I have a confession to make, until recently I’ve always been too intimidated to cook a ham. I like ham but there seemed to be a secret to keeping the ham moist and no one was telling me the secret. Well, I’ve found the secret and I’m sharing it with you….slow cooking….yep, that’s it. For … Read more
Have you ever heard of silver turtles? Some people call them hobo packets or foil dinners. Basically they’re a complete dinner you cook in a homemade foil packet on the grill or open camp fire…or even in the oven in a pinch. Whatever you call them, silver turtles are a delicious and super versatile dinner. … Read more
We love having people over for a meal and games. Over the years I’ve developed a few go-to recipes so I don’t have to think about planning a menu each time. I can just pick from one of the preplanned menus. This really helps reduce the stress of entertaining. We recently added a new item … Read more
Chicken and rice is favorite combination at our home. What’s not to love – it’s a delicious and frugal combination? When you purchase a whole chicken it’s one of the least expensive meats and rice (even our favorite, basmati rice) is cheaper per pound than pasta. One of our staple chicken and rice meal is … Read more
Almost every day my youngest daughter asks if she can bake something. The funny thing is she’s not much of a sweets eater so it’s not just because she wants to eat something sweet. She just truly enjoys baking and making something for everyone to enjoy. Of course we don’t bake every day but I … Read more
While we all joke about how prolific zucchini is, it’s my favorite summer vegetable. Because of it’s mild flavor, zucchini is super versatile and can be used in a wide range of recipes. Whether you grow your own or pick them up from the farmers market or grocery store, make sure to make a few … Read more
Get the flavor of traditional lasagna and use up that surplus of summer zucchini with this easy zucchini lasagna recipe. Since this recipe substitutes zucchini for lasagna noodles, it’s also a great recipe for those who are gluten-free or on a low-card or keto diet. Zucchini lasagna will quickly become a family favorite! Why Zucchini … Read more
I don’t know about in your family but in mine I can never get the servings right when I make oatmeal by the pan. Six people should eat six servings, right? Especially when I add chopped apples, maple syrup and cinnamon. And yet, time after time I find myself with oatmeal left over. Fortunately, I … Read more
Have I ever mentioned that I have a son who doesn’t eat sugar? Well, I do and it’s a good thing….usually. He will eat fruit and will put honey in his oatmeal and have maple syrup or dewberry preserves on his pancakes but for the most part he’s sugar free. Occasionally though it throws this … Read more
My family loves trail mix but it can be super pricey. And while it is certainly a better snack than most packaged foods I know I can make it healthier and cheaper than anything I can buy already made. For my older kids, I like to add dark chocolate espresso beans to the mix. Here’s … Read more
I know, who can think of soups, especially heavy soups like chili in this heat? I do. In fact, every summer I spend a couple of days canning chili con carne and beef (or venison) stew for the winter. Why? Because it helps me feed the family home cooked meals even during the busy school … Read more
Yep, I’m aware that those are NOT dandelions on the strawberry dandelion cake. Dandelions are hard to find around here so we decorated with nasturtiums instead. But the flavored syrup is made with dandelions. This cake is bursting with strawberry flavor and the subtle honey-like sweetness of dandelion syrup. This is a no-too-sweet cake which … Read more
Having a cheesecake bar is a great dessert option when you’re hosting a large crowd. The cheesecakes can be made ahead of time and frozen until being served which makes the day of the party go much smoother. Serving dessert to a crowd can be a challenge some times, especially if you’re serving a full … Read more
Right now we’re eating quite a bit of swiss chard and kale. Chard and kale are great because they grow year round here and they are my “filler” vegetables. And right now we’re needing that filler as we no longer have any broccoli or cabbage growing and the green beans and summer squash isn’t producing … Read more
We love sourdough bread but I’ve been a little intimidated to try to make it. The whole thing about having to feed the starter regularly or you’ll kill it has always been a little bit to much responsibility for me. Goodness, I have kids to feed each day, I certainly don’t need the pressure of keeping a … Read more
Last week I found myself with extra milk on hand. Apparently, I ordered 6 gallons not our usual 4 gallons from the co-op. Gabriel has been wanting me to make spinach lasagna and I’ve been wanting to try my hand at homemade ricotta cheese for a while. Perfect opportunity. So we pulled out Homemade Pantry … Read more
Kenyan samosas are fun to make and freeze very well. They’re so versatile, you can use whatever ground meat and vegetables you happen to have. Just make sure to make extra for snacking on later. We have some dear friends who moved here about three years ago from Kenya. To say that their friendship has … Read more
Our family isn’t much of a cake eating family. But brownies, oh, we can put some serious hurt on a pan of brownies. Over the years we’ve looked high and low for a gooey homemade brownie recipe. And through a lot of trial and error we finally have one. The key to this recipe is … Read more
If you’ve been hanging out with us for very long, you’ve probably realized that we mainly cook from scratch. But we’re also not food purists. Occasionally we’ll eat processed foods and we go out to eat at times. But for the most part we try to avoid processed foods. And sometimes that’s hard to do. … Read more
Being from the South I grew up on tea…sweet tea. In fact, I remember having sweet tea available daily but rarely drinking those fruit flavored drinks. I was an adult before I knew there was any kind of tea besides sweet tea (ok, so I knew about unsweet tea but didn’t know anyone who actually … Read more