Happy New year folks! Do you remember that half of a chicken I talked about a couple of weeks back? Well, its other half has become Applewood Smoked Rosemary Chicken this week. I wanted to start the new year with the smoker since it seems that in the last half of 2014, I passed on using it. My New ... read more
Gingered Cantaloupe Smoothie
I told you when I made the detox soup that there would probably be at least one smoothie in the near future. Yep, a cold drink in winter, but this Gingered Cantaloupe Smoothie is just so good that I can't resist it anytime of the year. I mean, ginger and cantaloupe compliment each other perfectly, ... read more
Detox Soup
It is that time of year! You know the one where you recover from the indulgences of the holidays... I've actually already been working on that a bit, but won't actually go full speed into healthy until Monday. I mean, there are still cookies in the house, and I have a hard time not eating them. But, ... read more
Happy New Year! Plus, A 2015 Goals Printable
Hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve! I wish every one of you out there a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year! ... read more
Broccoli Salad with Sesame Dressing
Anyone else out there feeling like they need a break from holiday food? As awesome as all of those sweets I made were/are, I really need to get in something healthy if I am going to enjoy New Year's Eve and Day. We have managed a really good job of making sweets when we are in charge of desserts for ... read more
New Year’s Eve Party Food Round Up
With Christmas being over yesterday, for most of you the next celebration is New Year's Eve. And, New Year's Eve almost always means appetizers, so I have put together a round-up of some of my favorites for you to consider as plan your party. ... read more
Merry Christmas
We won't be around much today and tomorrow, but wanted to take a few minutes to say we hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! And, if any of you still need a last minute Christmas idea, I made these printable Christmas coupons for my son to use to give his services as presents using ... read more
Salmon Dip
When I was a kid, my mother used to make this in the form of a salmon ball, and it was probably my favorite holiday appetizer. These days, we no longer roll it in a ball and cover it with nuts because my daughter is allergic to nuts. Instead, we serve it with capers for topping, which is even ... read more
Cookie Dough Truffles
How many of you out there love cookie dough? Well, these Cookie Dough Truffles will satisfy your craving without raw eggs. Oh-my-goodness-YUM! To quote my son, "These are too good." So, if cookie dough is your thing, you need to make these! Right now! You still have time to make them for Christmas ... read more
Candy Strawberries
Who remember's these? My mother used to make them every year when I was a kid. But, come to think of it, I have never seen them outside of my family. I have no idea where she got the recipe, so if you know the original author, please let me know, so I can give them credit. I just love the way they ... read more
Soba Noodle Soup
I know, everyone is eating holiday food instead of soup, but quite honestly holiday food makes me feel pretty bad, so I like to temper it with healthy in between. I completely believe that this is what keeps me from being overweight. I mean, lets be honest, I'm a food blogger. Yes, there really were ... read more
Hickory Smoked Pineapple Pork Chops for Man Food Monday
Good Morning to you all. This past week Michelle and I were talking about cooking pineapple and pork together, and I wanted to see if my idea for Hickory Smoked Pineapple Pork Chops would work as I envisioned it. I have seen a number of different ways to combine the flavors: kabobs, pizza, or ... read more
Pumpkin Bread
This is a big delicious batch of pumpkin bread intended for gift giving. It has all the bells and whistles... streusel topping and glaze... that a gift should have. And, it almost too good to give away. Of course, you don't have to give it away, and it makes a lot, so you could give some away and ... read more
Shrimp and Cheese Pasta
This Shrimp and Cheese Pasta is perfect to throw together after a day at work or Christmas shopping. It is super quick and easy, but just as delicious. It is an adaptation of this Shrimp and Pasta Formaggio from Kraft. The ingredients are not very different from the original recipe - regular ... read more
Salted Mixed Nut Praline Brownie Torte
I know this is a really strong statement, but this Salted Mixed Nut Praline Brownie Torte just might be the best dessert I have ever eaten. This is seriously over the top fabulous. You just have to make it! And, to make it even better, it is easy. As in, you don't even need a mixer easy. Plus, just ... read more
One Pot Salsa Chicken
You may have noticed that Steve posted for me last Friday. My last school final project was due Friday, and I just never got my post up, so he put up his Man Food Monday's post then. So, even though it is Monday, I am posting today. This may not be Man Food (or, maybe it is since Steve and my son ... read more
Cranberry Muffins
Cranberry will always be my favorite Christmas flavor, and I really wanted to bake something. Honestly, I was first thinking bread instead of muffins. But, I had forgotten that I can't find my loaf pan, and the one I can find was the replacement I bought a while back. It works, but it is a bit of an ... read more
Waffle Iron Hash browns
HI folks, Earlier this past weekend, I was doing what we all seem to do to pass time, looking around the internet. In my wanderings, I saw one of those silly posts where they tell you all this stuff that is supposed to make life easier and give you more time. Well, one of the ideas was making hash ... read more
Bacon Tomato Horseradish Dip
Ok, I promise to go easy on the cheese dip for a while. This is the third one lately. This time of year, just says party food to me, I guess. I came up with this recipe almost a year ago for a guest post for my friend Dawn at Spatula's on Parade. I had planned to share it with you this year, but I ... read more
Deep Fried Thanksgiving Turkey for Man Food Monday
Good Monday to you, I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving. Up here in the Hinterlands, I decided to prepare a Deep Fried Thanksgiving Turkey for the family and boy oh boy was it good! This was the first time I have done a deep fried turkey, so I did quite a lot of research on the subject as ... read more
Warm Italian Cheese Dip
'Tis the season for parties, and parties mean dip. You're going to absolutely love this Warm Italian Cheese Dip. But, before I get to the dip, I just want to say that I made it through NaBloPoMo. I have posted every day in November. Actually, I posted on the 31st of October, and assuming all is well ... read more
Our Thanksgiving
Bloggers spend a lot of time making holiday food before the holidays actually occur and staging it and taking pretty pictures with natural or professional lighting, so I thought it would be nice to share what we actually ate for Thanksgiving - complete with snapshots of our food crowded table ... read more
Grandma’s Cranberry Salad
This is my another one of my Grandmother's recipes. I am working my way through her recipe book and thought Thanksgiving was the perfect time to make her cranberry salad recipe. I still remember her chopping the nuts by hand for this. But, I cheated and bought already chopped ones. This recipe is in ... read more
Happy Thanksgiving
We hope you have a safe and very happy Thanksgiving! ... read more
So, you’ve decided to deep fry a turkey, now what?
