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Author Archives: Lisa Cavallari

• 

  Boo-zy Monday

  Posted at 5:00 am by Lisa Cavallari

  Oct 23rd

  

  Halloween is almost here!  Last weekend, we celebrated at an annual zombie fest in our town.  It’s crazy.  So many cool costumes, great live music, turned over cars, tanks blocking the road.  Good times!  I thought these candy corn Jello shots would make the perfect pre-party drink (if you want to call it that.)

  These would be great to pass out to the parents taking their little trick-or-treaters out next week.  Who says adults can’t have some fun treats too? 🙂

  

  Before you start the recipe, make sure you buy clear shot glasses instead of the red plastic ones I used.  It’s great to be able to see the effect you worked so hard to create.  My mistake is your gain!

  Here’s what you need to get started:

  Candy Corn Jello Shots

  • Servings: 60 shots
  • Time: active30 mins
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  Credit: BRIT+CO

  Ingredients

  • 6 ounce package lemon Jell-O
  • 6 ounce package orange Jell-O
  • 2 unflavored gelatin packets
  • 1  14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 bottle of your favorite Tequila like Patron
  • Reddi whip
  • candy corn

  Directions

  1. In a large bowl combine 6 ounce package of lemon Jello with 2.5 cups water.  Add 1.5 cups Tequila.  Using a spoon, fill your shot glasses a third of the way with the lemon Jello mixture.  Refrigerate for 60-90 minutes until set.
  2. In a large bowl combine 6 ounce package of orange Jello with 2.5 cups water.  Add 1.5 cups Tequila. Using a spoon, fill your shot glasses a third of the way with the lemon Jello mixture.  Refrigerate for 60-90 minutes until set.
  3. In a large bowl combine the 2 packets of unflavored gelatin with 1.5 cups water.  Add can of sweetened condensed milk.  Spoon your final layer into shots glasses. Refrigerate for 60-90 minutes until set.
  4. To serve, add a dollop of whipped cream and a candy corn on top. Cheers!

  

   

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  Posted in Holidays

• Meatball Fondue – Family Style

  Posted at 5:11 am by Lisa Cavallari

  Sep 12th

  

  This recipe is a big winner in our house.  There’s something for everyone.  My husband loves the meatballs, my girls love the sauce and I love the whole shebang.   Serving it family style makes the meal feel more relaxed.  You’ve got to love it when you can just plunk dinner right down in the center of the table hot out of the oven.  I serve this with garlic toasts so we can dip them into the skillet, but you could also toss your favorite kind of cooked pasta in with it too.  Be careful when you serve this, the skillet will be very hot!

  Another thing I like about this recipe is that it doesn’t take all day to make.  Give yourself 40 minutes and you’ve got it covered.

  Meatball Fondue

  • Servings: 4
  • Time: 40 mins
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  Credit: Cooking Light Magazine

  Ingredients

  • 1 small zucchini shredded (I use a cheese grater)
  • 12 ounces ground turkey
  • 1 small onion shredded
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 Tb olive oil
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups of your favorite jarred pasta sauce (we like Prego)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup pre-shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 french baguette, cut into small slices and toasted

  Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Place shredded zucchini between a double layer of paper towels to squeeze out excess moisture. Stir together zucchini, turkey, onion, oregano, salt, pepper and egg into a medium sized bowl.  Using a small cookie scoop, or about 1 tablespoon, arrange onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or fully cooked.
  3. Meanwhile, heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat on the stove. Add olive oil to the pan and garlic and mushrooms.  Saute for about 5 minutes or until mushrooms are fully cooked.   Stir in marinara sauce and 1/4 cup water. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add meatballs to skillet (leave behind cooked-out proteins); gently stir to coat with sauce.  Sprinkle cheese on the top.
  4. Broil meatballs until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 2 minutes.
  5. Serve with toasted baguette.

  

  Here’s the mushrooms sauteed with the garlic and olive oil.

  

  Next, add your marinara and water.  Let it simmer for a few minutes. Then put your baked meatballs on top.

  

  Stir the meatballs into the sauce until they are completely coated.

  

  Finally, sprinkle the cheese on top and toss them under the broiler for 2 minutes.

  

  Enjoy!  (Safety hint: I keep an oven mitt on the handle to prevent burns)

   

   

   

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  Posted in Cooking

• Transforming Your Child’s Stress Into Success

  Posted at 5:23 am by Lisa Cavallari

  Sep 3rd

  

  Now that school is back in session, are your kids experiencing any anxiety about homework, tests, teachers and friends?  Yes?  I thought this would be the perfect time to post some helpful information to handle those stressful situations.

