CONFESSION: So often lately I come home from a particularly rough day at work with absolutely no desire to cook. It’s one of the reasons I keep a pantry stocked with convenience foods.
Aldi’s made great strides in the quality of their convenience side dishes, and I was astounded at the amazing flavor and texture of [...]

Artichokes are a giant pain in the ass. This did not come as a surprise. I mean, look at them. Even from the outside they look intimidating, and once you find out about their fluffy “choke”, it’s even scarier. But darn if they’re not pretty and delicious. So when they were 40¢ apiece at the [...]

CONFESSION: I know nothing about wine. Not even a little. I just know that red wine is good for cooking with red meat, while white wine is better for cooking with lighter meats and seafood. The good thing about this is, I’m totally not a snob. This allows me to try all sorts of new [...]

CONFESSION: I can’t make an omelet to save my life. Oh, I try. Today I even tried to do the cool flip thing with the pan like all the chefs on TV do, but I learned that’s one move that you have to totally commit to. I’m working my way up to it, though.
So [...]

CONFESSION: We’ve eaten out every day for nearly a week. Crunch time at work means not a lot of cooking gets done in this house lest my husband cooks for himself. So when my craving for great buffalo chicken got the best of me today, a bottle of Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic sauce kept [...]

CONFESSION: Nearly all my über-gourmet ingredients come from the Clearance Bin. I can’t help it; I simply can’t pay full price for gourmet ingredients, and I don’t really care how fancy they are. $10 for infused grapeseed oil? Tell me $4 and we’ve got a deal. $6 for Japanese Panko breadcrumbs—hell no. But for $2, [...]

CONFESSION: I kind of love Hamburger Helper. Hamburger Helper, Chicken Helper, Tuna Helper… I kind of love them all.
Personally, I think the helper line of products made simply per the package directions is bland, over-salted, boring and virtually inedible. It is, however, a brilliant springboard for creativity. By adding your own vegetables (absolutely necessary) [...]