I have a toddler that loves pasta. She could eat the stuff all day everyday and be happy. I’ve played around with different kinds of pasta with great success (homemade spaghetti-ohs, white bean mac-n-cheese) but she was ready for something different. After the fifth round in a row of homemade spaghetti-ohs, she was moping around and even asking for peeup-and-belly-witches.

So the other day, while she was chomping down her sandwich, I experimented with a new pasta dish for dinner. I had fresh carrot juice in the fridge along with a bit of Greek-style yogurt. Yes, they don’t sound like a good pairing, but along with the help of some cheddar cheese, anything is possible.

And, I was right.

This is a really easy recipe, you just need the ingredients. Most markets carry carrot juice, but make sure you don’t pick up a blend with orange or cucumber. If you’ve got your own juicer, you’re totally good to go.

Ingredients

8 ounces dry fusilli pasta cooked (which makes about 4-cups)

1/2 cup carrot juice

1/2 cup Greek-style plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (you know, that Lawry’s stuff)

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Bring a big pot of water to a boil, toss in a bit of salt, and then your pasta. Any shape works, but the fusilli really is perfect. While things are bubbling away, mix together the carrot juice, yogurt, oil, seasoned salt, and salt in a bowl. Give things a whisk to make sure it’s all creamy. Go ahead and shred your cheddar, too.

Once your pasta is cooked and happy, give it a strain. While it’s hanging out, toss the carrot-yogurt mixture into your hot pot and turn the heat down to medium-low. Give things a stir while the sauce starts heating up.

As soon as the sauce starts bubbling, add the pasta back to the pot. Stir to coat the pasta and then add the shredded cheese. Keep stirring and simmering until the cheese is all melty.

Now is the time for taste testing – this is a kid-friendly recipe, so it’s low in salt and also not too strong in flavor. If you know your kid loves garlic, add some in with the mix. Got a child that loves the spice? Kick things up with a few shots of hot sauce. Mine can’t get enough of that tangy yogurt flavor, so I added an extra dollop at the end, along with a dash of pepper (and another sprinkling of salt).

The finished faux mac-n-cheese has an almost neon-orange color and is good hot or cold. My tot scarfed down 2-bowls for dinner, and happily ate a big serving cold the next day at preschool.

*The first time I made this recipe, I included shredded, slow-roasted turkey breast, which was out of this world. For an adult version, finish the pasta with a couple of good handfuls of spinach, top with extra shredded cheddar and pop under the broiler for a fabulous side dish.

Remember last week when I shared that post about right-brained dominant (a.k.a super creative) kids? While writing it, my toddler was enjoying her not-really nap-time. She doesn’t really sleep anymore, she just has quiet time in her room. I’ve got it stocked with her favorite books, stuffed animals, a chalk board with chalk, and most recently, crayons and a few coloring books. She’s really into creating tons and tons of creations to mail to Gamma and Opa, so I figured I could trust her to keep those crayons on the paper.

Because, you remember when she colored on the wall, right?

(which resulted in the homemade chalk board…)

The thing is, your toddler is hard-wired to make marks. Her right-brain is in overload, desperately searching for ways to share thoughts, feelings, and ideas. This stage of creation is referred to as the scribble stage, due to the child’s desire to scribble, scribble, scribble. Nothing looks like much, but your toddler can actively tell you about the animals, monsters, people, and other crazy stuff in artworks. Before you discard those pages and pages of scribbles, understand it is the expression of your child’s brain developing in amazing ways. From starting to understand hand-eye coordination to simple mathematical concepts, your toddler’s scribbles are the stepping stone to speech, reading, and writing development.

Meaning, it’s a good idea to encourage your child’s disorganized scribbling as much as possible.

But what to do when your child colors on everything and anything possible?

Remember the afore-mentioned day – that day I was writing and the tot was “napping?” When I went down to see if she had actually fallen asleep, because things had gotten pretty quiet, I made quite the discovery. She had colored everywhere. From her dresser to her closet doors to her side table to her light switch, just about everything in her room had a colorful mark.

Before I took a moment to think I scolded her. Instantly I realized it was the absolute wrong decision. She had spent just over an hour artfully decorating her room in a way she was excited about and excited to share with me. She had spent time expressing herself though scribbles and colors (really, each area was a different color combination), and she was looking forward to dazzling me with its beauty. And, I had left those crayons in her room. After we both calmed down, the two of us spent some quality time together cleaning up those scribbles and discussing where those crayons belong – on paper!

