Everyday Food for Busy People
I’m never going to convince my family to love sweet potatoes like I do. But this dish did convince the to eat them. My oldest daughter even said the sweet potatoes were pretty good. She didn’t think she liked them at all, but decided to give them a try when I served this.
This is a basic, quick recipe. The prep is easy – just 4 ingredients too! Chicken and sweet potatoes are a great combination. Add a little butter and brown sugar and they’re even better.
Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]
This is a dangerous dessert for me to make. I love them! They are so buttery tasting that I have trouble stopping with one. Or two. Or more.
This is an adaptation of Pioneer Woman’s Apricot Oat Bars. However, I have a recipe exactly like hers that I printed off the internet sometime in the 90s. So I’m not sure where the recipe originated. I must thank whoever created it. These bars are fabulous and the cherry version is delicious too. [Read more...]
This is one of those dinners that tastes special, like you’ve gone to extra trouble.
Good news! This dish is quick to fix. I had it finished in about 30 minutes and that included time to line up ingredients, take photos and jot down my recipe. Not bad.
I did start with another recipe as inspiration. I wasn’t sure what should go into the Pineapple Salsa, so I searched Tasty Kitchen and came up with a recipe for Tropical Chicken and Coconut Rice Bowl. It’s from Katie at The College Culinarian.
I wanted fish instead of chicken, so I turned the marinade into a sauce for the tilapia. And I tweaked her salsa recipe a bit too. The result was delicious!
Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]
Brown sugar is just white sugar with the addition of molasses. That’s where the extra flavor comes from.
In fact, you can make your own by adding a tablespoon of molasses to a cup of sugar. If you like it darker, add 2 tablespoons of molasses.
We use a lot of brown sugar in our house. Partly because Jim and our youngest daughter like it on their oatmeal in the mornings. And partly because we make a lot of chocolate chip cookies.
Here are a few more recipes that use brown sugar: [Read more...]
Some of you wonderful readers recently introduced me to the blog, Picky Palate. The first post I saw there was Peanut Butter and Jelly Skillet Monkey Bread. Heavens to Murgatroyd! That looks delish! And you know how I love peanut butter.
But as I read the recipe, the words “jelly of your choice” caught my attention and all I could think of was apple jelly. Which pairs perfectly with cinnamon and brown sugar. So I took the original recipe and did a bit of tweaking to come up with this: [Read more...]
I could have called this 3-point BBQ Chicken, because I was literally tossing things into the slow cooker from across the kitchen. No stirring. No mixing. No thawing took place.
We were in a hurry to get out the door at 7:25am. I grabbed a bag of frozen chicken breasts and dumped them in the slow cooker. Then I tossed other ingredients in, based on the Pulled Pork recipe. I didn’t stir or mix, just turned the pot on and let it cook.
We came in that evening to wonderful smells, so much better than if I’d just used bottled BBQ sauce. I quickly shredded the meat and served it on buns. This was the meal we tried out popcorn as a side dish. It had been a crazy, busy day and popcorn was the fastest thing I could think of. I’m pretty sure I threw some apples and/or carrots on the table too. Some nights you’ve just got to get everyone fed. Can I get an amen?
Here’s what you’ll need. No ingredient photo this time, because I was in such a hurry when I made it. [Read more...]
A friend gave me this recipe years ago. I make it every once in a while and we like it. The only reason I haven’t shared it with you before is that it isn’t very photogenic. Some of my past attempts to photograph it have been dismal.
One reason I like this dish is that it can be cooked on the stove top or in the oven. I’ve never tried it, but I bet it would work in the slow cooker too.
Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]
Last year, I saw recipes for cookies like this floating around the internet. A friend brought some to my house and they were so good. How can you go wrong with white chocolate chips and cranberries?
I decided to make them yesterday, but didn’t want to look up the recipe. Googling is so hard, you know?
So I tweaked the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip recipe from the back of the Walmart brand oat box. As soon as I finished making them, I noticed the recipe on the back of the Craisin package. Oh well. My tweaked recipe tasted buttery, with the sweet-tart flavors of the white chips and cranberries. And the recipe made a lot. Enough to munch and freeze some for later.
Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]
Last month when I went to the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter test kitchens they fed us some delicious foods. Lots and lots of food. All made with ICBINB, of course.
Leave it to me to pick out the simplest idea to share with you. In a room full of cheesecake, stuffed mushrooms, truffles (I may still have to share those) and scones, I zeroed in on toast. I love simple, easy, manageable, effortless recipes.
Grab that tub of ICBINB and get ready to transform your morning toast. [Read more...]
When I was contacted about the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Holiday Bake-Off trip, I quickly agreed to participate. Then I realized I would need to come prepared to bake something. (Pictures from the trip are at the end of this post.)
Cranberries are a natural holiday food, so I created two recipes featuring these beautiful gems. Cranberry Muffins with Orange Marmalade Glaze is the recipe I chose to enter, only because I was afraid the roll dough in this recipe would not have time to rise in the 2-hour time limit.
But the rolls are a cinch to make and have all the sticky-sweet goodness you expect from a sticky roll. As a bonus, they’re studded with tart, red cranberries making them perfect for the Holidays. [Read more...]