  About a year and a half ago, I had the privilege to attend a seminar hosted by an extremely insightful and intelligent speaker by the name of Renee Jain.  She grew up in St. Charles with two brilliant parents who were doctors and a prodigy brother.  The pressure to succeed was very high in her household.  At one point, she reached a level of stress that became her breaking point.  She was depressed and cracked under the weight of that pressure.  Her traumatic experiences inspired her to help others by explaining how children and adolescents can handle stress in a more positive way.

  Here are some techniques she shared to try with your child when they are anxious.

  • Stop reassuring your child.   Reacting is the wrong way to approach a child who is stressed.  Respond instead by using the fast food rule.  Rephrase what they feel.  Child: “I’m worried and my stomach hurts.” You: “You’re worried and your stomach hurts.  Is that right?”
  • Challenge your child.  Let them lean into the discomfort of the stress instead of telling them to push those feelings away.  They are totally normal feelings for everyone.
  • Expand their vocabulary.  Ex. I’m feeling jealous, overwhelmed, irrational, etc.  It helps you pinpoint the problem instead of using vague words such as stressed.
  • Give permission for the emotions.  Ex.  It’s o.k. to feel jealous.  It doesn’t make you a bad person.
  • Touch.  Hold their hand or give your child a hug.  Tell them you love them.
  • Give your child space.  Breathing down their neck about a test or getting their homework done just makes the situation worse.
  • Role play.  I love this one.  We get a little silly swapping roles.  I’ll be my daughter and she can be the mom.  It gives your child some perspective to see the situation from a new angle.
  • The origin of worry.  This goes back to the flight or fight phase of cavemen.  If we didn’t worry, we wouldn’t live to see another day.  Flight is our response to stress. Worry=protection.  Worry is good!
  • Keep thoughts accurate.  “I have no friends!”  Is this true?
  • Use if and when scenarios.  If I play with so and so, this will happen.
  • Turn the worry into a stuffed animal.  Have your child talk to her worry.
  • Make a checklist of tools to help their worries.  Yoga, running, writing in a journal, going for a walk, hanging out with friends, watching a movie, etc.

  I hope some of you find this list helpful.  We all want what is best for our children.  We can create a new set of expectations and change the way we approach stress.  Just because someone isn’t happy 24/7 (and who is?!) doesn’t mean we have to fix them.  Emotions occur for a reason and we were meant to experience the entire spectrum.  So the next time your child is sad or worried, don’t look at it as something you need to fix as a parent.  Trying some of the tools above has helped us immensely!

  

  When all else fails, show them a corgi meme.  🙂

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  Posted in Kids

• Chocolate Eclairs

  Posted at 5:50 am by Lisa Cavallari

  Aug 14th

  

  Another wonderful recipe from Elvira Cavallari are her famous chocolate eclairs.  This eclair version is more homey and rustic than the perfect, pristine one you’ll see in glass display cases.  In my humble opinion, I’ll take approachable and delicious over too pretty to eat any day.   The recipe isn’t difficult, but there are three separate steps that can make it seem more intimidating than it actually is so don’t let that stop you.  Start off with baking the buttery shells, then you make the custard filling and top it off with the chocolate frosting.  It will make 30 small eclairs so you can serve them for a shower, holiday get-together or a small dinner party and just freeze the rest.  They freeze beautifully!

  Enjoy.  They are definite crowd pleasers!

  • Servings: 30
  • Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
  • Difficulty: intermediate
  • Print

  Ingredients

  Shells

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup sifted flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 eggs unbeaten

  Custard Filling

  • 1 package vanilla pudding mix (not instant) I used Jello Cook and Serve 3 oz package
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 pint (1 cup) heavy whipping cream

  Chocolate Frosting

  • 1/2 cup soft butter
  • 3 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate, cooled
  • 3 cups confectioners sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • about 3 Tb milk

  Directions

  Eclair Shell

  1. In a medium pan over the stove melt butter in boiling water.
  2. Lower heat and add flour and salt all at once.
  3. Stirring rapidly, stir until mixture lowers side.
  4. Remove from heat and add 1 egg at a time.
  5. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
  6. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.
  7. Allow to cool and begin making the filling.

  Custard Filling

  1. Prepare 1 package Jello vanilla pudding mix in a small saucepan on the stove using only 1 1/2 cups whole milk instead of 2 cups according to the directions on the box.
  2. After pudding has reached the right consistency, cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour or until cool.
  3. Whip 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream into pudding.

  Chocolate Frosting

  1. Mix butter and chocolate together.  Blend in sugar.  Stir in vanilla.  Add enough milk until frosting is smooth.
  2. Slice each shell lengthwise in half.
  3. Frost each eclair with frosting.
  4. Use a spoon to fill custard into each shell.
  5. Refrigerate eclairs until ready to serve or freeze for up to 1 month.

  Enjoy!

  

  These were immediately eaten after this photo was taken.  I have to make sure they pass the taste test!  😉

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  Posted in Baking | Tagged Chocolate Eclairs

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