Jalapeno, Bacon and Cheddar Cornbread
Growing up in Texas, cornbread was something we ate almost weekly. Mom would almost always make her cornbread in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. That skillet gave the the cornbread a lovely crust on the bottom and I would always pick off the crusty bottom before eating the tender center. We never got fancy with the cornbread. We usually had regular cornbread, but on occasion we would have sweet. Now that I am making the meals I...
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
Before we get started with the Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies a couple of fun news items …. First, as many of you know I am participating in an event sponsored by Electrolux in New York City to help raise awareness for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. It is a fantastic organization and you can help by donating here. Part of the event is a cake decorating competition. We have been placed in groups and my group consists...
Creamy Chicken and Orzo Salad
I know a lot of people are looking for clever ways to stretch a dollar while eating well. It is a topic near to my heart. Just because I am saving money, however, does not mean I want to stop entertaining or enjoying foods I love. It just means I have to find clever ways to make the most of what I have. Using pasta to stretch meals an excellent way to feed a crowd with out breaking the bank. My Creamy Chicken Salad with Orzo...
Southern Banana Pudding
Nothing is quite like homemade, from scratch, banana pudding. Sure, you can make a passable banana pudding with instant pudding mix, but if you really want to taste something special make your custard from scratch. Once you do you will never use a box of pudding again. Besides, taking about ten minutes to cook the custard and four hours to chill, it is so easy. Many traditional recipes for banana pudding use flour as a...
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love old family recipes. I also love cookies. My mom makes some pretty fantastic oatmeal cookies. They are my grandmother’s recipe, handed down on a butter stained note card, and they are lovely. Crisp throughout with a hint of cinnamon and a lovely nubby texture makes them instantly craveable. They are mom’s go-to cookie and the most frequent dessert offering at her house. In fact, there is almost always a batch of...
Orange Chicken with Fried Rice
Growing up I despised what I knew as Chinese food. What we always got was greasy, over breaded, over sauced American take-out Chinese food. It was terrible. This aversion became a fairly serious problem for me when I was first invited over to my future mother-in-law’s house for dinner. She is from Taiwan and was going to make us home-cooked Chinese food for dinner. I was distraught. I hated Chinese food, but I did not want...
