Once upon a time, my ‘Fine Bread Maker’, made all of his bread and pizza dough by hand.

But now we have THE MACHINE….

(…thanks to the huge heart, of a great friend….you may have heard that story I love to tell…).

The recipes are the same as they always were.  They are just a whole lot easier, and a lot less messy now!  The difference between the bread recipe and the pizza dough is minimal, but important.  So let’s take a look at the easy steps, so you too can fill… (READ MORE......) | 1 Comment

Like most recipes, there are always a few variations or different ways to go about preparing a food.  Banana chips can either be fried, or baked.   We try to opt for the healthy options first.

Making baked banana chips really couldn’t be any simpler.

Get this:

Participating Ingredients:

• Bananas!

Need I say more?   Maybe.  Some may want to know exactly what to do with them.  But I am willing to bet, this is going to go just about how you think it is.

My kids and I were trying to come up with some themed food for New Year’s Eve, and {JM} came up with this great idea, right off the bat:  Cookies that are designed like clocks! (Oh, to have his quick, 8 year old brain!)

Right away I started trying to figure the details, and decided to start with homemade Gingersnap Cookies.  To design them, we went with a white icing that hardens, and a bit of chocolate art.  The design process does involve some intricate detail work, but if you enjoy the creative process and have a little patience to work with, they are worth the effort!  Your party-goers will be impressed with… (READ MORE......) | 12 Comments

When I blogged about our Harvest Fair weekend in a little country town out in western MA almost 2 months ago, I mentioned that we brought home a few keepsake treasures, but that one was extremely sentimental, and I would be telling you all about it in a blog post soon.

This is that post.  Almost 2 months qualifies as soon, doesn’t it? Well it does in my world. (Anyway, it was Michael’s fault, as you’ll soon learn. Not that I wasn’t grateful in the end. )

I’m going to be quite honest with you here:  This dessert is quick, easy, and sooooo good.

I’m going to be even more honest than that:  It’s not quite like real eclairs.   It’s more of a…. fun spin-off, of real eclairs.  But you know, everyone is going to eat them all up, just like that, anyway.  So does it really matter?

I’m thinking, ‘not really’.  So here we go….

No-Bake Eclair(s)

The other day, I got the surprise-of-my-life.  The kind that left me in a daze for the rest of the day.  And into the next day.  OK, seriously……I’m still kind of in a daze about it.  I don’t even know where to start with this little story.  I feel speechless, and yet, you and I both know this post will probably end up ridiculously long, once the words start flowing.

<Deep breathe.>  So, many of you know I had a birthday last Sunday.  My birthday to me is really no big deal, and never has been.  But my family always makes me feel special, and we always spend any of our birthdays together all day, doing… (READ MORE......) | 16 Comments

Beef Stroganoff is a meal we had only made once before, in our married years here, years ago. As I recall, too, it didn’t come out quite as we had hoped. I believe the issue was that the meat came out a little too tough.   So I guess we decided we weren’t good at making that meal, and we didn’t make it again.

That is, until a few weeks. I found myself dreaming of, and really craving, some Beef Stroganoff.  Day, after day, after day.  Finally, I decided I just had to have some, and set out to find a new recipe.  

Here’s another delicious little something, to make with some of those fresh summer tomatoes!

Bruschetta!!

Bruschetta topping on toasted bread, is a perfect side to a nice salad (as shown here), or an appetizer for luncheons or cocktail parties. (Well, I’ve heard.  I haven’t been to a cocktail party in…..well, I actually can’t think of a time I have ever been to one, come to think of it. Or, maybe I’m not sure what one is.  But I know what bruschetta is!)

‘Bruschetta’ is an Italian word (Tuscany, to be exact), that means

It’s been said that some of the best things in life, are the simple things.

I’ve certainly found that to be true, when it comes to the enjoyment I find in the fruits of my own gardens.
To be able to just walk out my front door, to my own little garden beds, and pick something I need, fresh right off the vine, brings a satisfaction you could have never convinced me that I would relish in one day.
But I really do. (READ MORE......) | 5 Comments

Here’s something you may or may not know about me.

I am not one of those mother’s that takes some time for herself now and then.   Ever.  I don’t go away,  for anything.  I don’t take a day, for myself.   I don’t even just go shopping, without taking some or all of the kids with me.  I don’t want to do those things. I don’t like, to be away from my kids.   Some mothers do….go away, and/or