I was really excited to write this because once I discovered Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta two years ago I never looked back. Then, I started tell people about it and lo and behold it turns out that it’s closely tied to the Chili’s restaurant chain where I’ve eaten exactly once in my life. It’s not that I’m against Chili’s, it’s that the town I grew up in is so small there are no chain restaurants and you’d have to travel for miles to find one. When I was in boarding school a friend’s family took us to Chili’s on the weekend as a treat and that’s the only time I remember being there. I wonder if this is a benefit in this case? I have zero nostalgia for this recipe, yet everyone does so I get to experience the pleasure of it for the very first time?
There is no whoosh of memories that come back to me when I take a bite of this Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta. The only thing I think about is how much my family enjoys it so it’s gathered us around the table many, many times. It’s just one of those meals that works. The whole family really likes it, it’s fairly simple to make, and it’s just different enough to be novel once in a while. As you’ll see in my recipe notes, I cut down the heat quite a bit. One of my children does not like spice so I tend to dial back any kind of pepper flavor whenever asked. That said, feel free to turn the dial right back up if you want to!
It’s been several years since I’ve written about edible Christmas gifts but here’s what I want you to know: I still give them to friends and family. This Candied Pecans recipe is from my mother and is her signature gift to loved ones far and wide. Luckily, I’m on the list too, I always get a bag. We love these to no end and look forward to them all year long. Sure, I could technically make them whenever I wanted, but they would they be as special if I did?!
The beauty of these pecans is that they hit all the right notes. They’re sweet and salty, enrobed in crispy meringue, and still maintain a nice amount of crunch. As I mentioned on instagram, we love to tip them into a bowl and snack on them throughout the whole day. However, they are also delicious when added to all kinds of things like salad with a sharp vinaigrette, blue cheese, and thinly sliced pears, or a salty nut mix or grazing board. They are functionally the perfect addition to just about anything.
HELLO FRIENDS! I know, I know, it’s been a minute. What can I say, life sped up and it got too hard for me to maintain a food blog while doing everything else with my family and other business interests. I needed to explore life beyond this world and I’m glad I did because it paid off in spades. To put this into context, my very first post on this website was January 6th, 2009. That’s almost 16 years ago!
I started this blog in 2009 as a way of helping people and writing about a topic I love: food as a way of enjoying life. However, as I blogged and traveled over the next decade it got harder and harder for me to square this mission with the values of the blogging-turned-influencing world. The race to follower count, the rampant consumerism, the blatant plagiarism, it was going against everything I wanted to spend my time doing. This is why I decided to take a break and reevaluate.
Come join me at my table…
Since then, I started a successful life coaching business and have enjoyed every second of it. I’ve also been deep in the world of growing children and all that entails. I’d say the biggest lesson that came out of this journey away from blogging and back again is how much I love to help people live their best lives. In the case of The Naptime Chef, I love to be here helping you make good food and have fun in the kitchen. It’s as simple as that. I still love my coaching work and will never give that up, but in this space I can be your coach in the kitchen. Spoiler alert: your food will be delicious and life’s going to work out. I know this to be true.
As for the product side, yes I’ll always tell you about kitchen equipment and books I love if I truly love them. But I’m not going to sell for the sake of selling or encourage the crazy “hauls” of stuff I don’t think you need. I prefer curation to consumption in my own life and want to focus on that here as well. There’s a lot to be said for keeping life simple and enjoyable!
When it comes to feeding your family, you can easily live a wonderful life and cook fantastic dishes with straightforward ingredients. I still cook almost every day and am happy put our favorite meals on repeat because it makes sense. We love the dishes, I know how to cook them well, and every time they get just a little better. I think we all appreciate a mixture of novelty and comfort at mealtimes.
I hope you’ll join me on this new, revised journey with The Naptime Chef website + newsletter. I still have so much love for this world and I’m sharing it with you as a way of helping us all build lives we love. xxKelsey
Are you ready for a One Pan Roast Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes? I’m am! Let me explain…As I’ve shared a lot recently, the past few years have been a journey. One of the brightest spots along the way has been my involvement with Gatherer Entertainment. I’ve talked a bit about it before, but it’s a production company focused on content for women 35+. Given that I’m in that group now it really speaks to me – I definitely look for different internet content than millenials!
