Sometime last summer I found a huge bag of hatch green chiles that were on clearance in our local grocery store. I immediately threw them in my cart, visions of cheesy enchiladas with mild, roasted chiles dancing in my head. What I created was an abomination. I quickly realized how spicy the chiles were when …
Continue reading “Be ready for an enchi’little’ heat with jalapenos this week”
We decided to have a few friends over for dinner this past week, and I decided it was finally time for me to try this amazing-looking recipe for a baked Italian dish. Joey was gracious enough to help me out by manning the saute pan. He was busy cooking the sausage and onion and asked, …
Continue reading “Make a ‘rigaton’ of food with this sausage pasta bake”
Awhile back, I stumbled on a Facebook group called “Good Ol’ Mennonite Recipes,” and of course, I had to join to see what kinds of great food people were sharing on there. I have jealously looked at delicious loaves of bread and mounds of verenike under ham gravy, but I recently stumbled on a post …
Continue reading “Save lots of time this week with some phony pierogi”
When my sister and I were growing up, my mom always joked she was going to open a restaurant called “I don’t care,” thanks to the number of times we uttered the phrase when the family was choosing where to eat. On the occasions when we did care, there were certain places that turned into …
Continue reading “Sprinkle in something new with peppered beef”
There is enough debate about black-eyed peas that there’s actually an article about them on the Library of Congress website. It starts out very simply, asking, “Are black-eyed peas really peas?” The answer is simple: “No.” The article then goes into a very technical, scientific explanation of how peas, beans and legumes are classified and …
Continue reading “‘Peas’ your tastebuds with a spicy crockpot soup”
They’ve just been staring at me. Four potatoes have been sitting on my kitchen counter since Thanksgiving, and as the days passed, they literally were growing some eyes to look at me with. So I knew I needed to make something to use them up, and with the weather finally hitting a dreaded cold snap, …
Continue reading “Soup recipe lets me tell counter leftovers ‘see you tater’”
In an online article, author Ossiana Tepfenhart explains that there are lots of foods we now consider “fancy” that were once “poor man’s food.” Dishes that fit the bill include lobster, oysters and even caviar. Another dish that she could have included? Ratatouille. The summer stew, native to Nice, France, was once considered a humble …
Continue reading “Want to be a French chef? You can d’ouille’ it!”
It’s not often I can stump Joey with a recipe. He’s the king of the spice cabinet and my go to when I know a recipe needs “something,” but I can’t quite put my finger on it. So when I managed to completely confuse him this week, I was a little proud of myself. Well, …
Continue reading “This Greek pasta dish ‘itsio’ good, you have to try it”
Not long ago, I saw a spirited discussion on Facebook about online food bloggers. The general consensus was that nobody wanted to read the person’s back story and long-winded tales from the kitchen—they just wanted the recipe. Honestly, that made me a little sad. Not only because I was sure that means they are definitely …
Continue reading “Potatoes and ground beef make dinner a done ‘dillo’”
The vegetable section of our local grocery store has been calling to me lately. And now that our local farmer’s markets are in full swing, I’m sure I’ll be finding all kinds of reasons to bring home fresh produce. This past week, the siren’s song was coming from the zucchini. It was so pretty and …
Continue reading “Make summer meals direct from farm to ‘vege’table”