Do you have a super scribbler? Here are a few simple ways to encourage those marks to stay where you want them:

- Don’t leave any mark making implements within reach of your child (unless you are right there!): Yes, this is a bit of a no-brainer, but, as your toddler ages, you begin to feel they have an understanding of keeping crayons on the paper. Remember your toddler is still a toddler (until the age of four) and still has those inner-toddler instincts to see what might happen. Leaving crayons out for your child is an open invitation to color away on whatever is available. Make time to color alongside your toddler showing your amazing skills to keep those crayon scribbles on your own paper. Toddlers love copying behavior.

- Designate a coloring area: Make a spot in your home just for your toddler to create. Whether it’s the kitchen table, a small end table no one uses or an easel in the corner, make sure your toddler knows this is “the spot” to go for making marks. Keep the area stocked with paper, stickers, and chalk (which washes off everything) but keep the markers and crayons out of reach. When your child finds herself over at her creative spot, offer crayons, markers, or paints – but keep an eye on things. As your child matures, she’ll understand the area is for being creative, and markers shouldn’t travel around the house.

- Don’t be afraid: Sure, you might not be into fingerprinting, but your child is. Art is one of the main ways a child defines who they are. Getting creative with your child shows that you find her scribbles important, encouraging her self-esteem. You’re going to get messy. Your child is going to get messy. Stuff in your house might get messy. But, if you have a plan of attack, and stay calm, things will turn out wonderfully. Use plastic placements under paper to cut back on mess. Or, place a sheet pan under artwork while painting. Keep a wet washcloth (or a container of baby wipes) next to your creative area to tackle messes the minute they happen.

- Don’t yell (but don’t praise either): At some point your child is probably going to color on something. Hopefully, it will be with a mark-making implement that is washable. Before reacting, take a deep breath. If you are expecting it to happen during the toddler years it won’t be such a big surprise when you come across a colored white wall, right? Start by acknowledging what you see and then calmly explaining that crayons only belong on paper. Walk your child over to your creative area and get out a paper for your child to scribble on. Once she’s had a moment to make a few marks, remove the crayons. Walk back to your newly colored wall and discuss how the walls aren’t for coloring, but for hanging pictures and that you can frame one of her artworks to look at….

- Frame your child’s scribbles and hang them on the wall: Even though you might not think her scribbles are anything exciting, she sure does. If your child spends a good amount of time on a creation, pick up a simple frame (less than $10 at the craft store!), pop in her artwork, and display in your home. Make sure to point it out to your toddler or hang it at just above arms reach so she can stand in front of her framed artwork and appreciate it. Not only are you showing you are proud of her and her abilities, you are encouraging her to continue exploring her creativity.

So get out the crayons and start scribbling – on paper!

It was  a good and bad weekend. It’s not a big deal or anything, so don’t freak out. Things have been a bit hectic for the last couple of weeks and I’ve scrambled to hold everything together. I’ve also been really determined to do it all “on my own” and am not so good about “asking others for help.”

Yeah.

So it all came out in a big breakdown the other night, which was pretty unfair to the husband. He already does so much – and not so fair for me to do the total female crying-wailing-drama thing.

But the salvation of it all was our new thing.

This thing.

This radio.

Since its amazing arrival we’ve been listening to it. LISTENING to it. The TV has been off, us adults have been a bit more attentive to the tot, and the husband and I are having good and beneficial conversations. We also spent most of the weekend outdoors. Seriously, who can resist the smiles of a toddler in a tutu swimsuit on a play horse?

We also had an amazing meal of grilled chicken thighs alongside grilled salad.

Yum.

So, all in all, things turned out just fine. Sometimes you have to deal with the bad to get to the good, right?

My tot is only three and she’s in love with coloring, coloring, painting, coloring, cooking, imaginary play, and more painting. I often hear the, “Oh my gosh, she’s just like you” comment, along with the, “You’re so lucky she is so creative!” Well, am I? The thing is, I’m hyper-creative. While writing this I’m also thinking about what I’m going to cook for dinner, that the downstairs hallway needs painting, how I’d like to do a finger paint canvas project with the tot, and how cool it would be to make a soap dish from a cabbage leaf pressed in clay.

I’m a bit ADHD right-brain creative.

Along with having all these awesome ideas running through my head, I’ve got life to contend with. Often my ideas are a flash and then gone.

I also can’t add without using my fingers.

