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?

Doubling Your Vegetable Dollars

There are a lot of stems, stalks and tops going down the garbage grinder that could actually be put to use. It’s called “doubling your vegetable dollars,” and it just takes looking at vegetables in new and creative ways. Remember the article on Radishal Solutions?  It talked about a new way to use those radishes … Read more

Convenience Foods Are Costly, But Can You Make Dinner without Them?

With grocery prices rising dramatically, convenience foods are an obvious cost-cutting target. But how can we make everyday meals without the convenience of ready-made and packaged foods? Three tricks of the trade: Strategic Substitution, Stretching and Simplifying.