How to Host a Party on a Budget

People often feel hosting a party can cost more than they can afford. It's easy to spend when preparing for a party; the dollars add up fast. But it is possible to have an elegant affair on a tight budget. Careful planning, a creative menu, and twenty-five bucks are all you need. Here are some tips on how you can host a cocktail party on a budget!

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Easy Ham and Potato Corn Chowder

Growing up one of my favorite meals we had was a potato soup my mom made. I always cut up a hot dog to put in it! I can't remember the last time I ate a hot dog, but ham is just as easy to come up with and an even more delicious way to pack flavor into a creamy chowder. Our family has a soup night at least once a week. Soup is a great way to use up veggies in the fridge that might be getting close to being tossed and since I'm always cold, it's a great way to heat up from the inside out! I am convinced that your family will love this easy ham and potato corn chowder too!

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Easy Meal Ideas for College Students or Young Adults Who Don't Have a Meal Plan

You’re heading to college, or maybe you have a child leaving the nest for the first time and are wondering if they’re ready for life outside your humble abode. Being out on your own means more independence and that also means learning to cook for the first time. Dining hall meals won’t last forever, and boxed mac and cheese can only get you so far. If you are a young adult or know someone who could use some easy meal ideas to help them get started on their cooking journey, here are easy meal ideas that are perfect for college students or young adults.

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Making Mealtime Easy for a Family in a Vacation Rental

When you’re vacationing, it can sometimes feel like you are just trading one kitchen for another and still have to eat. If you are traveling for spring break or just vacationing to a rental home with your family this year, there are so many different ways you can make cooking there a stress-free experience. You already know that not eating every meal out can save you money, but these tips will make eating in your vacation home just as easy.

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How to Build a Beautiful Charcuterie Board on a Budget

Charcuterie boards are so popular and trending right now, and for a good reason! If you're ready to create one on your own, there are ways to build a charcuterie board on a budget. These simple tips will give you a board full of great food while staying within your allotted food budget as well. It might look like an expensive appetizer to serve, but that doesn't mean that it has to be!

Here are some simple tips on ways to create a charcuterie board for a low price.

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Instant Pot Pulled Pork Sandwich Recipe

I have a love/hate relationship with my Instant Pot. I feel fooled every time I use it. People who sing its praises talk about how you can make dinner in under 10 minutes and I get excited about that, but then I try it and I'm waiting 10 minutes for the dang thing to just start to warm up and count down. I digress. Though I did write my thoughts about the Instant Pot here, so if you want to commiserate with me, go check that post out. All that to say, I use my Instant Pot at least once a week and this instant pot pulled pork recipe is one of our favorites. I can often find pork on sale at my local grocery for cheap, and when I do, I often freeze it for an easy weeknight recipe. If you're looking for something easy you can whip together, check out this Instant Pot Pulled Pork Sandwich.

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Meal Planning Mistakes That are Costing You Money

Meal planning is hard work. There are so many different things that go into meal planning, and it can take hours of your time to do. However, if you are making these meal planning mistakes, you could be losing money to plan your meals! Here are the top meal planning mistakes that are costing you money. 

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Cheesecake Factory Copycat Chicken Chipotle Pasta Recipe

This chipotle chicken pasta packs a little spicy kick and mixes the most delicious flavors together in a creamy sauce. It's a simple pasta recipe that is a pretty good Cheesecake Factory Copycat. This recipe will become a family favorite for those weeknight meals.

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How to Save Money with a Pantry Challenge

One of my goals with the no spend challenge month was to cut my grocery bill to only $100 for the month for our family of four and use items in the pantry and freezer. I often forget what I have on hand and then buy more, or stock up on a good deal, but then never use up what I have. {If you are curious about the details of a no spend challenge, start here.} The interesting thing about a no-spend challenge is that there really are no rules. Every family is different in how they go about tackling the challenge. 

Want to know our family rules for the no spend challenge? Check out this post. 

For me, I knew I had a stocked pantry and freezer that rarely get used up. I knew taking the pantry challenge would help me focus on using what I already had. Regardless if you are joining me on a no-spend challenge journey or not, you may want to try a pantry challenge. Here are some tips on how you can save money with a pantry challenge.

