The holidays are certainly a time of the year filled with sweets and treats. But there are times when you need just a little break from all the sugar and goodies. That’s why I like to have a few recipes for jar mixes that can be used as quick giftsRead More
Old School Cranberry Jello Salad
Today I’m sharing a recipe that I’ve been eating at Thanksgiving dinners for so, so, many years. My grandma made this, my mom made this, and now I often make it too. I guess that’s why I’m calling this an “old school” recipe because it’s been in my family forRead More
Healthier Homemade Coleslaw Dressing
Back in the early days of this blog I published a recipe for “Make Your Own KFC Coleslaw” that was an easy DIY copycat of that fast food favorite. We enjoyed that recipe at our house, and it was something I usually made every summer. But as the years haveRead More
Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe
I’ve been trying to make the switch to brown rice, which is going much better now that I’ve switched to my new method that has turned out to be the best way to cook brown rice that I’ve found so far. Finally, I’m getting batches of brown rice that areRead More
How I Cook Brown Rice
It was only a few years ago that I had never cooked rice at all. I was a potatoes person and maybe occasionally used Minute Rice, but other than that I just didn’t pay that much attention to rice. But finally, I familiarized myself with how to cook long-grain whiteRead More
Make Your Own No-Salt Beans
Have you wondered how to cook beans from scratch, but were kind of intimidated, thinking it was a confusing or hard process? Well, me too, and now that I’ve done it a couple of times I’m not sure why I waited so long to give it a try. For me,Read More
How To Keep Lettuce and Other Greens Fresh Longer
Here’s a quick little tip for how to keep your lettuce, romaine, kale, or other greens fresh longer – and it’s something I’ve been doing for over 20 years! Back when I was first learning about keeping a home, I read a hint in my local newspaper. It was submittedRead More
Bread Dipping Oil & Spices {Copycat Carrabba’s}
You never know what treasures you might find on a trip to the thrift store. Sometimes there’s nothing at all to grab your interest, but other times . . . well other times you may just stumble across the perfect find at a great price. And that’s what keeps lotsRead More
Homemade Yogurt Cheese {Almost Cream Cheese}
Today’s recipe was new to me, but it turns out it’s been around a long, long time. What I thought was a new and interesting way to make homemade cream cheese is really just . . . Labneh. And labneh is certainly nothing new. Labneh is the traditional Lebaneese wayRead More
Homemade Microwave Applesauce Recipe
Back when I was an ambitious young mother with lots of energy, I used to can applesauce. My mother-in-law would come to help, bringing along her special apple-peeling and mashing tool that looked kind of like an old fashioned meat grinder that we would attach to the edge of theRead More
My Homemade Version of Uncle Ben’s Rice
Very seldom do I buy a package of the flavored rice mixes in the store anymore, but when I do it’s the Uncle Ben’s Long Grain & Wild Rice original flavor that I reach for first. It must be those 23 herbs and seasonings that always sound so good! IRead More
Restaurant Style Mexican Rice
Last week we enjoyed some delicious fajitas at our house made with a homemade fajita seasoning recipe. It was the perfect opportunity to try a new recipe for a Restaurant Style Mexican Rice that turned out to be a great complimentary side dish to the fajita flavors. My usualRead More
DIY Ceasar Salad Dressing Mix
Summer is almost here and that means more grilling, more picnics, and more salads. Lots and lots of salads please! Of course lots and lots of salads means we have to think about salad dressings too. This summer instead of reaching for my usual boring bottle of ranch dressing,Read More
Make Your Own KFC Cole Slaw
The fast food restaurant chain, KFC, is best known for their fried chicken. (Some of us even remember when the restaurants were called Kentucky Fried Chicken instead of KFC). But running a close second in popularity to their chicken is the KFC Cole Slaw. In fact the restaurant’s websiteRead More
How To Make Homemade Croutons
Do you have some bread and butter around the house? And a couple of spices? That’s all it takes to toast up some homemade croutons that you can add to your salads or soups. Once you learn how to make homemade croutons, you’ll really enjoy how lightly crunchy they areRead More
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
A big bowl of mashed potatoes makes a great side dish when you’ve got company coming for a meal. If only potatoes didn’t have to be peeled! It’s a rather tedious and boring chore in my humble opinion. That’s why I love this recipe that let’s me make my mashedRead More
Jiffy Corn Muffin Clone Recipe
What’s not to love about those little Jiffy Corn Muffin mixes? They’re cheap and tasty. That usually gets a thumbs up from me! At the moment, however, I have a half used bag of cornmeal on my shelf that I bought so I could fill my birdfeeder with some HomemadeRead More
Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits
What’s the best part about eating at Red Lobster? If you ask me, it’s that basket of wonderful biscuits they set on the table. I swear, sometimes I could just be happy with nothing but a glass of ice water and the basket of biscuits, but that would makeRead More
Make Your Own Frozen Garlic Texas Toast
If you find it handy to have one of those boxes of frozen garlic texas toast in the freezer, here’s an idea for making your own homemade version that can cut your cost by more than half. I did cheat a little bit and used a purchased loaf of texas toast bread for thisRead More
3 Ways to Jazz Up Plain Rice
Rice is a staple in most households that are trying to save a buck or two. You can usually buy a good size bag for a little over a dollar. But then what? Do we just have to face that pile of plain white rice with our meals if weRead More