Catching Up With The Kelnhofers-23

This week on Catching up with the Kelnhofers-23, I’m talking about how I’m staying on track with eating out less, giving you guys a final Nordic gnome count and sharing my favorite kitchen products that I use with Ben.  Cooking with him is my fave because I feel accomplished, but I am also spending quality time with him.  A win-win!

this image

New on the Blog:

• Prosciutto, Fig and Arugula Flatbread​ – this flatbread/pizza is soooo good, makes a great dinner or fun appetizer
• Catching up with the Kelnhofers ​- the latest
• Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Risotto ​- loooove this Instant Pot recipe, I may or may not have eaten it all when recipe testing
• Work Snacks Roundup ​- a recipe roundup for work snacks!

What to Make:

I am trying so hard to make meals ahead of time so we’re not eating out/ordering take-out during the week. Freezer meals help me stay on track big time, so here are a few of my favorites!

• Chicken enchilada casserole
• Egg cups
• Smoothies – so many smoothies!
• Jambalaya
• A roundup of all of my favorites here

Reader Comments:

I love hearing fun tips on what you add to my recipes, like this reader who added delicious veggies to my freezer chicken enchilada casserole.

• “My husband asked if I could please make this recipe again. I added chopped zucchini and green pepper to the mix and use a rice mix of brown rice, wild rice, and quinoa. Thanks for great recipes.“

Products I’m Loving:

• Every time I post Ben helping me cook, I get questions about what we’re using. I bought him kid safe knives (these ones) and they actually work but are still kid safe – such a good purchase!!

• I also get a lot of questions about the kitchen stool I use with Ben. It’s the Guidecraft kitchen helper stool. The color we have is ‘natural.’
• I got this Aveda hair brush from a friend and feel like I’ve never ever had a better hair brush!!!!!
• Nick sent me this “Ikea Husbands” link and I about died laughing, it’s so true! “Have you seen my wife? Gorgeous, 5 foot 3 inches, pushing a cart full of stuff we don’t need” 
  

What I’m Reading:

• I finished reading The Bride Test by Helen Hoang. It was such a cute love story. I couldn’t stop listening because I wanted to know the ending so badly!
• Just started Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo. I’m not too far in, but so far, so good!
• Next up is Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I found a list from The Everygirl of 10 books to read in 2020 and this one sounded interesting. It sounds like it’s going to be a funny, lighthearted read!

What I’m Watching:

• Nick and I just started the latest season of The Good Place. I love this show and I love Kristen Bell. I know a lot of people love it and we are definitely fans!!

Personal Stories:

• Ben has started singing Jingle Bells at the dinner table. He really belts it out and it’s so adorable.
• We put away our Christmas decorations and I did a gnome count. The final count……40!

• We are trying to potty train Ben. It is not going great! Right now, we’re trying to use a chart with stickers and if het gets enough stickers, he gets a toy.

• I’ve always wanted to start a cookbook club and we had our first one! We used the Small Victories cookbook. The cookbook club is myself, Erin from Well Plated and Abby from Heart of a Baker. The first was one super fun and I can’t wait to do it again. We each cooked a dish from the book, everything was good!

• I made eggless waffles with Ben…for the millionth time! He just loves waffles so much.
• My sister got Ben these adorable pajamas from Children’s Place.

• I love my work from home day. Ben always sneaks into my office. This week he was sick so he just made a little bed and laid in my office to be near me. So sad, but also adorable! I love being able to sneak in some extra time with the kids.

Have you put away your Christmas decorations yet? Just leave a comment below and let me know!