Italian Pressed Sandwiches are an easy way to make your lunch ahead of time. Whip up these savory sandwiches today and pack them in your lunchbox tomorrow! They make great party sandwiches and potluck finger foods too! We have been preparing for moving day for a month now. For weeks we have been packing boxes, peeling bad wall paper, fixing pipes, replacing old electrical ...
Appetizers
Cranberry Pecan Granola
Not long after I began really working within our grocery budget and also being somewhat obsessed with delicious and relatively healthy food, I noticed that my food choices tended to lean toward the more basic ingredients that you would find on shelves of grandmothers everywhere. Oats, flour, nuts, fresh veggies, and so on made a regular appearance on our grocery list. The ...
Spicy Shrimp Gazpacho
The thing is… I never liked tomatoes as a kid. Or cucumbers. Or bell peppers. I also didn’t like spicy things. Something about the self-inflicted pain of hot peppers put me off. I must have been in my teens before I tried actual HOT wings and well into my twenties before I gave all of my most hated vegetables another try. So, up until rather recently, gazpacho never sounded ...
Sloppy Meatball Joes
I firmly believe that the powers-that-be gave me my daughter so that I would be forced to constantly be creative (He gave me my son to force me to be patient). My young, vivacious look-a-like has some very particular ways of doing things. Ponytails are acceptable, but braids are not. Books are fun but not if Mom picks them out (she will not read A Little Princess no matter how ...
Caramelized Onion Dip
Caramelized Onion Dip is a creamy dip perfect for chips and veggies. The caramelized onions can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for a few days. After nearly two years of “looking” and 8 months of honest-to-goodness, we’ve-got-money-in-our-hand, why-is-this-so-hard shopping, we have finally bought a new home. This is not our first go around in the house shopping ...
Baked Italian Sandwich
The amount of meals that we now eat somewhere other than our own house has at least doubled in the last month or so. Not only are we eating lunch like most people who work outside of the home (at our desk or otherwise) but the beautiful weather has made for a few very good excuses to soak up some sunshine while holding lunch in our lap. You won’t hear many complaints from me ...
Spicy Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs
Spicy Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs are a fun a different way to enjoy this Southern side dish! The filling makes a killer sandwich too! Nothing says “Easter” like an egg. I can’t seem to remember a single Easter without one. I can vividly remember sitting at my great-grandmother’s red kitchen table, intently focused on dying the perfect egg. We had looked at pictures of ...
Make Your Own Frozen Pizza
I am ashamed to say that in the last year or so, our family has adopted a nasty habit: cheap frozen pizza. It's a guilty pleasure sort of thing really. I mean, there is nothing more unhealthy than a $2 Tony's pepperoni pizza, but when you get home late with two hungry kids and no motivation to cook, the frozen cardboard with 5 pepperoni slices becomes a wonderful solution to ...
Homemade Baking Mix
Convenience and good taste are rarely found together. Like tuna salad in a gas station, a party dress at the Dollar Store, or jewelry at Walgreens, store-bought baking mixes are very high on the list of things I will never buy. When I was a kid, all of our pancakes and waffles were made from the yellow box of baking mix that Mom kept under the counter. I didn’t know the ...
Baked BBQ Potato Wedges
Baked BBQ Potato Wedges are a hit that everyone will be talking about. Whip up a batch for your next tailgate party or cookout! They won't last long! These delicious baked BBQ potato wedges will be your new favorite. Simple and easy to prepare potato wedges that will please any crowd. Yummy wedged potatoes with cheese, bacon, seasonings, BBQ sauce a few other yummy ...
Stuffed Flatbreads
A few months ago we were swimming in little puppies. A gift from a stray who wandered up to the house, the seven adorable spotted noses running around our carport pretty much consumed our life. Every morning we were greeted by tiny little canine barks and growls and little puppy paws chasing the laces of our shoes. Any walk outside became an obstacle course of puppy tails under ...
Mini Chicken Gyros
My first encounter with Greek food was in Chicago during a trip that seems like forever ago now. My friend, Renee, had been living there for a few years and I flew my pregnant self to Chicago for a “last-hoorah” kind of girls’ weekend. We went all over the place, but my favorite place was this little Greek restaurant around the corner from her apartment. We dodged angry drivers ...
Maple Bacon Whiskey Wings
Fall is here and there are so many things to be thankful for; cooler weather, comfort food and football season are just a few. Although I look forward to the crisp fall air and the stews and braises of the season, I can’t say that I am a big football fanatic. It’s a shame really, being that I was raised in a football loving family. My family has season tickets to the ...
Spring Frittata
Spring Frittata is a great breakfast or brunch dish that beautifully showcases Spring's fresh produce in an easy one-pan meal. We are loving Summer break. Mornings are quieter, easier. I haven’t yelled at anybody before 7 AM all week! There is no race to find shoes, pack lunches, or get home before bedtime. There are no set times for breakfast, lunch or dinner. While, my ...
Roasted Veggie and Lentil Salad
Full of savory roasted veggies and hearty lentils, this Roasted Veggie and Lentil Salad makes an easy packed lunch or side dish for roasted chicken. Dieting makes me angry. The moment you tell me I can’t have something then that is all my mind can think about. Every “diet” I have ever tried, read, or thought about really hard has taken something that I love to eat away. And ...