Wonder why I say 'healthy recipes' and then tell you to add a stick of butter?
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 In : Bread
 This easy bread recipe has become the staff of life around here. If you're used to baking bread, or even if you've never tried before, this recipe is going to impress you. It rocks our world, and you won't believe how easy it is!
- No more mixing up bread dough just because you want fresh baked bread.
- No digging around to find your pizza or breadstick recipe...this dough is ultra versatile, and ready to go when you are!
- No special ingredients or complicated processes
- Practically no dishes to wa...
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Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Thursday, July 1, 2010 In : Breakfast Recipes
 In my quest for the perfect scone recipe, I discovered this lovely Scottish variation using oats. Think oatmeal cookie meets scone. The oats add something homey and filling, and make this recipe a healthy breakfast choice. So I should feel no guilt whatsoever about piling them high with lemon curd or jam, right? Right.
Today, I'm making lemon poppy seed scones, but you can really add anything you like to this basic recipe. I also make them with dried cherries and slivered almonds, dried c...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 In : Cooking Tips
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Thursday, June 17, 2010 In : Main Dishes
 Feast your eyes on this super easy ground beef recipe...it's a new family favorite recipe!
This, my friends, is bacon cheeseburger rice. It's goo-ood. And easy. Thanks W.R. for a new favorite main dish!
Here's what you need:
 One pound of ground beef, browned with a chopped onion. Ketchup, yellow mustard and BB-Q sauce. Five slices of fried bacon, two cups of prepared rice (left over from last night's meal, even!), shredded cheddar cheese, and dill pickle relish. Or you can use your fav...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 In : Cooking Tips
The alternate title for this kitchen tip is "The World's Largest Salad Spinner."
In the summertime, I'm all about salads. I love them year round, but there is something so refreshing about cold, crisp lettuce in the heat of summer. I'll often make one dish meals centered around a huge bowl of salad, and just top it with chicken of the grilled, teriyaki, blackened or fried variety. All that to say, I got real tired of washing lettuce every night. And my family also got real tired of me m... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Monday, May 24, 2010 In : Canning and Preserving
This strawberry jam recipe is seriously delicious and way, way too easy. No one but us needs to know how easy this is, OK? The local strawberry picking places are open now, and the berries are delicious! But fresh strawberries spoil quickly, and we always pick way more than we can eat in one day. This is a great recipe to use up ripe strawberries and save that amazing fresh flavor all year long. We're planning a trip tomorrow to pick strawberries. Oddly enough, this strawberry jam recipe h... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Thursday, May 20, 2010 In : Cooking Tips
Just so you know...these are NOT black beans. Ahhh, the smell of burnt on beans that permeates my whole house; it is so, so stinky. I'm the worlds worst at getting sidetracked and letting the water cook out of beans. Bad, naughty housewife. After all that soaking time, and tender loving care I put into my beans, I used to just have to throw the whole pot out and order a pizza. Luckily, my Mother in Law has passed along a great remedy for burned beans that saves the day. 1. Remove them from... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 In : Dessert Recipes
My oldest boy requested this ice cream cake recipe for his birthday dinner. It is the same ice cream cake that I made for him last year. But then again, this is the same kid that wanted to be a firefighter every year for dress up day at school for four years in a row. He likes routine. This cake is like the 'get out of jail free' card of birthday cakes. It's delicious, and SO totally easy. It takes all of 15 minutes to assemble. The only thing you need to plan for is having enough time i... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 In : Deals and Steals
32 oz. jug of Maple Syrup for only $15.30 shipped! A huge apology...the site where I found the coupon code didn't specify that the coupon is only good for two specific types of the Coombs Maple Syrup. I've corrected the pricing and links, and everything should work now.
We are Maple Syrup junkies around here, and I was happy to discover this yummy real Vermont Maple Syrup for a great price. I've done this deal before, and stocked up for the year with these jugs of Maple Syrup. (They... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Monday, May 3, 2010 In : Dessert Recipes
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This fruit pizza recipe is one of my favorite summer desserts. I made it last year for our family vacation at the beach. We had a great time, made a lot of great memories and yummy food! You just can't beat fresh fruit, cream cheese frosting and a crisp shortbread crust. Fruit pizza is very simple to put together, but it looks really impressive and tastes fantastic.
