It's Not About Nutrition

You know what? Some nights, I just want dinner to cook itself. Maybe you know the feeling too — those days when you’re running errands, helping with homework, chasing the dog out of the neighbor’s yard (again), and all you really want is to plop down at the end of it all to something warm and comforting. Beef stroganoff has been that dish for me since I was a kid. My mom made it the old-fashioned way, standing over the stove with a whisk in one hand and the phone tucked under her chin. These days, I’m all about that …

When the wind starts howling off the fields here in the Midwest, there are only a handful of things that can make me feel better about scraping frost off my windshield again. Amish potato soup is right up there at the top of that list — alongside warm socks straight from the dryer and an old quilt that’s been patched more times than I can count. This is the soup my mother made when my brother and I would come in from sledding — cheeks numb, noses red, boots caked in snow. She’d ladle it out into big bowls, and …

You know, every family has that dish. The one you pull out when the weather turns cold and you’re craving something that feels like a warm hug. For me, it’s this Slow Cooker Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin — with that creamy Dijon sauce that makes you want to lick the spoon when no one’s looking (and sometimes when they are looking — no shame here). I first made this when my youngest had the flu and nobody really wanted to eat. I thought maybe if the house smelled good enough, she’d nibble something. I threw this in the slow cooker before …

There’s something truly heartwarming about preparing a dish that fills the whole house with sweet, savory aromas and gets folks drifting into the kitchen long before dinner’s ready — noses in the air, pretending they just happened to wander by. These slow cooker apple kielbasa bites take me right back to my sister’s fall potlucks — mismatched chairs, a table crowded with hearty casseroles, and someone always laughing too loud in the next room. This recipe is that perfect blend of smoky sausage, tender apples, and warm spices that makes you feel like you’ve wrapped yourself in a soft blanket …

You know, some recipes just sneak up on you. You’re standing in your kitchen, rummaging through the fridge at 5:37 p.m., half-hungry, half-grumpy — and suddenly, you realize you’ve got just enough of everything to pull something delicious together. That’s exactly how this Baked Onion Beef Fried Rice came about in my house. I had a bowl of leftover rice sitting all lonely in the back of the fridge, a pound of ground beef I’d forgotten to freeze (oops), and a stubborn onion that kept rolling off my counter all week. And because I can’t leave well enough alone, I …

You know what? Some recipes remind me why I fell in love with cooking in the first place — not the fancy ones with fifteen spices I’ll never use again, but the good old reliable dishes that feel like home. Slow Cooker Pepper Steak is one of those. I’ve made this on frantic Monday mornings when I’ve barely had time to tie my shoes, let alone stand over a stove. I’ve made it on lazy Sundays too, when the house is quiet except for the gentle bubble of the slow cooker. No matter when, it never lets me down — …

There’s just something about Salisbury steak that takes me straight back to those simple weeknight dinners at my mama’s table. You know the ones — everyone shuffling in from school or work, the clink of plates, the smell of rich gravy drifting through the house. Funny enough, I remember my dad pretending it was fancy “restaurant steak” even though it was just humble ground beef — we all knew better, but it made us grin every single time. These days, when life feels a tad too busy, I love letting my slow cooker do the heavy lifting. This version brings …