adventures of an american housewife in the south of france

Chocolate Chip-Nutella Banana Bread

This is going to sound strange, and may possibly cause some of you to lose mad respect for me, but this whole Chocolate Chip-Nutella Banana Bread business began with last week's episode of Jersey Shore. Let me explain. In last week's episode, Snooki and Deena get in trouble, and in danger of being fired, for completely blowing off their job and disrespecting their boss Danny.  The usual stuff, right?  But to...

Baby’s First Christmas

Living on the West Coast and having our families in two different states in the Midwest, it can be difficult to decide where to spend the holidays.  The Hub and I are so lucky that we both come from amazing families that we actually want to spend time with, so we have to plan our holidays diplomatically.  However, this year the decision was simple.  You see, this year, we had a new person in the picture:  our...

Crockpot Creations Part 1: Pollo Loco

One of The Hub's favorite things to do is throw a whole bunch of random things in a crockpot and see what happens.  Surprisingly, his concoctions are usually very successful!  I like to call these meals Crockpot Creations.  Today I'm going to share a creation that we made last week and transformed into 3 different meals.  I call this creation, Pollo Loco. You'll need: 4 chicken breasts 6 cups of...

Muffins for Mommy

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of meeting baby Otis, Randi & KC's bundle of joy who arrived on 10/27! I spent the day with mommy and baby and did not want to show up empty-handed!  I decided to continue in the fall spirit and whipped up some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. These were super easy and made about 15 muffins, so I was able to keep a few for me and The Hub to try.  Perfect for...

Haute Camping

When I first moved to California, my family was surprised by my enthusiasm for camping.  Weren’t there bugs?  Don’t you have to sleep on the ground?  But California has so many amazing places to pitch your tent that these drawbacks are easily overlooked.  Besides, there’s lots of ways you can camp and still be haute. First, I recommend a big tent and an airbed.  Bring along a regular set of sheets and...

Venturing into Jam

In preparation for camping this weekend, I've decided to whip up some homemade Fig and Lime Jam!  I've never made jam before, but all the figs that I've been seeing at the farmer's market inspired me.  The June 2010 issue of Cooking Light had a really easy looking recipe that I wanted to try, and I'm happy to report...it was super easy!  I think the hardest part was finding the right variety of figs. I made...

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