If you only make one thing from my blog, please make this. Please? I’m begging and pleading and groveling and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Because these chicken skewers are amazing. Like, knock-it-out-of-the-park amazing. I was a little worried about the spice level because I’ve used chipotle chiles in the past and while I love the flavor, the heat is a bit much for the kids (and sometimes me, to be honest). But in this recipe? It works. Really, really, really works.

The grilled chicken skewers pack a bit of spice (which you can dumb down even more by scraping the seeds first) but dipped in the cool, creamy sauce and it is like an instant cooling pool party on your palate.

A perfect light, healthy dinner for the warm months ahead, I am not exaggerating when I say I could eat this every night for a week and still be craving it come the next Monday. The tender chicken is a perfect marriage of sweet and heat and is so refreshing and tasty with the dipping sauce that it nearly left me speechless. Except my one real talent on this earth is that I’m never speechless. Close call only.

To say this was well-received amongst the family is an understatement. I had to cut my two oldest boys off after four skewers apiece. I mean, a mom needs her protein too, right? Oh, and by the way, I served these with the golden skillet potatoes of yesterweek which made the already fabulous meal absolutely exceptional.

One Year Ago: Blueberry Coconut Cake with Lemon Sauce
Two Years Ago: Mexican Rice
Three Years Ago: Giant Cookie!

For the record, I’d like to state that I’m still cool enough and strong enough to push a tire swing so fast that my boys scream like little girls and beg for just one more push.

And now that we’ve got that out of the way, I’d like to share three of my favorite things lately.

Warning: this list is as random as it gets but all of these things are fantastically awesome and need to be shared with the world.
(P.S. I’m not affiliated with any of these companies or products other than the fact that I can’t imagine life without them.)

1) Klutz Face Painting Book:

This just might be one of the funnest kid-items (heck, it’s great for adults, too!) we own and we use it all the time so don’t be alarmed if you run into us at the store and my kids have a killer whale painted on their cheeks. My dear friend, Jenna, gifted this book to us years ago and we still are getting good use out of it. In fact, just last week, I bribed my cute neighbor to let me paint her face like a butterfly since no one in my house has chosen that design yet (shocker). I know, don’t quit my day job, right? But still, she loved it and her sweet mom wheeled Miss C around in the stroller while I worked on the masterpiece outside on our front steps so it was a win-win for all.

2) My Life Planner:

Yes, I realize that I’m completely old school in that I still prefer to paper-plan versus electronic-plan. I can’t get behind the phone or app calendars because I still love having a paper planner sitting right in front of me. This planner from Erin Condren has revolutionized keeping our schedules organized. I just can’t even begin to express how much I love it. There are labels and color-coordination pens and bookmarks and glorious colored tabs. Basically, there’s a whole lot to love even though Brian pulls the I-feel-like-the-3rd-wheel-card every time I plop down on the couch next to him for date night-movie night with my planner and colored pens in hand. Anytime is a good time to calendar.

3) Korr Lip Butter:

I don’t wear a lot of makeup and the whole makeup industry scares and confuses me. I kind of stick to mascara and call it good. However, my very classy makeup-knowledgeable friend, Jen, gave me some of this lip butter last summer and I.Am.Hooked. I feel like I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go when I’m wearing it and I keep it with me at all times. It’s not too tacky and sticky (which I hate in some lip glosses) but adds the perfect amount of shine and gloss while still moisturizing. Love, love, love. I have the Jasmine and Mango and oh my gosh, I just saw that the Jasmine is only $5 which is way less than when I bought it a few weeks ago. Buy some now.

And on a closing note, I just have to share a picture of this pumpkin lounging on the couch. I mean, with a body and hair like that, wouldn’t you think you owned the place, too?

Thanks for sticking with me through the randomness today. Have a great weekend!

If you’d like to check out past Snapshot Saturdays, click HERE.

I happen to think sweet dips-slash-appetizers are brilliant. I mean, salsas and bean dips and spinach artichoke dips are everywhere, right? Every party. Always the same. But sweet dips? They are so where it’s at or at least where I’m at. Yep, that’s me. Hunkered over the sweet dip at the party hoarding it to myself and showing off my awesome social skills.

