Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 29

Tuesday Things.

1. Dying to make jalapeño popper pull apart bread. Wow!

2. Super sad to take down Valentine’s day in our house. It might be my favorite little holiday to decorate for?!

3. Real strategies to calm down. Oh wow, I LOVE this.

4. I am still in a book hangover since reading The Favorites last month. Nothing is curing it!

5. I need to send more voice notes.

6. TV things! I watched the Gabby Petito doc. Ugh. I also watched the first episode of The Baldwins.

7. We should all be lemonading.

8. The SAG awards dresses… Kerry Washington and Keri Russel! Obsessed. Also Leighton Meester. Perfection.

9. Okay I think it’s time for a hot pants margarita.

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Maple Chipotle Salmon Bites.

We love these maple chipotle salmon bites! Easy, sticky maple salmon with a kick, served over cabbage slaw, jasmine rice and a refreshing, crisp mango salsa.

Dinner tonight! 

These maple chipotle salmon bites are tender and juicy flavor bombs served with refreshing slaw and mango salsa. It’s such a filling meal and one that is simple, tastes incredibly fresh and ridiculously satisfying. 

It’s no surprise that this is my favorite way to make salmon. I have so many similar recipes with different flavor profiles. They are made the same way because it’s foolproof, easy and creates such a delicious little sauce!

The maple chipotle combo is so good – a little bit sweet with a little bit of heat. It’s savory and slightly spicy but the sweetness cuts the kick. 

And the mango salsa! It’s the perfect complement because it’s cool against the warm salmon. It tastes bright and summery for the most welcome flavors this time of year.

Almost like a taste of sunshine!

Yes please. Get us out of this cold. 

This is how I make it! 

My foolproof salmon starts with a good seasoning. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, chipotle chili powder. That’s it! Cut the salmon into chunks and cover it all over with the spices. 

I like to use a hot skillet with some olive or avocado oil. The key is to get a good golden sear on the salmon for flavor and crunch! 

Because the salmon is cut into chunks, it cooks up quickly. Once it’s browned and flipped at least one time, I add in the maple syrup mixture.

This bubbles up and finishes cooking the salmon while getting nice and saucy and sticky! It is SO freaking good. 

I like to make both a slaw and a salsa to go with the salmon. The slaw is like the base – think of it as the salad base. A little briney and very crunchy and crispy. 

The mango salsa is a great topping. You can use a little or a bunch and sprinkle it over top for that fresh sweetness.  (more…)

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A Week In The Life, Vol 8.

Oh another week!

We spent the last week watching the 4nations face off hockey which Max loved!

I hate to say that our sickness still drug out into early this week!! Eddie had tickets for monster jam with Jordan, but thankfully my dad could take him and he had a blast!!

Just a 7am Emilia dressed as Mary.

Quick little sourdough skillet pizza.

Monster trucks on my lap 24/7.

Eh. It was okay?

Double ear infections with fridge full of antibiotics. Still the happiest girl ever though.

Obsessed.

Recuperated for basketball!

I used the dyson air straight on her hair and she loved it!! Not sure why it looks so crooked… but it was super pretty.

Then off to our bestie’s birthday!!

Fun fun games.

This one was a hoot.

Cuties.

Very cute babies ready for bed.

And ended with even more hockey!! On to a new week!

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What To Eat This Week: 2/23/25.

Delish meals to beat the winter blues!

What’s on your menu this week?!

What To Eat This Week

White bean and greens soup

Weeknight buffalo chicken sandwiches

Smoky sweet potato kale salad

Turkey meatball subs

Seared steak frites

Garlicky grilled chicken broccoli pizza

Baja grain bowls

Bircher muesli 

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Currently Crushing On.

Happy weekend!

This week on the blog I shared this white bean and greens soup. I also shared these toasted cauliflower buttered noodles and this grilled chicken broccoli garlic sauce pizza.

I also shared a bunch of my favorite home items since moving last year!

My winter favorites and February favorites are right here.

You can find all my favorites in my amazon store front and LTK shop!

There’s a new menu for the week and a new peek inside our everyday life.

You can finally order a copy of my next book, Easy Everyday. I would be so thrilled if you ordered today!

xo

WHAT I’M LOVING THIS WEEK

Instant pot chicken tacos look amazing.

Craving this chocolate stout cake.

