April 2025 Recap

April was everything – spring teases, soccer, Easter, vacation, lacrosse, and maybe too much rain.

Easter was fun and full of magic. We ate lots of brunch including these very easy sausage & cheese stuffed biscuits.

When I needed more veggies, I put them all onto a very veggie sandwich with zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, and a spread of pesto and and a smear of blended cottage cheese.

This French white bean cassoulet got a refresh from 2013.

I added a grain bowl with this teriyaki mushroom rice bowl. It has a sesame peanut drizzle that makes it really special.

Our vacation getaway to NYC was the best time. Ellen’s Stardust Diner was my favorite. J had tons of work but was able to do it all.

The Big Kid:
He’s into lacrosse and we’re so proud to see him try new things – a few years ago he wouldn’t have. He’s winding down on the trombone – it was fun to play but not to practice. We got a hotdog slicer and he loves a ‘slotdog’. He got incredibly motion sick coming home from NYC, but he loved navigating the subway, The Empire State Building, and Times Square at night.

The Littler One:
It’s soccer season! She’s having a great time except for some rained out games. Boo. We’ve been to the indoor pool more and she can swim on her own (even though she can’t touch). It’s lovely to supervise without getting in sometimes! She loved the Statue of Liberty and I couldn’t get over how much walking she did without ever getting tired.

Goals for this upcoming year:
Year of replacements/upgrades! I got new perfumes!
Restaurant Recreations – this one should probably
Special ingredient focus – oops
More fish – the littlest requested fish tacos.
What I’m reading – I read Good Dirt which was the best of the year. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating was the town read and I was into it. I loved Berry Pickers and for suspense and Home is Where the Bodies Are.

Stuffed Biscuits with Sausage & Cheese

This is too easy for a recipe so let’s agree this is more of a how-to than a recipe, Ok?

Refrigerated biscuits are stuffed with sausages & cheese but add any favorites – bacon and egg, or crispy chicken and cheese, or apples and cheddar.

Stuffed Biscuits with Sausage & Cheese
Ingredients:

2 tubes of refrigerated biscuits
16 sausage patties
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (as the package indicates).
Cook the sausages until fully cooked, or warmed through if cooked and frozen.
Peal apart each biscuit and stuff with cheese and sausage.

Pinch the other piece on top to close.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, as package instructs.

Enjoy!

We had these with Easter brunch and they were easy to assemble for a crowd. The kiddos would have enjoyed assembling if it wasn’t between them and an Easter egg hunt. I’ll have to have a few in the freezer for a hand-held breakfast on the go.

Recreating French White Bean Cassoulet at Home

{originally published in 2013 and updated in 2025}

We were in Paris in 2013 and this is the epitome of comfort food. Here’s what we had in Paris – white beans, duck, pork and a delicious broth:

The Three Bite Rule - Paris Dinner Like a Local

Sometimes the best tasting dishes are not the most photogenic, but comfort comes to this dish from sauce with white beans, pork, and chicken thighs. Baguette would be good but the kiddos like to “make” (and eat) crescents so here we are.

Cassoulet at Home
Ingredients: (for 4 servings)

3-4 chicken thighs
2 sausages
2, 8 oz cans white beans
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup white wine
1 tsp thyme
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions:
Heat a large heavy pan to medium heat. Season the thighs with salt, pepper, and thyme. Sear them until golden and mostly cooked (about 4 minutes each side – they’ll finish in the oven). Remove from the heat. Slice the sausages.

In the same pan, deglaze with the wine and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes scraping the bottom bits off. Add in the tomato paste cooking for a few minutes. Next, pour in the broth bringing to a boil.

Pour off the excess liquid for the beans. Pour them in and add the chicken and sausage back in.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

Bake for 20 minutes checking that the chicken is cooked through. My sausages were fully cooked so they were warming in the sauce.
Serve with bread to dip. Enjoy!

I loved this! There’s so much more flavor than the 40-minute(ish) cooktime.

Teriyaki Mushroom Rice Bowls

I love rice bowls for customization though, as the only mushroom fan in the house, this one was purely for me. Roasted broccoli, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms top rice and get a sesame peanut drizzle. Swap the broccoli for edamame or cucumbers or greens!

Teriyaki Mushroom Rice Bowls
Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
1/2 sweet potato
1 cup broccoli
1 cup mushrooms
1 – 2 teaspoons teriyaki
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
chili crisp

Directions:
Prepare the rice, the potato, and the broccoli.
Pan fry the mushrooms and add a splash of teriyaki at the end.
Spread the rice into the bottom of the bowl and add the broccoli, the potato, and mushrooms.

Stir together the peanut butter, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Add chili oil if desired.
Drizzle sauce over the top.
Enjoy!

This has sweet from the potatoes with salty from the teriyaki and crunch from the broccoli and the perfect nutty sauce.

Very Veggie Sandwich

This veggie sandwich is absolutely bursting with flavor.

The carrots, zucchini, and tomato are for nutrition. The pesto, the balsamic reduction, and the cheese are the flavor.

Very Veggie Sandwich
Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 zucchini
4 slices of bread or 2 rolls
1 carrot
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 tomato
1 tablespoon pesto
1/4 cup cottage cheese, blended
2 teaspoons balsamic glaze


Directions:
Slice the zucchini into strips, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt and pepper, then roast or grill.
Peel the carrot into ribbons and toss with red wine vinegar and a sprinkle of oregano.
Toast the bread.
Spread pesto on one side and cheese spread onto the other.
Slice the tomato and the zucchini.


Pile on the tomato, zucchini, and carrot ribbons. Drizzle balsamic glaze and assemble the two halves together.


Enjoy!

Cottage cheese is not my vibe BUT, blended it is fine. Swap it for ricotta or hummus or avocado! The carrot ribbons with vinegar is the punch this needs. It is drippy and requires 2 napkins. There’s texture and tons of flavor. I loved that this one has red, orange, and green.

You thought I was going to add arugula, am I right? Go for it, I would next time.