It was just a matter of time before I figured out a version for peanut butter cookie dough. I realize not everyone has peanut butter cookie dough on the brain but I’ll forgive you; we can still be friends, especially because this dip is so incredibly tasty. Creamy, lightly peanut buttery, sweet and filled with nibbles of peanut butter cups and chocolate chips, this dip is highly delicious.

And here’s the deal (no scoffing, please), if you make this with light cream cheese and adhere to the 12 mini peanut butter cups (instead of throwing in the whole bag which I wasn’t tempted to do at all, uh-uh, not me, no never), it really isn’t that bad for you. Now I’m not calling it health food so please, no hate mail, but you could get all crazy and dip apples in it for Pete’s sake, if that helps rationalize the making of it. One of the boys’ favorite after-school snacks is apple slices dipped in peanut butter. This isn’t so different, right?

Right. So glad we had this talk. Happy weekend!

P.S.: Oh hey, by the way, I just added FOUR new weekly menus. Three are anytime menus and the fourth is a fab summer menu. Yippee for no-stress menu planning!

One Year Ago: Old-Fashioned Banana Cream Pie
Two Years Ago: Whole Wheat Bread {Step-by-Step}
Three Years Ago: Tender Grilled Pork Chops

Welcome to the second installment of the Wheat/Wheat Grinding 101 series!

The first installment is here and talks about the types of wheat, where to buy wheat and what to do with it.

Today, I want to delve into a specific part of wheat grinding: The Wheat Grinder. There’s some good stuff here today including, but not limited to, the compiled list of wheat grinder reviews that many of you submitted!

But first, let me address a question I received several times after the first post a few weeks ago.

Why do I grind my own wheat instead of just buying wheat flour at the store?

1) I Stay In Control: I can control the type of wheat I use (many wheat flours at the store are derived from red wheat berries and I prefer a mix of red and white wheat or white wheat on its own), I can control the fineness and/or coarseness of the flour and with my wheat grinder, I can grind it much finer than the wheat flour from the store, I can control when I grind it which means by grinding and using immediately (or freezing), the wheat hasn’t lost any nutritional value (once the wheat berry is ground it is subject to oxidation which causes it to gradually lose nutritional value so freshly ground wheat is more nutritious than wheat flour that’s been on the shelves for a month).
2) It’s Cheaper: because I can buy wheat berries in bulk (see here for sources), I can grind my own wheat flour much more cost-effectively than buying already ground wheat flour.
3) It’s Not Just About Flour: Using wheat berries and a grinder, I can not only grind flour, but I can also make cracked wheat and grind a variety of other grains/seeds (I’ll talk about that in more detail below).
4) It Keeps Me Safe: Despite what natural disaster and emergency may occur (I’m talking even the loss of a job or financial difficulty), I know that I have 100 pounds of wheat ready to grind for a variety of foods that could help sustain our family. We’ve gone through “lean” months/years before and our wheat and other food storage has been a huge blessing and sometimes nothing short of a miracle.
5) It’s Healthy: Because I have a wheat grinder sitting on my kitchen counter and a bunch of wheat berries ready to be ground, I naturally use whole grains in most of my baking, making our bread and throwing it into cookies and other baked goods and breakfast foods willy nilly. Because I can. And eating a whole wheat chocolate chip cookie somehow feels a little healthier. Don’t burst my bubble, please.

Grinding flour and other grains is an investment, there is no doubt about it. Wheat grinders are not cheap; but for me (and I can only speak for myself here), the above factors more than make up for any of the downsides. However, wheat grinders and grinding wheat are not for everyone! This series isn’t supposed to put pressure on anyone – it’s simply a resource for those who already use/grind wheat or who are looking to start. If you know me well enough you know I’m the last person that wants to make you feel badly for something you aren’t doing. Trust me, I may grind my own wheat, but you definitely don’t want to see the state of my laundry room and/or toilets. We all have our strengths.

Okie doke. Ready to get started on wheat grinders?

