CONFESSION: I just can’t keep anything simple. Even something as basic as sloppy joes I have to play around with, find a way to make it more interesting, usually by adding more vegetables and some herbs to a prepared sauce.
That said, I also make the best sloppy joes on the planet. My secrets?

Sauté an onion, [...]

Usually I can’t say enough good things about Patak’s Indian Sauce blends, but while their new Butter Chicken sauce provided an awesome base for what turned out to be Shrimp Vindaloo, it was surprisingly and disappointingly bland. By adding some Penzey’s Garam Masala and Vindaloo I turned this into a really fantastic Vindaloo sauce.
The recipe [...]

Tonight’s dinner was extremely average tonight, so I almost didn’t post it. However, it also included a brilliant discovery: Penzey’s Country French Vinaigrette herb blend is one of the best pork chop seasonings I’ve found!! It’s supposed to be a salad dressing blend, but I sprinkled a generous amount of the blend over the pork [...]

Yes-indeedy, this is absolutely what you think this is, and exactly what it shouldn’t be. It’s a MEATCAKE!!! Featuring three tiers of meatloaf with mashed potato icing and glazed with a delicious ketchup glaze, I was inspired by the awesome recipe by Black Widow Bakery.  It’s late, so I’ll be posting my own step-by-steps and [...]

There aren’t that many recipes that I make regularly, but this crustless breakfast quiche is definitely a favorite. I make one or two that end up being quick breakfasts throughout the week. I tend to use whatever’s left around from the week of cooking — the vegetables, meats and cheeses that MustGo.
CONFESSION: I love leftovers [...]

More than a few people have asked me to post the recipe secrets for my sushi. My maki rolls have been known on many occasions to make sushi lovers out of both fearful sushi virgins and those who’ve had bad sushi experiences, but for the most part my secret is “practice” and a couple [...]

There are no shortcuts to ropa vieja, a Spanish-inspired dish from Cuba that translates literally to “old clothes”. I’ve tried modifying it for the crock pot, but this is a meal that takes 4 hours to make, plain and simple. But boy is it worth it.
Our friends Tracy and Derek were coming by for the [...]

CONFESSION: I’m extremely picky about tuna salad. Extreeeemely picky. So much so that I’m terrified to try it anywhere else, even though tuna melts are a big favorite of mine.
There are three secrets to my tuna salad:

Miracle whip, never mayo
Dill pickles or dill pickle relish
Onions are only for cold, crisp tuna salad. Salad for tuna [...]

Sunday dinner this week was a team effort, pairing my pot roast with Samm’s unbelievably creamy “Wallpaper Paste” mashed potatoes. And so here are two recipes for you!
Slow Cooker Pot RoastINGREDIENTS:

1 4-lb. Pot Roast, well marbled, cut into chunks
3–4 large carrots (or two ENORMOUS carrots, like I used)
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into [...]

You should’ve seen the size of the eggplant I got at the Farmer’s Market. Easily a foot long, as big as my niece’s head, and all for one crisp dollar bill. I couldn’t pass it up!I spent the day at work truly looking forward to dinner. It’s a pain in the butt to make and [...]

Today was a lazy day if there ever was one, but I went into it not knowing what I was making for dinner. After talking my husband into putting some rice into my Black & Decker Handy Steamer and thawing some chicken, I was committed. Remembering a lonely can of cream of chicken condensed soup [...]

Who says udon noodles belong in soup? Delicious udon noodles, salty and sticky, are also a great base for a stir fry when rice gets a little boring (or will take too long to make).
For this stir fry I started with some chicken that was sealed in a FoodSaver bag with some Mrs. Dash Spicy [...]