Search for "olive oil" - Views From the Ville

Aug 062016
 

My husband and I usually sit down on Sunday afternoon and do a rough meal plan for the week.  It makes it easier for me because it cuts down on multiple trips to the grocery store.  It also keeps us from saying “so… what do you want for dinner?” 15 minutes before dinnertime.

Ultimate Stuffed Shells recipe - pasta shells stuffed with cheese, beef, mushroom and olives

While discussing this past week’s meals I suggested maybe we do stuffed shells.  My husband reported that he didn’t recall ever having them.  That response sealed the deal for me, and I decided that stuffed shells would definitely be on the menu. Continue reading »

Oct 082013
 

This dipping oil recipe was inspired by products received from Pompeian and Smiley360.  All words and thoughts are my own.

It may sound funny, but I threw my first serious dinner party when I was in high school.  I set the table nicely with linens, candles, and a centerpiece and served up four courses – appetizers, salad, entree, and dessert – to five of my closets friends.  It was a lot of fun – even considering the fact that the guys ended up playing swords with the crunchy rosemary bread sticks and then attempted to light them using the candles.

Gotta love teenage boys.

Being a hostess has always come naturally for me, and even when I’m only “entertaining” my own family, I like to try and make our meals as nice as possible.  Yes, we do take out now and then, and sometimes dinner comes out of the freezer.  But if I can carve the extra time out of the day, I like to add little extras whenever I can.

Bread Dipping Oil Recipe

One “extra” that I like to serve is bread with dipping oil.  Bread has always been a highlight of a meal for me; I’m sure it goes back to baking bread in the kitchen with my Gram while I was growing up.  But after the first time my bread was paired with dipping oil and herbs at a restaurant one night, I’ve made it as a pre-dinner nosh a few times per year. Continue reading »

Aug 232017
 

Eating fresh from the garden is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fruits and vegetables in the summer and fall.  Grab a bowl and some kitchen shears, go out and harvest my own ingredients for a big green salad or roasted Parmesan green beans or homemade spaghetti sauce.

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Green Beans Recipe - just 5 common ingredients and ready in under 30 minutes

The garden is a great way to get kids excited about a wider variety of vegetables, too.  If they have a hand in their care and harvest, they’re far more likely to want to try new things.

Continue reading »

Oct 202016
 

You know it’s fall when you see PSL hashtags start to pop up on Instagram.  And today I’m sharing a recipe for a homemade pumpkin spice latte scrub so you can smell as yummy as the favorite fall drink.

This Pumpkin Spice Latte Scrub is perfect for fall

A lot of years ago I worked for a local video store in my home town.  The town was very small so many businesses did double duty, offering up multiple shopping options.  The video store was no different, carving out part of the space to and installing tanning beds. Continue reading »

Mar 142016
 

This shop and my date night homemade General Tso Chicken recipe have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias

With Ashley living in Indianapolis and Austin having been away for his Army training our babysitting pool has been fairly tiny the last few months. Which means that date night is mostly celebrated at home after Bubbles has gone to bed.

Homemade General Tso Chicken recipe

I’ve been making homemade Sweet & Sour Chicken pretty regularly at my husband’s request.  So for our most recent date night I decided to go a similar route and make homemade General Tso’s Chicken.  This recipe comes together so fast and so easily that you’ll be making it for all your date nights. Continue reading »