friday faves

Hello, hello and happy Friday!

I’m hoping you all survived all the turkey leftovers by subbing in noodle dishes like I did with my soba noodles with potstickers above. And I hope you also survived Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday…and now look! It’s FoodieCrush Friday Faves, where every Friday of the year has a theme :).

Last Friday I wrote about my list of 5 things I’m going to do this holiday. Guess what? I’ve already checked one thing off the list, and I’m not stopping there.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and Happy Friday!

Whew! What a great day! Thanksgiving dinner was a success. The turkey leftovers have all been distributed as to-go goodies for the family guests, or stowed and saved for my favorite turkey pot pie—shown in the pic above that I’ve already made twice in the past 3 weeks with all my turkey testing leftovers and I’m not one bit sad about it!continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday.

Whew. I made it. Just by the skin of my white-and-bright-thank-you-mom-and-dad-for-orthodontia teeth.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday!

Okay, get ready for your brain to explode. Did you realize there are less than 60 days left in 2019? Whaaaat? I mean you know it’s the first day of November, but that means translates to less than 60 days left in this decade! It makes me realize how badly I want to make the most of each and every one of those 86,400 minutes.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy weekend!!!

I’ve struggled with creating a focused morning routine for years. But it feels like I’m constantly shuffling my morning habits to create a better work flow.

One constant I don’t deviate from is I always write out the 5 top things to accomplish for the day first thing in the am, or better even, the night before. But after that, things can head to a state of flux.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday.

Most weeknights you’ll find me at home making a dinner like the riff above on my go-to pasta. But last week I broke with routine when I attended a press dinner at Deer Valley Resort, where the chefs were previewing the meal they will be serving at the James Beard House in New York City in a few weeks. It is quite an honor for them to be invited to the James Beard House again, and an honor for me to get to be a part of such a special night.

While noshing on apps and drinks before sitting down to the 6-course dinner (see! another reason to follow my Stories on Instagram!) I I happily caught up with my friend and fellow blogger Erin. Our chat started with the standard question of most any conversation when she asked me, “How have you been?”

My answer was simple. And somewhat surprising to both of us when I sort of blurted out, “I’m happy.” Whoa. Where’d that come from? “Things are actually really great, and I’m really, really happy with where I am right now. I’m just…happy.”continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday!

October is my spring.  It’s when I feel like everything around me needs a clean sweep, a spring cleaning. It’s when I feel the urge to dump all the extra stuff. Clear it all out. Simplify my closet. Cleanse my system. Clear my mind. Set new goals. Basically give everything I touch, inside and out, a good, old-fashioned scrub.

A fall sweep. That’s what I’m craving now.

But it isn’t just about things I need to get rid of or shouldn’t be doing. It’s also the things I want more of. It’s balance.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello! And happy Friday with all the faves!

This past week I was on a girls trip with one of my best friends. We beached, we sailed, we ate, we talked and talked and talked some more. It was interesting that more than a few of the people I met on the trip were surprised I had left my husband and daughter at home.

Like, how could my husband step up to the job of being…um…a father?continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday!

I’ve never been one to go half way, especially when I put on my Julie McCoy cruise director hat to share intel, tips, and info about things I love that I think will make your life better too. It’s why I started posting this list of Friday Faves 8 years ago.

It seems that each and every week when I sit down to write up this list of Friday Faves, I tell myself DON’T OVER DO IT! Keep it simple. People like simple. They don’t have that much time. They don’t want to be overwhelmed. And by “them”, I mean YOU.

But then I check out the links I’ve saved from the week, and find myself looking for more on the web to share. Why do I always have this feeling like it still isn’t enough? That we’re enough? Guess what? We are. I am.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday before the 3-day weekend.

Did you know that this year’s Labor Day weekend is setting travel records, with today being the busiest day to fly? Looks like everyone wants to get out of Dodge. That’s why it’s even more important to remember to take a deep breath, have patience, and prepare to wait. Kinda sounds like Christmas doesn’t it?

We beat the crowds and did our traveling last weekend, camping and tenting and campfire-ing and hobo-dinner-eating (my foil packet dinner making ins shown above and the recipe link is here) a whole 1 1/2 hour drive from our front door.

That’s the beauty of living in Utah baby! The great outdoors are just steps away.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday!