I am planning to deep fry our turkey this year. It's sitting in the brine right now and the fryer is out in the garage just waiting to be fired up. For those of us that have never deep fried a turkey there are a number of things that need to be thought through. These are but a few. 1. How do I keep ... read more
Eggnog Smoothie
When you make this recipe, it will be super quick and easy, but there is quite a story behind it that meant it didn't work that way for me. First, when you are making new recipes, sometimes they don't quite work out the first time. For example, it seemed like a really good idea to put banana in it. ... read more
Deep Fried Cornish Hens for Man Food Mondays
Wow, Thanksgiving is just down the week from here. I hope you're almost ready for that house full of family and friends. Over the years I have had a few different types of Thanksgiving meals. Most involved ham and turkey, while some involved a trip to a restaurant or warming something frozen up ... read more
Wilted Brussels Sprouts Salad
This is a Wilted Brussels Sprouts Salad that has been evolving in my mind for about five years. The first year Steve and I were married, we spent Thanksgiving with his family, and his brother-in-law was talking about having seen a recipe for fried shaved Brussels sprouts that he had considered ... read more
Healthy Creamy Chicken and Kale Soup
I know healthy eating is probably not the first thing on your mind this week with Thanksgiving coming up, but one of my holiday strategies for keeping myself feeling good, is to try to eat healthy when I'm not actually at some sort of holiday gathering, and this Healthy Creamy Chicken and Kale Soup ... read more
Reindeer Cupcakes
So, this post is totally cheating. The reindeer cupcakes are really the same thing as the turkey cupcakes with different decorations. But, children love reindeer and cupcakes, so why not? And, these are even easier than the turkeys. The only piping that was done was using a large round tip to get ... read more
Mushroom and French Bread Dressing
This past weekend when Steve was trying out frying a turkey, he suggested I try a different dressing to go with it. Around here, dressing is always of the southern cornbread variety. Well, that takes a lot of time and effort, and his grandsons were here, so I wasn't excited about the idea. And, then ... read more
A Blogger Reality Check
This is something that I have wanted to do for quite a while. Most bloggers try to convey a message that everything is all rosy, and I guess it kind of is in that we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't love it, but some really crazy things happen when your blogging. Wait, what... seems to be my son's ... read more
Almond Parmesan Cauliflower Bites for Man Food Mondays
Hi Folks. Today I want to share these Almond Parmesan Cauliflower Bites we made on Saturday with you. This was a side dish I made while I tested out my new deep fryer for Thanksgiving. I am planning to cook a deep fried turkey for the first time, and as you know I have a rule of holiday ... read more
Hanging Christmas Lights The Easy Way
Hanging Christmas lights the easy way Michelle has been after me for a while now to post this so she can share it with you. It started about 4 years ago after a particularly extensive Halloween decorating binge on my part...I “do” Halloween in a big way here in the Hinterlands. Michelle puts up ... read more
Easy Turkey Cupcakes
I first made these cupcakes several years back for the younger children at Thanksgiving. There just isn't a lot of kid friendly food at Thanksgiving. But, these are very kid friendly! The first thing the kids did was bite the turkeys' heads off. The great thing about these cupcakes is that they are ... read more
Healthier Breakfast Casserole
For many, the go-to dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas morning is a breakfast casserole. They are easy, mostly made the night before, and tasty, but they are also usually full of sausage and white bread making them not very healthy. Now, you may be thinking that you will be eating the rest of the ... read more
Homemade Grain-Free Dog Treats
Today is our Connor's first birthday. And, in honor of his birthday I made these grain-free dog treats, which he loves. Of course, we are all going to be home at different times today, so this actually happened last night, but that just means I get to post it on his birthday. Connor is our beautiful ... read more
Turkey Planter
I am really, really not a crafty girl. I am uncoordinated, and tend to make a mess of things. So, if I can make this turkey planter, you can too. Actually, I am totally proud of myself for coming up with the idea on my own because I am pretty short on creative ideas that don't include food. Steve ... read more
Chicken a la King for Man Food Mondays
I am happy to share another one of mothers "famous" dishes with you again. This one is Chicken a la King and is a great tasting meal from my past. My sister and I have been digging up the recipes for the different foods we grew up with and fortunately for me Michelle wants to try them all. Today's ... read more
Warm Blue Cheese Dip
So, I have actually made it through the 9th day of NaBloPoMo. I have to admit that yesterday's post wasn't much, but I needed to say it. I mean I am making changes, and you needed to know what to expect. My daughter is home for college for my son's senior night in marching band, and we had really ... read more
