Name: Cleveland Bratsgiving Polish Boy Sandwich
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 5
Ingredients: 1 (5-count) package of Johnsonville Bratwurst; 5 large yukon gold potatoes; Cleveland Kraut, Gnar Gnar or Beet Red; 5 hoagie rolls; Coleslaw; 2 tablespoons of olive oil

The Bratsgiving Polish Boy : A Cleveland Twist

August 12, 2020 by Rachel 7 Comments

As a foodie, I’m always on the lookout for the daily ‘national food holiday’. It’s a fun and exciting way to switch up meals and meal plan. So I was excited to see that this month we are celebrating National Bratwurst Day (or, as we call it, Johnsonville Bratsgiving) on August 16th. I grew up in the Midwest. And, here in Ohio, we LOVE a sandwich called the Polish Boy. A traditional Polish Boy is made up of kielbasa, topped with french fries, cole slaw, and barbecue sauce, in the middle of a hoagie roll. So why not put a Cleveland twist on Bratsgiving with the Bratsgiving Polish Boy?

Well that’s exactly what I did.

Why Johnsonville Brats?

I personally love the flavor of Johnsonville Bratwurst. The Beer Brats and Original Brats are staples in our house. They don’t take long to grill (or cook on the stovetop) and our whole family will eat them up!

Why the Cleveland twist?

Cleveland is a foodie haven. What was once a rundown city in the rustbelt has turned into a bustling foodie travel destination. We have world renowned chefs, like Michael Symon and Dante Boccuzzi. But we also have critically acclaimed restaurants all over the place. It’s truly an incredible place to live. So why not “Cleveland”-up the Bratwurst?!

What makes it a “Polish Boy”?

A traditional polish boy is on a hoagie bun and topped with coleslaw, french fries, and barbecue sauce. The french fries are a DEAD giveaway to this Cleveland twist. And, in this case, I ended up using both traditional coleslaw and a beet-sauerkraut.

I opted for fresh cut fries, using this knife. While it does make it slightly more labor intensive, it makes the Polish Boys 100x more delicious. My kids, however, are ‘weird’ about crinkle cut fries — so I sliced some string thing fries for them.

How to make your own Cleveland Bratsgiving Polish Boy Sandwich

Yield: 5

Cleveland Bratsgiving Polish Boy Sandwich

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 (5-count) package of Johnsonville Bratwurst
5 large yukon gold potatoes
Cleveland Kraut, Gnar Gnar or Beet Red
5 hoagie rolls
Coleslaw
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Clean potatoes well. Using the crinkle cut knife, cut 5 large potatoes into fries.
Line a baking sheet with the cut french fries. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt on potatoes. Bake for 45 minutes.
Prepare Johnsonville Brats according to the package instructions.
Once Johnsonville Bratwursts are cooked thoroughly, remove and place in hoagie rolls.
Remove baked fries from oven. Add on top of bratwurst.
Add your choice of slaw or sauerkraut.
ENJOY!

Vote for your favorite Midwest Cities #Bratsgiving Creation!

Here’s what I need you to do. Head to the Johnsonville website and choose which Midwest city has the best Bratsgiving recipe creation. Vote for your favorite chef-inspired recipe and Johnsonville will donate $5,000 to the winning chef’s charity of choice. How great is that?! I love when a company gives back!

Tell me — What’s your favorite type of Johnsonville Brat!?

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Bento Box Sweet Potato + Salmon Bites

August 5, 2020 by Rachel 26 Comments

Yesterday I shared our plan to transition to homeschooling. It’s been a difficult year on everyone. Despite the challenges, I’m doing my best to make our transition to back-to-school (no matter what it looks like) consistent. One thing I know for sure is that kids love creative back-to-school lunchbox ideas. I, for one, still plan on making creative and fun lunches for my kids. Because, guess what? The more creative I get with lunches, the more my kids want to eat it! If you find yourself thinking that your kid would never eat bento box sweet potato salmon bites, let me tell you — even the pickiest of eaters will eat something when it’s pretty!

The Power of Snack Trays

Kids aren’t the only ones who are intrigued by bento box lunches. I mean, I could basically live on charcuterie boards and that’s practically the same thing. But why keep buying those Lunchables week after week when, with a tiny bit of prep, you can make your own!

I bought a few Bento Boxes off of Amazon so that I can prep a few days worth of meals at a time. And then I bought a few extra from the Target Dollar Spot so that I could duplicate these fun lunches for the little ones. Seriously, if you haven’t tried feeding your kids from a bento box or a muffin tin, TRY it. They, miraculously, will eat whatever is in there!

