I don’t like green beans. At all.
I don’t despise them, though, in the “want to spit it out immediately” way that I hate lima beans. Green beans are just boring.
I cook them anyway, in part …

How many ways can I screw up a recipe and still have it turn out OK?
At least three in the case of this one, and it turned out more than OK plus lower fat to …

Back in the day before the double shot of food allergies – mine to pork and Big Guy’s to garlic – my grandmother’s baked beans recipe was a go-to potluck recipe.
Based on canned pork and …

I conjured up this recipe while searching for slow cooker steak and gravy that doesn’t include canned soup and/or instant soup mix – the garlic allergy evicts those from this house. I never found what …

This recipe is another adult coupe against the kids – Mom’s sick of ranch dressing again.
I knew making it would mean Big Guy would resume his salad boycott, so we might have to become a …

Once in a while, the big people stage a coup. Last week, after pizza one night and macaroni and cheese the next, the adults were due an uprising.
I’d planned on plain baked salmon until I …

This one is so easy I can’t believe I ever bought store-bought. And, even better, the garlic-free version is more than acceptable.
Most recipes I’ve run across say to use a blender but currently lacking one …

This another one that falls into the “I’d make it even if I didn’t have to” category, if for no other reason than to avoid all the extra salt an/or MSG that comes in commercial …

This is another fine recipe inspired by sheer boredom: I wanted salad for dinner this evening and I’m deathly tired of Big Guy’s favorite ranch dressing.
Not that I’m complaining, mind you. At least he’s eating …

Look out, guys,  your momma is staging a coup. She does that every once in a while when she gets tired of tailoring meals around what you picky little bugs will agree to eat.
I was …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

As a vegetable dip, this is a nice break from ranch or French onion. Not that I have a workable French onion dip recipe yet — most I find use dried soup mix, which has …

It’s not exactly Thousand Island Dressing — more like 800 Island Dressing by the time I eliminated everything people are allergic to or picky about.
Allergies or fusiness felled boiled egg, green pepper and celery, now …

Yeah, I was the kid in alegebra class who always got gigged for not solving the problem the “right” way. I also had trouble learning to color in the lines. What fun is doing something …

This is another quick-and-simple recipe that will make you a fan of homemade dressings.
The original goes on a Santa Fe salad (I used corn, black beans, red onion and green chilies), but it works well …

Dad has to drop some poundage pronto, which means he’s eating like a bunny this week.
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “Well, if she hadn’t baked all those cookies …” But it’s really not my …

For a person who can’t stand being cold, I sure have a hot relationship with my freezer.
Particularly this week, when playing with the guys’ new toys — the ones that aren’t broken, that is — …

This is an absolute favorite for Boots and me. Dad, not so much. Big Guy, won’t touch it yet even though I play up the cheese and cream when describing it. Sometimes even the best …

Looking for a way to end the junk-food bender and make use of some leftovers at the same time?
Tonight, I’m clearing the fridge of vegetable-tray remnants by making roasted cauliflower, a side dish Boots proclaims …

It cracks me up when someone takes a basic dish from another country, slaps a gourmet label on it and transforms simple to upscale.
Such is the case with humble hummus. It’s been a staple in …

This frankly is not a kid favorite — except for Boots, who is famous worldwide for eating anything. But I love it even though I hate tomato, so I make it and listen to Big …

I hadn’t made these in years due to lack of a garlic-free hot sauce, but once I discovered Crystal, it was easy to convert.
It’s also easy to make a hot and a mild version from …

It’s not exactly a seasonal favorite this time of year — except in parts of California and Florida where grills are rarely covered — but grilling recipes can be used indoors in the off season. …

Try a salsa trio – hey, what were you thinking – as either a hostess gift or as a present for someone who might have a lot of guests headed their way. Or for someone …

I came up with this recipe on a dare a few years ago, after a friend fell in love with a commercial rosemary-potato bread and bet me that I couldn’t replicate it. I think she …

I’ve been on a bread-baking spree this weekend in advance of Christmas. Yes, this early, because the bread freezes well, and the more I can get done now, the less frantic I am Dec. 23. …

Disclaimer: There is no reason for a sane person to make crackers.
CheezIts are garlic-free, though you can’t tell from the mysterious “spices” listed on the ingredients if Cheese Nips are.
Parmesan Goldfish are garlic-free, and plain …

The problem with Big Guy and store-bought fish sticks and nuggets is not so much the egg, but the ubiquitous garlic. And the problem with garlic is manufacturers don’t have to note it on ingredient …