Burritos and Spinach and Salsa, oh my!

This was lunch today. And it was good! And easy to make. I'm glad there are leftovers!

A Hit!

On Friday night the O'Neils had a going away party at their apartment. I made a nacho dip which was a big hit...at least with my husband! :o) I liked it because it was a crockpot recipe - low maintenance.

Quick and Easy Nacho Dip

1 lb ground beef, browned
dash of salt, pepper and onion powder (if you have it)
2 cloves of garlic, optional (but really...who doesn't love garlic?!)
2 16 oz. jars of salsa (throw in homemade salsa if you want to)
15 oz. can of refried beans
1 1/2 c sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
tortilla chips

Add salt, pepper and onion powder to ground beef. Combine beef, salsa, bean, sour cream, and 2 cups of the cheese in the slower cooker. Cover and heat on low for 2 hours*. Just before serving sprinkle with the last cup of cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.

*My shredded cheese was still frozen, so two hours wasn't quite long enough to really melt it into the mixture...be sure to thaw your cheese first if you want it melted.

Tip for Avocado Lovers

I learned a great tip the other day; I tried it this afternoon and have decided to share the success.

Is anyone else annoyed when avocados quickly turn an unsightly brown color!? Fret no more. If you have half of an avocado left over (rare, but possible. :)) keep the seed in and put in plastic, removing all the air around the avocado, then refrigerate. I couldn't believe it when it worked! Supposedly, if you have leftover guacamole (again, rare, but possible) or if you've made it for a party and you don't want it to turn brown before serving, you can do the same thing-- put the seed in the bowl, cover, and refrigerate. I haven't tried that, so I won't vouch for it. But that's my tip.

My dinner tonight was a salad of fresh lettuce, avocado, grape tomatoes, feta cheese, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mm, mm!

Simple Salad

We had pizza last night at my parents house for Dan's birthday. I decided to make a salad to balance out the meal.

Ingredients:
1 head of romaine lettuce
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small red onion, peeled and chopped
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 of a green pepper, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes
2 hard boiled eggs
1 cup low-fat bacon-bits
1 cup feta cheese

Directions:
Toss everything in a bowl and serve with your choice of dressing.

Busy Kitchen

We were busy in the kitchen this weekend...well Friday anyway. Laura came over to make Dan's apple pie. That was pretty much a big success and enjoyed by all of our game board playing guests. Which made a lot of dishes...but aren't friends worth it?!

I also tried out a new slow cooker recipe, which was pretty much a failure for me. But I don't blame the recipe Beanery Crockery, rather I blame myself. I am forever forgetting to cook these slow cooker recipes for less time than called for until I know what works with my slow cooker. And then in a furry of frustration and wasted food, I usually proclaim the recipe a failure! This Friday, however, I was extra bad. I left the slow cooker on warm overnight, after the dish had cooked all day. Gross! That called for a long-term soaking to get it clean!!

Tonight, plain and simple, spaghetti with Prego sauce and ground beef!

Soup Night

Supposedly, this is a "stoup," meaning it's thicker than a soup. Maybe I did something wrong, but mine wasn't that thick. But it was yummy! I used broth because I didn't have any stock, and it worked just as well, albeit maybe a little less flavorful than stock. I also left out the celery, the green beans, and the red pepper flakes. You know, just throw in what you have.

Rachael Ray's Tomato Bean 15 Minute Stoup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 small zucchini, sliced
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomato
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can small white beans or cannellini beans
1 (10 ounces) box, cut frozen green beans
Salt and pepper
1 cup fresh basil, torn or shredded
Grated Parmigiano or Romano, to pass at table
Crusty bread, to pass at the table

Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pot, 2 turns of the pan.
Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, stir then stir in the onions, carrots, celery and zucchini.
Cook 10 minutes, then add in the stock, tomatoes and beans. Bring soup up to a bubble and season with salt and pepper, to your taste.
Simmer 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and wilt the basil into the soup. Ladle up the soup and serve with grated cheese and bread.

Something was missing taste-wise... and it was the cheese! Whoops! Those Italians know what they're talking about... grated cheese on soup is fantastic!

Top Secrets Recipes

Well, this recipe I am posting especially for Sarah, who shares my love for the Burger King Hershey Sundae Pie. I got this recipe from the cookbook that my dad sent to Laura and me via email…and who knows where he got it. But it has the recipes for all sorts of favorites from the grocery store and restaurants: Bob Evan’s, Snickers candy bar, Bisquick mix, etc. It’s a pretty cool cookbook. If we could figure out how to post it, we would. But it’s in PDF and I’m not that smart. Anyway, enjoy this recipe, and I’m sure I’ll be posting more of them!!

