Mary Collette

Using Herbs and Spices–Outside the Comfort Zone

If you want to begin using more and/or more interesting herbs and spices, the most important step is taking the plunge. Don’t get persuaded to hunker down in your comfort zone by a possibility of un-success that’s really pretty small and hardly disastrous.

Pantry Stocking on the Cheap

Who wudda thunk? That’s what I thunk when Denver’s Fox 31 producer contacted me in August with a novel proposition:  Join anchor Ken Clark on a grocery shopping trip to the dollar store and see how much money we can save.  I had no idea that dollar stores stocked food items beyond bags of snack … Read more

Crockpots and Slow Cookers: What Is a Good Slow Cooker Recipe?

There are lots of slow cooker recipes to choose from. The problem lies in choosing just one or two to actually make. While a lot of that choosing is a matter of personal taste, here’s one thing I’ve learned specific to slow cooker recipes: Look for recipes that take advantage of a slow cooker’s two big advantages: cooking the heck out of tough characters, and fixing it and forgetting about it.

Crockpots and Slow Cookers—Invest and Reap the Benefits

No doubt about it: a specialized appliance can make cooking a lot easier, save a lot of time and produce really delicious meals—but only if you first invest a little time getting ready to use it.

Crockpots and Slow Cookers—Why Are They Sitting in the Back Bottom Cupboard?

The idea is perfect: throw a few ingredients into a stoneware crock, turn it on and voila! At the end of the day, you walk in the kitchen and there waits a richly aromatic meal, all cooked and ready to go. So why are so many slow cookers sitting in the cupboard instead of cooking on the counter?