Sweet Potato + Salmon Bites!

In a house full of picky kids, we’re always trying to sneak foods in that are nutrient-rich. The good news is that they will never know that these Bento Box Sweet Potato Salmon Bites are full of the good stuff. They taste just that good!

The Recipe

Yield: 12 bites

Kids Bento Box - Sweet Potato + Salmon Bites

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 23 minutes

Total Time 33 minutes

Ingredients

7 oz fresh salmon fillets
3.5 oz sweet potato
1 small onion
1/8 cup of ground almonds
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
salt + pepper to taste
olive oil

Instructions

Peel the sweet potato and chop into large chunks. Microwave* or steam until soft and mashable. Let cool.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Dice the onion.
Chop salmon fillets into chunks.
In the Vitamix or food processor, add all the ingredients except olive oil.
Blitz until everything is broken up and comes together. Don’t overblend, you still have some chunks.
Lay out a parchment paper onto an oven tray. Wet your hands. Shape the mixture into balls (about 1.5 inches in size)
Spray with olive oil.
Cook for 20 minutes.
ENJOY!

Notes

Notes on microwaving sweet potato: Place sweet potato chunks in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Poke 3-4 holes and microwave on high for 3 minutes, checking after 3 minutes to see if it is tender. If it's not, microwave in 30-second increments until it is.

Bites can be eaten hot or cold!

So tell me — what tricks are you planning on using for lunches this school year?

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Transitioning From Traditional School to Homeschool

August 3, 2020 by Rachel 33 Comments

How to Help Your Kids Feel Comfortable Learning from Home

Whether you’re a die hard advocate for homeschooling or were pushed into the idea after the Covid-19 outbreak, we all need to find ways to help our kids adjust to this new style of learning. Even if they’re beyond excited for this unique adventure, change is awkward! These tips on transitioning from traditional school to homeschool will help your kiddos feel more at ease studying from home.

Routine

When first moving from public education to homeschool, a certain amount of structure does the body well. So many things in life are changing but if you can maintain a small semblance of routine, you’ll find that everyone feels more grounded at the end of the day.

A perk of homeschool is the flexibility to learn as you please. It’s more than okay to take breaks (it’s encouraged actually) so that you and your little ones can recharge. The daily routine is there to guide you through any given day but it isn’t set in stone. Somedays, it’ll be just to remind you of everything you aren’t going to do! Schedules are nice to start with while you’re still getting your footing, but once you feel like you and your children are embracing homeschool, you can completely shake it up. Which brings us to our next tip!

Fluidity

You might realize your child prefers to read or do art in the morning and get to math in the afternoon. Maybe they like to dedicate a few days to one of two subjects before moving on to others. However they learn best, its not a bad idea to leave wiggle room for your child to alter how it is they absorb information. Embracing new methods of learning might be exactly what your kid needed to finally fall in love with history etc. I think we can all agree that freedom often leads us towards more joyful paths and it’s no different with learning. Going with the flow could end up making your child even more curious about the world around them.

These first two tips don’t sound complimentary but I assure you these two can tango. In combination, routine with fluidity is the ideal life even for us adults. In a homeschool setting, the balance of structure and flexibility makes for a happy environment.

Don’t Recreate School

This is a super tempting option because it feels natural but this is not the way to get your child to adapt into homeschooling. While you might be able to use bits and pieces of what you liked from public school into your new homeschool routine, it’s important to be aware of how this role changes your identity. You’re now a parent AND a teacher. Which is beautiful! Instead of separating the two, leaving your children with conflicting ideas of you, you should allow them to merge. Be their parent who teaches them by integrating authenticity with education.

transition kids from traditional school to homeschool

Social Time

One of the biggest struggles when transitioning from public school to homeschool is leaving behind the social aspect. We are social creatures by nature and this can be a lonely part of the journey but it doesn’t have to be! Host play dates or zoom chats to keep friendships blossoming even when distanced. Not only will this make your child happy but will also teach them more about platonic relationships such as how to keep them alive. You can also turn these into learning opportunities by making the play date a field trip!

Transitioning From Traditional School to Homeschool

Support

This is one of the most important things to have when beginning homeschool. A network of individuals you can vent to or lean on when you need to. There are so many ways to find community through homeschooling. You can seek out co-ops in your area, follow blogs with homeschool connections, or join homeschool groups to start.

