Country Roasted Chicken
Roasted chicken, seasoned like fried chicken! This is my solution to wanting the simplicity and leftovers of a roasted chicken wile being able to serve it with comfort food sides like greens and...
View ArticleFreeze those strawberries
Summer and berry season are finally approaching. With this warm weather comes hard to resist prices on tasty looking berries, and sometimes as my nana used to say, “our eyes are bigger than our...
View ArticleDIY lemon coconut oil natural wood restorer
Our natural cherry Harden dining table is about 80 years old and we’ve had it for eight. I am not sure how it was treated in its previous homes, and it was not perfect when we got it, but it has been...
View ArticleEasy creamed spinach
I love creamed spinach, but many of its preparations tend to be overly rich and unnecessarily complicated. I wanted to find a way to reduce the fat a bit so that we could eat it without thinking of it...
View ArticleSimple mini quiches with cream cheese pastry crust
As is common around a holiday, blocks of cream cheese are cheap this week. Since that holiday is currently Easter, so are eggs. Perfect opportunity to make and share a mini quiche recipe I have been...
View ArticleRoasted bacon
Bacon is a pain to cook on the stove! From not fitting well in a round pan, to splattering, to uneven cooking, it is no fun. It also takes forever! Throwing it in the oven keeps your stovetop clean,...
View ArticleEasy slow-cooker ham and lentil soup
This is a great way to do a little bit of work early in the day for a stress-free and healthy dinner. It also is great to portion for lunches. A huge bonus for me is that my preschooler absolutely...
View ArticleHearty kale soup with sausage, black beans, and hominy
I made a vegetarian version of this soup when I cooked for a friend’s weekend yoga retreat. Everyone loved that version, but I was even more excited to make it for my greens-loving husband. Alas, he...
View ArticleStrawberry (or any berry) banana smoothie
I am not a juicer, nor have I typically been a “smoothie person.” I prefer to chew my food and will choose savory over sweet in most cases. But, I also am no fan of cereal. The everything bagel with...
View ArticleFreeze those bananas
We have all ended up with this, right? This is actually an entire bunch that has been sitting on my counter, untouched, since it was purchased. I know we don’t go through them but I like to have them...
View ArticleRoasted asparagus
Roasting is a great way to bring out the lovely nuttiness of asparagus. It is also very easy in that it doesn’t require you to do anything once it is in the oven other than take it out at the correct...
View ArticleThe process: Shopping, making stock
A few more days of my “process” Saturday, 2/22: I made huevos rancheros for breakfast with the sauce I had in the freezer, tortillas I picked up at Meijer on Thursday for 34 cents, part of a block of...
View ArticleThe process: Introduction, plus defrosting some stuff
I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want to share here, what is most useful to others, and what is most motivating to me. While I do love to cook and fiddle with recipes and do have moments...
View ArticleSpontaneous generation of dinner: pasta carbonara
We often think we have nothing to make for dinner when that is actually far from the truth. A few nights ago, I had planned to defrost some Chicken Makhani and serve it with basmati rice, naan, and...
View ArticleBanana (plus other good stuff) muffins
Let me preface this post by saying that I most enjoy cooking, not baking. Somehow these muffins consistently come out great, but it isn’t the result of some important technique or principle of baking...
View ArticleBuffalo chicken drumsticks with blue cheese creamed spinach
As is the case with many couples, my husband and I became somewhat less social once our daughter arrived. One of the lesser-known consequences of that is a marked reduction in opportunities to consume...
View ArticleChicken and spinach with balsamic tomato sauce
This recipe has had a long evolution in this house. I finally feel like it is just right! It started out as a healthy and quick weeknight option. My most recent addition was the polenta, which added a...
View ArticleSimple mashed sweet potatoes
As a child, I loathed sweet potatoes. All I knew of sweet potatoes was either the frozen glazed variety that my mom, out of obligation, threw in the oven each Thanksgiving for my dad or the...
View ArticleCrunchy fish tenders with homemade tartar sauce
This is a great kid-friendly dish that can be made ahead and frozen for those times when you need to feed a kid quickly and separately and don’t want to serve overly processed junk. It might seem less...
View ArticleUnfortunately I was in need of a…DIY lumbar support pillow!
I wish I could say I haven’t posted in a while because I came into a windfall of some sort and am so busy spending all of my money that I can’t be bothered to think about being frugal. Unfortunately,...
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