Burger King's Hershey Sundae Pie
Chocolate crust (store bought or hershey crumb recipe)
layer 1:
8 Ounce cream cheese
3/4 c. powder suger
8 Ounces cool−whip
1 Teaspoon vanilla
Whip cheese till softened, add powdered sugar blend well, add remaining
ingredients, blending well, place in crust.

layer 2:
1 lg. box chocolate pudding milk
Milk
cool−whip
chocolate curls
Make pudding as directed minus 1/2 c. milk.
Add to pie. Top with more coolwhip and chocolate curls.

Source: "Insider's Recipes Master Edition"

I'm looking for...

...a good chili recipe.

I usually make my chili with just beans, beef, and a package of seasoning. Since chili is by far my favorite recipe to make in the fall and winter I would like to try some new recipes because this one isn't cutting it. Maybe one with potatoes and slow cooked? Please share because I'm willing to try many recipes or end up taking something from all of them and make a new recipe. If I do make a new recipe from the ones given, I'll be sure to post it. I'm not looking for an extremely spicy recipe but a heart-warming recipe to sit down and eat on a cool Autumn day.

The Assumption

This morning I made sausage gravy and biscuits to celebrate the Assumption. I am well aware that this breakfast has nothing to do with Mary's assumption to heaven, but it was a nice warm breakfast. It took awhile to make and we really enjoyed eating it, so that equals a celebration!
This is how I made it:

Sausage Gravy & Biscuits
Brown 1 lb of ground sausage. Empty sausage from skillet, set aside. Melt a 1/4 cup butter in the same skillet. Add 1/3 cup flour and stir constantly, about 1 minute, until mixture is smooth. Then gradually add 3 1/4 cups milk to the skillet. Continue stirring constantly, until gravy thickens and bubbles (this part takes awhile...plan on standing next to the stove and stirring for 7-10 minutes). Then add 1/4 t Italian seasoning and some salt & pepper to taste. Add the sausage to the gravy, and stir until heated through [you may attempt to recruit husband to stir for you while you get the baby, but be warned: husband will get bored and want to hold the baby instead of stir the gravy]. Serve over warm biscuits.

You can use any sort or kind of biscuits you want. These are what I used.
Mix 2 1/4 cups Bisquick with 2/3 cup milk. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Should make about 9 smallish biscuits. Cook at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

And perhaps someday I will remember to take a picture of my successes in the kitchen...I'm really good at taking pictures of the baby! :o)

Another dessert!

Remember when I said I didn't mind heavy chocolately desserts? Well, here you go!!
I put the title in quotes because that's what the cake is actually called... I don't want to be sued if you don't think it's the "best ever."

"Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake"
1 pkg (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 pkg (4-serving size) Jello Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
4 eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of water
1 pkg (8 squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, divided
1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed
2 Tbsp Almonds, chopped and toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 9-inch round cake pans.
Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, scraping side of bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 2 min or until well blended. Stir in 2 squares of chocolate, chopped. Spoon into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min on wire rack. Loosen cakes from side of pans with spatula or knife. Invert cakes onto racks; gently remove pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Place remaining 6 squares of chocolate and Cool Whip in medium microwavable bowl. Microwave on High 1 1/2 to 2 min. Stir until well blended and shiny. Cool 5 minutes. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread 1/4 of the chocolate mixture over cake. Place second cake layer on top; spread remaining chocolate mixture over top and sides of cake. Garnish with almonds.

Recipe from Kraft Food and Family

This is a great cake. however... it is a mess to make. The cake batter is really thick, making it really hard to get off the beaters. (Hence, it was soon all over my kitchen) The icing eventually becomes this nice ganache, stiff covering, but while you're putting it on, it's a drippy mess. Mine looked like the picture below... if you add lots of chocolate all over the plate! It was really yummy, and that's all that matters, right?
Make the cake... just be prepared to have chocolate all over your kitchen in the process! Or maybe that's just me... Let's just say it would have made a pretty entertaining cooking show.

PS I didn't use almonds... but they're sure pretty in the picture!

It's too hot for soup

I made dinner last night and finished just in time for the baby to wake up. Pretty easy to make, but it took longer than I thought it would (because I didn’t bring it to a boil after adding the broccoli).