To that end, a couple years ago Jenna and I worked together to develop a show that speaks to parents about cooking. It’s all about cooking smarter, not harder and making delicious food for your family. Here’s the first episode and stay tuned because I’ll be rolling out all of them over the next several weeks! Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could get this viral so we could get the attention of some networks/platforms who’d like to order more episodes? I’m game to film more if that’s what you want!
Hello! I’ve been popping into The Naptime Chef Facebook page a lot recently to say Hi in person. This is all new to me because Facebook LIVE didn’t exist when I first started this page way back when. I know, I know, I sound super old when I say that. Anyway, I really just love the more personal interaction with all of you. I’ve been having fun getting into video again and this is a great way to do it without being crazy formal!
So, today I stopped in to talk about the cookbooks I’m currently drawing inspiration from. I always find this time of year a little tricky since it’s cold once day, and quite warm the next. I mean, what’s a cook to do? In the end I usually employ my VERY unscientific method of selecting books by scanning my ROYGBIV bookshelves and pulling the books that speak to me at that moment.
I really focus on the ones that contain the healthy/hearty fare. I’m not quite ready for gazpacho and grilled shrimp yet! At this point in the year a good salad, a pan of roast chicken, and a chilled glass of rosé sounds perfect. I also happen to me semi-training for my first half-marathon on June 2nd. I have got to get on the stick about that, and that includes eating nourishing foods while I train.
Here are the books I selected above. I highly recommend them if you are looking for some new seasonal inspiration!
Food52: A New Way to Dinner: This awesome playbook-style cookbook is lovely to read and the recipes are spot on. It truly provides ALL the tips in tricks for getting one grocery haul and making it into several delicious meals over the course of the week. I also love that the chapters are organized by season.
I’m so, so excited to share this author interview because I absolutely adore this book! I’m also thrilled to share these fun photos from the book signing in Darien the other day. They the coolest women, just as they sound in the book, and we had a blast. Do you want to win a copy? If so, be sure to sign up for my newsletter and the exclusive giveaway! 😉
It’s such a beautiful store and they really went with the rainbow theme of the book!
We are stretching boundaries of Cookbook Club this month for an interview with Clea and Joanna of The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals. I LOVE this book for sooo many reasons – it speaks directly to my organized Virgo heart! To be honest my favorite sections are the pantry and cookbook shelves sections because they obviously are incredibly relevant to me, but I swear this whole volume is amazing and is worth adding to your collection.
TSLN) The Home Edit is a goldmine of organizing advice! How long did it take you develop your organization style?
THE) Thank you! We’re so excited to finally be able to share it with everyone. Although we’re both extremely organized people, we come from different backgrounds. Clea worked in the fashion industry and went to art school, so her approach is very aesthetic-driven. Joanna comes from a traditional organization background, so that’s where a lot of the functionality comes in. From the start, our differences help us work really well together and it’s also been the reason THE signature style is what it is today. It’s definitely a collaboration!
TLSN) What is the most common organizing problem you encounter and how do you solve it? And, to add to that, do we all honestly have to start decanting our spices?!
THE) Too many items and not enough space. It’s why purging the items you no longer want or need is so important. If not, then you are essentially shuffling clutter back and forth— which is not organizing! Basically, we solve the space by viewing it completely empty. It’s the only way to properly decide on storage solutions that will fit the space and make items more accessible. Often times, it comes down to getting creative by maximizing vertical or floor space that was otherwise ignored.
You don’t have to do anything. Our rule of thumb is that organization isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. Storage solutions need to fit someone’s lifestyle and space measurements, or else people won’t maintain it. We love storing our spices in glass jars because it saves space and we can’t resist a good ROYGBIV moment. However, some people prefer to keep spices in their original packaging and use a turntable as an accessible solution.
TLSN) What’s the wildest organizing job you’ve ever had to tackle? Spill it!
THE) We’ve organized an ENTIRE 5,000 square foot house. Every closet, every drawer, every shelf, literally all of it. It took about three weeks to complete, but it looked AMAZING at the end! That’s one of the many things we love about our job—being able to see a space completely transform.
TLSN) What’s next for The Home Edit? I’d like to request a line of ROYGBIV storage containers and labels in perfect cursive, please!
We’re OFFICIALLY launching an NYC team in April, AND we’re so excited to finally share that we will be launching an exclusive collection of products we designed with iDesign, which will be available ONLY at The Container Store in May!”
