Plant City, Florida calls itself the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, and if you’ve ever been to the Florida Strawberry Festival in late February, you know they’re not exaggerating. The festival draws close to 500,000 people over eleven days — and if you live within an hour of it like I did for years,…
I spent just over a decade living under an hour from Plant City, Florida — the Strawberry Capital of the World — and every February the Strawberry Festival sent me home with an embarrassing amount of strawberries. A flat minimum. Sometimes more. Standing in the kitchen the next morning staring at all of them, I…
The basket was wrapped in cellophane, tied with a bow, and priced at $47. Inside: a travel-sized lotion she’d never use, a bar of soap that smelled like a hotel lobby, and two pieces of chocolate that probably came from a bin at the register. I stood there in that gift aisle for a solid…
When dinner needs to happen fast—but takeout isn’t in the budget—chicken casseroles are one of the easiest ways to get a hot, comforting meal on the table. They’re hearty, flexible, and easy to adapt to what you already have on hand. They’re the kind of meals that don’t ask for perfection—just a dish, whatever ingredients…
Every February it starts the same way. You run into the store for one thing and walk out with a buggy full of things you don’t need or you’ll never use. It adds up fast, and before you know it Valentine’s feels way more expensive than it ever should. This year I’m determined to change…
After the holidays, everything feels a little quieter. The schedule settles back in, and the fridge becomes a holding place for all the plans you meant to get to. A forgotten can of cranberry sauce—tucked behind leftovers from a week that got away from me—and it ended up becoming the base for this Sweet Chili…
Some recipes aren’t planned — they just happen when you’re standing in front of the fridge, determined to make something work. This Jiffy Cornbread Casserole with Tomatoes and Okra started that way. A half can of sour cream, a lonely box of Jiffy, and one of those mixed tomato-and-okra cans I’d forgotten about. Nothing fancy,…
Thanksgiving dinner is always worth the work, but once the holiday ends, a fridge packed with leftovers can feel more stressful than exciting. Nobody likes the thought of wasting food, and with rising grocery costs, letting turkey go uneaten is like tossing money in the trash. Thankfully, with a little creativity, you can turn those…
Every fall, it happens like clockwork. I’ll open a can of pumpkin purée for a pie or a batch of muffins, the kitchen filling with the warm scent of cinnamon and nutmeg. Most of it gets used, but a small amount is left behind—just enough to feel guilty tossing, not enough for another pie. I…
There’s something quietly satisfying about not letting a single spoonful go to waste—especially when it turns into something sweet. If you’ve ever found yourself staring at half a can of leftover pumpkin puree, unsure what to do with it, you’re not alone. I used to push mine to the back of the fridge, thinking I’d…