Cream of Broccoli Cheddar Soup
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 10oz bag frozen, chopped broccoli
2 c chicken broth
1 ½ c mashed potatoes (leftovers)
2 c milk
1 ½ c shredded cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

In soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and cook onion till its translucent. The add broccoli and chicken broth. [Increase heat, to bring to a boil and] Cook till broccoli is tender about 3 minutes. Add mashed potatoes, mixing till well incorporated. Heat for five minutes. Then add milk and heat a little longer. Add the cheddar and stir until melted. S & P to taste.

Serves 6
Source: Saving Dinner

While we were eating, I said to Peter, “Don’t you think it needs more cheese?” He responded, “Yes, but we always think everything needs more cheese.” So true.

And for dinner tonight? It will probably be movie popcorn for me (Laura, Mom, and I are watching Becoming Jane) and something frozen for Peter…because I forgot to pull the ground beef from the freezer for spaghetti. Oops!

Light and Refreshing Dessert

I made this dessert last night when my family visited my apartment. It was a light, refreshing end of the day (not that I mind heavy chocolately desserts!) and a cinch to make. Someday I'll create my own recipes like this, rather than just stealing them from magazines.

Frosty Orange Dream Squares

40 Nila Wafers, finely crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
2 cups cold milk
2 pkg (4 serving size) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 tub (8 oz) of Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed and divided
2 cups of orange sherbet, softened

Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan.
Mix wafer crumbs and butter. Press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan; set aside until ready to use.
Add milk to dry pudding mixes in medium bowl. Beat with wire whisk for 2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in half of the Cool Whip. Spoon evenly over crust. Refrigerate for 10 min.
Add remaining Cool Whip to sherbet; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Spoon evenly over pudding layer; cover.
Freeze at least 3 hours or overnight. Use foil handles to remove dessert from pan before cutting into squares to serve. Store leftover dessert in freezer.

Makes 24 servings.
From Kraft Food and Family.

This can easily be made low-fat by using Fat Free Pudding and Lite Cool Whip. (I used Lite Cool Whip, but regular pudding.)

Guests for Dinner

We had Laura and Dan over for dinner last night. I should say we had them over for a main course, as I didn’t really provide any side dishes or salads – no time or ingredients! But I did make this recipe:

Penne with Bacon, Peas, and Ricotta
½ pound penne
4 slices bacon
½ cup frozen peas
15 ounce carton of ricotta cheese
generous grinds of black pepper
salt to taste

Cook pasta according to package. Cut bacon into one-inch pieces. Put in cold skillet. Turn the heat to medium and fry the bacon. Pour off most of the bacon fat, reserving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Return the bacon to medium heat and immediately add the peas. Stir and cook until the peas are shiny green, about 1 ½ minutes. Put the hot pasta in a serving bowl. Mix in the cheese, then the bacon and peas. Add black pepper and salt to taste.
Serves 4
Source: Now You’re Cooking by Elaine Corn

Now this is what I will do differently next time: Use about double the bacon and at least ¾ cup of peas. Use only ½ or ¾ of the ricotta cheese, and add some milk to see if that will make it creamier. And then salt, salt, salt! It’s not a bad meal…and very easy to make…it just needs some adjustments. But I provided the original recipe because I once heard somewhere that you should always make something according to the recipe the first time and then play around with it!

P.S. Welcome, Joannie!!! Glad to have you in the kitchen! I hope we hear from some other contributors soon... :o)

For the Festival

A crockpot recipe and a long time favorite from my childhood to help celebrate the Crock Pot Festival at Bless Us O Lord, hosted by Barbara! This makes a good Friday meatless meal, too. It’s very simple to put together, and like all good crockpot recipes, ready to eat when you are!

Potato Soup
about 6 potatoes, peeled and chopped up
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
½ stick of butter
4 bullion cubes (chicken or vegetable)
water
1 can evaporated milk

Place the potatoes, celery, and carrot in the crockpot. Just cover them with water. Then add the bullion cubes and place the butter on top. Cover and cook on low all day, until potatoes are tender. Add the evaporated milk, mix together. Puree in a food processor and garnish with shredded cheese of your choice.
Optional: add ½ a sweet onion with the other veggies

Heads Up

Barbara is hosting a Crock Pot Festival tomorrow at Bless Us O Lord. Today is the last call for recipes so be sure to email her or leave her a comment with your favorite crock pot recipe. I'm excited to see what kind of recipes turn up! Maybe we'll even get a recipe or two from our quieter contributors?? :o)

Appetizing Appetizer

These are a regular appetizer in my family. When we have a gathering, you can be sure either Mom, Laura, or I will probably be bringing a tray or two full of these delicious bites. The only disadvantage to these appetizers is that they’re best when fresh out of the oven or at least warm, and it’s not always easy to keep an appetizer warm. They are worth the effort though.

