favorites / IN MY KITCHEN

My favorite cracker: Easy cracker crisps

Let’s just say I’m known for getting on “kicks” in my kitchen. There were the meringues, the chocolate sauce competition, the best.snack.ever…and now, meet my newest addiction. These little cracker crisps couldn’t be any easier to make. They are perfectly crispy and just the thing to go alongside a good bowl of soup, a nice fresh salad, an after school snack.

You can whip them out in just about 5 minutes. And they only take 3 simple ingredients.

Friends, meet your newest addiction:

These crackers look so good. So easy to make. Would be great with soup or a crunchy side to sandwich or salad. Definitely trying these.

Easy Cracker Crisps:

  • 1 package wonton or egg roll wraps (if you use egg roll wraps, you’ll just want to cut them into smaller, cracker-size bites.
  • Olive oil or similar (I use a canola/coconut oil from Spectrum)
  • Course salt

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper with a light coating of olive oil. Place the wraps on the paper and brush tops lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350˚ for approximately 5 minutes. Be warned: you will want to keep a close eye on these. They will go from perfectly golden brown to perfectly burned in just a matter of minutes, so don’t turn your back on them to take pictures of your kids shoving them into their mouths. Because while you’re snapping pictures, you’ll burn them. And then you’ll get distracted by a toddler who wants you to color with her and you’ll burn the next batch. Learn from my mistakes, friends.

Seriously though. Put this on your grocery list. Stock up on wonton wraps. Make yourself a yummy pot of soup. And round it out with these perfect little crispy crackers.
Easy cracker crisps: these look so good and couldn't be easier to make!

family

One moment more

It’s 8pm on Friday night and I’m sitting alone in a quiet house, a rare and beautiful thing. Tonight, this quiet house is a gift from my husband as that chesty cold I’ve been fighting is actually bronchitis. So I’m on a cocktail of antibiotics, inhalers and cough medicine that keep me feeling like I’m not only fighting bronchitis, but I’m also a dizzy, loopy-eyed mess. No fun.

It has been a quiet week here all around. Yesterday, we celebrated the life of a family member who we lost suddenly last weekend. My heart waffles between heartbreak and warmth. What a blessing this community of good people, good friends, good farmers has been to our family.

This song has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Seems to sit perfectly on my heart tonight.

Becoming Catholic / FAITH / IN MY KITCHEN

Family-friendly meal ideas for Lent

The Lenten season began last week. This is actually one of my favorite seasons on the church calendar. It’s a chance to scale back and simplify, a time to purposefully push away some distractions and quiet my life a bit as we head towards Easter Sunday. For our family, this is an especially exciting season, full of anticipation since we will officially join the Catholic church during the Easter Vigil, after beginning the process in September, and after almost five years of thought, prayer and study about making this big decision. Our girls will be baptized, and we will get to take our first Eucharist together as a family.

Part of the Lent season is also abstaining from eating meat on Fridays. I love this description of why from LIFETEEN:

Abstinence from meat is more than just “going without” during Lent or just a reminder that Christ offered His flesh for us on the cross. Abstinence is a form of prayer, a discipline. When we abstain from meat, we focus on Christ and on our souls, rather than on self and on our bodies. It is faith in action, placing our attention on Jesus and offering Him ‘our flesh’ as a sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2), a vessel through which He can and does work.

Fridays are also the nights we have our Seminarian over for dinner. So this means that bowls of cereal are out for Friday dinners. (Kidding, sort of.)

A great round-up of #meatless meal ideas for Lent that family (and kids!) will love.

I am, however, trying to be a little more organized with my meal preparation during Lent. And since my family has recently announced to me that they are already burned out on both salmon and quiche, it’s taking a little more work to put together meals since my standby’s are overdone. (But seriously, have you tried Salmon with cabbage and kale? It will change your life.)

I’ve been gathering a “recipe box” of ideas on Pinterest and thought I’d share them here with you in hopes that they might be a helpful resource. Even if you’re not taking part in Lent, they are simply a great collection of meatless meals for your family. This past Friday, we had blackened fish tacos with avocado-cilantro sauce. It was delicious and loved by everyone at the table, even little Birdy.

So click over below to see some of the recipes I’ve been collecting. I’ll continue to add to it as the season goes on. I hope it’s a great resource for you and your family.

xo.m.

Follow Molly Balint’s board meal ideas for lent on Pinterest.

images (top to bottom, left to right): roasted garlic + cauliflower pasta with walnuts || fish taco bowls || spinach and mushroom quesadillas with avocado and pepperjack || parmesan and ranch roasted cauliflower || blackened fish tacos with cilantro-avocado sauce || veggie frittata