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I don't have step by step photos for you with this family favorite recipe, but it's so simple, you won't need any i...
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Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Thursday, April 29, 2010 In : Beverages
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This frappucciono recipe has been affectionately re-named "Happyccinno." It's my treat of choice when things get crazy around here, which means that I drink these regularly. Baby spit up on you? Happyccino time! Potty training mishaps? Happycchino time! Kids being all noisy and acting like...like...normal kids? Why lookie there! Happyccino time! So this is how you make my awesome, frozen, blended, creamy and very affordable mocha frappuccino recipe. I'll walk you through the 45 second process,... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 In : Cooking Tips
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Saturday, April 24, 2010 In : Main Dishes
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Today we're making my Mom's Hamburger Beef Stroganoff recipe. It's a dish from my childhood that is one of the first meals that I learned to cook. It encompasses everything I require of a family favorite recipe: really, really tastey and really, really easy. It uses ingredients I normally have in my pantry as well. You can either serve beef stroganoff over egg noodles, like we did when I was a kid; or over rice, which is what the Weatherman prefers. But he'll eat this any way I serve it. ... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Thursday, April 22, 2010 In : Healthy Family Recipes
This is a great cream of mushroom soup recipe! I've been looking for a quick and easy replacement for canned mushroom soup concentrate that I could sub in some of our family favorite recipes.
I scanned several homemade versions, including canned, and even attempts at freezing (which is my preference) but there are several issues with preserving homemade cream of soups. You can't can them or freeze them because the thickeners break down. So I devised this method, which really worked out gr...
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Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 In : Cooking Tips
I love this spice grinder kitchen trick. Stop me if you've heard this one. First, you'll need an Osterizer Blendor or Blender. Potay-toe-Potah-toe. Next, you'll need a homemade spice blend in a standard glass canning jar. Why, you ask, would you need to or want to blend up a spice mix? Well, I'm glad you asked. There is a very good reason. Ground spice mixes give you maximum flavor instantly, and stay homogenous (mixed in perfect proportions). Way back when I was looking for the perfect Ho... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Sunday, April 11, 2010 In : Side Dish Recipes
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This oven fries recipe is simple, quick and delicious! It's also versatile in that you can use any blend of spices that you like, and even make them spicy with some cayenne. But our family favorite recipe is this non-spicy but very flavorful blend. Here's what you'll need:
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4 medium potatoes, butter, paprika, parmesan, flour, Greek Salad Dressing Recipe blend (or onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper if you don't have the Greek spice blend handy)
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. P... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Friday, April 9, 2010 In : Cooking Tips
One of the reasons that I put of any kind of breadmaking for years and years and years was a strong aversion to scraping dough and flour off of the countertop with my fingernails. Then, about 5 years ago, I discovered that a trick from a pumpkin roll recipe worked just as well for kneading and rolling out bread, cookies, etc. This is how it works:
- Lay a tea towel out on the countertop.
2. Sprinkle your tea towel with flour if the recipe says to flour your surface.
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3. Knead, roll, ... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Saturday, April 3, 2010 In : Bread
This breadstick recipe is a family favorite, and it takes less than 90 minutes from start to finish. We can't keep our hands off of them. I think they taste like the breadsticks from a famous 'hut' of pizza resteraunts. Only these are better.
This breadstick recipe makes 2 dozen, so there's usually enough for leftovers. Here's what you'll need:
butter, yeast, flour, water, Greek Salad Dressing Recipe (or optional spices), sugar, salt.
And not pictured: parmesan cheese, kosher salt (the... Continue reading...
Posted by Gwendelynn Brown on Friday, April 2, 2010 In : Spices, Mixes, and Condiments
We've fallen in love with this delicious Greek Salad Dressing recipe. It makes the most divine and authentic Greek Pizzaria style dressing, but it's also delicious to use as a seasoning blend. We love it atop the Pizza Hut style breadstick recipe on cheese pizzadillas, in my oven fries recipe and on baked potatoes, and, and...plus infinity. It's the secret ingredient to making an amazing pizza crust in my homemade pizza recipe as you can see above!
And it's completely healthy with no Mono-g... Continue reading...
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