Classic Spaghetti Dinner

One of the simplest meals to prepare and often the first real meal many people learn to cook is spaghetti. All of the ingredients are readily available at any grocery store, even most dollar stores. It may be the least expensive meal you can whip up to feed a family of four (I’m excluding PB&J sandwiches and boxed mac and cheese from that equation). It is also a quick meal to fix in under 30 minutes.

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Pork Egg Rolls

Nothing goes better with Bourbon Chicken or some General Tso’s than egg rolls. Those crispy meat and vegetable filled bits of deliciousness rolled up and deep fried to golden perfection. You can buy frozen versions of these at the grocery, but they are so much more fun to make yourself. Once you try these you will also see how easy it is to adjust this recipe to use whatever meats and vegetables you wish.

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Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin

Warm, Creamy, Cheesy goodness. This is a great recipe if you have a little Easter ham left over and want to make some serious comfort food. I added a side of steamed broccoli and it was a complete meal. I used a sharp white cheddar for the sauce, but you could use a mild orange cheddar or any mild cheese and this would still be … Continue reading Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin

Grandma’s Orange Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting

You never know exactly what the outcome will be when you grab an old recipe card and just go with it. I have mentioned in previous posts that older recipes often leave out many specific details. This is usually for one of two reasons: a) they were just jotting down notes for themselves and they only captured enough details to remember key ingredients/steps because they … Continue reading Grandma’s Orange Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting

Un-stuffed Cabbage

Cabbage rolls are one of my old school comfort foods. Seasoned rice and hamburger rolled up into cabbage leaves and simmered in a tomato sauce, delicious. As an added bonus it is an extremely economical meal. You can feed a family of 4-6 people for under $10.

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Tabbouleh

I find it interesting how food trends seem to move in circles over decades, centuries or even millennia. As I write this in 2019 plant based diets are on the rise, and whole grains are once again in the spotlight (unless you are following one of the low carb/keto dietary guides). Eggs and butter have gone from good, to bad to good again all in … Continue reading Tabbouleh

Lebanese Stuffed Grape Leaves

Stacey loves these and orders them any time we are at a Mediterranean or Lebanese restaurant. I wanted to make these at home so I poured over many, many recipes. The variations are endless. Some feature rice and vegetables only, but many include meat. For the meat options some recipes use ground beef (I don’t feel that is particularly authentic, but it is much more … Continue reading Lebanese Stuffed Grape Leaves

3 Ingredient Beer Bread

Sometimes you want fresh bread but you just don’t want to wait on all that kneading and rising and then kneading and rising again. Sure, you could just buy a loaf of bread, but where is the fun in that? You could buy one of those canned or frozen quick loaves, but who knows what all is in there. The solution? Quick bread.

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Scratch Brownies with Grandma’s Milky Way Frosting

While working my way through grandma’s recipe box I found not one, but two copies of a recipe for Milky Way frosting. They are nearly identical, the only difference being one called for milk while the other called for evaporated milk. When I find two copies of a recipe I have to believe she liked it. It sounded really good (it has a melted candy bar in it), I just needed to come up with something to frost.

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