It’s a toddler food post. Because! Beck loves zoodles. She likes them raw, not at any particular meal time (this makes them a vegetable), and with nothing on them. 
Riddle me that. …
gluten free
Sausage Wild Rice Soup
It’s FREEZING here. 
No, but really. Multiple nights under 30 degrees F this week = the natives are LOSING it. We live in South Carolina, after all. The south. Warm. Stuffy. No fall. Lots of summer. Sweat. Humidity. You get it.
So when it’s this cold (and, yes, I know some of you have way colder lives than this, I understand how different climates work), and dark at 4pm, and we’re decorating for Christmas between snuggling with our newborn and battling our toddler, we totally completely absolutely for sure need a perfect soup to get us through the winter.
This is definitely that. It’s similar in flavor to the sausage rice casserole from Jay’s youth, but with a broth base and just a little bit of cream and cornstarch to thicken things up. We use real wild rice for that chewy whole grain texture, and the added bonus of simmering the soup for long enough to cook the rice (about an hour) is that the house smells GREAT while this is cooking. I use local sausage, but you can use any kind you like or even ground chicken to keep this super light.
…
5-Minute Broiled Asparagus {vegan}
What do you do for your Thanksgiving re: green things or health considerations? 
Some people are all balance every day and some are more just casseroles is fine, thanks. We fall somewhere in the middle with a lot of “we do this every year” and me trying to shove new things into the mix. One thing that is normal for us is that my dad always does a “plain” green veg. Something free of bacon or cheese or condensed xx of yy soup, and it works so well with some of the heavier flavors we have on Thanksgiving.
This is that! A super simple, mostly pure veg. Lemon juice and olive oil and salt go so well with asparagus, and you can broil this right at the end of your meal prep right after you carve the turkey – seriously last minute stuff, even after the casseroles are reheated. The result is a charred lemon flavor that adds a ton to the asparagus without overpowering it, and the health benefits of, you know, anything green.
…
Quickest Weeknight Salsa Chicken
I’m on a very annoying and very necessary mission. 
The mission is to reduce waste, and you’re joining me today. I HATE food waste. I hate all waste, really, but I also know that it’s a part of life (don’t even get me started on the unnecessary packaging that is involved in having children), and since I’m not yet ready to go full no-waste (have you seen documentaries about those people? It’s inspiring and also seems hard), food waste is really where I focus my efforts, mainly because it’s easily avoidable compared to other things. A little bit of thought and creativity can go a long way, and today we’re tackling condiments. Specifically, salsa! I was rummaging around the fridge a few weeks ago and realized we had four types of salsa. Some in little ramekins from takeout (you can use that stuff you know…) and a few jars with an inch or two of salsa. Not quite enough to put out for chips and dip, but not bad or old at all.
By the way, expiration dates literally have nothing to do with food going bad or being unsafe, even with meat and dairy. Literally nothing. They are dates used for the producer to “talk” to the grocer and to give the consumer (you) some information about when the food might not be perfect anymore. Imperfect food is not unsafe to eat, and usually doesn’t even taste different. This is not my opinion, this is a fact. Food is bad when it has a strange smell, grows mold or something else, or has a physical sign that it is bad. You of course are in charge of when you throw things out, but throwing things out because they have passed an arbitrary date is willful waste, so keep that in mind when doing purges and cleaning out. If nothing else, it’s a money saver to not constantly throw away things you purchase.
SO WITH THAT, I had all of this salsa and no plan for it. And I had chicken, and I always have rice. So I made this super duper quick seared chicken, reduced the salsa together into a sauce, and served it over rice in half an hour. I’ve made this several times since with other salsa, and the fun thing about this is that it tastes different but familiar each time. Salsa usually involves a base of onions and garlic which add tons of flavor without any chopping on your part. I’ve also chopped up extra onions, peppers, and random veggies (see: no waste!) and simmered them in the sauce, and they turn out delicious as well with zero effort. This is all about use-what-you-have, with delicious results. It feels GREAT to get a few items out of the fridge without throwing them straight in the trash.
…
Super Quick Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
They’re balls, but it felt tacky to use that in the title because of all of the jokes I’d invariably make. 
But! For your Monday! Here’s our treat-because-its-Monday meets healthy-because-weekend-recovery. It’s perfect for any way you’re feeling. Our weekend was fiiiine food-wise save for some extra bites of Beck’s pizza and overindulgence of the booze on the part of the non-pregos. We went on a quick long weekend vacation with my family and it was great to get away, do very little, and let Beck have some time with her aunts.
Today we’re back at it, working and unpacking and cleaning (omg the dogs alone in the house all weekend so much hair), and these little bites of happiness are calling my name. I took the recipe directly from Pinch of Yum, one of my (and everyone else’s) favorite food blogs. The recipe takes five minutes, is no-bake, is customizeable, and works every single time, all criteria I have for recipes because obviously. The ingredients combine to taste somewhat like cookie dough, and and the base of oatmeal + peanut butter + coconut is hearty without being super heavy like a cookie made with butter and oil. They’re also gluten free and dairy free but don’t scream I’M A HEALTH FOOD, which I love.
Make these today and have them for the entire week, is pretty much all you need to know.
…