(really)

Creative kids often struggle with logical real world stuff. The right-brain is hardwired to indulge creative thought, pushing that mathematical, sensible, and reasonable left-brain to the background. Encouraging creativity is important for all – but sometimes it is important to make sure those that are creative are getting a bit of that logical left to balance things out.

The Right-Brain Dominant Child

A child’s brain is an amazing thing with areas in charge of logical thought, which may not be used as often as parents (and teachers) would like, and also creativity. The brain is divided into two hemispheres – the right and the left. The left side of the brain is dominant over the right side of the body and the right over the left. This means left-handed individuals are thought to be right-brain dominant, but it is not always the case. Before labeling a child as a right-brain learner, remember that the entire brain works together to create a complete human being, but many do have tendencies toward a specific half.

Right-Brain Characteristics

When a child seems to excel in the creative arts, is excited about doing hands-on activities, and exploring and experimenting, the right side of the brain is probably dominant over the left. Several developmental characteristics are often associated with right-brain learners such as higher levels of creativity and language skills. Along with these positive attributes, right-brain dominant kids are often thought unorganized and easily distracted.

A right-brain dominant child may also be classified as a visual- spatial learner, which means the brain taps into learning through visual clues, the child prefers information given all at once, and learns through doing not observing. Those long mathematical problems or activities that follow multi-step directions may cause a right-brained child to tune out. In a perfect world, children would be taught in ways most appropriate for their learning style, but with a majority of the population leaning toward being left-brain dominant, a more structured, linear, and goal-oriented way of education prevails. This causes many a teacher to feel a child isn’t able to perform as well as other children without realizing that it may have more to do with how the information is presented.

Learning with a Right-Brained Child

Now that you have determined you have a right-brained child, what is the next step? There are simple ways to encourage your child to tap into both sides of the brain, which not only allows the dominant side to shine, but balances the whole being.

-       Use your child’s creativity to help utilize left-brain strengths.  Most right-brain dominant children enjoy learning through doing. Turn the next challenging math assignment into a creative experience by encouraging brain to think in different ways. Spend time talking through the assignment with your child, or even act out ideas, and encourage taking notes to help remember details later. Not only does this help keep things on track, but encourages the linear left-brain to work alongside the creative right.

-       When your child is ready to get working, encourage solo work time. Often right-brained children enjoy working with others, which may lead to wonderful and exciting learning opportunities within the classroom, but can take a child off-task when completing homework. Tap into the left-brain by giving your child quiet space to focus on the task at hand. When a task is completed, celebrate with an engrossing and engaging game or activity that rewards all that hard work.

-       Use your child’s visual brain to its best by encouraging learning through using color. When studying for an upcoming spelling test offer your child a pre-test and then focus on the words that were challenging. The HSLDA (Home Schooling Legal Defense Association) suggest writing out the misspelled words on cards with the letters that are incorrect in a different color. For instance, if your child writes Saturday as “Saterday” write the correct letters in black and the incorrect “e” as a “u” but in red. Help your child make the flash cards together to encourage the left and right brain to work together.

-       Take your time – and encourage your child to do the same. Visual-spatial learners do not work well under pressure. Although, in most cases, school tests are timed, while at home, offer your child as much time as needed to get work done. If your child is challenged with an activity, encourage drawing a picture or creating charts to show visualization the activity. Offer assistance and encouragement without judgment or getting frustrated if things are taking a bit longer than desired.

-       When in the classroom, offer the right-brain dominant child lots of opportunities for visual learning, which means including charts in lectures and visuals when discussing an assignment, such as pictures of birds when learning about migration. All children enjoy looking at visuals when learning, so including additional images as often as possible only aides in everyone’s education.

Having a right-brained dominant child may seem like a roller coaster at times, with moments of total excitement and crashes with great disappointments. Working with your child is key, no matter the learning style, which encourages positive learning for years to come.

Earth Day is right around the corner, and with Easter just behind us, I’ve got a stock-pile of egg cartons just begging for repurposing. I had the opportunity to share my favorite ideas with Parents.com, showcasing eight fun and simple ways to transform those egg cartons into something really special. Earth Day is all about celebrating nature and remembering to appreciate the Earth by reusing, repurposing, and recycling. These egg cup activities do all that – and more!

So head on over to Parents.com to check out 8 Creative Egg Carton Crafts and get busy with your kiddies! Want more egg carton inspiration? Check out my adorable egg cup mask that the tot and I put together along with these other awesome egg carton activities.

