On Friday evening, I posted a little three-part Instagram story. In it, I gave a brief tour of my looks-like-a-bomb-went-off downstairs, then cut to me stirring a pot of one of our go-to weeknight meals. I declared it an example of one of my favorite life drumbeats: the idea of trade offs, those times when we knowingly let go of one thing in pursuit of a better thing. I wanted to share the reality that in this season, at these ages, the only way we can sit down to a weeknight homemade meal together is to be okay with June and Shep totally dismantling our downstairs while I cook.

Do I like my house looking like a bomb went off? No.

But I like eating a yummy dinner together more than I like having a tidy house, and so that is a trade off I can live with.

The response to the Stories was swift – dozens of gals saying how encouraging this slice of “real life” was to see and thanking me for sharing it. This perplexed me a bit, even as I was glad it resonated. While it’s true that I don’t often share these types of messy “real life” glimpses, it’s certainly not because they don’t happen – it’s because I’m too busy living that chaotic real life to stop, capture it, and package it for sharing. But of course all of our lives look like this sometimes!!! (Most of the time?) Sometimes real life looks like this, and sometimes real life looks like every toy in the house scattered on the floor. That’s my life right now, and if it’s yours, too, know that we’re in the same boat – even if we can’t always see it.

Anyway – in addition to the thank yous, many gals requested the recipe I was cooking, and I’m happy to share! It’s a special one in our house. Our friends the Henrys made it for us the week before June was born, and so no matter how many times we make it (which is many many many), it will always be wrapped up in the emotions of impending parenthood. It’s good in every season and comes together really quickly – it’s one of the only recipes I have memorized! Read on for the simple tips that make it sing…

Kale, Sausage, and Chickpea Pasta

1 box bowtie pasta
2-3 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb mild Italian sausage, ground
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 bunch lacinato kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
Shredded parmesan
Lemon

In a large pot (we use our big Le Creuset), heat 2 Tbs. olive oil on medium-high and add sausage. Cook, stirring and chopping into pieces until it’s begun to crisp and brown (this usually takes about 15 minutes for me, FYI!).

In a separate pot, cook the pasta per instructions. Drain and set aside, reserving some liquid at the end.

Add the minced garlic to the sausage and cook on low for 30 seconds. Add the drained chickpeas and cook for a few more minutes. Add the kale and cook down until the kale is wilted, a few minutes more. Add the pasta and stir to combine.

Working in layers, stir in salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, a little bit of pasta water, and a generous amount of parmesan cheese. Keep adding in each element a little at a time until it looks and tastes good!

Squeeze lemon wedges over individual servings and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to taste!

Alright, here I go – a simple and sweet post for your Monday! :)

This weekend we celebrated Shep’s first birthday as a family, and our treat of choice was a chocolate raspberry pavlova. This is one of our signature family dishes – I was introduced to it almost 14 years ago by John’s older sisters. At the time (high school), it seemed an incredibly intimidating and incredibly elegant recipe to try at home, especially compared to the box cake mixes that were more my family’s speed. (No shame in that game – I still contend there isn’t a homemade brownie out there that is better than Betty Crocker’s!)

June is incredibly into cooking and baking these days, always pulling up a chair next to me! :)

Having since made this pavlova dozens of times for special occasions big and small, I can confirm that it is, indeed, incredibly elegant (and delicious!), but hardly as intimidating as I once thought. In fact, it’s actually quite simple – the only tricks are being patient as you whip the egg whites, allowing enough time for the pavlova to cool in the oven, and adding the sugar just one tablespoonful at a time.

The chewy chocolate base, the pillowy cream, the tart raspberries – it is, as Nigella says, “a killer combination.” If you’re looking for a delicious treat to celebrate something special this summer, here you go!

I’d love to hear: what’s your favorite birthday treat? June has requested ice cream sundaes and vanilla cake with sprinkles the last two years, respectively, and has already put in a request for strawberry cake next January. John’s July birthday go-to has been an ice cream cake since forever. My favorite is a chocolate raspberry layer cake, and we always celebrated my Dad’s birthday (August 7th) on the Island with banana cream pie growing up!

