Heather says: This lentil casserole recipe is light on the budget, simple, and filling. 2 cups dried lentils 4 cups water 1TBSP extra virgin olive oil 1 onion – diced 2 cloves garlic – minced or pressed 2 celery ribs chopped 2 carrots – chopped 1 red bell pepper (optional) 1 green bell pepper (or …
Dear Home Ec 101, Do you have a good cornbread recipe or tips on baking cornbread? I generally use a corn meal mix and it always comes out too dry and “crummy”. I like for the outside to be crisp but for the inside to be soft and to stay together instead of falling apart …
Dear Home Ec 101, I have 3 things to cook at 350 degrees and 1 thing to cook at 400 degrees all at the same time. Can I bake the “baked macaroni and cheese” that’s supposed to be baked at 400 degrees at 350 degrees and increase the time? Signed, ~Supersides Me Heather says: First …
Dear Home Ec 101, Do you have any recipes for beef spare ribs? My grocery store had a special, but I have no idea what to do with them. Ribsy Heather says: I will not get into a semantical argument about what constitutes BBQ as there are die-hard loyalists in every corner of the country …
Dear Home Ec 101, I was hoping to do something with pork chops this week too, they are on sale. Do you do anything special to them, or just bake them straight up? Can anyone point me to a good pork chop recipe or pork roast (but not loin) recipe? Puzzled by Pork Heather says: …
Heather says: I love this pie. I love it so much that I’m willing to deal with pie crust just to eat it. Feel free to halve the recipe, if I go to the trouble to make one pie I go ahead and make a second for a friend. 14 apples, peeled, cored, sliced* (use …
How to Roast Vegetables Roasting vegetables is a simple way to bring out the flavor. I like to mix it up and use vegetables such as: turnips, carrots, parsnips, zucchini, and yellow squash. For extra flavor, I’ll slice an onion into wedges and add a garlic clove or two. Preheat the oven to 425°F, …
Dear Home Ec 101, I lost my head and signed up to bake something for my mothers’ group. I’m a mess in the kitchen and need something easy. We meet in the morning, if that helps. Help! ~Harried Hostess Heather says: If you can make a cake from a box mix, you can handle these …
Heather says: If I hadn’t already fallen for my friend’s charming personality, this punch would have endeared her to my coffee loving soul. Coffee Punch 12 cups strong coffee (Waffle House strong) 1/2 cup sugar + extra to sweeten to taste 1 generous tsp vanilla (eyeball it) 1/2 pint whipping cream (It’s a treat, …
Heather says: Bagel purists avert your eyes. I believe I’ll refer to this recipe as Quick and Dirty Bagels.” They get the job done, are much better than frozen, and do not require a whole lot of work, but I would never put them up against a genuine NY bagel. This recipe was originally designed …