I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas. I love all of the gift giving and cookie making. I love the get-togethers and all of the twinkling lights. What I don't love is just how dang expensive it is. Every holiday season we struggle to do all of the gifting we want without digging ourselves into a hole of debt that we then spend the next several ...
Dinner
Garlic Shrimp Rice Bowl
Living in the country on the edges of society has always had its sacrifices. We knew that when we moved back nearly 6 years ago to my small hometown. But here recently, a little bit of the modern world has finally reached our doorstep. We now have honest-to-goodness internet. Oh sure, we had internet before. It came out of a tiny black box that sat in ...
Turkey Cranberry Sliders
Let’s be honest. Thanksgiving is delicious and all, but the best part is all of the leftovers. If done correctly, the fridge will be full of meals that I don’t have to work too hard for for the majority of the week. The first couple of meals are generally a similar version of the original meal; swap the virtuous Brussel sprouts ...
Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Shells
Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Shells is handy freezer meal to have at the ready. Cheesy and delicious and covered in sauce, this dish will make your busiest evenings a cinch. As the Christmas trees and decorations start to go up and the sounds of the holiday season start to jingle all around us, a great epiphany strikes me. It is all about to hit the fan. It’s like ...
Back to School Baked Turkey Meatball Subs
Last week, the kids and I spent a day gathering supplies for the fast approaching school year. I prefer to bypass the Tax-free Weekend craze and get through the painful act of spending a small fortune without throwing elbows over a pack of glue sticks (If I have learned anything over the last four years it’s that no discount is worth venturing into a Walmart on tax-free weekend ...
Slow Cooker Short Rib Pasta in Homemade Marinara Sauce
A few months back, I received a request from a friend of mine. She was requesting a recipe of course, one that would solve all of her problems, one that would make her days easier and her meals more delicious, and of course it had to go in the Crock Pot. And it couldn’t be soup. “And don’t make it too fancy,” she said. “If I have to go to the grocery store to get some spice, I ...
“Life Changing” Harissa Chicken and White Beans
After 8 years of cooking and then writing about it, I have enough confidence in my skills to say that I am an above average home cook. I can, on a fairly consistent basis, put a meal on the table that doesn’t kill anyone. I have also been fortunate enough to produce some pretty amazing creations that have been met with rave reviews, but, until last week, I have never made ...
Italian Braised Short Ribs
My husband and I have been working on our own little project. It’s been going on for the last 6 or 7 months and was brought on by the rising cost of cheap cuts of beef. Cuts that, 5 years ago, most folks didn’t know existed. We have seen some of our favorites such as flank steak, skirt steak and beef shank go through the roof! I would have never imagined that it would be ...
Ham and Cabbage Soup
Ham and Cabbage Soup is a family favorite that has been passed down through the generations. Turn a leftover meaty hambone into a dish that will have you going back for another bowl. This post has been updated with new pictures and such. Whenever I see or smell ham and cabbage soup, I think about a brief moment in time (late 80’s perhaps?) when my parents dove head ...
30 Minute Mini Meatloaves
To say that this Summer has been one of rest and relaxation would be a big, fat lie. So far, this particularly hot and muggy season has been nothing but exhausting; new job, new house, new projects, and new routines (if you can call anything in our life right now “routine”). I’m not complaining (ok, maybe a little), everything that has happened has been ...
Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Blue Cheese Butter
I would venture to say that most hard-working Dads out there don’t get all of the credit they deserve. I mean, they go to work every day to provide for their families only to be tackled by their children as soon as they walk through the door and commanded to then proceed to be the most entertaining toy in the room. My husband in particular must perform the duties of “the fun ...
Cabbage Strudel
There is a bag of dirt on my kitchen floor and little cups of seedlings in my window. My garden has been generously turned over and tilled by a neighbor. I have drawn out my plans for this year’s planting, hoping that this season will be better than last season. I have vowed to stay on top of the weeds and the squash bugs and construct a fence to keep the critters and the ...
Chicken Stew
Chicken Stew is one of the best ways to warm up a cold winter's day. If you can rustle up some fresh rosemary, this stew will be all the better for it. Hello, Winter…you are late. We have been waiting for you since December. We would have been very appreciative of your wintery precipitation during the Christmas holiday but this February delivery of ice and snow ...
Teriyaki Turkey Meatball Stir-fry
Bring two favorites together in one dish! Meatballs and stirfry are a great way to make this healthy quick dinner even more kid friendly! I’m sure that I have mentioned this before, but I LOVE Asian food. Not only do I love how fast and fresh most Asian food can be, but I also love all of the sauces and condiments that go along with it. The Asian pantry is teeming with ...
Buffalo Salad with Shoestring Fried Onions
I have to ease into the healthy eating of January. Even though the guilt and the elastic in my waistband is reminding me of all of the pie that I had for Christmas, I can't just dive headfirst into a menu of green smoothies and power bars. After all it is the middle of Winter.It's cold. It's dreary and all my stubborn body seems to want to crave is comfort food. Why, oh, why ...