book club 17 - dr strange beard by penny reid

 2026-17

 

recreating my moms stuffed mushrooms

 i know i have mentioned a few of my favorite childhood recipes on here before but i'm pretty sure i've never mentioned my moms stuffed mushrooms.  she only pulled out these big guns for parties or big dinners, and it was one of my very very favorites.  since both of my kids are not mushroom fans, i couldn't tell you the last time i even thought about these.  but then i was at the store and they had stuffed mushrooms and boom!  these came to mind.  i was like, we are having the family suffed mushrooms  TONIGHT.  and we did.

 i know my mom had an actual recipe for these, but i've never found it.  so this is me winging it.

the best thing about these mushrooms is that they are very simple and require few ingredients.   

button mushrooms, cleaned and stems carefully removed so you have the stem hole to fill with your stuffing

the mushroom stems, chopped fairly finely

onion or shallot, chopped finely

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

butter

bread crumbs

cheese, like parmesan or asiago - or even shakey cheese

salt and pepper

preheat the oven to 375.

Place the cleaned mushrooms on a baking sheet lined with parchment

Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat and add the shallots, and cook for a few minutes to soften.  then add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until everything is soft and starting to color.  season with salt and pepper and add just a bit  - like maybe a couple of TB - of breadcrumbs.  cook for another minute or so. remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.  stuff the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is lightly brown on top, 25-30 minutes.  

let cool for a few minutes before devouring

The Girl would have no part of them, but when i told The Boy (a lifelong mushroom hater) that his Nana used to make these, he said he would try one.  

Friends, he ate 4!!!!!  That is the power of these mushrooms.

 

book club 16 - wilderness reform by harrison query and matt query

 2026-16

 

Sunday dinner (brunch) Easter weekend edition

 

book club 15 - the temple at the end of the universe by josiah neufeld

 2026-15

 

whats going on

 look at these adorable napkins - 

 so cute for spring!

 i made this very good chicken stir fry on the weekend.  i left out the tomatos, bell peppers and mushrooms, so both kids were happy.  i was annoyed that my peas bit the dust in the fridge, but i had celery, carrots, beans, onions and zucchini.  the sauce - chicken broth, oyster sauce, honey and soy sauce.  i stupidly tried to shake some cornstarch into the sauce instead of using a spoon and put way too much in.  i tried to scoop a bunch out but that sauce thickened in 4 seconds flat once it hit the pan.

 i found this dessert on tick tok - 1 pack of sugar free jello mixed into 1 cup of boiling water.  let it slightly cool, and then whisk in 1 cup of no fat greek yogurt, and chill in the fridge.  pretty tasty.

these muffins disappeared in less than a week, which is probably a record in this house -

 savory cheese muffins.

 

book club 14 - the year of the witching by alexis henderson

 2026-14

 

grocery shop march 29 Freshco

 

ground beef, ground turkey, ground pork noodles, coleslaw mix, green beans, zucchini, potatos, carrots, crumpets, peas, cucumber, celery, romaine, buns, cream cheese, buns, scallop potato mix, granola bars, avocados, tortilla chips, rice, pork buns, grapes, crackers, yogurt, coffee, stuffing mix x 2, jello, granola bars, pizza, raspberry jam, ginger, canned pineapple, pepperoni, caesar mix, tomato paste, oyster sauce, bbq sauce, napkins, bread

$182 

happy friday

 someone in my family stole my staple puller from my desk and i was forced to use this crocodile staple puller that i found in a bin in the basement.  and now i love her.

did someone say nachos for dinner?

 i am really enjoying my new book journal format, especially recapping each month.

 bread by The Mister is back!

 Happy Friday!

book club 13 - blacktop wasteland by sa cosby

 2026-13

 

book club 12 - smothermoss by alisa alering

 2026-12

 

in the bin 9

  Hello, and welcome to episode 9 of in the bin, where I share with you any and all assorted products I've used up or discarded recently.  

 

banana muffins

 things have been very boring and very plain around here foodwise for a while now.  we are busy, tired, stressed, and i can think of other things to put my small amount of energy into other than cooking.  but i'm trying to break out of that rut and get back to putting more effort into food.

i made these muffins at the request of The Mister so we could get rid of some of the frozen bananas in the freezer.  i was going to add some chocolate chips, but he requested them without, to the dismay of the children.

 recipe - quick and easy banana muffins

stewed pears

 look, it's not the prettiest thing you'll eat, but these stewed pears were DELICIOUS and pears are very good for you!  when you eat or cook with pears, try keeping their skins on, because real ones know that the skin is in - its full of vitamins and antioxidants.  pears are great sources of fiber too, and are good for your gut health and your heart health.

 

here's what i did - melted a TB of butter over medium heat, threw in my roughly chopped unpeeled pears, and let them cook, stirring occasionally and lowering the heat if needed, until juicy and softened.  i added in some cinnamon and it smelled and tasted heavenly.

I ate mine up by stirring it into some greek yogurt.  so good. 

book club 11 - model home by rivers solomon

 2026-11

 

book club 10 - kiki's delivery service by eiro kadono

 2026-10

 

book club 9 - what i ate in one year by stanley tucci

 2026-9

 

reading watching listening loving eating

 

reading 

 my most recent read - 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

watching 

 i watched a lot of the paralympics and really enjoyed it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

listening 

 the birds are coming back!  

loving 

foot masks for my old gross dry feet 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

eating 

homemade pizza!

 

book club 8 - extasia by claire legrand

 2026-8

 

happy friday

 

 

i bought these foil and food wrap holders at the dollar store and i love them.

 

"i have no energy to celebrate your birthday because i had to blow up all these balloons and then string them the correct way so you could read it and i only put one letter backwards"  i said.

THE EMPIRE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STICK FIGURE FAMILY

it rained!  and snowed.

leftover potstickers with pita and hummus for dinner

 

big fat book haul from the library

happy friday!