recipe & image courtesy The Café Sucre Farine
My Father-In-Law requested I bring an apple pie to Thanksgiving. This caused me to panic more than just a little bit. I have never been able to make a very good apple pie; they always turn out really soupy and no matter what I do I have never been able to cook them long enough to get them to set up without burning the crust at the same time.
But I couldn’t let my FIL down. He’s such a super guy, and he never asks for anything.
I ended up using my new favorite buttery, flaky crust recipe, and shielding the top crust for a good portion of the cooking time, but the pie turned out beautifully. We were all pretty impressed, including my FIL, who claims it’s important to eat apple pie with a slice of cheese.
recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen; image courtesy Martha Stewart
I recently brought this pecan pie to a family function. There were several pecan pie lovers there, which made me nervous, but each of them enjoyed it, and I think it might have been the best pecan pie I’ve ever had. Go the extra mile and make the buttery, flaky, from-scratch pie crust recipe here. You won’t believe your taste buds!
image courtesy Picture Perfect Meals; recipe courtesy The Pioneer Woman
This is my go to dessert. I love it! I crave it! (I can eat the whole pan.)
I’ve made this many times without the pecans and just recently made it with them.
OH MY! Try it with the pecans! They really make it 10X better.
recipe adapted from Today’s My Best Creative Day; image from The Prairie Homestead
I REALLY like this dish!
Do you have a favorite salsa? Do you think using different bands change the over all flavor?
hum…….
My new favorite is the Great Value picante sauce (mild) from Wal-mart. I love the flavor and think it goes really well with this meal.
If you have leftover refried beans or rice this is a great recipe to use them up.
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adapted from amysfinerthings.com
image courtesy: Cook Like A ChampionI ignored this recipe entirely the first several times I saw it on Pinterest, because I thought the whole idea of “marinating” a sandwiches was a recipe for soggy grossness. But I just kept seeing people pinning them, so I decided to try them, and my entire family absolutely loves these little sandwiches. They are even good leftover, so I usually make a double batch.
I like to add poppyseeds and dried minced onion to the marinade. They add extra texture.
We like to do pizza and movie night every Friday night!
I think homemade pizza is better then anything else. (Although I would never turn down the other stuff.) About 5 years ago I found Crystal at everydayfoodstorage.net Her 30 minute homemade pizza dough recipe has been our favorite ever since the first time I made it.
We MISS Crystals recipe and have struggled to find a good substitute. About a month ago we found one! I think it will be our new GF favorite! Premium gold makes a good ‘Gluten Free Flax & Ancient Grains All-purpose Flour’ you can buy it off their website or at Costco. I’m excited to try more of their recipes!
What do you like to top your pizza with?
I’m wrapping up what will probably be my final box of peaches for the season. This latest box was the best yet. These peaches are enormous! They look almost more like mini pumpkins than peaches! We’ve already had this fresh peach dessert a couple times this year, but the kids wanted to have it just one last time before the peaches were all gone.
*I reduced the sugar in the crust portion of the original recipe. I thought it was too sweet, and I prefer for the natural sweetness of the peaches to shine through.
This pie. So delicious. It is one of my favorite recipes to make during that late summer into early fall produce extravaganza.
image courtesy Two Peas And Their Pod
I used to always use the Marie Callendar’s deep dish frozen pie crust to make this pie. It is excellent this way. Now that I’ve mastered the homemade pie crust, though, I have of course been using that recipe. I am proud to say my crust is every bit as delicious and flaky as Marie’s, but without all the extra preservatives in hers!
It’s my mom’s birthday!
When I was little my mom was a daycare provider. At one time both of my parents were working at home and they had up to 12 kids plus their 4.
(Talk about CRAZY!!! I don’t know how she did it.)
With all of those kids, I’m sure meal time could have been filled with a lot of complaining. But I don’t remember it being that way.
When I was growing up there was this rule/motto that we had.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIKE IT YOU JUST HAVE TO EAT IT!
