My tomato plants have been good to me this year. While everyone else in town has been complaining about a horrible year for tomatoes, my 3 tomato plants have kept me and my family knee deep in juicy ripe tomatoes all Summer. So, now here it is October and the first frost is expected to come tonight and that means the end of my hard working tomato plants. It took me two trips to ...
Appetizers
Homemade Ruffles Potato Chips
Never buy a bag of potato chips again! Make your own Homemade Ruffles Potato Chips from scratch! Cheap and easy and lots of fun to eat. I'm not sure that I have ever heard of anyone who doesn't love potato chips. I've heard of folks who can't eat potato chips, or "try not" to eat potato chips, and a few people who say potato chips go straight to their thighs, but I can't ...
Separating the Curds from the Whey – Cheese making
I try not to be pretentious on this blog. I do my best to keep things simple and familiar enough that the average person who likes to cook will find something that they can make just about any day of the week without having to earn a degree in the culinary arts to do so. I also realize that most of you probably live either in the city or suburbia. Most of you don't have ...
Cheesy Tomato Basil Souffle
Don't let this Cheesy Tomato Basil Souffle intimidate you! Souffles are easy! Showcase all of that summer produce in this creamy and decadent Cheesy Tomato Basil Souffle! Here it is, the end of July and I am happily swimming in fresh, ripe, homegrown tomatoes. It's an event I look forward to all year. It's hard to beat a just picked sweet tomato still warm from the sun and I ...
Rosemary Garlic Foccacia Bread
Life without bread would be dismal. Even those who are allergic to gluten find ways to have bread. And ask anydieter and you will find that they crave bread. Bread is just so delicious, so satisfying. Adding garlic, herbs, and olive oil to bread sends it into another realm entirely. When the heat hits those aromatics your entire house fills with the intoxicating smells of yeast ...
Quick Chocolate Donuts with a Fresh Strawberry Glaze
I love donuts. I consider the donut to be the 8th wonder of the world. Yeast donuts or cake donuts will make any morning infinitely better. Either simply glazed or stuffed with jam, donuts are a wonderful morning treat. There are two problems with donuts. 1 - The light, fluffy yeast type ( a la Krispy Kreme) take a while to make. You can't just wake up in the morning and throw ...
Tuna Tuesday: Moving Day
Let me just tell you all that I am wicked awesome with a tape gun. I can tape up a box in a matter of seconds. I know how to pick the right size box for the stuff I am packing. I can optimize space in a cube of cardboard and I can successfully wrap fine china in a protective layer of bubble wrap while resisting the urge to pop the tiny pockets of air. In short people, I have ...
Tuna Tuesday: Wasabi Tuna Sushi
It's Tuesday and that means... TUNA TUESDAY! WooHoo! I have really begun to look forward to these posts. It's a lot of fun to try to come up with different ways to use a can of meat. I have also been exploring the canned meat aisle in the grocery store to see what other kinds of options there are. It is quite surprising to see the variety that is offered. I am still ...
Tuna Panzanella Salad
If any of you follow me on Twitter, you already know what I have been up to for the last week. I have been knee deep in sick kids since last Monday. I won't elaborate too much ( although I could but this is a food blog and bodily functions are not the most appetizing conversations), but let's just say that I have run out of towels 3 times in the last week and it wasn't because ...
BBQ Chicken Pouches
Well, word on the street is that the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers are headed to the Super Bowl. The word on the street also says that it will probably be a good game, too. I hear that people are already placing their bets on this big game. Thank goodness, there is "word on the street" to fill me in on these things, because I haven't the foggiest idea what's ...
Handmade Southern Fried Peach Pies
So, there is a little piece of news I would like to share with all of you. It's big. It's life changing. No, I am NOT pregnant. We are moving. And I don't mean across town. We are moving back to Tennessee. Back to the country. Back to a town without a Kroger. Back to the land of free babysitting. We are pretty excited. This is going to be a whole new chapter for us. A ...
Salmon on a Boxty
Welcome to another Tuna Tuesday! Where the star of the show is meat in a can! Please add your Tuna Tuesday recipe too! Well, it looks like 2010 is drawing to a close and many people out there are going to all kinds of parties and celebrations to kick off the new year. Not me, but other "many people" are. But if I was going to a party or, better yet, if I was throwing a party, ...
Baked Potato Soup and Hot Ham and Swiss Sandwiches
Baked Potato Soup and Hot Ham and Swiss Sandwiches are excellent on cold nights, casual get-togethers, sick days or football parties. They just go together so well! You can substitute leftover baked potatoes or cook some up in the microwave instead of the oven if you want to make this dish a little faster. Christmas has finally come and gone. The kids are slowly coming ...
Italian Bean and Tuna Salad
This Italian Bean and Tuna Salad is a great make ahead lunch dish! I don't know about you guys, but since the holiday season started a little over a month ago, I have gotten reacquainted with my fat pants. I hate getting reacquainted with my fat pants. They make me feel fat. Oh I can still squeeze myself into my regular pants, but I look like one of those gigantic muffins in ...
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
It's Tuesday again already! Time for another wonderful addition to the Tuna Tuesday series where meat in a can is the star of the show! This week I am using a can of premium white crabmeat. It is a wonderful replacement for the super expensive lump crabmeat and also makes great soups, sandwiches, and spreads. Canned crabmeat is perfect for these crowd pleasing stuffed ...