Recipes

Grilled ham and mozzarella macaroni and cheese is an easy dish to cook ahead and take when you're invited to a cookout or family reunion. It's easy to make and oozes with creamy, cheesy goodness. Better yet, it only takes roughly 30 minutes to prepare.

I once had one friend ask me for a good recipe for a marinade sauce to prepare meat in order to make carne asada in a true Mexican style. I was a little shocked by his question because where I come from, they meat doesn't need anything else than the heat from red hot mesquite charcoal and some salt.

As a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, I grew up eating "pepperoni balls;" to the rest of the nation, these are called Pepperoni Rolls. I say this because I am going to try to remember to refer to them by their more common name but the Erie girl in me may pop up and stick her head into this post.

There are a few dishes that bring in me a nostalgic sentiment. One that never fails to do so is Carne con Chile, which, by my definition, can be considered a comfort food from the state of Sonora, in northern Mexico.

I love ribs, but I rarely order them when I go out to eat. I prefer to make them at home. While ribs were once a challenge, I have developed a secret ingredient that makes perfectly seasoned ribs, every time. I call it Big Daddy's Rib Rub, in honor of my husband.

Strawberries are so delicious that I freeze strawberry puree every season so that I can pull some out of the freezer throughout the year and enjoy. There's no sweeter indulgence than a decadent home-baked cheesecake topped with fresh strawberry flavor in the middle of November when strawberries are just not available.