Having a Bad Day? Try This Chocolate Brownie Recipe!

 

Chocolate has always been my comfort food, so I guess it’s not surprising that when things aren’t going well I head for the chocolate chips.  Long ago I learned to stock up on the two-pound bags, not the dinky 12-ounce bags most stores sell.

Revisiting an Unliked Vegetable

I like bargains, so when I saw a 1-pound package of fresh okra on sale for 99 cents, I immediately bought it.  I didn’t begin salivating because a few minutes later I remembered that I wasn’t very fond of okra.

Mom Cooking Tip 179

 

Can you help?  I made a stand-alone stuffing in a casserole dish instead of inside the turkey at Thanksgiving, and the stuffing turned out mushy.  I want to try again during the Christmas holidays, but this time I'd like the stuffing to be crisp.  What do you suggest? --Ellen S.

I can offer two thoughts.  

1) When you are baking the stuffing in the casserole dish, remove the lid or aluminum foil covering the stuffing about 20 minutes before it's fully cooked.  This will allow the steam to escape and the stuffing to crisp up.

2) If you are cooking onions and celery to combine with the stuffing before baking, add the dry stuffing to the vegetable mixture before adding any broth or water.  Gently stir.  This way only a small amount of stuffing will be inundated with liquid, and the rest will have a chance to crisp up.  For extra flavor, dot the top layer of stuffing with a few spoonfuls of butter before baking.

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Potatoes Are Not All the Same

I grew up eating Idaho potatoes (aka russet potatoes) and loving them, whether they be mashed, baked or fried.  Only later when I began to do my own shopping did I notice other potatoes on sale that were red, white and yellow.  I especially liked the yellow potatoes, known as Yukon Gold.  They make excellent baked potatoes as well as French fries and mashed.