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I've been making homemade applesauce for years now. It's so easy to make, and the results are so much better than what you buy in a jar. The crockpot makes it especially easy, so easy that anyone can do it. You can. I'm sure of it. Seriously. You'll peel the apples, turn on the crock-pot, and then you walk away for some hours. I actually forgot about my applesauce this time, allowing it to cook all afternoon and overnight. When I remembered it the next day (when I was making breakfast), ... READ MORE

My kids love mangoes, and they like yogurt. My older daughter especially loves cooking with me and for herself, so a mango yogurt parfait made the perfect afternoon snack for all three of us. My kids used to eat all day long every day. They’re natural grazers. Their constant grazing irritated me because they never wanted to eat at meal time. It was also really hard for me to feed them healthy food since it generally can’t sit out on the table for them to eat whenever they’re rea ... READ MORE

While I was a vegetarian (for more than 10 years), I lost my taste for a lot of foods that I once enjoyed. Most seafood is in that category. I used to love all seafood – fish, lobster, scallops, you name it, but my preference just never came back. No matter how often I forced myself to try it, I just didn't enjoy seafood - especially fish. Last fall, I tasted tilapia for the first time. I was at a buffet-style banquet; I only knew it was pecan-crusted something. It was delicious. ... READ MORE

I saw a recipe for Root Beer Sherbet online a couple of weeks ago. I was intrigued as soon as I saw it because it was made with soda. When I explained it to my husband, he jumped up and ran to Walmart to get a bottle of root beer. The sherbet was delicious, just the right combination of root beer and milk. We’ve since made sherbet with orange soda, too, and we have plans for Mountain Dew sherbet and Dr. Pepper sherbet. We don’t drink soda at home; we’ve been buying it special just fo ... READ MORE

My husband and I bought our gas grill the day we created our wedding registry. We knew we should wait for my bridal shower, but we just couldn’t be patient. We wanted to enjoy grilled food on our own as soon as the weather warmed up. I love cookouts. It doesn’t matter to me who’s doing the cooking or hosting the shindig, but cookouts are a good time all summer long. When I was little, we had cookouts at Old Grandma’s or at one of my uncles’ house. The food was cooked in half o ... READ MORE

Before I share the story and the recipe with you, I have to say that this Parmesan crusted chicken recipe is so easy that it shouldn't qualify as a recipe. It's a meal that you can put on the table in less than a half hour. Now, on with the good stuff: There is no food on earth that tastes as good as the food you pick from your own garden (or your dad’s garden, as the case was for us today). This afternoon, we walked to my parents’ house and cut the first asparagus of the season. Le ... READ MORE

I love pineapple upside down cake, and my family loves it, too. My older daughter asked for it for her birthday cake last year. I was certain I’d posted this on my mom blog before; I was sure of it. Where it has gone and why I cannot find it now are beyond my comprehension. I just don’t understand. Maybe it’s lost in my unpublished drafts somewhere. Who knows. I’ve been making this pineapple upside down recipe for at least ten years. It started with a recipe from The Pampered ... READ MORE

In the Harrisburg area, we have a small restaurant chain called Neato Burrito. I discovered it when I was about 19, when it had been open only a year or so. I was instantly smitten. The concept is simple; you walk along an assembly line, making choices about the contents of your burrito. What kind of tortilla? BBQ or brown rice? Refried or black beans? Chicken, beef, or vegetarian? Cheese or no cheese? There are more choices as you walk along, including what kind of salsa you w ... READ MORE

I am not a big fan of fruit in savory dishes. Fruit and main dishes just don’t work for me. However, when my meal planner and chef husband wants to make a fruity main dish, I smile and feign eager anticipation. This happened one day last week. My husband was very excited about this peachy chicken stir fry recipe he found on a bottle of vinegar, and he couldn’t wait to make it. “Doesn’t that sound good?” he asked. “Sounds delicious!” I choked. So of course, he made ... READ MORE

This is the time of year for asparagus where I live. Actually, it's a little early, but this year has been exceptionally warm. Last week, the first hearty spears began to poke their heads up through the soil in my dad’s garden. I planted half of those asparagus crowns before I left home. My dad planted the rest a year or two later, and he’s been tending them ever since. This year, he decided to add 25 more crowns. He's gone a little crazy with it. It's no wonder. There is no asparag ... READ MORE