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Making Tomato Sauce

This week I made tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes. It was a first for me. Despite my Italian heritage, most of the sauce we eat comes out of a jar or a can. I’ve always been intimidated by luscious homemade tomato sauce, also known in some families as gravy. But you know what? it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. The first step was the main ingredient: tomatoes. I had plenty of those, thanks to our local CSA. Actually, it was the tomatoes that inspired making the sauce. Next, I did a little research. I found that … Continue reading →

Recipes for End of the Summer Tomatoes

You know your tomato plants did well this year when your neighbors are even sick of eating the fruits of your labor. If you are tired of packing up bags (and bags and bags) of your bountiful harvest only to have friends and family members decline your gift, then consider putting your tomatoes to good use in these simple, yet delicious recipes: FRESH TOMATO PIE Ingredients: 1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie crust, pre-baked 4 large tomatoes 1 cup mayonnaise 3 tablespoons fresh basil 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese 1 egg 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Directions: Make or buy … Continue reading →

Making Dinner with Your Kids

I’m no gourmet cook; I willingly admit that fact. However, I do enjoy cooking and experimenting in the kitchen and I couldn’t be more delighted that my preschooler shares the same enthusiasm for the culinary arts. There’s nothing like seeing the fierce determination in her eyes as she tries to pour exactly the right amount of sugar into a measuring cup or the progress she has made wielding her butter knife (cucumbers and cantaloupe don’t stand a chance against my daughter). If you have children I strongly encourage you to invite them into the kitchen while you prep meals. Even … Continue reading →

Perfect Grilled Shrimp, Marinated Grilled Shrimp and Butter Garlic Sauce

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3 Tips for Perfect Grilled Shrimp 1. Buy shrimp the day you plan to cook it. 2. Buy jumbo sized shrimp or bigger. You can expect 12 to 15 jumbo sized shrimp per pound. 3. Peel and devein shrimp by making a cut along the back of the shrimp and leaving the tail intact. Grilled Marinated Shrimp I don’t generally write about recipes I haven’t tried. I always find there’s something in a recipe that I can do better, make easier or just tweak a little. There’s tips to be had, and well I can’t give them if I don’t … Continue reading →

Organize the Pantry for Savings

I try to do a couple of money-saving projects each week around the house. Today, my project is to clean out and organize the pantry. Having a well-organized pantry reduces the amount of food waste, plus it sets me up to take advantage of any good sales and coupons, so I know what I should stock and how much of it to stock. Our store just had an amazing deal on pasta, which is why you can see so much of it on the bottom shelf. Yes, this is an actual photo of one of my two pantries, after it has … Continue reading →

Little Hands = Big Help

Know how you can save money around the house?  Put your kids to work. Many parents shy away from assigning household jobs to their young children rationalizing that it takes less time and energy if they simply complete the tasks themselves.  Of course, a child is never going to learn how to make a bed, clean a toilet or fold laundry if his parent doesn’t allow him to get hands-on experience and make mistakes along the way.  Most kids learn from their errors, though that’s little consolation to the mom who has to refold an entire basket of clean laundry … Continue reading →

Finding The Good In Today

I was about to sit down and write something about toddlers and testing limits. After all, there was a whole lot of that going on around here today. It seemed as if Dylan and I went from one tense situation to another as he pushed and pushed and pushed some more. Of course, the fact that I went to bed late last night did not help matters any, because it is much easier to deal with typical toddler behavior when one is well rested. While my day did contain plenty of fodder for an article about why and how toddlers … Continue reading →

Squash Ratatouille

There are many ways to make Ratatouille, a french peasant dish that takes advantage of the summer bounty of vegetables such as zucchini and tomatoes, sometimes eggplant or other vegetables. Here is a recipe that uses squash, a vegetable that is plentiful right now. The entire dish is pretty cheap to prepare as well as being nutritious. The fresher your ingredients, the nicer the meal will be. Unlike baked ratatouille, this dish is cooked entirely on the stove, so it goes together very quickly. The recipe is also flexible. Add in other favorite vegetables as they become available in your … Continue reading →

Free Pickled Veggies and a Chow Chow Recipe

Here is a quick way to get pickled vegetables for free! The next time that you finish off a jar of pickles, save the jar and the brine. You can use it to make your own pickled vegetables! Just add sliced vegetables to the jar, making sure that the brine covers the vegetables. Replace the cap and return the jar to the refrigerator. You can do this with soft or hard vegetables. Soft vegetables, such as onions, peppers, cabbage, etc., will take only two days to brine. Harder vegetables, such as carrots, cauliflower and radishes will take longer, about five … Continue reading →

Food of The Future

If you have been reading my posts for very long you know that cooking is not my strong suit. I know it is part of keeping a house but it is part that I’m not particularly fond of. I’m looking forward to the day when I can be like the Jetson’s and have dinner at the push of a button. I found a cupcake dispensing ATM recently, I still don’t know how to get one in my house, but it’s on my bucket list. Now, two other companies are working hard to make all my dreams come true. Red Tomato … Continue reading →