Most of us immediately envision a sweet and spicy red tomato sauce when we think of Sloppy Joes. I often made juicy, tomato-y Sloppy Joes. Just the right amount of sweet-sour flavor and texture spilling out of a soft bun. Sloppy Joes were a quick, easy meal that both...
One day (quite a few years ago, I have to admit) my then-9 year old son returned from playing at a friend's house and yelled: "Mom--Mark's Mom makes THE BEST BROWNIES in the world!" Well, those brownies must have been delicious if it's the first thing mentioned after...
Although I usually have ground beef on hand, most of the time I use it for casseroles, tacos, chili, lasagna, sloppy joes--meals that allow ground beef to take on different flavors and textures, depending on the cuisine. I am not a big beef eater, so I rarely crave a...
I used to love fried chicken and I remember the day that my kids and I ordered a bucket of fried chicken. That didn't happen very often, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Since it seemed somewhat greasy, we decided to pull off the skin. When we saw the globs...
When I first met Allen, he was a still a student at MSU, and was working two jobs. I had just graduated from college and started my first semester of teaching in Battle Creek, Michigan. Neither of us had much money, but I loved trying new cooking techniques and he...
When I was thinking about recipes for this week with St. Patrick's Day coming up, I realized that I don't have many traditional Irish recipes in my cooking repertoire. If anyone out there wants to share a favorite Irish recipe, please do so. I would love to try...
I have great memories of making cinnamon rolls MANY times for Allen and his roommates when they lived in East Lansing. There is something about the way a bunch of hungry college students devours homemade baked goods that makes you feel like you are the best...
The last month and a half has been frenetic because I decided now was the time to sell my house. As another summer has started to get into full swing, I realized that I just did not want to continue to take care of my 3.06 acres anymore. In the past, Allen and I loved...
As I mentioned in the last post, I am sorting and organizing many years' accumulation in order to sell my house and move to a new stage in life. Friends Judy and Mary Jo came over to help with weeding; they helped knock out 6 garden beds in record time! But we still...
Hi Everyone; you may not know this, but I have been trying to find a new house in Dexter. Although I love my current beautiful park-like setting, taking care of 3 acres of mowing, landscaping, weeding, and tree falling incidents has taken a toll. It is just not fun...
ORANGE CARAMELIZED FISH WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA This simple fish treatment can be used with salmon, trout, cod, halibut, snapper, yellowtail, or almost any firm textured, light fish. My favorite is salmon, but that is probably because my husband Allen could grill or...
FLAVORFUL VEGETARIAN BOLOGNESE When my daughter recently told me that she and her family were going to be vegetarians, I wasn’t surprised. She has never liked handling meat, chicken, or fish. As an adult with her own family, she cooked mostly vegetarian....