Along with the wontons, this was my first attempt at getting in touch with the takeout box I so longed for. Fried chicken pieces, sticky sauce. General Tso’s Chicken. Why General Tso’s and not orange chicken, sesame or even sweet and sour? To be honest, I never really liked sweet and sour. There was always something a bit too sweet for me. Orange chicken is good, but there’s something missing, that bit of spicy kick, and sesame? Well, I really love a good sesame chicken,... more

Things have been a little crazy around here. I’ve been juggling one thing after another, starting up this and working on that. It’s exciting, encouraging and hectic. And because of this added component as I try to fit a slice of life into my already jampackedfullwithnoroomtospare schedule, I’ve been cutting some corners on dinner lately and – gasp – planning ahead. A funny thing this planning ahead on how it gets you prepared for the unexpected. I wish I could say I plan... more

I mentioned last week that one way to get in your own kitchen more often and away from the takeout containers was to make extra meat or extra ingredients that can be repurposed later and used in different meals. Following my own advice, fish tacos were born! We had quite a bit of fish left from our tilapia meal because we had started with over three pounds of fish. Because tilapia is firm fish and they had been baked in nothing but a bit of seasoning and milk, the leftover fillets were perfect... more

As a family we try to eat a variety of food each week, straying from the meat and potatoes that Ole grew up on or the spaghetti with meat sauce that could be found on my childhood dinner table on a weekly basis. We strive to make our food life interesting, nutritious and diverse. However, it can be hard when you are a family of six balancing work, volunteering, homework, music lessons, sporting events and everything else that comes with daily life with young children to branch out and experiment,... more

Sometimes you need a showstopper.  Maybe you are trying to impress a date with your cooking skills, maybe you need to show up some food snobs at your next dinner party, or maybe you’re just having an old friend over.  Recently for us, it was the latter.  Our good friend Joel hadn’t been over in a while so we thought we’d wow him with my new favorite way to have a steak (that doesn’t require a grill).  The only condition for him was that to earn his meal, he needed to be... more

Even if I may not be a casserole fan for 85 96.75 percent of the year, the cold weather has me craving creamy mushrooms and wild rice all baked together into a belly-warming dish of deliciousness. I hope you’ll forgive me, but I’m going to talk about them (the mushrooms and rice) twice before I’m done. Here and again as a soup soon after. The casserole starts with white rice and boiling water and a bit of white wine. I start with mini portabellas, and I couldn’t pass up... more

We all know the feeling of the post-Thanksgiving hunger. You finally get hungry after the mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dressing and turkey has had time to digest, and when you look in the fridge? Thanksgiving leftovers. Not what you were hoping for. Sure, a sandwich is always an option, but the thought of limp bread, cold Thanksgiving turkey and a slice of cheese doesn’t really have you clamoring to eat those leftovers either. That’s not going to sustain you after or during... more