(This motto came from my mom’s side. My grandma and Grandpa used it with their six kids)
The parents of her daycare kids started asking for recipes because they couldn’t get them to eat healthy meals. She decided to make a cookbook. Filing it with favorites that have been ‘begged borrowed or stolen’.
(Photo of one of the original cookbooks)
One of our favorites recipes out of this book, is this pretzel salad.
I don’t think we ever had a thanksgiving or Christmas without it.
It’s one of those dishes that we never have any leftovers.
A couple of years ago we started making it with real whip cream because of an allergy (to the coconut oil). Talk about delicious! The only downfall is that the cream doesn’t stay as firm as the Cool Whip does… Who cares about that?… NO ONE!
The extra work is worth it if you have the time.
This is such an easy way to cook bacon. I love that I don’t get grease splatter everywhere.
We make this salsa year-round, but it’s especially delicious this time of year, with your garden-fresh tomatoes!
image courtesy Perry’s Palate
I’m on a little black bean kick. Every recipe I come across with beans in it I have the need to try it. I can’t help myself I must make them!
This is a great quick and easy lunch or dinner.
Do you ever read a recipe, get the gist of what need to be done and then just wing it?
I’ve made these several times (THREE times this week), and have NOT once followed the recipe.
I’m not sure why I made this recipe card with the same instructions found on the original recipe from Natasha's Kitchen. But because I made it I’m going to give it to you. You can follow it.
Or try my way! ;-)
Whatever way you make it they will be delicious!
Enjoy! Sweet Mama
Need a simple side to serve with a summer salad out on the patio? We love adding a crusty loaf of bread to the table with a small plate of this dipping “butter” for everybody to enjoy.
I’ll admit, I have been tempted to change the name from “dipping butter” to “mopping butter”; everybody loves tearing off a hunk of bread and mopping the stuff off their plates!
image and recipe courtesy: Cookin’ Up North
{Pssst. It’s also cozy serving this in the dead of winter with a hearty plate of lasagna or a big bowl of spaghetti.}
We’ve actually never eaten at Carrabba’s, so I can’t vouch for the authenticity here, but my brother has eaten there a couple of times and he confirms that this recipe really is a lot like theirs.
These are the dog days of summer, when I dread heating up my house by turning on the stove. This time of year, the only thing I love more than a recipe that doesn’t have to be cooked or heated is perhaps one that comes together in a matter of minutes. This salad fits both those bills. 
These are easy make ahead desserts for a party.
Also a good treat to have in the freezer for when you just need something sweet!
If making gluten free, these Kinnikinnick graham crumbs work great!
Do you ever double or half a recipe?
I do, but I can’t always remember how many tablespoons are in a cup or teaspoons in a tablespoon.
I love having this on my fridge so I can easily, without using my brain, change a recipe.
It’s hamburger season! 
If you don’t have a hamburger press, invest in one! It’s one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, and I’d hate to have to make burgers without one!
I don’t know what it is about this soup but we LOVE it!
It is pretty cheap, extremely easy and supper yummy!
It is one of the meals that I make for my sweet husband every week for him to take on the road.
It uses Bush’s seasoned Black Beans. I have found it in Wal-mart and Smith’s, not every store carries it. One day I’m going to try and recreate it but for now $.89a can at Wal-mart isn’t that bad.
I like to serve this with the oven-baked brown rice.
My grandma used to make the best pies in the world. We are talking flaky perfection every time. I helped her several times when I was a kid (nine? ten? years old) but the whole process just seemed so insufferable at the time. I have wished a million times since becoming an adult that I’d paid more attention back then, because I’ve never been able to make a decent pie crust on my own, and Grandma doesn’t have what it takes to make them anymore. I have tried several recipes, all with meh results, until this one came along. I have to admit, I’m really not sure whether it’s the recipe itself, or more the emphasis on attention to technique (cold, COLD, COLD!), but whatever the reason, this crust turned out PERFECT! I will venture to say maybe even better than Grandma’s because she used to swear by using shortening in hers, and this one uses 100% yummy butter! Can’t beat that buttery taste!
