This week on Catching up with the Kelnhofers, I’m gushing over how much I love berries (and baking with them!). Plus, I’m sharing a peak into our quick getaway to Chicago and some of the delicious places we ate.
I love berries, especially in the summer months! And if you’ve been around the SweetPhi family for a while, you know the kids love berries too – especially blueberries! Well, thinking about berries has gotten me excited to start baking with berries again. Here are a few things I can’t wait to make:

- Blueberry crisp – a 5 ingredient dessert that I love making when friends come over for dinner.
- Cherry berry chocolate smoothie – berries are perfect in smoothies; try this one for something different than what you’re used to in a smoothie!
- Blueberry skillet dump cake – also only 5 ingredients, super easy to make and always a hit!
- Chocolate raspberry cake – with a raspberry whipped cream filling and chocolate frosting – yum!
- Peach plum blueberry crumble pie – this one is great because you can mix and match whatever fruit you have – it’s great for using fruits that might be about to turn!
- Lemon cake with almond flour – this is THE CAKE I make in the summers – it’s lemony and delicious and just so so good!
- Strawberries and cream icebox pie – perfect for those hot summer days.
Sharing the latest posts up on Sweetphi.com!

- Chicken breast recipe roundup – sharing my favorite ways to get creative with chicken breasts.
- Weekly meal plan – my favorite way to meal prep – complete with a grocery list!
- Potluck pasta salad – this is an old recipe that I updated and re-posted. Perfect for a a group!
- Mini meatloaves sheet pan meal – an easy sheet pan recipe that the whole family will love.
- Love List – the team’s favorite finds from around the web!
- Asian ground turkey and rice bowls – an all-time favorite recipe that I’m sharing again!
- Ben made The Easiest Banana Muffins – the even measured the flour and everything!!
One, two, three lovely things my readers are saying about my recipe for blueberry skillet dump cake:
- “Delicious will make again, I added walnuts and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Got tons of compliments.”
- “Absolutely amazing! Literally everything is like 1 cup. Super simple. I used almond milk in place of milk (dairy). My husband loved it to. I will be making this again.”
- “Easy and tastes great !!! five star plus. served at a birthday party and everyone loved it. I should’ve made two. thank you very much for the recipe”
A beautiful re-creation of my recipe for perfectly baked salmon:
- Busy Board! I just bought this busy board as a gift for a friend who has a 1 year old and 2.5 year old and the kids are loving it! Plus, it’s a great thing they can play with in the car seat for any road trips yo may have coming up.

- I just finished Good Company which people were raving about, but I have to tell you, I found it very blah and boring. The story didn’t go anywhere and was way dragged out, I feel like it could have been a short story? I kept waiting for something to happen, and then it ended. Very confused by the good reviews of this one.
- Next on my list it’s between 2 books: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – her writing is so moving. I still remember The Nightingale so vividly. “From the number-one best-selling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.
- The second one is Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand “In this satisfying pause-resister from “the queen of beach reads” (New York Magazine), a Nantucket novelist has one final summer to protect her secrets while her loved ones on earth learn to live without their golden girl.”
- Donuts and smelling flowers – we had to take in Nicks car for an oil change, and while we were waiting took the kids to a donut shop (Donut Squad) and then on a walk along the river in Waukesha, followed by a trip to Minooka Park – there’s a $6 entrance fee, but the park is HUGE and so beautiful. It has a lake/beach area, lots of picnic tables, and trails.
- Quick trip to Fulton Market district. Everything lined up super last minute, and Nick and I got to take a quick trip (we were gone less than 24 hrs lol) and went to the Fulton Market area in Chicago (the West Loop). We got a free room upgrade, it was so luxurious, and we went to several restaurants with a friend and did what I call a ‘tapas tour’ where we had small plates from several restaurants.
- Time Out Market
- Fulton Market Kitchen
- Swift and Son
- And then Cira for breakfast
- I mention my love of this area in my where to eat in Chicago guide – and it’s so crazy to see how much the area has grown since I originally shared that post, there’s an amazing sounding restaurant every two feet!!
- It was so nice to come home even though we hadn’t been gone that long.
EAT
- Nick is asking me when I’m going to make some bread and butter pickles and then make grilled hot chicken sausages (they’re so good and summery!)

WATCH
- I came across Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu and had completely forgotten that they turned the book (which I absolutely LOVED) into a series. The casting and acting is amazing, and I cannot wait to watch it!!!!
PURCHASE
- We’ve loved the 3 Sprouts brand of storage items for kids for years (I still have the original hamper I got for Ben which all three kids use now – this one). I just got Frankie one and she has been carrying it all over the house, so cute!

What’s your favorite way to use summer berries? Just leave a comment below and let me know!
P.S., i thought this very specific function tool was stupid when I first got it, but I use it ALL summer long.
NK says
So like… for real when are you making the pickles and hot chicken sausages?
Sweetphi says
I’ll add it to our meal plan, now I’m craving some of those pickles too!!