Fix-It and Forget-It

Need a quick, easy, and light slow-cooker meal for a busy evening? Cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a taco-flavored sauce, and serve the results wrapped in tortillas with the condiments of your choice. Delicious! Continue Reading...

Here’s another one for the “Help! What do I make for dinner?!” file. If a recipe involves ladling anything over chips and topping with cheese, it’s sure to be a hit with the family. Continue Reading...

Rebecca is my daughter. She’s a very good cook. While I couldn’t get her to chop an onion when she was growing up, she’s become a cook who tries everything now—successfully. She also is the Manager of The Good Cooking Store in our little Lancaster County town of Intercourse, PA. She taught Language Arts to middle-schoolers for 7 years. Now we benefit from all of her energy and good ideas. Don’t miss what she has to say!

As I was growing up, my family liked to mark all celebrations with a meal. Sometimes it felt like we’d even stretch the importance of a celebration just to ensure that we’d have a chance for a special meal. At times we’d go out to eat, but the celebratory meals often occurred at home. Continue Reading...

So I got a call from our younger daughter and her husband the other night, asking if they can come for Thanksgiving dinner.

This is both embarrassing and heartening. Didn’t November just begin? Bottom line: I am very glad they felt free to call. Of course, we want them. I just hadn’t paused long enough to pick up the phone and ask.

Then they gave me the complete menu they’re hoping for. I consider this a compliment. And a relief. First, they apparently like dishes I’ve made through the years. Second, this saves me rooting through my stash of recipes, looking for something amazing.

But let me quickly add that with the menu they proposed came their suggestions about who should make what. This was clearly not simply a call-in order for a Thanksgiving meal.

Here’s the line-up they proposed:
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When I was a kid, I adopted a third set of grandparents. Not that my two biological pairs weren’t adequate. In fact, I liked my grandparents a lot, so I’m sure I figured, why stick with just two?

Here’s how it happened. My cousin, Carol, lived in Virginia. But her mother was from Lancaster, so the family made long summer-time visits to the Lancaster farm where Carol’s mom (my aunt) grew up. This was Carol’s and my chance to play together, and so I’d go to the farm for several-day stretches.

Carol called these two older people “Grandpa” and “Grandma,” so I tried it, too. They answered—and treated me like one of their own. It was that simple, bless their generous hearts.
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At The Good Cooking Store, we mainly sell kitchen gadgets and cookware. However, we also offer some locally made food products. Of course, we’re lucky enough to try the new products that our suppliers bring us.

Recently a local chef brought us his new barbecue sauce. We love to cook around here, so we found the recipe below and used the sauce to make it. We had a complete hit. Not only did we love the taste of the chicken, but we learned how truly awesome this barbecue sauce is. Right, the sauce is called “Awesome in a Jar!” You’ll be hearing more about it soon. Meanwhile, here’s the recipe we tried.
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Many of our guests at The Good Cooking Store ask the staff to recommend a cookbook from the Fix-It and Forget-It cookbook series. Tina, our assistant manager, usually refers them to Fix-It and Forget-It 5-Ingredient Favorites. Here is one of her favorite recipes from this cookbook.

The recipe is about as easy as they come: gather the three ingredients, cut up the chicken, mix everything together, and sprinkle on some cheese. But the amazing taste will fool anyone. It’s hard to believe that the great combination of flavors is created with just three simple ingredients that you likely already have in your home!
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I haven’t figured out why I love fruit-and-meat-combinations so much, but I can rarely resist them, whether I’m cooking or eating out. I’m so predictable that Merle often tells me what I’m going to order as we sit reading the restaurant’s menu—if he spots such a pairing.

Then I have to decide whether to go contrary and prove him wrong, or choose what’s jumping out at me—a tempting meat-fruit combo that already has me entranced.

Here are two great recipes; two more that I served to the host on my last visit to QVC. One is a meat-fruit main meal that’s so easy you won’t believe it. And the other a baked-bean-apple dish that can make a main entrée, too. These recipes wouldn’t make their mark without the lemon and the apple ingredients! Continue Reading...