They know how to party in New Orleans, especially before the forty days of Lent when Christians are supposed to fast or give up something they like. Mardi Gras is the name for the time period before Lent ... a joyous carnival-like atmosphere of parades and indulgence.

And, in New Orleans, King Cake or Three Kings Cake is the personification of ( Read more... )

A while ago, I went shopping and came home with a nice clamshell of strawberries. They were on my list. They were even on sale. Trouble, was, I had forgotten why I bought them. (I must learn to write these things down ... somewhere.) So there I was, staring at these very perishable fresh fruit while the clock was counting down. I finally came up ( Read more... )

I've been curious about this cheesecake for some time and finally got around to giving it a try.

"Jiggly" Japanese Cheesecake


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I recently found a recipe for boursin, a soft and creamy cheese, posted on "The Frugal Hausfrau" website and knew that I had to give it a try. It makes an amazing spread but it also works as part of a creamy pasta sauce. I made a change to the original recipe ... I substituted purchased crispy fried onions for the dried chives since I didn't have ( Read more... )

I recently bought a couple of fresh, whole chickens on sale, and broke them down for several dishes. With a leftover cup of of shredded chicken (breast and thigh meat) and some odds and ends from the fridge and freezer, I made a small casserole dish of enchiladas.


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Work's been good this past month so I was feeling a bit 'spendy' when I went grocery shopping ( Read more... )

Vegetable side dishes are few and far between on this LJ/blog and I can't claim that this one is particularly healthy. But it tastes SO good. And it's easy to make with a package of frozen chopped spinach and some inexpensive and easy to source ingredients ( Read more... )

My favourite starch sides are potatoes, pasta and rice ... in that order. Since I haven't had any potatoes in the house for almost two weeks, I've been relying more on the other two in my cooking. Especially rice ( Read more... )

PICTURE HEAVY WARNING

Summer has been much too short. Of course, I didn't get much accomplished. In fact, I can't even remember the semi-ambitious plans I had made.

Next year, I'm going to have to make and post a list of To Do's to keep me on track ( Read more... )