First, I’m going to show you the wheat grinder I have. I’m in love with it. I’ve had it for almost 4 years now and I use it at least 4-5 times a week because I grind my wheat fresh for everything I make. I keep this baby on the counter tucked into a little corner and there it stays day in and day out.

My grinder (grain mill if you want to get technical) is a European model that has gained popularity in the United States just in the last few years. It is called a KoMo Fidibus or Wolfgang mill. I have the Classic model. In addition to wheat, it can also grind: oats, rice, triticale, kamut, spelt, buckwheat, barley, rye, millet, teff, quinoa, amaranth, sorghum and dent (field) corn. It will also grind spices, lentils and dry beans (pinto, red, garbanzo, kidney, etc.). Considering I don’t know what many of those foods even are, I use it for wheat 99% of the time, but you better believe I’m ultra-proud it can grind the other foods, too.

Let’s walk through how it operates and then I’ll talk about the pros and cons.

Just like most wheat grinders on the market today, it has a large “hopper” or bowl-type apparatus on top of the grinder. Hello, hopper!

The hopper is loaded up with wheat berries. The hopper on my grain mill fits about 6 cups of wheat berries. This amount will vary depending on the type of wheat grinder you have.

Once filled (and you don’t have to fill it all the way to grind), I turn on the small power button on the side and it starts doing its thing.

I set my large Pyrex bowl underneath and the ground flour spills into the bowl.

I find I can get about 12 cups flour for every 6 cups of wheat berries I grind. Keep in mind, though, that freshly ground flour has more air to it and so if you want a really accurate measurement, let it settle before you measure. I never bother with that; I just pack it slightly  more into the cups if it just came out of the grinder.

Again, along with most other wheat grinders, my beloved mill, has a setting that lets me adjust the texture of the flour from fine to coarse. I simply twist the hopper bowl to get finer or coarser flour.

When it’s all said and done, I’m left with beautiful, fluffy flour. Amazing!

The thing with wheat grinders is that each of them differ slightly – in price, capacity, noise, fineness of flour, etc. So the best advice I can give if you are in the market for a wheat grinder is to do your research. I had a Nutrimill for 5 or so years before buying the KoMo mill. The Nutrimill is great and a very heavy-duty mill but the one I had eventually started having some major issues (including but not limited to spewing flour in a 5-foot radius).

As for the KoMo, the main pros are:

-I can keep it on my counter at all times because it takes up very little space which means I can grind wheat on demand (no more pulling out the wheat grinder from storage to grind flour).
-It’s fast and can grind flour as finely as any other mill I’ve used. It also can make fantastic cracked wheat because the coarse settings are easy to adjust.
-It can grind far more than just wheat (see the list at the top of the post).
-It doesn’t heat up the flour like other wheat grinders can which helps retain the most nutrition.
-It doesn’t spew flour anywhere. Occasionally I’ll wipe up a bit of flour dust after a week or so of using (you’ll notice from the pictures above that my baby looks a bit dusty but that’s because it’s been a while since I’ve wiped her down) but it is very clean when grinding.
-Speaking of cleaning, it doesn’t need it. No parts and rings and equipment to take apart and clean which means a very low risk of those pesky weevils taking over. Run a handful of rice through it every month and you are good to go.

The cons are:

-It’s pricey; one of the most expensive mills on the market. I saved my pennies for a year or so before buying but it was worth every single one.
-It’s noisy. Akin to the volume of my vacuum.
-The capacity of the hopper is smaller than other heavy-duty mills. This isn’t a problem for me because I grind wheat on demand but if you like to grind, say, 20 pounds of wheat at a time, you would need to fill the hopper more frequently than mills with a larger capacity.

Because you shouldn’t just take my opinion on what kind of wheat grinder to purchase/use, I asked for input on what kinds of wheat grinders all of you use and what you love/don’t love about them. Over 50 of you responded (bless you, everyone!). The results have been compiled in an easy-access document so you can read what others have to say about the mill they use. I read it like a novel. It’s good stuff, people. Click on the image to access the full document.

Here’s an at-a-glance view of how many of you own what type of grain mill:

And just for fun (seriously, I need to get more hobbies), I did a cost comparison on all of the wheat grinders listed in the above graph. These are using average prices since actual price can vary based on sales and where you buy.

