Brownie Cookies Earn brownie points with your friends with these awesome cookies

Last weekend, our house was the scene of an end-of-season party for Joey’s bowling team. I always love when that crew comes over. They are a super nice group, and it’s always fun to share a big meal and hear them tell stories and tease each other about their bowling gaffes. It’s also a great …

German Chocolate Cupcakes Cupcakes the best way to say ‘auf Wiedersehn’ to a good friend

Someone told me last week that I don’t really qualify as an amateur baker, since I’ve been writing this column way too long for that, but I still claim the title, especially after taking on a recent huge project. A dear friend of the newspaper, Debbie Pierce, celebrated her retirement last week, and since we …

Chorizo Poblano Chili Think you can’t eat chili in summer? That’s your ‘poblano’

There is really only one part of winter that I like: getting to eat soup. But then I realized one day that you really don’t have to reserve having a big bowl of soup, stew or chili to the cold months. Honestly, despite being a warm food, it’s not an awful summer meal. You don’t …

Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas You ‘nita’ stop what you’re doing and try this pressure cooker recipe

Any time I find pork shoulder at a great price at our local grocery store, it’s a no-brainer for me to put it in the cart and let Joey know that I wouldn’t mind if he threw it on his smoker over the weekend. That’s why it was a little weird last week when Joey …

Asparagus Pasta Sauce A fresh veggie-based pasta sauce will keep them ‘aspara’guessing

According to the website “The Kitchen Project,” asparagus is a very old vegetable. Historical records show it was grown in ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. It takes a few years to get a plant going, but once you have an asparagus plant established, the growing season will last about three months, and a healthy plant …

Red Rice Prepare to paint the town red with a from-scratch Mexican rice

Sometimes, in reflecting on my childhood, I realize just what a weird kid I was. I’ll forever be thankful that I had supportive parents who had a “go with the flow” attitude about my idiosyncracies. One of those strange traits flashed in my mind recently, when I decided I wanted to make a Mexican-style rice …