Category Archives: Easy Homemade

No-Fuss Polka Dot Date Cake

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Here is a quick and easy cake to bake which has a unique, yet mighty tasty flavor. The cake doesn’t need a separate icing — the nuts and chocolate chips which are sprinkled on top of the cake batter serve that purpose. The unique flavor comes from chopped dates which are added to the batter — please, don’t say “no” — this is a delicious cake. I don’t remember where the recipe came from; but I love the cake and have kept the recipe filed away all these years. When I need a “no-fuss” cake recipe, I call it up. This week, I have to bake a dessert in a hurry for a special event.  So I’m making “Polka Dot Date Cake.”

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Easy Cook: Best Ever Homemade Pizza

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It is “Super Bowl Sunday.” And this one-in-a year football game calls for pizza. I have always enjoyed making homemade pizza and this recipe may be my favorite pizza creations. It is incredibly easy to make and our taste testers decided that it tastes better than any “pizza in a box.” The flavors and ingredients are balanced — you can taste the toppings and not just the pizza crust. Best of all, you can customize the ingredients to each person’s preferences. The recipe is quick–taking about 5 minutes to make the pizza and 10 minutes to bake. Compare that to the time to get a pizza delivered from a pizza restaurant on “Super Bowl Sunday.” To make this “efficient” pizza, I used several convenience products. “Simple” was my objective. Here’s my “way too much” pepperoni pizza.

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Lament to Summer Tomatoes: A Savory, Silky Tomato Soup & Air Fryer Croutons

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“Savory Tomato Soup” is a soup which I made this past summer using canned tomatoes just because I just couldn’t find juicy, fresh ones. I’m making it again this winter — what is better than hot soup on a cold winter night. My summer garden crop of tomatoes flopped; the price of tomatoes in grocery stores was extravagant. I apparently missed the market for those delicious Creole tomatoes which I love so much. To spite the situation, I decided to make tomato soup using canned tomatoes rather than fresh ones. But move over, fresh tomatoes. This soup turned out to be quite delicious and can be made any time of the year, even when tomatoes are not in season. Here’s what I did.

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Easy Cook: Chicken Taco Soup

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“Chicken Taco Soup” is a hearty and satisfying soup to cook for a hurry-up lunch or supper meal. It is a quick recipe and doesn’t require much of effort — just open several cans — which is very nice once in awhile. I used left-over rotisserie chicken in the soup along with several canned and frozen vegetable ingredients and a packet of dry taco seasoning. That’s it; this recipe made a very tasty soup–entrée. Sometimes I will purchase a rotisserie chicken for a meal and find that about half of the chicken is left-over after we eat. Rather than let the chicken go to waste (which can easily happen), I have several recipes which make good use of the chicken. This is one such recipe. Plus, by reading the labels, I have found ways to cut down on the sodium in the soup.

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Freezer Banana Chocolate Chip Waffles

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Freezer waffles make such an easy and tasty breakfast and snack. We eat more Kellogg’s Eggo-Waffles at our house than I ever care to admit. So, why not make my own waffles? Should be easy enough, I thought. First, that meant purchasing a waffle iron, since I couldn’t find my old one. Second, it meant coming up with a recipe for waffles that taste like the commercial ones. Eggo-waffles are crispy, thin and flavorful. I wanted a square, thin waffles so that the waffles would fit in my toaster. The waffle iron which I purchased from Amazon turned out to be a Belgium waffle iron which makes thick waffles — and they are not square. Plus, the waffles are not crisp! But the waffles are very, very tasty. And, and I am happy to report that the frozen waffles do crisp up when re-heated in the toaster. Success!

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Easy Cook: A Small Batch of Air Fryer Granola

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Wow, I’ve just made the best and easiest batch of granola possible. It is crunchy and aromatic. And I used my newest kitchen “gadget,” an air fryer, which I purchased around the holiday season. The air fryer was intended as a Christmas present for a relative. But when the relative stated that she already had an air fryer, I decided to keep this Christmas present for myself. Do you ever do that? Although other friends say that they “love” cooking with air fryers, I really haven’t figured out a way to make good use of my air fryer. Today I decided to give this little appliance another try and am pleased to report that I made a very successful batch of granola.

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Easy Cook: Vicki’s Baked Salmon with Marmalade Glaze

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We all know that the American Dietary Guidelines recommend eating more salmon and deep sea fish for a heart-healthy diet. That’s great, but how do you cook the salmon? Sister-in-law, Vicki, shared this three-ingredient recipe for “Baked Salmon with Marmalade Glaze.” The salmon is tasty; and you can’t find an easier recipe than this one. And it is a great choice for the Passover meal coming up this week.

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Cheesy Cauliflower & Potato Soup

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What do you cook with half a head of cauliflower and one baking potato which are left over from other cooking projects? A soothing, hot soup for these cold spring nights is just what we all need. So I made “Cheesy Cauliflower & Potato Soup” which combines two of my favorite vegetables. The soup is creamy, smooth and flavorful. I used evaporated milk in the recipe rather than heavy cream; the soup is low-fat and healthy, too. Freeze the leftovers if you have any left. Add a little hot sauce to give a Cajun “zip.”

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Instant Pot Magic: Spaghetti with Diced Tomato & Meat Sauce

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For me, the joy of an “Instant Pot” is all about the challenge. I am starting out the New Year with another of my “Instant Pot” experiments. Can you cook spaghetti with diced tomato & meat sauce in an Instant Pot? Although cooking pasta on the stove in one pot and meat sauce in another pot really isn’t difficult, an Instant Pot does save several steps and it reduces the number of pots that you have to wash. (And that is so important.) Plus, homemade spaghetti sauce tastes better than any commercial one, in my opinion, and it is easy to make. As an added benefit, the homemade sauce can be made so that it is not high in sodium (salt). Spaghetti with meat sauce has always been one of our favorite “go to” suppers. With a “never give up” approach; I made this simple recipe over and over in an Instant Pot trying to get the process perfected.

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Easy Cook: A Small Batch of Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

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Autumn is the season for pumpkin, gourds, winter squash, apples and sweet potatoes. I look forward to cooler weather and all the fall produce. In addition to providing decoration for our homes and yards, pumpkin and winter squash are extremely tasty — when properly cooked. In my opinion, there is no comparison between freshly cooked pumpkin and the canned variety. My husband recently brought home several small “sugar pumpkins” or “pie pumpkins.” Okay, now I get to cook them! But, I’m ready. These pumpkins have a very mild, slightly sweet flavor and can be used in many recipes. Today I made a small batch of absolutely delicious “Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup.” Although some recipes for this soup are complicated, this Thai-inspired soup is extremely easy to make. 

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