I loved the show Two Broke Girls when it was in prime time from 2011-2017. While hilarious, every episode nearly crossed the line of what was appropriate, but it was 30 minutes of fun, pure laughter, and OMG, did she just say that? Why aren’t there any shows like that currently on tv? Honestly, I’m still not over the fact that the show unexpectedly ended, and we have no idea what happened to Max and Caroline.

Perhaps part of the reason I loved the show is because liked the girls, I love to bake and I would love to own a bakery. Let me clarify, I don’t want to work there, I just want to be the baker. Unfortunately, I don’t get to bake much at home because we are a household of two people and we both love sweets, so neither of us can stay out of whatever I bake. Owning a bakery would be the perfect solution for this. We could keep a sample of whatever I baked and the rest would go to the bakery.

Recently, my two daughters, my husband and I were shopping for my second daughter’s wedding dress. It was a boutique bridal shop in an old house and I started talking about how it would make the cutest bakery. I went on to tell my girls about my dream about owning a bakery. My oldest daughter looked at me and said, “you’re like Two Broke Girls,” and my husband chimed in, “Yes! Except, you’re One Broke Mom.” We nearly died with laughter.

Last fall, I had the perfect opportunity to do some baking for my daughter’s baby shower. Her sister and I decided on a menu that we could make ourselves and I, of course, offered to do the baking which included Pumpkin Bread, Morning Glory Muffins (my favorite) and I purchased Mini Cinnamon Rolls from The Fresh Market because honestly, they’re as good as I can make at home. The goal was to make everything bite size so our guests could enjoy a little bit of everything.

For me, the presentation is always as important as the food. I had an idea for my display of baked goods, but I didn’t have a basket that would work, so I started to consider other options. I began reminiscing about our trip to France and how much I loved the breakfast display each morning at our hotel. I grabbed my pictures, and I found my answer. Our hotel had displayed their baked goods in wooden boxes, and I just happened to have a wooden wine box. Add pretty linens and I’m done.

The shower turned out perfect, just like we had envisioned, and we received many compliments on the food. Most thought it was catered, and there were several comments about how we should go into business. I don’t know about that, but maybe we should at least open a bakery!

A few years ago, when my parents passed, we were going through my childhood home and I came across a small white box that was taped shut on the sides. Upon opening it, I found a beautiful rosary with black wooden beads and a note in my grandmother’s handwriting that read “This rosary is 65 years old. Aunt Carrie gave it to me for helping Harold with his homework.” I knew what I had to do.

For those of you from my hometown, my childhood friend Chris, is the nephew of the beloved drug store owner Harold Sutter. His mother was Ruth Pleyer from Bynumville, so he has Salisbury roots from both his mother and father’s side. My connection to Chris, is that his dad and Harold were first cousins to my grandma Gertie.

When we were growing up, Chris used to come to Salisbury during the summer for an extended stay with his uncle Harold and to visit other family members. We were the same age, and it was during that time that we would get together for an afternoon or two. Life and time would pass and for a while we lost track of each other.

Coincidentally, after college and marriages and kids and jobs and relocations, Chris and I both ended up in Lee’s Summit, MO in the same church parish with our kids in the same school. It was so fun to reconnect, and our kids adored each other. Unfortunately, Chris and his family were only there for a short time before he was transferred, but this time we kept in touch through Christmas cards and we even visited them once when we were in Miami.

Chris and his wife now live in Charlotte, NC, my husband’s hometown, where we visit a few times a year. This weekend we were able to meet up for lunch and to catch up, and I was able to give Chris something I felt belonged to him; the rosary. You see, my grandmother’s “Aunt Carrie” was Chris’s grandmother and the rosary should be passed on to his children and grandchildren.

I’m not 100% certain when my grandmother wrote the note, but it must be somewhere around 30 years ago, which would make the rosary approximately 95 years old now. I’m so grateful to her for leaving it, so we know the story of where it came from. Honestly, it was hard for me to part with such a special gift. It wasn’t just the rosary itself, I know how much my grandmother adored her Aunt Carrie as I heard so many stories about her when I was growing up. I held it in my hands one last time before I passed it on, and thought about the faith it signifies and the loving hands that held it before me. I have to think that my Great, Great, Aunt Carrie is smiling from above, knowing that the rosary is now in the hands of her grandson.

Family. There’s nothing like it.

This Sunday is what my brother refers to as “Cold Mountain Sunday.” Cold Mountain is a film released in 2003 that is one of my brother’s favorites. If you’ve never seen it, or don’t remember it, here’s the synopsis from the website…

“In this classic story of love and devotion set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a wounded Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman (Jude Law) deserts his unit and travels across the South, aiming to return to his young wife, Ada (Nicole Kidman), who he left behind to tend their farm. As Inman makes his perilous journey home, Ada struggles to keep their home intact with the assistance of Ruby (Renée Zellweger), a mysterious drifter sent to help her by a kindly neighbor.”

Ladies…did you need to read any further than Jude Law?

On this Sunday, every year, my brother and his wife watch Cold Mountain and make some yummy dish to go along with it. Why? Because there’s no football to watch, and this year that’s particularly annoying because we Chiefs fans have to wait another week for the Super Bowl!

Those of you who know my family, know we’ve been in “show business” our entire lives. My brother writes a weekly newsletter for his film clients, so with his permission, I’m sharing this part of his newsletter.

The soup recipe originated from The Plaza III, a famous steak house in Kansas City. Unfortunately it has closed, but we have many great memories of family dinners there, and the soup lives on!

Enjoy!

A year and a half ago, when my husband and I visited the Alsace region of France, I bought a beautiful piece of pottery by a local manufacturer in the little village of Eguisheim. I fell in love with the design, and while there were many different pieces, the only item in this particular design was this large oval pot. It was about the same size as a crockpot and came with a cookbook.

I loved this part of France so much and had to have it as a souvenir. Rather than having it shipped home, we decided to take it with us and carry it on the plane on our return. 😳 Thankfully it made it across the ocean in one piece.

I pretty much intended for it to be a decoration, but I guess my husband thought otherwise because not too long after we got home he asked, “When are you going to make something in that pot?” I replied, “Ummm… I didn’t intend on USING it, I just wanted it for decoration, and besides, that cookbook is written in European measurements I’d have to convert.”

I recently changed my mind when I remembered that I have a cookbook that came with a large bean pot that my sister gave me. It’s a clay pot as well, so I was sure I could use it for my French pot.  I found a brisket recipe that looked delicious, so I decided to give it a whirl. I’ll have to admit that I was somewhat nervous, but also excited to use my pot that we brought all the way home from the little village in France.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t crazy about the outcome. Instead of tasting like a yummy BBQ brisket, it just tasted like bland roast beef and we ate a little less than half of it. I put the rest in a container in the refrigerator and then a few days later in the freezer thinking it would probably sit there too long and eventually end up in the trash.

This morning, I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. I opened the freezer and there was the brisket. It didn’t sound appetizing at all, but we’re trying to finish up the holiday leftovers. I stood there holding the container and I heard my mom say, “Use it to make beef and vegetable soup.” My mom was great about using leftovers to make other things. I pulled out the meat and headed to the grocery store to buy the vegetables.

It’s funny, the more time passes, the more I find myself thinking and doing things like mom did. At the holidays and other occasions, now I’m the one planning get togethers for my family, cooking all the food and doing the things she did.  It feels very strange to be the oldest generation.

I kind of just threw the soup together, but my kitchen smells heavenly. Thanks mom. But guess what, I’m going to have leftovers to put in the freezer, which is what I was trying to get rid of in the first place! Ahhh…

I always laugh when I see something called “The World’s Best…”. I mean really, who decides that? What was the research, criteria, who got to cast votes, etc.

This morning I made two batches of caramel corn. It’s the time of year when we start making it for parties, family get togethers, tailgates, office break rooms, etc. Last weekend, one of my daughters said, “Mom, my office is asking for our caramel corn. If I come home on Saturday, can we make it? The recipe has been a family favorite for over 30 years and has received rave reviews time and time again. More than once I’ve been asked, “Why don’t you sell it.” Once I was told that it was “better than Topsy’s” which is a popcorn company in Kansas City, so it must be the “World’s Best”, right?

I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and my recipe actually came from my best friend from high school. I’m a native of mid-Missouri where my dad and my daughter are both graduates of the University of Missouri. While I was growing up, dad and mom had season tickets to the Mizzou Football games and after I was married, my husband and I also had season tickets with my high school bestie. At the games, my parents had a great parking connection that made for an awesome tailgate set-up that we got to be a part of. It was at one of these tailgates that my best friend showed up with her caramel corn.

A few years later, I learned that the exact same recipe was on the back of the Jolly Time Popcorn bag, which there’s a little family story about this popcorn. My dad and mom owned a motion picture exhibition company. They joined my grandfather in the family business, and like him, my dad had a dry sense of humor. Dad often came home with movie swag that had been sent from a film company and he really racked up when he and mom attended movie conventions. When we would ask him how he got these awesome items, he would always reply, “I entered a contest about “Why I Like Jolly Time Popcorn.” At one of these conventions, he entered a raffle and won a small sailboat, but the story was the same about winning a Jolly Time Popcorn contest. I should probably contact the company with that story and maybe they would send me popcorn for life or something.

I’m happy to share our family caramel corn recipe and perhaps it will become a family favorite for you too. Enjoy.

Caramel Corn

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

1 t. salt

½ t. baking soda

1 t. vanilla

6 quarts popped corn

Pop corn and put in a large roasting pan.  Melt butter in a 2 quart saucepan.  Stir in brown sugar, syrup and salt.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly.  Turn the heat down slightly and boil without stirring for 4 ½ to 5 minutes.  Watch very closely, it will easily burn.  Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.  Gradually pour over popped corn.  Mix well and bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven.  If you keep stirring it for a few minutes, it will break up on it’s own to keep you from having to break it up by hand.  Store in an airtight container.

A few notes: Don’t substitute margarine for the butter. Don’t try to use a cookie sheet, it will burn. I use a disposable foil roasting pan and it works great. Because of the butter, cleanup is a breeze.

 

When I started this blog, I said it wasn’t going to be about anything in particular, and now here I am sharing another recipe. Lol. Let’s just say I think it’s too good not to share.

When my girls were growing up, the room moms at their school put on a luncheon for the teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week. One year, one of the moms provided a recipe for Chicken Enchiladas. It was yummy, the teachers loved it, and it became a family favorite of ours. My mom started making it as well, and I think I made it for mom and dad every time I went home in the past few years before they passed.

One of the things I love about Pinterest, well aside from the fact that you can pretty much find anything, I swear it’s my new google, is that often I find a better way of doing or making things than my old way.

There are a lot of Chicken Enchilada recipes on Pinterest, but recently, I found a recipe called Green Chili Chicken. The ingredients are nearly identical to my Chicken Enchilada recipe, except you don’t use flour tortillas, and since we try not to eat a lot of bread type foods, I was intrigued. Based on other things I’ve tried, and to add another protein,  I decided to add black beans and some crushed red pepper to kick it up. We thought it was “muy bueno.”

Green Chili Chicken

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can drained black beans (use as much as you like)

1  8 oz pkg cream cheese (slightly softened)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1  4 oz can chopped green chilis

Crushed red pepper (to your liking)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. Place chicken breasts flat in an 8×11 baking dish. Pour the black beans over the chicken. In a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese, garlic powder, cumin, and salt and pepper until blended. Add the green chilis and mix well.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chicken and black beans, sprinkle with crushed red pepper,  and top with shredded cheese. Bake on middle rack for 30 minutes or until chicken is done (this will depend on how thick your breasts are.) Watch to make sure your cheese doesn’t brown (you can always cover the dish with foil.)

We scooped the extra sauce on top and  served it with homemade guacamole on top of that.

Enjoy!

Oh, by the way, dinner tonight is the New Orleans Style Shrimp from the Don’t Throw Out the Sauce post from a few months back. The one where you sop up the sauce with French bread 🤦‍♀️

 

 

 

I grew up in a family that quite often had potato salad for family meals. I don’t know if that was because of our German heritage, or it was just a popular side dish at the time. My mom and grandmother made the traditional recipe with mustard and pickle relish, and it was enjoyed by all.

I don’t remember making potato salad much after I was married, but I have always been interested in finding new recipes. At some point while living in Kansas City, I acquired a Junior League cookbook, which contains all kinds of fancy recipes from fancy people. One of those recipes is Sour Cream and Dill Potato Salad, and it has become my go to recipe when I do make it.

This past weekend was the Fourth of July, and there were plenty of family celebrations with my mother-in-law and our girls. My husband and I decided to keep the food very traditional with hot dogs and hamburgers, cherry pie, homemade ice cream, etc.

For one of our meals, I decided to make potato salad, because I consider it to be a “picnic” dish. Apparently, I missed the memo that my family has issues with potato salad. You would have thought I was trying to serve them dog food. When I pulled it out of the refrigerator, my daughter said, “Um, I’m going to have to taste this because I’m picky about my potato salad,” but she did approve. After we sat down and passed the food, I noticed my mother-in-law had taken barely a spoonful, obviously to be polite. She normally raves about my cooking, but not one word about the potato salad. Later, I mentioned to my husband how not much was eaten and he said, “Yeah, I didn’t have any either, you know I don’t like mayonnaise.” And then I remembered that his mother doesn’t either. The sad fact is the recipe has very little mayonnaise in it, you can’t taste it, and they both eat a lot more than they realize in other dishes I make. Whatever, I still love my fancy potato salad, and I will make it again! Here’s the recipe if you like to switch things up.

Sour Cream and Dill Potato Salad

3 lbs. unpeeled new potatoes

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 T. chopped fresh dill or 1 t. dried dill

2 t. chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender.  Cut into bite size pieces, leaving skins on.  Combine remaining ingredients and mix with potatoes while they are still hot.  Refrigerate overnight.

This Saturday, May 1, is the 147th running of The Kentucky Derby, or I like the nickname “The Run for The Roses” which is also a great Dan Fogleberg song. While I am not necessarily a Derby enthusiast, I do try to watch the actual race every year. The one thing I do know, is that the Mint Julep has been the official drink of the Kentucky Derby for nearly 100 years. While other types of alcohol have been used, the Southern cocktail is most often made with bourbon, obviously due to the race being held in Kentucky. If you’re doing it right, mint juleps are served in a silver cup that forms a thin layer of frost on the outside to keep the drink chilled.
I’ve lived in Atlanta, GA for 14 years now, and I don’t know if that classifies me as a Southerner or not, but I knew about mint juleps long before moving to the South.
When I was growing up, my mom had a rock garden on one side of our driveway that was shared with our neighbor since it fell on the property line. Mom and our neighbor collected rocks from vacations and other places, planted different types of plants, and solved all kinds of world problems while playing out there. One of the many interesting things planted in the garden was the herb, mint. It was easily identifiable by its pungent odor and it was impossible to walk past it without catching a whiff. I don’t remember mom using that mint for anything except, you guessed it, making mint juleps. Her and my dad’s recipe originated from their friends, “the Boonville gang” as they refered to them, when they attended the University of Missouri. That Boonville gang swore that this was the best mint julep recipe known to man, and the best part about the Missouri recipe is, you make them in, and drink them out of paint cans.
Now don’t get me wrong, we obviously didn’t grow up drinking mint juleps. It wasn’t until we were of age when the fun began. In fact, probably the best mint julep story took place when my younger brother Brad brought his then girlfriend, and now wife, Meredith, home from college for the first time. It was summertime, and yes, we broke out the paint cans and made Missouri Mint Juleps. What a first impression she must have had of our family who drank out of paint cans.

I’m not sure what the Kentucky Derby folks would think about drinking out of paint cans, but if you’re looking for a little Missouri twist on the Derby this weekend, here is my mom and dad’s Missouri Mint Julep recipe. Enjoy!

Missouri Mint Juleps
In a 1 gallon “paint can” with a bail:
Fill the pail with alternating layers of crushed ice and fresh mint leaves. Add ½ cup sugar. Pour the juice of 8 oranges and six lemons over the ice. Add 1 pint of bourbon to fill to the brim. Put the lid on tight and shake until ice forms on the outside. Grab some straws and pass the can!

I was once a school librarian. It was one of the odd jobs that found me while my girls were in grade school. I’ve mentioned before that my first born was/is an avid reader and the Catholic school the girls attended didn’t have a library. Together, with a few teachers and volunteers, we changed that, and all of the sudden, I had the title of School Librarian.

I fell in love with children’s books on the day our first daughter was born, and the library job gave me an opportunity to be exposed to many more titles and to learn so much about children’s literature. When I began thinking about writing this week’s blog, I couldn’t help but borrow the title of Judi Barrett’s beloved children’s book.

I LOVE Italian food. Like many people these days, we have cut way back on our consumption of bread, pasta, and rice. In fact, our dinners basically consist of a protein and a salad or vegetable or two. For most of my life, I thought it was pasta that I loved, but what I have learned is, a good sauce is where the flavor is, so my Italian craving can be satisfied with a rich tomato sauce. Now I’m not crazy, I still splurge when we go out, especially on bread.

There is a Fresh Market grocery store really close to us and I love to shop there. The displays are glorious, there is an amazing meat and seafood counter, bakery, and lots of delicious fresh made food. Also, they play classical music, which kinda makes me want to sip on a nice glass of wine while I stroll through the aisles.

A while back, I was drooling over the artisan meat and cheese counter and discovered a package of meatballs. They were made from veal, beef, and pork and were sitting in a pool of tomato sauce and the best part was, they were made from all natural ingredients. Heat them up, pair them with a Caesar salad and dinner is served.

After trying them, I thought the meatballs were pretty darn good and you can’t beat the convenience, especially if you’re short on time. I ended up buying them a second time to serve as an appetizer when our family was coming over.

This week, the weather has been cloudy with a chance of rain everyday but one. Yesterday morning as my husband was leaving, I asked if he had any dinner requests to which he replied, “Let’s grill something.” “Well, I said, there’s a pretty good chance of rain. To be safe, I think I’ll pickup some meatballs from the Fresh Market.” “You know, he answered, I’m not that crazy about those, the sauce is too thin and they taste just okay.” Ouch. At least I had bought them and hadn’t made them. So with my mouth still craving Italian, I decided I would look for a meatball recipe and make them from scratch. I decided on one that the ingredients alone made my mouth water.

While I hate to admit that he was right, the meatballs I made were in fact much better than the ones from the Fresh Market. Best of all, they were quick and easy and I’m happy to share the recipe.

One last note, I’m picky about my sauce, but Buitoni Marinara works for me. Again, it’s fresh and all natural and can be found in the dairy case of most grocery stores. Maybe next time, I’ll try making a sauce from scratch as well.

Buon appetito!

Italian Meatballs 

1/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs 

1/4 cup milk

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

1 pound ground beef chuck

1 pound ground mild Italian sausage

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley or basil (or a mixture of both)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and the milk over the top. Mix well. Add the egg yolks, Romano cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic and mix with the breadcrumb mixture. Add beef, sausage, and parsley and mix well with your hands. When fully blended, roll into balls the size of your choice. (I used around 1/3 cup because I wanted them large). Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until done throughout. Size will determine how long this is, mine took approximately 15-20 minutes and made 14 large meatballs.

Serve with a warm marinara sauce. 

My mom and I had a very similar decorating style. What I mean by that is we liked the same style. Mom had an incredible talent for making her home look like Traditional Home magazine was  coming to photograph for an upcoming issue. I, on the other hand, am pretty good at duplicating a picture that I’ve ripped out of a magazine. However it was accomplished, we both loved traditional, French Country style, with some Victorian antiques added for accents. Mom did lean more formal, where my style is a little more rustic. Our similarities were what made leaving things behind so difficult when we divided up her and dad’s estate.  My sister and I continue to remind each other that “we each filled a 21ft truck and we did the best we could.”

Everything I brought from mom and dad’s has worked perfectly in my home. While difficult to have constant reminders that they are no longer with us, it gives me great comfort to have part of them here with me. One of the things I brought from their home was a pair of wine pictures. They are completely decorative, but I love them and knew I had a place for them.

The pictures had light gold frames which looked great on mom’s dark walls. I, on the other hand, have light walls, so I knew I was going to either have to reframe the pictures (definitely not worth what it would cost) or attempt to paint them.

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve seen me post pictures of things I’ve made and normally it will come with a disclaimer that “I’m not crafty…but I made this.” Again, my mom was so talented at making anything she touched look like a work of art. Maybe that’s where my lack of confidence comes from? But how hard can it be to paint a couple of frames?

So off to Hobby Lobby I went to find  paint. I knew I wanted a dark brown, and I wanted some of the gold to show through because that’s what most of the frames in my house look like. I found a metallic paint called “rich espresso.” It looked perfect. I brought it home, jumped in…annnnnd it wasn’t espresso AT ALL. It was a rich gold. Ugh. So this morning I headed back.  It’s a good thing craft paint is cheap, as in 82 cents, but that means I drove to Hobby Lobby for an 82 cent bottle of craft paint. Insert eye roll. Thankfully there was a woman working in the area that helped me choose another type and color.

I returned home to make another attempt at my project. I need to insert here that things like this bring out my worst personality traits. One, I’m a perfectionist, so if it doesn’t look exactly how I want it to, I’m not going to be happy with it. And two, I’m impatient. So I began again, and immediately wasn’t optimistic as it didn’t seem like it was going to cover. I took a deep breath and thought, well maybe if I let it dry and add another coat, it will get there…and it worked! After I gave it a second coat it was exactly what I wanted…a flat finish that looked like natural wood with gold accents showing through. Again, patience is not my best quality and there were areas that I kept trying to touch up before they were dry, so I kept messing them up over and over. Lord, give me patience. Right now!

All in all, I’m really happy with the results. The pictures are hanging in the exact same place in my kitchen that they were in my mom and dad’s. I think they would love their new look in their new home.