Last weekend, Joey attended a day-long bowling tournament. The day before he left, he lamented that he didn’t think he would have time to throw a whole chicken we bought on the smoker and may have to toss it back in the freezer. Instead, I offered to put it in the oven on my day …
Continue reading “You can cook a whole chicken—even under pressure”
Recently, I had the chance to meet one of our readers from Hesston. We had a fairly short (but very pleasant) conversation, and before I left, he gestured to a bag on his kitchen counter. “Do you like apples?” he asked me. And that’s how I became the excited owner of four huge, beautiful golden …
Continue reading “Breakfast bars are ‘apple’utely great for a morning treat”
International cuisine website “Saveur” features an article called “Pasta’s Predecessor: The History of Gnocchi,” that I found really interesting when trying to figure out how the little potato dumplings came to be. As with all traditional foods, there is controversy about where in Italy the dish originated, as well as when it was first developed, …
Continue reading “Say ‘oky gnocchi’ to trying this creamy pasta dish”
For a recent get-together at our office, I decided I wanted my snack table to look ready for fall. I set up a mini scarecrow, laid a garland of orange and red leaves along the back of the table and sprinkled candy corn strategically around the plates of goodies. To compliment the look of fall, …
Continue reading “Try a cookie recipe that is a piece of cake”
Early to mid-October is one of the harder times of year for me to decide what to cook. Since the Kansas weather can’t make up its mind, I’m never sure if it will be a day where I’m happy to heat up my kitchen by firing up the oven or if I’ll regret raising the …
Continue reading “Cook up all the ‘gourd’ things for fall weather”
“They have some gross cookies over here,” a gentleman said into his cell phone at a Hesston event we held this weekend, making sure to say it just loud enough for me to hear. Luckily, he was joking. Or at least I think he was. The cookies, made with lots of fresh raspberries ended up …
Continue reading “Chewy cookies can be a real ‘raspberry’ in blue”
When we went on family vacations during childhood, we always packed plenty of snacks and a cooler with pop for the journey. I didn’t know until I was nearly an adult that people could actually buy the snacks and drinks at roadside convenience stores. What a world. One of our stand-by car trip snacks was …
Continue reading “Get cheesy with your snacking this week”
Although I have never joined an official weight loss program—tracking points, writing down my calorie counts and eating only pre-portioned foods delivered to my door—I have always been fascinated how they work for so many people to slim down. For me, when working on trying to eat healthier, I normally just follow the rules of …
Continue reading “There is no point(s) to this easy ‘cheesecake’”
On a recent free evening, Joey and I decided to watch a movie together, and I wanted popcorn. Of course, I couldn’t just toss a bag of microwave popcorn in to cook; I needed to make the real stuff on my stovetop. I melted a spoonful of coconut oil in a pot and waited for …
Continue reading “It’s good to have a fallback recipe for whatever pops up”
Three years ago, I shared a recipe in this space for an easy homemade pizza dough. If you remember that recipe, this week’s experiment is going to look very, very familiar, as it starts with the exact same basic ingredients. That’s why I knew it would turn out well, and I definitely wanted to try …
Continue reading “This easy air fryer recipe will totally ‘bagel’ your mind”