What are your favorite restaurants to dine at on your birthday? A few of mine are (depending on my food mood at the time): Olive Garden Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant in Galveston, Texas Cheesecake Factory Last Friday, January 8th, was my birthday (yes, it’s the same as Elvis Presley’s). My daughter and granddaughters and I went out for a late breakfast – French toast. When I was asked where I wanted to eat for my birthday dinner, I thought of Olive Garden and Cheesecake Factory but wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for (I was still full from French toast at the time). CheesecakeRead More →

Starting off the new year with low inventory in the kitchen pantry? Recipe creations and different menus can be great fun when you’re trying to make ends meet or waiting until payday. One of the menus I’ve come up with since January 1st is potato soup and Charro beans. You could eat either without the other, but I tried something different this time. Put the beans in a bowl first, then the potato soup over the beans, and top it all with grated cheddar cheese. I’ve added it to my comfort food list. SOOO good. Cornbread would make a great side for this new potato-beanRead More →

This new year has started off with a different twist for me. A vanilla latte the morning of January 1st. I was warming up for my intended every-day-blogging routine for 2016. The new routine took the warming up with coffee and a yummy comfort meal before the actual blogging began. Yesterday’s dinner breakfast omelet was wonderful, and I finally managed to get the post published around midnight I think. What made the meal delightful, though, was adding French toast as a side. Omelets and French toast fit very nicely in my comfort food list. French toast sprinkled with powdered sugar has shown up on menus forRead More →

Veggie Inspired Breakfast

Happy New Year, food lovers! Start off January with a cheddar and feta omelet breakfast and a hot frothy vanilla latte. That’s my idea of a fun way to start a new year anyway. What’s yours? Breakfast makes me happy no matter the time of day I eat it, especially an omelet loaded with cheese. 7 Reasons Why an Omelet is a Healthy Choice Eggs contain nutrients like these: Protein –  builds and repair tissues and good for the bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. Omega 3 – good for the heart Amino Acids – Eggs have all 9 essential amino acids, including ones that enhance theRead More →

Weekends are kind of like mini-holidays for people who work Monday through Friday. Mornings are typically rushed during the week with little time to spend extra time in the kitchen. One of the fanciest breakfasts I remember my mother making was French toast. I only got to have that when on vacation. The occasion was when my two young stepdaughters were on a summer visit. The eldest, Ivy, who stayed right by Mother’s side to watch, said, “I know how to make French toast.” A bond between those two began that day. They were so much alike in some ways. Possible perfectionists, they had aRead More →

What foods and decor items do you like to include in your fall tablescapes? I love these: Lazy Susans – Handy for hospitality and decorating the tablescape. Burlap & Candles – Brings out the rustic cabin look that I admire with scented candles. The more candles the better. Ahhh! Apples & Pumpkins – Gotta have these for fall decor…fresh apples, MacIntosh Apple Candles (the best!). Candy Corn & Spanish Peanuts Medley with Mini Pumpkins – This one’s a sentimental holiday must do for me. It brings back fond memories of my paternal grandmother. A Dish of Nuts and a Nutcracker – Do you collect nutcrackers? ThereRead More →

Get ready for fall comfort food with root vegetables that look and taste good. I mean, who doesn’t like potatoes and carrots? Kids even like to munch on carrot sticks. Treat your family with a hearty stew or soup with vegetables like carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, turnips, garlic, and ginger. What’s great about these type of vegetable dishes is they are flavored with natural juices. Season with your favorite herbs and spices for a delicious meal for your family and guests. Make a Stew with Fingerling Potatoes My daughter makes a vegetable soup with root vegetables with fingerlings, small potatoes. These little purple, red, and whiteRead More →

A Fall Tablescape with Candy Corn

One of the best Halloween candies is candy corn. In my opinion, that is. My paternal grandmother always kept them in a little kitchen drawer. Every time I went to visit her, I would head for that drawer. If there was no candy corn there, I would find butterscotch candy instead. But I preferred the candy corn. Still today, I have to buy at least one bag of candy corn each year for Halloween. A friend told me about a different way to serve candy corn. Add Spanish peanuts. I had never tried that before, so I thought why not. I love it because theRead More →

Strawberry Souffle for National Dessert Day

Hey, y’all! It’s National Dessert Day! One of the kitchen joys I like the most is preparing a dessert because I love sweets and enjoy making them for family and friends. Lately, I’ve strived to be more mindful of my daily nutritional intake – including desserts. Call it food for comfort, reward, or whatever you think best fits, sweets just simply taste good. That doesn’t mean I don’t like eating meat or vegetables. The bottom line is that I prefer the main meal – and the dessert. Who says I can’t have the cake and eat it, too? Since using MyFitnessPal, an easy-to-use IOS calorieRead More →