Earlier in the fall, I decided to do some research on fruit desserts.  There are crisps, cobblers, pies, buckles, crumbles, and probably more.  I was curious as to what defined the difference between these, especially a cobbler and a crisp.  The basic difference is that a crisp has a topping that consists of flour, sugar, butter, and an egg.  A cobbler’s topping is basically like a biscuit that becomes a little puffy while baking, and there is no egg. I wanted to try to combine a cobbler and a crisp {which is why this is called a ‘Crispler’}, and I liked what I came up with. This is easy to…

A few weeks ago our church held a cook-off for a ladies’ event.  Everyone who participated had to choose a recipe from the church cookbook, but it couldn’t be their own recipe, make the dish, and then we all gathered at the church to eat and vote.  It was a really fun idea that helped to raise some money by selling cookbooks, and I came away knowing which recipes I liked from the cookbook. I made this pasta dish and it was really good!  It’s best served straight from the stove, though, so probably not the greatest thing to take to a potluck. Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions1/4 cup…

One of my all time favorite cookies that my mom makes every year for Christmas are Seven Layer cookies.  True to its name, there are seven ingredients, all layered into a pan:  butter, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and nuts. I’ve been wanting to change it up a little bit and finally got the ingredients I needed the other day.  Instead of graham cracker crumbs, I crushed up some pretzel sticks I had in the pantry. Then, I omitted the butterscotch chips and used four different kinds of chocolate.  If you like chocolate, you’ll love these. Milk, dark, semi-sweet, and white chocolate chips melt…

I recently purchased a cookbook from our women’s group at church and it has not disappointed.  One of the recipes inspired me to create this version of meatloaf and it is delicious. There’s something about meatloaf that brings back wonderful childhood memories, but I can never make meatloaf like my mom’s.  Perhaps it’s due to the fact that no measuring is involved. This meatloaf has some of the traditional ingredients my mom uses, but with a bit of a Cajun twist. Just think of a gumbo:  sauteed veggies, tomato, Cajun seasoning, but it all comes together as a meatloaf instead. I did discover that meatloaf is not photogenic.  Maybe it…

Seeing that I live in the South, only miles from the home of the Masters, it’s only fair that I have something on my blog about Pimento Cheese.  I’ve always somewhat mocked this spread, finding it a horrid looking addition to potlucks, ladies’ teas, and afternoon weddings.  Boy was wrong!  I love this stuff.   My friend brought over a tub of Palmetto Cheese for our  4th of July feast and I couldn’t get enough of it.  I ate it for lunch for days afterward, and finally had to throw the remaining bits out when I read the fat content. Pimento cheese is normally served cold, so when I searched…

We returned from a 2 week trip to discover that our garden had been ravaged by deer.  Almost everything was nibbled or devoured, and only eggplant, watermelon {yay!!}, cucumbers, some squash and a few tomatoes remain.  Thankfully, we’ve had a good crop this year, so I’m not complaining, just a bit sad. The eggplant production is completely out. of. control.   My fridge looks something like this: Source: thedailymeal.com via Ali on Pinterest Seriously, there are over a dozen eggplant in my fridge right now, and more ready to pick.  This is the time of year for eggplant to come in, so when you see it in the Farmer’s Market…

 My sister recently gave me a new cookbook titled, Around My French Table, and I have thoroughly enjoyed looking through it. Reading cookbooks is a hobby of mine.  In fact, there is often a cookbook or two on my nightstand reading stack.  This cookbook is great because there are hundreds of French recipes, but they are not all complicated.  The author does a great job of giving tips for each recipe on whether or not you can freeze it, various ways to serve the dish, and other little tips to help in the kitchen. Beware, because I’m going to be sharing many recipes from her book and most of them…

Zucchini was coming in faster than I could keep up with it a few weeks ago, so we were trying all kinds of different recipes.  I love zucchini and onions, cooked in a little butter with some salt and pepper, but I can only eat that so many times before I get a bit tired of it.  Thankfully, Sherri, has some great zucchini recipes on her blog.  I made this cake {which is DELICIOUS} and this bread from her collection.  I shredded and froze tons of zucchini for future baking throughout the year.  And, I made Zucchini Cornbread, which was also good. One night, though, Bradley suggested that I fry…

Up until about 3 months ago, all of my experiences with Creamed Corn have been out of a can.  The day I came home from the hospital with Mason, though, my friend brought us a delicious home-cooked meal, complete with homemade Creamed Corn.  It was delicious!  My mom, Bradley and I all tried to guess at the ingredients and we just couldn’t put our finger on it.   This same friend asked if she could join us for the 4th of July {her husband is currently deployed} and I agreed, so long as she would bring the corn, other necessary ingredients, and teach me how to make Creamed Corn. Here’s…

Summer is in full swing, which means lots of fresh produce!  I hope you’re taking advantage of farmer’s markets in your area, your own garden, or if those don’t appeal to you, at least look for the produce sales at the grocery store; the in-season produce is usually the best price.  We’ve been blessed this year with a productive garden, and it’s been fun to be creative with how to use all of our vegetables.  I hope to be able to share some great tomato recipes with you soon.  First, I have to learn how to can them; this is on my to-do list for the weekend.  Wish me luck!…