Summer Cooking

I don’t know about you, but there are few things I dislike more than have my oven and gas burners on in the summer between the hours of 3-7pm, the hottest time of the day. Even when I force myself to the task, I must admit that it’s rather disheartening to toil over a hot stove, sweat beading on my forehead, only to have the family push the food around their plates with their forks because they’re just too hot to eat.

So when this question came in last week, I could definitely relate! [...]

Menu planning, Part 2

Today I want to talk a bit about how menu planning helps me stick to my budget:

For Bread-Lovers

Cheddar Pan Biscuits

1/3c butter
2-1/4c all-purpose flour
4oz (1c) cheddar cheese, shredded
1T baking powder
1T sugar
1tsp dried basil leaves [...]

Whole wheat bread

We probably all use a slightly different recipe for our breadmaking. Mom and Brietta mill their own wheatberries. I, however, buy mine already ground at the store. You know. The 5 lb bag of flour? Yeah.
But we do all love homemade bread. Who doesn’t? It’s relaxing to make — one of those therapeutic type of [...]

Menu planning

I didn’t really get serious about menu planning until after Jameson was born. At that point, it became more than a good idea; it was the only way I could guarantee to get dinner on the table!
I certainly don’t get to this every week, but my week goes so much better when I do. [...]

Comfort food: Potato Soup and Oatmeal Muffins

Last week was a bit on the chilly side, so Jameson and I made some favorite recipes: potato soup and oatmeal muffins.
Potato Soup (the way I make it!)
serves 6-8
1. Saute small onion and 3 cloves of garlic in butter.

2. Add 6-7 peeled and cubed white potatoes (or the equivalent of any other kind.)

3. Cover with [...]

Divine Chocolatey-ness!

These are the best cookies.

No really, they are.

As soon as you’re done reading this, you’ll want to go make some. Trust me. There is nothing hard about them except coming by the self-control to not eat them all yourself [...]

Shepherd’s Pie

If you’re like me, you kind of wrinkle up your nose in distaste when you hear “Shepherd’s Pie.” I’m not a big ketchup fan, and shepherd’s pie always makes me thing of ketchup. Ick. But the other day, after browsing a bunch of online recipes, I had a revelation: shepherd’s pie can be made any way [...]

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Strata

This one is my go-to strata recipe. We love it with asparagus and goat cheese, but really, you can throw in anything you’d like. The key is chewy break (day old is best!) cut into nice big chunks. And, of course, a nice golden parmesan top! [...]

Cheese Braids

Here is the recipe for Cheese Braids! I hope all of you enjoy them as much as we do and the pictures below show bits and pieces of them in the making. [...]