Tuesday Talk: Cookbooks

Hello from snowy Kentucky! I’m pretty sure that was my intro one day last week, and now we’ve gotten more snow…with more on the way later in the week! I will be honest…I’m not mad about it, but by mid-February, I will be ready for spring!

I’m not sure if this link up is still a thing, but I still have things to talk about…on a Tuesday 🤣 …like my favorite cookbooks.

January is always the perfect time to regroup after the holidays and take more time to meal plan and meal prep. I don’t ever really stop meal planning, but sometimes I slack off with meal prep.

Anyway, today I’m sharing some of my favorite cookbooks that I turn to very often (and a few favorite recipes from each).

Growing up, I didn’t think much about cooking (besides the fact that my mom made dinner for us every night), but I do love to cook, and have taught myself a bit along the way.

Here are some of my faves:

Simmers:

If I had to choose one cookbook to have for the rest of my life, Simmers would be it. Dramatic or what? haha Seriously though, the busier my kids have gotten through the years, the more and more I turn to Shay’s cookbook for slow cooker recipes.

Some of my favorite recipes:

• King Ranch Joe’s (We are having these this week.)
• Taco Tortellini Soup
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Beef Enchilada Tacos
• Old-Fashioned Sloppy Joe’s

Eat Better Feel Better

I often ask for cookbooks for Christmas, and Travis got me one of Giada’s cookbooks. He knows I try to make healthy meals for the family, and that my love for Giada runs deep! I’ve made a few recipes, and I know I will continue to use this book to plan our family dinners.

So far, I’ve made:

• Fusilli with Pesto and Green Beans
• Green Fried Rice
• Chicken Milanese

That Bowl Life:

Beth used to live in Lexington, and she’s a fun follow on Instagram. She’s had great success with the Faster Way to Fat Loss and created this cookbook after creating so many meals while on the program. I love how easy the recipes are, and the idea of just tossing some goodness in a bowl and that eating healthy can be pretty effortless is a win. {*Not all the recipes are in a bowl…}

Some of my favorite recipes:

• Egg muffins
• I’m a big fan of a snack plate because of her: a handful of almonds, a hard boiled egg, a few pickles, some lunch meat, pretzels and hummus, etc.
• Arugula with shredded parm and proscuitto is another fave.
• Watermelon, mint, feta salad
• Lots of a great drink concoctions too!

She has another one, The Village Cookbook, coming out too!

Mix and Match Mama Meal Planner:

This is another cookbook by Shay that I love so much. What I love the most about it is that it is organized by season. Sometimes I think cookbooks can be overwhelming, but I love that I can turn to each season and there are four weeks worth of meals from which I pick and choose what to feed my family. There’s also a “sweet treat’ each week as well!

Some of my favorite recipes:

• Beefy Cornbread Casserole (Winter)
• Shrimp Caprese Pasta (Spring)
• Caesar Salad Burgers (Summer)
• Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potato Risotto (Fall)

What about you? What are some of your favorite cook books that I can add to my collection? Of course, I also turn to Pinterest for recipe inspiration, but kind of like the book vs Kindle debate…sometimes, I just like turning the pages to see what inspires me while making my grocery list!

Well, today is a first…our first ever NTI (non-traditional instruction) snow day. Of course, we became familiar with NTI in spring 2020 (followed by fall 2020 and winter 2021), but this will be our first snow NTI day. I guess the neighborhood roads are still a bit dicey. I feel like if we have to miss school for the weather, NTI is a good compromise. We had regular snow days (that we don’t have to make up) last week, so I’d rather my kids do a bit of learning now rather than be in school until June. As a teacher, I did weather NTI days in my previous district, and I thought they were a good option if we were going to miss lots of school due to weather.

Wish us luck!