Ladies and gentlemen, I need you to pray for us. I need you to pray that we don’t run out of food or money during the next several years of feeding the bottomless pit that has become my son. I’m not sure when it happened, or who flipped the switch that turned my sweet baby boy into an eating machine but I feel that there is no going back. There haven’t ...
Recipes
“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 ...
Make Ahead Pork Potstickers
Make Ahead Pork Potstickers are easy to make. Grab a friend and make a big batch to keep in your freezer for a lightening fast meal or appetizer that you can make right from the freezer! Make sure to read the notes to learn how to freeze potstickers for later! If you had told me 5 years ago that my kids would frequently beg me to make potstickers for dinner I would have ...
Gloriously Retro Pineapple Ham Balls
I have a slight obsession with vintage recipes. Just something about the fads and trends of cooking that thought Jello molds and mayonnaise was a good combination fascinates me. I often find myself wondering, what was the mindset of the women (for it was almost assuredly women) who came up with these unorthodox combinations. I think it must have been a little bit ...
Broccoli Bites and the Terrible Hide and Seekers
The game of hide-and-seek is certainly not anything new. As a child, our regular games of hide- and-seek were closely related to black-ops style missions that demanded that the hiders call upon all of their stealth and ingenuity in order to outsmart the usually older and bigger seekers. We would play endless games, making sure to place “base” in some wide open area ...
Jam Muffins
I have a deep-seated love of muffins. Something about the domed tops and colorful liners that make me as giddy as an 8-year old to pop a couple of muffins in my face for breakfast. Muffins, for me, are a great way to celebrate a weekend, a snow day, or the fact that you are awake at 4 AM on a Sunday morning for no good reason. Versatile and forgiving, muffins can turn ordinary ...
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 ...
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Biscuits are a rite of passage for many Southern women. It’s a skill passed down from generation to generation, a vessel for learning many of life’s lessons. My mother imparted her own wisdom to me through the art of making biscuits. As a small child, Mom taught me to measure the flour, cut in the fat, stir in the milk, be gentle with the dough, and cut your biscuits. There is ...
Easy Turkey Taco Soup
Time is a precious commodity at our house and squeezing in quality time at the holidays is a juggling act that I stink at. The phone is always ringing and there is always some place we have to be in an hour. My grand plans for cute little homemade gifts for everyone who has touched our lives during the year turns into me throwing a sad stack of cookies into a brown paper sack ...
Wine-y Cranberry Salad
Few things are more controversial in the South than libations. It’s certainly not uncommon for people to be on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to imbibing, and I know convincing people to believe otherwise on the issue is about as effective as digging a hole with a wet noodle. But as this month of thankfulness cruises on, I can’t help but be thankful for wine, no ...
Broccoli and Greens Gratin
Culinary ruts happen in every household. It’s why there are millions of cookbooks in print, thousands of food blogs written every day, and an untold amount of time-weathered index cards shoved into recipe boxes in kitchens across the world. The “same ol’, same ol’ “ is just part of cooking. It’s no different in this house. I can recite to you the dishes that cross the lips of ...
Sage Roasted Turkey Breast
Over time the enormous family reunion style Thanksgiving of my past has given way to a much smaller and more intimate holiday table. And although I miss the big, loud Thanksgivings of days gone by, I cannot say that I miss the marathon -like cooking and dirty dishes that goes along with it. I have had enough marathon cooking in my life, I would prefer that my holidays be just ...
Quick and Easy Chocolate Halloween Bark
If you are looking for a no bake Halloween treat that is sweet, salty and loaded with candy then this Halloween bark is the recipe for you. This bark is perfect for sharing on Halloween night, or maybe you will want to whip up a batch as a way to use your leftover Halloween candy. You will love the mix of candy bars, peanuts, pretzels and chocolate that this homemade ...
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 ...
Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins
You can learn a lot of things from a kitchen remodel. For instance you can learn simple things like, your small kitchen houses no fewer than 19 doors, 7 drawers and 26 pulls that have to be either painted or replaced. You can learn, too, that when picking out the color yellow, there is a fine line between buttery and school bus. You may also learn that the old man who lived ...