Wow, did these bring back the memories of my Nana babysitting us when my parents went out. My parents would drop my brother and I off at Nana’s (right across the field) and she would make us her mother’s Lithuanian hamburger dish, “Ka-Kle-Tee’s, which she grew up eating. I have never made them before and had the idea last week to call Nana and ask if she could write some of her family recipes for me and put them in a zip lock out on her porch for me to pick up. I told her I wanted to try to make one every week, because to me anything that brings the memories of home-is so comforting right now. I stopped by Nana’s house and said hi from afar, ugh it was so hard not to go inside and sit at the kitchen table with her, eat the jelly beans when you walk, read a magazine and just chat. For now, Nana is keeping busy writing me recipes weekly and enjoying how much I love the recipes, did I mention she is 94! She is reading a book every week, getting up and getting dressed and enjoying her cherrios and coffee. Nana life is simple, loving and delicious. I hope this recipe brings you to a time of a more simple life & warms your heart with comfort.

Continue reading “My Nana’s Ka-Kle-Tees (Lithuanian Hamburger)”

I don’t know about you, but I can’t stop and won’t stop baking. I’ve rounded up seven of my favorite baked goods recipes from some of my favorite recipe developers. I will be tagging who made each recipe along with linking you to where you could find their recipes. I have made all of the recipes below and you could see how they turned out, which are ALL delicious. While I have been home this past month, I have been trying to really slow down in the kitchen. I am taking my time with measurements, reading and following directions, watching the oven closely, actually letting the cupcakes cool off before decorating them and just enjoying my time making these goodies. I listen to calming folk music or Taylor Swift and try to bake something new every time! I hope you enjoy the recipes I have tried and loved (I will have to come up with some of my own baked goods recipes soon, I am feeling motivated!) I can’t wait see which ones you decide to make!

Continue reading “7 MUST BAKE Recipes”

First, I want to start this post off by saying I am extremely privileged and lucky to be able to afford fresh & delicious groceries weekly and be healthy enough to go to the grocery store to shop on my own for them. This past month, every Tuesday I grocery shop for my family, Nana and then for Mark and I. I will be honest, I kinda love grocery shopping and doing it for others, totally thinking about signing up for instacart…I have always been a sale shopper, as my friends call me, a budget queen. When it comes to anything, I like to always make sure I am getting my moneys worth and yup, a coupon lady when I can be. My mom taught me to never buy grapes if they are over 99 cents a pound, always do the 2 for 1 sale (such as those raspberries up there, 2 for $6) and to just get what you really need + a few treats, of course.

Continue reading “Groceries for $400 a Month for 2”

Whether you’re an essential worker and need to still bring your meals to work or if you would rather prep on the weekend and not worry about your meals throughout the week, this post is for you. I don’t know about you, but sometimes a snack styled lunch is way more fun to eat. My favorite white bento boxes have three different sections for me to play around with. I usually use the big space for a salad or veggie base, then one of the smaller compartments for the protein and the other for salad toppings or a crunch! I am sharing six of my favorite meal preps. The best part is that most of these involve little to no cooking and are so easy and fast to prep for the week ahead. Let me know which ones you try and tag me on instagram so I can see them. Happy meal prepping!

Continue reading “6 Bento Box Meal Prep Ideas”

It hit 5:00pm last night and I realized I totally did not think about dinner yet. We had chicken nuggets the night before, sooooo I kinda wanted to make something a little more nutritious. I had ground chuck defrosting and asparagus staring at me in the fridge, so I took it out and and threw some things together and here came this recipe. It’s spicy, flavorful and the peanuts give it a great crunch at the end. This meal took about 15 minutes to make and was devoured in 4 minutes tops. It’s great for a week night dinner or for a meal prep! Let’s get into how you make it.

Continue reading “Asian Beef and Asparagus Stir Fry”