Holly, Author at With Two Spoons

Bacon Olive Oil Smashed Potatoes

November 14, 2017 By Holly 27 Comments

I am a carb addict. It’s true. A few years ago, I tried to do the whole low-carb thing and let’s just say, I wasn’t a pleasant person for a while. I have no problems passing up a tray of sweets, but salty carbs? Don’t get in my way. That is especially true for roasted potatoes. I love them prepared just about any way, but these Bacon Olive Oil Smashed Potatoes are my new favorite thing. As some of you may know, we’ve partnered with Queen Creek Olive Mill in Arizona to feature some of their amazing oils and vinegars throughout the year. We have been long time fans of their amazing products and I make it a point to get out to the olive mill each time I’m in the Phoenix area (I have serious cravings for the prickly pear lemonade and the olive oil cupcakes!). They recently sent us some fun product to try and the first thing I couldn’t wait to use was their amazing Bacon Olive Oil. You guys, I have been putting this stuff on everything. It’s such an easy way to add that great savory bacon flavor to eggs, salads, or in this case, potatoes. …

Good Food Reads: November Cravings

November 3, 2017 By Holly Leave a Comment

Now that I’ve officially eaten my weight in fun-sized candies (I’m looking at you, Twix) and the Halloween decorations have been packed away, I’m really excited to get back to cooking and eating some really good food. As many of you know, it has gotten really cold here in Minnesota and with that, I’ve tended toward comfort foods. I’m talking pastas, slow cooker burrito bowls, and everything drowning in melted cheese! I really can’t complain. For this week’s Good Food Reads, I’ve pulled together a bit of a random collection of recipes I’m hoping to make and share with my friends and family in the next few weeks. As usual, they are gathered from fellow bloggers, some magazines, and even inspired by my reading habits (see *** below!). I hope you find something that inspires you! Here are the links I’m loving this week:

Ok, first and foremost, I need to share this recipe sweet recipe from My Name is Yeh. I’d say the likelihood of me actually making these is slim to none because I don’t do well with crafty in general. But…I had to link to them because they are the cutest: Marzipan Challah Hedgehogs. Someone needs to make them ASAP and report back!

Pork and Polenta Bake. Another comfort food that’s perfect for these chilly November evenings. Talk about taking the classic midwestern casserole to a whole new level. Also, have you checked out our BBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese? Comfort food with a twist!

I’m fairly certain my four year old is gonna love these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. I’m eyeing these Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze. I can’t quit you, pumpkin. I just can’t.

Love these recipes for Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup and Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup. Lower in sodium and with fresh ingredients, just in time for all that holiday baking!

Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Goat Cheese. Oh man. I can’t wait to make this one. And serve them with these Buttermilk Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes. YES, please.

And finally, because I’m just finishing up her great memoir, Give A Girl A Knife, here’s Amy Thielen’s recipe for Classic Chicken and Wild Rice Hotdish.

That’s it for this week’s Good Food Reads, friend. A shorter list, perhaps, but hopefully you find some treasures. Happy Cooking!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

October 31, 2017 By Holly 5 Comments

Happy Halloween, friends! Is everyone ready for some holiday fun? I’m super excited to take my kiddos out trick or treating tonight – if we can figure out how to keep them warm. It’s going to be cold here in Minnesota. As much as I love this time of year, it is definitely busy. Between fall festivals, costume parties, and field trips, we’ve had days that are absolutely full. In the midst of all that fun, I haven’t had much time to spend in the kitchen cooking. And I don’t know about you, but when I get busy, I definitely tend to crazy comfort foods and quick dinner fixes. While I don’t believe in deprivation (you’d better believe I’m going to be enjoying ALL the candy tonight!), I do try to keep some balance in my eating life and often rely on a handful of healthy on-the-go recipes to sneak some nutrients into those busy days. I had a full day of errands today so after my morning yoga class, I popped home and took a look through the kitchen and came up with this Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie….

Good Food Reads: Sweets and Treats

October 20, 2017 By Holly Leave a Comment

Oh, you guys. I have had the worst sweet tooth lately. Typically, I love to bake sweets and treats but primarily for others. My husband has a legendary addiction to all things sugar, but typically I lean towards the salty/crunchy snacks. As the weather has turned, I’ve found myself gravitating toward butter, sugar, and most definitely all things chocolate. Since I’ve been delving into all of these sweet treat recipes, I thought I’d share a few I’ve recently tried or am planning to make with you all for this week’s Good Food Reads: Sweets and Treats….

