• meatloaf
    Recipes

    Comfort Food: Good ‘n Cheesy Meatloaf

    I confess, while meatloaf IS the quintessential comfort food, it isn’t something I crave like my son does. When I DO make meatloaf, however, I have TWO go-to recipes that I truly love. The first is a borderline high-brow version of diner meatloaf, made with ground beef, pork and veal, and the secret is “ketchup in and ketchup on”.  The second is the one that most appeals to my kids, because of the half-pound of cubed cheese inside. It’s not the healthiest of meals, but it is yummy. I will also confess, that while I can give or take HOT meatloaf, since childhood I have absolutely been in love with cold…

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    Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup

    The weather here in Texas is FINALLY cooling off and all I want is hot soup in a nice warm mug that I can wrap my fingers around. Something comforting, but not heavy. (Because let’s face it,  cooling temps here means it’s 70 degrees outside.) Something easy to make, because I’m still playing catch-up from the weekend. Since I have a big ole butternut squash that I need to do something with, soon… YES! Butternut Squash and Red Pepper soup Ingredients: Cooking spray 1 Onion, chopped 1 large Butternut Squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cubed OR (approximately 4 cups, or 15 oz of grocery store cubed fresh squash) 1 medium red pepper,…

  • stock
    Recipes

    Delicious Chicken Stock in your Instant Pot

      So you’ve cooked a whole chicken in your Instant Pot or roasted a Tuscan-style chicken in the oven, and you saved the carcass like you were told to do…now all that’s left is to turn that leftover mess into some amazing chicken stock.  Once you see how easy it is, you may just never buy it from the store again! I’ve made mine with one or two chicken carcasses, and with a basic cooking time of two hours – but if you have the time, you can let it pressure cook for up to four hours, and really draw out all the yummy goodness from the chicken bones. Cook’s…

  • Whole Chicken
    Recipes

    How To Cook a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot

    There is nothing in this world like a freshly roasted whole chicken. Unless, of course, you are pressed for time (and presentation isn’t as important), and for that you reach for your Instant Pot – because tender, juicy, fall off the bone chicken is less than an hour away. Given how lacking in time management skills I have been of late, the Instant Pot is my bestest friend. It doesn’t judge me about forgetting to put dinner in the slow cooker. Oh no. It waves at me and says “toss that in here and I’ll beep ‘atcha when I’m done.” Don’t get me wrong – I love a Costco chicken…

  • Motherhood,  Recipes

    Instant Pot Tortellini Turkey Tetrazzini

    Post-Thanksgiving meals bring to mind one thing: leftovers. Now, there are only so many turkey sandwiches and Hot Browns a girl can eat before she says “enough turkey”, so I always freeze a bag (or two) of leftover turkey for when I need a fast meal and am low on ideas – and in the mood for turkey again. (Bonus points for chopping the leftover turkey before freezing it!) Tonight was a typical Tuesday: I’m frazzled, completely “over” cooking, and staring at my pantry and my Instant Pot pressure cooker for some last-minute miracles.  Thankfully, I had moved a bag of leftover turkey from the freezer to the refrigerator, so it was thawed and ready…

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    Tuscan-Style Lemon Roast Chicken

    This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PowerfulFusionClean #CollectiveBias My search for meals that are easy to prepare – and easy to clean up – is never-ending.  One trusty standby is roast chicken. Quick to throw together, it comes out like a dream and leaves you with one pan to clean! While it’s always tempting to grab one from the deli at the grocery store (let’s face it – they are usually tiny), a roast chicken made at home gives you bragging rights. We moms can always use extra bragging rights. One recipe that is a family favorite is this…

  • citrus-mahi-mahi
    Recipes

    Citrus Roasted Mahi-Mahi

    I confess, I do not cook fish as often as I should, despite the fact that three of the four of us love it, and it typically makes an easy (and fast) meal. Salmon, swordfish, and mahi-mahi are my three go-to choices at the fish counter of our favorite market. Leaving the soccer fields yesterday afternoon, I asked the Boy if steak (which was sitting in the refrigerator) would be too heavy before his next match. It was a tournament weekend, and he has been pretty diligent about taking his coaches direction on eating healthier. He gave me a look that replaced the typical response of  “duh” and asked for fish, instead,…

  • Minestrone-soup
    Recipes

    Soup’s on – Slow Cooker Minestrone

    A bowl of soup and a grilled sandwich is probably my all-time favorite comfort food, whether I’m feeling under the weather or burrowing in on a cold day.  Recently my hubby came down with a terrible cold and just looked miserable, and I thought that a warm bowl of minestrone soup was just what he needed. I’ve been experimenting with various recipes over the years, and this is the result of my tinkering. I love cooking soup, especially when I can put it together in the morning and let it simmer all day. Other than a quick saute of fresh veggies, this is all cut and dump, if you will. My…

  • Recipes

    Oatmeal Carmelitas!

    Some time back in the ’90s, I was the only female on an otherwise all-male trade execution desk for a major brokerage firm. I liked to bake but didn’t have roommates for a time, and I sure didn’t need to eat all that sugary goodness on my own, so I routinely brought my bounty into work to share. Basically, I was the desk mom. One day my boss, who was divorced, was bemoaning how much he missed a dessert his ex-wife would make. He would do ANYTHING to get another helping of this wonderful dessert. He said he would buy me cookbooks if I would only make this dessert. I’m slightly…

  • Recipes

    Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

    I’m lucky. My kidlings are tweens/teens now and are completely capable of entertaining themselves, so a snow day (or two) doesn’t seem to be the challenge that it once was when they were younger. We hang out in our PJs, they make their own snacks, and it’s all quite low-key if I can keep the squabbling to a minimum. Then and now, when we have a snow day, I tend to reach for comfort foods and well-loved slow cooker recipes, the kind that you put together in the morning with little fuss and with ingredients that I generally have in my pantry. This, my friends, is one of them, and…