Why was the process less insufferable this time? Why was it finally worth paying attention to the technique? Because somebody finally explained the science to me. If you, too, need the science in order to go through the extra time/effort, read this Smitten Kitchen recipe (it’s the same recipe, but my scientific brain very much appreciated the extra explanation).
It bothered me that the recipe didn’t include baking instructions, but I had decided to make an apple pie with it, so I just decided to follow the baking instructions here (it’s basically the America’s Test Kitchen recipe for classic apple pie):
“Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat rimmed baking sheet and oven to 500°F. Remove one piece of dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable).
[prepare filling]
Place pie on baking sheet and lower oven temperature to 425°F. Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate pie and reduce oven temperature to 375°F; continue baking until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30-35 minutes longer.
Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours.”
My crust needed less baking time (10 minutes less would have been perfect) but my oven bakes quickly in general. I loved that the preheated baking sheet helped that bottom crust to be just as perfectly baked and flaky as the top one. But I will have to experiment with baking times for single crust pies.
I can’t wait to make a chicken pot pie this fall using this crust recipe!
I LOOOVE spaghetti!
I could probably eat it at least three times a week.
I’ll eat it ANY way! Quick and easy from a jar (or can), from scratch, from a restaurant, or from any loving person that wants to make it for me. WINK WINK
This is one of our favorite ways to eat spaghetti.
Before we were Gluten Free I made this with whole wheat pasta. Now I like to make this with a corn and rice blend. You can use 100% rice but I think it gets a little mushy.
WOW the last couple of months have been a whirlwind, we are looking for a new home FOUR hours away from our current one! I never thought buying a house would be so exciting and discouraging all at the same time. There is not a lot of homes on the market where we are moving and when they do, if they are decent they sell with in a few days.
My sweet hubby has been living in a hotel and traveling back and fourth. My sweet little children and I spent the last two weeks with him. It was a lot of fun with three kids in a small motel room. I think the best part was …..um…..ok it really wasn’t that fun. (Don’t get me wrong we did have fun but it was really crazy!)
One thing that I did was cook dinner with only a microwave and a electric skillet. Does that make me a SUPPER MOM?!
I think it does! ;)
I love these crispy southwest chicken wraps! They are really easy to make (even in a motel, with the right equipment)!
I used to make them with flour tortillas but now that we eat gluten free I use corn tortillas and make quesadillas. My kids eat them up!
This pasta salad is a go-to for us during the summer months. It’s easy to throw together, using a number of both flexible and fresh ingredients. It is easy to take along in a cooler when you’re going to be away for the day (“Anybody wanna go to the amusement park?”) because you don’t have to worry about keeping a mayo-based salad safely cold!
It’s not uncommon for us to enjoy this salad all by itself as a light dinner after a day at the pool, but it also makes a great side with burgers on the grill or a welcomed take-along for any pot luck or covered dish. To make it gluten free, simply substitute cooked, cooled quinoa for the pasta. We like it just as much served this way!
I can’t remember where I grabbed the image used on this card. If it’s yours, just let me know and I’ll give credit where credit is due!
For years after discovering tiny spicy chicken, I searched and searched for the same dish at other Chinese restaurants, always to no avail. Apparently, tiny spicy chicken is exclusive to Mandarin Gardens (and your own kitchen, now that you have a recipe to make something similar!). One desperate day, I finally inquired at another favorite Chinese restaurant whether they might have something similar. It pays to ask, because that day I finally learned that there is a similar dish known as General Tso’s chicken that is commonly found on a Chinese food menu. While they are different, they both pack that sweet-and-spicy, tangy punch that I just love! And while all restaurants have different recipes, I find I like most restaurant versions of General Tso’s. That’s why I was thrilled to find one I could easily make at home.
photo courtesy and recipe adapted from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
When Sweet Mama shared her recipe (and The Sweet Mister’s love) for sweet & sour chicken last week, I couldn’t believe how similar it was to my own! Great minds cook alike! It also reminded me of a couple other similar recipes that my Saucy Family absolutely LOVES! I’ll share them both today, but I’m going to give them each their own separate post. They’re similar enough that you probably only need one of them in your Chinese food repertoire, but they’re both good enough to warrant at least one try apiece to decide which one your family prefers.