‘Tis the season for house guests, friends! We just waved goodbye to my Mom, John’s parents are here now, and my parents and sister’s family will be here before the end of the year! We’re no stranger to hosting visitors (living 10 hours away from your family will do that to you), but for years, our visits would often feel logistically scattered, despite what felt like extensive pre-planning on my part. I’d get frustrated and couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong… until I did! :)

Turns out I was focusing so intently on our dinner plans for each night that I was completely neglecting the other two meals of the day. It sounds simple, but when I started making an intentional (but loosely-held) plan for breakfast and lunch each day, things seemed to go so much more smoothly!

Just in case you find yourself in the same boat, I thought I’d share our go-to for both meals, courtesy of my sisters-in-law…

Sally’s Baking Addiction

For breakfast, our secret is frozen chocolate croissants from Trader Joe’s, introduced to us by Natalie earlier this year. They rise on the counter overnight, which makes them seem extra-legit, and they are so flaky and delicious! Pair with chopped fruit and/or scrambled eggs and you’ve got a great start to the day that feels special but couldn’t be easier.

For lunch, we’ll make gourmet grilled cheese (in our griddler – so easy!). Here, the game changer is using a rosemary loaf from Whole Foods, which takes the spread from ho-hum to unforgettable. Marget gets the gold star for bringing this combo to my attention, and for pairing the sandwiches with boxed soup for the perfect quick lunch!

I would love to hear: what do you usually serve guests for breakfast or lunch? A spread of bagels from our local favorite or big pot of soup, like this or this, is another go-to for us. Let’s get the ideas flowing and help each other out this holiday season! :)

P.S. More house guest tips.

It seems kind of funny to follow up such a momentous post as sharing the meaning of our son’s name with dinner ideas, but that’s Em for Marvelous for you! :) If you think about it, a post about quick and easy meals actually makes perfect sense a few weeks after we welcomed a baby — quick and easy is the name of the game right now! With that, I wanted to share a few of our favorite meals in this genre to continue our mini “ten favorites” series…

From Pinch of Yum

1. Grilled chicken caesar salad wraps. We grill chicken breasts on the grill, then chop and mix them with pre-washed lettuce (or lettuce from our garden in-season!), croutons, and store-bought caesar dressing. Everything gets stuffed in a flatbread or tortilla, depending on what we have on hand.

2. Lemon roasted chicken and vegetables. The recipe calls for salmon but we sub in chicken. You basically just toss everything onto a sheet pan and call it a day! We’ll sometimes pair with rice.

3. Buffalo chicken pizza. Pizza dough from Publix, jarred pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, frozen buffalo chicken nuggets, a little chopped red onion, a drizzle of blue cheese dressing after it comes out of the oven… yum!

4. Grilled chicken, sweet potatoes, and a vegetable. The chicken goes on the grill with salt and pepper and we cook the sweet potatoes in the microwave and eat them plain. For a vegetable, we’ll most often saute broccoli or green beans with a squeeze of lemon or grill zucchini. This meal has the benefit of being quite healthy and cheap, too!

5. Chicken fajitas. Do you see a theme with grilled chicken? :) The grilled chicken gets chopped into strips, then everyone assembles their own fajitas with tortillas, shredded cheese, sauteed onions and green bell peppers, salsa, and Greek yogurt.

6. Bratwursts and cucumber tomato salad. The salad is an invention of John’s – it includes halved cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumber, balsamic or red wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, oregano, thyme, and a little bit of salt!

7. Cobb salad. Our version includes pre-washed lettuce, bacon, hardboiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and our favorite dressing – olive oil, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard.

8. Dumplings and a vegetable. This is as simple as it sounds – frozen dumplings from an Asian grocery store (we love H Mart, if you have one near you!) and a vegetable like broccoli, green beans, carrots, or zucchini. We’ll also make a dipping sauce of rice vinegar, soy sauce, a little bit of sesame oil, and sambal oelek.

9. Whole Foods chicken pot pie. I am a fiend for chicken pot pie, and though I’ll sometimes make it from scratch, honestly, the WF refrigerated version is at least as good as a homemade version and less expensive in the end. This actually does take awhile to heat (about 35-45 minutes), but there’s zero prep, so it still counts as a quick meal in my book :)

10. Chicken tinga tacos. If you pick the rotisserie chicken in advance, this recipe comes together in a snap. The avocado-lime-garlic powder mash is a must-do! Bonus: it makes a lot of leftovers.

I would love to hear: what are some of your favorite quick meals? Y’all had so many good suggestions on the first post!