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Banana oat muffins
WE WERE GOING ON VACATION just as the first opportunity to volunteer at our church came my way. We go to Rome Baptist Church here in Italy not because we’re necessarily Baptists (though my husband grew...
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Tuna nicoise potato salad, Italian style
I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING. What kids eat salad? For dinner? If serving a fresh potato salad isn’t in the cards for your crew, consider using the same ingredients to create a plate that works for...
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Honey whole wheat cornbread
IF YOU THINK CORNBREAD IS DRY or worse yet, greasy and heavy, this one is for you. Phoebe has eaten three pieces in the last 18 hours, one at every meal and actually closes her eyes with each bite. So,...
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Individual plum crisps (a Barefoot Contessa recipe makeover)
WE’VE DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. Last summer a friend appeared on our door, bag in hand overflowing with juicy purple plums. We combined them with a few berries for a family-style dessert at a...
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Healthy chocolate-zucchini muffins for kids (a Paula Deen zucchini bread...
STOP EVERYTHING. THESE ARE THE BEST MUFFINS you’ll ever make. And don’t tell Ina Garten because I’ve strayed again and updated another Paula Deen recipe for this one. Right now Paula’s zucchini bread...
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Lentil sausage soup with spinach (a Barefoot Contessa lentil soup makeover)
IT’S HERE! I LOVE SOUP SEASON. Even though the Roman weather keeps playing tricks on us–one day it’s cool and crisp, the next is so hot and humid that everyone is sweating before we leave the...
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Frittata with spinach, pancetta & ricotta (a Barefoot Contessa makeover)
MY BIG INDULGENCE IN ITALY, other than one trip to the Gucci outlet and one million bowls of gelato (which was probably more expensive in the long run!), has been an international subscription to the...
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Lower-sugar, lower-fat golden yam brownies (An Allrecipes.com makeover)
THIS REQUEST CAME IN FROM ALASKA. Tricia, who is a mom to three boys living waaay up north, sent me a link via Facebook to these decadent treats with a healthy sounding name, Golden Yam Brownies on...
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Sauteed cabbage
I’VE EATEN CABBAGE QUITE A FEW TIMES, BUT ENJOYED IT EXACTLY TWICE. The first delicious cabbage I ate was many years ago when a friend with Irish roots (and her own Grandma Curley, just like I had)...
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A little bit green for St. Patrick’s Day: better-for-you shortbread shamrock...
OUR KIDS HAVE BEEN MISBEHAVING. I’m sure this never happens at your house, but this has been one of those weeks. We’ve had a whining, crying, tantrum-throwing, Pull-Up-removing time of it for days now....
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peach crisp so good (and good for you) you’ll eat it for breakfast too
IF YOU WANT TO SCORE POINTS WITH THE RASCALS, serve them dessert for breakfast. Make it this dessert and you won’t even have to feel weird about it. It’s basically fresh fruit, oats, nuts, a little...
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Ina Garten’s gazpacho becomes kid-friendly watermelon gazpacho
SOME RECIPES FOLLOW YOU wherever you go. The Barefoot Contessa’s gazpacho is one of them, and I’ve been making it longer than I’ve been a parent. Maybe even longer than I’ve known Paul. There were big...
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tomato, basil & spinach soup with cheese tortellini (and bat croutons)
DEAR INA GARTEN, YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU and your amazing recipes, but I can no longer spend 45 minutes roasting tomatoes BEFORE the soup making process truly begins. That is because there are three small...
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super simple turkey pot pie (and yes, I cheated)
WHEN YOU HAVE A FRIDGE FULL OF TURKEY and a house full of guests, the best way to handle both is a big casserole of turkey pot pie, just like this one. It’s a new riff on the Barefoot Contessa’s...
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roasted lemon chicken with vegetables, the perfect make-at-nap-time dinner
RIGHT AROUND 5PM THINGS GET ROUGH at my house, maybe even 4. There’s too much whining and not nearly enough wine. That’s why I love to make dinner earlier in the day and let it just hang out — or in...
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coconut pineapple mini-muffins, a Serious Eats recipe makeover
WE’VE BEEN MAKING A LOT OF LUNCHES around here. Foodlets Friday Lunch is a teeny, tiny pilot program that we started this spring. Every Friday I make lunch for the kids at Phoebe’s preschool and...
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low-sugar muffins with berries & ricotta cheese, a Food 52 Makeover
MOTHER’S DAY IS A TRICKY ONE. At least for me. I know the customary “gift” is something along the lines of breakfast in bed, but the only time I’ve eaten breakfast on a tray since becoming a mom has...
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moroccan couscous made kid-friendly
REMEMBER WHEN YOU USED TO EAT ETHNIC FOOD? If you haven’t had a zesty international flavor from somewhere other than Taco Bell since before the kids were born, this one’s for you. I actually love...
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15-minute homemade macaroni & cheese
OBVIOUS CONFESSION COMING… I’M TOTALLY OVERWHELMED. Have I mentioned that before? It turns out that managing four kids under the age of six is hard, especially when you don’t get to sleep at night. I...
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applesauce zucchini muffins
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU 12 CUPS OF SHREDDED ZUCCHINI, FRESH FROM THE GARDEN, YOU… If you’re a crazy person like me, you hit the kitchen and make zucchini muffins. Lots of muffins. Now these are not our...
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