Simple Daily Recipes

Lucky Leaf Simple Pie Kit Giveaway

Krista G. representing Lucky Leaf® gave me two full-size cans of Lucky Leaf® Apple Pie Filling and Strawberry Pie Filling as well as a Lucky Leaf® cook book—which contains contest-winning recipes that were tested and approved by the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen. She asked me to test the recipes out in my own kitchen, and tell her (and others) what I thought. Well, I thought of something much more interesting than just my opinion. I asked her if she would donate extra cans and cook books for a pie kit giveaway. Krista responded with a most generous, "YES!" ...

Creamy Creole Shrimp and Pasta

With proper planning and a little prep work, Creamy Creole Shrimp and Pasta is a pretty simple dinner to pull off. My sweet friend, Cheryl, emailed this recipe to me and said it was one of her family's all time favorite dinners. I changed it up just a bit to match what I had on hand. At first, I worried the kiddos would find it too spicy, so I chose a can of MILD diced tomatoes with green chilies and left out the Tabasco sauce. That was a good choice. The kids gobbled up their dinners faster than I could ...

Homemade Blueberry Syrup

Think of a blueberry syrup that you would use to make fresh fruit sodas or stir into a milkshake, yogurt or ice cream. This recipe makes a thin, flavor packed syrup, not a thick pancake syrup. Now with that being said, let me just say this stuff is GRRRRR-EAT! The kiddos and I have been enjoying blueberry sodas made with 1 part blueberry syrup and 2 parts club soda on ice. They LOVE mixing up their own drinks and away they go. I feel good knowing they're drinking a carbonated soda free of high-fructose corn syrup and unnecessary ingredients. We're ...

How I Came to Make Lemon Vodka

My good friend, Mark, asked me over the Summer if I would steep a batch on Limoncello. I had never tasted it but remembered that scene from the movie Under the Tuscan Sun when Diane Lane drinks it with her new Italian friend on the beach. Limoncello is a lemon liqueur that is served well chilled. It is meant to cleanse the palate after dinner or served as an after dinner drink. It is to be consumed in a very small amount. The strong, refreshing lemon flavor married with the simple sugar syrup makes it easy for the vodka to ...

Sweet & Zesty Fiesta Salad

My beautiful friend, Cheryl, brought this incredibly addictive salad slash dip to our party the other night. She carried it in a BIG ol'bowl. I thought she might have gone overboard and made too much. It turned out, she knew exactly how much to make. We couldn't get enough of this tangy sweet collage of goodness. We walked past it dipping our chips all night long. And when it was time to eat our grilled fajitas, we went back to the bowl to make it a condiment. I was lucky there was just enough leftover that I could photograph it ...