Cooking from scratch: healthier, cheaper, and a great creative outlet
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
I love cooking (and eating) chicken thighs. Bone in. They have so much more flavor than breast meat. And while white meat has a place, I's rather serve chicken legs and thighs. But I often find myself falling into a rut on how to prepare them differently. Today I spied a small jar of orange … Continue reading Chicken Thighs with Orange Sauce
Stuffed shells - my husbands has been asking for them for several days, so today I have time to make them. We are having a friend over for dinner though, who has an aversion to ricotta cheese. In the past, I have made lasagna with cottage cheese, so why not stuffed shells? The trick is … Continue reading Stuffed Shells – one of my Husbands favorite meals
We love chicken, and I often cook bone in thighs. I wanted something other than just baked chicken tonight. Sometimes I coat with corn flakes, and add honey. Tonight I just wanted something gooey and really tasty. If you wanted to use white meat, it would work with boneless breast meat, but it will not … Continue reading Simply Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
Following up on the previous post, I made the Pumpkin Cinnamon Twist from Cast Iron Baking scratch recipes for your favorite skillet . Another great recipe from Brooke Bell. It's easy to form, but looks oh so impressive. And, best of all, I get to use one of my cast iron skillets to make it! … Continue reading Another Cast Iron Baking Recipe – Pumpkin Cinnamon Twist