When your garden is kicking out 25 and 30 pounds of cucumbers every week, it’s nice to have a few extra recipes. You can eat cucumbers in garden salads, of course. But that’s one cucumber. We also like cucumber, onion, and vinegar salads with lots of salt and pepper – so that’s two more cucumbers. Maybe you can eat one plain cucumber for lunch. That’s four – what about the other four dozen … [Read more...]

I am always looking for side dishes to serve with Tex-Mex entrees. The Tacos, Burritos and Enchiladas are easy. It’s the stuff that goes with them that I struggle with. Recently, looking for something to pair with Tacos, I came up with this concoction – a Mexican Pasta Salad. I started with a pound of elbow macaroni, though I suppose any pasta would work. To the cooked macaroni, I added 1 can … [Read more...]

Forgive me, Great Chefs of the Past, for I have sinned. I made a meatloaf out of ground chicken. And the worst part - I enjoyed it. In the eternal battle between an increasingly fat body and scales that refuse to lie – even a few lousy ounces – I have tried to eat more chicken and less beef. I love my Mother’s Meatloaf recipe, and in it there was no mention of chicken, but I made a chicken meat … [Read more...]

They are really Cornish Game Hens, but some years ago, my wife Nancy and her evil sidekick, Nancy McKay, dubbed them Horny Game Hens and the name stuck. Cornish game hens or Rock Cornish game hens is a variety of a broiler chicken crossed between the Cornish and White Plymouth Rock. The name is also a misnomer in that the birds can be either male of female, so not all are hens. They are raised … [Read more...]

The very best buy in a grocery store today is a package of Bone-in, Skin-on, Split Chicken Breasts. Not every store sells them, but I find them at Aldi’s and Food Lion on a regular basis. They run about $1.99 a pound and a package of plump breasts is usually less than $6. Boneless, skinless chicken breast at Kroger’s or Harris Teeter run $6 a pound and more. So, you are paying about triple to have … [Read more...]

We had bought some fresh tomatoes from the Farmer’s Market and enjoyed them on BLT’s, sliced raw, in salads and they were so good, I decided to bake a Tomato Pie. It’s easy. Here’s how, Start with Frozen Deep-Dish Crust. Marie Callender’s is the best. In a skillet with a dab of olive oil, sauté about a pound of chopped ham (I bought a big ham steak and used about half) along with some … [Read more...]

You had to have been from the Deep South to have even once heard of Cracker Salad. It’s a true Southern delicacy often enjoyed at Church Picnics, Funerals, Weddings and Potluck gatherings. I remember it as being one of the first-to-go side dishes at Family Reunions. This is an effortless dish that combines the sweetness of fresh tomatoes with the crunchy, salty goodness of Saltines. A good way … [Read more...]

I enjoy ground pork – not ground sausage, just plain old pork that’s been chopped up. You can use it in lots of recipes, but I enjoy it in patties – like burgers. I bought a pound recently. It’s cheap, like four of five bucks and I figured I would decide later how to cook it. I decided on pork patties, but that night when I looked for the saltines which I use as a filler, we were out. Then I … [Read more...]

I saw them at Harris Teeter – Boneless Pork Ribeye Steaks from a company called Villari. I love beef ribeyes. Why not try the pork? I did and they were good. I decided to grill them as I would a beef ribeye steak. I took them out beforehand and let them get close to room temperature and pre-seasoned them with salt, pepper and a little John Boy & Billy’s Pork Rub. I put the steaks on a … [Read more...]

It’s crunch time. You need an easy entrée and something that everyone will enjoy. This calls for a Tater Tot Casserole, a sure-fire winner and one that’s easy to assemble. There are only 4 ingredients, and it can be ready in less than an hour, start to finish. Here’s how. You’ll need a pound of ground beef (to serve 4), a 16-oz. bag of frozen Tater Tots, 2 C of shredded, sharp cheddar cheese … [Read more...]