Quick Calzones with Store-Bought Dough — The Boys Take Over the Kitchen

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If you didn't know, Aldi has a ready-to-bake pizza dough they sell right in the store — and it's actually pretty good. We've used it a couple of times now and it's become our go-to for a quick lunch that gets the boys involved in making their own food. This time around we put it to work on calzones, and let each of them build their own from start to finish.

Tytus, Ezra, and Kyle all got in on it — and let me tell you, the personality differences between these three showed up immediately the moment they started choosing their fillings.

Serve - Love Your Neighbor!

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Another Saturday well spent — feeding neighbors and showing up for the community.

Every first and third Saturday, Tytus and I show up to cook. No matter what the weather is doing, no matter what else is on the schedule — we load up the gear and we go. It's become one of the most important things we do together, and honestly one of the things I look forward to most on the calendar.

The command is simple. Love your neighbor. For us, that looks like firing up a grill in a parking lot, standing over a smoker for hours, or setting up an assembly line to make sandwiches for a crowd. Food is how we serve, and food is how we connect.

Stephanie's New Job - From The ER To School Nurse

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Three years in the ER, through a pandemic, and she landed exactly where she was supposed to be.

I want to take a minute to brag on my wife, because she deserves it.

Stephanie just landed a new job as a school nurse — and if you know what she's been through over the last three years to get here, you understand why this is such a big deal. Three years working in the Emergency Room. Three of those years overlapping with a global pandemic. The things ER nurses dealt with during that stretch — the hours, the weight of it, the decisions made under pressure — most people have no real frame of reference for what that actually looks like up close. Stephanie does. She lived it, and she handled it with grace every single time.

Ezra Takes On Karate — And He's Not Stopping

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Ezra decided earlier this year that he wanted to take karate. That announcement caught us off guard — which, if you know Ezra, is kind of the whole thing. When he decides he wants to do something, it comes from him completely. No outside pressure, no one suggesting it. He made up his mind and told us what he wanted.

We said yes immediately. And then we watched to see what would happen.

A Few Months In — And He's Still Going

Here's the thing about Ezra: when something isn't working for him, he lets you know. So the fact that he's been going consistently, sticking with it week after week, and genuinely looking forward to class — that tells us everything we need to know. He loves it. And he's not just showing up — he's progressing.

🥋

Showing Up

Consistent attendance, every class, no complaints

📏

Stripes Earned

Multiple stripes added to his belt — progress is real

🏆

Belt Advancement

Already moved up a belt level in just a few months

🥊

Home Practice

Grandma & Grandpa got him a punching stand — he uses it

Family Kitchen — Life is Full, Groceries Are Expensive, and We're Not Compromising on Food

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Where it all happens — the family kitchen, the planning zone, and the place everyone ends up eventually.

Let me check in with you for a minute, because life is full right now and that's actually a good thing to talk about.

Why I Quit Social Media (and kept LinkedIn)

"I'm going to QUIT [personal] social media." Everyone talks about it at one point or another. But few seem to carry through with it. Friends told me, "You can block 'this' and restrict 'that'. You can remove the app from your phone..." before quitting altogether. - That's more of a hassle. Quit already and stop trying to appease addiction.

What we want is for everything to be convenient for us. Or we have gotten used to "humble bragging" and haven't noticed it yet. How many "selfies" do you post? In USA culture that tells me how much we think of ourselves. Not because we post a Selfie, but how many times and why?

Kitchen Tools - Weighing In & Weeding The Clutter

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The kitchen doesn't need more stuff. It needs the right stuff.

People love lists. And lately I've been running into a lot of kitchen tool lists that are worth talking about — not just to share them, but to put some real honest commentary alongside them. Because a list of 15 "must-have" kitchen tools is only useful if someone's actually cooked enough to know which three of those 15 are worth your money and which twelve are headed straight for the junk drawer.

Today I'm covering three articles in order. And there's a method to this — read through to the end and you'll see how all three connect in a way that actually helps you think smarter about your kitchen.

The Mayor of Flavortown, McDonald's Onions, a Ridiculous Pot Hat & Trader Joe's Reviews

🍴 C3 — Curated Culinary Curiosities · Issue 01

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Welcome to the first edition of C3 — Curated Culinary Curiosities. Or as I like to call it, the Foodie Feed. Things that landed in my news feed and earned a reaction, a comment, or at minimum a raised eyebrow. Let's get into it.