This particular recipe is a knock-off of chicken dish they serve at a local Chinese restaurant. Everybody I know who lives or has lived in Cache Valley knows about the Tiny Spicy Chicken at Mandarin Gardens! I was so excited when I found a knock-off recipe; I couldn’t wait to try it! I would say it’s not spot-on, but it is pretty darned close. Close enough for me, since I can feed my entire family dinner and have leftovers for lunch tomorrow for the same cost of a single dinner plate at Mandarin Gardens! Just my saucy style!
My sweet husband has been living in a hotel. Eating out isn’t a good option for him because he has a wheat allergy. I make him four different meals each week, so he doesn't have to risk eating out. He has asked for sweet and sour chicken with fried rice for three weeks in a row now.
Does your family like to eat the same things over and over again?
It takes a little bit of time but it is easy, supper yummy and fulfills our cravings for the restaurant stuff we can’t have.
I like to serve this with Fried Rice.
I LOVE easy recipes!
I love them even more when my family eats every last bite.
I found this recipe from Life in the Lofthouse, I've made a few changes because sometimes adding more garlic and veggies is just what I like to do.
If you want you could even add some chicken or diced ham and make it a meal!
I love using this recipe when cooking the rice.
You know those three or four bananas that sit on the counter for a day or two longer than the rest and start to look up at you like forlorn little orphans? They know they’re past their prime. They know they’re not getting chosen to fulfill their lunchbox or afterschool snack destiny. Nobody wants ‘em.
Poor little neglected old maid bananas.
Not anymore! This recipe is so good, I find myself buying extra bananas and hovering over them, just willing them to turn brown already.
photo and recipe credit: Life’s Simple Measures
(Confession: I have been known to threaten my family, “If anybody touches these four bananas, they’re in big trouble!”)
Recipe & Photo courtesy Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice
I’ve never eaten Red Lobster’s shrimp scampi. You should know that before you let me tell you this tastes like theirs. Thing is, though, it’s so good, I don’t care if it tastes like theirs. Maybe theirs ought to taste like this.
http://www.foodnfocus.com/easy-meals-with-campbells-skillet-sauces/
I made this recipe because I had found a long-lost bag of frozen shrimp in the nether regions of my freezer. I figured “if I cook it in enough garlic, maybe it won’t be so bad.” On the contrary, it was out of this world. I can only imagine how good it would be with fresh shrimp!
I probably wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of making cream of chicken soup from scratch had I not recently been trying to make gluten-free funeral potatoes for Saucy Mama and her family. I’m so glad I did, though, because this soup makes a really good & hearty meal on its own when served with a loaf of crusty bread or a salad on the side, and then I can use the leftovers to make my funeral potato casserole gluten-free. I love it when I can prep two meals at once!
I’m always on the lookout for a great new salad recipe, especially as the weather starts to get warmer. I like this take on the seven-layer salad. The sweet cornbread plays well with the salty bacon and the spice from the dressing and the jalapeno in the pico de gallo; the sour cream is a nice touch to cool everything off. 
I found strawberries on sale at the grocery store! It’s not truly spring until I can pick up a pound of strawberries for under $2, and since I found them, we are welcoming spring with a slice of strawberry pie today.
photo courtesy: http://www.gratefulprayerthankfulheart.com/2011/04/strawberry-pie.html
It’s a goal of mine to one day learn how to make a perfect, buttery, flaky pie crust. But it’s gonna have to be dang good to beat the Marie Callendar’s deep dish crusts that I buy at the store in the meantime. Pie crust is hard to get perfect and takes some time. These pie crusts are one item I splurge on occasionally because they make baking the perfect pie so much easier!
The original recipe for this pie called for double the cream cheese layer and double the sugar in the Jello mixture. It was way too sweet for us, so I modified the recipe to suit our own tastes. Cutting back the sugar makes the fresh strawberry flavor the star of the show. So bright and fruity!
