About Megan

Megan Myers is a copyeditor and spatula-wielding mom seeking out the simpler life in Texas. Her blog, Stetted, focuses on her family’s journey from junk food addiction to a diet of local, organic, and whole foods, while exploring the many options farmers provide.

by Megan on May 22, 2013 • 15 Comments Menu Planning & Batch Cooking

Stocking the kitchen for post-delivery days with baby

Now that I’m in the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I’m double-checking to make sure we have everything we need. This is our second baby, so we have a better idea of what to expect for those intense days and weeks after birth.

High on the list of priorities? Making sure there is a well-stocked kitchen to take care of our eating needs.

Whether you’re on your first baby or your fourth, chances are cooking is the last thing you’ll want to do in the days after delivery. Making sure you’re well-nourished, however (especially if you’re breastfeeding), is critical for getting through the tough first weeks.

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by Megan on April 3, 2013 • 26 Comments Bakeshop

Chocolate & Jam Tea Cake

Chocolate & Jam Tea Cake Written by Megan of Stetted.

With the temperatures warming and spring produce starting to emerge, my thoughts turn to the impending canning season.

I’m kind of a canning hoarder. Every summer I preserve food until I am sick of chopping and lifting jars, and convince myself that this will be enough to last us until the next season. But then once the new year rolls around, I get stingy with using that bounty. I calculate every last jar, trying to determine if it will last until I can get my hands on sun-ripened tomatoes or sweet strawberries.

As it always happens, thanks to food swaps, planning, and shifting breakfast choices, we have excess of jam when the spring strawberries pop up. While many preserves can last for more than one year if canned properly, I like to replenish my stores yearly for the best quality and flavor. That means cracking open a precious jar or two and finding creative applications.

This chocolate tea cake comes together quickly and is a great way to use up any older jars of jam you have hanging around. The jam lends a subtle flavor to the chocolate, making it easy to swap in any of your favorite flavors. I’m partial to strawberry, cherry, and pear, but feel free to experiment with your star preserve.

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by Megan on February 6, 2013 • 8 Comments Quick Bites

Ginger Custard and Raspberry Parfaits {gluten free}

ginger custard Written by Megan of Stetted.

Dessert is a special treat in our house. Anything more than fruit happens only once or twice a month, and although I have a mega sweet tooth, I prefer it this way. Not only does my son not take sweet treats for granted, but those occasional moments spent lingering at the dinner table while we enjoy a homemade dessert are even more special.

Parfaits are a favorite dessert – they are extremely customizable and they are the perfect-sized ending to a good meal. My family loves the classic combination of chocolate pudding and whipped cream, but this simple custard recipe is making its way into our regular rotation.

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by Megan on December 19, 2012 • 25 Comments Bakeshop

Swedish Tea Ring

Written by Megan of Stetted.

When I was a girl, I never really noticed how the small moments of our ancestry touched our family celebrations. I only knew that my taste buds had not evolved to the point of being able to enjoy the spiced breads my grandfather would share, and that I could eat a lot of the fried fattigmund cookies that appeared at Christmastime.

Now that I have a child of my own, I’m wishing I had spent more time getting to know the foods of our family, from the Germans on my mother’s side to the English and Swedish on my father’s side. The Swedish part of me I find most intriguing – perhaps because it is a country I know little about to begin with. Wisconsin and Minnesota are full of people with Swedish heritage, but sadly it seems several of the Scandinavian traditions are going away as the last immigrants are leaving us.

This Christmas, I’ve decided we need to add back some of the “Old World” to our lives. Our morning will be spent opening presents, of course, but we’ll also sit down to a breakfast of Swedish Tea Ring, a sweet cardamom-flavored bread that appears on numerous Swedish tables all year long.

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by Megan on October 24, 2012 • 17 Comments Dinner

One-Pot Lemon Chicken and Zucchini with Rice

Written by Megan of Stetted.

My son just turned five the other day, and while that means we have yet to dive into the busy world of elementary school, I’m already having horrifying visions of homework and sports and fundraisers and PTA meetings.

OK, it’s probably not as bad as many of the parents I know make it seem (please don’t tell me if it really is that bad) but I am still trying to get a head start on planning for the future by building up a repertoire of dinners that are easy to make, don’t use a sinkful of dishes, and are family approved. One-pot meals to the rescue!

We’ve talked about one-pot meals on Simple Bites before – they can range from classics in the slow-cooker to quick stovetop dishes. But my favorite way to make a one-pot dish is to use my dutch oven.

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