Seasoned Cannelli Bean Salad

Seasoned Cannelli Bean Salad

A wonderful, lightly dressed  salad, delicious in it’s simplicity, & a unique use of cannelli beans, along with English cucumbers, grape tomatoes, & sweet onion.  Two types of vinegar blended with seasonings, makes this a dish that’s sure to please!

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon & Mushrooms

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon & Mushrooms

Recipe by:  Designs by Jeanne R

The vegetable you love, with the flavors you can’t resist.

My family loves brussel spouts.  In fact, this recipe is due to the fact that I had only 1/2 of a package of frozen brussel sprouts left.  I bought them only last week, & in that short amount of time,

Roasted Vegetables with Wild Rice & Balsamic Reduction

Roasted Vegetables with Wild Rice & Balsamic Reduction

She wasn’t kidding, my sister Jill, that is.  She has been raving about the glories of balsamic vinegar reduction for ages, but I finally succumbed.  I’m delighted that I finally listened & tried it for myself!  Jill is one of my 3 sisters, the one who has the elegant dinner parties, of which she cooks & bakes all on her own.  She’s very skilled in the kitchen, and entertains like no one’s business!  (Why is it that I feel like I’m naming off the personalities of the Spice Girls whenever I describe one of my sisters?)!  Yikes!

Hearty Spanish Rice with Beef

Hearty Spanish Rice with Beef

Tomorrow is a family get together with my husband’s side of the family.  It doesn’t seem to matter what they cook,

Thyme for Wild Rice & Pan Fried Chicken

Wild Rice with Pan Fried Chicken

Happy Friday, everyone!  I hope your holiday weekend is off to a wonderful start.  We were fortunate enough to get some nice rain this week, so the plants are looking happy, and my tiny herb garden

Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole For a Crowd

Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole

Gene & I made this one as a side dish for the football team’s weekly dinner.  When you’re making food for a group of teenage boys, you want something to fill them up, tastes great, and with not too many ingredients for picky eaters.

Crunchy Cole Slaw

Crunchy Cole Slaw

This recipe comes from my beautiful sister-in-law, Nancy.  She’d be the first to tell you how versatile this recipe is, as I’ve sampled many of her delicious creations.  Among these, she’s added

Gene’s Jell-o Fruit Salad for a Crowd

Gene’s Jell-o Fruit Salad for a Crowd

Here’s my husband’s creation he made for the football team’s dinner tonight.  Every Thursday the parents have a pot luck dinner for the Varsity football team. The parents make

Ranch Seasoning Mix

Ranch Seasoning Mix

Recipe by:  Designs by Jeanne R

If you’re like most people, bottled dressing doesn’t compare with the ranch dressing made from the Hidden Valley Ranch mix packages.  The problem is that I never seem to have them on hand when I need them, and they’re kind of pricey!  A few years back, I was on a search for a recipe I could make myself.  I found one that I really liked, but it needed some adjusting.  I played with it a bit, and the addition of dill weed was just what it needed!  For years now, I’ve kept a batch of this dried mix made at all times.

Oven Baked Seasoned Plantains

Oven Baked Seasoned Plantains

About one and a half weeks ago, my husband came home from the store with two greenish-yellow, firm plantains.  Neither of us had tasted them much less cooked them!  I think I understand from reading about plantains, that if you want to fry. you’d want to use them when they are firm, but also more difficult to peel.  To peel them at this stage, you’d need to score them lengthwise, then slice into several pieces, then peel along the score line.  I’ve also learned that soaking them for a half hour or so aids in peeling. You would also want to use a mandolin to make uniform slicing easier.