Jolene's Recipe Journal

  In my younger days, I thought I'd like to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras.  Now that I'm firmly in my adult years, I think that while I'd still like to visit, my goals would be centered much more around food than partying.

When life hands you bananas, make muffins!  Okay, that's not quite how the saying goes, but that's the case when it comes to my house.  No matter how many bananas I buy, the guys will always leave 2 to 3 of them on the counter until I have no choice but to freeze them or to bake something with them.

  Two years ago, I couldn't start my day without coffee. Large iced, cream, sugar, caramel syrup.  I changed my way of eating, and that had to go.   I made it about 4 months, but I realized that wasn't sustainable long term, so I went looking for ways to work it back in. 

I'm Italian, so this month's Improv Cooking Challenge should have been a no-brainer for me.  The first required ingredient was Italian Seasoning, which I buy in bulk because I go through it so fast.  The second, wine, was a little trickier.  I don't drink it, but I do keep a bottle of red and a bottle of white on hand for when recipes require it.

This is going to be a hectic week, with a storm on the way and lots of errands to run.  I love to treat my guys to something special for Valentine's Day, but I know that I'm just not going to be able to fit baking something complicated into my schedule. 

I've watched every season of the Great British Bake Off that I can get my hands on, I just love it.  When the opportunity came up to try British inspired dishes with the Baking Bloggers, I spent hours looking through recipes. There was so much to choose from!  As always, I have to take into account my families allergies and general pickiness, so I settled on scones.

February is National Potato Lovers Month, and in this house, we are truly smitten.  Red, purple, white, gold, mashed, baked, fried, serve them up, we're in! Because it's one of our most often eaten sides, I'm always looking for new ways to make them.

So happy to be joining my fellow Community Cooks for Taste of Home Tuesday this week, it's been a while.  I've still been making lots of great recipes from Taste of Home, in fact, I've already tried 15 in 2019! Our favorite so far had been the Old Fashioned Fudge Cake , but I think these Chocolate Glazed Brownies have definitely tied for first place.