Shaz by the Sea

What is Quinoa? My friend Kiley first introduced me to this foreign word back in probably 2011. Her mom, Ann, was visiting for the week and when I ventured three doors down to her condo, the two of them were elbows deep in this amazing, fresh quinoa dish. I asked what they were making and they both said "keenwah!". I was like -- what the heck is that? I tried it and loved it. So in case you couldn't tell from my recipes, I tend to cook mostly Italian food. With that, comes tons of carbs and sugars which tend to make you lethargic and tired. Well this recipe won't do that. I haven't made much quinoa in a while, so I figured I would combine my fav bolognese sauce with quinoa instead of pasta. Many people find quinoa to be bland, but I feel as long as you add your favorite foods and sauces, you will be a quinoa-lover in no time. It's great for A and B! For those who are unfamiliar with the benefits of quinoa , here are 7 reasons why you should be cooking an

When Chrissy and I were younger, we had "Callahan Family Pizza Night" occasionally on Friday nights (especially during Lent since we didn't eat meat). I remember it being soooo much fun! Mom and Dad would make sure we had all our ingredients like the dough, the plain red pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese we had to grate ourselves on my moms old Tupperware. Haha. I have been loving me some serious pizza lately, so I decided to head to Trader Joe's and grab a bunch of items to make homemade whole what flat breads on the grill...slightly fancier compared to our Friday nights in the 90's. I must confess that I changed my mind at the last minute and ended up cooking them inside, but they still came out delicious. I typically break each dough in two parts, so in total I made four flat breads. So with that, I decided to make a meatball pizza, a Margherita pizza, a red pepper/onion pizza, and then a mixing of whatever toppings I had left. I started making my meatballs

You are all in for a special treat today....we have a guest blog entry from Miss Lindsey Cucumber! ;)   Linds has been such a huge supporter of my blogging adventure from day one. She has offered advice and given me the support I needed when I had no clue what I was doing. Here's a pic of Linds and I having brunch in the marina in 2012.     And Chrissy and Linds made an appearance at the annual Fourth of July festivities down the Cape!! Linds is rocking the American flag bikini front and center. So now onto her guest blog recipe. Here is what Linds sent me to post for you guys: "This shrimp scampi made with spaghetti squash is a delicious Paleo meal that makes great leftovers! I feel great when I eat a Paleo diet, but of course still miss many foods (like pizza!). Instead of being disappointed after trying to recreate a recipe I love into a “Paleo-fied” version (think Almond Crust Pizza… though I LOVE it, it’s just not the same as my beloved Papa Gino’s!),

First off and most importantly, a HUGE congratulations to our great friends John and Suzanne Bosch on the birth of their amazing daughter, Victoria "Tori" Bosch!!!!  We are soooo happy for them and cannot wait to meet her soon! As far as my day was concerned, it was a bit less exciting. In fact, I have a lot of time on my hands since Jim is studying for the bar exam next month. While skimming through Pinterest, I came across this scrumptious macaroni salad  and knew I needed to make it immediately (I mean, doesn't that just look amazing?). I ventured to the grocery store to pick up a few things. The large avocados were on sale for $1...so I bought five. I picked up five avocados, fresh thyme and the applewood bacon. I grabbed a few other items to make a delicious avocado dip (since they were on sale). When I got home, I gathered my ingredients, started boiling the elbow macaroni and tossed the bacon in the saute pan on the stove. T he cooking didn't take m

Originally, when we thought we were having just one baby, I was searching on Pinterest for neutral nursery decor and fell in love with the gray/white chevron theme. I figured I could throw in some bright cheery yellow and go from there. But then, we went in for our first ultrasound and found out we were having twins. Things changed. Fast. In order to effectively plan for two babies, we decided to find out their genders. And as you all should know by now, we found out on Christmas morning. Overall Theme Gray chevron. I really love the idea of a clean/crisp gray and white color scheme with pops of yellow and/or navy to brighten it up and personalize it. For those who have seen my Cape Cod cottage, you know that I am a big fan of white furniture, solid color pastel paint colors and an overall open, breezy, clean feel to it. Now that we know we are having two boys, I may throw in a few nautical items...we will just wait and see! Some cute gray chevron items I found to help with t