Polish Mistakes
1 lb ground Italian sausage, cooked
½ lb (8oz) Velveeta cheese
¼ t oregano
¼ t garlic salt
½ t Worcestershiresauce
1 loaf of party-size rye bread.

After the sausage is cooked, add the cheese. Mix until the cheese is melted through. (You can put the sausage and cheese in a microwave bowl and melt it in the microwave if need be.) Mix in the oregano, garlic salt, and sauce. Slather about a tablespoon or two of the mixture on each slice of bread. Place the topped bread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-16 minutes and serve.

Success

Yesterday I got up early after feeding the baby, so I could get dinner in the crockpot. I made Chicken Jambalaya from Saving Dinner. I was disappointed because due to miscommunication I didn’t have the smoked sausage it called for, so this would be sausage-less jambalaya. I got everything into the crockpot and stuck in the fridge with directions for Peter to turn it on around 11. Anyway, even without the sausage the recipe was a success and dinner was delicious and ready-made!

So far Saving Dinner looks like it would be quite a good investment. I’ve only borrowed it from the library; I’ve not yet purchased it, but I might! I hope the rest of the crockpot recipes I’ve gotten from this book are just as good!

Corn Fritters

Do you have extra corn this season you don't know what to do with? I made these last night and everyone at girls' night seemed to enjoy them. I also doubled the recipe and it worked out just fine.

Ingredients:
3 ears corn, husks and silk removed
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup cornmeal
¼ cup flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sour cream (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Remove kernels: Cut off tip of each cob; stand in a wide shallow bowl. With a sharp knife, slice downward to remove kernels. To bowl, add milk, egg, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper; mix. Fold in cornmeal and flour.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towel. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Drop batter into pan by heaping tablespoons. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt; place in oven. Repeat. Keep warm in oven up to 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

Just a Tip

Most people probably won't find themselves in a situation where they're out of milk but just happen to have some spare buttermilk leftover. If, however, you do find yourself in such a place, feel free to throw the buttermilk in the mashed potatoes. It gives just a slightly but pleasantly different taste and keeps the potatoes just as creamy as regular milk does!

Arrival

In honor of the arrival of my two cookbooks, I will share this recipe with you all. I've used it many times, and it's quite delicious!! Both my mother and mother in law were both very nervous about the waiting time called for, but it works just perfectly!!

Perfectly Roasted Chicken

1 chicken (about 3 1/2 lbs)

2 T salt [or more]

1 1/2 T olive oil

2 t sugar

Sprinkle the chicken all over with the salt, including the cavity. Place a wire rack over a plate and put it in the fridge for at least four hours and/or up to four days! Adjust over rack to middle position and heat to 450. Tie the legs together and tuck the wings under the chicken. Brush the top and sides with oil and sprinkle with 1 t sugar and some pepper. Place chicken breast side down on a v-rack in a roasting pan, brush with remaining oil and sprinkle with 1 t sugar and some pepper. Roast breast side down until deep golden brown about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and holding a wad of paper towels in each hand, turn chicken breast side up. Sprinkle with some more sugar (about 1/2 t) and add 1 cup water to pan - add the water sooner if the pan starts smoking. Roast chicken about 20 minutes longer, until the thickest leg/thigh measures 175 degrees. Let it rest on the cutting board for 15-30 minutes.

from Pam Anderson's Perfect Recipes for Having People Over

This was the first recipe I ever tried of hers...which made me fall in love with this book. I've been known to give it as a wedding gift!

All-Purpose Spice Rub

This is from a little magazine my Aunt gave me called Everyday Food.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup coarse salt
¼ cup packed light-brown sugar
¼ cup paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, optional

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients, using your hands to break up the sugar. Store in an airtight container, away from heat and light, up to 6 months.

For each pound of meat, poultry, or seafood: First, coat with 2 to 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, then 1 to 2 tablespoons spice rub. Either grill immediately or let meat sit and develop more flavor.

Makes 1 ¼ cups (enough to season 5 to 10 pounds of meat, poultry, or seafood).

Saturday Night Snickerdoodles

They're Saturday night Snickerdoodles only because that's when I made them.

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugars, plus 3 tablespoons
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon


Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl (set aside).