This hummus sandwich sounds so good.

Cajun seafood gumbo. Yum.

Perfection is this lemon tart.

Kale and brussels slaw for the best side dish.

The easiest baked mostaccioli.

Homemade corndogs! Yes please!

Love an irish espresso martini.

Stuffed funfetti cookies. Wowza.

How to make cottage cheese alfredo.

Mushroom enchilada casserole. Delish.

Obsessed with these taco sliders.

Strawberry fool for the weekend!

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Garlicky Grilled Chicken and Broccoli Puff Pastry Pizza.

This grilled chicken broccoli pizza is so delicious! Flaky puff pastry, garlic sauce, tons of mozzarella and parmesan, broccoli florets and juicy grilled chicken. It tastes incredible and comes together quickly! Best dinner ever.

Pizza friday!

This grilled chicken broccoli pizza is on flaky, buttery puff pastry, drizzled with garlicky olive oil and sprinkled with tons of cheese.

It tastes like freaking heaven. That’s all you need to know. 

This might be one of my favorite pizza flavor combinations of ALL TIME.

That is a dramatic stance but I am nothing if not dramatic. 

Plus, everything is my favorite until my next favorite comes along. 

And that is just the way I like it. 

I have to say that this year, I’ve kind of implemented pizza friday at our house and it’s been wonderful. I’ve even had it for the kids when they get home from school and oh my gosh – GAME CHANGER.

Yes, I realize this is not a new thing and it’s actually one of the easiest ways to get dinner on the table on Friday nights. But it’s new for us and just makes things so… simple! 

Plus, the kids really look forward to it too. And then we all collapse because Friday nights at this stage = exhaustion after the week. Fun fun fun! 

My previous 20-something self would be horrible by all of that, but oh my, I LOVE IT.

Anyway. 

There is something about the grilled chicken + broccoli combo that is just SO good. It’s fresh and light tasting while also having this comforting feeling all at the same time.

Well, maybe it’s the cheese. 

Scratch that, it’s definitely the cheese. 

And the garlic sauce!

This whole meal starts by making some super garlickly olive oil with crushed red pepper. It is SO good. It will elevate anything. 

And for some reason, I always choose to have it with broccoli. It usually makes an appearance in my shrimp and broccoli bucatini. But believe me when I say, it works anywhere. 

It’s not spicy or TOO garlicky because the garlic toasts slowly in the olive oil. It reminds me of roasted garlic where there is even some sweetness. 

As usual, I’m throwing this pizza on some puff pastry because, oh gosh, why not? I love it so much, it’s easy to use and very accessible. This is my monthly reminder that I really enjoy the puff pastry that is not frozen, but comes refrigerated near the pie crusts. And it comes in one big sheet – not perforated at all.  (more…)

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25 of My Current Home Favorites.

Today we’re talking home favorites!!

Now that we’ve been in our new home for over a year, I’m sharing some of the things I have, love and/or use daily (or multiple times a day!). I LOVE seeing posts like this from others, especially when it comes to home/cleaning/functional/useful items that are worth it. I try a ton of things that aren’t worth it at all (hello, shark steam mops), but these are a few of the things that are must haves in our house. Almost everything on this list is something I bought well over a year ago (or more!) so it’s been used over and over.

Current Home Favorites

House of Noa kitchen mats. I bought four of these when we moved in. I LOVE THEM. They are so incredibly squishy and so pretty. I have two in my kitchen and two in my pantry. They are excellent standing mats and everyone comments on how great they feel. They are super easy to keep clean too. I love how they add something extra to the kitchen without being a rug that I constantly have to pick up and move.

Our Place Titanium Always Pan Pro. This is my current favorite pan. So easy to use. Super simple, easy to clean, lasts and is high quality.

Our Place Perfect Pot. I use this pot at least once every single day. It is so lightweight and just EASY to use. Now, of course I use my le creuset and staub a ton as well. But when it comes to moving easily through the kitchen, quickly for weeknight meals, etc – this is my go to. I have three of them. I love them!

Souper Cubes freezing molds. I freeze soup constantly, mostly for myself for lunches. I love how the portions are perfect and so easy to thaw. This is one thing I use easily every single week.

Glisten garbage disposal cleaner. Funny, but necessary. I use this every week to clean my garbage disposal. I love it! Yes, I use the lemon/salt trick sometimes too. But I use this without fail every week and it’s excellent.