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The Best 5 Ingredient Crockpot Meals

Crockpot meals can be a lifesaver in the kitchen. However, sometimes you need something easy! Having a few recipes on hand that doesn’t require many ingredients can save you time and money in the kitchen. Save more money with your crockpot by adding some simple five-ingredient crockpot recipes to your meal plan! This will save you time preparing your food, and it will still taste just as good! Anyone who eats it won’t even know the difference! Fool your friends and family with these easy and straightforward crockpot meals. Here are the best five ingredient crockpot meals to make this week.

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Low Carb Parmesan Crusted Salmon Sheet Pan Recipe

For years I thought I didn't like fish. I think I had it once as a kid and hated the texture but it was probably some fishy kind of fish that was just not cooked properly. I lived in the Seattle area for darn near a decade before I decided I'd give fish a try again, and boy am I glad I did. We have some of the best salmon in the whole world in our area, fresh caught and local to the pacific northwest. Not only that, salmon is a healthy meal choice packed with high-quality protein, minerals, and vitamins. Salmon also has some pretty great Omega-3's and outside of hearing how great they are for you {homestly, I tune out the rest} I just know it has it, so it's got to be good right? 

Salmon has now become a staple in our weeknight meal rotation. We eat dinner as a family nearly every single night. I cook 99% of the time. We eat out maybe twice a month. Maybe. I'm always looking for quick meal ideas because we are a busy family on the go with teenagers who work and evening sports practices, and to be honest, anything that takes me more than 30 minutes to prep or cook and hard to find ingredients is just not happening.  That's why I love this parmesan crusted salmon recipe. Not only that, it's a good low carb sheet pan recipe and I love a good sheet pan recipe.

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Cowboy Caviar: The Worlds Best Appetizer!

This recipe is from the 1940s, and is a favorite at social events across the Southwest, and seems to show up in some version at most pot lucks, dinner's or gatherings, everywhere. It's one of my favorites to bring because there is usually an empty bowl by the end of the night and that always means it's a crowd favorite! It's one of my most asked for recipes. 

It's a great way to incorporate lots of fresh vegetables and beans into your diet, dressed up with a sweet spicy dressing and crunchy chips.  This will surely go in your favorites for parties and get-togethers.  It's a great appetizer and as you experiment with it, you can even start coming up with new recipe ideas using some variation of it as well. I like to wrap some leftovers in a piece of lettuce or top add it to some shredded chicken for protein-packed lunch. You aren't going to want to miss this recipe for the world's best appetizer, cowboy caviar!

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Matthew 25 Challenge Day 2: Water is Life

This week, things on the blog and on my social media are going to be looking a little bit different. It's because this week, we are being challenged together through the World Vision Matthew 25  Challenge. In case you missed it, here's how you can join! It's not too late to opt in. Simply text M25 to 44888 and join me across social media @msrachelteodoro and follow the #m25challenge.

"I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink." Today's challenge is to drink only water. Give up all beverages except water {yep, even coffee, sorry friends}.  Family challenge: take a walk to a local water source {a drainage pond, creek or puddle} and fill a plastic water bottle with the water you find there. Carry that bottle around with you today. This will be a great conversation starter at work or at school. Take the time to engage in conversation about the global water crisis.

photo 2017 World Vision/Jon Warren

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Matthew 25 Challenge Day 1: To Be Known

This week, things on the blog and on my social media are going to be looking a little bit different. It's because this week, we are being challenged together through the World Vision Matthew 25 Challenge. In case you missed it, here's how you can join! It's not too late to opt in. Simply text M25 to 44888 and join me across social media @msrachelteodoro and follow the #m25challenge. "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat." Today's challenge is to skip lunch and break your fast this evening with a rice and beans dinner. If you watched today's video, I loved how it was pointed out that fasting without prayer is just dieting! So don't forget to pray as you go about your day.

Family Challenge: Don't forget to set aside some time today to watch the Ekai video with your family and have tea together. Don't miss the hunger trivia quiz in the M25 family guide. 

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How to Celebrate Chinese New Year

This post was sponsored by Ling Ling, all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I am a typical American thrown into the melting pot of traditions and culture. Growing up it didn't seem like we had any real cultural traditions we followed as a family, though there are a few now as an adult that I can pinpoint. I just thought we ate saurkraut and sausage on New Year's because it was the only night my dad would tolerate it. I didn't realize that it stemmed from our muddled washed down German roots. When I married into an Italian family that could be easily traced back without too many great great parents getting in the way, it was easier to tie myself to those cultural traditions. Plus I really liked spaghetti and meatballs at every holiday meal {yes Erica, even Easter}. 
For the past few years, I've been volunteering with a group of international college students once a week. I'm learning a lot about their different cultures as I share our own American culture with them. Many of our students celebrate Chinese New Year and it's actually one of their largest celebrations regardless of where they are from. They are all giving me tips on how to celebrate, so this year, I thought I'd fully embrace it and try celebrating Chinese New Year with my American family. 

