Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Tips for Easy School Lunches

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #2Good2Bear #CollectiveBias

Does packing your kids’ lunches fill you with dread? It doesn’t have to! Check out these tips for easy school lunches.

Does packing your kids' lunches fill you with dread? It doesn't have to! Check out these tips for easy school lunches.

My two oldest kids started school this year. I went from only worrying about my own lunch to being responsible for the three of us (full disclosure: J makes their lunches sometimes, too). I started the school year with big ideas about what I’d pack them and how I’d make the process easier. Some of those ideas panned out, some of them flopped, and some have been tweaked to create what I consider to be a pretty streamlined system.

Tips for Easy School Lunches

Prep for the Whole Week on Sunday

Maybe you can relate to this: Sunday night brings the best intentions regarding school lunches. You’re going to pack well-rounded meals every day. Monday goes well, and Tuesday isn’t bad either, but things go downhill. By Friday, you’re raiding the pantry for combination of items that won’t draw judgment from you kids’ teachers.

Here’s my best tip for overcoming that weekly slide: do as much prep work as possible on Sunday. This can include slicing cheese, making sandwiches, cooking a batch of chicken nuggets or pasta and portioning it into containers. Basically, do in advance anything you can. Not only does it take little additional time to make five sandwiches instead of one, you’ll also save yourself the headache of doing the same chore four more times during the week.

Turn to Ready-Made Treats

I’d say at least 80 percent of what I send in my kids’ lunches is prepared in our home. I’m not talking homegrown produce or from-scratch bread, but instead of prepackaged cheese and crackers, we buy a box of crackers and a brick of cheese. We do this to save money and to make sure our picky eaters get meals we know they’ll eat.

Does packing your kids' lunches fill you with dread? It doesn't have to! Check out these tips for easy school lunches.

There are times I turn to store-bought snacks, though, because they’re convenient and because my kids love them. One of our favorites is TEDDY SOFT BAKED Filled Snacks. My kids love that they’re shaped like bears, and I love that they don’t contain artificial colors, artificial flavors, or high fructose corn syrup. They’re made with ingredients I’m familiar with, like eggs and milk (and, of course, chocolate!).

Does packing your kids' lunches fill you with dread? It doesn't have to! Check out these tips for easy school lunches.

Don’t forget to use ibotta to earn cash back when you purchase TEDDY SOFT BAKED Filled Snacks.  I grab them in the cracker/cookie aisle at Walmart when I’m stocking up on other school-lunch necessities. If you were there February 23, you might have noticed a fun demo featuring TEDDY SOFT BAKED Filled Snacks and GoGo Squeeze.

Use Your Freezer

A long time ago, before I had kids, I saw a tip about making and freezing peanut butter sandwiches. I thought it was ridiculous because peanut butter sandwiches are crazy easy to make. Then I had kids, and those kids started school, and I learned how naive I’d been. Sure, making a peanut butter sandwich may take two minutes, but that’s sometimes two minutes you don’t have.

Now, I buy a loaf or two of bread and use all the slices to make peanut butter sandwiches. I half them, freeze them, and pull them out one at a time as needed. I also use the freezer for berries purchased fresh in season and for pureed vegetables used to make our own pouches.

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Overcoming Your Menu Planning Fears

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Whatever your reasons for avoiding meal planning, it’s time to give it a shot. Read on to learn all about overcoming your menu planning fears.

Whatever your reasons for avoiding meal planning, it's time to give it a shot. Read on to learn all about overcoming your menu planning fears.

Y’all I am so excited to be guest posting for my friend Angela at Setting My Intention. She asked me to write about menu planning- a topic I love– so I put some thought into what I wanted to say and, before I knew it, this post came pouring out:

I received a lot of comments when I wrote about how to make once-a-month menu planning work for you. Many were from people who loved the concept, either because they practice once-a-month menu planning or because they’d like to. There were a bunch of comments, though, from far more skeptical readers. A lot of them said things like, “Menu planning for an entire month? I can’t even manage to plan for a week.”

That got me thinking. As someone who has menu planned in one form or another for many years, I can’t quite imagine what it would be like not to do it. Even during phases when I don’t get a month at a time planned, I still plan by the week. Knowing what we’ll be having for supper each night is one less thing to worry about, and it’s something I highly recommend to pretty much everyone.

So why isn’t everyone doing it? Of course menu planning isn’t right for every person, but I don’t think that’s what’s holding people back. If I had to guess, I’d say what’s holding them back is various fears. Fears that, in my opinion, are largely unfounded.

Head over to Setting My Intention to read the rest!