This isn’t a step to be taken lightly! It’s crucial to have people in your circle that understand what you’re going through. If you’re struggling, someone else might have just figured out how to help their own child with that and can now guide you. Homeschool promotes continued learning for adults as well!

Take it Day by Day

Allow yourself time and patience as you take on this new lifestyle. Everyone adapts differently but eventually homeschooling will become as fluid a routine as the rest of your life. Enjoy this extra time with your family. The bonds you are creating are invaluable.

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If you have any advice on how to transition your child from traditional schooling to home school, comment below!

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Salted Caramel Crumble Cheesecakes

July 30, 2020 by Rachel 28 Comments

The build up of anxiety over the last several months have been nothing but anxiety inducing. My anxiety baking has taken on a personality of its own, with its greatest feat being these Salted Caramel Crumble Cheesecakes. The recipe itself is of moderate difficulty. The cheesecake combines traditional baking and candy-making. But it’s not overly difficult!

Why have I been anxiety baking?

First, I need to vent about something. I’ve watched countless friends and acquaintances share their photos of parties and get togethers on social media. And it’s exhausting. For those of us who have stayed on the sidelines, distancing, taking every possible precaution? We’re utterly spent and emotionally drained.

I desperately want to see my friends and family. And I long for the days of going out for a drink or a cup of coffee. But the reality is that we are living in a pandemic. And those times should look very different than ‘normal’ life. And, for me and many others, it has. But that doesn’t change the fact that here in the United States, we cannot seem to get our Covid cases under control. The complete distrust in health officials and partisan politics have led us into a horrible place.

What our family life has looked like lately

For those who aren’t familiar with our day-to-day in this house, we have gone very few places since March. When schools shut down, I decided to do everything in my power to help flatten the curve. My kids and I spend most of our time doing arts and crafts, watching movies, playing games, cooking, baking, and playing in the yard. There have been no playdates. There have been no outdoor dinners. And they have only seen the inside of a store once (Target, with my two littlest in a wagon and my oldest walking beside me as I picked up a couple of ‘musts’).

So, for now, my reality looks like this: Expect a lot more anxiety baking. You can also expect to see us transitioning to full-time distance learning (perhaps even full-on homeschooling). We will continue to do our best to avoid being a statistic — for ours and your health.

But now, Salted Caramel Crumble Cheesecake!

My anxiety is your reward, friends! Here are my ‘tips’ for this delectable dessert: Instead of making your own caramel sauce, grab this one from Amazon.

Salted Caramel Crumble Cheesecake

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

¾ Cup of graham cracker crumbs
1 ½ tablespoon sugar
¼ cup of unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling

2 - 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
½ cup of sugar
½ cup of sour cream
¾ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon of kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of salted caramel sauce

Crumble Topping Ingredients

½ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
¼ cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
½ cup of unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cup of flour
Salted caramel sauce for drizzle

Instructions

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Using a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until combined.
Using a tablespoon, scoop the crust into the cupcake liners.
Using a flat bottomed round cup, press the cup into the crust to make a firm crust.
Set aside.

For the cheesecake:

Using a hand mixer, beat together the sugar and cream cheese until combined and smooth.
Beat in the sour cream, salted caramel sauce, vanilla and salt until combined.
Beat in 1 egg at a time until combined.
Scoop 2 ½ tbsp of the cheesecake mixture into the crust.
Bake in the oven for 17-22 minutes or until the edges are firm and a really light golden brown starts to form.
Allow the cheesecakes to cool for a few hours in the fridge.

For the topping:

Combine all ingredients into a medium bowl.
Using your fingers, mix ingredients together until combined and crumble like topping the cupcake.
Top the cheesecake with the crumble.
Drizzle the caramel sauce on top.
Enjoy!

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Delicious Copycat Cosmic Brownies Recipe

July 28, 2020 by Rachel 21 Comments

I’m in full on back-to-school mode over here. I’m trying not to be, but the deadline of school/homeschool start is quickly approaching. This year I’m getting creative with lunches and snacks. The past few months have given me a new confidence in the kitchen. And, despite how strange this school year may look, I’m ready to tackle lunches and snacks like a pro with these Copycat Cosmic Brownies recipe!

I have to admit — my guiltiest of guilty pleasures are the Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies. I don’t know what is so glorious about them. Nostalgia, maybe? I’m not certain what it is — but these Copycat Cosmic Brownies contain all of that same magic!

