Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Valerie Go straight to the recipe

I recently asked the folks on my Facebook page what type of recipes they wanted to see most right now. You might think grilling recipes or maybe 30 minute meals were most requested? Nope. I was quite surprised that smack in the middle of summer, slow cooker recipes were the top choice. My slow cooker sees a lot of action all year round and I’m pleased to know that I’m not alone. Why are we using our slow cookers in the summer? Because with a little advance thought and morning prep, you can walk in the door at the end of a busy day… [Read the full post]

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Time to Celebrate With a KitchenAid Stand Mixer Giveaway!

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Valerie

There once was a lady named Michele She cooks and her photographs are swell You should definitely get to know her So stop by her blog and show her That we’re happy she’s doing so well! Happy anniversary Michele! In honor of your blogiversary I wrote you a limerick (lame) and I kept it clean (you’re welcome). I’m thrilled to be teaming up with a group of great bloggers to celebrate Michele’s first year and to give away a big, beautiful, KitchenAid Mixer to one lucky winner. If you don’t have one yet, this is a must have tool for every cooks’… [Read the full post]

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Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Posted on July 13, 2014 by Valerie Go straight to the recipe

I’m blasting back to my past with this nostalgic recipe. My mom made these sweet treats every summer, as I’m sure tons of other moms did back in the day. I’m pretty certain it was one of those recipes printed on the back of a cereal box or featured in Better, Homes, and Gardens. In true, big family fashion, we had a spare fridge in our garage. I can remember running, soaking wet from our above-ground Doughboy pool on the patio, straight to that freezer to grab one of these. It’s a vivid, delicious memory that still comes to mind… [Read the full post]

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Maple-Mustard Glazed Chicken

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Valerie Go straight to the recipe

I realize this does not look like a breezy, summer meal idea. But folks, as I write this post it’s the Monday after the 4th of July weekend and I’m tired. Really, really, tired. A little too much celebration, not enough sleep, and I was forced, against my will, up and out of my deliciously comfortable bed and back to work a little too early this morning. All of this caused an intense craving for a savory, comforting dish that has nothing at all to do with the summery BBQ fare we’ve been consuming for the past couple of months. This… [Read the full post]

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Classic Fudge Walnut Brownies

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Valerie Go straight to the recipe

I hope you all had a relaxing, fun-filled holiday weekend. We had time off from work (hurray!), did a little work around the house, I did some cooking and baking, and we had a big bunch over on the 4th of July for an old fashioned BBQ capped off with fireworks. For dessert I decided on these devilishly rich, perfectly textured brownies. There are some pretty decent box brownie mixes out there these days so in order to justify going to the trouble of baking them from scratch, there had better be a pretty significant difference. Well, these babies are… [Read the full post]

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Pizza Pasta Salad

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Valerie Go straight to the recipe

I’m not sure what has gotten into me but I’ve been all about salads for the last month. Both in life and on the blog. I’ve been craving and eating salads daily. Mostly of the green, leafy variety but you can’t beat a good pasta salad, and this one is a doozy. It’s full of all things pizza – pepperoni, mozzarella, olives, tomatoes, bell pepper, and Parmesan cheese. It appeals to both kids and adults alike and is a great one to add to your list of potluck/BBQ/picnic fare. I promise July will bring at least a couple new dinner… [Read the full post]

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The Costco Haul – June 2014

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Valerie

The post this month is going to be short but very sweet, literally. My trunk was jam packed, as usual, but a lot of what we bought were restock items I’ve shared in previous posts. The aim here is no repeats. Even though there are less items, I’m excited to share our haul with you this month. We discovered some new things that I think you should know about and I’m venturing out to the yard with a couple of summer seasonal items. Let’s get to it! We were so disappointed when our Costco stopped carrying pretzel buns some time ago. Well,… [Read the full post]

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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Valerie Go straight to the recipe

I’ve been on a crazy salad kick lately. For some reason, I just can’t get enough of them. And, the darker and leafier the greens, the better. That is exactly why this salad came to mind a few days ago. The strawberry spinach salad concept has been around for awhile but we’re beginning to see it pop up in some unexpected places. Even Panera has one on their menu now and low and behold, it has become a favorite of my husband. Our business is less than a mile from Panera so it’s a frequent choice for us at lunch… [Read the full post]

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Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Valerie Go straight to the recipe

I whipped up this potato salad for our Fourth of July feast last year and it was the bomb-diggity. This is the first and most likely the last time I’ll use the term bomb-diggity. The salad did it to me. My husband gets the willy’s from traditional mayonnaise based potato salad and this has caused a rift between us that I feared would never be mended. It appears the children we created did not receive my potato salad gene and have all exhibited the same aversion to the stuff as their dad. As a result, it had been years since… [Read the full post]

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Baked Beans from Scratch

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Valerie Go straight to the recipe

Although I have a couple of very good recipes for baked beans that call for the canned variety, there’s nothing like a great big pot of baked beans from scratch. It’s the way my mom used to do it and that distinctive slow-cooked, molasses spiked taste takes me straight back to my family dinner table. There’s a little more labor involved and definitely more time is required but the effort is so worth it. When I made this batch, I doubled the recipe and used my vacuum sealer to seal up individual packets of the leftovers. It is incredibly convenient… [Read the full post]

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