Many of you expressed interest in seeing occasional meal plans, so I thought I’d share some of the summer recipes we’re making and loving right now! Some are old favorites, a few are brand new, and almost all take advantage of the abundance of delicious produce this time of year.
Summer Cavatelli | This pasta recipe is SO easy (most of the flavor comes from regular old marinara sauce – we use Rao’s), but it packs a seasonal punch with zucchini, fresh corn, and basil. It is also vegetarian! Note: I usually can’t find cavatelli, so I just use farfalle or penne.
Chicken Fajitas | This is hardly a recipe, but it’s an easy favorite! We grill chicken breasts with salt and pepper and saute green peppers and onions, then pile them both on tortillas with shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and homemade guacamole.
Cowboy Burgers | I’d put a hiatus on turkey burgers for awhile because I’d never found a recipe I liked, but this one is a winner! (You mix shredded cheese into the burger mix, which I’m sure doesn’t hurt.) I make 6 smaller patties and put them on potato rolls with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and either barbecue sauce or a little Sriracha and mayo whisked together. We’ll often have frozen sweet potato fries and cucumber and tomato salad on the side.
Grilled Chicken Shawarma | This has become one of my absolute favorite meals. The marinade is SO good – I try to mix it up the night before, but even if I can only let it sit an hour, it’s so flavorful. To the grilled chicken and garlic sauce, we’ll add sliced cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, toasted mini pitas, hummus, and boxed rice pilaf for personal Mediterranean plates!
Grilled Lemon Chicken Flatbread Wraps | I don’t like grilling kebabs, so I marinate the chicken breasts whole and grill them in the backyard before cutting them into bite-size pieces. The garlic sauce is so yummy, and these wraps are a great way to put our bigger tomatoes to good use, too!
Classic Cookout | Hot dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans, cucumber and tomato salad, pasta salad, and salt and pepper chips – doesn’t get much better than that :)
Pulled Pork Tacosand Pulled Pork Sandwiches | This is a one-two punch combo for our family – I’ll make them on back-to-back nights! The recipe could not be simpler: just sprinkle a chopped onion in the pot, add a 3-5 pound boneless pork shoulder, then pour over two cans of Coca Cola and pressure cook for 90 minutes. Drain the liquid, shred the meat, then mix in the barbecue sauce of your choice (we use Sweet Baby Ray’s).
From there, you can put the meat on buns with coleslaw for a Southern twist, or on those little street tortillas with shredded cheese (bake for 5 minutes at 250) and guacamole. So good, so easy!
I’d love to hear: what summer recipes have you been loving lately?
Since you all were so generous with me and my handbag search earlier this week, I wanted to pass one of my best kitchen secrets back to you. File this in the same folder as the best way to reheat pizza or print Instagram photos – just one of those little life hacks that is not going to save the world, but might just rock your world a little bit.
Whenever a recipe calls for chicken stock, I mix up my own using this bouillon concentrate.
It’s right next to the boxed stock in my grocery store, and costs about the same – but this little puppy makes quart upon quart of stock for that price. Plus, it lasts for ages once open, whereas if I just need a half cup of stock for a recipe, the rest of the box will go south quickly in the fridge.
If you’ve never used it before, it’s so easy! I just measure the water I need in a liquid measuring cup, pop it in the microwave (or in a pan on the stove for a larger amount), heat it to boiling, then stir in the correct amount (1 tsp for every 8 ounces, I think). I’m not a particularly fancy cook, but I’ve never noticed any difference in taste between this and the readymade stock I used to buy. Homemade stock? That might be a different story, but I’ve not yet added that to my regular repertoire – hats off to those of you who have :)
Hats off also to Jenny Steffens Hobick, the lady who taught me about this jar of wonder many years ago. Cheers to all the little tricks that help us get dinner on the table with more ease and for less money!!
I’d love to hear: do you already have a jar of this in your fridge? Did you just add it to your shopping list? Do you, like me, remember your mom cooking with chicken bouillon concentrate “cubes” when you were younger? Somehow this seems slightly more legit :)
A month ago, my purse and John’s wallet were stolen. They were taken out of our car which was parked, unlocked (our mistake – marital miscommunication), a short distance from our neighborhood’s tennis court while we played. It must have been an intense game, because we both noticed nothing. While our phones and sunglasses were on us, our credit cards, money, face masks, wallets, car keys, house keys, gift cards, rewards cards, and June’s camera, among other things, were gone.
After the flurry of requesting replacements and rekeying our house and cars, I was left with a handful of credit cards, new keys, and nowhere to put them. The purse that was stolen was my everyday purse – meaning, the one that I carried literally every day – so replacing it was a top priority.
Even more immediate, though, was replacing my wallet. My sister-in-law graciously sent me the sweetest card case to tide me over while I looked, but I still felt discombobulated without a home base whenever I left the house. (Which, granted, has not been as often as usual!)
The wallet that was stolen was a Kate Spade I bought in 2012. It was the prettiest pale blue leather, and I loved the button closure and generous number of card slots. I would have gladly bought the same thing again (it was still in great shape!), but there’s nothing similar on their site right now.
Instead, I chose the Neely & Chloe zip wallet in Steel Blue with a gold foil “EM” embossing. The color is absolutely perfect in person, and I love that the purchase supports a small business. While I still don’t feel completely at home in it (we get used to what we’re used to!), I’m happy have a spot to keep everything together once again.
