Just Baking

It happens every year. You make your New Year’s Resoulutions, which include things like “Lose the 10 pounds I was supposed to lose last year,” and “make it to the gym past the first two weeks in January.”
You are feeling really confident that this is the year that you aren’t going to fail on your […]

I am always so impressed with the effort that goes into food gifts this time of year. Elaborate trays of cookies, breads of all kinds, gingerbread houses . . . bakers are busy in the kitchen cooking up things to give to others. A gift of homemade goodies, in my opinion, is a true gift […]

It is that time a year when cooks around the world are sorting through recipes trying to find some tried and true favorites to put on their cookie and snack plates this year. Cellophane bags with holiday ribbons are being purchased, decorative tins are waiting to be filled, and friends and neighbors are anxiously anticipating […]

I have always had an admiration for people who perform Random Acts of Kindness. I remember being at the drive-through window with my mom and watching her give extra money to the cashier to buy the car behind us ice cream cones. I married a man who can often be found shoveling the driveways of […]

I am normally a very close recipe follower. Every once in awhile I’ll make my own adaptions, but for the most part, if it is a well reviewed recipe I will stick to it. Apple pie is one of the few exceptions for me. I tend to be more of a scoop and dump kind […]

This weekend, as I was cleaning out my bathroom cabinets, I came to the realization that I have some serious commitment issues. Not with relationships, not with work and not with family obligations. My commitment issues lie in the form of product commitments. Shampoo for example. I buy shampoo, get through 3/4 of the bottle, […]

I am going to be the first one to admit to you that sometimes using a boxed mix, seasoning blend, or prepackaged item is just easier. I agree it is … especially when time is tight and you need to get dinner on the table quick.
I am also going to be the first one to […]

When I turned 16, I was finally allowed to date. For a constantly boy-crazy girl, I felt like sixteen would never come, and when it did, I took full advantage of it! I dated some pretty nice guys, but one guy, who ended up becoming my boyfriend for a few years, taught me more about […]

My grade-school friend, Jennifer Treiber, was the daughter of our school cafeteria cook. You know how most people complain about school food? Well, I cannot relate to such nonsense. Our school cafeteria had the best food. Poor Boy sandwiches that I have never had anything compare to. Chicken Supreme that was too good to be […]

Ahhhhh Summer… you came and seemed to only stay around for such a short while. Why do you do this to me each and every year? School gets out, I have tons of plans to do all sorts of wonderful things, and then before I know it, back-to-school night is in glaring red ink on […]