Recipe: Cream of Mushroom Soup

We have been living in our current house for almost three years. Our previous house had an immense backyard with no shade trees at all, perfect for a garden. I loved that yard, I loved that garden. Our current yard is plenty big, but it is also plenty shaded. “But not too shaded,” I reassured […]

Recipe: Tortellini Soup

When my wife was pregnant with our firstborn, her number one craving was soup. I suppose as far as pregnancy cravings go it was pretty innocuous. So for close to six months I made a pot of soup every week. According to her, I got pretty good at it. This is my favorite one that […]

Recipe: Chicken Stock

Whenever I make things like chicken soup or stew, I always start with a whole chicken, and use the broth made from cooking the chicken as the base for my soup/stew. However, any other time I’ve cooked a recipe that calls for chicken broth or stock, I’ve used store bought. In an effort to be […]

Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I remember eating Brussels sprouts just once growing up, and hating them. I believe they were boiled, or maybe steamed. Either way, I remember them being stinky, mushy, and gross. It’s no wonder I didn’t try them again until just a few years ago. But I have learned a secret about Brussels sprouts, one I’m […]

Recipe: Pastor’s Pickled Peppers

I do not like pickles. Pickled cucumbers, that is. I have recently learned that my brother and my step-mother are pickle aficionados. Apparently they try every pickle they can, make mental notes on which ones they like, which they don’t, who makes what kind of pickles and when, what store has what pickles on sale […]

Recipe: Squash Fritters

In the last couple of recipes I’ve published, I might have disparaged my dad’s cooking just a bit. While I stand by my claim that he was not and is not a gourmand, I do want to clarify that he did more than his fair share to keep my brother and me healthy and well-fed. […]

Recipe: Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry with Ginger/Garlic/Honey Sauce

Growing up, my dad regularly made stir-fry using bags of frozen stir-fry vegetables, whatever meat seemed like a good idea, and little else. As a result, I never really liked stir-fry. After moving out on my own, I attempted my own stir-fries, with fresh vegetables and complicated concoctions of soy sauce and citrus juice and […]

Recipe: Sweet Potato Taco Bake

Yes, I know it sounds weird. Jessica and I eat a lot of sweet potatoes, primarily for three reasons. 1) Sweet potatoes are the easiest, most abundant crop I’ve ever grown, so we have on multiple occasions had an abundance of them. 2) Sweet potatoes are pretty healthy for you. 3) Sweet potatoes are delicious. […]

Recipe: Hamburger Casserole

Jessica, my wife, regularly returns to San Diego to see her family, leaving me behind, alone. I like it that way. I am a very introverted person, and with two small children in the house, alone time is at an all time premium. If I did not have church services and meetings while Jessica and […]

Recipe: Sausage Balls

This Tuesday starts one of the highest, holiest holidays in my family: the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Nothing elicits the mania of eastern North Carolina natives like ACC basketball. I remember a TV being wheeled into the classroom and the games being on while we did worksheets in school. It has always been a big […]