 For more menu planning tips, check out my crazy popular post about how to make once-a-month menu planning work for you.Whatever your reasons for avoiding meal planning, it's time to give it a shot. Read on to learn all about overcoming your menu planning fears.

Things I Don’t Have in My Kitchen

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Don’t buy into what the Internet tells you need to have to be a good cook. As a food blogger, you might be surprised by the things I don’t have in my kitchen.

Don't buy into what the Internet tells you need to have to be a good cook. As a food blogger, you might be surprised by the things I don't have in my kitchen.

As a food blogger and as someone who loves spending time in the kitchen, I have my fair share of tools and utensils that I use to get the job done. I probably have more kitchen accessories than the average person.

I’m missing some big things, like an ice cream maker or a pressure cooker, that I’d bet a lot of cooks don’t own. What might be more surprising is the list of things I don’t have in my kitchen that a lot of people would consider “must-haves”.

Here’s a list of those items I do without, and what I use instead.

Things I Don’t Have in My Kitchen

A knife block

I used to have a knife block. I registered for one when J and I got married and someone bought it for us. I used all the knives in it for several years. Over time, I began to realize how dull the knives were. Not just that they’d become dull, but that they’d never been very sharp to begin with. I’d watch cooking shows and see the ease with which the chefs chopped vegetables and I knew, while it was partly due to training and practice, it was also because their knives were so much sharper than mine.

What I use instead

I could have just sharpened the knives that came in the block, but it was around this time I discovered Rada knives. The knives are high-quality and put the others to shame. So, when we moved, I ditched the knife block and instead bought a few more Rada knives. Now, I have a chef’s knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife, plus the sharpener, and that’s all I need.

A hand mixer

I don’t own a regular old hand mixer. I used to, but at some point it died and I didn’t bother to replace it. I haven’t seen the need to buy a new one because I have a couple other tools that more than get the job done.

What I use instead

I use my KitchenAid stand mixer all the time. Like, at least a couple times a week, often more. There are times when I don’t want to get it dirty for smaller, easier jobs, and that’s when I usually turn to my dough whisk. That’s a strange name for a strange looking tool, but basically it’s a twisted-looking whisk that easily mixes thicker mixtures like cookie dough and muffin batter.

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KitchenAid Tips + KitchenAid Stand Mixer Giveaway

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KitchenAid stand mixer giveaway: your chance to add this gorgeous and versatile appliance to your collection.

I’m so excited to be a part of this giveaway because I love my KitchenAid so much. I use my mixer for so many different things. You totally don’t need to be a foodie or a blogger or a semi-professional baker to get a ton of use out of this thing. In fact, here are my favorite KitchenAid uses:

  1. Using the KitchenAid to easily shred chicken, which only makes my easy weeknight chicken tacos that much faster.
  2. Using the paddle attachment to mix bread or pizza dough, and the dough hook attachment to do the kneading. No doughy hands!
  3. Your KitchenAid can do all the dirty work involved with making creamy mashed potatoes- or twice-baked potato casserole.
  4. The mixer perfectly mixes pound cakes and quick breads without the hassle of hauling out your hand mixer.
  5. I love to use my KitchenAid mixer to cream butter and sugar or make meringues and whipped creams without totally wearing out your arm.

If you don’t own a KitchenAid- or if you know someone who needs one- you’ve got to enter this giveaway!

KitchenAid Stand Mixer Giveaway

Now it’s time to introduce some of the members of our Foodies Go Social group and announce our first group giveaway!

KitchenAid stand mixer giveaway: your chance to add this gorgeous and versatile appliance to your collection.

Everyday Made Fresh | Feast + West | Our Mini Family | Flavours and Frosting
A Savory Feast | Gather for Bread | Winstead Wandering | According to Laura Jean
Dash of Herbs | Stay Gold Autumn | Love Pasta and a Toolbelt | Sustaining the Powers
Cute as a Fox | Boone + Owl | Polka Dotted Blue Jay | Wetherills Say I Do

We are so excited to share this giveaway with our readers! Enter March 7-14th to win a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer! All entries will be verified, so please play fair. Embrace your inner foodie with a beautiful stand mixer.

KitchenAid stand mixer giveaway: your chance to add this gorgeous and versatile appliance to your collection.

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cooking Tips for People Who Don’t Like to Cook

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Cooking tips for people who don’t like to cook: tips, tricks, and advice for people who want to eat, but would rather be anywhere but in the kitchen.

Cooking tips for people who don't like to cook: tips, tricks, and advice for people who want to eat, but would rather be anywhere but in the kitchen.

