Believe it or not, now is the time to start planning for those special holiday meals.

Don’t know where to start? Start by checking the pantry and the freezer. Will you be hosting or participating in a pot luck? Get your lists ready: (1) What are you planning to serve? (2) What do you need to add to the pantry? Don’t forget to check the spice drawer!

Recently Nicole from AllRecipes put together a great video:

I love these ideas and I love the make ahead aspect, too. Save time, keep it simple but delicious. Set yourself up for success.

Enjoy!

Over the years I’ve learned a lot, saved money and time, and appreciated the efforts America’s Test Kitchen puts into their testing.

Leftovers are, as one cook has said, money in the freezer. I agree. Cook once, have enough food to eat several more meals. That is why I do a lot of precooked chicken and ground beef, tuck them away in the freezer for later and use them in a variety of dishes. But…

Every once in a while I don’t want a large casserole or I come across a recipe that might make more than I really want to deal with or the freezer is a bit too full at the time…

Recently Stacey’s Simple Meals shared her YouTube video of 5 Small Batch Casserole recipes. Click the link to go to her website for the printables and the link to the video.

As I watched her video I was thinking about what I already have on hand. I have a metal bread loaf pan…I probably already have enough chicken or ground beef…I might have the vegetables in the freezer. And I am curious to try her copycat Cream Of recipe (it is in the website).

I like that she has provided links to purchase items that we might not have on hand, too.

The best thing about this, however, is the idea of small quantity cooking that can go into the freezer for later. This saves a lot of time if you spend, say, one day a month cooking ahead. Or even just 1 day a week…

Anyway, check out the recipes and see what you think.

Happy Cooking!

Beets tend to be one of those vegetables that people either love or hate. I was lucky enough to have a mom who canned and a garden we were experimenting with at the time. The end result was the discovery of Pickled Beets.

As a rule, I enjoy a variety of pickles but most of what I’ve enjoyed have been the cucumber variety with some cabbage thrown in for good measure. Beets were an entirely different thing. They have an earthy rich flavor that, when mixed with pickling brine, becomes something elevated.

I love to keep a jar in my fridge. They are usually sold as ‘Harvard Beets’ but if you decide to try making pickled beets at home, check your recipes carefully. Harvard Beet recipes usually add butter and a few other items which change the end product.

Taste of Home has a good recipe for home made Picked Beets that is worth checking out. Click HERE to read it. I particularly like the suggestion to start with canned beets as it will save time.

As we move into Fall and the end of year holidays, it might be an idea to add some to your holiday table and see what happens. Who knows? You might have a convert or two.

Enjoy!

While I do enjoy those frozen waffles found in most grocery store freezers, home made waffles can be quite the treat – and they aren’t difficult to make, either.

Now, I do not subscribe to the time consuming recipes that require whipped egg whites, etc. I simply don’t want to spend the time or effort – and why should I when there are many recipes out there that provide lots of options, not to mention some great mixes that make quite decent waffles with little to no effort.

Taste of Home compiled 34 of their best waffle recipes. Click HERE to see the collection.

I love the variety! There are seasonal flavors along with savory options. And check out the waffle cakes – what an interesting idea!

The waffle iron might tend to be stuck on a shelf rather than used regularly. Perhaps these recipes will give you some ideas that encourage you to pull it out and plug it in.

Glen & Friends posted an easy no kneed recipe from 1944 that is worth watching.

I recommend browsing the comments after you’ve watched the video. Lots of interesting things to think about.

What I particularly appreciate is the ‘Just Go Do It’ attitude not only from the cookbook but from Glen. There is something to be said about leaving our fears behind and just giving it a try. We never know if it will work or not if we just sit back and fret over it.

I’m of the belief that many folks are afraid of yeast and pie dough, among a lot of other things, because they have been told far too often that some things are ‘difficult’ or ‘hard’ or ‘fussy’ or ‘there is only one way to do this’ by folks who for all sorts of reasons, probably should have just left things alone.

Bread is, more often than not, a few minutes of effort and many of minutes of waiting. Yes there are things to be consider; is the yeast fresh, for example, but mostly… <shrug> And even if it doesn’t come out perfectly, if it is actually baked through it can be used in other ways.

Mindy over at See Mindy Mom has talked about her efforts at making sourdough. I give her credit for her attempts, and even owning up to her not so successful results, but I give her a High Five for understanding what works for her and what doesn’t.

One of the lessons I’ve learned over time is that not everyone is able to do the same things. There could be a variety of reasons but at the end of the day, sometimes we need to just accept that this particular project might be out of my wheelhouse and find something else.

I appreciate the commenter in Glen’s video who took the time to look up the recipe and let us know that there are other batter bread recipes available to try. I might just do that.

There is something magical about fresh bread from the oven. I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t appreciate even just one slice. I might just make some magic one of these days. 😀

My rice cooker was one of those appliances I bought because while I could cook perfect rice in my old home, that skill didn’t seem to come along with me when I moved here. I was frustrated and annoyed and at my wit’s end when I discovered rice cookers. It turned out to be one of those amazing investments.

I’ve used it to make white and brown rice and tried out the slow cooker function in addition to steaming vegetables as I cooked rice but I hadn’t really experimented with it. And then Stacey’s Simple Meals posted this video:

She has the same brand but a smaller version than mine, but the functions and features are the same. I even checked out the cookbook and it has opened my eyes and got me to thinking…

Every so often I think I need to spend some time playing with my appliances to see if I can get the most out of them. The rice cooker is at the top of the list.

By the way, this machine is easy to use, inexpensive, and can be used for a lot of grains. And it makes excellent rice, too! 😀

Happy cooking!