The best way to figure out where to buy a wheat grinder is to check your local retailers (unless you are me and live in the sticks; wheat grinders are not necessarily widely available in my  neck of the woods) and also look online. I’ve listed a few places that have sold wheat grinders to my friends/family (I bought mine from a company that no longer sells them):

Pleasant Hill Grain
Emergency Preparedness
Amazon

Now, a word about manual wheat grinders. If you are into preparedness and food storage, it might be worth looking into a manual or electricity-free wheat grinder. These beautiful heavy-duty wheat grinders won’t do a lick of good if the electricity is out. However, you could argue that you won’t be making bread if the electricity is out, either, although, as discussed in this post, there are many other ways you could use wheat berries to provide nutrition for you and/or your family during an emergency (i.e. if you have a propane stove or other heat source you could make cracked wheat, pancakes, etc.). Anyway, just a little bit of food for thought. I do not have an electricity-free wheat grinder, so I can’t recommend a brand, but googling “electricity free wheat grinder” or “hand wheat grinder” will pull up some good resources.

Ok, that’s it! Did you make it through? Let me know if you have any questions. Ah, I just love talking about wheat!

Food allergies. What does that mean to you? My own little family has been blessed significantly in that we don’t have any food allergies to speak of among the 7 of us (yet…) and trust me, I am grateful every day for that; however, I have friend upon friend upon friend who deal with food allergies every minute of every day. We’re talking egg allergies, nut allergies, dairy allergies. Wheat allergies, shellfish allergies, soy allergies and many more. Some of these families even deal with multiple allergies and many of them are trying to navigate the public school system and society in general with these allergies (screaming in their pillow along the way, I’m sure). I bow down to each of you. I really do.

If you didn’t know (and I didn’t until my friend Megan alerted me), this week is Food Allergy Awareness Week. Hello! That’s a pretty important week to take note of, don’t you think?

In order to help raise awareness about food allergies, I thought I’d share some of my favorite allergy-friendly food blogs, all of which have amazing recipes whether you are an “allergy family” or not. Here are a few I enjoy and highly recommend:

Gluten Free on a Shoestring (the flourless chocolate cake is to-die for, plus Nicole has some really awesome gluten-free cookbooks and a bread book coming out in the fall)
Funny Tummy Cafe (gluten, egg, soy and dairy allergies)
Eggless Cooking (I’ve used several cookie/brownie recipes from here when baking for my egg-free friends)
Lexie’s Kitchen (gluten, dairy and egg-free)
Irresistibly Gluten Free (another gluten-free website with a cookbook that is a wonderful resource for gluten-free eaters)

I know there are many other recipe blogs/online resources for allergy awareness that I’m not aware of so please share any other useful blogs/sites in the comments. I also stumbled across this Top 25 list that looks like a great resource, too. Additionally many mainstream food blogs have categories dedicated to foods without certain ingredients (here on Mel’s Kitchen, I have categories dedicated to egg-free or gluten-free recipes and am hereby committing to do a better job at tagging recipes to help with food allergies!).

Even if you are like me and don’t have to worry about food allergies in your own home, there is good reason to educate ourselves on food allergies in general. It takes all of us to keep children and adults with food allergies safe. Ask questions to those you know who have food allergies. Know what foods are safe and if you know families that have food allergies, start keeping a list of meals that are food-allergy approved in their home. You never know when they might need a “safe” dinner brought to them!

As always, feel free to share any links/resources/advice in the comments about food allergies. I guarantee that most of you are more knowledgeable than I on this subject!

Today’s recipe, I’m happy to report, is egg-free, nut-free, gluten-free and very, very tasty. In fact, this has become our new go-to side dish for all of our recently grilled meals. I was in awe at how my boys devoured these. Not that I could blame them. The tender potatoes are lightly golden and crisp on the edges but velvety and creamy inside with the delicious hint of rosemary and garlic. Super yum. And really exciting to add another side dish that is simple, quick and really delicious to our dinner repertoire. Seriously, make these. They will get you out of any side dish dinner rut you are in. Guaranteed.

