave)Everything But the Bagel Seasoning I tend to cook the meat and rice on Sunday so I can just dish it up during the…
Categories: Recipes, Uncategorized
Today’s post is less about high-protein and more about deep care. Recently, I’ve had friends receive really hard news — some devastating, some expected, but mostly just the kind of hard stuff this world often brings. All of the news I received this week, though, was rooted in love — even with loss. It reminded me of this quote I found by Kathryn Schulz from Lost and found (via The Marginalian): “Disappearance reminds us to notice, transience to cherish, fragility to defend. Loss is a kind of external conscience, urging us to make better use of our finite days. Our crossing is a brief one, best spent bearing witness to all that we see: honoring what we find noble, tending what we know needs…
Tagged: Alexandra Cooks, Alison Roman, Banana Bread, Blueberry Muffins, Brownies, Care Packages, Caregiving, Chicken, Chicken Pot Pie, community, DInner, Dinner Sorted, Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake, Food, Food is the Foundation, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Loss, Love, love and lemons, Mama, Natasha's Kitchen, Recipe, recipes, Torta Caprese
I just realized today that I really love Spring. Not as much as Fall, but I think Spring is a solid second in the “favorite season” list. In Alabama, Spring is short. We can only enjoy it once the pollen calms down and before it quickly goes from 60 to 90 degrees in a nanosecond. Plus, I rank an Easter basket right up there with a Christmas stocking. And then there are the blooms we’ve been waiting for all Winter and signs of renewal everywhere. I happen to work at a farm so I get especially excited about Spring veggies and fruits: Strawberries, arugula, carrots, peas, and so much more. It’s a sign that we are back in the business of growing food for…
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Alabama, Alexandra Cooks, Alexandra's Kitchen, Art, Birmingham, Caroline Chambers, community, Easter, Farm, Food, gardening, Hope, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Marginalian, Maria Popova, Menu, recipes, Renewal, Resistance, Spring, Spring Veggies, Strawberries, Strength, The Dizzy Cook, tina's market
In a world where each day feels like its own roller coaster where we are all supposed to somehow sit in this “both/and” mentality while still producing work, figuring out how to be a human, and trying to care for ourselves and others all while ingesting a constant cycle of news, headlines, and just plain meanness (no matter what your politics — this moment feels incredibly and unnecessarily mean-spirited and shameful), I have to grasp control wherever I can. Last week, I did not meal prep for the week (gasp!) and I will not be making that mistake again. Not in these turbulent times. Not with this much inflation. Not in these protein-counting peri-menopause streets. Last week, I was flailing: I begged colleagues for…
Why I’m Choosing to Say “Happy Sausage Gnocchi” and “Happy Cream Scones” Instead of “Happy New Year!”
Posted on January 4, 2025
I’m purposefully refraining from saying “Happy New Year” this year. I don’t know why. It’s weird. Normally, I give in completely, but this year feels different. Number one: Can we really describe what “happy” even means and why do we offer it so freely? Happiness isn’t promised and do I even want “happy” to be the one emotion I wish for the new year? I kind of enjoy the reflective parts of a new year (which often comes with some sadness, wonder, gratitude, but not always… happiness). I also don’t adopt the whole “New Year, New Me” (maybe that’s also because I worked at a women’s health magazine for 3 years). So, what do you say to people for the next few weeks in…
Categories: Recipes
Magic-Making, Cookie-Baking, and Small Business-Loving: It’s my Holiday Recipes 2024 list!
Posted on December 26, 2024
As I promised on my social media feeds, here are some of the successful recipes I tried this holiday season. I hope all of you had or are having a restorative, peaceful and joy-filled Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and end-of-year season. First up: Love and Lemons Broccoli Cheddar Soup (with homemade croutons)Notes: If your kids are like mine and detest cooked carrots (Raw is fine, but cooked? Blasphemy!), you may want to blend your soup in the blender like I did to hide the fact that there are, indeed, cooked carrots in this soup. And guess what? It was a hit with the 13-year-old cooked carrot hater. That’s a big win., Next up: Alexandra’s Kitchen’s No-Knead Buttermilk Pull-Apart RollsNotes: I am a total fan…
Categories: Recipes, Uncategorized
Tagged: Alabama, Baking, bandit patisserie, big spoon creamery, Birmingham, Brunch, cookies, Dessert, french toast bake, holiday menu, Holidays, life touch massage, New Year, pull-apart rolls, Recipe, recipes, sausage balls, Seasonal, Soup, Steel City Pilates, the breakup cookie, thrive physical therapy & wellness, tina's market
I am getting so good at soups. There. I said it. I am a soup machine these days. And, I’m doing them all on my own without recipes. Don’t mind me, I’m just over here layering and building flavors with things I have on hand. I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF. I’m calling this soup, “Roasted Heirloom Tomato and Garlicky Beef Rice Soup.” So creative, I know. There is only one way to tell you how I did it and it is called FREESTYLE. Throw in a little of this, a little of that, and close that recipe book. Build those flavors, people. Let’s freestyle together, shall we? I had 6 or 7 Jones Valley Teaching Farm green tomatoes that ripened on my kitchen…
Tagged: Beef, DInner, Fall recipes, Food, Inspiration, Love, Ms Edna Lewis Sour Milk Cornbread, Nourishment, Recipe, recipes, Rice, Soup, Tomato
CSA Challenge is back this week and I had some incredible options thanks to our Jones Valley Teaching Farm farmers. As I was meal prepping for the week, I was reminded of a few things: So this post is dedicated to all of you meal planners out there who need inspiration today. It is also dedicated to all of the farmers that continue to provide food for us and to those of you who are on the front lines fighting for fresh, affordable, safe, and healthy food is available to everyone in our community. Roasted Vegetables I decided to do what I know works with great tasting veggies: You roast ’em. Throw them on a sheet pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper and…
Tagged: Birmingham, CSA Challenge, DInner, farmers, Food, Meal Planning, Recipe, recipes, Vegetables
foodrevival 