Author: Allison

What is something that seemed like the absolute height of luxury when you were younger?

For me, it was owning a house with stairs.

My grandparents on my dad’s side had a big house with citrus trees and a pool, and potpurri in the guest bedrooms, but most importantly, they had stairs.

These stairs were carpeted, which was important because they provided a soft landing for our little bums as we slid- kathunk, kathunk, kathunk all the way down the stairs.

Over and over and over again.

And now, I’m all grown up, and I have a house with carpeted stairs! But the biggest downside of being all grown up is that I’m a heck of a lot heavier than I was when I was five, and my poor tailbone just can’t take the abuse anymore!

Treet and eggs is a Christmas morning tradition that came from my dad’s side of the family. Every year, after stockings but before presents, we’d have treet and eggs (sometimes spam and eggs or bacon and eggs, if we couldn’t find treet) and Cinnabon cinnamon rolls that we picked up on Christmas Eve.

These days we don’t always have the cinnamon rolls (although there’s usually something sweet – like these sticky toffee pancakes!), but the treet and eggs are a yearly must!

Treet and Eggs

A Day family original

Ingredients

• 1 can treet or spam, diced
• 5 eggs
• a dash of heavy cream or milk
• freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the pan over medium heat. Pan-fry the treet until browned on all sides.
2. Whisk the eggs with a dash of cream until smooth. Scramble eggs into the treet until they are done to your liking. Season with pepper, and serve.

Sub to my YouTube channel and follow me on TikTok or Instagram to get notified whenever we have new videos!

Links in this post may be affiliate posts. If you buy an item through an affiliate link, I get a small fee, which helps support this blog!

As unrealistic as it may be, I never really gave up on my dream of dancing professionally. It’s just… evolved over the years.

As a teen, I wanted to dance in a major ballet company. ABT, LINES Ballet, here I come!

By college, I had realized that I would never be that good (and was pretty much already too old to get into a company like that)… plus being in a pretty serious car accident kind of put my dancing dreams on hold for a while.

Since then, it’s been a battle – between my inner demons, who tell me I’m too old and out of shape and injury prone and never was any good anyways so why bother, and my ridiculously persistent dreams of SOMEHOW being a dancer and performing again.

But I’m not ready to give up on this dream. I’ve started doing barre everyday. Putting my pointe shoes on. Investing some serious hours into Just Dance.

Who knows where this will go… but I’m still not giving up on being a dancer – not yet.

Reasonably easy, tasty, more or less healthy? You know me, I’m into it.

I love salmon with cream sauces, especially if lemon or dill are involved, so this hits all the right notes. We ate this over rice, but I imagine it would be great with pasta as well!

Lemon Dill Salmon

from The View From Great Island

Ingredients

• 4 center cut filets of salmon about 1/3 lb each
• olive oil
• salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 3 tbsp capers

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Lightly coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and heat on medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Season the salmon on all sides with salt and pepper, and then sear it on both sides. Remove the salmon to a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until just done through.
3. Meanwhile make the sauce by adding the shallot to the browning pan and saute for a minute or two to soften. Add the wine and let the wine bubble away to reduce for a couple of minutes. Add the lemon juice and cream to the pan and bring up to a simmer. Add the fresh dill and the capers. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. When the salmon is done, add it to the pan, nestling it down into the sauce. Spoon some of the sauce over the fish, and garnish with lemon and more fresh dill. Serve right away on a bed of wilted spinach, with couscous or a rice pilaf on the side.

Sub to my YouTube channel and follow me on TikTok or Instagram to get notified whenever we have new videos!

Links in this post may be affiliate posts. If you buy an item through an affiliate link, I get a small fee, which helps support this blog!

Someone asked recently if I played any sports when I was growing up.

And at first, my initial reaction was no – ballet and dance were pretty much my entire life.

But then I realized, I actually did, although I never played any team sports or played anything competitively.

My mom and all her siblings were competitive swimmers, so as soon as we were old enough to get in the water, we all took swimming lessons every summer. By the time I hit high school, I was a pretty good swimmer.

My dad, on the other hand, played tennis a lot, so we also took tennis lessons for a while at our local park.

I also did a bit of ice skating, although I was never good enough to actually compete or perform.

I always wished I could do it all, but trying to stay uninjured for ballet was always my top priority.

When you randomly happen to have a lot of extra chips and salsa that needs to be eaten up…

Well, if you’re a normal person, you just eat a lot of chips and salsa.

BUT if you’re a content creator (aka weirdo like me) then you make chilaquiles!!

Sometimes it pays off to be a weirdo like me, and this is definitely one of those times.

You can’t go wrong with cheesy chips – these are like nachos, but way more flavorful!

Chilaquiles

slightly adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb thick-cut bacon, cut into small pieces
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed, peeled
• 1 serrano chile or jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 1 (14.5-oz) can pinto beans, drained, rinsed
• 2 cups salsa, plus more for serving
• 8 cups thick tortilla chips, plus more
• kosher salt
• 4 oz Monterey Jack or pepper Jack, shredded (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 oz Cotija or Parmesan, finely grated (about 1/4 cup)
• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves with tender stems
• hot sauce and lime wedges (for serving)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Cook bacon in a large (12″) cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is beginning to crisp, 5–7 minutes. Add garlic and chile and continue to cook, stirring, until bacon is crisp and garlic is golden brown, 2–3 minutes more. Add beans, stir to combine, then stir in 2 cups salsa verde. Taste by dipping a tortilla chip into mixture; season with salt if needed.
2. Transfer bean mixture to a large bowl (trying to add the chips to the skillet will make a mess, trust us). Gently stir in 8 cups chips with a rubber spatula until thoroughly coated without breaking chips. Return to hot skillet or a 9×13″ baking dish. Stick a handful of fresh chips vertically into mixture here and there—they will get extra crunchy as the chilaquiles bake. Sprinkle Monterey Jack and Cotija over. Bake until cheese is bubbly, 10–15 minutes.
3. Top chilaquiles with fried eggs and cilantro. Serve with hot sauce, lime wedges, and more salsa verde alongside.

