Fall Apple Variety Guide

Varieties of Apples

It’s apple picking season! I always feel like I need a little refresher each year on which apples are best suited for which purpose. So I put together this quick apple variety guide to reference whenever I forget. Which are best in pies or applesauce? Which are best eaten raw? I chose 8 popular varieties that are commonly found in the produce section of most grocery stores and in abundance at farmer’s markets in the […]

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How To Add Meatless Meals Into Your Week

Our family is not 100% vegetarian, but we have made a concerted effort to go meatless as often as we can. The truth is, we could all eat more veggies and going meatless once in awhile is definitely not a bad thing. I believe everyone should do what is right for them, and I don’t try to push my way of eating on anyone else. That being said, if you are looking for ways to eat more […]

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Summer #PicnicBasket Essentials

Still a few more weeks until another school year begins. We are getting in every last bit of summer while we can! Our family adores going on picnics together. Sometimes they are thrown together at the last minute, and sometimes they are well-planned to the last detail. Having recently moved to a new city, we are excited to start checking out all of the wonderful parks in our area plus venturing out into the foothills […]

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Quick Tip: Marinating Avocados

Today I want to share a quick tip that will change the way you eat avocados.  I learned about marinating avocados from the California Avocado dinner I attended at EVO last summer.  It is so simple, so easy, so perfect that you’ll wonder why you never thought of it yourself!  (Or maybe that was just me.) Start with really good, ripe avocados.  I like the Hass variety grown in CA.  (They are not paying me […]

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7 Tips for an Eco-Friendly Party

This series is brought to you in partnership with Lightlife, Live long. Travel light. To learn more, click here.  We were invited to host an eco-friendly party in conjunction with the new Lightlife frozen veggie patties. Fall arrived last Saturday.  This is my favorite time of year in Utah.  The mornings and evenings are cool and the afternoons are warm and sunny.  It’s the perfect weather for a little eco-friendly outdoor get-together with friends.  We […]

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Recipe and Tips For The Best Shepherd’s Pie

When school started back in the middle of August (!), I waited to feel the change in the air.  In Utah, you can definitely feel a change in the air as the season change.  A morning might be cool in the summer, but you know it’s still going to be blazing hot in a few hours.  But I’ve felt the change to fall over the last few days.  It’s nice and crisp in the morning–still […]

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How To Pit Cherries Without A Cherry Pitter

Cherry season has arrived!  Let’s all give a hip-hip-hooray!  Today I want to share a tip I learned years ago from The Martha about pitting cherries without one of those handy-dandy cherry pitters.  If I had a cherry tree of my own, I’d buy one.  But this is good enough for us occasional pitters. How To Pit Cherries Without a Cherry Pitter: If you have a cherry pitter, awesome. If you don’t, allow me to […]

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Asparagus Tips.

(I love a good pun.  Get it?  Asparagus tips?  I know.  I’m hilarious.) Asparagus is in season. It’s a favorite veggie of the Johnson household. Most things you’ll read say to use asapargus the day you buy it. It doesn’t have a long shelf life once it’s been cut and shipped however far to your grocer’s produce section. You’ll find it on sale this time of year, so you might be tempted to stock up […]

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Slow-Cooker White Beans

Cooking dry beans at home in a slow-cooker is much more economical than buying canned beans. Plus–you can infuse the beans with different herbs and spices that will make your bean dishes taste even better. I prefer using my slow-cooker because I find the beans turn out more uniformly cooked and I don’t have to babysit a simmering pot all day. Slow-Cooker White Beans Ingredients: 1 lb. dry white beans (navy or Great Northern) 1 […]

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Holiday Q+A: Dessert for a Crowd

Hi Lindsey, Please help! We’ve been invited to my sister-in-law’s for Christmas and there will be 21 adults plus many kids running around. I’m supposed to bring dessert. I am hoping you can give me some good ideas for easily transportable desserts….I love your peppermint bark brownies idea so that will probably be one of the desserts. But, I need more! Many thanks, Karen Dear Karen, I love you for asking me this question! Desserts […]

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