This was originally a Penzey's recipe for Apple Bread. I tried it two different ways - one with pears and one with apples and some applesauce to replace half the oil. Our favorite was the one with the pears. If you'd like to use apples instead, grate 2 apples in place of the pears and nix the cinnamon sugar. If you'd like to lower the fat content, replace half the canola oil with 1/4 cup applesauce. The bread comes out fabulously moist either way.

These pancakes are so pretty. They stack nicely, and everybody loves them. What more can you ask for in a pancake?

I have a friend who makes really great onion rings. The first time she made them for me, I scarfed nearly half of them because it'd been so long since I'd had onion rings and hers were much better than I remember onion rings ever being. She showed me how to make them. The key is to toss a few at a time with a little bit of crumbs - you can't reuse the crumbs because they clump together and don't coat the onions well. And you can't get impatient and stuff the fry basket full of onion rings because they'll all stick together.

This recipe was recently featured in a Penzey's catalog. You can find the original recipe, which is called Cinnamon Supper Cupcakes, here. I like the name Sandbox Cake better - the kids think it's cute. I made this in a baking dish and served it as a coffeecake. It turned out so good that not even the crumbs lasted long.

This recipe comes from a Penzey's catalog of spices. I made these bars for the kids but the adults couldn't keep away from them. So they didn't last long, which is good.

Blueberry pie in the summertime is just divine. The girls, their grandmother and I went and picked blueberries the other day and then went home to bake pie. And it was very good.

Today I tackled meatloaf. I was unsure of how this would fly with the girls. They've never had meatloaf before and they can be very picky about their meat. I am very happy to report that they both liked this dish! The recipe that served as my guide can be found here at Spectrum Hope.

This is a Rachel Ray recipe - I only changed a couple of things about it. It's one of the few recipes that popped up for a marinated flank steak that did not include soy sauce as an essential ingredient. It's easy to make and and tasty to boot! I served this over a salad, but it'd also be good with tortillas and guacamole. Grill it over high heat for just a few minutes on each side so it's medium-rare in the middle, and it practically melts in your mouth. The more well done it is, the tougher it will be. This is the first time I've grilled flank steak and thankfully it turned out just great - even Anna ate it, and she's not really fond of beef.

Okay, it's been while since I posted a recipe. I'm really sorry about that. I even have this awesome recipe for Chocolate Suicide that I have yet to post because we've been hammered by health issues lately. I've been trying to figure out the health stuff, so that's what I am going to write about. If you are looking for a recipe, well...sorry about that too. This is what I've got.

Summer is almost here...which means the house will soon turn into a sauna any time I use the oven. Mindful of trying to keep utility costs down while maintaining a comfortable level of cool air in the house, I'm on the hunt for recipes that don't need time in the oven. But what about pizza, our Friday night staple?