Oat “mull” cookies use mulling spices for flavor along with plenty of butter and oats to create chewy cookies. I have to confess to a new addiction. I’m hoping that if I say it out loud, I will have more of a will to fight it, but I’m pretty sure I’m in too deep. In true addict form, though, I […]

Throughout the summer, we discovered that, for some reason, pork butts were on fantastic sales. Because Joey loves to fire up his smoker in the backyard, we bought quite a few of them and have lots of delicious, smoked pork in our freezer. We mostly use it to make tacos, combining the pork in a skillet with fresh green salsa […]

My parents recently gifted me with bananas—a lot of bananas. So, looking at the bunches lining my countertop, I decided it was time to try every banana recipe on my Pinterest board. As I perused the large number of recipes I’d set aside, one popped out at me for banana cinnamon rolls. Not only did they look amazing, but there […]

About the time Joey and I got married 10 years ago, I learned what “egg in the basket” was—a simple breakfast dish where an egg is cooked in a hole cut in the center of a piece of bread. I’ve tried to make egg in the basket many times over the years, completely enamored with the idea, but while I […]

As a general rule, when I see the words “no-bake” in the title of a recipe, I assume I’m about to have a really easy time in the kitchen. Those are the types of recipes I save for when I need a quick dessert to bring at the last second. Well, this week’s recipe completely defies its no-bake moniker, my […]

I remember once spending an entire afternoon helping my mom make applesauce. My sister and I loved the apple-peeling machine that cut each apple into cool spirals, and we took turns manning the crank. Mom was at the stove, cooking down the sliced apples and then ladling it off into containers as the applesauce was finished. We thought it was […]

Until I began this column, I had no idea how many variations of pasta there are. I used to think I was pretty knowledgeable until I continued to discover new types that often were tough to find in small-town Kansas grocery stores. My recipe this week called for ziti, a tube-shaped pasta I’m definitely familiar with, but my local store […]

I have a ton of amazing memories about my paternal grandma, who passed away in 2012. She was such an awesome person and a crazy good cook. Near the end of her life, she invited me over to her small apartment for dinner—just the two of us. She made a chicken and biscuits meal with some mixed veggies in it […]

  Years ago, when Jimmy Fallon was on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream came out with a flavor called “Late Night Snack,” which was inspired by the show. The combination was “vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and fudge-covered potato chip clusters.” Being slightly ice cream obsessed, I tried it out, despite […]

A few weeks ago, I was a bridesmaid in a good friend’s socially distanced wedding, and in preparation for the big day, I did something I have never done before: get a manicure. I opted for French tips—a layer of very light pink on the bottom and white for the ends of each nail. It ended up being a pretty […]