Category: Recipes

My mother-in-law was the Best. Cook. Ever.  Mashed potatoes were a staple at each meal.  Creamy, fluffy, butter filled scrumptiousness.  But try as I might I never could replicate the texture or flavor of her mashed potatoes.  Epic fail.  Every time. 

One day when grocery shopping I dropped some Idahoan Mashed Potatoes into my grocery cart.  I sneakily made them one night to accompany a roast.

Sometimes I wish the month of December had more hours in the day than the other 11 .  I’m always looking for the easiest way to do…well everything, because there is just so little time to pack in all the things that need to get done before Christmas Day.  That includes using my slow cooker for suppers, which allows me to get a little bit fancy but still make things easy and efficient when it comes to using my time.  Adding garnishes like holiday nuts to a simple dish makes it festive and takes it up a notch for the Christmas season.

My mother-in-law’s chocolate chip cookie recipe is legendary.  It was the one thing my husband brought to our marriage that I didn’t somehow try to get rid of over the years .  He used to make them religiously, batch after batch and I was okay with that, because hey, besides always having fresh cookies in the jar, I didn’t have to make them.  They became the staple item we brought to family gatherings and potlucks because everybody loved them…and everybody asked for the recipe.

Decadent treats and wine.  There isn’t much else I need to make a party festive 🙂  And while I like to entertain and provide great desserts and wine offerings to my guests, I’m neither a chef nor made of money.  So this holiday season I welcomed the gift of some dessert and wine pairings from Pacific Rim Riesling wines and Sara Lee desserts.  They are making holiday entertaining easy and fun!

Growing up with German parents in Canada and now living in the United States, many years we have had the privilige to celebrate Thanksgiving three times in one year 🙂

German Thanksgiving is typically celebrated the first Sunday in October, Canadian Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October and of course American Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

I cannot be the only one that during the holidays has looked at what’s in the fridge and chosen to pull out a leftover piece of pie for breakfast…right?! Yummm…  The other day I used the pie for breakfast idea and took it one step further.  I deconstructed a Mrs. Smith’s Dutch Apple Pie that I purchased in the freezer section (along with some Cool Whip) at Walmart and added it to our waffle batter to make Apple Pie Waffles.

I know a good many of you have already been hit with a deep freeze this year.  While it’s not quite so cold in North Texas, it’s still pretty nippy and what I wouldn’t do to spend a few days in the tropics.  Since that won’t be happening any time soon, I whipped up some tropical flavored floats.  Being as the holidays are just around the corner and I’d prefer to watch my calories sooner rather than later, I made these to be low calorie using Sunkist TEN and Canada Dry TEN.  All of the flavor of an ice cream float, but using fruit, yogurt and the #drinkTEN sodas, a lot lower in calories than a traditional one.

I have a confession to make.  The only blender I’ve ever had in my home has been a cheap $15 one that we actually picked up to do a homeschool science experiment a number of years ago.  I never really felt that I needed one before, until I started making smoothies, iced coffee drinks, shakes and the like.  Only to find out that cheap blenders just don’t do well with the cups of ice.  At least not in a short amount of time and not without that smell of thinking that the motor is going to burn up on you. 

MasterChef Junior gives the best junior home cooks in America the chance to showcase their culinary abilities and passion for food through a series of delicious challenges.  Host and award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay is joined by restaurateur Joe Bastianich and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot on the MasterChef Junior judging panel.