recipes
Sugar-Crusted Blueberry Cake with Sour Cream Glaze {Recipe}
Have you ever had a recipe “fail” turn into one of your best recipes ever? That is exactly what happened with this cake. My plan was to bake a blueberry buckle, but then realized I didn’t have the requisite springform pan. I thought I’d improvise and add the streusel topping to the bottom of the pan first, with the intention of turning it into an upside-down blueberry cake, but then I waited too long to flip it after taking it out of the oven. Some of the topping stuck to the pan, which made the cake look awful, even though it was still perfectly edible. I probably would’ve simply ... read more
Quick & Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Oreo Pie {Recipe}
Ever have one of those moments where you suddenly realize you were supposed to make a dessert and now you’ve only got a few minutes to whip something up or everyone will know you don’t actually have it all together? Yeah me neither. But in case you ever do, this recipe is the perfect solution! Not only is it SUPER yummy, (But not fattening at all. Nope. Not even a little bit.), it can be quickly whipped up in about 20 minutes, and uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. Here is what you need: 1 refrigerated rolled pie crust 1 small box chocolate pudding 2 cups milk 1 ... read more
Sweet & Spicy Coleslaw {Recipe}
I don’t know how it works in your house, but around here, as soon as the weather starts to warm up, we start grilling as much as possible! Our favorite grill fare (by far!) is a good old fashioned cheeseburger (or veggie burger, as the case may be), and to me nothing goes better with a home-grilled burger than made-from-scratch coleslaw. I know coleslaw can be a pretty controversial–and highly subjective–topic. Some people prefer a creamy mayo-based dressing, while others insist the only way to eat coleslaw is with a vinegar base. And then there is the sweet versus sour camps….it is almost enough to make your head spin! Personally ... read more
Easy Eggplant Parmesan {Recipe}
I absolutely adore eggplant parmesan. All that ooey gooey cheesy saucy comfort food deliciousness…..what’s not to love? Eggplants used to intimidate me until I discovered the secret to good eggplant texture. Do you want to know what it is? Salt. Lots and lots and lots of salt. Weird, huh? I know. But it works. And while eggplant parmesan might seem like a complicated dish, this version is pretty darn easy thanks to a not-quite-from-scratch sauce. I promise it is SO much better than the frozen stuff! Here is what you need: 3 medium eggplants 4 eggs 3-4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs olive oil cooking spray 1 jar spaghetti sauce ... read more
Fresh Lemon & Sage Veggie Pasta {Recipe}
After almost two full seasons of Worden Farm veggie goodness, my kids have (thankfully) gone from literally freaking out at the site of anything green to actually asking for more vegetables on a regular basis. It’s a transformation I never expected, but I am definitely not complaining! Even so, their all-time favorite food is still (and may always be) pasta, especially “butterfly noodles” (farfalle), as they call it. This yummy recipe found a way to combine all the fresh veggie goodness of Worden Farm with their favorite pasta, and even threw in a little cheese (yum!) and fresh-squeezed lemon (from our lemon tree) for good measure. It was a fabulous ... read more
How to Make Homemade Butter {in a Stand Mixer}
Okay, so maybe I just tend to get overly excited about butter in general, but I am pretty sure that making homemade butter in my Kitchen-Aid is both the coolest and the most domestic thing I’ve ever done. Just when I didn’t think it was possible to love an appliance even more….I mean really, what’s better than homemade butter? Mmmmmmmm…..butter…… But I digress. It was seriously so easy that I see a lot more butter making in our future. Since this was technically a homeschool activity (and had no selfish motivations whatsoever!), we tried to follow the instructions from Little House in the Big Woods as closely as ... read more
Spicy African Sweet Potato & Peanut Butter Soup {Recipe}
When it comes to soup, I just love unique flavor combinations. I first tried a version of this African sweet potato & peanut soup many, many years ago out of this Vegetarian Times Low Fat & Fast recipe book, which was–back when I still used actual cookbooks instead of the internet–my very favorite cookbook ever. This slightly more dressed-up version uses fresh sweet potatoes and tomatoes instead of canned and also adds the rich flavor of coconut milk and chipotle peppers. The combination of sweet and spicy is so good! (Printable version of this recipe available at the bottom of this post) Ingredients: 2 pounds sweet potatoes 8 plum ... read more
Easy Cinnamon Roll Waffles {with Creamy Maple Glaze}
