Not that there’s anything wrong with basic buttercream – Big Guy actually prefers it, making his “ick” face when first exposed to this recipe.
But I have a low boredom threshold and like to play around. …

Big Guy is world-famous for not liking much that’s healthful, but he’ll always eat strawberries.
That means he also loves this cake filling, which is another ladycakes.com recipe that predates allergies. He doesn’t love it quite …

Christmas-baking burnout lasted a little longer than usual this go-round. By the time Boots was begging for cookies Saturday, it’s been going on six weeks since I’d last seen an Air Bake.
At least I think …

Tonight’s winner in Cookbook Bingo: Russian dressing.
I’d never had Russian dressing before, and I don’t think Dad had either. But it was among the paper-clipped pages he’d marked in “Joy of Cooking,” which is how …

Once in a while, I run into a recipe that I keep around strictly for practical purposes. Such is the case with this one.
Aside from the stock reason – that it’s a great frosting-delivery platform …

The time might seem to have passed for cranberry bars, but that particular season never ends in this house. At least not for me.
I chug the juice by the gallon and start hording fresh berries …

If you think cheesy ranch chicken sounds a lot like last week’s Chex Mix recipe, you would be correct.
The Chex Parmesan-dressing mix combination, plus desperation, was the source of my inspiration on this one.
The guys, …

I  knew the recipe for chili cheese bread would be a can’t-miss with Big Guy. What’s not to love in a combination of two of his favorite things:  Cheese and bread.
And love it he did, …

I think the guys were as egcidick about the new bread machine as I was.  Where their love for kitchen gadgets comes from is a classic nature versus nurture question.
We knew it was due to …

Yes, I trick my kids.
I shamelessly spike marinara with spinach and proudly bill whole-wheat banana muffins as cupcakes. Big Guy won’t touch banana or spinach, but he gobbles both in their covert forms.
I also do …

I knew the zucchini fry recipe had potential when I heard about it back in the fall.
I also knew I had to proceed carefully lest I arouse Big Guy’s suspicions about anything that grows in …

Warning: This recipe is a beast the requires a really big bowl. Think “bordering on wash tub.”
Seriously. I use an eight-quart Tupperware model for mixing, and that’s just about right. It’s not that there are …

No-bake oatmeal cookies are probably the ideal baking-on-training-wheels recipe.
It’s the first cookie I made by myself after the recipe made the rounds during my pre-teen years. It requires only one pan, no baking sheets and …

I’d given up hope of ever making cheesecake again until I found Rosemarie Emro’s excellent Bakin’ Without Eggs cookbook. Not only does the book offer an amazing collection of time-tested egg-free recipes, but it also …

The magic of Parmesan strikes again.
When Big Guy met last night’s new round of Chex Mix, he was determined to munch around the margins, picking out the Goldfish.  Then he spied a spattering of toasty …

Most Italian dishes we’ve managed to adapt to egg- and garlic-free without even missing what’s not there.
Marinara sauce is just fine with extra onion, and lasagna turns out wonderfully with just cheese in the filling.
I …

I shall never bake again.
Late last night, I said that as the guys caterwauled around me while I peering into the oven and staring at a cake showing every sign of falling faster than my …

This is a favorite dating back to my single-girl hostess with the mostest days. I have no idea where it came from, but I freaked out momentarily a few weeks ago when I couldn’t find …

Sometimes an Evil Mommy Trick works too well, and that lead to a gripe from Big Guy about Christmas Eve dinner.
He eye my beautiful French bread, lovingly sliced and impressively presented, and wanted to know …

Sometimes I like to get an objective opinion on new recipes because the reviews in my house are predictable: Boots will fawn embarrassingly, Big Guy will reject in on sight and I’ll think of 10 …

Betty Crocker’s Bonnie Butter cake was my stand-by in the pre- egg-free baking days. It’s moist, nearly infallible and you don’t have to mess with separating eggs.
Back then, I didn’t even use cake flour because …

Trappey’s Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce is the garlic-free real deal, Dad assures me.
And coming from someone who can gulp a tablespoon full of the stuff, I’ll take his word for it, though I couldn’t …

One of the biggest ironies of Big Guy’s egg allergy is that I used to be a pretty skilled baker and cake decorator. I won’t say highly skilled, because, like anything, it takes practice and …

So you’re rolling along, pretty pleased with yourself at the relatively normal life you’re able to give your allergic child. Pizza, cupcakes and cookies are under control, pancakes are perfected.
Then one day you hear this:
“Mom, …

How’s this for a ringing endorsement: I’m about to give you a recipe I really don’t like. A recipe I would use regularly only under duress, such as lack of an affordable alternative.
But it’s a …

Sorry to tell you, Dad, but there’s another love in my life and he’s been with me for years.
His name’s Caesar, and I could easily meet him for lunch and dinner every day. Maybe even …

I had a great scam going for two years, until a babysitter made Big Guy boxed macaroni and cheese without mashed broccoli, cluing him in for the first time that the “natural” color of stuff …

Do not let this recipe scare you: It will not get you drunk because the alcohol cooks out. Unless, of course, your sister is visiting and she talks you into making margaritas with the leftover …