Everyone is having fun with egg cartons!

Well, Easover has come and gone, and I’ve got a few egg cartons leftover from all those eggs. But, instead of chucking them, I decided we should have some fun. With Earth Day right around the corner, I had lots of ideas for all things reusable. And, my friend over at Tinkerlab was challenging people to get creative with egg cartons, and I had the perfect idea! The tot has been really getting into dressing up and dancing about the house, so making simple masks with those egg cartons sounded pretty good to me – and my daughter, too.

I cut apart two connected egg cups and invited the tot to coat them in paint…

Then we added a sprinkling of glitter, which is also great for honing fine-motor skills!

Once things had dried, I helped by cutting out the center of each cup, making eye holes, and then offered my daughter a selection of colorful pom poms and a bit of glue to dunk and them press on to her creation.

We found a few red feathers and I used the hot glue gun to secure them (and the glued pom poms) to the egg carton mask. To finish the mask, I popped a few holes in the sides and strung with a length of red string. If you have some stretchy elastic, that would work even better!

What’s great about this activity is you can make lots and lots of masks with all the different materials you have hanging around. Older kids can use markers to add details, younger tots can get messy slathering on paint – and more paint – and you can play around with the mask base. Individual cups can be connected together with the help of colorful pipe cleaners, or several strung in a row for something really different.

We enjoyed several hours playing with the finished mask (before it basically fell apart) encouraging my tot’s budding imaginary play skills. But, no problem! When it had finally come apart from too many put-on-and-tear-offs, we gathered together more materials and made another one!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a stack of toddler art that has had its time on the front of the fridge then gets put into a drawer – and then that drawer starts overflowing. Sometimes I cut out parts of the tot’s art for creating homemade cards, but there is usually still a lot of creations that either need to be chucked or repurposed in some creative way.

After watching the morning episodes of Curious George and Cat in the Hat, some sort of crafting show usually comes on. Today happened to be quilting, and the tot was mesmerized.

What is that, what is that, what is thaaaaaaaaaat?!

I tried explaining quilting to my daughter, to which she promptly said, “Wanna make one?”

She pulled up a chair to the table and waited while I figured it all out. And, in that moment, I did. I tugged open that overflowing toddler art drawer, pulled out several creations – along with some scrap paper – and started cutting out squares. If you’ve got a kid that’s old enough to wrangle the scissors, this is a great opportunity to hone those skills.

Offer your child a square-shaped object to use as a template. Encourage your child to trace around the shape and then cut out lots and lots of squares from the papers. I used a square cut from some scrap cardboard for cutting mine.

Now mix together equal parts glue and water and get out a sheet of white paper. Invite your child to paint the backs of the papers and then press on the paper creating rows of squares, just like a quilt.

I was amazed with how my daughter really got into this project. She concentrated on painting the entire backside of each square and then carefully positioned the square of paper, creating a finished paper scrap quilt just like the fabric ones she had seen on the big TV.

And, as soon as she was finished with this one, she wanted to make more, more, more. For fun, have each member of the family make their own quilt square and then tape them all together for a big paper scrap quilt. Or encourage your child to create a pattern or design within the paper scrap quilt.

Happy quilting!

I love cooking in the kitchen, which means the tot loves to “cook” in the kitchen. I’ve been searching for a really fun interactive kitchen for her to play with that isn’t all plastic-y or super expensive (you know, those all wood ones). I’d seen some really cute ideas for how to make your own using an old side cabinet, but didn’t have one hanging around nor wanted to frequent the stores searching for a used one. So, the other day, the answer came to me when we received something from UPS.

A cardboard box oven.

To make your own box oven, you’ll need one 18x18x16 box along with another to use for adding your embellishments. You can make your oven however you like – and add special items for your budding cook.

This is how ours turned out…

I started by taping one end of the box, which allowed me to still have access to the insides. I traced around a rectangular plate of the tot’s to create the opening for the oven and then carefully cut on the line using a utility knife – but not along the bottom edge. To create the opening, I pressed a ruler along the base of the opening and then folded out the cardboard. Then I used a piece of sand paper to gently smooth the edges. For the handle, I cut one handle-shap from some scrap cardboard and then used that template to cut two more exactly the same. The hot glue gun held them together, and then to the front of the oven door with the help of a few small rectangles to make things more stable.

