This is one of those desserts that kids and moms alike enjoy. Few ingredients and ease of preparation put it high on my list of stand-bys. The strawberries can easily be substituted with any other berry or even chocolate pudding. Make sure the angel food cake you get is a 10 inch size - any smaller and you'll have leftover filling. This can also be made in a 9x13 inch cake pan in a single layer. Any way you … Read More

Cannelloni is a lovely stuffed pasta dish very popular in Italian cuisine. Usually pasta sheets or cannelloni shells are used. Both are hard to find where I live, so I improvised and used egg roll wrappers. Egg roll wrappers are a pasta, but a very thin and delicate one, which just adds to the appeal of this dish. Egg roll wrappers are also far easier to stuff and roll than cooked pasta shells, which can be slippery and messy. The… Read More

I think every parent hates to hear, "Ew! I'm not eating that!" or, "I don't like that. Can I have PB&J?" at dinnertime. My kids like this next recipe so much that just last night I heard, "Mom, dinner was really good. Can we have it again tomorrow night?" Now, that works for me!

The original recipe was one I threw together right after my last baby was born. It was a desperation dinner and nothing I felt spectacular… Read More

Sure, you can buy frozen pizzas loaded with toppings, but what if you live in an area where plain and pepperoni are your only choices? How about picky eaters? My own kids always find at least one thing on those pre-made pies that they just don't want. They'll sit there and systematically pick their slice to pieces and then claim that they don't like it.

Delivery and take-out pizza can get expensive as well, so I pick up plain frozen pizzas… Read More

I have some serious taco lovers in this family, but some nights the tedium of putting so many tacos together isn't anything I'm up to.
With only 6 ingredients and a short bake time, this dish works well for busy nights - which is every night here.
Add a bagged salad and vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce for a perfect mid-week meal.

Cheesy Chicken Taco Bake

3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 package taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups… Read More

I've written before about the virtues of deli roast chickens and I have a few more ideas for these lovely birds.
If you've gotten behind and need dinner fast, a deli roast chicken may be your savior. This one uses a teriyaki
flavored chicken, a few bags of frozen veggies and a simple throw-together (or bottled) sauce to pull it
together - in 20 minutes!

Peanut Sauced Chicken and Vegetables

1 deli roast chicken - teriyaki style or other
2 bags (… Read More