This weekend's busy kitchen included:


Fruit, fruit and more fruit chopped up and ready for the kids (and me).


Cajun spice for a dinner recipe later this week. I'm looking forward to using this spice mix in lots of stuff in the future.


Two bacon cheddar quiche to slice up and heat up for breakfasts this week.


Two loaves of banana bread, one with nuts, one without. The kids don't like nuts. I think that makes them nuts!


Two loaves of French bread in the bread machine.

Note: I rediscovered my bread machine. I am embarrassed to admit it's just been sitting in my kitchen closet for ages. I had just fallen out of the habit of using it, buying bread at the grocery store instead. But I pulled it out, dusted it off and made a loaf of French bread to go with some hearty beef stew I made one night this weekend. It was divine! So I made another loaf! Norah's eating a big slice of it while reading a book at the kitchen table as I type this, actually. It's just nice to have good bread lying around. I plan to make another loaf soon.

Note: I poured a little olive oil on a plate and added Italian herb seasoning and a few sprinkles of garlic salt to the oil. It was just like what Italian restaurants give you to dip your complimentary bread in before your meals. This is yet another thing we won't have to go out to restaurants to have to eat and I am thrilled.

Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch Dip

(Sorry. I forgot to take a picture.) These babies were a lot of work, but they were just like the ones at Chili's (except for the fact that we overcooked ours). We ate them while watching the Super Bowl. Super good. Super fun.