Author Archives: cathyboettner

I love Trader Joe’s fresh flower section. They always have interesting flowers, and they are nearly always really fresh. I wanted to do a big green and white arrangement, without spending much. My goal was under $25. The before tax price was below that, and with tax, it was $26.18. These are the flowers IContinue reading “Impressive and Inexpensive Green and White Arrangement”

My husband and I have been making a concerted effort to eat more vegetables. We are also trying to eat fewer “white” carbs, so last night I made roasted cauliflower puree, roasted carrots with balsamic glaze and fresh thyme, and grilled sirloin steak. (This plate was for the photo. My husband and I shared thisContinue reading “A Healthier Steak Dinner”

We have not made much progress on the basement with my surgery and then the holidays, but picked it up again this weekend. The weather this weekend was really cold and windy, and then also rainy/misty on Sunday, so a perfect weekend to stay inside. We have one long block wall in the basement thatContinue reading “The Ancient Basement–More Closets”

I found my first of these containers a MILLION years ago at Big Lots and have been using them for my flours, etc. ever since. They come in various sizes, and I have 4 different sizes–2 quart for meal prep; 4 quart for large batches of salads (especially potato salad and broccoli salad); 6 quartContinue reading “My Favorite Containers”

This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes, especially for Thanksgiving, or anytime we have ham or pork chops. It’s pretty easy to make–and the secret is to roast the sweet potatoes and the apples separately so that the apples don’t steam the potatoes. Unfortunately for you, I didn’t write down exact quantities this morningContinue reading “Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples”

I can admit that I have a PROBLEM when it comes to spices. We have been eating a lot more vegetarian dishes lately, and they have called for out of the ordinary spices/herbs. Many years ago, my husband bought me a bunch of spice jars and I way outgrew them over the years, so everythingContinue reading “Taming the Spice Cabinet”

My husband loves chicken cordon bleu, but I HATE frying foods. And, he got a spiral sliced ham from his work for the holidays. The ham is on the sweet side, so I used Fontina cheese, instead of the typical swiss or gruyere. I lightened up the recipe, and baked it instead. Ingredients: 5 largeContinue reading “Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu”

I had surgery at the end of November and knew that I wouldn’t be up for taking down a lot of Christmas decorations so I am using our little tabletop tree again this year. There are a few whimsical items in the living room and I bought a whimsical tree skirt from Crate and BarrelContinue reading “Our Actual Christmas Tree”

There is a recipe in the Junior League’s Centennial Cookbook for Forbidden City Chicken and it is DELICIOUS, but you need to leave your house when you put it in the oven because it smells so good that you will be salivating until it is ready to eat. This recipe is a riff on thatContinue reading “Forbidden City Chicken with Coconut Pineapple Yellow Rice”

It’s around the doldrums of winter that I get the gardening bug BAD and gardening catalogs know it. Here are a couple of my favorites that you may not have heard of. Van Engelen Bulbs vanengelen.com has really high quality bulbs and a huge variety of species and varieties. From the daffodils and tulips, toContinue reading “Great Plants, Great Selection, Great Prices”