I know there are a lot of people out there who genuinely don’t enjoy cooking. For whatever reason, they’d prefer to spend their time doing a hundred other things before they’d willingly hang out in the kitchen. What I’ve found, though, when I discuss my love of cooking with people who don’t cook, is that this is a typical response: “I’m not good at cooking; I don’t like it.”

Those are two entirely different statements, but I’ve come to understand how related they are. It makes sense; most of us don’t enjoy things we aren’t good at. I don’t like to sit down and paint or draw, largely because I’m a horrible artist. I never enjoyed math in high school and college because, while I wasn’t horrible, I wasn’t as good at it as I was at other subjects.

So if we can remove that degree of fear from cooking, if we can make it feel accessible even for those who aren’t at home in the kitchen, we can eliminate the first half of that statement and, in doing so, eliminate the second half, too.

Cooking Tips for People Who Don’t Like to Cook

  1. Start Small

If cooking isn’t something you’re good at or comfortable with, don’t jump right into hosting a five course meal for 12 people. Find a couple easy, similar recipes and master them. Maybe you’ll start with chicken- if so, I’d recommend trying baked green chile chicken taquitos, oven-fried chimichangas, and easy weeknight chicken tacos– or maybe pasta- sausage and tortellini or baked spaghetti– is more your thing.

Look for ingredients and techniques that you’ve heard of. Seek out recipes with a short list of steps, or processes that claim to be fool-proof.

2. Read the Entire Recipe Before Getting Started

Don’t just scan the ingredients list and call it good. Read all the ingredients and their amounts and read all each step. Be sure to read the comments, too; learn from the tips and critiques of others who have already prepared that dish. If a recipe calls for ingredients or techniques you’re not familiar with, consider finding another (or see #3).

Read through the recipe again right before making it. Pay attention to how the ingredients are listed; does it call for “one onion,” or “one onion, diced”? You’ll want to make sure your ingredients are in the required state so you don’t lose time when you start cooking. If you’re uncomfortable with the fast pace that’s necessary for a lot of recipes, make sure all ingredients and tools are accessible and ready to go. Measuring out spices, digging for the colander so it’s ready to drain the pasta; these are all small things you can do to make yourself more comfortable when the cooking begins.

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Dark Chocolate-Dipped Clementines

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Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

I’ve been having quite the love affair with Cuties lately. You know, the seedless, easy to peel clementines that are so popular this time of year?

I’m craving them like nobody’s business, eating at least four or five a day. Don’t get me wrong, I have zero complaints about craving something healthy and loaded with vitamin C. With previous pregnancies, I craved things like Burger King Whoppers and endless amounts of Juanita’s brand tortilla chips with my Granny’s homemade salsa.

That’s not to say I’m not craving anything unhealthy this time. I’ve got an unfilled hankering for some really good French fries, and I’ve been jonesing for some dark chocolate, which is where these guys come in.

It took just a few minutes for me to melt the chocolate, dip the little slices on, and sit back and admire my work. I sprinkled a few with sea salt and I added red or green sugar crystals to some others, because Christmas.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

Clementines are so bright and juicy; adding the swirl of dark chocolate gives you a perfect bite of flavor. These would be so great to whip up as a healthy treat for yourself, or to package and give away as a fun alternative- or addition- to traditional Christmas goodies.

If you’re not up for dipping (you should be; it’s totally easy) you could always drizzle the melted chocolate over the clementines. It would speed up an already quick process, and you could even use both white and brown chocolates. You wouldn’t get as much chocolate per bite, but they’d be healthier, your chocolate would stretch further, and they’d set up and be ready to serve or package quicker.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

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One-Pot Potato Soup

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All the classic flavors of a potato-lover’s potato soup, with an easy-to-follow recipe that uses only one pot.

All the classic flavors of a potato-lover's potato soup, with an easy-to-follow recipe that uses only one pot.

There are so many potato soup recipes out there already that, for a while, I was hesitant to add my own to the mix. I’ve been making this recipe for some time, but I’ve never blogged it because I knew it would be just one of thousands out there.

But the more I talk to people, the more I realize that the perfect potato soup recipe is one of those things that some people try really hard to find. I tried at least half a dozen before I created this one.

Part of the problem is how subjective good potato soup is. Some people like it loaded, with cheddar cheese soup and sour cream and ham. Others prefer theirs thin and broth-like.

Me, I love my potato soup thick and hearty, with plenty of potato chunks and an underlying hint of smoky bacon. I like to top it with a little cheddar cheese, but other than that, I want the prevailing flavor to be that of well-seasoned potatoes. Oh, and it has to have onions.

