The Caitlin Moss Blog

So these appetizers don't really have a name, but they are so good. My sister made them for Christmas Eve last year and I have now made them for book club, baby showers, girls nights, Thanksgiving and, of course, Christmas. They are easy to make and serve and look pretty fancy. Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Ingredients | 1 baguette or Italian loaf 1 package plain goat cheese 1 package prosciutto 1 jar peach preserves Balsamic vinegar 1. Slice baguette or loaf into 1" thick pieces. Lay on cookie sheet. 2. Add a smear of goat cheese to each. 3. Add a dollup of peach preserves. 4. Squish 1/2 piece of prosciutto on top. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Move to serving tray and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Enjoy! Absolutely delicious.

Life has been busy and full of changes lately...and also full of sniffles, coughs, and a slight decrease in appetites. That means I have lost my fight and negotiation expertise at dinner time. Usually my kids are awesome at "practicing" different foods so they can be good at eating it like mommy and daddy, but for this round of meals I didn't really care to try anything too new for them. I just wanted to make some easy and delicious food that the little and big tummies in the family can enjoy. For this round I turned these groceries... ...into these 24 meals (in less than 2 hours) for $175. Menu  | 2 Sweet 'n Sour Meatballs 2 Spaghetti 2 Lasagna 2 Pulled Pork on Pretzel Rolls 2 Black Bean Chicken Tacos 2 Ranch Chicken Tacos 2 Bacon Potato Soup 2 Chili with Cornbread Waffles 2 Italian Sausage Sub Sandwiches 2 Bacon Ranch Chicken 2 Winger's Chicken Strips 2 Creamy Mushroom Beef on Rice Grocery List | Meat: 4 small bags of premade mea...

A while back, I read an article about how no mom does it all. It was an encouraging article for all moms that basically said, look, no matter how things look on the outside, no mama does everything all the time. There are always holes, things left undone, and days where you feel like all the walls are caving in on you and you want to hide in the pantry with a cookie and a glass of wine. I totally agree. No mama does it “all” but you know what? We do ALL that we do and that is a lot. Not only is it a lot, it is enough. So when someone asks me, “How do you do it all?” I don’t blush and pretend my life is perfect. I also don’t give a list of all my failures and deflect a compliment (because some days I really just need a compliment). If someone asks me that question, I take it as they see me doing something well and could maybe use a few tips on how they could do it too. At least that’s how I feel toward other moms when I ask the question. Like any job (and let’s face it, pare...

Greek Meatballs on Pitas This meal is one of the greater successes with our kids. They love meatballs. This style of meatball tastes fresh and sweet with a bit of tang. This recipe is modified from Rachael Ray's version and we love making them (especially because they freeze so easy). Meatballs: 2 lbs. ground beef (or ground lamb) 1/4 cup feta 2 T flour or bread crumbs 1 tsp oregano 1 bunch mint chopped 2 tsp cinnamon 1 egg Salt & Pepper Hand mix. Roll into meatballs. I typically divide this into two bags and freeze. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Serve on pitas with tzatziki (how do you spell this word??)  sauce. Tzatziki Sauce: 1 cup plain greek yogurt Zest of 1 lemon ~2-3 shakes of dill 2 Tbsp. chopped cucumber Salt and pepper to taste Enjoy!

Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork on Pretzel Rolls This is one of our favorite meals. I love that it freezes easily and is a great go-to meal if we'll be having company for dinner. I'm also pretty notorious for bringing this to new mamas after having a baby. (It's like a push present. You're welcome.)   3 lb. pork butt OR pork loin 1 packet Memphis BBQ rub 1/4 cup brown sugar if you like it sweet, or 1 tsp red pepper flakes if you like it spicey Add 1 cup of water upon cooking. 8 hours on low in the crock pot. When done, shred and serve on pretzel rolls with BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is our favorite). This is also the pulled pork I use on top of my BBQ Mac & Cheese . Enjoy!

When I made this round of list of meals, I just couldn't steer clear of the comfort food no matter how hard I tried. It's fall, y'all! And I take no issue making some season favorites every night for dinner. I also added a few dishes/meals that are great for parties and football games. Let's get started... Menu | 1 queso dip/nachos 1 Buffalo Chicken Dip 1 Beef Stroganoff 1 Carne Asada Fries 2 Sweet & Sour Meatballs 2 Chicken 'n Dumplings 2 Roast Beef Au Jus/French Dip 2 Butternut Squash Chili 2 Chicken Pot Pie 2 Pulled Pork (because we always love this) 2 Spaghetti Sauce (because the kids will always, ALWAYS eat this) 2 White Chicken Enchiladas 2 Greek Meatballs on Pitas 2 PF Chang's Copycat Lettuce Wraps 1 Caribbean Jerk Chicken Grocery List | Produce: 1 bunch celery 1 bag carrots 2 red bell peppers 2 orange bell peppers 1 bunch mint 2 lemons 2 butternut squashes 1 bunch kale 4 red potatoes Dairy: 1 block velveeta 24 o...