With a handheld or standing mixer, beat together the shortening and butter. Add the 1 ½ cups sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar with the 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the dough, by hand, into 1 ½ -inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar. Flatten the balls into ½ -inch balls (make sure not to flatten too thin), spacing them evenly on an ungreased cookie sheets. Bake until light brown, but still moist in the center, about 8 minutes.

Recipe from food network.

P.S. completely not related to snickerdoodles. Dan and I were watching food network and saw our very own Triple-XXX restaurant on one of the shows....pretty cool.

Guest Recipe

This recipe comes courtesy of a good friend, Nick Hasser, who found this cooking blog, and being a gentleman he offered to share it with us! He writes:

I just discovered this last week. We love it. A simple, refreshing, perfect-for-summer desert.

5 large lemons
1.5 cups sugar
a bunch of ice

Juice the lemons (should yield 1-1.5 cups juice)
Add to the sugar in a blender
Add the ice
Blend well
Put the entire blender glass in the freezer
After about 30 minutes, removed and blend well, again
Repeat freezing and blending until it's nice and smooth (usually about an hour in the freezer and three blends works for us)
It makes about one quart.

Thanks for sharing, Nick!! Sounds delicious!!

New Picture

Laura and I had fun posing for our new photo for the blog. Here are some of the rejects!



Now you can tell for sure which one of us is more animated and more fun!

Dad's Specialty

I planned our meals for the next week as I'll be returning to work and need to be prepared if we're going to eat well. I look forward to letting you know about the success and failure of the new recipes that I try. Monday's meal, however, is a tried and true classic in my parents' home, and it's easy which makes it perfect for my first day back to work. There's really not much of a recipe. But I'll post it anyway:

Dad's Specialty
1 package skinless smoked saugsage, sliced
1 bottle of your favorite Bar-B-Q sauce

Place sausage in crockpot. Pour BBQ sause over sausage. Fill BBQ bottle 3/4 full with water, shake and pour into crockpot. Cook covered on low setting for 6-8 hours, or until sausage is tender.

We always serve this with mashed potatoes and some sort of green vegetable. Quick, easy, and yummy! I love crockpot recipes!

Crackin The Egg

This is an effort to keep in touch with my sister and friends as life gets busy and pulls us different directions. I'm engaged and will be a blessed wife next May. Daniel brags about my cooking but I am far from a skilled woman amongst pots, pans, and an oven. Hopefully my skills will be perfected with help and tips from everyone who stops by The Cookin’ Sisters.

This is so exciting...

ladies, (and maybe gents?) I am thrilled to be a part of this. i'm not engaged or married ...(oh how I have wedding fever though, seeing so many people I know get married and engaged) I'd like to contribute because I am also entering into the world of attempted cookery. My contributions may be the failure stories moreso than th esuceess stories...


last summer when I was looking for my job my mom and I used to cook together often, she is a great cook and has a lot ot teach me, although I am pretty terrible. My worst habit..I don't read the recipe through all the way. I usually read all the ingredients tomake sure I have them, but it comes out all wrong. I made this lemon pound cake, and I didn't reaad the recipe through first time around like mom says to. If I had, I would hvae known to mix in the oil BEFORE putting the batter into the greased pan. I was THIS close to putting it in the oven thinking, man, this batter is really thick...and then I looked on the counter and noticed the bottle of oil sitting there and I thought...why did I take that out, I didn't use it...SHOOT I DIDNT USE IT!! Oh boy, but I just dumped out the batter,added the oil and everything was fine after that.

I am excited to fiind new recipes to try :) so let the fun begin!

A New Cookbook

I've borrowed Saving Dinner from the library after reading about it on another cooking blog. It is a great book. It's exactly what I'd like to do on my own someday when I'm not working full-time. It provides the reader with a shopping list for each week that contains just the amount of foods needed for the recipes that follow for that week. While I probably won't use it in that way, I did find a number of new recipes to try, mostly crockpot, which really appeal to me since I'm returning to work on Monday. Crockpots just make life and cooking easier!

Also I recently ordered Now You're Cooking: Everything a Beginnger Needs to Know to Start Cooking Today by Elaine Corn as well as How to Cook Without a Book and Perfect Recipes for Having People Over both by Pam Anderson. I'll let you know how good these are when they get here!

Beginning

I did it. Even though I just posted a few hours ago that I wasn't going to yet. I have started this humble little cooking blog. I suppose my sister Laura and I will be primary contributors, though I will gladly invite many more to join us.

It must be stated that we are quite new to cooking. Both young. Newly married or engaged to be married and not much experience in the kitchen. So we'll learn as we go and we're inviting you along for the ride!

Aren't you lucky?!