I love the simplicity of this one-pot macaroni and cheese; however, after 20 hours in the car with Kiddo (who, by the way, was a car-traveling champ) in the last four days I wasn’t really feeling the urge to watch the pot as closely as I would need to in order to avoid a boiled-over-milk [...]]]>

I love the simplicity of this one-pot macaroni and cheese; however, after 20 hours in the car with Kiddo (who, by the way, was a car-traveling champ) in the last four days I wasn’t really feeling the urge to watch the pot as closely as I would need to in order to avoid a boiled-over-milk scene on the stove.

I also had some pimentos that had ripened in the garden while Kiddo and I were gone.

So I crossed my fingers and totally made up tried this — and it worked!

You will need:

• 3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard (optional)
• 1.5 cups dry pasta
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 3 fresh pimentos, peeled (like this, only tiny), seeded and minced

One-pot assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. In a heavy, oven-safe sauce pot melt butter till foam subsides, then add flour and whisk until fully combined; add milk while whisking and turn off stovetop heat
3. Stir in salt, mustard, dry pasta, cheese, and pimentos; cover pot and place in oven
4. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through; top with additional cheese and uncover for the last few minutes if you so desire

That’s it!

Eggs. Oh my moly the eggs. The EGGS! They are so good but they are taking over my house. It’s like kale, but the carnivore version.

In an attempt [...]]]> When we signed up for our CSA this year we knew we weren’t veggie-adventurous enough for the produce share, so we went with the meat and eggs option.

Eggs. Oh my moly the eggs. The EGGS! They are so good but they are taking over my house. It’s like kale, but the carnivore version.

In an attempt to use up some a bunch of them at once I came up with this ridiculously easy little number:

This was SO quick, and crazy filling with all the protein in there. You’ll need:

• 1 pound breakfast sausage
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 6-8 eggs
• Salt and pepper

To make breakfast appear:

1. Turn on oven to 350F
2. Brown sausage in a non-stick skillet, crumbling as you go; drain out grease
3. Sprinkle in cheese
4. Beat eggs and add some salt and pepper, then pour over sausage/cheese mixture in the skillet; adjust amount of eggs for size of your skillet, obviously
5. Bake at 350 for about ten minutes until eggs are set in the center. Breakfast is served!

Fast forward ten years (or so… ahem) [...]]]> When I was 14 and babysitting for a family in town the mother called home around 4:00 in the afternoon and asked me to cook some fresh green beans for supper. I immediately called my mother and asked her exactly how to cook them. “For today?” she replied incredulously.

Fast forward ten years (or so… ahem) to the first trip The Yankee and I made together to his homeland of the frozen tundra Detroit area where I ordered green beans at a restaurant. What arrived on my plate was something bright green and very crunchy. They were, er, not my favorite part of the meal.

So this pot started cooking about noon for supper that night:

Here’s what’s going on in there:

• Green beans from last year’s garden (they’d been frozen; I try to avoid the BPA in canned ones)
• Pork jowls from our CSA
• Olive oil
• Chicken broth from the freezer
• Garlic from Tywater’s produce stand at the feed mill
• Salt

Here’s how I make green beans that even my nanny kids will eat:

1. Pick a heavy-bottomed pot and pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom; use that to fry a couple strips of bacon or pork jowls
2. When the bacon is cooked through toss in a couple handfuls of fresh green beans, a clove of garlic, a sprinkling of salt and enough chicken broth to cover the beans; cover pot with lid and gently simmer… for a long time

You can also add some red pepper flakes and or some Worcestershire sauce into this if you’re so inclined. It’s pretty fabulous.

This is easy, right? And of course you can control exactly how cooked they are this way.

Now if only I could get the Yankee to try them….

Ohhhhh my moly.

If I were the demanding type I’d demand that you make these immediately. I’m not, of course so I’ll just strongly suggest it.

The peaches are so good this year and I bought more than I’ll ever be able to eat, so I wanted to some up with something to do with [...]]]>

Ohhhhh my moly.

If I were the demanding type I’d demand that you make these immediately. I’m not, of course so I’ll just strongly suggest it.

The peaches are so good this year and I bought more than I’ll ever be able to eat, so I wanted to some up with something to do with them. This is based on the apple crisp recipe, but with more of the crumble part so that you end up with a crust. It is OH so good.

