Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Gooey and fudgy! And, no shame here, I love them from a box as well. Actually, more like a bag....the store brand.

I love Sonic for their half price drinks during happy hour....I always get a cherry limeade with extra cherry syrup. And Braums has the best burgers...they are HUGE and very filling, plus I love their crinkle cut fries. We used to have a Bojangles but they closed it down....they had great iced tea!

We are a family of seven and we don't have a Costco here but we have a Sam's Club and I probably shop there at least 3 times a month. Things that I buy that I think are a great deal in bulk:

diapers
baby wipes
toilet paper
paper towels
ziploc bags
dishwasher detergent
dawn dishwashing liquid
dog treats (chicken jerky)
children's vitamins
chicken
steaks
milk
flour
nuts (pecans, walnuts and almonds....always a better bargain to buy in bulk)
pancake mix
cheese
kids snacks
bottled water
potatoes
lemons

and I always find their fruit to be fresh and a good deal to boot. DVD's are usually a good deal and so are their books.

wow, ramps really seem to bring out the rage in some people.

We can't get ramps where I live so I have no idea what you do with them but it did remind of something my dad told me one. He grew up on a farm in West Virginia and went to a little one room school house. Apparently W.V. is the place to get ramps, they grow wild all over the woods but it gives you really terrible breath when you eat them and if any of the kids ate them, they were sent home from school immediately! Apparently the smell of the offender's bad breath would just permeate the school and make the teacher and other kids sick. I always thought that was a funny story.

I store my flour and grains in airtight containers and I clean out the cabinets with bleach every 6 months or so. We had bug problems once a few years ago and we found that putting a bayleaf in each cabinet worked to drive them away....I don't know if it was the cleaning or the bayleaf but something worked and we have never had them since.

I just started canning too! I went out and bought the canning kit like this: http://www.amazon.com/Jarden-Home-Brands-11102-Canning/dp/B001DITLL2/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I39WM8IOL164PN&colid=1JJGGZV8LNFDC

and made my first test recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Candy-Apple-Jelly/Detail.aspx

and it was a success! My jars sealed perfectly and I am now on the prowl for my next project. I can't wait until all the fruits are in season because I want to do a lot of jams and jellies and pie fillings. I have learned that old recipes are great but the techniques in old books....not so great. Always use the latest and up to date recommendations:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html

http://www.foodsafetysite.com/consumers/resources/canning.html

http://canningusa.com/TableofContentsGeneralBook2.htm

Remember never to invert jars like old canning books tell you to...they now say that can cause tiny particles of food to creep into the threads of the jar and spoil. Also use a pressure canner for low acid foods (veggies and meats) and like they said above, have everything ready and in place before you start. Good luck!

Born in New Mexico, raised in Spain and Germany, college in Washington DC and now I live in Arkansas.

When I was pregnant with my twins, I had an a HUGE craving for a green chile cheeseburger, the kind you find in a small roadside diner on the backroads of New Mexico.....perfectly cooked thick burger, melty cheddar cheese and a huge scoop of roasted green chile. My wonderful husband drove me 6 hours out of state just so I could eat one for dinner and then he drove me back home like the wonderful husband that he is...I slept the whole trip through, both ways, only waking up to eat!

I love Italian Cream Cake covered with toasted coconut and coconut cream pie with toasted coconut, so basically I guess I really only like toasted coconut.

Breakfast for me too. I'm NOT a morning person (or at least I wasn't until my twins showed up and I haven't slept past 6 in the morning since....they are 7 years old now) and eating early in the morning kind of makes me nauseous but I do it anyway (oatmeal, shredded wheat, raisin bran, fruit salad and every once in a blue moon I'll have an hard boiled egg and an english muffin) since it's the most important meal of the day.

As a kid, every Sunday morning was pancake and bacon day.....Dad would stand at the stove and fry bacon (and pancake after pancake) and the whole family would sit down to eat....the bacon was delicious.....he would cut it himself and always do something creative.....one week it would be hand-peppered and the next week it would be coated with maple or brown sugar and it was such a wonderful combination of sweet and savory....

This makes a great casserole those cold winter mornings...I like to serve it with homemade cinnamon rolls and warm spiced fruit compote.

Cheddar Bacon Baked Grits Casserole

2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup hominy quick grits
1 1/2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
10 slices turkey bacon (or pork bacon, whatever floats your boat) fried crisp and chopped fine
1/4 cup green onions, chopped (about 4) (optional)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into very tiny pieces

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 1 1/2-quart casserole or an 8 inch square pan. Bring milk, water, salt and pepper to boiling in 2-quart saucepan. Gradually add grits, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick. Be careful when stirring, because at this point it might pop out of the pan at you.

Stir in the cheese. Then stir 1 cup of the hot grits into eggs; stir back into remaining hot grits in saucepan, add bacon and onions. Pour hot mixture into casserole. Dot with butter; sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes or until set. Eat hot for slightly soft and creamy grits or let stand about 10-15 minutes for firmer grits that you can slice.

This is my family’s favorite winter breakfast….they’ll even eat it cold! We’ve always made this with turkey bacon, just because it’s healthier but it’s also very good with regular bacon.