My sister first showed me this little trick one muddy March afternoon when the fields were still too soft to plant but everyone was already tired of heavy winter casseroles. She took just four simple things—ham, dry pasta, cream, and cheese—tucked them into little foil bundles, and let the slow cooker do the rest. Foil … Read more
These 3-ingredient slow cooker poor man’s tax day wings are the kind of supper you make when the bills are due, the freezer’s full of odds and ends, and you still want to put something downright craveable on the table. Around here, tax day always seemed to sneak up right when we were watching every … Read more
This rhubarb vanilla loaf is a direct line back to my grandma Sue’s backyard in the Midwest, where she grew a long, wild row of rhubarb along the fence. Every spring and early summer, we’d beg her to bake “the rhubarb cake” every weekend, and this loaf is my home-cook version of that memory. It’s … Read more
This 4-ingredient depression era water pie is the kind of plain, honest dessert that carried families through lean Midwestern springs. Nana Betty used to say this pie was her little secret for turning almost nothing into something the whole neighborhood begged for. Freshly baked water pie on a rural kitchen counter Freshly baked water pie … Read more
Rice pudding is one of those quiet little recipes that has seen more winters than most of us. Around here in the Midwest, it was the sort of thing our mothers and grandmothers would stir together on a cold evening when there wasn’t much in the pantry but there was always a little rice, some … Read more
This slow cooker creamed chicken and peas is the kind of easy, no-fuss supper that has seen many a busy farm day through to a cozy evening. It reminds me of the church potlucks of my childhood here in the Midwest, where simple pantry staples and a trusty slow cooker could feed a crowd without … Read more
This 5-ingredient slow cooker poor man’s spaghetti pie is my kind of April Showers Supper: you load the crock in the late morning, and by dinnertime you’ve got a glossy, bubbling, golden-topped pasta casserole that practically serves itself. It borrows the spirit of classic Midwestern baked spaghetti and budget-friendly church potluck “spaghetti pie,” but skips … Read more
This is the kind of cozy, low-effort dinner I lean on during busy workweeks: you literally pour a jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce and just five more simple ingredients over pork tenderloin in the slow cooker, set it, and walk away. By the time you’re home and in comfy clothes, the pork is fall-apart tender … Read more
This 4-ingredient banana caramel pie is exactly the kind of dessert that shows up at a family gathering and instantly becomes the only thing anyone is talking about. My cousin Betty brought a version of this to our spring get-together last year, and it never even made it to the dessert table—people were cutting slices … Read more
This is my lazy-girl Earth Day dessert: whole raw unpeeled sweet potatoes tossed straight into the slow cooker with just three everyday pantry items. No peeling, no fuss, and almost no dishes. A few hours later, they collapse into soft, caramel-y goodness that tastes like a cross between a sweet potato pie and a gooey … Read more
