This all started because I was trying to eat healthy.

The Tall Boy really enjoys eating breakfast casseroles on the weekends, so I decided to make one using egg whites…which left  me with quite a few unused yolks.  Instead of tossing ‘em, I decided to make some lemon curd.  I’ve wanted to make my own lemon curd forever, and I decided this was the perfect opportunity.

I mixed this up this batch in under 10 minutes – it was so easy!  Did you know lemon curd takes only a few ingredients – most of which you already have around your kitchen?  And you can certainly leave out the vanilla bean, but given the opportunity, I’ll add vanilla to anything.

I love smearing lemon curd on just about everything: scones, toast, muffins…or stuffing it inside some Lemon-Vanilla Dream Bars.

Now that I know how easy it is to make my own, you’d better believe I’ll be making this often!  Especially to balance out all of the “healthy eating” I’m doing eating egg-white casseroles.

Hey, I can’t waste good egg yolks.

If you love lemon as much as I do, promise me you’ll give this a try!  And make sure to stop back by tomorrow for another light, lemon recipe.

If you’re looking for a fun way to put this lemon curd to use, check out my Lemon-Vanilla Dream Bars.

Have a great Monday!

XO, Ashley

Eek.

School started yesterday, guys. I sent my little Doodlebug off to a school that houses kindergarten through second grade in a building that rivals the size of my old junior high.

I am so not ready for this.

Our schedule has totally and completely changed, and I’m not ready for that, either.  I’m trying to start my day job by 6:30 am so that I am able to leave the office in time for school pick-up by 4:00.  By the time we get home, make dinner, clean-up, pack lunches, school bags, et cetera, the evening leaves little time leftover for good, quality family time.

Believe me, right now I am looking for any shortcut I can get.

That is why I am so excited to tell you about eMeals.  If you haven’t heard of eMeals before, basically, it’s an online LIFESAVER.  It is a meal planning service that incorporates everything you need in order to take the stress out of dinnertime.

This online service provides over 30 meal plan options that include easy to follow recipes and shopping lists and where possible are tied to weekly grocery store sales. You can choose from stores including Aldi, Kroger, Publix, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods, and from a variety of meal plans–from Gluten-Free, Low-Fat, Low-Carb, Portion Control, Vegetarian, and Natural and Organic.

Since I’m trying to get my jeans to button by the time fall arrives, we’ve been trying out the Portion Control plan at my house.  Believe me when I tell you it is awesome.  As much as I love food blogging, it is so nice right now to have someone else doing my planning and list making.  Even better?  eMeals even gives you an estimated price breakdown per item, so that you can budget your expenses.

Here’s a sample of what we’ve been making.  Quick, no-fuss meals that are both kid and finicky husband approved!

Each week you will receive a brand new plan with a complete grocery list organized by sections. And each meal plan is as low as $5 per month!!

Want to learn more about eMeals or try it out for yourself?  Click my affiliate link below:

Or maybe you just want to enter my giveaway for three-month subscription to the meal plan of your choice.  Now, if I could just find a way to get someone else to do the actual shopping and food preparation…any takers?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a great Wednesday!

This giveaway was sponsored by eMeals, but any thoughts or opinions I’ve shared here are totally my own.

Ever had a recipe that yields 30 cupcakes (cookies, muffins, etc.), but you only need 24 (or 12 or 18 or…)?

Yeah, me too.

I tend to make a lot of baked goodies for this blog, but I seriously don’t need massive amounts of sweets sitting around my house.  Trust me, I’ll eat them all.

And even when I need to make treats to send to Doodle’s preschool, I still only need about a dozen [insert goodie of choice].

The problem with many recipes is that these often call for an odd number of eggs–and since I never really knew a good way to measure a partial egg, I just went ahead and made the full recipe.  Then I finally got smart and Googled tips on dividing eggs.  Maybe you all already knew this nifty trick, but if I can save one person from sugar overload, my good deed for the day is done.

Of course, Google told me dividing an egg was actually very easy.

You just divide by volume.

Ummm. why didn’t I think of this before?

How to Divide an Egg

1. Crack your egg into a bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.
2. Google suggested pouring the egg into a measuring cup, but for a more accurate measurement, I measured mine by individual tablespoons.
3. My large egg measured approximately four tablespoons, so I measured out two of the tablespoons for the half egg I needed for my recipe.

See, easy-peasy!

What great kitchen tips do you have?

Hi guys!  I’m guest posting today over at Mom’s Crazy Cooking - so please click over and check out the peppermint marshmallows I made to share with her readers.

These are soooooo yummy, and much better than the bagged kind you can get at Wal-Mart.  And seriously, they are really not that hard to make.  Promise.