Minimalist Christmas

I did a Halloween table with the same dishes and glassware. This is a minimalist holiday table. The centerpiece is simple with a row of artificial fir trees in white pots and black lanterns. The place settings are “Anniversarie” dinner plates by Santa Anita, and “Millbrook” coupe soup bowls and bread plates by Independence. TheContinue reading “Minimalist Christmas”

Spooky Halloween Table

I found a bunch of pieces of Independence “Millbrook” dishes at a couple of stores and somehow, the pattern reminds me of Tim Burton’s work, so of course I had to do a Halloween table with them. I started with a white tablecloth and a pretty fall shawl with lots of Halloween colors in it.Continue reading “Spooky Halloween Table”

Sweet Potatoes Two Ways

We dug our sweet potatoes last night and at first I thought it was going to be a puny harvest, but the last few plants we dug up had some crazy big sweet potatoes. The skin on these was really scarred and I wasn’t sure if they were going to have something wrong with them,Continue reading “Sweet Potatoes Two Ways”

Bacon Onion Beef Burgers

I started making these a few years ago and my husband LOVES them. Because they are a little bit of a pain, I usually make a ton of them. I am giving you my proportions, but you can easily divide and add more of some things and less of others to suit your tastes. 6Continue reading “Bacon Onion Beef Burgers”

Pear Cake with Caramel Glaze

This recipe is from the Southern Living 2002 Annual Recipes Cookbook. You can find it here: https://www.food.com/recipe/caramel-glazed-pear-cake-187648 There are a few tips that I want to share: 2. This is a sweet cake, so be sure to grease the pan well. 3. Also, because it’s sweet, it browns really quickly. I ended up putting aContinue reading “Pear Cake with Caramel Glaze”

Great Grilling Recipe–Chicken (or Pork) Souvlaki

When we go to our favorite Greek/Italian recipe in town, you can pretty much count on my ordering a chicken souvlaki wrap with extra sauce and extra tomato. Now that we live even further out than before, I have come up with my own recipe. First gather your ingredients: fresh lemon, olive oil, cumin, garlicContinue reading “Great Grilling Recipe–Chicken (or Pork) Souvlaki”

Hot Dog Chili (or for Chili Mac or Nachos)

My husband LOVES Chili Mac–especially if we are working hard out in the yard on one of his HORRIBLE projects. When I make it, I make a huge batch and put most of it in the freezer. Here’s the recipe: Cathy’s Hot Dog Chili 5 lbs lean hamburger (you can substitute some ground turkey ifContinue reading “Hot Dog Chili (or for Chili Mac or Nachos)”

Beef Stew and Bread by the Fire

We are having people over so I am preparing a make-ahead dinner that is easy to eat outside. This is a hearty beef stew with bacon, tomatoes, mixed vegetables, baby potatoes, and onions. I am making my recipe for Cheesy Grits bread that was published in Southern Living Magazine in 2005. You can find thatContinue reading “Beef Stew and Bread by the Fire”

Apple Salad

Oh, we love this one. I was introduced to it when we did a series of “healthy meals” for events at work to try to get our employees to see that food can both taste good and be good for you. I’m not sure that worked with our employees, but I have been making thisContinue reading “Apple Salad”

Mike’s Favorite Meatloaf Dinner

My husband LOVES meatloaf. And when we have meatloaf, he always wants to have homemade garlic mashed potatoes, and peas (because we both like to mix our peas with our mashed potatoes.) So here we go. Aunt Josefa’s Mashed Potatoes–My dad’s youngest sister who lived in Chicago 4 lbs baking potatoes peeled and quartered 1/2Continue reading “Mike’s Favorite Meatloaf Dinner”