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5 Easy Hummus Appetizers that Will WOW a Crowd

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boar’s Head for IZEA Worldwide. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hummus is the go-to snack that I like to have on hand any time there is even a slight chance I might be entertaining. It's one of the most versatile foods known to man. Hummus can be eaten plain or as a single ingredient in a variety of appetizers. It will even make you seem exotic and worldly when you serve it. Like you have a refined palate. People love a good appetizer and you can wow them with these 5 easy hummus appetizers that will make you look like a professional chef. The most difficult decision you'll have to make is to decide which flavor of hummus to use! My favorite Boar's Head Hummus comes in 13 delicious flavors!

The key to happy house guests is to provide them with a variety of appetizers to snack on. To be honest, I'd rather snack on a bunch of small plates of food rather than a heavy meal. Appetizers are kind of my favorite food group. If you tell me you're hosting an appetizer-only dinner party, I'm all in!

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Instant Pot Beef and Bean Chili made with Dry Beans

One of my all-time favorite comfort foods is chili. I love all kinds of soup, but chili in particular because you can load it up with all kinds of great stuff and try so many different variations of it. One of my favorites is adding spaghetti to it. I think they call that Cincinnati chili. Chili is also a great dish to take to a tailgate or a potluck. Since this beef and bean chili can be made in the Instant Pot, it makes it easy to make in a hurry {with dry beans even!} and take with you on the go.

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Easy Meal Planning While at the Grocery Store!

Thanks to Foster Farms for sponsoring this post.

Do you ever get in a meal planning rut? I do. I start making the same 3-4 things every single week. Probably because it's easy to just do what I know, but we all get bored with it. It just never occurs to me to break away from the same old same old until I start wandering the aisles of the grocery store. Then at that point, I am overwhelmed with options! There are so many recipes on-line that if I were to stop in my tracks in the middle of the grocery store, I would be scrolling for hours. Heck, I might as well hunker down and move in. I just don't have time for that. Friends, I found a new solution. I literally just tried it in the grocery store aisles this afternoon and then came home and made a delicious new dinner everyone loved. We got out of our rut and you can too! Here's how:

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Grilled Pesto Ham and Provolone Sandwiches

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Eckrich Deli Meat. All opinoins are 100% my own. Promise I wouldn't tell you about something I didn't love.
My husband {God bless him} is such a creature of habit. He's taken a ham and cheese sandwich, chips and a cookie to work with him nearly every single day of his employed life. Earlier this year, he switched jobs for the first time in nearly two decades and nearly every day since, I've heard about one of the guys in his group. I don't hear about his because he's a great engineer {though I'm sure he is}, or because he's been helpful to my husband in his new transition {though I'd venture a guess that he has}, nope, I hear about him because of his lunch. 
You see, my husband in all his years, has not grown tired of bringing a sandwich to work with him. In fact, he loves sandwiches. But I do think he's gotten tired of how boring his is because this guy at work is some kind of a sandwich genius and I've been hearing all about it! So I thought I'd help my husband come up with some new sandwich ideas to bring with him to work. That way, he doesn't just have to be jealous of the awesome sandwich co-worker guy and maybe, just maybe, when he brings along this grilled pesto ham and provolone sandwich, co-worker guy might just be a little jealous of him.

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Garlic and Lemon Roasted Cauliflower Rice Side Dish Recipe

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cooked Perfect® Fire Grilled Chicken for IZEA Worldwide. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's always been important for our family to share a meal together, but as the kids get older and older and their activities start filling up the calendar, it gets harder and harder to squeeze in this family time. We've managed to make this a priority though with quick and delicious weeknight meals that take under 30 minutes to make. If I can multi-task and help with homework or housework during the cook time, even better! This garlic and lemon roasted cauliflower rice with Cooked Perfect Fire Grilled Lemon Herb Chicken is the perfect weeknight meal that has become our family's favorite! It takes less than 5 minutes to prep and 25 minutes to cook leaving you time to do the important stuff, like spend time with your family. 

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