Smart Menus. Easy Recipes, Mom-Level Hacks
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Top of the evening Dinner Menu! Our Saint Patrick’s Day Dinner Menu couldn’t be easier – or more traditional. Sure, Corned Beef is always a good choice, but for something a little different continue reading. You can serve this meal for …
Guinness Braised Beef might possibly be the best use ever of beef chuck roast. This started out as a Saint Patrick’s Day menu item, but it quickly became so much more. It’s easy and super tasty, but so elegant it would make the best dinner …
Quick Weeknight Mashed Spuds have tantalizing tangy taste Something always goes with Weeknight Mashed Spuds – we have them often with Meatloaf, one of our standard meals. They’re great with anything that has gravy or sauce, and even the most mundane meats look spectacular on …
Weekly Menu 03.08.26: A Well-Rounded Week (Thanks, Pi) Weekly Menu 03.08.26: The One Where Dinner Meets Pi (and Probably Pie too!) Every year around this time, the math world gets a little excited about Pi Day, celebrated on March 14 (3.14… get it?). Pi is …
The Weekly Menu 03.01.26 is an homage to one of our favorite ingredients – Peanut Butter! National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day is on Sunday during the Weekly Menu 03.01.26! It was a real toss-up to decide on dessert, gentle reader, because there are just so …
We’re all about comfort food on the Weekly Menu 02.22.26~ Why are we dwelling on Niagara Falls during the Weekly Menu 02.22.26? My favorite time of the year to visit is NOW. The place is always gorgeous, but the ice takes it next level. I’ve …
WE don’t have a day off during the Weekly Menu 02.15.26, but some people do! It’s Presidents’ Day during the Weekly Menu 02.15.26, which means some kids are home, all the banks are closed, and the “whys” of Presidents’ Day are upon us. Officially, it’s …
We’ve got festivities all week during the Weekly Menu 02.08.26~ We are partying during the Weekly Menu 02.08.26! Hello, Super Bowl Sunday! Hellooo Valentine’s Day! Now, I have to admit, I don’t love either of these celebrations for the actual reason that I’m supposed to. …
How to Host the Best Super Bowl Party – Ever! Super Bowl Party – is it important? You betcha! Here in the good old U S of A, we love to throw elaborate watch parties for a game that most people at the party don’t …
Erieites like to say Erie, Pennsylvania is centrally located: we are within 100 miles (give or take 20 miles) of Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. We share Lake Erie with Buffalo, which is one of the reasons that we head east more often than south or west. Another motivator for me, is that, growing up, we went to Niagara Falls at least four times a year – so heading east is apparently genetic.
One of my favorite day trips to the falls included only my Dad and my baby brother, who was probably not more than three at the time. (Not everyone in the family got the Niagara Falls bug.) We ate at a typical touristy buffet overlooking the falls, where, horrifyingly, my brother’s lunch went right through him. Spectacularly. And, of course, we had no spares. We located a store that sold both underwear and pants (and socks and shoes) and stocked up. We giggled the whole way home (and for years after) about the ridiculousness of the entire day as well as his outfit.
In college, I convinced my roommate and her boyfriend that they hadn’t lived until they saw Niagara Falls, and we made the eight hour trip from Boston to Niagara Falls in a loud and bouncy blue Jeep Wrangler. The Falls were as magnificent as I had told them, and, as far as I know, it was the only time they ever got to see them. I feared my parents would be angry that we made the road trip, but finally told them about it. They agreed 100% that the trip was completely reasonable as well as necessary.
Mom and Dad went to Florida every year for about six weeks during the winter. The snowbirds were pretty lucky they had a live-in babysitter for the younger unit of their eight child family, huh? Keeping the sibs occupied could be a little bit of a chore, though, so I finally decided on a day trip to the Falls. I still remember how disappointed my vacationing father sounded that he hadn’t made the trip with us.
Part of our marriage negotiations included at least semi-annual trips to Niagara Falls. Despite rolling his eyes about it occasionally, Bert keeps up his end of the deal, so we’ve been able to convince our boys that Niagara Falls is both a great day trip and awesome overnight destination, especially now that two of them are able to enjoy (brave?) a trip to the casino on the Canadian side. I prefer avoiding Niagara Falls during the summer because of the sometimes insane crowds: in my mind, there isn’t much better than the falls frozen and surrounded by snow in February or March. As a bonus, it’s cheaper to stay then.
“It’s Niagara Falls. It’s one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world. Who wouldn’t want to walk across it?” Nik Wallenda
Ha! This girl. I love them, but…
