The Plucky Housewives

Summers, we grill.  Spring we grill and fall we grill.  My goal - figure out a way to endure the winter and continue to grill.  I grill more now that I live slightly out into the country where the local natural gas companies line stops short of my house by 50 feet. UGH.  So, I grill.  We had been up at the hospital with my daughter for the past two weeks and I wasnt in the mood to prepare anything extensive, so i pulled  out the iPad and searched through my saved Pinterest recipes.  Scoured the fridge and we came up with the following: Grilled Chicken marinated in Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette with Zucchini and Mushroom Cheesy Rice and a side of grilled cabbage All of these recipes were inspired by Pinterest finds, but they also reminded me of favorites from home and friends.  Of course,  We adapted them and made them our own, as usual.  I think that's what we all sort of do, especially in a pinch.  I will link you the origi...

I have to say that the best success I have had with Strawberry Freezer Jam was this year! I got my hands on a boatload of berries this year and brought them home, with the absolute intention of making enough freezer jam to last us for a few years.  I ran out to get the pectin and containers and the store only had 1 box of the dry pectin but had 5 boxes of the liquid.  I had never used the liquid before, but thought, oh, what the heck.  Lets try it. I am in love.  It was easier and the freezer jam had a softer and more jam-like consistency as it gelled.  I took some out of the freezer today and opened it up for the first time and it was just like my mother's!  All the years before,  I could never get it to be the consistency that hers was.   I just love it.  Now, please note - its the full sugar recipe.   I have tried this year, all variations and this is for me, the better of the bunch!  So I am sharing... Enjoy!!! T...

My sister Charlene emailed the other day.  She wanted my mom's Sour Cream Cucumber Salad recipe.   Its not the first time someone has been asking for that salad lately.  Almost all the kids are home right now and everyone has put in their order for the good stuff!  So, nature is hinting that its a must on the menu tonight or tomorrow (along with a special strawberry cake for a special girl - which we will post as well). Its interesting to me that at times of stress or anxiousness, we long for the things that bring us a sense of home and family - peace and comfort.  I mean it's a duh - that's why they call it comfort food.  It's security, familiarity, all of that.  They also make us feel special.  When someone goes out of their way to make us something that is comforting a a taste of home, it brings us a feeling of being important.    I know that's what cooking with my mother Arlene brought to me.  The kitchen was a pla...

So again, I love Pinterest!  I get the greatest ideas and especially reminders of foods eaten and enjoyed throughout my formative (and non-formative ha ha) years.  I mean really - its rare these days to find someone who has not had S'Mores!   Call me crazy - but in the middle of summer a real S'More is the best.  Fire pit in the backyard or over a camp fire while camping with family, friends, scout troop, church group, whomever.  Charcoal fire crisped marshmallows sandwiched between chocolate and graham crackers.  Upscale all you want - nothing beats the original. HOWEVER, I was COMPLETELY intrigued by the recipe being passed around Pinterest for a S'Mores bar.  Again, call me crazy - but baking a S'Mores bar in the middle of the summer and on one of the hottest days - crazy, but we had to try it.  I had a houseful of upper teens to mid-20 somethings and of course - my rationalizing that heating up the house wasn't a smart idea.  They sugge...

My mother was a very inventive and resourceful cook.  With 7+ kids and usually a few dinner guests to boot, she had to be pretty ingenious and creative.  She too, loved a good cookout and last night, I made one of her more "regular" recipes.   She would buy Zesty Italian Dressing by the caseful.  Not cause she loved Italian dressing, in fact, I cant even remember having a salad ever in our house with Italian Dressing.  No, this was her marinade.   Now remember, this was back a few years ago....before any of the dressing companies got clever with their marketing their product as anything but what it was!  She would buy a family pack of chicken thighs, then throw them into several Ziploc bags (or before she used those, she would put the thighs into a large baking pan and pour the dressing over) and marinate for most the day.   There was nothing else you would need to do to it.  Nothing. So in tribute to Arlene and summer gri...

Summer, grilling and all that is fine.   I think we spend 80% of our time cooking on the grill in the summer, for several reasons.  First, its just so nice to grill and its so easy and after a long day at work, with the kids, etc., etc., all you want to do is easy.  Makes for a great cleanup too, no pots or pans.  But the main reason I have been grilling more this year, than every before is I have no GAS STOVE!  Yes, I live in a part of a community that has NO GAS LINE - well it does, but they wanted 10k to bring the gas line to my house.  I said no.  It was a sad day.  So, I/we jumped at the chance to have a pretty decent gas grill this year and I promised myself that within 3 years, I would have an AWESOME gas grill.  Cheaper than bringing the gas line to the house, but satisfies the need to cook over a flame!  Zippideedodah! Today's recipes - Grilled burgers, a tad different than you are used to, but oh so good.  Everybody...

My mother, for many years, took in ESL students from all over the world.  They would come to the US from the respective countries and stay about 6 months or so, attending an English Second Language school in my home town.  They would be housed with English-speaking families, so that they could be immersed in the language with the ultimate goal of passing their TOEFL exam.  They would either then return to their home country or go on to school in the US.   While the students were in our home (most of the students, by the way, were male), my mother would require them to cook at least one meal for the family and a dish that was native to their home.  She usually asked for them to make the favorite meal that their mother’s would cook for them.  One year, we had a student from Thailand.  He was quite the character and worked for a local Thai restaurant.  We became fast friends.  He was a great cook and many evening would bring home food from ...