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Food Culture · Marketing

Guy Fieri — The Mayor of Flavortown

✊ More Respect Than He Gets

Guy Fieri — people either love him or they come up with creative reasons to hate him. I genuinely don't understand the hate, and I'm saying that as someone who's spent time in professional foodservice where Food Network doesn't exactly get standing ovations.

Here's the thing people forget: Guy was a restaurateur before he won The Next Food Network Star. He had already built something. The TV show didn't create him — it amplified him. And Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives specifically? That show has done more for local, non-corporate food businesses than most food media combined. It puts real people, real kitchens, and real communities in front of a national audience. That's not nothing.

Cool Pops- The Original Hood Popsicle

Back in the day in my neighborhood, we didn't really have people that sold lemonade. We had Cool Pops.

Drink mix (also pronounced drank mix) or Kool-Aid was made and poured in 5-ounce (?) dixie cups. Or at least a cheap version of dixie cups that made you think it was the same thing. These were then put into a freezer.

It started out a dime and rose to a quarter before I thought I was too old to buy them. Where did I buy them? I bought them from a neighbor. Once you found out who had the best at the cheapest price. The one who kept your favorite flavor in stock.

I grew up in the projects. Or government housing if you prefer. It didn't scare anybody to go to someone else's door in the neighborhood, knock, and then ask "what flavors you got?". I think grape, cherry, and lime were the favorites.

The popular way to eat it was to lick the top long enough for the sides to melt while you were holding it. After that, you popped it out and put it back in the cup upside down. Scraping your teeth across the top (of the bottom) seemed to be the tastiest, most concentrated part of the cool pop. After that, you drank the remaining melted liquid in the cup.

This was a fun treat with some great memories. I also made the design you see and put it on some merch I have on TeePublic https://bit.ly/CoolPop. I thought it would be fun for those that remember. Link below...

Other apparel I have on Amazon and TeePublic:

TeePublic - https://bit.ly/D4Fshop

No Flour, No Mess, Pizza Dough Rolling

The PIZZA hack you never knew you needed! At home, no rolling pin, no machine. This clip was pulled from my full-length video "PIZZA! Start to finish!" https://youtu.be/seLx6YSyP_c Take advantage of the equipment I have reviewed for top recommendations in the kitchen. Kitchen Best Buys http://bit.ly/KitchenBestBuys

Making Vanilla Extract

We're Making Homemade Vanilla Extract — And It's Going to Take a Year (That's the Point)

Most people don't realize how simple it is to make real vanilla extract at home. You need two things: vanilla beans and alcohol. That's it. No preservatives, no artificial flavor, no mystery ingredients. Just beans, rum, time, and a little patience — which honestly is the hardest part.

Tytus and I kicked this whole thing off together, and I'm documenting it from the very beginning so you can follow along and do it yourself. We're going the long route — letting it sit for a full year — because the longer it goes, the deeper and richer the flavor gets. You can do three months or six months and have something good. But give it a year and you'll have something great.

Taiga Woodcraft - A Special Purchase

We made a special purchase from Taiga Woodcraft. I don't want to ruin the video so you have to watch it to see it! 

Larry and Sandy are friends we met while working on the Africa Mercy in West Africa 2017-2019. Not only was this a way to support friends who have businesses BUT it's also a personal connection with shared memories to a one-of-a-kind handcrafted piece made specifically for us! 

Check out Taiga Woodcraft on all the Social Media channels! Look at the pictures and just imagine what "one-of-a-kind" handcrafted piece he can make for you or a special gift to that friend that has "everything". 

TAIGA WOODCRAFT 

Custom, handmade hardwood and epoxy creations based in Windsor, Ontario

TAIGAWOODCRAFT.COM 

(226) 350 9383 

TAIGAWOODCRAFT@GMAIL.COM 

Instagram @TAIGAWOODCRAFT 

Facebook TAIGA WOODCRAFT

Easy Snack Mix

This is something I prep every week for our family! pre-portioning keeps the endless snacking down, saves money, controls calories, and controls how healthy it is. There's no cooking involved.