This week on Catching up with the Kelnhofers, I’m sharing a new favorite family dinner, some great gift ideas for Christmas and the item you need from Amazon before your holiday wrapping gets out of control!
I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, in whatever form that looked like for you this year.
I’m here to share with you one of the most underrated, easy dinners = a roasted whole chicken!!
I recently re-discovered it, and it’s a dinner game changer.
Making a roasted chicken is so easy, and it looks so much fancier than it actually is.
Only thing that’s meh is that the cook time is 90 minutes, but it’s very hands-off … did I mention EASY?! Just put a little seasoning on, drizzle some olive oil over it and pop it in the oven.
Plus I get to make the leftovers into Nick’s favorite lunch.
While I’m on this roast chicken kick, I thought I’d mention that someone told me they made it in place of the turkey for Thanksgiving. It’s a great holiday tradition too. Speaking of the holidays…
If you’re shopping this weekend and looking for a little gift inspiration:
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- Love list gift guide edition
- Love list some small businesses to buy gifts from
- Gifts under $50
- Beauty lover gift guide
- Gifts for toddlers
- Gifts for her / him
- Cookbook gift guide
New on the blog:
- Shortcut danish pastry – only 5 ingredients and an easy way to get those yummy Danish flavors without all of the work
- Catching up with the Kelnhofers – family updates from last week
- Anything goes big batch granola – this recipe is super flexible and crazy easy.
- Love List – this week’s list is all about shopping small! We’re sharing our favorite small businesses for you to support this year.
Theme of the week:
This week, I’m all about the slow cooker. I love how easy a meal is when you can set it and forget it! I have a ton of slow cooker recipes on the site, but these are a few of my faves:
- Cheesy potatoes – a favorite recipe at all of our family gatherings.
- Chili con carne – super easy and you can use an Instant Pot if you’d prefer
- Pork roast and potatoes – an affordable meal that everyone will enjoy
- Lentil and vegetable soup – healthy and perfect for these cold winter months
Reader Comments (we did pumpkin loaf last week)
Before I wrap up pumpkin season (and deep dive into Christmas!), I wanted to share a few more super lovely comments on my pumpkin loaf recipe.
- “I’m an avid baker, but relatively new to GF treats. I made muffins with mini choc chips and it was out of this world. Best pumpkin item I’ve ever baked. Thank you!! This is a fall season must have!”
- “This is the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever made! I use Bobs Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour, and have non gluten free friends ask for the recipe! This is a fall season must have!”
- “I’ve made this many times now and never fails as my go-to dessert bread!”
- “I made this pumpkin loaf, and as the recipe name states, IT IS THE BEST PUMPKIN LOAF EVER!!! Bar none, without a doubt. It was so moist and flavorful. I did not add the chocolate chips. I made it on a Wednesday, and we finished it for breakfast on Monday. Good to the last bite. I have celiac disease, therefore, I’m always happy to find a new recipe. I love fall, and anything pumpkin. Yes, it is better than Starbuck’s. Thank you for this recipe.”
Reader Recreations
Check out this recreation for my Japanese pan noodles. I love this recipe for a great, vegetarian Asian meal.
Don’t forget to tag me anytime you’re making a SweetPhi recipe!
Things I’m Loving
- Always loving a good food storage container, especially this time of year. I’m buying a whole bunch of new containers to pack up our Thanksgiving leftovers.
Item from Amazon you didn’t know you needed:
- Grab this gift wrap organizer before it gets too out of control!
What I’m Reading
- Just started The Guest List omg page turner! Loving it!
Personal Stories
- We bought a locking cabinet to put the kids’ Christmas presents in and Nick built it, I happened to be unpacking boxes and found our Christmas jammies (so soft!)
- A few random scenes from the week.
Did you Know?
We finally hit 100 subscribers on YouTube! I know this may seem like no big deal, but we’ve recently started to focus on our YouTube page and are excited to see it growing. I would love if you subscribed and watched our videos!
Popular this week:
- Most visited blog post: Thanksgiving brunch – I’m going to be making turkey breakfast sandwiches from this list too!
- Most liked Instagram post: this awesome pumpkin pecan pie
- Most pinned image: this pin for cheesy bacon dip – yum!
- Most viewed YouTube video: this video for yummy cookies.
- Most purchased item: This comfy cozy v-neck t-shirt – holy guacamole you guys loved this recommendation (it’s from my mom-essentials holiday edition)
I’ve been holding out until now to put out any Christmas decorations, but now I’m in full holiday mode and cannot wait to decorate for the holidays! Anyone else? Or is your house already decked out (no judging, just a little jealous lol).
These are the first holiday decorations I’m putting out.
When are you decorating? I’d love to know, so just leave a comment below and let me know!
P.s., yes, I bought the kids each an outfit from this collection for Christmas
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