Recipe Rescue

Lucy is my cousin in Colorado Springs and she is a fantastic cook with a warm heart and an amazing family. Recently we went to Guy and Lucy's house for a special celebration, they really know how to keep the family fed (thanks Shawn for the grand champ beef). Amongst the wide assortment of fresh salsa's, chips and more there it was, the most incredible shrimp pasta salad.

I love thing's that make my job in the kitchen fun and easier, I saw that a friend of mine on Facebook had posted a gadget and I was like... oohhh, I want that so then I started looking around... check out what crazy kitchen gadgets I found.

I was just talking to Josh, our front end guy here at the station and he was talking about how much he and his wife love using the slow cooker for meals, I never think of it, but it is a great way to get dinner out of the way without any just walk in the door chaos after work. So something really simple is pork chops and taters in the slow cooker, the cat could probably get this started for you while you're out.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Fleischkuekle. This dish is like a kraut burger without the kraut, I know what you're thinking "then why bother", but trust me, this is some good gotta have some food.... so come on, it's time for some Fleischkuekle!

This recipe will delight everyone in the family, especially if they're a little nutty.

Side dishes throw me for the biggest loop ever... I can easily figure out the star of the meal, usually chicken and can come up with a starch (because that's my favorite part of the meal) but a side dish... a cool and tasty side dish not just opening a can or bag of veggies or throwing green beans in a skillet till their tasteless. But now my side dish dilemma, at least one, is solved.

It's usually a scramble for me to figure out what to take to a potluck in the summer (in the middle of the week), it always seems that when you get to the big party everyone has brought a salad and there isn't any real protein (unless there is a bbq with hamburgers). But a lot of the time when you meet at say City Park, you just bring something that is quick and easy, like a salad. Now you can think outside of the box and put your crock pot to work.

By now you are likely swimming in zucchini and regretting putting in more than 2 zucchini plants. After all there is only so much grilled zucchini, zucchini chocolate cake and raw zucchini in your salad a fella can take. Stuffed zucchini is pretty easy and really good.

I am thankful to have Christine in my life, oh the way our connections are made in this life are extraordinary. She made an awesome salsa this morning and I said I must share that, so all the way from Kansas she invites us into her kitchen for a most amazing fresh garden salsa.

The thing about weekend cooking is we seemingly have more time, but really just want to be pampered. The weekend is already full of honey do this and honey do that, to throw cooking a great meal verses opening a cereal box can be a chore, not anymore. This affordable and easy casserole will make it easy to gather for a weekend/Sunday brunch without taking a lot of time away from yard work, laundry and errands.

I didn't know that I like these... what? I was at a house gathering recently and I was like wow what is this... good stuff, Sweet Basil Thai Chicken Wings!

Call me a weirdo but I love the imitation crab salad you almost always find at a buffet. I like to eat it on crackers on a buttery crescent and by the forkful. Recently I thought, shoot, I don't have to go to a buffet, I can make this at home... I did and it was a hit!