Next up? Cute knobs – that turn! With the help of a few egg cups and pipe cleaners, these knobs were good-to-go. I separated the egg cups and cut four same-sized circles from the extra cardboard. Then, I used a push pin to make two holes in each of the cardboard circles, just like it was a button. Simply thread the rounds with the pipe cleaners (doesn’t matter what color) and then hot glue the tops of the egg cups over the cardboard button, with the pipe cleaner end coming out the other side. Now measure (or don’t) where you’d like your knobs at the top of the box above the oven door. Use the push pin to make holes, thread with the button knobs, and then twist the pipe cleaners on the inside of the box oven, adding a dab of hot glue to make things really secure. I even used a black marker to add cooking temperatures.

 To create the cook-top, I cut the side off the extra cardboard box and hot-glued it over the top of the cardboard box oven, which made things a bit more stable. Then, I cut four large circles from the extra cardboard, plus an extra four smaller ones to make the burners. Once again, my hot glue gun secured everything in place.

Just because the bottom of the box was just a bit low to use when the front of the oven door opened, I cut a length of extra cardboard to fit right under the door when open and also held happily in place with a bit of hot glue. Making the pice just a bit longer makes it easy to fold the sides and then glue in place. This way the tot’s cakes would bake up just right.

After taping the bottom of the box, it became apparent that the top of the range would be a bit low. So, with the help of a four folded squares of extra cardboard, I created legs for the cardboard box oven and used that trusty hot glue gun to attach.

The tot could barely stay away while the cardboard box oven was in production, and the minute she could have at it, she was in love. And what’s awesome is that it cost me basically nothing to make, took just about an hour, and can be hot glued back together when things fall off – or recreated with a bigger box!

Left-brain art activities don’t have to be boring – they can be filled with exciting ways for enticing kids to tap into the benefits of combining both sides of the brain into one fun creative machine.  Kids often let the dominant left-brain take charge forgetting the beneficial creative right-brain completely, leading to comments such as, “I can’t draw.” Encouraging creative left-brain art activities promotes self-confidence and the child’s brain to work together when getting creative and problem solving.

Toddlers 

Young kids greatly benefit from activities that engage the left-brain in creative art projects. Introduce kids to shapes along with the math concept of pattern through a fun water resist art activity.

-Look at patterns with the child and discuss how they are created. The left-brain is encouraged when the big picture is looked at instead of the small parts of a project.

-Offer your child a sheet of white drawing paper and a set of crayons. Younger children can enjoy the process of engaging the logical left-brain through creating simple shapes, while older toddlers can attempt to create patterns using both colors and shapes. Or, if you’ve got a real young one, help them out by creating a few shapes together.

-Remove the crayons once he’s finished making patterns. Your child can now paint all over the paper using watercolors, practicing dipping his paintbrush into the paints on his own, which develops fine-motor skills. Invite him to paint without concern for staying within lines or following any set directions, allowing his creative right-brain to coordinate with his left.

-Discuss the finished artwork together further engaging the child’s visual cortex and his creative development. Talk about what he liked about the art making process and encourage him to explain his finished patterns.

Children Aged 5 to 7

As kids age and become more critical of their artwork, encouraging left-brain art reminds them that artwork doesn’t have to solely rely on creativity but can be accomplished through using left-brain skills, too. Create a geometric design with your child, which encourages basic math knowledge as well as artistic skills.

-Discuss geometric shapes with your child, having him draw pictures of as many as he can and then write the names of the shapes, further engaging his left-brain.

-Invite the child to select three shapes to use for his geometric design.

-Give the child a sheet of white drawing paper and have him draw the first shape he selected with a marker so that it almost touches the sides of the paper. Offer him the use of a ruler to help create his lines. Then he can draw the second shape within the first, and the third within the second shape, making his three shapes all within each other.

-The child can now use markers to color each shape in, using a different color for each shape.

-Discuss how the finished creation is an abstract masterpiece, full of shape, line, and color.

Children Aged 8 to 13

Older children begin to lose interest in art as they age, which is also partly due to art classes not always a part of many middle schools and high schools as a required subject. Preteens are at risk of missing out on honing creative skills and finding ways to remind the brain that merging right and left-brain talents helps form a complete human being. Challenge kids by creating a 3D sculpture from a piece of construction paper.

-Provide the child with an 8 by 10-inch piece of construction paper and invite him to figure out a way to create a freestanding 3-dimensional form using solely the paper and a pair of scissors.

-Look at modern sculptures by the American artist David Smith, and discuss how he came up with the motivation to make the interesting forms. Discussing artwork stimulates the visual cortex and promotes use of the right brain.

