Pecan Upside-Down Cake

I woke up this morning craving the gooey, sticky pecan rolls from Panera Bread. That was a bit of a problem since the closest Panera from my house is about 30 miles away.

I didn't want to waste the time and gas to get one. That left me with the alternative of making some. I started looking through recipes and had no luck finding a "quick" version that didn't take a lot of kneading and rising time for a yeast based dough.

Then I got to thinking, why not just turn it into an upside-down cake. This turned out to be a delicious breakfast and will also double as tonight's dessert after dinner.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie

I have a problem. When I walk into a grocery store, it is similar to a kid walking into a candy store.

I've gone grocery shopping with friends before. We walk along the isles and like the typical American, my friends will stop and stare at the 50 variety of cookies, trying to decide what it is that they want to munch on this week. I however by-pass the store bought cookies, breeze through the 25 flavors of Pop Tarts, and spend my time staring at the different spices and herbs.

I get weird looks from the people trying to grab the standard jar of cinnamon while I'm just standing there staring, trying to decide what I could make with this spice or that herb. I've been known to laugh at people who actually buy the pre-mixed cinnamon and sugar. (Really people, it's just cinnamon and sugar, you can make it at home and save a little money!)  My friends don't go to the grocery store with me much anymore.

To try to save time and to avoid the annoyed looks while I stand in the way of the typical American consumer who doesn't know what to do with all the things in the little glass jars, I discovered  Penzey's, a company that sells some amazing spices that are very hard to find, especially at such affordable prices.

As I was staring at the catalog, reading all the different variety of spices, I came across a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie.

I love cookie dough, so much so when I set out to make chocolate chip cookies, it rarely results in cookies.

This pie turned out AMAZING. It is like eating cookie dough in pie crust.

Baked Porridge with Pear

I am moving in slow motion this morning. I know it's Sunday, a day to rest but I spent almost 4 hours making and eating breakfast. If you aren't moving as slow as molasses in the wintertime, you could easily make and eat this breakfast dish in under an hour and a half.

I saw this recipe from Panna about a month ago, however even with my pantry well stocked with various grains and flours, I had no semolina. I figured that any plain porridge would do, so I made a mixture of Cream of Rice and some wheat bran to use as the porridge base. Oatmeal would not work well for this however because of the texture.

This is going to become one of those recipes that I make often, especially in the fall and winter when hot cereal becomes the common breakfast of my house and there always seems to be about a half serving left over that is too little to save for the next day's breakfast but yet too much to throw out without feeling wasteful.

Turkey Loaf

Most nights I cook rather large meals, usually complex dishes that take several hours to make. Not last night.

Last night I had enough energy to open the 1 pound package of ground turkey that was on special for $1.00. Add too that a pack of corn that was frozen from my parents' garden and some rice and you have a simple (and super cheap) dinner.

This is a perfect meal to toss together when you completely lack energy. It takes about 5 minutes to assemble and an hour and a half to bake.

Banana-Blueberry Breakfast Cakes

Today got off to a very slow start. Maybe it was the three day weekend. Maybe it's the dreary, depressing, rainy weather outside. Whatever the reason, I was not moving very fast. Neither was my oven.

Two months ago I found this recipe for Blueberry Buckwheat Breakfast Cakes. I have regularly been stalking Panna's blog as well as several other European blogs that focus on breakfast foods. Breakfast cakes, such as these, are apparently a very common dish.

I have spent several months visiting various grocery stores, trying to fill my pantry with all the different types of grains that appear in many of these recipes.

It has not been an easy task. Apparently the majority of Americans do not eat these things. I however am falling in love.

Healthy and delicious?!? What more could a girl want?

Homemade BBQ Ribs and Hasselback Potatoes

It's been a stressful weekend. Nothing has gone right. Not in my life. Not in my significant other's life.

I love to cook for people, he loves to eat. It works out well.

My dinner plans for the evening did not work out well. My mother made ribs the last time I was in Ohio. They were moist, tender and tasted like the generic bottle of barbecue sauce that she dumped on top of them. Not my ideal food but they were ok.

I set out on a mission to make my own, from scratch. Or at least as "from scratch" as possible. Making my own ketchup would have taken entirely too long. Although probably would have greatly improved my sauce.