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Looking for just the right peanut sauce to combine with stir-fry, I tried this recipe. I almost overlooked it because it was in Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious magazine, and sometimes "simple" means high-calorie convenience products. But this recipe is surprisingly light and also satisfying. My 10-year-old requests it. I like it as much for the taste as the nearest Thai restaurant is an hour away and not an expense we can afford all the time. This gives us the flavors we crave at a fraction of the cost and calories of dining out. It's also quick to prepare on a busy night. THAI CHICKEN STIR-FRY 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 16-ounce package frozen stir-fry vegetable blend, thawed 1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter  2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons garlic powder (sometimes I use a clove or 2 of real garlic added with the vegetables) 1/4 teasp...

Here is a yummy, easy and not-very-expensive (when you find pork chops on sale) from-scratch dinner. I've made this recipe regularly since I found it in the January-February 2010 issue of Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious magazine. Apple dumplings would be a good dessert. Consider corn muffins for your bread. On this particular night, I served the Maple Pork Chops with steamed broccoli, but a really good side is lime carrots (recipe follows). MAPLE PORK CHOPS 4 boneless pork loin chops (6 ounces each) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 egg 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs 3 tablespoons butter Sauce: 1/2 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons cider vinegar 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, beat egg and ginger. Place bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Dip chops in egg mixture, then coat with crumbs. In a large skillet, cook pork in butter over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on eac...

I was in a better humor on the first snow day of the school year, Oct. 28, when I started this post. I had nothing planned that day, unlike today when I am supposed to be working like a regular person in a city with adults and lunching with a dear friend. But enough about my troubles. The day I was in a good mood I made my daughter and her cousin waffles from-scratch because I had the time and inclination and patience... with the children and circumstances ... not the waffle-making process. Actually homemade waffles are not all that hard to make. Consider treating your family or just yourself this cold, snowy weekend. And if there is just one of you, freeze the extras and pop them in the toaster on the "defrost" setting on weekday mornings. This is where a vacuum sealer comes in handy. I own a Reynolds Handi-Vac and I will review it at the end of this blog and give you the recipe I use for "regular" waffles that you can add blueberries or other mix-ins to or just se...

I have long made country ribs in the oven covered with a thick, rich, spicy sauce from a recipe in an old The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. YUM! But when I read a new recipe for Sweet 'n' Spicy Country Ribs in Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious Sept./Oct. 2008, I decided to try it. I had everything for the recipe except apple juice. I could've bought it but I already had apple cider so I decided to use that instead. It caused no problem as far as I could tell. The big change I made was in the preparation method. The recipe is for the grill. I have no desire to fire up the charcoal grill, especially on a day when my house could use the warming from the oven. I have a cast-iron grill pan but no desire to cook two ribs at a time for 45 minutes per batch. So instead I used the grill pan at an extremely high heat to sear each rib and get sexy grill marks, then I finished the meat off in the oven. Oven roasting is the method used in my preferred recipe, which follows. I...