Too Much Pizza?

Let’s all be honest with ourselves, the last two things we want to do after a long day’s work is cook and clean. The cleaning is something that can be delegated to a local service provider or the kids but I can’t imagine the expense of having a live in chef. An effortless go-to meal at my house is pizza; it’s not the healthiest thing, especially three nights in a row.

However, if I told you that there are tons of meals that can be easily prepared would you get a little more excited about fixing dinner?

First, my dinner superhero is my crockpot. I usually try to prepare all the ingredients that I can the night before. Some recipes even allow me to put everything in the crockpot’s removable dish and store it in the fridge until morning. I simply switch it on, go to work and by the time I come home dinner is ready. Crockpot meal possibilities are nearly endless. There are tons of delicious recipes that can be prepared almost effortlessly. My favorite crockpot meal is chicken enchilada casserole. Allrecipes.com is my go-to site because of their large slow cooker recipe collection.

If you are slow cooker-less, don’t fret! There are plenty of fast recipes that will have dinner served in no time. Tasty25 Magazine prides themselves on providing healthy meal ideas that can be prepared in 25 minutes or less. They even share user submitted recipes, so you can be sure that their meal database is always growing. They don’t only provide recipe ideas; their website has a lot of diet related cooking tips too.

In case you were worried about never eating pizza again, here is a healthy homemade spin on pizza night from Tasty25. Pizza will always have a spot in my weekly meal plan, but I’m happier when it is guiltless.  Housework can be done on the weekends; dinner is an everyday thing in my house.

Man-made Recipes

With the box of mMan Chefac n’ cheese in his hand, my significant other will ask me how to prepare it. Sometimes I wonder if he even knows that the directions are printed on the box. While he isn’t the greatest in the kitchen, he does have his specialties:  fried eggs, and bowls of cereal. I don’t ever have to worry about him starving, but sometimes I wish he could cook something other than breakfast.

After searching “Recipes for Men” on Google, I found that I am not the only woman that has a man that is hopeless in the kitchen.

First, a few tips for the kitchen beginners. This has a lot of good advice for someone completely unfamiliar in the kitchen (my guy).

Esquire Magazine has a large collection of man-made recipes . Some of these dishes aren’t for beginners, but with practice, anything is possible. Giant meatballs and spaghetti sauce, without noodles? I think my guy can handle that!

Man Tested Recipes is a recipe resource that is all about meat, game day foods, and BBQ. The recipes are categorized in a way that is easily navigated by a man’s cravings. This webpage looks like it might inspire and challenge some new cooks.

There is no doubt that I will share these websites with the boyfriend. Hopefully he will master mac n’ cheese and move on to bigger and better things in the kitchen.  If you’re lucky enough to have a chef in your life, maybe you have a Man-Made recipe you can share with my chef to be.

 

*Photo credit to Wellness Online.

Super Sweet Baton Rouge

Confession: I have a major sweet tooth. I’m not ashamed of it.  Thankfully, Baton Rouge has plenty of sweet shop varieties for people like me. These three sweet destinations are a few of the top shops recommended by many locals. Thankfully, all three of them are extremely close to my house.

Ambrosia Bakery on Siegen Lane just south of interstate 10 has ruled the Baton Rouge sweet scene for nearly two decades. I consider it the Disneyland of baked goods. They have an amazing variety – everything a sweet tooth could want. Their cakes look delightful, with designs that rival those on Food Network challenge shows. They can customize cakes for your special occasions, baby shower, birthday, weddings, summer barbeque, you name it. The best part? You can get some of their delectable cakes by the slice!

The large dessert case is a feature in the shop and is always filled with cupcakes, cookies, cheesecakes, brownies, chocolates, gelato and so much more deliciousness. I highly recommend the rocky road brownie!  They also have a deli that serves breakfast, sandwiches, soups, wraps, and the famous Ambrosia burger.

Now, I am not usually a very trendy person, but when the whole “cupcake trend” came around, I could not control myself. I can easily make a breakfast (lunch and dinner) out of cupcakes. It amazes me how many creative cupcake varieties that there are.

Sweet Wishes Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe on Perkins road near Bluebonnet says they add ‘that little something extra” to every cupcake they bake. These locals have created a science of making cupcakes, and take pride in creating unique gourmet cupcakes daily. Their 30+ cupcake flavors – available in three sizes – include: chai, buttery butterscotch, chocolate raspberry, king cake, Kahlua and cream, PB & yum, and my favorite: red velvet. They even have breakfast cupcakes. I can’t imagine a better way to start the day!

They can monogram or add a personal message to your tiny treats, or help you customize a themed topper. They cater to special events and holidays, and can even put a company logo on your cupcakes. And here’s a coup: Sweet Wishes is the only place off campus that you can find LSUAg’s creamy, signature ice cream. Sweet Wishes also has Wi-Fi for their customers, so you really never have to leave.

Oh, and I have some fun news from Sweet Wishes: a fundraiser for a cause via a flavor contest to win the golden Cup trophy. It is called the Tasty Award. I am excited to try to winning flavor. The winner receives a trophy and chooses a charity to have the proceeds donated to. Do you have a good cupcake idea? Entries are accepted until July 7th.

 

Cupcake Couture on the Boulevard at the Mall of Louisiana is another specialty shop featuring upscale delicacies in a little paper cup. The owners are good friends and sisters by marriage. They received training specifically in gourmet cupcake baking. The signature flavor, bananas foster, is on the menu every day, in addition to a selection of irresistible flavors like strawberry lace, wedding cake, s’mores, chocolate peanut butter, salted caramel, almond joy, and many more.  Cupcake Couture also caters weddings, and other special events.

Something unique from Sweet Wishes and Cupcake Couture is their “pupcakes,” specially made cupcake-like treats for man (or woman’s) best friends. Honestly, my dogs love these things; they inherited my love for any and all dessert related foods.

All of these businesses have beautiful websites with full lists of their flavors and customizing capabilities.

Now that my sweet tooth has been triggered, I have another errand for the day!

Getting Back Into The Celebration

When playing the role of “host” putting our minds to all the details that need attention when preparing for a gathering like having a water source available for fireworks, creating a safe perimeter for kids, setting up, decorations, and coordinating food safety, etc. can make us feel frazzled.  However, doing some of these tasks the day before and charming special guests to help out can get us back into the celebration.  Have someone come over the night before and help with food prep so that everything that can be prepared ahead of time is good to go.

When I need inspiration for recipes to “wow” guests, www.allrecipes.com, is my main resource for unique dishes. Like me, you might have a hard time narrowing down which of the hundreds recipes on this site to serve at your party.

I set up a “no-go” perimeter around the grill for kids using festive streamers and potted plants or decorative planters filled with sand (which also doubles as an ashtray for the smokers). To make it fun, create a stamp system where only people with a stamp on their hand can be in that area.

While preparing, take a step outside and choose a few spots where people can take a break to rehydrate and avoid the sun.  If your yard doesn’t have enough shady spots then hang a sheet or tarp from a tree or fence post. If you want to get the kids involved try creating this fun 4th of July tarp. Place a few chairs underneath the shaded area and a cooler filled with bottles of water. If this area is close to an outlet than try creating a “cool seat” by putting a fan in front of a cooler filled with ice and placing a chair in front of the fan.  To make sure that everyone gets a chance to sit in the “cool seat” hand out red, white, and blue poker chips and have guests turn in a chip each time they take a turn.  It can also be a great place for elders to connect with the younger generations by designating that seat the story-telling spot.

This article on the Red Cross website has safety tips to review when planning a celebration. Reading this helped remind me of everything that I can do ahead of time to ensure a safe holiday for everyone.