Beef Strognaoff

This is a favorite recipe for the cold winter months. Served over egg noodles, it is a great choice for when you want some “comfort food”. The recipe uses crème fraîche, which, if you make at home, requires a few days advanced preparation (see the recipe). While sour cream may be substituted, crème fraîche is […]

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Finished cheese sauce topping broccoli, grilled chicken, and egg noodles served on a white plate.

Cheese Sauce

This is a generic cheese sauce. It can be made with various types of cheese. While the original recipe has a focus on it being a sauce for vegetables, I use it for things like macaroni and cheese, cheesy potatoes, and cheesy chicken pasta. See the notes below for cautions about certain types of cheese

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Chicken stir fry cooked and displayed in a pan.

Chicken Stir Fry

The kids and I like a dark soy sauce and have tried several recipes before finding this one. At one point I made up a sauce that we really liked, but it was totally by accident and did not take notes so the recipe was lost. This is pretty close to it, though. Timing Prep:

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Basic Pancakes

This is a basic pancake recipe that, after many iterations, was what the kids decided were their favorite at the time. They may be easily expanded by adding different things such as blueberries or chocolate chips. My son likes thick pancakes with a gooey center, which could be achieved by adding more flour to get

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Tangy BBQ Sauce

This is a generic BBQ sauce probably considered as of the Kansas City variety. It is tangy yet sweet, and can be tempered with more sugar if desired. It does not need to simmer the full time listed in the recipe, but I like it thick as well. This sauce is probably something that you

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Exploring Chicago

The kids had one week all summer where they didn’t have some sort of activity planned.  Unfortunately, things at work were pretty fluid with travel and meetings, so I was hesitant to make any major plans.  However, about a week before the kids were free I finally decided that we needed to take some time

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We Want Your Vote

This parody is based on the top-polling 2016 Presidential candidates at the time of writing. (To the tune of “We Will Rock You” by Queen) Trump Trump, Jeb!  (Replaces foot stomp and hand clap rhythm)Trump Trump, Jeb! Neurosurgeon Doctor   Benjamin Carson,Carly Fio-ri-na and Ted Cruz You got Mike Huck-a-bee   And Rick SantorumTelling Chris Christie to lay

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Camping

When Ann asked me if she could go on a camping trip with a friend and her friend’s parents I was a little surprised.  The first time I had taken the kids camping was the final night of a summer vacation in 2009.  After that Ann had vowed that she would never go camping again.

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Basketball Hoop

A few weeks ago I bought a basketball hoop for the kids.  I didn’t want to get one of the inexpensive portable ones as they seem to get beat up pretty easily.  At the same time even your entry-level in-ground model was several hundred dollars plus another few hundred to have installed.  After a bit

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