When Marc and I first got married (in 1980!) he ate a couple of vegetables:corn, green beans, peas, and potatoes. That was it…and I think the green beans were iffy. I, on the other hand, was not a big meat eater but I would eat nearly any vegetable you put in front of me.
Needless to say I did not cook like his mom. I needed to find a way to get the vegetables I loved into our diets without setting off his anti-vegetable meter. What was the answer?

Stir fry! You can chop up nearly anything and put it in a …read more

First, before you ask, I have no clue why I call this Venetian Pasta and Peas. I mean, I know WHY the peas are in the title..I am just not sure where it came from. I think there was a recipe for Venetian Pasta and Peas in a cookbook I bought the year I got married but I can’t remember details.
Anyway. I have been making this for ever. And a day. It is a bog comfort food for me, and at present pasta seems to be one of the few nonliquid foods that will go down my throat.  I literally …read more

So, being a trivia buff I looked up the origin and history of nachos. They were created in 1943 by a man named Ignacio Nacho Agnaya…I couldn’t make this up folks.
Apparently, several wives of American soldiers had crossed the border from Eagle Pass, Texas and were wanting lunch. The restaurant kitchen was all ready closed. We all know foodies are instant in season with food; the maitre d’ used what was left from lunch, tortillas, cheese, and jalapenos and created nachos.
The dubious credit for creating the gloppy cheese version served at sporting events and cheap fast food restaurants goes to …read more

Nachos are easy, they are versatile, they take under thirty minutes, and they are awesome. I feel like I could almost stop there because it seems silly to write out a recipe for something so simple.
But….I have tasted nachos that were, as Kyrie used to say, “Miss-gusting!” Now, no one wants to have “Miss-gusting” nachos so I thought that with this recipe I would make sure that you didn’t use Miss Gusting’s recipe.

So here are some tips for really awesome nachos-

The first time I ordered nachos and got fake orange goop over stale Doritos I was incredulous. Nachos? You might as well slap a piece of colored Styrofoam on a hamburger bun and call it a burger…Oh…wait…
If you are eating that stuff stop it. Stop it now. You will end up glowing in the dark and if we ever get attacked by zombies they will find you first. Reason #106 NOT to eat weird food. Besides, in the same amount of time..or close to it you could be eating this:

These are serious nachos. The real thing. Tex-Mex at its absolute …read more

One thing that I really love about pasta is the versatility of it. In the winter it is a hearty, warming, and filling dinner while in summer it can be as light and fresh as a sun warmed heirloom tomato. You need fast? Thousands of pasta dishes can be made in under ten minutes.
Really, does it get better than that? Last week I had taken on an assignment which required a series of ten articles. I had about five days to finish them, and that was on top of my normal stuff. And…as luck would have it, there was no …read more

O.k. so when it gets to be a muggy 110 degrees and the only breeze at night comes from your husband who snores, you know you are in the South and you need a quick and easy dinner.
Summer is hot here. We don’t use air conditioning, haven’t for the several years we have lived in this house. Frankly, it is too expensive, but I also like the idea of flowing with the seasons..experiencing them rather than manipulating them. I know..I am so weird.
Nothing is worse than cooking a hot meal in a hot kitchen and serving it in a hot …read more

I am addicted to taco salad. Seriously, who ever invented this stuff was brilliant. Meat, beans, cheese, lettuce and other raw vegetables…Just add watermelon for dessert and you have all four food groups!
Back in the day, when I forst got married everyone made taco salad the same way. Doritos, canned kidney beans, cheddar cheese, hamburger, sour cream, iceburg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and catalina dressing.  There might be a little variation on that but not much.

Well, taco salads have evolved into much more than that. They are still easy and budget friendly, but fresher and more delicous I think. If you …read more

This is not your traditional pasta dish. You might have noticed that I have been on a Southwestern food kick. So has everyone else. Something about hot weather that gives me a taste for the spicy foods; the tangy, warm, earthy flavors of the Southwest.

This dish really does need a strong pasta to handle it. I recommend whole wheat because it has a firmer texture and the nutty flavor is perfect. The rich sauce is tangy but it cools the heat of the peppers.The cumin’s warm, earthiness pulls it all together into creamy, spicy perfection. Normally I would not serve …read more

It has been awhile since we did the whole guilty pleasures thing. It is hard because, although I get a lot of companies interested in sending me things not many of those things are products that I would pass on to you. And of the ones that I get not all of them are worthy of the space to review!

A few weeks ago a representative of FarmRich emailed me to see if I would be interested in a cookbook and a sample of meatballs. Sure!