My boys were picky little eaters when they were young and boy it can be a tricky and a sometimes frustrating situation, but let's talk about some tricks that helped in our house :)

1. Slowly introduce new foods to your little ones. Don’t expect them to jump up and down with excitement the first or even second time you give them a new food. Persistence and patience is the key!
2. Get your kids in the kitchen with you while preparing meals. When they have a hand in dinner, they’ll be proud of what they’ve done and want to eat it!
3. Make dinner time a fun experience, where the kids are excited to sit down, your vibe will rub off on them. When they see their parents ooing and ahhing over what they are eating, they’ll be more likely to eventually join you! You can even play games with you food while you are eating, like “Let’s see who can take more bites or how many different colors of the rainbow can we eat off our plate?” Something like that can be fun.
4. Try naming your child’s food you’ve placed in front of them, it can be anything fun and playful… Sammy’s Saucy Superhero Spaghetti, Luke’s Green Giant Broccoli, Anna’s Princess Smile Oranges….you get the idea, make it fun!
5. Purchase some inexpensive “fun” kids plates that would be exciting to your child. If they are eating off of their favorite superhero or character, they will want to gobble up their food!

I've created a fun recipe to help get you started, these fun Grilled Cheese Kabobs and Tomato Soup are the perfect lunch or dinner. Hope you enjoy!

There is nothing more satisfying than a cast iron skillet full of my cheesy bacon biscuits. I found this out a few days ago when I pulled these bad boys out of the oven and about died of happiness. They are gooey, salty and down right delicious.

Simple recipes that can be done in under 30 minutes are always a big bonus in my book. I love jazzing up a store bought product like refrigerated biscuit dough and turning it into a gorgeous recipe. Grab the kids and have them help press out the biscuits, top with cheese and bacon then watch their faces as you pull this dish out of the oven!

Serve my Cheesy Bacon Biscuits with a piping hot bowl of soup, a big salad, or even spaghetti night. Any way you decide to serve this recipe, you'll be glad you did. Enjoy!

After a long day of work the last thing I like to think about is "what's for dinner", but it has to be done since I have two little hungry (and growing) girls. Over the past few years I have tucked away some of my very favorite quick and easy recipes, or as I like to call my go-to-recipes. These recipes are for those nights where I'm too tired to think of what to cook or those weekend nights when we have been busy either playing or out and about and I look at the clock and realize dinner needs to be on the table ASAP. These recipes are also kid-approved and tested....well they have been approved and tested by two picky little girls that I know very well. One of our favorite recipes are these Pork Apple Cheddar Quesadilla's. They are super easy and are packed with healthy and yummy ingredients. And best of all are really quick and easy to make. So in many ways these are also mommy approved too. Enjoy!

Quick! Quick! Hurry up and... WAIT!

I fancy myself a pretty good scrambler. I'm not blessed with amazing luck, nor am I fantastically organized, but things do seem to come together for me in the eleventh hour. Does that ever happen to you? I call it being 'Forty-Five Minutes Ready.' I can be showered dressed and out the door (looking presentable, even!) in forty-five minutes. I can have my house prepared for company (just don't check the closets!) in forty-five minutes. And I can have a pretty decent dinner on the table in forty-five minutes. It's just the way my life works. Forty-five minutes.

This recipe was born of my 'Nearly Prepared' way of living. I had thawed a pork shoulder with the intention of making our beloved slow roasted pulled pork. As I was setting up to throw everything in the slow cooker, I discovered we were completely out of Worcestershire sauce. And, that's kind of the main ingredient. So, I ducked my head into the pantry and started sifting through cans and bottles. It makes my husband crazy that I stockpile nearly anything canned, jarred or bottled that is on sale, but I can't tell you how many dinners this habit has rescued. I emerged from the pantry with a bottle of barbecue sauce and a can of diced pineapples. One more rummage through the deep freeze for some leftover hamburger buns and, folks, dinner was saved. And delicious to boot!

Slow Cooker Pineapple Barbecue Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

- One pork shoulder (about 5 pounds)
- One bottle barbecue sauce (about 18 ounces)
- One can diced pineapples, not drained (15 ounces)
- All purpose seasoning

Directions:

1. Sprinkle all purpose seasoning over the entirety of pork shoulder and place meat in slow cooker.
2. Dump can of pineapples over pork.
3. Pour bottle of barbecue sauce over pork.
4. Cover and cook 10 hours on low or 6 hours on high.
6. Shred with a fork and serve on hamburger rolls!
So, tell me! Do you have a scramble recipe? What's your best on the fly meal? How much do you love stocking up the pantry?

Valentine's Day is one of those Holidays that makes everyone smile. The kids get to hand out Valentine's to their class and hurry home to read each and every one, and the adults get to do hunt down the perfect Valentine card for their loved one. I look forward to Valentine's Day every year!

Valentine's Day baking is as much fun as the holiday because anything sweet and delicious goes! I immediately think of chocolate when I think of this sweet holiday, probably because I am an absolute chocoholic, so I have created a quick and simple Valentine's Day treat that will make the whole family so happy!

Hope you enjoy my Pretzel M&M Brownie Bark recipe :)