Gather:

• 2 medium-to-large peaches, chopped
• 1/3 cup Craisins
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and chop the peaches, then put them in a saucepan with the Craisins, cornstarch and sugar. Bring it all up to a nice bubble and let it cook till it thickens, then set aside
2. Cream butter and sugar, then mix in remaining ingredients — it will look coarse like a crumble topping
3. Take two cups of crumble mix and press into a greased 8×8 dish and bake till it’s lightly browned, around 10-12 minutes, then spread fruit mixture over crust. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture over the top and bake till that’s lightly browned, about another 15-18 minutes or so

Fast and good! How can you beat that?

Wondering how to add a few calories to your breakfast?

Allow me.

These are really super easy to make (along with, uh, everything else I ever blog) and are such comfort food for breakfast! You will need:

The folks over at Pom Wonderful contacted me a while back and asked if they could send me some of their juice to try (for free, okay, FTC?). I [...]]]> Some people come from money; I, on the other hand, come from funny (which is even better). My Uncle Steve named this drink. Don’t you love it?

The folks over at Pom Wonderful contacted me a while back and asked if they could send me some of their juice to try (for free, okay, FTC?). I was honestly a little hesitant because, um, I was pretty sure I was the last person who hadn’t tried pomegranate anything yet and I wasn’t sure what to expect. A lot of people love the stuff, however, so I gave it a shot.

For my first attempt I thought I’d try pomegranate molasses.

Fail, party of one. Not having a clue what I was doing following a specific recipe, I cooked the mixture too long and ended up with a giant Le Creuset-shaped lollipop. Oops.

Not wanting to wash that pan again repeat my mistake, I thought I’d try something different. And, if y’all haven’t noticed, it’s a million degrees outside so a cool cocktail sounded like the thing for my next pomegranate attempt.

Success! It is yummy and tart and sweet and limey (is that a word?) and I’m loving it.

Please to mix:

• 2 Tbsp. simple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup rum
• squeeze of lime

Pour over ice and enjoy!

This makes a sweet drink, so feel free to adjust the simple syrup as your little heart desires.

We’ve seriously never talked about how to make basic biscuits? This is mind boggling to me.

This is one of those recipes I make by throwing stuff into a bowl; I very rarely measure this at all, so I had to go back and make these again and actually pay attention. The sacrifice! I make pretty [...]]]>

We’ve seriously never talked about how to make basic biscuits? This is mind boggling to me.

This is one of those recipes I make by throwing stuff into a bowl; I very rarely measure this at all, so I had to go back and make these again and actually pay attention. The sacrifice! I make pretty small batches of this because I make small biscuits and I make them pretty often, so there are always more on the way; the recipe is easily doubled.

Gather this:

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. instant/bread machine yeast (you can certainly leave this out; I like the little extra rise and the flavor of it)
• 1/4 cup cold butter, shortening, bacon drippings (seriously) or any combination thereof
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup milk or buttermilk (see directions)

To make ‘em:

1. Combine flour, salt, baking powder and yeast in a bowl or in the work bowl of a food processor, then cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork, or pulse in the food processor till the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal
2. Slowly add milk, gently stirring with a rubber spatula or your fingers; add just enough so that it turns into dough
3. Turn onto a floured surface (I do it right on the counter lately); knead it four times, folding it back over itself as you go. FOUR! Then STOP, no matter how much fun it is. Overworked dough = unhappy biscuits
4. Roll and cut out biscuits and bake at 400F till just starting to brown on top; I do these in a cast iron skillet, but any kind of dish or baking sheet with a little butter in the bottom works just fine
5. Tell everyone you slaved over a hot stove for hours making these, and shouldn’t someone bring you something lovely to drink?

Hello, lovelies!

Not to get all Bob Ross-ey on you, but these are happy little muffins. It’s a Paula Deen recipe (that involves only 3 Tbsp. butter, I might add) and were apparently quite a hit at The Yankee’s office. Yay!

You will need:

It is also from an era when food wasn’t asked to [...]]]> This recipe comes from my great aunt Eva who named it thusly. Or perhaps she got it from her mother, my great grandma, who named it thusly? Either way, who am I to argue? It is, indeed, one of the easiest desserts you’ll ever make.

It is also from an era when food wasn’t asked to look pretty for the camera.

Obviously.

Gather together:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup milk
• 3 cups fruit (cut up; don’t drain)

And then:

1. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt; cut in butter like you’re making biscuits, or pulse in a food processor, then stir in milk till well combined
2. Pour batter into a buttered cast iron skillet or baking dish and top with fruit and its juice
3. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes; sprinkle sugar on top for the last few minutes of baking

See? SEE? How crazy easy is that? And at the end you get this?

No brainer.