Some favorite recipes that I want to share with my church group: sourdough focaccia, crispy cheesy pan pizza, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
Cooking with Mary
Cooking has been a hobby of Mary’s since her wedding in 1999 (her husband soon tired of boxed Hamburger Helper). She strives to make yummy (and usually healthy) meals from scratch that her whole family will enjoy. She is always researching techniques and learning new things about cooking.

Cooking and Baking Favorites

Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
These Yukon Gold mashed potatoes are a big hit at my house. There are actually cheers when my family finds out we’re having mashed potatoes for dinner… they usually enjoy the potatoes more than our main dish!

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti is one of my ultimate comfort foods: a sweet and spicy tomato sauce with meat and noodles. This recipe has some family history to it, too.

Chicken Noodle Soup
This is a classic chicken noodle soup recipe. It is perfect for a cold winter day, when your family has the sniffles, or when you just want to eat something comforting.

Tender Smoked Brisket
Beef brisket is a barbecue icon. It has a tendency to be dry, but it doesn’t have to be. If you follow this recipe, your brisket will the most tender, juicy brisket you’ll ever have. It will be the stuff of legend! There are three steps involved: a long sous vide water bath, a cool-down, […]

German Pancakes
Hot, fluffy, sweet German pancakes are perfect on a snowy Saturday morning. This breakfast recipe is so yummy, and it is perfect for when you want to make something but don’t have more than the normal staples on hand. German pancakes brown beautifully when baked in a cast-iron skillet, but if you don’t have one, […]

Reduced Chicken Stock
Homemade chicken stock is so easy to make, and uses mostly leftover ingredients. Reducing it concentrates the flavor. Recipes you make using your own homemade chicken stock will be so much better than using the store-bought kind.

Secrets for Perfect Caesar Salad
Caesar salad is dead simple to make. For me, the tricks are in these techniques: prep your greens, grate your own cheese, and make your own croutons.

Chicken Pasta à la Bryan
There is something about the flavors in Chicken Bryan from Carrabba’s that I love. Tonight I made a chicken pasta dish with many of the same flavors. I wasn’t going for a copycat recipe; I wanted to make something I could call my own. Here it is! First, I use a sous vide to cook […]
Honey Butter
Every Christmas morning, and other times during the year when my kids are especially good, I make honey butter as a treat. It goes equally well with scones or cornbread. Print Recipe Honey Butter This honey butter recipe is perfect to drizzle over cornbread or scones for some yummy comfort food! It is whipped to […]