Cooking from scratch: healthier, cheaper, and a great creative outlet
I love garlic. It's very good for you, with antioxidants and several vitamins. Recently some studies have shown garlic can help with high blood pressure, colds and flu, cardiovascular disease, to aid in lowering blood pressure. It may even assist in preventing dementia and cancer! Good enough, for me, let's throw it in every thing! … Continue reading Easy ways to Peel Garlic & How to get rid of the Smell!
Homemade chicken stock is so much better than boxed or canned. First, note there is a difference between stock and broth. Broth is usually made just from meat, and tends to be a lighter color. Stock is made from bones, has a darker color , feels thicker because of the collagen that breaks down from … Continue reading Making Homemade Chicken Stock from Scraps
Today suddenly turned into a pierogie day. I didn't really plan on spending hours today making them, but that's okay. I'm happy to be doing it on a cold blustery day when I plan on staying in anyway. Pierogies are like little dumplings, pasta dough filled with mashed potatoes and cheese. They can also be … Continue reading How to Make Homemade Pierogies
Christmas morning deserves something special to go with the salted caramel coffee. Most of the time we eat pretty healthy. So I decided to take an easy cinnamon roll recipe and make it a least a little healthier. I used half white whole wheat four (all whole wheat would not form enough gluten to rise … Continue reading Easy, sort-of-healthy Cinnamon Rolls
We could never eat everything I bake. So I bake for friends as gifts, as thank you's, and just because. Also because neither my husband or I should be eating much sugar or white flour (though I often do cook with white whole wheat or spelt flour instead). I like giving away food so someone … Continue reading A Gift of Apple Pandowdy
Holiday's are for baking! Here's a quick bread I often make around the holidays for gifts. I buy extra cranberries every year and freeze them so I can make it any time I want! Cranberry Nutbread Delicious with a hot cup of coffee 1 stick stick butter or margarine1 1/2 c sugar1 T vinegar1 egg1 … Continue reading Baking Holiday Bread – Cranberry Nut Quick Bread
I don't know about you, but I collect recipes. From magazines. From cookbooks. On line. Anyplace I find something that sounds good I either print it out, rip it out, or more likely now, scan it and save in a computer file. I had 4 4" notebooks at one point, and decided it took up … Continue reading Two great ways to Meal Plan & try all those recipes collected
I just recently bought some silicone baking cup liners. Not only do they come in such happy colors, but like any other silicone product - think silicone baking mats - they work! I know, they've been around quite a while now, but I had never used them. I usually use paper cupcake liners. I find some … Continue reading You must try silicone baking cups!
Buying dried beans in bulk is usually a whole lot cheaper than a single 15 ounce can. At the local big box store I can get 4 pound bags of a few varieties of dried beans and lentils. The only problem I have is that when I decide to make something, I have to cook … Continue reading How to keep Dried Beans Ready to Use
Who doesn't love a comfort food like mac and cheese, especially now that the autumn weather is really setting in. My mac and cheese has some smoked cheese and bacon to add a lovely depth of flavor. I love about any smoked food anyway. Fox Pines Ultimate Mac and Cheese ½ c butter ½ … Continue reading Fox Pines Ultimate Mac and Cheese