Sub to my YouTube channel and follow me on TikTok or Instagram to get notified whenever we have new videos!

Links in this post may be affiliate posts. If you buy an item through an affiliate link, I get a small fee, which helps support this blog!

On Christmas morning, when I was six years old, there was my very first bike, white and pink with training wheels and all, sitting in front of the Christmas tree!

My little sister, who was three at the time, also got her first bike.

And let me tell you, I was SO excited to finally get to ride a bike!!! But at the same time, on the inside, I was so mad at the UNFAIRNESS of it all.

Like, yes, even at that age I totally understood that from my parents’ point of view, you can’t just get one kid a bike and not the other or you’re just asking for sibling drama. And yes, we had tons of fun riding up and down the sidewalk in front of our house together.

But here I had to wait all the way until I was six, and she just gets a bike when she’s three?!?!

Yes, I’m a libra, why do you ask?

If you have leftover cranberry sauce (or in my case, a bag of cranberries that never got used), this is a great way to use it up!

These are sweet and tart and creamy, and a great holiday breakfast or dessert. Plus they’re super easy to make, especially if you already have leftover cranberry sauce on hand!

Cranberry Bliss Danishes

barely adapted from B Sweet

Ingredients

Cranberry sauce

• 6 oz fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup orange juice; fresh squeezed preferred
• 1/4 cup pack brown sugar
• 2 tbsp clover honey
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of salt

Cream cheese danish

• 1 sheet store bought puff pastry; defrosted
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup clover honey
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• pinch of salt
• egg wash (1 whole egg plus 1 tbsp of water)
• melted white chocolate, optional, for drizzling

Cooking Directions

1. In a small saucepan, mix together all the cranberry sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the cranberries burst and the sauce has slightly thickened (about 5 minutes). The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool. Then add to a bowl and store covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
3. Preheat the oven to 400F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, honey, orange zest, vanilla bean paste, and salt until fully combined and set aside.
5. Using a sharp knife or rotary cutter, cut the sheet of puff pastry into 8-12 pieces.
6. Place the puff pastry squares on the cookie sheets. Gently tuck the corners in. Place a tablespoon of cream cheese into the middle of the pastry, then make an indention for the sauce. Spoon a teaspoon of the cranberry sauce into the indention.
7. Brush the pastry with egg wash. Than place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
8. Let cool, drizzle with melted white chocolate and sprinkle with orange zest.

Sub to my YouTube channel and follow me on TikTok or Instagram to get notified whenever we have new videos!

Links in this post may be affiliate posts. If you buy an item through an affiliate link, I get a small fee, which helps support this blog!

Throughout my childhood, we had very specific traditions for Christmas morning if we were celebrating Christmas at home.

If we were up before our parents – which, of course we were, it was Christmas after all – we were allowed to get into our stockings. Couldn’t touch any presents, but stockings were fair game.

There was always a tangerine in the toe, and plenty of See’s candy – I still look forward to the chocolate coins every year. Knick knacks, or little toys – there was definitely a period of a few years where every Christmas stocking contained a packet of Pokemon cards. And maybe a little gift card or something to round it all out.

Once the parents were awake, it was time for Christmas breakfast. Two things were a must: Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, which we’d pick up from the mall on Christmas Eve, and treet n’ eggs – scrambled eggs with cubes of treet mixed in – which is a canned meat, similar to spam.

Then it was time for presents – with all that wrapping paper saved to make origami paper of course, and then off we’d go to spend the rest of the day with relatives!

Things are of course looking very different this year, but I hope you are all having a happy, cozy, stress-free holiday season!

This is a really, really tasty breakfast bake. It’s hearty and flavorful from the sausage and squash, and all the veggies not only make it healthy, but also add a ton more flavor.

This would be a great dish for brunch or when you have guests, or it reheats wonderfully for your own breakfast all week long!

Cheesy Egg Bake with Sausage and Squash

slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 1 lb winter squash, stemmed, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges or slices
• 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 lb sausage (such as breakfast, Italian, or chorizo), broken into walnut-sized pieces
• 1/2 large red or yellow onion, sliced
• 1 Fresno chile, stemmed, sliced into rings
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 10 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cups grated cheese (such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, or mozzarella), divided
• chopped scallion greens, parsley, basil, and/or cilantro (for serving)

Cooking Directions

1. Arrange a rack in center of oven; preheat to 475°F. Toss squash and mushrooms with 2 tbsp oil in a 3-qt baking dish; generously season with salt and pepper. Roast until softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Toss sausage, onion, chile, and garlic with remaining 2 tbsp oil in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Scrape into dish with squash and mushrooms and toss to combine. Return to oven and roast until squash is tender and browned and other vegetables are softened, 10–15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk eggs and milk in same bowl and stir in 1 cup cheese; season with salt and pepper.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Carefully pour egg mixture into baking dish (rather than pouring it over the top, pick a spot near edge of dish and pour custard there; this will make for a prettier surface when baked). Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake until eggs are set but still slightly wobbly in the center and edges are puffed and brown, 10–15 minutes.
5. Let egg bake cool 10 minutes. Serve topped with scallions and herbs.

Sub to my YouTube channel and follow me on TikTok or Instagram to get notified whenever we have new videos!

Links in this post may be affiliate posts. If you buy an item through an affiliate link, I get a small fee, which helps support this blog!