What’s the plan for Mother’s Day? Hmm? If you are a mother, do you cook for yourself or are there little Mother’s Day elves around your house to do the cooking for you? We’ve lived away from family for so long that the idea of spending Mother’s Day with our actual mothers (whom we love like crazy) isn’t even on the radar. My friends who divide their time between Mother’s Day brunches and evening dinners and driving to see this mom and that mom and your mom and mine, well, I have no idea what that world is like. It sounds busy and stressful and wonderful all at the same time. I can’t even fathom that people really have a Mother’s Day Brunch. People do that? Really? Jeez, I need to get out more clearly.

Mother’s Day around here is simple. Brian, who wins all sorts of awards I know, takes over cooking for the day and lets me put in a request for whatever meal I want, and trust me, I don’t take that lightly. I think long and hard about what food I want to inhale on The Big Day. This year, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be this Beach Street Linguine (oh my delicious), or wait, maybe these Chicken Gyros that I love more than life, or just a second, I think most definitely probably it will be this Coconut Shrimp Curry which is one of my top favorite meals ever. Decisions! The stress of it all! It looks like the safest thing to do is request all three and see what happens, don’t you think?

Although I’m not a huge breakfast eater (usually just a smoothie and banana after I exercise), Mother’s Day is kind of the exception. The boys love to toodle around the kitchen throwing together breakfast for me while I pretend to still be sleeping in bed even though my internal alarm clock had me awake hours before. They bumble into the room and lay on plates of food and glasses of milk and juice (because they usually can’t agree on what to bring so I get both) while they sit on top of my legs and make sure I’m enjoying every bit. It’s adorable but I have to admit that usually I’m shoving some of the food under the covers when they aren’t looking because they bring enough to feed five mothers.

While they’ve never taken breakfast requests in the past (there have been years the breakfast offering has been a bit scary, not going to lie), this year, I’m pretty sure I’m going to hint to my 9-year old and his trusty dad that these apple cinnamon waffles should definitely make an appearance. We had them a few weeks ago (thanks, Bri, for the recipe!) and even my non-breakfast-craving self has been dreaming about them since then. Talk about a perfect Mother’s Day or any other indulgent-day breakfast. Cinnamon flavor to the max! Lightly sweet cinnamon waffles are adorned with warm, sweet, cinnamon apples and a dazzling cinnamon syrup. I’m off to stick this recipe underneath all the rugrat’s pillows. Here’s to hoping they take the hint instead of thinking it’s a secretly coded message from the tooth fairy.

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!

Have you ever been put in charge of planning a menu for a large crowd? You know, like for a family reunion, community or church dinner, birthday celebration, baby or child blessing/baptism, etc? If so, you know that creating and carrying out a menu for a large group can be intimidating and kind of stressful and maybe even slightly annoying. But worry no more, because I’ve totally got your back. Today, I’m presenting you with three sample menus that will feed (and dare I say, amaze and please) 20 or more people. I’ve based the amount of food on 20 average-size eaters or a general mix of kids and adults. If you are feeding all adults or all children, you can increase or decrease as necessary.

Each menu includes the recipes and details what can be made in advance. It’s all there for you. To simplify your life.

My theory is to create a menu with a few recipes that will knock the socks of your guests. And then completely simplify the rest. For each menu plan, I’ve chosen recipes specifically because not only are they delicious, but they can, for the most part, be made in advance one way or another.

Make sure to read through the menu plan before taking my word for any of the quantities – your judgment will ultimately be best, but at the very least, the menu plans should give you a great start. I will warn you that my theory is: it is always better to have too much food than not enough. Can I get an amen to that? Clicking on the menu description will pull up a printable .pdf. Have fun!

Menu #1: BBQ Sandwiches and a Lot of Other Goodness

Menu #2: Lasagna Rolls with Love

Menu #3: Balsamic Glazed Pork Plus a Few Tasty Sides

Yeah, yeah, I know yesterday was the big holiday wherein many of you got your fill of Mexican food and here I am posting a Mexican-type recipe today but don’t worry, I’m pretty sure this layered cornbread salad can be found absolutely nowhere in the actual country of Mexico and therefore probably shouldn’t be eaten on Cinco de Mayo anyway.

