How to bake a good and crispy french fry at home. Here are three different methods we tried, each with different results from boiling and pre-baking to letting them soak. As part of my french fry flavor creation for Alexia Foods, I needed to figure out the right and proper way to make baked french fries at home. How do you get that crispy goodness without filling a pot full of oil and dumping the potatoes straight into it? (Baked French Fries is kind of an oxymoron.) I tested a few methods... more

This month in the Eat Well, Spend Less series we’re looking at summer entertaining, and I’ll be taking a look at how to entertain in small spaces comfortably and with ease. My husband and I enjoy entertaining and always have. We invited over 300 family members to our picnic-style reception, where we provided the food with the help of my loving mother and her sisters. One week after my son was born, we had 50 people over to a backyard “meet the baby” barbecue at our college... more

For the second week of the Summer Pantry Challenge, I needed to create a menu for an upcoming vacation we’re heading into. This menu came straight from the pantry to create road-trip snacks and cabin meals for us. We’re planning our yearly trip to the great northern wilderness (also known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area). We’ll be staying at Chez Pazlar, my aunt and uncle’s “cabin” just at the entrance to the BWCAW and have a few day hikes and canoe portaging... more

Welcome to July’s Summer Pantry Challenge focused on cleaning out some of the space in the pantry and freezer to make room for all the fresh summer produce that’s coming in, which I fully plan on canning and freezing to use during the long months of winter. July is here. I feel like just yesterday I was staring the first days of summer in the face, and now I’m in the midst of all that it is, with fireworks and picnics aplenty. My garden has been taking off. We have already harvested... more

This month’s Eat Well, Spend Less posts were all centered around saving money and eating healthy during the crazy summer full of travel, camping, vacations and the everyday schedules. Whether you’re planning to head to the lake or go somewhere tropical, we have the tips to make it as hassle free and doable as possible. Here on Food for My Family, I offered up the little nuggets of wisdom I have on eating healthy amidst summer schedules. With the kids out of school and in summer sports,... more

Welcome to the June edition of the Eat Well, Spend Less series. This month we’re focusing on meal and snack time during the summer, whether it’s during air travel, on a road trip, camping, in the heat or just while juggling the craziness of the summer schedule. Here on Food for My Family, I’ll be sharing some tips for healthy and frugal meals and snacking when you’re out doing fun summer activities like the zoo, the ballpark or sitting watching the kids on the soccer field. Summer... more

An easy-to-make baked apple puff pancake is perfect for breakfast for dinner or a late Saturday brunch, and it’s just the thing to get the whole family involved and cooking in the kitchen. My very first memory took place in a kitchen. A tornado was also involved. When I got older (as in past the age of one), I started making my way up on top of the kitchen desk to where the cookbooks were lined up, taking them down and turning their pages. Up there on that shelf was Betty Crocker’s... more