Mimi’s Blog

Brats & Onions

Brats & Onions are quintessential football comfort food. No grill? Cook them up in a cast iron skillet along with caramelized onions. Crunchy, juicy, and peppery sausage goodness!

Pan-Seared Cod Filet with Tomato, Corn and Basil Couscous

Bursting with fresh flavors from a summer garden, Pan-Seared Cod Filet with Tomatoes, Corn, and Basil-infused Israeli couscous will become a fabulous, flavorful favorite in your quick fix summer-time menu rotation. Delicious and so easy and quick to prepare!

Huevos Rancheros Two Ways

Everything I know about Mexican cooking, I learned from my ex-mother-in-law:  homemade flour tortillas, salsa, Mexican rice, enchiladas, tostadas, guacamole – a real fiesta! She was a patient teacher, and I was a willing student.

Challah French Toast

Challah French Toast

My husband loves french toast.  He's been asking for it for a few weeks now.  His idea of a proper french toast is regular sandwich bread, dipped in egg and fried in butter.  I'm right along with him until we discuss bread.  I much prefer challah, or some eggy,...

Auggie Doggie

Auggie Doggie

Meet Auggie Doggie!  She's a sweet girl we rescued from the Crow Indian Reservation three years ago.  At the time I was working for a small museum in Garryowen, Montana, and every summer the museum hires interns to help work the summer tourist season, and they live on...

Baked Chicken with Orzo Tomato Salad

Baked Chicken with Orzo Tomato Salad

A quick totally fabulous dinner, this baked chicken and orzo salad is a great weekday meal that can be put together in 30 minutes. Do yourself a favor, and get a rotisserie chicken from your favorite outlet.  In Billings, I personally like the chickens from Costco....

Freeze Your Ginger

Freeze Your Ginger

Yesterday, I made this absolutely phenomenal recipe for Karaage - Japanese Fried Chicken.  And it called for freshly grated ginger.  Hmmm . . . If I really want to get serious about this blogging thing, then I should become more organized in meal planning so I don't...

Fresh Tomato Marinara

Fresh Tomato Marinara

Tomatoes, lovely tomatoes!  My poor little garden pumped out some amazing tomatoes this summer.  In fact, there are still some on the vine.  It's getting cooler here in Billings, but I'm hoping the lovely red fruits will survive another few weeks. I managed to pick...

Rigatoni alla Vodka

Rigatoni alla Vodka

I'm in love with Italian food.  Isn't everyone?  So many dishes are creamy, rich and very satisfying.  They're easy to prepare and fun to make, unpretentious - something to please everyone.  And Italian food is inexpensive and serves plenty.  Besides, I have two...

Tomato Cobbler with Cheese Biscuit Topping

Tomato Cobbler with Cheese Biscuit Topping

This is the thing I really love about the Internet.  As I sit through reading about more of the same, every once in a while a recipe makes my eyes go wide, my jaw drop, and I have to make it - RIGHT NOW! I was searching for inspiration and there it was staring me in...

Bake Your Bacon

Bake Your Bacon

My grandmothers, mother, and I always cooked bacon in a frying pan.  Over the years, I've had a number of burns on my hands and arms from hot splattering grease.  Ouch!! Enter my friend, Colleen.  Colleen was familiar to cooking for a group of people.  She also had a...

Mrs. Swedo’s Potato Casserole

Mrs. Swedo’s Potato Casserole

A dear friend in the old homestead neighborhood where we grew up in Indiana made this delicious potato casserole for a family get together many years ago.  Everyone loved it and asked for the recipe, which Mrs. Swedo generously supplied.  When I decided to bake a ham...

Mascarpone Cheese Substitute

Mascarpone Cheese Substitute

I found this substitute when I couldn't find mascarpone cheese in my neighborhood.  It worked very well in a frosting I made for an orange cake.  What a lifesaver! 1-8oz package regular cream cheese, not low fat 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream 21/2 tablespoons sour...

3 Recipes for Shrimp Scampi

3 Recipes for Shrimp Scampi

Richard and I ate this for dinner last night.  It's not the first time I've prepared scampi, but it is so flavorful, heightened by fresh garlic, lemon, olive oil and butter.  If you're a garlic fan, this is the dish for you!  We're huge garlic fans - this is very...

Super Sloppy Joes

Super Sloppy Joes

I bet everyone has a favorite recipe for Sloppy Joes.  This all-American sandwich is a standard I bet eaten in most households in one form or another.  I bet, too, that most of us make the sauce using a powdered pre-packaged mix or sauce from a can.  I get it - it's...