Apple Zucchini Toddler Muffins

October 17, 2017 By Holly 28 Comments

One of the things I find most challenging as a mama is finding healthy things to make that my kids will eat and I feel good about feeding them…and that don’t take eight hours to make and are filled with exotic ingredients that are hard to find and cost an arm and a leg. Nowhere is this challenge more evident for me than in packing lunch for my kiddos for preschool/daycare. Our school is wonderful and does have a school lunch option but for a myriad of reasons, we’ve always packed lunch for them. One of my favorite little things to include are these Apple Zucchini Toddler Muffins. Adapted from a recipe by Super Healthy Kids, these tiny muffins pack a pretty good nutritional punch and they are super easy to make. Win! …

Good Food Reads: One Pot Wonders

October 6, 2017 By Holly Leave a Comment

If you’ve been reading With Two Spoons (and Good Food Reads, in particular) for any amount of time, it’s likely no secret that I am a huge fan of One Pot meals. As a full-time working mama of two kids four and under, I’m all about being able to make meals for my family that are tasty and easy and involve minimal cleanup, especially on those crazy nights where both kids need baths and we parents are t.i.r.e.d. Slow cooker, InstantPot, sheet pan, or dutch oven? Doesn’t matter. Love them all. So this week on Good Food Reads, I’m sharing my latest list of One Pot Wonders I’m itching to try. Got a good one to share? Send it our way! We’d love to try it….

A Fall Classic: Pumpkin Bread

October 3, 2017 By Holly 9 Comments

I had started out writing this post with a joke about pumpkin spiced everything this time of year but honestly, it just doesn’t feel right in light of all that is happening with the world. My heart is so heavy for the people of Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and everyone that feels less than or afraid everyday single day simply because of the color of their skin or their gender or who they choose to love. Sometimes it seems silly to write about things like baked goods when there are so many more important things we could be talking about. As I thought more about how to start this post, I realized that food is often a comfort – and not just in the eating of it. Food, for me, is so often about community. People coming together to share a meal and fellowship is one of the great joys and comforts of my life and I think community and comfort are things we can all use right now. With that in mind, I’m going to write about pumpkin bread today. And then I’m going to make a good cup of tea and sit down with those I love and eat. …

Good Food Reads: Back In The Saddle

September 22, 2017 By Holly 3 Comments

Hey All! I’ve just returned from a fantastic week in coastal Rhode Island with my family. We were blessed to spend a few years living in Boston before we had children and I will always love this time of year on the East Coast. Our time away was filled with lots of hours at the beach (yay for a warm early September and non-crowded beaches!) and plenty of good, fresh seafood. I may or may not have eaten my weight in lobster rolls! Now that I’m back to the Midwest and finally unpacked – let’s not mention the laundry – I’m also getting back into my kitchen. One of my favorite travel tricks is to order groceries to be delivered on the day we return from a trip and we supplemented that this time by also having Blue Apron deliver a few days after we returned! I love not having to stress out about getting to the grocery store for essentials and not having to think about meals (even for someone like me who generally finds cooking relaxin) was great. That being said, I’m really ready to get back into it and so for this week’s Good Food Reads, I’m sharing my list of what I’m hoping to make in the next week or so! I’m back in the proverbial saddle and so excited for a good ride. I hope you join us and share some of your recipe favorites from your kitchens or around the internet!…

Good Food Reads: Plant Based Basics!

September 15, 2017 By Holly 2 Comments

As many of you know, I’ve long been a fan of Meatless Mondays – one day a week where I try to eat meatless. It’s not usually much of a stretch for me (I’m a former long time vegetarian), but it was an adjustment when I started cooking for my meat eating family. I’ve found, over the years, that the key to really great plant based cooking is not trying to replicate meat based meals (i.e. veggie “bacon” etc) but to celebrate the amazing flavors, textures, and nutrients of the plants themselves. Plant based cooking is a fun, economical, and tasty way to enjoy food! When I became a vegetarian, classic books like Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook and Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone were key to learning how to really eat as a vegetarian (and you should still check out those books, by the way, they are classics for a reason). Now, the internet also provides a treasure trove of recipes and techniques to make plant based eating an easy reality for you and yours! This week’s Good Food Reads is a collection of plant based (mostly vegan, all vegetarian) recipes full of flavor and fun!…

Strawberry Basil Simple Syrup

September 12, 2017 By Holly 5 Comments

A simple syrup is both simple and extremely versatile. Easy to make, simple syrups typically consist of a base of equal parts sugar and water and then you can get creative! They can be used to flavor cocktails, coffee drinks, or even add a little something extra to a basic fruit salad. I love getting creative with syrups and with such easy and accessible ingredients, the sky really is the limit. A few weeks ago, I had a bunch of strawberries and my basil plants were exploding! I decided to combine the two and make a simple syrup to flavor some basic iced tea and quickly, my easy Strawberry Basil Simple Syrup was born….