Make school snacks fun

As we all know, this will be an unprecedented school year. No one really knows what it will look like for our kids — or us. Although I have decided to keep my kids home full-time and do distance learning, my plan is to still keep the school day structure. Before the pandemic started, I saw the writing on the wall. I watched what was happening in other countries, and I knew schools would be shut down in the US. So I stocked up on snacks and craft supplies. Those lasted approximately two weeks. Ha!

Now that I have a bit more time to prep for what’s to come, I was able to prepare in other ways. I bought a few sets of bento boxes from Amazon. My goal is to still make ‘school lunches’ for the kids. That way they aren’t trying to snack all day.

Cosmic Brownies or Bust

My love for Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies is apparently a trait I passed on to all three of my kids. And I can’t blame them! Fun fact — I’m not a big fan of chocolate, especially in candy. But these copycat cosmic brownies?! OMG — SO good!

You’ll have most of the items you need to make this recipe. The one ‘specialty’ item would be the rainbow chips. If you’ve ever eaten a cosmic brownie, you know those aren’t just regular chocolate chips on top! Nope! Those are candy coated chocolate chips. I bought a bag here off Amazon and it was the best priced per ounce.

The full Copycat Cosmic Brownies recipe

Copycat Cosmic Brownies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

Brownies

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs plus 2 yolks
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Glaze

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Topping

¼ cup Rainbow Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, whole eggs and yolks in a large bowl.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler, then whisk together until fully combined.
Whisk in the vegetable oil.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and mix until fully combined. Gently fold in the flour and cocoa.
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
Meanwhile make the glaze.
Place chopped or grated chocolate into a medium-sized, heatproof bowl and set aside.
In a large heatproof bowl combine your sweetened condensed milk and butter.
Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Microwave another 30 seconds.
When the butter is melted carefully add your chocolate chips and stir in until melted. You can also microwave for 15 seconds more until chips are all melted and ganache is smooth.
Pour the ganache over the brownies and immediately sprinkle with the rainbow chips.
Let cool completely before slicing.
ENJOY!

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Summertime Rainbow Garden Veggie Pizza

July 27, 2020 by Rachel 25 Comments

This was our first year trying to grow our own vegetables in our backyard garden. We have quite a bit of space, but decided to start small with just two raised garden beds. I went a bit crazy with seeds, thinking very few would take. But I was really wrong and now we have an abundance of veggies! What’s a mom to do with all the veggies?! Make the perfect Summertime Rainbow Garden Veggie Pizza, of course!

This is one of those recipes that the kids can be really involved in. In fact, my kids have been super involved in the whole gardening process! They helped me plant the seeds and starters and they help me water every day. You should have seen the reactions they all gave to our first teeny veggie!

I figured that this would be our summer “lesson” in unschooling. And thus far, it has worked! My oldest (almost 8), has had so many questions about how and why plants grow. I do my best to communicate the science behind it, but truthfully, YouTube has been much better at it!

Rainbow Garden Veggie Pizza

This pizza is as easy as it gets. Instead of traditional pizza dough, I opted for something easier — and perhaps even tastier — pita bread! Another great alternatives to traditional pizza crust would be naan.

As far as veggies are concerned, we used most of the items we could find in our garden. Yellow and red bell peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and tomatoes! As far as veggies are concerned, the possibilities are endless!

The pita bread (or naan) is just the perfect size for kids. They can put on whichever veggies they want, and leave off what they don’t! My middle daughter, for one, wanted her rainbow veggie pizza to consist of nothing but cucumbers and broccoli! No arguments from me, that’s for sure.

Getting the kids involved in the process just increases the odds of them actually eating it. So my advice to you would be this: clean and cut the veggies and place them in separate containers. Ahead of time, mix the cream cheese mixture together. Set out the pita or naan on individual plates. And let them go for it! The worst thing that could happen is that they eat even more veggies!

Rainbow Veggie Pizza

Ingredients

1 cup sliced cucumbers
1/2 cup cauliflower
1/2 cup broccoli
1/4 cup sliced rainbow carrots
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
1/2 cup of red / yellow bell peppers (cut into chunks)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 pieces of pita bread (or naan)

Instructions

Wash and cut vegetables
Using a 9x13 pan, add pita bread to cover the bottom of the pan.
In a bowl, mix softened cream cheese, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, and
salt and pepper together well.
Spread mixture onto pita bread
Evenly spread vegetables and cheese atop pita
Enjoy!