About

I'm not a chef, I'm an pencil artist and a writer.

I made this blog with the cooking newbie in mind, so please - if you are an experienced cook, don't think I'm talking down to you in any of the recipes.  I just want to explain and make things easy for someone who is a beginning cook, or someone who can't figure out why things just don't go "right" in the kitchen.

When I first got married 25 years ago, I could barely boil water. That's not just a joke. I mean it. I didn't even know that adding a bit of salt to the water would help it boil faster. Hmm, actually, I may have learned that tidbit about 10 years into marriage.

We received all kinds of knick-knacks and pretty dishes as wedding gifts. Some were even on our registry. But not a single pot or pan! I guess people don't think pots and pans are romantic, however we had nothing to cook with! What were we going to do? Fortunately, our local Domino's Pizza had a special for $5 pizzas. So I think we lived on that for the first few years.

Eventually, we received a brand new set of Revere cookware through a fortuitous work-related holiday party win (mainly we were shocked that the boss's son didn't win again).  I decided that I really needed to figure out how to cook something if we were going to survive. Pizza is great, but sometimes you get a weird craving to eat other things. Even now, I get bored of cooking the same things over and over again, and I'm faced with the same challenges - what's for supper? I think I know, then I find out I'm out of something simple like soy sauce, and that throws the whole recipe out of whack. I still get side-swiped by a lacking housewifery skill-set.

If you are struggling with your cooking and wonder why everything you bake turns out flat or burnt, be sure to read my cooking advice.

I welcome your recipes - I would especially love to have those with few ingredients - the simpler the better. Any that the whole family will enjoy, especially kids! Old family recipes that you treasure would be beyond wonderful to have. I will give you credit for sharing the recipe if you would like. My email is darladixon@gmail.com. Please put RECIPES in the Subject line of your email.

Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy this recipe blog.

Here are some of the Squidoo pages I've written that may help you out in the kitchen and home. If you have any questions, be sure to contact me. Shrugs are still free.

Emealz is a meal planning service, but much more than that. They pick recipes that match the sale items that week at the store where you shop! The recipes and the shopping list are all prepared for you. It's like having a meal assistant. The Emeals system has been recommended by Dave Ramsey, and no doubt - it saves a lot of money to have a plan!

Yes, it's true - you can legally print real manufacturer's coupons at home to use at the grocery store.

Simple and virtually free, they really work and are safer for your family.

This isn't about hoarding, it's about only buying the things you use at the lowest possible prices. How do you do that? By buying them before you run out.