I had a totally different recipe planned to share with you this week, but then I made these cinnamon roll waffles on Saturday and I knew I had to share them with y’all ASAP! I honestly don’t think I have ever seen my kids eat so fast or so much for breakfast! Healthy, they are not, but isn’t that what Saturday morning breakfasts are for? The best thing about them (besides the utter yumminess) is that they are SO easy. I can barely even call it a recipe, but since there was a small amount of mixing and measuring involved, I guess it counts. (Printable version of this recipe ... read more
Roasted Veggie “Cupcakes” {Recipe}
I’m better about it than I used to be, but occasionally I find myself buying odd ingredients just because they are on sale and I have a great coupon and it is just such a “good deal” that I can’t pass it up. Does that ever happen to you? Most of the time I try to buy food and pantry staples that I know we will actually use and eat, but a few months ago at Publix I came across a BOGO sale on Progresso Recipe starters that just happened to correspond with a high value $1.00 off coupon (the coupons for new products are always the best), which made ... read more
the very best fish recipe ever {stockpile meals}
I was always intimidated by fish until I stumbled upon this amazing recipe, and I have been meaning to share it for ages. I got the original version from my dear friend Jenny during a mom’s night out recipe swap back when we both lived in Seattle. We were so chatty that night that I only ended up writing down two recipes, but this was one of them. In the years since, I have tweaked it just a bit. It is one of my family’s very favorite meals and it is also a fantastic–and super easy–dish to serve guests, provided they eat seafood. The really great thing about this ... read more
a new season of worden farm {sign up by october 1st}
We finally sent in our payment a few weeks ago and I am literally counting down the days until the new season starts at Worden Farm! Last year we really enjoyed getting our boxes of farm fresh veggies each week and though the girls were hesitant to try new vegetables at first, by the end of the season they had become true veggie lovers. Towards the end of the season we discovered the joys of actually going to the farm to get our vegetables, and this year we plan to go every week. One of the most common questions I get from readers who are trying to save money with coupons ... read more
Dutch Babies {Recipe}
Oh, Dutch Babies….how do I love thee? All that buttery goodness, clumps of powdered sugar, crispy crust and light-but-dense center, drizzled with real maple syrup and oozing with down-home goodness. Honestly, although my family likes a lot of different things, there is truly only one dish that can make all four of us downright giddy in anticipation. It is the one dish that we always make for special occasions, for guests, birthdays, & holidays. It is hands down my family’s favorite breakfast. So what are they? I’m not really sure how to even describe it–a cross between a baked pancake and a soufflé, I suppose, but with none of the ... read more
Taco Casserole {Recipe}
We are a full two weeks into our one-month spending freeze and so far, so good. I thought for sure we would run out of food in a week but at this point both our freezer and pantry are still brimming, which makes me think a.) we may have had too much stuff and b.) we could probably extend our spending freeze for another month without even coming close to running out of food. In all honesty, the hardest part about figuring out what to cook is the mental block of thinking there is nothing to make, when in fact there are all sorts of ingredients to choose from. The ... read more
How to Make Homemade Pickles {Tutorial}
When I was pregnant with Trouble, my best friend Alysha gave me a basket of homemade goodies for Christmas, including a jar of pickles she had canned herself. It was all good, but those pickles were the best thing I had ever tasted and I ate the entire jar in one sitting. I couldn’t stop. And then I asked for another jar. And another. And thus began a lifelong (well, okay, 3 year) obsession with homemade pickles. Since then I have begged, pleaded, & even cried to her and all my other pickle-making friends for more pickles. I have to avoid farmer’s markets because if I see them for sale, ... read more
strawberry basil sangria
Mmmmmm….Sangria. Doesn’t that picture just make you want to take the rest of the day off? We are still enjoying our little Staycation this week, so instead of a boring food recipe, I thought today I’d share our Official Cocktail of Staycation 2012. I love making Sangria for parties but usually use citrus fruits–oranges, lemons, & limes. However, this week we got both strawberries AND basil in our Worden Farm box, so I thought I would try something new. I gotta say, it is pretty fabulous! Strawberry Basil Sangria 8 strawberries, quartered 6 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade slices 3 tablespoons sugar 1/4 cup lemonade (orange juice would work ... read more
