Now that I am officially over my fear of pizza dough, I have been making pizzas like crazy.  Or crazy pizzas.  Whichever you prefer.  A pizza crust is like an open faced sandwich-a blank canvas, if you will-just waiting for you to fill it with textures and flavors and leftover bits and pieces.  This pizza is slightly sweet, smokey, meaty and would be great with some thin slices of green bell pepper or fresh jalapeno in there as well.  (...)
Click here for the recipe Pulled Pork Pizza

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I make carrot cake for my mom.  Not everyone loves cake full of chunky bits of pineapple and pecans and raisins, but over the years it has grown on me.  I keep the chunks as small as possible so they are well dispersed and unoffensive and the result is a sweet, spice cake full of little surprises.  This recipe will also work for a layer cake if you are so inclined, but it is so hearty and rich that we rarely finish a whole birthday cake.  These little cupcakes are the perfect single serving and can be frozen whole, frosted, for pulling out as a snack any time your sweet tooth demands it.(...)
Click here for the recipe Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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I have been making this fried chicken for my mother every year on her birthday for four years now.  I finally pulled it off.  Without a hitch.  Except I over salted it.  But still.  For those of you who are scared of fried chicken, just know: it takes practice.  You’ll get it but you have to keep at it, even if it is phenomenally bad.

This fried chicken is so good.  The brine makes the meat sweet and juicy and flavorful.  The breading is crunchy and thick.  If you can just get the frying part down, you’ll be a hero.  And all you have to do is practice.  (...)
Click here for the recipe Gramma’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken

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When you know there is a busy day coming up, planning a crock-pot meal is a great way to keep yourself out of the drive-thru.  It is also a great way to make a lot of food all at once, which means leftovers for lunches or for freezing and pulling out on a future busy day.  These sliders are a super fun, fast meal that can sit-on hold-in the crock-pot for as long as you need.  I put the meat on before bed the night before I wanted to serve them because I didn’t think I would have enough time to get them on in the morning and it still was moist and tender twenty hours later.  It also would have been a perfect breakfast after only eight hours so feel free to start it the morning of if you like.

You may feel tempted to skip or rush the searing portion of the recipe but this is your only chance to get that delicious, caramelized flavor into your dish.  It also locks the juices into each chunk of pork keeping the meat moist until you are ready to eat.  So give yourself plenty of time to brown each piece completely and to cook the dish on low for at least eight hours.  (...)
Click here for the recipe Crockpot Root Beer Pulled Pork Sliders

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Is summer over yet?  I know there is a full month still until Fall is officially here, but today is the first day of school in our area and I know many of your children have been back for weeks now.  This time of year is a giddy one for me.  My sadness at saying good bye to the long, slow days of summer is completely drowned out by the excitement of a new school year.  It means cooler temperatures and warmer drinks, sweaters and baking, and caramel apples and pumpkins, and crunchy leaves underfoot, and roasts and stews and heavy dishes and Christmas cookies, and so much more.  By the end of August, I am ready for Summer to quietly slip away and for Fall to start happening with noisy exuberance.

Fall means starting fresh and getting organized.  After school snacks and dinners at the table and time for practices and homework-it’s all coming and it’ll be here before you know it.  So how do you get ready for Fall?  I use these tools to plan my menus (and who knows I might actually get organized enough to post a menu soon).  As hurricane season draws to a close I feel comfortable stocking my freezer and cook larger batches of meals and snacks to freeze.  I have plans to do several posts on freezing meals this fall so let me know if you are interested. 

The real key to staying organized for me is simplicity.  Simplicity with my meals doesn’t mean one-note or bland or boring, it just means to keep it simple: protein, starch, vegetables.  One of the simplest meals you can make is a quickly seared protein, accompanied by a starch and a few easy vegetables.

Take this Lemony Sauced Chicken over Truffled Mushroom Risotto with Lemon Butter Broccoli.  The basic components are simple: sear a chicken breast, make some rice, steam some broccoli.  It is the extra flourish of lemon zest over the broccoli florets, the fast yet velvety pan sauce, the creaminess of the risotto style rice with a drizzle of truffle oil, and the fresh chopped herbs sprinkled over that make the meal great.  The best part is that these extra accents take very little extra time yet make the meal feel far more luxurious.  (...)
Click here for the recipe Getting Organized: Lemony Sauced Chicken Breasts and Mushroom Risotto

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