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This One Pot Roasted Chicken and Vegetables recipe comes together easily in a glass baking dish in my oven. This type of meal is even easier than a 30 minute one pot meal, since everything goes into the baking dish and the oven just does its thing. I love one pot easy recipes.  Normally, I …

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These tips for sage plant care will help you get the most out of this popular garden herb plant. Garden sage is a culinary herb that is often used around the holidays to flavor your stuffing, but I use it all year round as a flavor component for chicken dishes. Sage is not just for …

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There are dozens of onion varieties and as many uses for the different types of onions.  How many types of onions are you familiar with? Most of us are familiar with the common yellow onion that is so prevalent in grocery stores.  You may also have eaten red onions or white onions, but there are …

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Cook up a pot of this green split pea soup with ham bone easily in a slow cooker, and enjoy a hearty and comforting soup. It is the perfect way to use up leftover ham from Christmas. It is always a part of our menu on New Year’s Day. Is there anything more satisfying than …

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Growing herbs can be expensive, particularly if the plants that you choose are annuals that will only grow for one year. Try choosing from this list of perennial herbs instead. They will give long lasting value, year after year. Fresh herbs can be frozen in fall, so it’s possible to enjoy their flavor all winter …

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Have you ever tried growing rutabagas? This cool loving root vegetable has a long growing season and loves to ripen after a frost.  The healthy vegetable has a sweet, peppery cabbage flavor that gets even sweeter as it cooks. In the US, more people seem to grow turnips than their vegetable cousin, the rutabaga, also …

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Determinate tomato plants are also known as “bush tomatoes”. They are smaller than normal tomato plants and generally need no staking but still produce well. Nothing tastes quite like a home grown tomato. They are sweet and juicy and so easy to grow. But they also take a lot of room, so are not so …

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This Swiss chard breakfast skillet is crammed full of fresh grown veggies and the salty taste of bacon, all topped with soft cooked eggs and fresh parsley. Breakfast at my house is either a grab and go on the way out the door moment, or an occasion to experiment with flavors and tastes that will …

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A silicone baking mat can take high heat and replace parchment paper for baking & food preparation. I like to use them in lots of unusual ways in my kitchen. You can use them for cookies, of course, but there are lots of other creative Silpat baking mat uses, as well. With a silicone baking …

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Are you looking for an easy slow cooker hearty winter meal? This flavorful vegetable beef barley soup is chock full of vegetables in a delightfully seasoned broth that will warm you to the bones. The soup cooks for hours so you can get on with your day, and makes the kitchen smell amazing, to boot. …

Read More about Vegetable Beef Barley Soup – (Slow Cooker) – Hearty Winter Meal

Spaghetti recipes are always a big hit at our house. They are cold winter comfort food at their tastiest. There are literally dozens of ways to incorporate a tasty spaghetti sauce into a quick and easy weeknight dinner sensation. One of my earliest spaghetti recipes was a combination of both beef and pork that became a …

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There are many healthy kitchen swaps that you can use all year round for weight loss success. Implementing these food swaps will make sure that those extra pounds won’t find themselves on your thighs and rear next year.  For many of us, the start of the year means making a New Year’s resolution to lose …

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Growing herbs is an easy way to add edible plants to your garden for cooking and to use in soothing teas and remedies. Most herbs are versatile, and will grow right in your garden or in containers on a patio. Herbs are popular with home cooks. They are so popular that there is even a …

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Which herbs should choose for your indoor garden?  Here are my top 10 picks for herbs to grow indoors. There is nothing quite like the taste of fresh herbs to really add a boost to your home made recipes.  Many gardeners enjoy growing herbs outside during the summer months, but winter temperatures will kill them …

Read More about Herbs to Grow Indoors – 10 Best Herbs for Sunny Windowsills

I love growing herbs in my garden but most of them die off in the winter months.  Since I use herbs for cooking all the time, my answer is growing herbs indoors during the winter. Some herbs are annuals and need to be planted each year, and others are perennials and will continue growing year after …

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If you are someone who follows a gluten free diet, either to lose weight or for your health, you will know that you sometimes need gluten free replacements and substitutes to cook your favorite recipes. One of the latest trends in the diet industry is a gluten free diet.  And for many of those people …

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Mother Nature has the perfect answer  for summer bugs- mosquito repelling plants! We can grow annuals, perennials and herbs that will keep the bugs away naturally. With summer comes lots of outdoor living.  Sadly, that can mean lots of mosquitoes. I don’t like to use chemical products so this natural solution is great for keeping …

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Growing Perennials gives me color and beauty all through the spring and summer months. For a gardener, there is nothing quite like the feeling of wandering around your garden, in the spring, and seeing the first growth of perennials that you have planted years before. These plants die back in the winter but send out new …

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Using candles in the home creates an intimacy that sets a mood in a room and makes guests feel really welcome. Arranged pleasantly with just the right accessories, a candle can really transform the look of any area in your home. There is just something really warm and inviting about a room with the look …

Read More about Using Candles in Your Home – It’s Time for Some Decorating Ideas

Most busy homemakers love easy recipes, and you truly can’t get much easier than crock pot recipes. If you asked me (and many cooks) the question: “What is one cooking appliance that you cannot do without,” my guess is that the most popular answer would be “My crock pot, of course!”  Crock pots, also commonly …

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For me, there is nothing quite like the taste of an Old Fashioned Slow Cooker Beef Stew.   Ah – the joys of using a slow cooker.  When the weather is cold and you are looking for something comforting for dinner, bring out your crock pot. Cooking beef this way ends up in the most amazingly …

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These lovely cranberry pecan crostini appetizers are the perfect light bite to start any special gathering of friends. Cranberries are one of those foods that always seem to find their way onto the holiday table.   They are wonderful as a snack with drinks before dinner and also make a lovely starter to a meal when …

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