If that’s how you’d describe your ideal potato soup, you’ve come to the right recipe.

All the classic flavors of a potato-lover's potato soup, with an easy-to-follow recipe that uses only one pot.

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baked green chile chicken taquitos

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Baked instead of fried for a healthy but satisfying crunch, these taquitos are stuffed with chicken, green salsa, sour cream, and a savory blend of spices.

Baked instead of fried for a healthy but satisfying crunch, these taquitos are stuffed with chicken, green salsa, sour cream, and a savory blend of spices.

We love these chicken taquitos. Love them.

I’ve gotten J.’s family hooked on them, too, as well as several friends. My favorite thing about these taquitos is, of course, the flavor. I love that the outside crisps up to offer the perfect crunch, but the inside is full of tender chicken and the balanced kick of green salsa and sour cream.

You could fill your taquitos with anything you have on hand. I have a friend who loves to make them with corn tortillas and left over carne asada. I once made a version with a mixture of cream cheese, shredded cheddar, and diced jalapeños; they were basically long, skinny jalapeño poppers.

I almost always have a few of these bad boys in the freezer (right now, I have 16) because they are so easy to make ahead and freeze. Go ahead and double the batch; I promise you’ll want the extras.

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frosted sugar cookies

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Forget the crumbly, tasteless grocery store version. These homemade frosted sugar cookies are crisp and buttery around the outside and chewy in the middle. They’re everything a sugar cookie should be.

Forget the crumbly, tasteless grocery store version. These homemade frosted sugar cookies are crisp and buttery around the outside and chewy in the middle. They're everything a sugar cookie should be.

These cookies. These cookies.

Let’s be real for a second. Is there anything tastier than a well-made sugar cookie? I’m not talking about those crumbly, under-baked messes you buy from the “bakery” section of the grocery store. I’m talking about the real thing. The homemade version, with the slightly crunchy, buttery outside and the chewy, firm inside.

Every year I take my FBLA students to a district conference, where they compete in various business-related events. It isn’t the competition that they’re most excited about, though. It’s not the pizza we have for lunch, the scholarship opportunities, or even the day away from school that they most look forward to.

No, the thing my students spend all year talking about is these cookies. Because they’re that good, that buzz-worthy. If you think store-bought sugar cookies are “almost as good” as homemade, you owe it to yourself to make these and prove you wrong.

Forget the crumbly, tasteless grocery store version. These homemade frosted sugar cookies are crisp and buttery around the outside and chewy in the middle. They're everything a sugar cookie should be.

 

Frosted Sugar Cookies
cookie recipe adapted slightly from here, frosting recipe adapted slightly from here

for the cookies
1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder

for the frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
4 tsp whole milk or cream

Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add in the vanilla, eggs, and milk and mix until well combined. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix just until everything comes together.

Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.

On a generously floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness, cut cookie shapes with cookie cutters, and bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together butter and powdered sugar until they’re thick and well-mixed, about a minute. Add vanilla and milk or cream and mix on medium-high for about another minute.

Cool cookies completely before frosting.

What’s your favorite sugar cookie occasion?

Want to try more homemade favorites? Try these surprisingly simple and stunningly scrumptious peanut butter cup bars or this rich and fudgy mug brownie.

Forget the crumbly, tasteless grocery store version. These homemade frosted sugar cookies are crisp and buttery around the outside and chewy in the middle. They're everything a sugar cookie should be.

seasoned oven fries

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these seasoned oven fries are so easy and so much better than the frozen kind.

 

I mentioned in a recent what i’m loving wednesday post that I am so in love with my new French fry cutter.

We don’t have fries too often, but I do make them occasionally because they’re a great crowd-pleasing side. And now, with this new French fry cutter, they’re also super easy. It perfectly cuts a potato into fries in a matter of seconds, so you can get these babies in the oven and move on to the main dish.

This seasoned oven fries recipe bakes up in about as long as it takes to throw a few turkey burgers on the grill. With minimal effort, you have a side dish that’s hands down better than anything you’d pull out of the freezer section at the grocery store.

I used several of our favorite spices and seasonings in this recipe, but it’s completely adaptable to what you prefer and what you have on hand. And if you’re feeling naughty, go ahead and take the baked fries, sprinkle them with cheese and jalapenos and bacon, and toss them back in the oven for a few more minutes.

these seasoned oven fries are so easy and so much better than the frozen kind.

seasoned oven fries

3 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and patted dry
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

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