Since I've had so much trouble with allergies in the last 7-8 years, I've gradually shied away from prepared foods, finding that they did not agree with me well; I now make most things from scratch, including a lot of sauces and such I'd never have tried before.  We cook every day, and since Jim has a passion for meat, most every day meat is included in our main dishes.  We like great variety in our meals, and while we sometimes have a simple sandwich supper, most dinners are fairly large meals.  We are definitely not a fast-food, takeout place, but our secret is that most of our recipes are quick and easy to prepare, and many meals are less than 30 minutes to prepare from start to finish. 

You will find a variety of foods in our recipes, but they generally fall into three main categories: Foods that are quick to prepare but tasty; foods that take longer to prepare but are still simple to make and have a special taste that we love, and holiday foods that have family traditions and memories attached to them.  

As we explore for more recipes we tend to look for recipes that are not heavy, as we are more diet and health-conscious than we used to be.  Some have meats that are better for you than red meats – chicken or turkey, fish or seafood as meat entrees, and we limit the potatoes/bread/pasta we eat without completely eliminating them.  We have rice and pasta, but I’ve found that I have to have some variety, and taste “contrast” in a meal for it to taste good to me.  I do not eliminate carbohydrates from our diet.  Especially in my case, they are needed for energy, as they are in everyone’s diet for that same reason.  It is the excess of them that creates additional weight, so we use them occasionally and judiciously.  Besides, potatoes and good fresh bread bring me much pleasure in my diet, and eating would not be pleasant for me without them.  There are other things I can cut to allow them (like dessert).

 I have included some dessert recipes, although we try to limit desserts, and do not have them each day.  We do try to eat fruits each day, and often combine fruits with our desserts.

Some of my recipes, such as Swiss steak, pot roast, roast chicken, etc., are very old recipes, but over the years my preparation of them has changed gradually, to produce an excellent version that is very successful for serving company well, with a minimum of fuss.

A few of these recipes depend on gravy, and while gravy is limited in our household and served only occasionally, I have tried to pass on the “secret” to making the best gravy you’ve ever had.  It can change a normal meal into one that's just "out of this world," and an occasional serving is reasonable. 

I have also passed on secrets that lead to other excellent tasting recipes, while the recipe ingredients are those easily found in most areas today.  Often it is just a simple technique or addition that can take a recipe from being “okay” to being a great taste-treat. 

With this update (November 2006) I have not marked the individual pages that have changes, because virtually all of them have been updated with new and additional recipes, and quite a number of new pages have been added.  Even if you are a family member and have our Family Recipe Book you will find recipes here that were too new to include in that.

The recipes you will find here now are not nearly all that I have, and I will continue to add them as I can.  If there is something - a recipe or information you are looking for and do not see here, let me know and I’ll see what I have for it, and forward it to you.

I hope you all enjoy this section of my website, and that you find recipes here you’ll try.  Please let me know how you like them!

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