A Little Less Toxic

Is Dump Cake my new personality? TBD. I’m thinking frozen raspberries and brownie mix for the next one but is that not gonna work out??

✨9x9 oven safe dish, greased
✨20oz frozen peaches
✨One package of Simple Mills organic oat flour Cinnamon Swirl Muffin & Cake Mix (organic uses regenerative farming and gf and nut free, simple, real food ingredients) plus the cinnamon swirl packet too. Could have mixed them together first or added in the other order 🤷🏼‍♀️
✨One stick of butter, cut small and sprinkled over the top
✨Bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes until top is golden and crisped and fruit is soft

Remove and let cool and set at least 30 min before serving. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream!

BISCUIT POT PIE 🥧

A cozy twist on my Chicken Potpie recipe from A Healthier Home Cook! Instead of my usual crust, I topped it with homemade einkorn buttermilk biscuits! If you want a shortcut or GF option, Capello’s brand gf freezer biscuits work perfectly too.

I typically don’t tolerate gluten, but I’ve been experimenting with einkorn wheat and tolerate it really well!

POT PIE FILLING
• 1+ lb chicken
• 2 tbsp butter or EVOO
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3–4 carrots, diced
• 3–4 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen green beans
• Diced potatoes & frozen corn, as desired
• 3 cups chicken bone broth
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour, more as needed
• 1 tsp thyme
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp each: ground mustard, coriander, chili powder, garlic powder & onion powder
• Salt & pepper to taste

EINKORN BISCUITS
• 2 cups einkorn flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp cold salted butter
• 1 cup buttermilk

LET’S MAKE IT!

1. In an oven-safe pot, cook chicken until nearly done. Remove and let cool slightly before chopping.
2. Add butter or EVOO, onion, carrots & celery to the same pot. Sauté 5 minutes, scraping up those flavorful browned bits!
3. Add chopped chicken, potatoes, frozen veggies & seasonings. Cook until veggies soften and chicken is cooked through.
4. Add broth, simmer & whisk in tapioca flour until thickened. Add more if needed. Potatoes should be tender.
5. For biscuits, whisk dry ingredients. Shred in cold butter & mix. Add buttermilk and gently knead into dough.
6. On an einkorn-floured surface, roll dough, fold into thirds, then in half. Roll again. Repeat 8–10 times for flaky layers!
7. Roll out & cut rounds using a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter or regular-mouth Mason jar ring.
8. Carefully arrange uncooked biscuits over the filling.

BAKE AT 450°F FOR ABOUT 12 MINUTES, until biscuits are golden and cooked through. Cool a few minutes & serve!

Mix and match fresh or frozen veggies based on what you have! Such a delicious way to make a nourishing, homemade meal with simple ingredients. 🤎

I made this for 16+ people so it’s a double batch situation here. Halve for a smaller crowd.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish
*NO STIRRING*
Pour in 32 oz frozen berries or fave frozen fruit
Pour over 2 containers of cake mix (I’m using Simple Mills gf white cake)
Drizzle 2 sticks of melted butter over the top
Sprinkle with the a little Ceylon cinnamon to be extra
Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes, until the top is golden and a little crisped

Allow to cool so fruit firms back up a bit. Serve as is or with fresh whipped cream or ice cream. Yum!

K, what do you call this? I’m usually pretty good with word play and names but I’m stuck with the dumb “Dump Cake” name and I hate it. 😆

Part 2!

On the day of hosting, 5 things I I typically have:

🍽️All serving dishes and platters cleaned and set out with a little sticky note inside saying what each is for.
🍽️The serving utensils inside or beside their dish
🍽️ Lots that was already made or prepped in the days leading up to today
🍽️A game plan for timing of what needs to happen when
🍽️ A goal to be done with prep at least a half hour before guests are scheduled to arrive so I’m not stressed or scrambling

2 years later and most of the things I make are still things from my own cookbook. Even for gatherings with kids and adults of all ages. Why? Because this cookbook was created from recipes we already love and make all. the. time. I know it’s become that for many of you now too and I can’t tell you how that feels. It’s overwhelming, really. Just got teary typing that so gonna hit post now and move on 😂🥹

Oh! But next up I’ll try and share the easyyyyy and I bc real food dessert I made for this dinner that was a hit too. So check back soon 🙏🏼

Did you see me being absolutely harassed by an uninvited guest?? So rude.

Damien and I enjoy hosting. I’m not the most flawless or polished of hostesses. At all. But I enjoy getting together with loved ones and feeding us all with nourishing things that delight us.

🏡 🍽️ 🫶🏼 Some critical tips for hosting with more joy and less stress:

1- ANYTHING that can be done ahead of time, try and DO. I mean it. ANYTHING. Chopping ingredients, restocking TP, setting out serving dishes and utensils and labeling them, any and everything. Day of always has unexpected things you haven’t budgeted time for and rushing isn’t conducive to more joy and less stress.

2- collect large serving dishes and platters over time. I like who best and things like wood and materials found in nature. These go with everything and can easily by modified with what you have to make them coordinate with any theme or season! Plus they help make your food POP.

3- A little garnish goes a long way for presentation. We eat with our eyes first! Don’t underestimate the value of fresh chopped parsley, fresh shaved parm, colorful microgreens, a few little edible flowers, lemon wedges, and the like.

It may be Fall on paper, but it is still HAWT. Some fam from Germany is visiting and we gathered to spend some time together with lots of the rest of the local family. I wanted something Americana vibes and suitable for this weather. A salad party we had. And it was good!

Check back for part two where I bring it all together and for a super simple desert that fed us all and was, of course, ALLT annndddd crowd pleasing.

Highly recommend finding my highlight bubble called “Dishwasher” and reliving one of the first times we had a collective internet moment of unity in horror and hilarity over this topic. The first time I showed y’all how to do this was probably 2018/2019 and I learned most people didn’t know then they could and SHOULD be doing this. Then I saved many of your reactions and videos in that highlight because we were having a TIME, y’all. I haven’t showed you in a while and since I’m cleaning this new-to-me machine, I figured it might help some of you!