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Dutch Oven Stew

When I was a kid I loved canned stew. My love became so well-known that people started giving it to me for my birthday. Yep, canned stew for my birthday and I was excited bout it. At some point, my palate matured though and I lost my zeal for canned stew. (That or hit my… Read more »

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Quick Chicken Parm

Most of you have probably gathered that we like to cook and bake. I honestly could be quite content baking all day long if calories were meaningless and I had both a nanny and a housekeeper. (As well as a big fat bank account to pay said nanny and housekeeper.) But since I live in… Read more »

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Skillet Hobo Dinner

Back when Noel and I first met, long before The Dirty Dish Club was even a twinkle in our eyes, we spent a romantic night in making tinfoil dinners. We chopped up the veggies, nestled them against patties, and wrapped them snuggly in foil. Our cooking prowess was still in its infancy and our kitchen tools… Read more »

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Chicken Quinoa Soup

Usually this time of year I’d be brainstorming ways to minimize the use of my stove and oven in my cooking routine, but this last month has been a time of almost constant rain and cool temperatures. While others were proclaiming Memorial Day the beginning of barbecue season, I was simmering a heartwarming soup. This… Read more »

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Gnocchi Al Forno with Spinach

This is my emergency backup dinner. It’s for those nights when you realize at 6:30pm that your planned dinner for the night was supposed to be in the crockpot hours ago and you need to have the kids to bed on time tonight for everyone’s health and safety. Plan A went out the window along with… Read more »

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Italian Style Spaghetti Squash

Apparently this dish is a metaphor for who we are. The last time we ate it, Noel turned to me, a forkful paused en route to his mouth and said, “This is totally us” as if he’d had an epiphany. “How so?” I asked, intrigued by what deep insight he had to share. “It’s healthy,… Read more »

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Zuppa Toscana

I know it’s the New Year and everyone is filling their pin boards and meal plans with low-carb recipes and green smoothies and even though our Pinterest widget reveals our complicity in this madness, here is our reality: Our kids are sick. They’re grumpy and snotty and more unreasonable than usual. We’re bending over backward… Read more »

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Salmon Chowder

As a desert girl that grew up in a landlocked world, I’ve always loved fish and rain. Because of this, most of my favorite vacations have been trips to the coast. When Noel and I were first married, my parents rented a house in Manzanita, OR. We were still poor college students at the time, so… Read more »

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Swedish Meatballs with Sneaky Veggies

I was convinced that I would never have a child that was a picky eater. When pregnant, I read articles about how what an expecting mother eats can affect a child’s pickiness later in life and felt pretty smug about the variety of foods I was introducing to our little fetus. Then when my oldest… Read more »

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Pork Egg Rolls

I perpetually crave Chinese food. Or to be more accurate, Americanized Chinese food. I’m sure it has something to do with my huge salt tooth, which is totally justified because I sweat so much when I workout, right? I mean I don’t want to put myself in danger of developing hyponatremia. I’m really just looking… Read more »