So here's something awesome. And delicious. I was out at Hop Jacks with some friends over the summer and a friend ordered the BBQ Mac and Cheese. It is Mac and cheese topped with bacon, topped with pulled pork, and then smothered with BBQ sauce. I could make that! So I did. I served this at Maci's birthday party and it was a huge hit. So I'm passing on the awesomeness to you. Bacon Mac & Cheese 8 oz sour cream 1 can cheddar cheese soup 2 cups shredded Monterey jack and cheddar cheese 1/2 stick of butter Salt Pepper Garlic Powder Milk 1 box elbow macaroni Cook macaroni, strain and dump back in pot. Stir in milk and cheese and cheddar soup until melted. Add 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp pepper and 1 tsp garlic powder. Place in a baking dish, top with a thin layer of shredded cheese. Cook and crumble bacon and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Pulled Pork 1 packet Memphis BBQ rub 1 cup water 2-3 lb pork loin Place ingredients in crock pot on l...

"Mom, this is my most favorite chicken ever." -Isaiah I know, sweet boy. It is delicious. We love chicken at our house and this my version of "healthy" fried chicken. I use quotations because, hello, fried. Start with the dry rub: 1/2 c whole wheat flour 1/2 T Smoked Paprika 1/2 T Garlic Salt 1/2 T Mustard Seed Powder 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper 1 tsp Chili Powder 1/2 t Cumin 2 T Brown Sugar 1 T seasoning salt Mix ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Gently toss chicken tenderloins or breasts (cut into strips) in the rub. This recipe should be enough for at least 6-7 tenderloins or 3-4 chicken breasts. I like to cut chicken breasts into strips because it cooks faster and it's easier to for kids to dip and eat. Heat a large saucepan to medium heat and melt about 1/4 c of coconut oil. Place coated chicken in the pan and flip about every 3-5 or until chicken is cooked through and the outside is brown and crunchy. Don't over crowd the ch...

Since we moved into our house 4 years ago, I have been dying to do this to our front room. The room has 18 foot ceilings and I wanted to add batten & board to the lower half (about 8 1/2 feet tall) to ground the room, add dimension, and help rid our house of that "cookie cutter"/"builder's grade" look. We finally did it! (And by we, I mean my husband. He is a rock star.) Level of difficulty: Easy but very tedious Time Length: It took us probably 4 whole days (though we spread ours out over 4 weekends so it seemed to take a long time since the room remained in shambles.) Cost: $150 What you'll need: 2 sheets MDF 2 cans of liquid nails 1 can caulk 1 box All-Purpose Joint Compound 1 gallon Kilz primer 1 gallon white semi-gloss paint Cost of the above items: $150 Tools: Table Saw Miter Saw Nail gun Caulk Gun Plastic spackle knives Paint Brush Paint Roller Painter's Tape Level Stud Finder Step 1: Prime walls with one c...

School is starting you guys. There is no stopping it. Along with school starting is the beginning of all.the.things. Bible study, meetings, practices, rehearsals...all of it. And life will get busy before we know it and dinner will get put on the back burner. Before you let that happen. I thought I'd share my family's 10 favorite freezer meals for you to make and have ready to go when life gets crazy. These meals are not only our favorites, but for the most part, our kids will eat these with no fuss. Ever. The prep time for these should be less than an hour and the total cost for all necessary ingredients is probably less than $100 (realistically it's probably less than $70). Not bad for getting a head start on the back to school bizz-ness. Meals: Pulled Pork White Chicken Enchiladas Spaghetti Sauce Peach Mango Salsa Chicken Dirty Rice Italian Sausage and Peppers on Hoagies Greek Meatballs on Pitas Sausage Bake Butternut Squash Chili Chicken Pot Pie Pulled ...

I have a little secret. When it comes to dinner, it's okay to think inside the box. I know that goes against all things in this world telling us to be meticulous, extravagant, put-together and picture perfect, but lemme just say, it's okay to throw all that elaborate stuff out the window and eat simply. If you are here, reading this, then you probably are looking for a way to simplify dinner time. You probably have kids that bark orders at you day and night (while inside your head you think, "We are not equals! I am your mother! I am your superior!" ;) ) or you work all day and would like to figure out a way to eat well at night without having to actually cook or really even think about dinner. Enter meal planning. Now your response might be, but I don't like the crock pot because I don't like soup or stew. Oh good! Me neither. I'll eat it here and there but to be completely honest, my kids and I don't really like soup. And if we don't like ...