There’s a phrase we often hear when we travel north: Minnesota Nice. It refers to how friendly the folks in Minnesota are, and that’s especially true when you visit in the summer months. After being snowed in and freezing in sub-zero temperatures all winter, they are ready to go out and about and are happy …
Continue reading “‘Chew’se a chocolate-free bar cookie for your summer treat”
When I graduated from college and rented my own home for the very first time, I decided that I would do my darnedest to cook meals for myself as much as possible and avoid premade stuff from the freezer section. I remember one of the first times I fired up the stove, heating some oil …
Continue reading “Oven mistake? Just keep calm and ‘berry’ on”
When I was a kid, Hershey’s sold powder for chocolate milk in brown, kind of rectangular containers. I loved (well, love) chocolate milk, and I remember a specific day where I was snooping through the cabinets, seeing what I could find, and there I spotted it: a brown, rectangular-ish container, emblazoned with “Hershey’s” in big, …
Continue reading “‘Espresso’ yourself with some great chocolate cookies”
Over the years, I have had a few kitchen disasters that resulted in major cleanup afterwards. There was the time I dropped my flour container, spilling it all over the floor. There was another, when I accidentally turned my mixer on too high and exploded chocolate cake batter all over my backsplash and cabinets. The …
Continue reading “Fudge recipe is one in a million holiday treat”
I have loved our new tradition of sharing holiday recipes from readers in our annual guide that inserted into our newspapers last week. It’s so interesting to see what dishes everyone makes for their own friends and families this time of year. One dish that really intrigued me came from Rachel Hindle of Yoder. It …
Continue reading “Don’t let this tasty recipe go in one ear and out the other”
I have been spending some time reading through the Harvey County Fair’s entry guidelines book, looking at all the food categories. The one that intrigues me, which I need to pay more attention to when I go look at the exhibits this year, is for cookie jars. For the entry, the cookies have to be …
Continue reading “‘Wash’ out for these easy-to-make sugar-coated 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 …
Continue reading “Earn brownie points with your friends with these awesome cookies”
One of the benefits of being married for as long as Joey and I have is that there are times when I can perfectly judge what his reaction to a recipe will be before I even make it. When I spotted this week’s recipe—featuring cherries, coconut and pecans—online, I knew I had a hit on …
Continue reading “‘Chews’ something sweet and nutty this week”
A few weeks ago, when the county fair carnival was in town, Joey and I decided to host our 6-year-old niece for a sleepover. Well, I should say I decided to host her, and Joey was allowed to participate as the fun uncle who was then relegated to sleeping in the guest room with the …
Continue reading “Let a youngster chip in on making these yummy bars”
As I promised, I’m back in this week’s column with the second recipe in my raspberry series. After my triumph over Joey and his usual dislike of raspberries with last week’s recipe, I was feeling pretty confident about the others I picked out to try on him. People often tell Joey just how lucky he …
Continue reading “No one will razz you about these yummy cookies”
