As I sit down to write this post, it’s a cold and dreary January in our corner of the northern hemisphere. We’re barely back from our latest visit with family, and I haven’t even had time to unpack, let alone get to the supermarket. So I’m snacking on cheesy toasts. Correction: WAS snacking on – I polished …
Old-Fashioned Baked Apples Recipe: Perfect Prep-Ahead Holiday Dessert, Easy and Delicious There’s nothing like the scent of oven baked apples cooking to make your home smell warm and cozy at the holidays. “Baked” apples are a ten-minute everyday breakfast treat in our home, thanks to the microwave. But when I’m making a lot of baked …
Old-Fashioned Oven Baked Apples Recipe (Easy & Healthy) Read More »
When I was growing up, each day began with a good breakfast. And breakfast always began with a serving of fruit. On chilly mornings, my favorite breakfast fruit was my mother’s delicious homemade baked apples. Originally published Oct. 5, 2017; last updated October 2020. My mama baked apples the old-fashioned way, in the oven. Usually …
Healthy Microwave Baked Apples Recipe (Ready in 10 Minutes!) Read More »
How To Steam Veggies In The Microwave: Steaming vegetables in the microwave is about as easy as cooking gets. If you haven’t done this before – or if you wish your kids would eat more veggies – then microwave-steamed vegetables is a technique worth trying. Originally published May 10, 2016; last updated July 2020. Microwave-steamed …
How To Make Steamed Vegetables In The Microwave (Fast & Easy Side Dish!) Read More »
Fall has finally come to our neck of the woods. Which means that Essie and I are back to eating oatmeal most mornings for breakfast. If you think oatmeal is too fussy for a quick weekday breakfast, think again. Not only is oatmeal extremely filling and satisfying, but it’s also super-healthy when you make it …
This past weekend my Junior Girl Scout completed her Simple Meals badge. One of the requirements for this 21st-century version of the Cooking badge was to tour a kitchen with a knowledgeable adult. Since she’s already spent a lot of time helping out in the kitchen, I had HER give ME a tour. She correctly …
Have you ever had a homemade strawberry shortcake? If not, you’re in for a real treat when you try this recipe. Homemade strawberry shortcake is a quintessential summer treat throughout New England, where I grew up. So much so that many churches hold “strawberry suppers” at least once during the summer, as one of their …
The Ultimate Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Recipe Read More »
The BEST thing to do with leftover Easter ham: Does your family eat ham for Easter dinner? Mine ALWAYS does. That’s because my favorite part of Easter dinner ham is all the yummy things you can do with the leftovers – yummy fried rice, the hash we all love, and especially Ham Casserole. When I …
If your family is anything like ours, Saturday is a lazy day when it’s hard for the kids to get out of their own way. All they want to do is loll around in their PJs all day (which I’m fine with) and feed themselves junk food (not so much). Getting them to the table …
Mamas (and daddies) who spend time in the kitchen, have you put together your holiday gift lists yet? These ten must-have kitchen gadgets should be on your list. They are game-changers, saving you time AND money while making food prep with little helpers more efficient. I’ve raved about several items on this list in other …
The kids are back to school (or will be soon enough), the days are getting shorter, the nights are cooling off. For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s hard to deny it any longer: fall is coming. Fortunately, that means it’s time for lots of fall fun with your kiddos. The …
I’ll admit it. The name Yummy Summer Breakfast Parfait is a blatant attempt to follow my long-standing rule of giving foods appealing names. A recent scientific study at Stanford confirmed my practice: People are more likely to try strange foods with appealing names. But like other recipe names I’ve bestowed, it’s also based in reality. …
Does your family have a Tasting Garden yet? If not, and you have a little chunk of ground (or even a large pot and a sunny spot), you need one. Our Tasting Garden is the girls’ favorite spot in the front yard, and Essie especially loves to sample its goodies and share them with our …
French Toast is one of those things I’ve always known how to make. Don’t ask me how; I just have. It never occurred to me that anyone would need a recipe for French toast until a month ago. That’s when my husband, the more skilled chef in our household, got the uncharacteristic urge to make some. And …
Do your kids love tacos as much as mine do? Does your family need some new ideas for school lunches, now that we’re several months into the school year? If so, here’s the recipe for one of my kiddos’ new lunchbox faves: Take-Along Taco Salad. As soon as Essie saw this recipe in the January …
OK – I can hear some of you groaning from here: “Roasted eggplant? You’ve got to be kidding me – my kid won’t eat that!” So don’t call it “roasted eggplant.” Call it roasted dinosaur eggs, or roasted purple plant, or whatever it takes to get you and yours to give this dish a try. …
It’s winter in the northern hemisphere, which is where most of you live, dear readers. Are you hibernating? Or are you out hunting for some comfort food? I recently stumbled across a collection of super-simple slow cooker recipes gathered for the New Year. As I scanned the pictures and titles, I could feel myself getting …
Are your kids going nuts, now that Christmas is over and school vacation lasts another week? Are they not ready to let go of their favorite holiday? Either way, making Christmas pizza for lunch or dinner might help. Why Christmas Pizza? If your kids are like mine, they could do Christmas 365 days a year. …
This Quick and Easy Dinner Recipe is the Ultimate in Easy Soup Recipes: As in, “everything but the kitchen sink soup.” In other words, this is another super-flexible recipe that can help clear out your fridge and eat up your leftovers. Throw together a round of these on the side, and you’ve got dinner on …
Most of the time, when I think of “hacks,” I think of the make-your-life-easier tips and tricks to which this website is devoted. But when I see all the winter squash and fresh pumpkins that are now front-and-center in the produce displays at supermarkets and farmer’s markets, the last thing I want to think about …
Winter Squash Made Easy: How To Cook Winter Squash in Less Time Read More »
