As we build our menu each week, there are four basic factors we keep in mind: we want a mix of meals that are inexpensive, quick and simple to prepare, meatless, and that make leftovers. Of course, we also want meals that are healthy and delicious! Not every meal falls into every one of those categories, so we do our best to piece together a menu of seven dinners that feels balanced.

I thought I’d do a mini series covering each of those four attributes, so you can pick and choose which ones matter most to you! Today, I’m starting with ten of our favorite cheap meals!

From Cookie + Kate

1. Spaghetti and meatballs. Nothing fancy here, friends! Pasta from a box, frozen meatballs, sauce from a jar, and some sort of vegetable on the side. I LOVE this sauce which is super easy to make, but it does take a bit longer.

2. Taco soup. Mostly canned ingredients keep the cost low on this one. Adding a pan of cornbread doesn’t add much to the price but is delicious :)

3. Baked risotto with sausage and peas. If you think risotto is hard to make, you have to try this recipe! It’s one of our favorites from The Newlywed Cookbook. The roasted vegetables variation is yummy, but we more often make it with crumbled Italian sausage and frozen peas.

4. Chana masala. There is an upfront cost if you don’t already have the spices this recipe calls for, but once you’ve purchased them, you can make this delicious dish many times over! Chick peas as the protein keeps the cost low. I like to top mine with a little plain yogurt, and we do naan on the side.

5. Burrito bowls. Royal blend rice, black beans and pinto beans simmered with canned green chiles, frozen corn, salsa, shredded cheese, and a little plain yogurt – yum! The guac is extra :)

6. Bratwursts and pasta salad. A classic summer meal! I usually make this pasta salad recipe but halve the amount of dressing used. In-season corn on the cob only adds a few dollars to the total.

7. Black bean soup. Again, canned beans are the heroes here! This thick soup is a favorite in the fall and winter. (And totally justifies our possession of an immersion blender!)

8. Beans and toast. This is a recipe from Time for Dinner that I can’t find on the internet (probably because it’s so simple it’s hardly a recipe). This Fun Time Toast is similar, though we don’t usually add eggs. I feel a little bit like I’m in the Depression when I eat this, but that seems appropriate for a favorite cheap meal :)

9. Three pepper pizza. Pizza dough from Publix, jarred pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, chopped poblano, red bell pepper, red onion, and pepperonicis. This happens at least every other week at our house.

10. Grilled quesadillas. If you haven’t tried them yet, know that quesadillas on the grill are about one million times better than pan-made quesadillas. Truly next level. We fill ours with veggies, pinto beans, and black beans, and spread salsa and a little bit of plain yogurt on the top.

I would love to hear: what are your favorite cheap dinners? And which trait matters most to you when menu planning: price, ease, meatless, leftover-maker, or something else?

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I lucked out in the relations department in many ways, but one of my favorite lucky breaks is having my Aunt Nan in my family tree. Not only is she kind, hilarious, and thoughtful, but she is INSANELY talented. Longtime readers will remember that she contributed two of the most special pieces in June’s nursery — the crib skirt she sewed and horse mobile she knit (!) — but they represent just the tip of her creative iceberg.

Everyone who knows Nan has been saying for years that she should open an Etsy shop and share her talent with the world, and I’m so happy to say that she has!! Really, the only question was what product she might focus on, and I love what she’s chosen: the sweetest decorative pillows, with a classic New England spin.

These beauties would be right at home in any camp, cottage, or coastal-inspired interior — Northeastern zip code not required. The quality, of course, is impeccable, all of the colorways are completely customizable (at no extra charge since every pillow is made to order!), and the pricing is so reasonable.

I’m so proud of Aunt Nan and couldn’t wait to share with y’all! Isn’t it neat how the internet and platforms like Etsy make it so easy for people to share their gifts, and for the rest of us to support talented people? Truly marvelous, I think :)

P.S. Just for fun, I would love to hear about your most talented (quirky or otherwise) relation in the comments. For example, in addition to Aunt Nan, one of my cousins has memorized the birthdays of almost 50 family members!!

P.P.S. 12 things I miss about New England

On the occasion of June’s second birthday, I finished a draft of a post but never sent it out into the world. Though I knew what I what trying to say, I couldn’t find the right combination of words to express myself, and I didn’t want to be misunderstood.

That draft began with the sentence “Being June’s mama has felt like the easiest thing in the world.” Here’s a bit more from that never-posted post:

Being her mama has felt like the easiest thing in the world, the easiest role to slip on, because it’s me. I am just myself. Being her mama is who I am, who I was created to be – not in the sense that it is my ultimate purpose, but in the sense that when I was created, I was given everything this little girl would need in a mama. She needs ME – my attention, my presence, my gaze, my arms – and that, I can give her.

That’s not to say I haven’t acquired skills and grown as a mother along the way, or that June doesn’t need anything from anyone else (I have, and she most certainly does). What I meant was that I don’t need to do or be anything special to be a good mama to her – in fact, it usually looks like me doing a whole lot less. Sitting and watching. Reading. Playing. Laughing into her eyes. Inviting her into my chores. Walking beside each other.

Photo by my friend Traci Huffman

I hesitated on this post in part because it’s so different than the narrative I usually hear — which is that the most important things are always the most challenging, and that motherhood is the hardest but best work there is (similar to marriage).

Of course, there are moments in motherhood I find quite trying, and others when I second-guess myself. I’m not perfect. But I also don’t expect myself to be, and perhaps that’s the key difference. Right now, if I show June that I love her, if I keep her safe, if I do something to help her grow… I consider the day and myself an unqualified success. Full stop.

