creature of habit.

i think this has been my breakfast every single morning 

since summer began.

what can i say?

when i find something i like, i stick with it.

with all the delicious summer berries to choose from, 

that is about the only thing i have mixed up.

strawberries, blueberries, raspberries

and occasionally blackberries or even bananas.

mmmm.  i love breakfast.

market casserole

the best dinner i have made in a long time.

it is oh, so tasty.

here is how you layer it up...

israeli cous cous in the bottom.

roasted eggplant and onions next.

chopped zucchini after that.  {sprinkle with tony's}

slices of mozzarella.

slices of tomatoes. {more tony's}

bread crumb, garlic, parmesan and olive oil topping.

and more tony's.

bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until the top is 

crispy, melty and delicious 

and the cous cous is cooked all the way.

really you can put any vegetables you like in it.

*you may need to put just a little water or broth in the cous cous if you don't have enough juices from the vegetables.

and then, just enjoy it!

making pie.

not sure why, but every weekend this summer

i just want to make a pie.

i love the process (and the result).

and i always have an enthusiastic helper or two.

most recently we made a strawberry rhubarb pie.

we used martha's rhubarb strawberry lattice pie recipe, 

but ours was half strawberries and half rhubarb

and we only used 3/4 cups of sugar.

it was plenty sweet and delicious.

so, turn on some patty griffin and make yourself a pie.

a to z cookies

these might be my new favorite cookies.

i stole the idea from a local market, la grande orange.

basically, they are just chocolate chip cookies with pretzels, corn flakes and peanuts thrown in.  

la grande makes theirs with milk chocolate, but i stuck with good ol' semi sweet.

they were gone way, way too fast.

a to z cookies

2 sticks butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

{mix}

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

{add and mix}

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

{mix separate, then add}

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup pretzels (i used the sticks)

1/2 cup cornflakes 

1/2 cup peanuts

{stir 'em in}

let me know if you give them a whirl!

eating chili.

a neighbor gave me this recipe for supposedly

"the best chili you have ever tasted."

my family was not so convinced.

i guess they are just creatures of habit.

they like what they know.

if you give that recipe a try, 

let me know how it goes over in your house.

(i did switch out the meat for turkey and chicken)

otherwise, here is the best chili 

the burch kids ever tasted...

turkey chili with black eye peas

24 oz ground turkey

2 onions

2 green bell peppers

4 cloves garlic

2- 14 1/2 oz cans diced tomatoes

2- 15 oz cans black eye peas

2- 8 oz cans tomato sauce

1 tsp cumin

season with tony's (or seasoning of choice)

in a large saucepan, cook turkey, onion, pepper and garlic.

stir in tomatoes, drained peas, tomato sauce, cumin and tony's and bring to a boil.

reduce heat and cover for 20 minutes.

done.

super easy and always a crowd pleaser.

in emma this march.

christine's adorable historic home

and even more adorable family 

are featured in this month's issue of emma magazine!

check out the full issue here!

kale salad.

there is a restaurant in phoenix called the windsor

and they make this delicious chopped kale salad.

i could eat it every single day.

i decided to just start making it at home, since that is a lot cheaper...

it is made up of finely chopped...

kale, carrots, brussel sprouts and snap peas

with corn, craisins, almonds and parmesan.

top it off with some olive oil, a little salt 

and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

so good and mighty good for you!

enjoy!

lemons.

i was recently the lucky recipient of lots and lots

 and lots of lemons.

if you were given three bags of lemons, 

what would you make?

my thoughts were

strawberry lemonade icebox pie, 

some lemon curd, 

lemon bars,

and finally get around to these lemon butter biscuits.

what would you suggest?

i don't think i could ever live somewhere that didn't have homegrown, fresh citrus in the winter...

buttermilk.

i received this banana bread recipe from a friend and, i kid you not, it is the very best banana bread i have ever tasted.  i am quite convinced it is thanks to the buttermilk.  i strongly believe buttermilk makes all baked goods that much better.  we've also used this recipe to make banana muffins and sprinkled a little granola on top.  nothing makes my kids more excited (ok, a wee exaggeration) than a plate of banana muffins waiting for them when they get home from school.  make them today.  i promise, you won't be sorry.  well, unless you are on a diet. then you might be sorry...

2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 mashed overripe bananas (i even use 3 or 4 sometimes)
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 and grease your bread pan. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, vanilla and buttermilk and mix well. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients and then add to wet and mix until well incorporated. (I am very lazy and reluctant to dirty another bowl so I usually just dump everything into my stand mixer together.) Bake until the top doesn't jiggle when you give the pan a good shake. Sorry I don't have an exact time frame for you...I also think the addition of nuts or chocolate chips or even a cream cheese icing would be delicious if you want to get fancy!

summertime snack

the kids and i made ice cream sandwiches the other day.

they were so, so, so good.

we made chocolate chip cookies,

scooped ice cream into the middle of them

(it helps if you let the ice cream get a little soft,

so you can smooth it around the cookie without breaking it),

wrapped them in plastic wrap and 

stuck them in the freezer.

then we had the most delicious treat waiting for us

that afternoon.

ahh, summertime goodness.

 my one tip would be to eat right them right out of the freezer

instead of taking pictures of them first...

they get a little melty rather quickly...

 hope you try them!

you'll be so glad you did!