The Naptime Chef

Here are our picks for 7 weeknight dinner recipes this week!

Steak Frites by Mardi Michaels on Simple Bites Simple Bites

Blue Cheese & Cranberry Stuffed Pork Tenderloin by Peanut Blossom

Pressure Cooked Eggplant Involtini with Tomato-Basil Sauce by Alexandra Cooks

Baked Chicken with Tomatoes & Garlic by Brooklyn Supper

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Chopped Salad by goop

Lasagna Stuffed Peppers by Recipe Girl

Cacio e Pepe Alla Colu via The Washington Post (probably our ultimate hail Mary dinner recipe!)

Eggplant Involtini photograph via Alexandra Cooks

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.

Each week I’ll round up my favorite recipes from around the web just for you. I hope they give you new ideas, a fresh outlook, and maybe even help you explore new culinary territories!

Lunchbox ideas:

The Sandwich-Free School Lunch by Weelicious (all of her lunch ideas are amazing!)

Lunch on a Stick by One Hungry Mama

29 New Lunch Ideas by Simple Bites

30 Days of Lunchbox Recipes with No Repeats by Peanut Blossom

Dinner ideas:

Easy Roast Chicken and Shallots with Mustard, White Wine & Thyme by Alexandra Cooks

Pasta with Prosciutto & the last Summer Tomatoes by Dinner a Love Story

Chickpea Tikka Masala by A Sweet Spoonful

Spiced Yellow Squash Soup by Always Order Dessert

Meatballs with Orzo & Lemon by Giada De Laurentiis

Please let us know if you made anything amazing lately, we’d love what it is and where it came from!

(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Hood Cream, a brand I love and recommend. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Naptime Chef.)

Here are the facts: I love food, I love to cook, and I love pasta. Pasta dishes, like Chicken Riggies, is in fact, 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 hard at work on The Little Snack Newsletter and other fun projects, all of which have been amazing. I’ve also been fitting in some late afternoons at the pool since it’s summer after all!

The true sign of summer is, of course, that I’ve basically turned off my oven and cook almost exclusively on the grill. One of our favorite everyday dinners is this grilled chicken salad. The chicken is simply marinated in a favorite balsamic marinade and grilled to perfection. Then I toss together a salad full of spinach, vegetables, and some cheese. It’s perfectly simple, but what really makes it special is the creamy dressing.

Dear Friends,

I’ve had the best time writing for you since January 2009. I could never have predicted the amazing journey The Naptime Chef has been. Between two cookbooks, one new baby, and three separate kitchens life has been a fun, frantic, mysterious whirlwind and now it has brought me here. The Naptime Chef will be continuing, so don’t panic, but I’ve been working on a couple pet projects for a long time and now I am excited to share them with the world.

The first is The Little Snack Newsletter. I have a wonderful mailing list of readers and sending them only my own blog content doesn’t feel like enough anymore. So, I am starting this lifestyle newsletter for women 35+ that centers around food & wine, design, and travel. If you already subscribe to my newsletter you will get it. If you don’t, please sign up on the sidebar. There is a Cookbook Club and everything!

Update: I’ll be sharing links to the newsletters on this blog as they roll out so be sure to check here for newsletter content, too!

(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Hood Cream. The opinions and photographs expressed are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make The Naptime Chef possible.)

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!