Category: Tried and True Favorites

Mashed potatoes call out for gravy! Making homemade gravy is becoming a lost art. Why put up with lumpy, runny, or flavorless gravy when tasty gravies are ready-made and waiting for you at the grocery store! Because homemade is so much better! Make your own gravy from your own roasted meats. You know the drill.…

Thinking ahead to my dinner I was hosting I had everything set except what to make for a salad. I didn’t want to have a big green salad mostly because I didn’t want to fuss with salad plates. I have done my cole slaw so often it has become a standard so enough of that.…

This is a tasty sauce mix, and so handy to keep in the refrigerator. I use it in Chicken & Pasta Bruschetta, but it stars in other uses as well. Shake a bit on cooked broccoli or cauliflower for a nice change of pace. Sprinkle a bit onto chicken as it bakes for a flavorful…

Mayonnaise has been around for ages. It was first created in the late 1700’s so ages is an understatement. A chef to a french duke created mayonnaise as a sauce, and it caught on. Mayonnaise can be found at your market in all varieties: light, fat-free, ‘regular’, olive-oil infused, etc. Real mayonnaise is so very…

  Fried chicken is so good. It’s crunchy, tasty, and satisfying. Sadly, fried chicken can also have a great deal of salt and of course, tons of fat. Try oven frying for a healthier version. The coating is still surprisingly crunchy. This is good served right from the oven or chilled and served cold, making…

Butter cream frosting is the handiest frosting. It is good on just about everything that needs frosting. So many recipes for  butter cream frosting have no business having the word ‘butter’ in the title. Shortening, margarine, or yes, even lard are often called for in butter cream frosting. So it is time for a   butter cream frosting…

I remember poppy-seed cake. I remember my neighbor making it for my sister’s birthday. It was layered, had a delicious custard filling, and beautiful frosting that looked like basket weaving. In my memory it seemed this cake was made yearly for my sister, when in fact it was probably once. Perhaps the neighbor never made…

When serving a large group, or taking something to a potluck I love this shredded beef recipe. Often if I think the ‘kids’ might show up during a weekend I will make this as it can be put in the crock-pot and kept warm without a lot of fuss. You will be surprised at the…

Soup is magic, I swear it!  It can be a great meal in itself, or a wonderful first course. It is always so sweet to have soup as a first course when having company in for dinner. No matter what the soup, for some reason guests think you fussed and went to a great deal…

Twice baked potatoes, stuffed potatoes, whatever you call them I love them. The only draw back for me is all the carbs.  I found a way to increase the flavor, and cut the carbs in half. Try my potatoes and just see if you don’t like them as much, or better than other stuffed potatoes…