A few weeks ago, I made a small batch of orange marmalade with some extra oranges.  The problem with that is that even a small batch made 4 containers, and we don't eat something like orange marmalade often enough to use that up quickly.  (I didn't have any canning jars to can it and save it long-term).  So I wanted to find a recipe for orange chicken, ideally in the crockpot, and using the orange marmalade. The majority of the recipes I found on Pinterest using orange marmalade … [Read more...]

We have been enjoying this Southern Stew recipe for quite awhile, but as the kids have grown and started eating more, that recipe just wasn't filling enough for our whole family.  So I kept adding things to it to make it a more substantial meal, and came up with this version, which makes enough to feed our family of six plus leftovers. Ingredients: 16-20oz. chicken breast, cut into small pieces 1 onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 6 carrots, chopped 4 potatoes, chopped … [Read more...]

When we visited my parents over Thanksgiving, my mom gave me some extra almond bark that she wasn't going to use.  I knew I wanted to make some sort of treat, and one that the girls could actually eat (although we'll probably still make some more of these!). So we came up with a popcorn Chex mix that is easy to make and really tasty. Ingredients: about 10 cups popped popcorn about 3 cups Chex cereal about 1/2 cup M&Ms or candy of your choice about 1/2 package almond bark, … [Read more...]

I am excited to say that today I made my first cheesecake ever. And it was delicious! I used a recipe I got from my mom, because I have always loved her chocolate chip cheesecake. But...cooking from my mom's recipes is not the same as my mom's cooking. She guesstimates more than measures, and sometimes makes substitutions without ever writing them down. I have learned this by now, so when I tasted the cheesecake, it was just a bit off from hers. My dad stopped by and had a piece, and informed … [Read more...]

We've already turned our favorite chicken fried rice into homemade takeout, so I wanted to try a veggie version.  I took the same recipe, but switched out chicken for broccoli.  It turned out pretty good, although the kids definitely preferred the chicken version. Ingredients: 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2-3 carrots, finely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 eggs 4 cups cooked rice (I used about 1 1/3 cups dry brown rice) 5-6 Tbsp. gluten free … [Read more...]