Slow Cooked Beef Tips

  My kids know how extremely lucky we are. Three days later, we're still incredulous as  we watch footage of the mass devastation from Hurricane Sandy in towns not far from here. Just a few block south we have many friends and neighbors still without power, evacuated from buildings, suffering major loss from the floods. While most of the stores are  beginning to resume their natural course of business, many are still functioning on skeleton hours with shoe string staff.  Even though we know we were spared, nothing seems … [Read more...]

Slow Cooking: (Baked) Apples

I loved the week of slow cookery so much that I'm continuing my love affair with my crock pot this week too.  Over the weekend, when reaching in the fridge for some homemade apple butter,  I realized that we had finally depleted our handsome supply from our harvest trip back in October.  However, I was still eager to try a new apple-based recipe and Mom's Baked Apples came to mind. Actually, my ears were really perked when I read a recent blog post a few weeks earlier called "Baked Apple Methodone" over at Foodtrainers,  I specifically … [Read more...]

Slow Cooking: Macaroni with Four Cheeses

Not too long ago I would aimlessly wander down the grocery aisles grabbing for any packaged meal to alleviate my dinner stresses. The all-to-familiar box of Kraft Mac and Cheese always found a comfortable place in my shopping cart and on my dinner table in college.  Fast forward twenty years and that same box still has a reserved spot in my pantry.  It gets worse.  I started using Kraft Easy Mac – the microwaveable alternative to the stove top Mac. Yes, even with two young kids I was still willing to sacrifice taste and nutrition (HELLO SODIUM) … [Read more...]