Naptime Everyday: Recipes for Everyday Cooking and Baking

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 shared 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 then millenials! 

I have to share this recipe for the Homemade Cinnamon Honey Peanut Butter from Uncle Will. He is a bit of a health champion and swears this is a great protein-heavy snack. It’s easy to make, tastes amazing, and is a delicious dip for fruit or vegetables, or spread on bread. I’ll admit, I’m not usually one for making homemade peanut butter but this is truly amazing!

Halloween is ovah and it’s time for the real holiday season to kick into high gear! For most of us busy parents that very sentence strikes mild panic into our hearts. Are we really read for hosting relatives/decorating/wrapping/socializing and the like? How on Earth will be handle it all? Don’t get me wrong, I love and adore the holiday season, but it is definitely not the most laid-back time of the year.

We are thrilled to feature Katie Workman for the next few weeks for The Snack Cookbook Club. Today we are sharing the first of three features… and don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter to enter the giveaway which will be running all week!

One of things I’d like to talk about more in this space is the how we all cope with pace of life, specifically motherhood/work/household management. This is not a unique topic, and I’m certainly not the first one to write about it. So instead of re-hashing all the issues and politics, I’m just going to share my point of view. Take from it what you can, I know this applies to us all in unique ways and I hope you can find some benefits here no matter your situation.

I am so happy to be back in this space I love so much and today I’m delivering an old family favorite, Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.  These are listed on my age-old, yet still popular, 10 Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies List. In fact, I think I need to brush up that post with a few updates and additions! I’ll save that for another time.

Here are the facts: I love food, I love to cook, and I love pasta. Pasta, in fact, is one of my favorite comfort foods. For our family the definition of comfort food is that we eat it once in a while. That means I’ll never give it up – not even for a fad diet – but it’s also not something I make every night, or even every week. However, when the occasion calls for it, a good bowl of Chicken Riggies, or something equally as deliciously satisfying, is exactly what’s needed. This particular dish is actually native to upstate NY, Utica to be exact, near Cooperstown where I grew up. It features a homemade tomato pepper cream sauce, well-seasoned chicken, and a sprinkling of cheese and basil.

(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Hood Cream. The photographs and opinions are wholly my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make The Naptime Chef possible.) Summer is finally here. The kids are out of school and we are preparing for our upcoming trip to Cooperstown for the Fourth of July. I’ve been […]

Mother’s Day was a blast and now Father’s Day is right around the corner. I know these are both Hallmark holidays, but I do love them. In our house these small holidays are all about family time. It’s about gathering together for a special meal and taking time to enjoy each other’s company. That is something that is much harder to do these days with ours kids sports schedules! This year I partnered with Hood® Cream to create a yummy egg casserole for my husband to enjoy on Father’s Day. It was a lot of fun thinking of all of his favorite flavors and coming up with a dish for him to enjoy!

Mac-n-Cheese is quite possibly the most wonderful comfort food. There is nothing not to love about pasta baked with cheesy sauce topped with crunchy breadcrumbs. Personally, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t adore this comfort food! The problem, of course, is that the dish can lean on the heavy side, so it is really more of a treat than a regular menu item. Unless, of course, you can sneak some vegetables in!

This new year started off with a wintery bang – a bomb cyclone storm followed by frigid temperatures. Being from Cooperstown, I am no stranger to crazy cold and snow, but it is always a little jarring to readjust to winter when it comes on so fast. In the kitchen, this means breaking out my cold weather cooking repertoire and bringing on the hearty stick-to-your-ribs food we all love.

We’ve had a fantastic and busy month, but the fun isn’t over yet! We still have New Year’s Eve this weekend if you are anything like my family you are all about easy-peasy family entertaining. One of my go-to’s this time of year is lots of gourmet snacks. Instead of going crazy with homemade from scratch everything, I reach for a few of my favorites off the shelves.