I have never been a huge PSL fan, mostly because I just don’t GO to Starbucks. I am sometimes overly frugal, and I’ve developed a habit that has helped me avoid excessive spending. Before I get ready to buy things, I ask myself, “Do I really need this?” When it comes to rather expensive coffee, the answer is usually no. I do, however, love the flavor of pumpkin pie and the spices that are such an essential part of the…
I recently saw an episode of Food Network’s The Kitchen with slow cooker hacks. On this episode (“The Kitchen Reveal” from season 19) Jeff Mauro, AKA The Sandwich King, made baked potatoes in a slow cooker. I have always made baked potatoes in the oven or microwave, but I loved the idea of starting these early in the day, and then just showing up for meal time. This technique is very simple and worked really well for me. Before I start preparing…
In the summer 2018 issue of Fast Company, the magazine names the 100 most creative people in business. Numbers 1-5 are the five teens who cofounded the non-profit March for Our Lives after they survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. They are Jaclyn Corin, Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, and Alex Wind. They are tough, resilient, and determined to make a difference for all students and other victims of gun violence. I am a public school…
From the time I started organizing the kitchen in my home, I struggled with how to store spices. I needed to be able to find them easily and use them with a minimum of fuss. I saw a magazine article of a woman with this beautiful collection of spices organized in standard-looking spice jars. She talked about how much she loved having them all in the same beautiful containers. So without giving it a lot of thought, I went out…
I came across this recipe for chicken salad several years ago when I was reading Food Network magazine in a hospital waiting room. This chicken salad is the creation of Hunter Fieri, son of Guy Fieri of Food Network fame. For many years, Guy has been the host of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. He’s really fun to watch because he’s always running around in shorts trying out all sorts of delicious food. Apparently his 21-year-old son Hunter is a pretty amazing cook….
Earlier this summer, I noticed Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee when I was browsing Netflix. I’ve always thought Jerry Seinfeld was funny so I jumped right into binge-watching the series. When I got to the episode in season 1 where Jerry and Michael Richards go for coffee in a beat up VW bus, I started thinking about the original Seinfeld series. When Seinfeld was on TV back in the 90s, I was busy taking care of my small children so…
This morning I noticed that I had some really ripe bananas on hand. My family LOVES banana bread, so we decided to put this yummy sweetness to good use. When I make a loaf of quick bread or yeast bread, I always bake it in my Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan. Although I have not personally tried them, Le Creuset also makes some really beautiful stoneware loaf pans in lots of lovely colors. I highly recommend stoneware over a metal…
My youngest daughter has decided that it’s time for me to pass down the family wisdom on making homemade pizzas from scratch. I’ve been baking pizzas about once a week for the last 15 years. One of the most important parts of a great pizza is great pizza sauce. This fast and easy recipe tastes great, it’s inexpensive, and takes very little time to make. I keep a jar of this stuff in the fridge all the time mostly for…
This year on the fourth of July, my family went to Murphy Park in Taylor, Texas to watch the fireworks. It had rained off and on for a big part of the day. The weather was really iffy, so when we took off for Taylor, we were not at all sure that this trip was going to work out well. However, we really appreciated the cooler temperatures. The fourth is usually excruciatingly hot, so the chance to see the fireworks…