Hi Cooking Moms, Dads & Friends,

TGIF! I hope you had a great week and a wonderful 4th of July! My mom and aunt have been here visiting. We haven’t seen them and they haven’t seen each other in ages so it’s been really special! I was able to snap some candid pictures when my son Riley saw his grandmother for the first time in nearly 5 years. Pure magic!

I’ve been doing all I can do make their visit extra delicious but easy breezy at the same time! I have a new recipe I’m excited to share. My mom loves shrimp salad. She also loves lemon and dill. I wanted to treat her so I got busy and created my Shrimp Salad with Creamy Lemon Herb Dressing. It’s so good! Makes a nice light dinner or lunch. We serve it on a bed of lettuce with buttery crackers. It’s wonderful on fresh croissants too. Read my new blog post, "How to Make the BEST EVER Shrimp Salad" for step-by-step directions and lots of pretty pictures. It feels kind of fancy, like something you’d get at a little bistro. Sometimes you just gotta treat yourself! I hope you love it.

Speaking of salads, I love a good spinach salad. My Spinach Salad with Sweet and Sour Dressing is always a HUGE hit! Click Salads for some of my favorite summer salad recipes.

For dinner, we’re grilling steaks this weekend. Saturday night is steak night in our house. I make them extra yummy with a quick easy marinade. My Ginger Soy Flank Steak is so good! We love flank steak but you can use any cut of steak.

On the side, with steak it’s gotta be potatoes. My Loaded Potato Casserole is fully loaded with loads of bacon, sour cream and cheese. I never met a potato I didn’t want loaded. LOL!

Sometimes when I’m grilling steaks I like to keep it all outside. My Cheesy Bacon Potato Packets are a WINNER! They go with whatever you are grilling’ plus no heating up the kitchen. LOVE THAT, especially on a hot summer day! You can even eat them right out of the foil. No dishes to wash. REALLY LOVE THAT! Click Dinner, Casseroles and Side Dishes for more fun summer recipes your family will love.

This weekend I thought I’d make a special brunch with my Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries. It’s super easy and so delicious! I serve it with Brown Sugar Bacon. Maybe I’ll even make mimosas! Now, more than ever I think it’s so important to make meals feel memorable, especially on the weekends. Click Breakfast and Brunch for more great recipes.

For dessert, summer means it’s s’mores time. My S’mores Skillet Dessert Dip is to die for! You can make it on the grill too.

Use those seasonal strawberries to make my no-bake Strawberry Cheesecake Trifles. So pretty, don’t you think? Super easy too!

Click Desserts for more delicious summer recipes that will really WOW your gang.

Time to Book Your Winter Getaway. Join Me in Puerto Vallarta in January 2022!

Have you heard I'm hosting culinary vacations? Join me on these trips of a lifetime! With people starting to travel again, warm weather getaways for winter are really booking up. Let’s beat the winter blues and spend a week in one of my favorite cities, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! We were able to secure a few more hotel rooms but they’ll go fast! Time is running out to book this trip. Join me! We’ll stay in a super small (just 70 rooms), 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. Click Join The Cooking Mom in Puerto Vallarta to see pictures and get lots more details.

Ireland in April 2022

I’ve always dreamed of going to Ireland! Let’s experience it together! This trip is 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!

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.

To find why my trips are so special check out my blog post click Culinary Vacations with The Cooking Mom.

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!

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.

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!

Gotta run! It’s going to be another fun day with my mom and aunt. I promise to post pictures of our weekend on Instagram. Follow me! I'm also on Facebook and Twitter. Check out my videos on YouTube, too

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

Take care,
Amy, The Cooking Mom