The creamy vegetarian sauce is made from a simple soup, with few ingredients. Blending a portion of this after cooking, and adding back to the soup makes a delicious, filling cream sauce for the tortellini. Using yellow split peas, rather than traditional green split peas, gives it a bright, spring color! Tortellini in a Creamed Vegetarian Sauce Yield - 8 … [Read more...]
Pasta Alfredo Casserole
A guest post Between college and work, my daughter puts in long days and often misses meals at home. She makes up for it by packing home cooked meals to take with her. Occasionally she comes up with suggestions for variations on my recipes tailored to her "perfect packable lunch" specifications. My daughter requested that I make a casserole using Alfredo sauce and rotini … [Read more...]
Thai Chicken Pizza
Evening y'all! I had all kinds of grand intentions of getting this recipe posted on Friday...but that just didn't happen! I took the boys down to Cincinnati to the Lego Kidsfest on Friday night. Let's just say that they were in little boy heaven. The tickets were a little pricey for my taste, but after being there and seeing the glee and joy on their little faces I've … [Read more...]
How to Cook Asparagus
Seeing amazing prices on asparagus at the grocery store these days? We are right in the middle of asparagus season right now...and we're gonna be seeing prices of $.99/lb - $1.4/lb, maybe less! I'm all about eating seasonally and taking advantage of these great prices. No sense paying full price for other green veggies like broccoli or green beans, when you can get a bunch of … [Read more...]
Easy Cake Mix Muffins
Delicious. Will feed a crowd. But most of all – easy. These muffins are so simple to make and have such wide appeal, they’ve easily become a go-to recipe in our home. You’ve likely seen the chocolate version. But what about the spice cake version? I was surprised at how many my teenagers gobbled up! Just two ingredients. A boxed cake mix... ...and vitamin rich … [Read more...]
Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Blue Cheese & Caramelized Onions
Ever since making those Buffalo Chicken Blue Cheese Enchiladas, I've been itching to put the same flavors on a pizza. And now that I have, I'm kicking myself for not doubling this pizza. Because it needs to be doubled. Because it deserves to be doubled. About a week ago, I was talking to my cousin ...and we got on the subject of pizza. I told him how I've been wanting to … [Read more...]
Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe
This is my go-to pizza crust recipe. It has never failed me. And I've heard from many of you, that it has never failed you either! If I make it with half white flour and half whole wheat flour, I add 2 Tbsp extra water. And I don't generally make it "full whole wheat"...It's just too grainy for our liking. Save yourself a few bucks and make your own crust next time you're … [Read more...]
Honey BBQ Chicken
I wasn't kidding about these "house on the market bakes." I made a quiche this week too, along with another round of pork chops. Here's how this one went down... My middle son loves BBQ sauce. Loves it. Prefers it over ketchup for dipping. I've caught him dipping pineapple and cantaloupe in BBQ sauce. (I don't ask. And I don't complain.) I asked him if he wanted some … [Read more...]
Homemade Mini Calzones
These are similar in size to the popular frozen "pizza pockets" that teenagers love. These can be made very economically at home. They are also larger than the frozen version, and are more filling.  This recipe requires you to make your own dough, which will take extra time. If you are in a hurry, you can buy pre-made pizza dough in the refrigerator section of your local … [Read more...]
Lactose Free St. Patrick’s Day Shakes
If your kids are anything like mine, they've already started asking for green this and green that. For breakfast, they were begging me to make green eggs and ham. Not on a school morning. *ahem* But I do have plans to make them some green chocolate chip cookies after school today! And maybe we'll go crazy and add green sprinkles on them before we bake them. (For anyone … [Read more...]