Now – let’s talk about a purse replacement. This will not surprise many of you, but I have carried essentially the same bag since college (going on 12 years!). It’s the smallest Longchamp Le Pliage in black, and I actually did replace it a few years ago, when we were in Paris – but with exactly the same thing :)
Unless I was going to a fancy occasion, that was the purse I carried, day in and day out – with every outfit, to every occasion. Honestly, I’d be happy to buy it again, but I feel like I should at least consider other options after more than a decade. But, when I think about ALL the options out there, I get overwhelmed quickly. So that’s where I’d love your help!
Here’s my criteria: — I don’t want any crazy patterns or colors, and I prefer a classic, feminine look. — I don’t care for black leather. Although my Le Pliage was black, I would choose a camel or navy over black in most instances. — I am looking for a small to medium handbag or tote – nothing too large. I’m open to a handbag or something I carry over my shoulder, but am not looking for a crossbody. I need it to fit my wallet, glasses case, a few little pouches, face mask, pen, hand sanitizer, a snack, etc. — I am willing to spend up to about $300, given that I expect to carry this bag every day for many years, but of course, I’d love to spend less. The Le Pliage is just over $100 right now online (but — fun fact — sells for about $75 in Paris!).
So, friends, help a girl out! What bag would you point me toward? Do you carry a bag you love? I’d love to hear – it will help me narrow down the insane number of options…
Happy July, friends! This middle-of-the-year month is always sweet: I get to celebrate some of my favorite people (we have 6 birthdays in 6 weeks between our family, siblings, and parents!), I usually get to spend time in some of my favorite places, and I get to enjoy some of my all-time favorite things… peach desserts, homegrown tomatoes, blueberry picking, swimming holes, and boat rides, to name a few.
No matter what your calendar holds — whether it looks like any other July or totally new — I hope you get to enjoy a few of your favorite things this month, too!
P.S. I mention this below, but feel free to sign up for the new EFM “newsletter” right here! It’s just a simple email alert every time a new post goes live (and the formatting is admittedly wonky), but it’s something many of you have asked me for for years, so I’m happy to finally deliver!
On my calendar this month: — The birthdays of my two best guys! Looking forward to celebrating them both. — Road trips to Maine and Connecticut! I can’t wait to spend time in two of my favorite places with some of my favorite people.
What I’m loving right now: — If you’re still in need of a mask (or need to add to your collection), this one shipped super fast and is comfy! June and I also have a matching blue floral pair :) — I have used whitening toothpaste for years, but never really felt like it made much of a difference (I’m also a wimp and can’t stand the sensitivity from things like white strips). This toothpaste has made a noticeable difference in the last month with NO sensitivity – highly recommended! — Right now, growing the faith of my children is the weightiest and most intimidating responsibility in my life (thank God I’m not doing it alone!). I really appreciated this episode from Nancy with encouragement and a few simple ideas.
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here – including the recipe for that delicious peach and blackberry crumble up there!
What I read in June: — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | I have been talking about this classic with Lisa for years, and I’m so glad to have finally experienced it! As she joked, it’s a book where nothing really happens — and yet, you grow so attached to the characters. — World Without End | The massive sequel to my favorite fiction read of 2019. It did not disappoint, though many people who’ve read both told me they prefer this one, and I think I enjoyed them equally! The plague is a major plot element, which made for interesting reading in this season. — Just Mercy | I am three chapters in and know this is going to be an incredibly impactful read. If, like me, you have grown weary of the hot takes, gleeful shaming, and educational oneupmanship that has accompanied June’s racial justice movement on social media, you might find it equally refreshing to be educated by such a wise, compassionate expert in long-form.
My library just reopened for grab & go books, so I’m excited to get back on track with my 2020 reading list as best I can!
Revisiting my June goals: Add more diverse faces to our family library (Our latest additions have arrived and been thoroughly enjoyed!) Finish reading Matthew with John Set up a simple email newsletter for EFM(Yes! You can sign up here! It’s still a little wonky, but this is a really simple way you can be notified of new posts if you don’t use a service like Feedly. Enjoy! :)) Write some entries in our COVID-19 family journal. (Did not get to this!) Photocopy favorite recipes from cookbooks to round out our recipe binder Book our camping trip for this fall (Confirmed a date but have not booked yet!) Have a little three-person game night every Friday this month with June, after Shep goes to bed. (She and I spent time coloring our gigantic print from Camp Castle instead! Planning to try this goal again in the future!) Use the Peloton app to move every day this month on days we don’t ride our bikes or otherwise exercise.(Yes! This was a huge success!! Loved doing 5-minute arms and a stretching session almost every night with John – having him onboard was a game changer. Will continue with this as a daily goal in my PowerSheets!)
July goals: — Begin reading Mark with John — Hang artwork bulletin board in the loft — Book our camping trip for this fall — Sort through my SCC secretary responsibilities and make an easy-to-follow yearly checklist — Watch Just Mercy with John after finishing the book — List chairs for sale — Buy a new handbag (more on this soon…) — Edit June in June, Volume 5! — Have a walking date with my new neighborhood friend Elaine — Post my photo organization guide (!)
Keeping things (fairly) simple for this month with lots of travel! I’d love to hear: what’s your absolute favorite dessert? John always chooses an ice cream cake for his birthday, and I’d say I’m split between the peach and blackberry crumble above and homemade chocolate cream pie… yum!!