Divided snack box. A year later, I still use this constantly. I’m not sure why it makes my kids want to eat all the things, but it’s foolproof. I pack it up for activities and it’s great. Sometimes it’s just snacks, sometimes it’s full of dinner.

Flat USB-C multi charger. This is an excellent charger if you have multiple phones, ipads, etc – and want it to look sleek too.

Wireless charging stand dock. This is the charger that I have on my nightstand that I LOVE. The fact that the phone sits up and I can see the time, etc – it’s perfect. Also, I never lose my airpods now.

Refrigerator Deodorizer. This is so much easier than throwing a new box of baking soda in the fridge every month. It lasts!

Crevice cleaning brush. I don’t know how I lived so long without this. All the corners near my oven – done. This cleans SO many tiny spaces in my kitchen that it is a miracle.

Under bathroom sink organizers. Finding these for under my sink gave us SO much more space. Basically allowing two layers of storage has been a game changer.

Eureka Rapidclean Pro. Okay, you’re going to think I’m a vacuum psycho. And I am. This is the small stick vacuum that lives in my kitchen for crumbs. I’ve used this for a million years. I use this multiple times a day. I cannot live without it. It is so easy and simple and the kids can use it too. It’s not for regular full on vacuuming – but the crumbs, yes! And with kids… that’s all day.

Tineco iFloor 3 Breeze. Next up, you’ve heard me rave about this for a year now. This cleans my floors like no other. This vacuum mop gets my floors SO clean – it’s so satisfying and easy to use. I have used it daily before. Totally worth it and I love it.

Tineco Floor One S7. I bought this tineco for my first floor because it’s mostly bare floor. I needed a bigger water tank + battery life. It is equally as great as the one above, just lasts longer while vac mopping before I have to switch things, clean and refill. I do the self clean on these EVERY time I use them and take excellent care of them, and they are just as good as when I first bought them.

Mattress vacuum cleaner. I love using this even more than I thought. I probably use it once a month. Again, I can’t believe how long I went without using something like this.

Bissel little green upholstery cleaner. And finally, another “sort of” vacuum. Check this box of what I didn’t know I would need with kids. This is a miracle worked and cleans furniture and carpet so, so, so well. It’s small and easy to store in a closet and even easier to use. It’s SO gross to see what it brings up, but um… necessary.

Method citron all-purpose cleaner. This is a funny one, but I LOVE the scent of this cleaner. It’s like a lemon + pine sol + super clean scent and I can’t get enough. Everyday (multiple times a day!) when I use this, I just love how fresh and clean the kitchen smells.

Gianna glass dish with lid. This is something I always have out that is SO pretty – you can fill it with snacks, candy, decor, it is just so nice to look at! I’ve also gifted quite a few of these too.

Glass snack bowls with marble. These are the two little bowls I put out the most for easy entertaining, last minute snacks, etc. Even a small snack before dinner. They are really pretty and easy to clean!

Fabric shaver. Nothing is more satisfying. Perfect for sweaters but I use this the most on furniture!! Makes our linen couch look brand new.

Lola blankets. I sound like a broken record, but these are by far our favorite blankets and I have gifted so many. I have tried many of the other similar ones (cozy earth, anthro, etc) and NONE of them compare. The lola ones are just so stretchy, but soft, but light, but warm at the same time. I don’t know how they do it.

Gorilla grip bathmats. We have these in our bathrooms and love them. Very easy to clean, which is key!

Sleep Crown classic pillow. I’ve had my sleep crown pillow now for two years and I can’t sleep without it. I don’t use it as intended – I don’t put it on my face. But I sleep ON it. If you have ever struggled with neck/tension issues and sleeping, this may change your life. I got one for my mom too and she is blown away. It is so incredibly comfortable to sleep on. I can’t recommend it enough!

Canopy humidifiers. We started using humidifiers in all of our bedrooms when Emilia was 6 months old. Meaning that I have used one in my room for seven years now! I can’t sleep without it. We went through multiple crane ones, even the dyson one years ago. Then in 2023 I bought the canopy ones. I like that you can put them in the dishwasher and that the filter gets changed every few weeks or so. It’s been our go-to for so long now that I can’t imagine changing. I have the filters on auto-ship and it’s just super easy!

