Not long ago I ran across some pork cube steaks. I fried them quickly with some seasoned flour. They were very good and I wanted to buy some more. But cubed pork steaks is not a cut you often run across. I was at Food Lion and they didn’t have any, then I thought maybe I would just get some thin pork loin chops and pound them like a cubed steak. I saw a package that said Boneless Pork … [Read more...]

I saw a recipe that caught my attention. It was for a Taco Meatloaf. Since I have been cooking – or attempting to cook – more Mexican dishes, I decided to give it a try - my version, of course. I never follow recipes. That’s why I flunked Chemistry Lab. Instructions are really important when mixing chemicals but not so much for meatloaf. I started with 2 pounds of ground chuck. If you’re going … [Read more...]

I have never had much luck with beef roasts, other than standing ribs. When I try the bottom or top round varieties, they are either tough or dry, chewy or bland. But. I recently found a very simple way to cook a bottom round roast that is fool proof. And you can slow cook it. It starts with a 3 or 4 pound bottom round roast. This cut has excellent flavor, but can be tough, unless you … [Read more...]

Nancy said she wanted to go out to eat at “The Loud Place”. She calls it The Loud Place because it’s pretty darned loud inside, especially if someone has a birthday and the entire staff gets to hooting and hollering. So, The Loud Place it was. And it was loud, Texas Roadhouse, that is. If you want ambience and a nice quiet dinner, Texas Roadhouse is not your kind of  place. But if you want pretty … [Read more...]

Chicken Scallopini sounds like a complicated, fancy recipe but it’s not. Chicken Scallopini is very tasty, healthy, economical and fairly easy. We recently served it for company and it was delicious. Chicken scallopini comes from the Italian word “scaloppine,” which means “small scallops” but has now taken on the meaning of a piece of thinly sliced meat. When I dine at an Italian restaurant, I … [Read more...]

A few weeks ago, I went to Harris Teeter to pick up some shrimp (they often have Argentine Shrimp, the best). While I was waiting for the clerk to wrap my shrimp, I noticed they had cobia for sale. Cobia ranks right at the top of my seafood favorites, and I asked where they came from. It’s too early for Cobia in the Carolina’s and Virginia’s and the clerk didn’t know – he said it was the first … [Read more...]

Sound good? It is. And it’s fairly easy. Most everyone likes pumpkin pie, a staple at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Recently, I have made some cream pies and thought pumpkin cream might work. It did. Here’s how. For starters, do a graham cracker crust and make it yourself. The store-bought graham cracker crusts are certainly easy, but they don’t quite measure up. It’s really easy to make … [Read more...]

I am always putzing around, looking for new and better ways to cook things – especially Mexican cuisine. Mexican, really, is one of the easiest ways to prepare foods. And it’s versatile. Put some taco meat in a tortilla and you have a Burrito. Put sauce on top of that and you have an enchilada. The hardest part is remembering the names and how to spell them. Last week, I had an inspiration … [Read more...]

Sweets are hard to beat. Cookie, cakes, brownies, pies – it’s all good. Last week I tried out a very simple Betty Crocker Recipe, with a minor twist, and made a pan of Caramel Chocolate Chip  Pudding Bars. If I sounds good, it is, and it could hardly be easier. This dessert is most versatile. Serve it hot with some ice cream for company or let it cool, cut it into squares and eat it as a finger … [Read more...]

Ground turkey is exceptionally healthy, and quite economical. A 4-ounce patty has less that 170 calories and a 20-ounce package of ground turkey runs less than $5. But we hardly ever have turkey patties. Face it. They are not very exciting entrees. However! By accident, I discovered a way to make turkey patties that are fit for kings. I had bought a 20-ounce package of ground turkey because I … [Read more...]