-Brainstorm ideas for how your child can create the sculpture. Working through the problem to find a solution kick starts the left-brain, making it ready for the challenge.

-Encourage the child to fold, cut, and shape the flat paper into a form that is able to stand on its own without support.

-Once finished, display the folded and cut marvel in a location for the whole family to enjoy.

Young Adults

Once kids hit young adulthood, they become aware of their inabilities in the area of the arts. Most feel they aren’t creative, where in reality creativity is hiding out in the right-brain just itching to get out.  By creating a mathematical grid drawing, your child is able to easily and comfortably recreate an image without fear of mistake or disappointment – and pulling out that hidden creativity.

-Chuck Close is an American artist that uses mathematical grids to recreate photographs into larger than life portraits using pointillism. Look at examples of his work with your teenager and discuss his techniques.

-Invite your child to find an image from a magazine or an actual photograph to recreate in the style of Chuck Close.

-Using a ruler and some basic math, he can figure out how to enlarge the small image onto a larger piece of paper. For instance, if the photograph selected is 4 by 6-inches, he can create a grid with marker lines every 2-inches around the image. The small 4 by 6-inch image can be enlarged onto a 12 by 18-inch piece of paper with a grid drawn lightly in pencil every 6-inches around the paper.

-Your child can use markers to recreate the image using large and small dots of color, encouraging the left-brain to work methodically from one square to the next in the grid formation.

-Due to the left-brain not feeling challenged to create a realistic image, the right brain is able to offer a helping hand, which allows your teenager’s artistic abilities to shine through without him even realizing it.

-Display the finished grid drawing alongside the picture, sharing with others how the artwork was created.

By encouraging kids to use their left-brain and their inner creativity, they will feel confident about their artwork and also feel ready to share their creativity with others.

Today has been a day. After waking with the sun (and the tot), the hubs and I did some research hunting for a fun and tasty restaurant near the San Jose airport. Why? Let’s just say we had a good friend flying in from the east coast and had a few hours to hang in San Jose.

Being from a bit more north than San Jose, we had no idea where to start.

When I did the initial search, In-N-Out, Chevron, and Mc D’s popped up, which aren’t the best locations for a leisurely and flavorful lunch, and introduction to the (extended) Bay Area for our friend.

As we headed out, I channeled my inner positivity and super-duper wished for something amazing to be hiding around-and-about the San Jose International (yeah, that’s right, International) airport.

And, then, there it was. Lillie Mae’s House of Soul Food.

Smoke was billowing in the sky and you could smell it. SMELL IT.

A hut of a place on the side of the airport beckoned us off the road. Sure, you could still see the air traffic control tower from the parking lot. Yes, the planes were just barely buzzing over the roof of the restaurant. Yup, the place looked like it might fall over…

But, in the time we waited for our friend to get himself off the plane and into his rental car, the parking lot over-loaded with cars and people and families and more cars of people continuously charging into the place. With a bit of outdoor seating, Lillie Mae’s has enough space to maybe sit 75 (and a staff that has no clue what’s going on) and food that will leave you thinking about it days later.

The guys out back were basting and turning the ribs, the bustling staff behind the tall bar (in front of the awesomely big fish tank) fresh-fryed the crispy cornmeal coated catfish by order, and someone somewhere was making the most amazing mac-n-cheese you will ever have ever – just ethereal. Because it was one of their first Sunday buffet seatings (and half of the restaurant was reserved for a private birthday party) no one really seemed to know what was happening, but it all worked out.

Fried chicken. BBQ ribs. Corn on the cob. Mac-n-cheese. CORNBREAD. Biscuits and gravy. Fried catfish. FRIED CATFISH. And more. Yes, I know. You are wondering why I don’t have pictures of the food to share. (I totally forgot because I was in food nirvana.)

The place was packed beyond packed.  You can get a beer or a soda at the House of Soul Food, order at the counter for take-out or eat-in, or watch the game on the big-screen TV. This place is literally next-door to the airport and it kicks In-N-Out’s ass any day.

So the next time you fly into the San Jose International airport, are picking someone up, or in the area for any reason, stop in to Lillie Mae’s House of Soul Food and try a brisket platter or sample some biscuits and gravy. Make it a Sunday destination for the ($20 a plate but worth it) Sunday Brunch Buffet. Get some ribs that will make your hands smell all day…

This place is out of control.

For reals.