Get ready to learn how to make no-fuss pepperoni baked pasta. Why? Because I make a variation of this meal more than any other dish for my family several times a month and I don't have any qualms about it. It's filling,...
Jackson’s Cookbook
recipes, tips, & more
Hearty and Rich Buttermilk Honey Wheat Bread
Buttermilk Honey Wheat Bread is yet another recipe from the game "what's left in the pantry?" However it was created, it is this soft, tender crumb with a lovely flavor of honey and wholesomeness of wheat flour. In a word,...
A Beginners Guide: Easily Kneading Dough by Hand
We will be making lots of bread recipes on this site, so learning kneading dough by hand will be an essential skill if you don't own a stand mixer. Whether you think you can't do it, have physical limitations or are a...
Tempering White Chocolate Made Easy
Tempering white chocolate doesn't have to be difficult. But exactly what is it? White chocolate is cocoa butter with milk and sugars added. Some people argue it's not chocolate at all because there is only cocoa butter, not...
Tempering Milk Chocolate Made Easy
Now that we've learned the basics on tempering chocolate, let's learn to temper milk chocolate. I like to practice with baking chips, pretzels and cereals to make a delicious candy bar that doesn't need much work. That way,...
Tempering Semi-Sweet Chocolate Made Easy
Tempering semi-sweet chocolate doesn't have to be difficult. If you want to learn about the basics of what tempering is, you can read my post on it here. Otherwise, let's move on. You'll want to know the basic temperature...
Tempering Dark Chocolate Made Easy
Tempering dark chocolate is the process of making chocolate smooth, shiny, durable and snappy. You can read more here. In the meantime, think about how sometimes you buy a chocolate bar and it's streaked with white, is...
A Beginners Guide on Tempering Chocolate
What is tempering chocolate? You may find yourself asking this when learning how to bake. Tempering is basically making the chocolate to have a nice sheen, breaks instead of bending and slower to melt. Think of a nice candy...
Mary’s Marvelous and Deliciously Easy Lasagna
Learn how to make my friend's so incredibly amazing lasagna today. It is full of spice, flavor and uses short cuts like jarred pasta sauce and foregoing cooking the noodles. Even though there are a ton of shortcuts making...
Generic Hamburger Helper Italian Version
My husband loves hamburger helper. Problem is it is pretty high in sodium, has preservatives (understandably) and artificial dyes. I came up with generic hamburger helper and now he prefers it to the box. I usually make it...
How to Tell When Flour Goes Bad and Sourdough Fail
When flour goes bad, it really turns. I've never been more relieved to see mold in a container. My water was safe! For the past week and a half, I've been trying to start a sourdough with equal parts water and flour....
Artisan White Bread, No Kneading Just Patience Required
Who's ready for a simple no knead bread recipe? You can easily make artisan white bread with a little time and very little effort. It is delicious and has a nice pleasant taste thanks to the long fermentation process. Let's...
Learning to Make Sourdough Starter Can Be Tricky
Learning to make sourdough starter can be tricky. Make sourdough, they say. It's easy they say. You add equal parts in weight of flour and water and basically keep adding equal amounts for about a week until you get the wild...
Go Buckeyes! Ohio’s Favorite Peanut Butter Balls
You can't grow up around Ohio or Herd country without getting buckeyes shoved in your face. They were created by a graduate of Marshall University in 1964 named Gail Tabor Lucas. You can read her son's blog about it here....
Candy Coating Causing Allergic Reaction
The more I bake, the more injuries I seem to develop. From being bitten by the chickens, obsessive hand washing causing deep cracks in skin and now allergies to things like spices and dish detergent. But this is a new one....
Macarons without Almond Flour Becomes a New Cookie
Making macarons without almond flour can be fun. I like to call them mockaroons. I ran out of almond flour. Well...not completely. I have one unopened back that I am squirreling away for a rainy day. I decided instead of...
Easily Make Pizza Dough By Hand
If you want to learn how to make pizza dough by hand without the need of a stand mixer, you are in luck. A relatively quick and easy pizza dough is something we love to make regularly. It's a close tie between this and pasta...
Irish Soda Bread that Doesn’t Taste Bitter or Metallic
I have had bad tasting soda or quick breads. Too much baking soda, cheap wheat flour and a heavy hand at mixing. It's lead to bitter, metallic, dense and claggy loaves of blobs. I'm not sure why there are so many bad recipes...
Simple and Easy Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
Fluffy whole wheat dinner rolls are my favorite bread, currently. They are just as delicious as the farmhouse dinner rolls I've made for years. However, I've started using whole wheat flour more in my diet for the added...
Autumn’s The Perfect Time for Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Let's make some spiced pumpkin bread this afternoon, shall we? It was in February that I had an idea. I had just finished making banana bread and it occurred to me: What if I just simply replace the bananas with pumpkin? Let...
Baking with a Service Dog and Mischievous Pets
There are days I can't seem to get out of bed. I will lie there feeling completely and totally useless and start to cry. Suddenly, this little pipsqueak begins to pester me. "Leave me alone," I'll mumble through tears of...