Looks like we made it! If you have a school-age child, you know exactly what I mean. The first week of school can be just about as hard on the parents as the kids. Everyone’s adjusting their schedules, managing expectations, and still wondering where summer went to.

Now, instead of taking “me” time with coffee and my News feed in the morning, I’m back to making my teenager’s school lunch before she leaves for school at 7:10 a.m.. Yep. I still make her lunch every day. Why? Oh, I don’t know. She’s certainly responsible enough to do it, but it’s one thing during her day I know she’ll enjoy (she’s a food lover just like her mom) and it makes me feel good knowing she’s eating healthy instead of crap from the vending machines. I’m just waiting for her friends to get their drivers licenses when her take-lunch-to-school plans will likely be seriously curbed.

But until then, I’m good with making killer sandwiches each and every morning. (get my tips for making your own here.)continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello, and welcome to Friday!

This weekend I’m in stunning Sonoma, CA and Napa Valley, with some of my best and oldest friends in the world. Yep, it’s my real life Wine Country. Eerily, the movie and the characterizations of each of its players hits pretty close to home within our group. Naturally, I’m the chef (who made this killer caprese.)

This group of girls who could barely keep a sorority house clean are now running their own businesses and corporations, advocating for and counseling those in need, educating our youth, and literally saving lives.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello, and happy Friday!

It’s the first Friday in the month of August. Taking a review of my summer bucket list, I am in the dregs. I’ve been to only one outdoor summer concert, two farmers markets (what!), went paddle boarding just one time, spent just a few hours tanning at the pool, and hosted a measly few dinners on the deck, one where the grilled pizza was totally delish.

Guys, I gotta put it in full gear. Summer is going way too fast.

continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello, and happiest of Fridays to you.

Ah. This summer has been the most relaxing summer I’ve had in over 10 years. I’ve taken a load of work off my to-do list and allowed myself to believe, and to know, that it’s okay that I’m not doing it all. I’ve said “no” to opportunities and commitments I usually feel compelled to agree to. I’ve gotten outside more. I’ve cooked for fun. I’ve puttered in the garden. I’ve finished home projects that I’ve ignored for years.

It feels SO good. I love summer.

This weekend I’m continuing with the trend. I’ll be soaking up some sun, working on my golf game, cooking great food for good friends and loving time with my family. Life isn’t always about having more. It’s about being more.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday!

The sun was showing off with a dazzling sunset display as we walked over the hot, blacktop parking lot to the car. I turned to look at my daughter’s laughing smile, and felt the hot breeze of summer float across my face and seep into my skin.

It’s the exact moment I thought to myself, “THIS. This is summer.”

Summer is remembered by the big experiences. The big trip, the grand adventures, the heat waves that never end. But the other day, my sister said something that I clued into and made me think of memories differently.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Helloooo and happy Friday everyone!

First off, a warm welcome to so many new readers here on FoodieCrush, where I share recipes like those in my husband’s Father’s Day dinner above (he is a master at the ribeye steak and grilled corn) I hope you’ll love every week. Thank you for being here!

You may be wondering what this non-recipe post is that’s popped into your inbox? Welcome to Friday Faves, where I share a weekly round-up of random items I discover on the web, and where I get to be a little more personal and don’t worry so much about search engine optimization, the perfect photo to illustrate the most delicious recipe, accounting, brainstorming, scheduling, social media promoting, and all the agenda items that go along with running this business we call blogging.

So happy almost-birthday to Friday Faves. Looking back, I think I found the original post here—dating back to July 1, 2011,—where my 15 year old AliSmudge was still just a Smudge of love, and the gorgonzola burger recipe somehow got deleted (must amend that!), and my faves list was a whole lot shorter.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday!

This summer my goal is to make great memories. And yes, great food too. I have a whole gaggle of recipes to share that I’m loving and know that soon, you will too.

I am already on a roll with my summer memory making with several bucket list items complete! I don’t know…maybe they could count as 5 or ten because we packed in a lot of memories in just a few days.

Last weekend was my Ali Smudge’s birthday (thanks for all her birthday wishes BTW) and on Monday we made a quick trip to Southern Utah. It may have been only three days but we packed in a whole lot of adventure for such a short time. It’s exactly what Utah is famous for.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves