Since we haven't been eating out as much, I've noticed our grocery bill on the rise.  The trade off is well worth it, as we're definitely saving money by not eating out (not to mention the health trade off!).

In my effort to cook with whole, healthy foods I came up with this recipe.  We love asparagus in our household and I had a jar of roasted red peppers sitting around.  I thought I would have leftovers; I was wrong.  I can't wait to make this when we get the asparagus and the mushrooms from our local farmer's market!

The other day I had a great opportunity presented to me.  My first thought was sheer delight, followed quickly by fear:  how on earth was I going to fit one more thing into my day?

I often ask my husband, "what sounds good for dinner?"  He hates it, because usually I'm asking him around 7am and he hasn't even had breakfast yet.  Most times I give him choices, like 'chicken, beef, or tilapia' or 'mexican, italian, or greek'.  Then I take it from there.   The other day I asked him and he quickly replied "Cajun."  Not something I hear very often!  I had a roast thawed out that I needed to use so I threw it in the crockpot with some spices and then threw together some Maque Choux right before dinner time.  Tasty! [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:205]

Let's admit it:  we all know that life is easier when we do our weekly meal planning.  It cuts down on trips to the grocery store, reduces stress, eliminates that "what should I make for dinner?" feeling at 5pm, and saves money.  Let's also admit this:  many of us don't find it all that much fun.

Although I've never had anyone ask, I bet some of my readers wonder why I don't have actual pictures of my recipes on my site.  If you've ever tried to photograph food, you know why!  Food and jewelry are two of the hardest things to photograph (or so I'm told).

This cream based soup has Indian flavors and curry - yum!  I made a big batch and thought we'd have leftovers.  I was so wrong - my husband had four bowls!

With the SuperBowl right around the corner, I wonder if there will be people at our house for the big game.  See, we love our kitchen, I love cooking and entertaining, and we love our friends so it is not unusual for a surprise impromptu party to occur on a frequent basis.

I absolutely love the flavor of Torpedoes, but I have to admit it's pretty tedious putting them together.  If you want all the flavor with WAY less hassle, try this dip!

In our household, birthday cakes aren't chocolate, vanilla, or marble.  They're carrot cakes.  This is a tradition that I started as a kid when I fell in love with my stepmother's carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  Every year thereafter (even into my 20's!) she would make me a carrot cake for my birthday.  When I finally asked her for the recipe, I was a little surprised that it wasn't some vintage Grandmother recipe hidden in a recipe box somewhere.  Nope, it was straight out of Better Homes and Gardens.  I've been using it ever since.