Ivy says: Now is a good time to start planing a Thanksgiving leftover party. When I have one, I plan it for the Saturday after Thanksgiving when everyone’s all shopped out and too tired to cook. The premise is this: everyone brings their leftovers and you eat what’s there. Any leftover leftovers are packaged up …
Heather says: If you have never roasted a turkey or chicken before, Thanksgiving is not the day for your trial run, just ask Ivy about their near Thanksgiving Massacre of ’01. Your homework for this week is to roast a chicken as practice for the big day. Do not fear the turkey, it is just …
Ever since I worked at Bennigan’s, I have adored potato soup. I am fairly certain if it weren’t for snitched rolls and ramekins of baked potato soup, I would have wasted away in my late teens. I was sad to see the company recently declare bankruptcy, but take heart. The potato soup lives on. This …
Heather says: Brace yourselves, I’m about to go all FLYlady on you for one post. No, I’m not going to flood your inboxes or ask if you are wearing shoes. What I am going to do is give you a goal. Every night (or morning or afternoon for you shift workers) just before you head …
Ivy says: No, I’m not dead, or even undead! Just getting ready for the scariest Halloween ever in which my in-laws are coming from California to visit. Heather and I are busy taking out our little ghouls and goblins for trick or treating tonight. Tomorrow, look for our fabulous annual Countdown to Turkey Day! Have …
Heather says: We are swimming in apple cider at my house. While almost everyone I know enjoys hot cider simmered with cinnamon, my children were rather unimpressed. I refuse to drink the entire gallon solo. Rather than letting it go to waste I began experimenting. Monday morning we tried apple cinnamon oatmeal, substituting 1/2 of …
Dear Home Ec 101, My cookies keep ending up flat, hard and chewy, what can I do? I have tried 5 different recipes and my cookies all come out the same, flat. I watch them in the oven and they puff all up and then it is like bubbles popping and they flatten out before …
Ivy says: My inability to cook is legendary. Want a cake or a pie? I’m good at that- I can bake. But if you want some fried chicken, I am not your girl. That said, I have three kids and I’m on a budget. I have to cook. And in order to save money and …
Ivy says: Yesterday Mr. Ivy made a divine potato soup for lunch. It was thick and creamy and rich and fabulous. And no, you can’t have the recipe, because he won’t even give the recipe to me. But there was cheese and celery and fabulous and win in there, I can tell you that much. …
Ivy says: My latest in bathroom reading has been a book of household hints from 1970. Some of the hints are useful, some of them are truly amusing in their datedness, some of them are perplexing. Something that really struck me was this quote: “There is no point in embroidering or buying a ‘Welcome’ mat …