Snacks & Appetizers

July 5, 2019 - Spicy Bacon Squash Puppies

Got too much squash? It’s that time of year! Squash puppies are a fun way to use up a little of that extra yellow stuff–but hey, you can substitute zucchini also! How to make Spicy Bacon Squash Puppies: 2 bacon slices, cooked, diced, reserve bacon grease 1 medium yellow squash, diced 2 jalapeno peppers, diced...
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July 3, 2015 - Easy Homemade Onion Dip

You need this dip this weekend! I guarantee I’m having it here. I love the Lipton onion soup mix dip, so of course I had to figure out how to make it from scratch. It’s barely any more work to make it homemade, and much more delicious, so why not? Here’s how. How to make...
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March 12, 2015 - Cracker Fix

In the past month, I was stuck at the farm quite a bit. There was one point where I didn’t get out for two weeks because of snow and ice except for when my neighbor took me to the grocery store in his truck. I stock up, of course, preparing for that very thing, so...
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January 27, 2015 - Not Your Mama’s Tater Tots

I have a love-hate relationship with tater tots. What’s not to love about a fried bundle of shredded potato deliciousness? Except that all the tater tots I’ve ever had came frozen and seasoned with a sprinkle of cardboard flavoring. (Cardboard Season-All, find it in your grocer’s baking aisle!) For some reason, it never even occurred...
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January 23, 2015 - Crispy Fried Broccoli and Peppers

Yesterday was Morgan’s birthday. (19! How does that happen?) She’ll be home this weekend, and having her birthday dinner tonight. One of her favorite restaurants is Red Lobster, so I decided to make her a Red Lobster birthday dinner–at home. I’ll be grilling a seafood mix for her–lobster tails, shrimp, mussels, calamari, and octopus–along with...
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May 29, 2014 - Armadillo Eggs

I wrote about Miss Kay’s Duck Commander Kitchen cookbook after I picked it up in West Monroe, Louisiana on my way back from Texas. Here, as promised, is the other recipe I’ve tried so far. As I said, I like the cookbook, which is a surprise to me for a celebrity cookbook, and I recommend...
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March 21, 2014 - Fried Deviled Eggs

Watching food and cooking programs on TV is one of my guilty pleasures, though I’ve rarely tried a recipe I’ve seen on one. I just like to look at food. A while back, I watched a show where the host visited a restaurant serving fried deviled eggs. (It was Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.) I’d never...
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February 17, 2014 - Homemade Potato Chips

Who doesn’t love potato chips? I could sit down and eat an entire bag, any day of the week, which might explain why I rarely buy potato chips. They’re so enticing. And snackable. But then potato chips go so well with sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc, so I buy some then I have to eat...
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June 17, 2013 - Homemade Soft Pretzels

We just had two days of workshops here, with cheesemaking, soapmaking, and baking. One of the attendees at the baking day asked about homemade soft pretzels. I took up the challenge and here’s what I came up with–and they came out delicious! Start with a batch of Grandmother Bread dough. How to make Grandmother Bread:...
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July 28, 2011 - Garlic-Rosemary Flat Bread

Recently, I received this tantalizing comment from Sarak K on my Garlic-Rosemary Butterhorns. “I’ve made these a few times now and love them! Last time I used the dough to make crackers instead of rolls. Roll them thin. Poke them with a fork. Don’t let them rise before baking. Pull them out when they start...
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January 6, 2011 - Popping Popcorn

Making old-fashioned popcorn on the top of the stove is almost a lost art in today’s world of microwave popcorn and fancy air-poppers. Ask your average kid today how to make popcorn and a good number of them are likely to tell you how many minutes it takes in the microwave. Even when I was...
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December 26, 2010 - Party Sandwich Ring

Yesterday afternoon, we were going to a little family get-together and I was supposed to bring something sandwichy. I baked a ham last week, and I love sandwiches on thick-sliced homemade bread, but even that gets a little old sometimes and I want something different. Different yet still sandwichy. I had this dim, distant, long-ago...
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July 27, 2010 - Hush Puppy Heaven

Hush puppies, where have you been??? I used to make hush puppies quite often. I love hush puppies. But for some reason, I forgot about hush puppies. (How could that happen?) I haven’t made hush puppies in a long time. Then suddenly I woke up one day and hush puppies popped into my head and...
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June 21, 2010 - Making Perfect Deviled Eggs

Nothing disappears faster off a potluck table than deviled eggs. In fact, some people go to potlucks just for the deviled eggs. (That would be me.) I’ve made deviled eggs numerous times, but have never been entirely happy with the result–because of my lack of expertise in hard-boiled eggs. Making perfect deviled eggs, of course,...
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July 20, 2009 - Fried Stuffed Squash Blossoms & Zucchini Fritters

I’ve got a double-header today for your squash and zucchini arsenal this summer–Fried Stuffed Squash Blossoms and Zucchini Fritters. Both recipes are easy, delicious, and different ways to use the sometimes overwhelming bounty bursting out of gardens this time of year. In fact, if you’ve got too much squash and zucchini and it’s threatening to...
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February 4, 2009 - In Pursuit of the Perfect Pepperoni Roll

The pepperoni roll, aka the State Food of West Virginia, is one of those simple things that makes life good. I’d never even heard of a pepperoni roll before moving here, but the testament to the pepperoni roll’s popularity in the Mountain State is found in every grocery store, bakery, and even gas station convenience...
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November 5, 2008 - Tea Cakes

Tea cakes! Seriously, who has afternoon tea? It sounds so lovely, but I don’t have time in the middle of my busy afternoon to sit down and have tea, but ooooh, it sounds so nice. I want to have tea, does that count? I wonder if my great-grandmother, pioneer on the Oklahoma plains and keeper...
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