That’s kind of where I ended my original draft, but I still felt unsatisfied, like I hadn’t quite captured what I was trying to say. But then, in a re-read of one of my favorite books, I stumbled upon a passage that so perfectly encapsulated my thoughts I nearly leaped out of bed. I’m including the bulk of it here, even though it’s long:

YES! I am the standard!

This may be an obvious point, but I think one important reason being a parent seems easy to me is that I’m not measuring myself against an unreasonable “other,” a polished amalgamation of social media highlights or anything else. Being a “good enough” mother — my standard — isn’t about aiming lower or doing less. It’s about making sure that everything I do or don’t do, everything I try to learn or get better at, comes from my own sense of what’s right for my child, my family, and my unique situation. And remembering that if I’m living up to my own standards, there isn’t anything more to want.

Happy Mother’s Day, friends. I hope you’re able to give and receive love from the ladies who’ve meant the most to you this weekend!

P.S. I loved this post so much, too.

Our skin is something many of us don’t appreciate in the present, only looking back and realizing “those were the good old days” a few years out. I’ve been guilty of that, for sure — I had angst about the condition of my face in my teens and earlier twenties — but I’m happy to say that I really, really appreciate my skin these days. It’s not perfect, but I’ve worked hard to take care of it and I now realize how good I have it!

Though beauty and style ranked near the bottom in the list of your favorite topics in my most recent survey, many of you requested posts about my beauty and skincare routines in the open-ended section… so here we go! Happy to oblige :)

To give you a little background, in high school I used prescription topical treatments like Differin and Tazerac to help with some acne, mostly on my forehead. I never really felt like they did much, and I wouldn’t say my skin cleared up until I stopped sucking it dry and started giving it more moisture. Though I rarely breakout, my face can be both dry and oily, and moisture, I’ve found, is the key to balancing it all out.

Most of the products I use I’ve found either from blog recommendations or makeup artists with whom I’ve worked. There aren’t many products I’ve tried over the years that have impressed me enough to place a reorder (the ultimate stamp of approval!), but the majority of the ones I’m sharing here have stood the test of time.

Rise and shine! Here’s my morning routine:

1. Wash with charcoal soap. This soap was a game changer for me! It and the moisturizer in my evening routine are my two MVPs. This soap went a long way toward balancing my oily/dry issues and improving the texture of my skin. It leaves my skin feeling clean but never tight. Plus, at $12 per bar, it is an INSANE bargain — I have been using my first bar for a year this month, and still have half a bar left to go!! Insider tip: cut your bar into four smaller bars using a sharp knife – it’s more manageable to hold and I think helps it last longer! I keep mine on a little butter dish next to the sink.
2. Moisturize. True story: after reading this Beauty Uniform on Cup of Jo, I went out and bought almost everything this girl recommended — I guess her skin was very compelling!! The Ordinary products didn’t end up working out for me, but I really like this lightweight moisturizer for daytime. One pump is enough for a light application all over my face.
3. Remove any remaining eye makeup from the day before. After trying several drugstore removers that hardly did anything and burned my eyes, I returned to the ridiculously expensive but extremely effective Bi-Facil. A bottle lasts me about a year.
4. Apply sunscreen. I am hyper-vigilant about wearing sunscreen on my face and neck every day, and for me, sunscreen in another product doesn’t cut it. If there’s ONE piece of advice every dermatologist gives, it’s this one, so I figure it behooves me to take it! Right now I’m using a basic Neutrogena SPF 45, but my current tube is almost empty and I’ve ordered a highly-rated Elta MD sunscreen to try. We’ll see if I like it enough to justify the price!
5. Apply deodorant. I’ve used natural deodorant in the past (Schmidt’s), but didn’t like that I had to apply it with my fingers and never felt like it was particularly effective. The geranium Primally Pure one, though, has made me a big fan! It’s not an antiperspirant, so I do still sweat when wearing it depending on my activity level, but I smell good at the end of the day :)
6. Swipe on lip balm. I also use Primally Pure lip balm, but I’ve been known to use Chapstick in a pinch!

Time for bed! This is how I end the day:

1. Wash with charcoal soap. I use a makeup eraser cloth to remove most of my eye makeup at the same time.
2. Swipe on toner with a cotton round. Honestly, I’m really not sure what this toner does for my skin… and thus I’m not sure I will reorder it once I finish the bottle! However, since I’m happy with my skin overall, removing any one step makes me nervous, ha! This recommendation came from the same beauty routine post I mentioned above.
3. Dab on eye cream. This is a reasonably-priced, often-recommended product that many people I know use, but I’m not sure it’s made any difference for me. I have some pretty serious laugh lines, so maybe that’s just my thing, but I’d be open to trying something new once this one’s done!
4. Moisturize. I saved the best for last! I’ve used a few different deep moisturizers over the years, but this one is hands-down my favorite – and possibly the linchpin in my whole routine (along with the charcoal soap!). Skin Dew feels so light and sinks so effortlessly into my skin, yet is SO moisturizing and balancing. It’s expensive, but a pea-size amount goes a long way for me, and the price is totally worth it for the results I see. Plus, I love supporting a Southern small business! In the past, I’ve used Moon Fruit, Hydro Boost, and Skin Savior for this step, but Skin Dew outshines all of them, in my opinion.

Two more things:
— I do these steps every day, without fail.
— I almost never touch my face during the day. I think I read this advice in a magazine in middle school, and it stuck with me very strongly, ha!

So there you have it – a mix of drugstore, high-end, small business, and household names. I would love to hear the standout skincare products in your routine, and whether you use an eye cream that you think actually makes a difference! :)

P.S. I have an unopened container of Skin Savior I’d love to pass along to someone, if you’re interested! Just leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner at the end of the week :)

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