Cooking from scratch: healthier, cheaper, and a great creative outlet
Kale soup, or Caldo Verde, comes from northern Portugal. It's a perfect fall soup, filled with healthy vegetables and sausage. There are many variations, with and without potatoes, Linguiça (a Portuguese sausage), and different kinds of kale. I have a feeling that once a family recipe is developed it becomes tradition for that family. Autumn … Continue reading How to make an Easy Portuguese Kale Soup
I love cherries, and late spring/early summer is the season. Every store has them now. I typically buy quite a few to eat, bake and freeze. I wasted a simple dessert today, something easier than a pie. So I decided on a sweet dough, almost a pate sucre, and a quick turn on the range … Continue reading Making Cast Iron Cherry Almond Crumble
I wanted comfort food - pasta to be specific. But not the standard spaghetti and meatballs my husband favors. I wanted something gooey, filled with cheese, and baked. I had sausage in the fridge, along with mushrooms, mozzarella and Parmesan; and all the other staple ingredients in my pantry. Even a half loaf of Italian … Continue reading Incredible Sausage Mushroom Pasta Bake
I decided a few weeks ago I should make some refrigerator cookies and freeze them, so I could bake cookies on short notice...like when unexpected company stops by. These are regular refrigerator cookies - the kind you mix up, roll into a log and refrigerate until firm. Except I'm going to store them long term … Continue reading How to make Freezer Cookies
Sometimes I just don't have time to wait to things to be room temperature. This usually happens when I decide to make something on the spur of a moment. I read through the recipe and something needs to be soft or warm. Ugh. So I have found someways to speed things along. Warm up flour … Continue reading 5 Quick Tips for Room Temperature Items & Baking Clean up
I first saw this Chocolate flan cake on Food Network TV back when Sunny Anderson had her own show. It was probably one of the first times I ran to my computer and printed off a recipe that I saw someone make on TV. This part chocolate cake and part flan is simple to make, … Continue reading Magic Chocolate Flan Cake
Remember the jingle: "Two all beef patties, SPECIAL SAUCE, lettuce, cheese..." . Well, if you are old enough you know it (and you just sang it in your head too, didn't you?). Special Sauces infer a secret, a magical recipe, something only you can make. And you can, make your own that is. I've seen … Continue reading How to Make Your Own Special Sauce
I love my glass canning jars. They have so many uses, way above and beyond canning food for long term storage. I typically buy them by the dozen, and keep a variety of sizes: half gallon, quart, (wide mouth and regular), pint, half pint, jelly jars. That way I always have just the size I … Continue reading 30 Ways to use Glass Canning Jars
My family loves snacks. And friends know I'm a good cook. So there's always the questions of what is there to eat? Or What's for dessert today? So here's a very easy cake that can be cut into wedges and eaten plain as a snack, or add a dollop of whipped cream to make it … Continue reading Cranberry Cornmeal Snack Cake
Weeks during the winter I can be found in the kitchen making a pot of soup for the week. We often have it for a quick lunch, or as an addition to dinner. Although we don't really eat much spicy food, this soup has a small kick from the sausage. I use sweet sausage as … Continue reading Making a Sausage Soup on Saturday