This recipe is part of our 6th Costco Meal Plan: 20 Slow Cooker Freezer Packs from Costco for $150! Dear Chairman of the Kid Food Hall of Fame Committee, I'd like to nominate this recipe to be inducted in the class of 2011 for Best Kid Friendly recipe for the following reasons. 1. All 3 children finished their entire plates in record time. 2. All 3 children asked for … [Read more...]
Homemade Apple Pie Spice
As we head into pie season, you might take a peek in your spice rack and see if you have the spices needed to make homemade apple pie spice recipe. (Here's my homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe!) There is no need to spend $5-$6 on a apple pie spice jar from the spice aisle, when you already have the ingredients you need to mix up your own. And you can mix up … [Read more...]
Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
I learned something new about chocolate chip cookies a few weeks ago. And I decided to put the theory to the test. I made these double peanut butter chocolate chip cookies...then took them to a church picnic...and they got RAVE reviews. I recently stumbled upon a New York Times article about the science and history of how chocolate chip cookies became so popular and … [Read more...]
Baked Apples with Maple and Granola
Scoop, crunch. Scoop, crunch. I want to recommend...no highly recommend...that you make baked apples at some point during this fall. Apple prices are as low as they get...there are so many different varieties available in stores. These baked apples do best when made with a sweeter variety like gala or golden delicious. They take minutes to get into the oven...just get … [Read more...]
Almond Raspberry Breakfast Cake
So today is my birthday. And I'll be having cake for every meal today. (Well, maybe not...but it's a nice thought right?!?) I'm starting the day out with a piece of this Almond Raspberry Breakfast Cake. Almond Raspberry Breakfast Cake Yes. A cake for breakfast! 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened1 cup white sugar1 egg1 tsp vanilla extract1 tsp … [Read more...]
Grilled Pork Chops, Peaches and Red Onions
A little over 3 years ago my life changed for the better. I was doing the dishes after having a meal similar to this one. And just like you'd see on a "ticker" on ESPN or FoxNews, the phrase "$5 Dinners" passed through my brain. Then it passed through again. And again. And it wasn't long before I was sitting at the computer to see if this concept had been launched in … [Read more...]
Homemade Hummus
Raise your hand if you love hummus. Yes, yes, lots of folks out there. Me too! Ok. How many of you pay big bucks for one of those tiny tubs of hummus at the store? A few, yes. How many have this little problem of keeping food and snacks stocked in your house? Me too! Well, I’m here to share my way of saving big bucks in the hummus economy. Thinking of how I batch cooked … [Read more...]
Apple Pie Filling for the Freezer
So over Labor Day weekend, we picked almost 30 pounds of apples. There remain about 5 apples in the fridge, that we will snack on this week. But our surplus is not gone! Much of it is packed away nicely in the freezer. After making 3 big batches of slow cooker applesauce (2 of which are in the freezer, and the other long gone!), I also made 2 pies worth of filling for the … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Applesauce
When you "accidentally" pick 30 pounds of apples, you've got to do something...and do it quick! That's a whole lotta apples to process! One of the easiest things to do is make slow cooker applesauce. I intentionally picked a bunch of Golden Sup apples from the orchard because I knew they were a sweeter variety, and wouldn't require any sweetener to be a good applesauce. I … [Read more...]
Tomato Eggplant Frittata
As we head into this holiday weekend, I thought I'd leave you with a simple breakfast for dinner recipe. Or it would be perfect for breakfast this weekend, as you hang out with family and friends! This may in fact be the most flavorful frittata that I've ever made. This is not to put a damper on the other frittata recipes featured here or in my Breakfast and Lunch cookbook. … [Read more...]