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...]
Balsamic & Brown Sugar Pork Chops
Remember this Slow Cooker Brown Sugar and Balsamic Pork Roast from Slow Cooker week? I've been dying to try it. I'm a huge balsamic fan and was intrigued by the pork, brown sugar, balsamic flavor combination. (See: Balsamic Chicken with Caramelized Onions, Chicken Wraps with Balsam-melized Red Onions, Slow Cooker Beef Roast with Balsamic Onions) I recently bought a … [Read more...]
Roasted Garlic Chicken with Red Potatoes
Our house is now on the market. Which means I'm in "do-all-it-takes-to-keep-it-super-clean" mode. I'm coming up with as many shortcuts and time savers as I can to keep the house clean and picked up throughout the day. We've already had 2 showings...another one on the calendar for this weekend. In anticipation of this "someone could be coming to look any time," I've decided that … [Read more...]
Chocolate Chip Blondies
When I was growing up these Chocolate Chip Blondies were my favorite treat in the world! I still love them and beg my mom to make them for me even though I've been stuck at 39 for a little while now. I have finally talked her into letting me have the recipe so I can share these blonde beauties with you. The piece of paper that she handed me is so old and worn that it … [Read more...]
Eggplant Marinara Sauce
I was cruising through the produce department recently and saw that eggplant was priced as "per eggplant," not per pound. So of course, I looked for the largest one so I could make lots of sauce! Don't forget to get the largest one when you see "per unit" prices in the produce department! So here's how this goes down... Dice. Salt. Let sit in colander in the … [Read more...]
Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies
Chocolate + Chocolate + Chocolate Hazelnut Spread = Divine Dessert. Divine. And one that won't require you to spend four hours in the kitchen. While I'm all about spending less money at the grocery store, I'm also all about spending as little time in the kitchen while still making fabulous food. This dessert recipe is the perfect example. You could have this ready … [Read more...]
Tiropita
I finally did it! My 3rd attempt at making Tiropita (Greek for cheese pie) and it's finally good enough to compete for my taste buds with the Tiropita from our favorite Greek restaurant. I'm somewhat embarrassed of how happy that makes me. The main thing I did differently this time was admit to myself that I completely stink at working with phyllo dough. It's hard to admit … [Read more...]
Spicy 15 Bean Chili
You know what I love about chili. Everything, really. The versatility. The simplicity. The "fill-icity." (How filling it is...and how it satisfies the bottomless pit bellies that sit around my dinner table every night.) The cost effect-icity. (Yay for making up new words!) See why I love it so much. So many needs met in just one bowl! This Spicy 15 Bean Chili … [Read more...]
Stuffing Meatloaf
In my clear out the pantry, cupboards and freezer efforts, I ran across a half used bag of herb seasoned stuffing. Must have been leftover from the holidays. (Side note - I highly recommend spending 4-6 weeks each year, doing a "pretend like you are moving" clean out of your pantry and freezer. Highly. Recommend.) Every so often this bag of half used stuffing would give … [Read more...]