Boneless, skinless chicken breasts typically steal the show when a busy cook is looking for a quick dinner. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, however, can be a simple and economical alternative to the chicken breast. Chicken thighs are also appealing for Crock-Pot cooking, since they have less of a tendency to dry out. Boneless, skinless thigh meat can be found as easily as boneless, skinless breasts for a fraction of the cost. Check out the meat counters at C. Rallo, Valenti's or even Costco where I picked up boneless, skinless thighs for less than $2 per pound. While boneless, skinless …

Over the past year writing Great Eats, I have had numerous email requests for frugal recipes, meatless recipes, healthy recipes and regional recipes.   This year, I will tailor my recipes to your requests, starting with “frugal,” to kick off 2012. As the mother of teenagers, I am a self-proclaimed queen of frugal dinners. Feeding teenagers, and their many friends, often requires creativity. Breakfast for dinner is a great option, as are soups and stews. Beans, however, are my favorite way to stretch the food dollar. Combined with great spices, beans are anything but ordinary. Nutrition Stop …

New Year’s Eve festivities call for something special. But as the busy holiday season comes to a close, many do not have the time or inclination to spend hours in the kitchen. This year, go beyond offering your guests the basic cheese, fruit or veggie platter. Baked Coconut Shrimp are quick to make, delicious and can be prepared ahead of time. Keep the tray of prepared shrimp in the refrigerator. Just pop them into the oven 20 minutes before you wish to serve them. Pomegranates add a great twist to your New Year’s Eve cocktails. Always festive, these odd-looking fruits are at the peak of …

Kids love creating goodies in the kitchen. This time of year is particularly fun for kids, because they can give their creations as gifts or listen to “Oooohhs!” and “Ahhhs!” as the adults sample their goodies from the buffet table. For most of my candy creations, I temper chef series chocolate, but many people do not have the time, inclination or the tools to do so. For quick, gift worthy treats from the kitchen that are easy enough for kids to do alone (or with supervision, depending on their age), My Son’s Candy Supply in St. Peters has some great products. My Son’s Candy Supply sells …

When we think of a traditional Thanksgiving Day feast, it is not complete without the typical cranberry sauce on the side. But cranberries can add a festive touch to food throughout the day. Wake up with a yummy Cranberry Cream Cheese Spread for toast or bagels. The spread is also delicious as a dip for graham crackers or apple slices. Have your guests munch on fragrant pecans with dried cranberries tossed in, while waiting for the bird to come out of the oven. Warm the adults with a yummy cranberry based drink that is reminiscent of cherry pie and finish the meal with a Frosted Cranberry-…

One of my favorite cuts of beef is the tri-tip roast. It is as tasty as a good steak when marinated and grilled. It is a serious cut of beef and can be adapted to fit into many types of cuisines. The tri-tip comes from the bottom sirloin of the cow. Originally, United States beef producers primarily used the tri-tip for ground beef or sliced it into thin steaks. On the West coast, the tri-tip began making its appearance as a roast in the late 1950s. Tri-tip roast can be found in a number of places in the area. Occasionally, Costco in St. Peters has tri-tip roasts, but they can always be found…

It is trick-or-treat time of year! Start your evening off right with a fun feast to keep everybody fueled for the festivities—a warm, filling main dish and a few quick sides will keep your little goblins going well into the spooky night. When I was in college, Harrison Hall served a dish called Texas Straw Hat. I was never sure what exactly went into it, but my friends loved it. It was basically ground meat in a tomato bases, served over corn chips. Everybody waited for that to be on the menu. Over the years, I started serving basic sloppy Joe’s over corn chips, mimicking the Texas Straw Hat …

Apples go beyond the basic apple pie and applesauce. They can be added to sweet and savory dishes alike and are used by chefs around the world. Apples top the list (along with bananas) as the most popular fruit in the United States. This is no surprise since they are versatile, portable and last many months in proper conditions. Most of the apples purchased in the United States have been sitting around for months, but nothing compares to the fresh, local apples available now. Being transplants to the area, we often spend holidays with friends. My friend, Stacey, serves her Snicker’s Salad …

One recent afternoon, my friend Liz sent over a small container. I opened the container and out wafted the scent of fall. Inside the container were two halves of tender apple, covered with slightly sweet, cinnamon scented syrup. The apple cut effortlessly with my fork. I ate the entire thing before my family knew it was in the house. I asked for the recipe. It was so simple, but so delicious. Then I asked for the story behind the recipe. The story was a classic example of resourcefulness. Liz’s mom, Allene Meinke, said that her grandparents owned an orchard in northern Missouri during the …

A couple of weeks ago my sister and I were chatting. She had made blueberry muffins and on how good they turned out. She thought the addition of sour cream to the batter that gave the muffins bakery quality texture. I have used sour cream in baked goods before but never gave much thought as to why. Internet research told me that sour cream tenderizes and softens baked goods. After some experimentation, I realized she was correct. Buttermilk and yogurt are often used in recipes to produce similar results. While yogurt and sour cream are often interchangeable, sour cream typically has more fat …