Instead, reserve this salad for the warm summer nights ahead when dinner should be light and refreshing but still dazzlingly yummy. I’m pretty sure if you were to add in grilled chicken, either on the side or layered in the salad with the rest of the goods, you might have the most perfect summer dinner ever.

A fabulous MKC reader, Jennifer J., sent me this recipe and I adapted it slightly to what you see here. I was a little worried, I’m not going to lie, about the potential of soggy cornbread. I know I’ve mentioned it before but soggy bread, in any form, and I? Well, we aren’t friends and could probably best be considered mortal enemies. I was very pleasantly surprised that the cornbread in this salad softens nicely but does not get anywhere near soggy (helped along by the fact that I basically ran the vegetables through a dryer cycle to eliminate any excess moisture).

To say that our expectations were exceeded by this salad is an understatement. Brian and I were oohing and aahing our way through dinner while the kids picked out the cornbread and other favorite morsels (I saw a lot of red peppers left on their plates but I was so enamored with my own plate of food that I let it go; just this one time of course). Super delicious, this one. Perfect, so perfect, for a potluck, or even better just for you and yours. You know, no obligated sharing. Who knew that adding cornbread to a mess (and yes, it looks like a mess once it’s dished up) of other ingredients and smothering it with a homemade creamy cilantro lime dressing could be such a beautiful thing?

One Year Ago: Classic Snickerdoodles
Two Years Ago: Cowboy Cookies
Three Years Ago: Double Chocolate M&M Cookies

Whether or not this Thai-inspired dish is truly authentic or not, just know that these Asian-whatever-Thai-thingie-noodles are delicious. And simple.

How’s that for two 20-minute meals in a week? Awesome blossom, I’d say.

For these noodles, you start out by taking a bit of red pepper and letting the heat infuse into toasted sesame oil. Stir in some sweetness and other flavorful goodness to the spicy sesame oil and toss it with tender noodles. Lastly, load it up with cilantro, shredded carrots, chopped peanuts, cilantro and really whatever else you want to throw on there. Why not, right? Wow, the whole combination is so good.

Unique and really fantastic, did I mention this meal is super quick? So fast to put together and they would be delicious with grilled chicken or shrimp. Yum! Methinks I need to end this post and get in the kitchen to make these right now. I hope I get some before the fam slurps them up. You have to look out for yourself around here.

One Year Ago: Chocolate Peanut Butter Fun Cake
Two Years Ago: Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
Three Years Ago: Chicken Tortilla Bake

Where do you fall on the “richness meter?” You know, the scale of how you feel about a dessert? Are you one who throws their hand across their forehead and exclaims: “too rich for my blood” or are you more in the camp of: “no such thing as too rich; bring it on.”

I happen to be one of those lucky souls that has never, and I promise a double decker pinky swear on it, met a dessert too rich for my blood. In fact, I’m usually the one offering kindly to finish Brian’s dessert for him when his richness meter has been overloaded. Sadly that doesn’t happen as often as I would like since he and I are very compatible when it comes to our love of rich desserts. Clearly we were meant for each other. I firmly believe my ability to tolerate sweetsie richness very well is a talent and I’m adding it to my resume.

These brownies? Oh, baby, they are rich. They come from a favorite brownie recipe of mine that is decadent and fudgy and ultra-chocolatey. The brownies themselves would be a glorious treat, but because I love you and your might-not-be-able-to-handle-richness-like-my-blood, I threw some salty pretzels, nutty toffee and creamy peanut butter on top. You know, to cut the richness. The combination is spectacular.

But I do have to confess that even with the toppings, these brownies are still pretty darn rich. All in a good way, of course. And if the thought scares you a bit, you can always cut them smaller or just eat them moderately, of which I know nothing about, of course, based on how I described my richness meter. I could easily eat 12 of these and still want more. Don’t worry. Of course I didn’t really eat that many. Jeez. I called it good after about 9 1/2.

One Year Ago: Skillet Taco Pie
Two Years Ago: Homemade Ciabatta Bread
Three Years Ago: Stir Fry Basil Chicken