Hi Cooking Moms, Dads & Friends,

Happy Friday! I’m waking up on beautiful Mackinac Island, Michigan this morning. There are 40 of us here for one of my culinary vacations. We’ve got a super group and it’s been an AMAZING few days! We've experienced everything from a gorgeous sunset cruise under the Mackinac Bridge to carriage rides around the island and lots of delicious food too!

We head home later today. But, not before one more visit to Murdick’s Fudge. It’s THE BEST! They made the trip even more sweet! From start to finish we got to see how they make their famous fudge. They’ve been doing it for 125 years using the same recipe. We even got to sample it warm right off the marble slab table. I just gotta bring a pound or two home!

I’m hoping when I get home I can go strawberry picking. Seems like the strawberries sure took their good old time ripening this year in Wisconsin.

Got berries? For breakfast why not surprise your gang and make my Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries? So quick and easy! It’s really good with my Brown Sugar Bacon.

Have you made my Strawberry Bread with Fresh Strawberry Glaze? If not, you need to! It’s a nice change from banana bread. Super easy breezy too! Click Breakfast and Brunch for more great recipes.

One thing I love to make after picking fresh strawberries is my quick and easy homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam. Making fresh jam doesn’t get any easier than this. On toast and English muffins there’s nothing better!

For dinner I’m trying to keep things nice and light these days. So, why not fire up the grill and make my Smoked Sausage and Veggie Foil Packets. They are so easy breezy! You can even eat them right out of the foil. No dishes to wash. Love that!

Summer is all about salads! My Strawberry Spinach Salad is my summer go-to recipe! So pretty and the homemade poppy seed dressing makes it! Super easy to shake up. I bet you have everything to make it in your kitchen right now. Click Salads to see a bunch of great salads I’ve put together for summer.

If the kids are craving tacos, get out your slow cooker and make my Honey Lime Chicken. I use my slow cooker all year long. This recipe is quick, easy, and healthy too! It’s delicious served with my Mango & Black Bean Salsa. Click Appetizers, Dinner, Slow Cooker and Nice ’n Lite for more delicious recipes.

For dessert, have you ever tried roasting strawberries? Talk about taking strawberries to the next level! They get even more sweet and wonderful. My Roasted Strawberry Trifles are AMAZING! So easy too. You gotta make these!

Please Invite Me!

Now that life is getting back to normal, I’m excited to start doing live cooking demos again! I'd love to come to your town and meet you! Tell your library about me. I’ll come do a cooking demo for your company or event too. Click Hire Amy for more ideas for how we can spend time together!

Order Amy's Cookbooks!

If you like my recipes, I think you will love my cookbooks. Both of my cookbooks are full color, and each is filled with nearly 200 unique recipes. Lots of secrets, tips and fun stories, too! Click Amy's Books on Amazon to order.

Travel with Amy in 2022!

If you missed out on my trip to Mackinac Island, I’ve got more trips coming up! I’ve planned some more AMAZING culinary vacations for 2022! Join in the fun! To find out more about my trips and what makes them so unique click Culinary Vacations with The Cooking Mom.

In January 2022, Escape Winter and Join The Cooking Mom in Puerto Vallarta!

Let’s beat the winter blues and spend a week in one of my favorite cities, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! We’ll stay in a super small, 4-diamond luxury beach front resort. All of your gourmet food and wine and top shelf cocktails at the resort are included! We’ll also join local foodies in search of Puerto Vallarta’s freshly made warm tortillas, the ultimate tacos, tamales, amazing fresh seafood, and fabulous cocktails too. It will be whale watching season during this trip. We are currently offering a discount of $140 per person! Call Brittany at Bon Voyage Boutique Travel 920-725-2880 to book your spot. Why not treat yourself to a winter getaway you’ll never forget? Click Join The Cooking Mom in Puerto Vallarta to see pictures and get lots more details.

Ireland in April 2022

Join me on an incredible trip to Ireland! This trip is also booking up. From Irish cooking classes, to scone baking, whiskey tasting, a VIP tour of Guinness, and so much more. We’ll do it all. We’ll even stay in a real castle outside of Dublin! I can only take a small group so get your reservation in soon! Click Join The Cooking Mom in Ireland to read more about this trip and find out how to reserve your spot!

Wait List for Italy in September of 2022!

I’m excited to announce my trip to Tuscany in September of 2022 is sold out. Call Brittany at Bon Voyage Boutique Travel 920-725-2880 or email her at brittany@bonvoyagebt.com if you would like to be on the wait list in case we have any last minute openings.

We also want to know where you want to go! We are starting to plan now for my culinary vacations in 2023! Would you be interested in joining me on Mackinac Island next summer? What about France? A river cruise through Europe? Greece? Scotland? Closer to home eating our way around New Orleans? Wine Tasting in Napa or Oregon? These are all on my bucket list! What about yours? Email me the trips you’d be interested in at info@thecookingmom.com!

You can always find out what I'm up to on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Check out my videos on YouTube. Follow me!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Cook up some memories!

Take care,
Amy, The Cooking Mom