Even as the fresh produce season wanes, pepper plants in the area still seem to be producing. A bumper crop of jalapenos and habaneros inspire spicy dishes ready for college football fans. While I have a bumper crop of peppers in my garden, I still need to supplement with peppers from the O’Fallon Farmer’s Market and other area produce stands. Orlando’s, Anthony’s and Art’s are great sources for all of your pepper needs. Black bean soup is simple, spicy and delicious on a cool fall day. The amount of jalapeno can be adjusted to suit any taste. Jalapenos add flavor without overpowering heat. …

Zucchini used to often be the butt of many jokes. However, stories of people leaving their overabundance of the summer squash on friends’ front porches seem to be going by the wayside as fewer people grow their own produce. According to Wikipedia, zucchini is a fruit. It is the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flour. Typically, for the home cook, zucchini is treated as a vegetable and appears in savory dishes, in addition to the ever-loved zucchini bread. Zucchini is fairly easy to grow and my pair of plants typically yields enough of the squash to keep my family in zucchini bread all …

Farm stands, such as Art’s in O’Fallon, Orlando’s in St. Peters and Anthony’s Produce in St. Peters are starting to advertise locally-grown produce. Tomatoes from Illinois and Missouri farms are showing up, and Arkansas tomatoes have been in St. Charles County for weeks. Tomatoes are versatile and appear in many types of dishes—from humble sliced tomatoes on grilled burgers to slowly simmered tomatoes in a deep, rich, red sauce. This time of year, raw tomatoes add a freshness to dishes that is unachievable other times of the year with imported tomatoes—even if they are just imported from …

The Fourth of July is upon us, this year you can change up your cook-out a bit by taking a step back from pork steaks and burgers.Forget the brownies and pies (and turning on the oven). Bratwurst and light, fruity parfaits celebrate the holiday! There are three schools of thought when it comes to cooking bratwurst. There are people who swear by just tossing the raw brats on the grill and letting them cook. Some people grill them first then simmer them in beer all afternoon. Others prefer to simmer them first then finish them on the grill for color and flavor. I picked up cheddar brats from …

Nothing says summer like grilling and fresh berry pie. This week, we have combined the two, to make a refreshing dinner without turning on the stove. Lakeview Farms on Mexico Road still has fresh strawberries, ready for picking. But each year, what I really wait for are the fresh raspberries. Currently, they are sweet, juicy and ready for picking. If the weather cooperates, the berries should be at their peak during the coming week. That is just in time to make a special Father’s Day dessert, easy enough for the kids to do with minimal help from mom. The raspberry pie recipe is based on many …

Sometimes the best food does not come from a recipe, but rather from an inspiration. Sometimes the most memorable food is the most simple. Sometimes, the cook just wants to get out of the kitchen with the least amount of mess. This Memorial Day, forgo the typical pies, brownies and cakes. Forget turning on the oven. Forget any last minute preparation. The following recipes are for simple, single serve items certain to put a smile on every face, young and old. Variations of S’more on a Stick recipes can be found everywhere on the internet, but the premise is the same. Toast a marshmallow. Dip …

It seems as though cake pops are making their appearance everywhere. With a soft and chewy inside and a frosting-like coating on the outside, they are hard to resist. Local coffee shops sell cake pops or basic cake pops sell for as much as $24 a dozen online. Amazon has a half dozen recipe books featuring cake pop recipes. Cake pop “kits” are also available from Amazon. These little confections, however, are easy to make and all the materials are available in the O’Fallon/St. Peter’s area. With a little practice and imagination, you can elevate the basic cake pop into a work of art. …

This time of year, I start yearning for fresh, local produce. I was surprised to find locally-grown strawberries already at Orlando’s Produce on Mexico Road. The berries just started arriving a few days ago from southern Illinois, I was told. While not as sweet as June strawberries from Lakeview Farms in St. Peters, my family still declared them the best they have had in months. They are juicy, soft and red throughout—not hard like the berries trucked in from California that we have had all winter long. We ate an entire pound at dinner time. They were that good. Strawberry salsa is a great …

Thursday is Cinco de Mayo, the commemoration of the Mexican army’s victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla. Although the holiday is not widely celebrated in Mexico, it is certainly a great reason to whip up your own fiesta here. Restaurants are too crowded for me on Cinco de Mayo, so I turn to my own kitchen for dinner. Family-pleasing quesadillas, black beans and a cool glass of sangria fit the bill for a week night Cinco celebration. The humble quesadilla is easy for a quick dinner. Quesadillas do not need to be limited to the kid staple of melted cheese in a tortilla. You can use …

Growing up in a Polish-Italian-German Catholic family, Easter was a joyous event preceded by days of cooking. We dyed Easter eggs on Good Friday but couldn’t eat them until Saturday night. Our house smelled of cooking ham and glorious Polish sausage that I couldn’t wait to eat. The suspense was torture. Dessert was always a cake, decorated like small animal, covered in coconut. But, I never really liked flaked coconut as a child. I was just in it for the jelly beans scattered around the cake. I inherited my grandmother’s lamb shaped pan and now make the same style cake with my children. Since…