Air Doctor air purifiers. When we moved in, I knew I wanted a few air purifiers because it was new construction and we still had some going on in our basement. We’ve had a few of these around the house since 2023 and they work great! So easy to change and definitely seem to make a difference.

LG Stand by Me TV. Finally, this is a ridiculous item but I must express how much we love it. I looked at this for over a year before taking the plunge and ordering it. This moves anywhere with you, which is amazing if you need to use it for the kids, want to clean/work somewhere and would like a screen… I love it. A total luxury but one that is well worth it!

(not sponsored, purchased everything myself!) 

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Toasted Cauliflower Buttered Noodles.

We can’t get enough of these toasted cauliflower buttered noodles! Skillet toasted cauliflower florets are tossed with tender pasta noodles, lots of parmesan cheese, butter and toasty breadcrumbs. Major comfort food!

Here’s a meal we can’t get enough of!

You know that I love an embarrassingly easy meal.

And these toasted cauliflower buttered noodles are just that. Cauliflower that is pan toasted in lots of butter until golden and crisp and then tossed with tender noodles, tons of parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. 

Yes yes. This is exactly what it sounds like.

Skillet toasted cauliflower.

Buttered noodles with parmesan.

All mixed together. Topped with more parm. Topped with a few breadcrumbs! Sprinkled with fresh herbs if you want. 

Holy freaking comfort food.

It tastes amazing. It is super cozy and comes together fast. But at the same time, it has a vegetable, so… you know. You’re eating vegetables!! 

Don’t tell me otherwise. This is just how it goes.

This is one of my favorite side dishes to serve in the winter months.

But it also makes a great easy dinner. A kid dinner for when Eddie isn’t home. Or an easy late night snack too. 

Everyone loves it and at this stage in the kid game, nothing can be that. My kids actually REQUEST it.

So that’s huge.

The cauliflower gets toasted in the skillet first. Next, you add in the noodles with more butter and parmesan.

On the side, toast some breadcrumbs.

Is there anything cozier than buttered noodles?! I think not. (more…)

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Tuesday Things.

1. Every year at this time I want to become a skier.

2. Pistachio blossom cookies?! OMG I need.

3. Speaking of… did you get a jar of my pistachio cookie butter yet?!

4. Other things I want to do: start drinking yerba mate. Tell me more.

5. Two my favorite things ever… but could I really eat caesar salad cheesecake.

6. We have coyotes in our woods and they howl in the middle of the night – it sounds maniacal. Nothing like I’d expect! It wakes me up and sounds almost like a video game or something.

7. How to stop comparing your stuff to others.

8. TV things!! I watched White Lotus and how cute was the SNL special?!

9. I love the 15 day rule.

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Cozy White Bean & Greens Soup.

This white bean kale soup is a winter staple. It’s hearty and rich from the parmesan broth and mashed beans, loaded with vegetables and tons of flavor. And it’s good for you too! Love love love.

Another winter week, another soup.

This white bean kale soup is loaded with beans, greens, veggies and a super rich and flavorful parmesan broth. It tastes amazing, nourishes you in the colder months and can be an excellent base soup for lots of your favorite add-ins.

This is such a cozy, EASY winter soup.

The star of the show is the parmesan broth. Go today and get a bunch of parmesan rinds and stick them in your freezer. They make the world (and your soup!) so much better.

If it wasn’t for the parmesan broth, this would be way too boring for me. Carrots, celery, beans, kale and spinach… hmmm. Not sure I’d love it as much without all the garlic and the parm! 

But thankfully I am the tester and I’m here to tell you that it’s perfect. 

It tastes nourishing and feels good. Like a soup for the soul. Cheesy, but true!

Also… actually cheesy. I can’t get enough. 

And there’s another reason why the soup feels a bit heartier than you’d think:

we’re mashing some of the beans!

For years you guys have been telling me that this is one of your favorite ways to thicken soups. I don’t do a full puree, but I do mash one whole can to add some creaminess and texture. It’s awesome! 

Let’s talk about how quick it comes together!

First in: onions, garlic, celery and carrots. I like mine all diced so they are in tiny bits. Think like a chopped salad… but in soup!

Next in, the stock, parmesan rind and beans. This is where we simmer things together so they get extra flavorful. As soon as the veggies are tender, it’s ready to eat. But the longer things simmer, the better they will taste! (more…)

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