Internet Chicken Parm

December 17, 2025December 17, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 6 Comments

I wanted to make things easy on myself yesterday as I am doing all the cooking, while my husband recovers from total knee replacement surgery. (His leg still aches too much to eat out in a restaurant.) I had the idea of making chicken parmigiana with store-cooked chicken cutlets, but the price for TWO of them was $16.99, so I decided to make them myself.

Believe it or not, it was my first time making chicken parm. I looked at NYT Cooking’s version of the recipe, but then decided to go with something simpler that Google turned up:

The Best Chicken Parmesan (Parmigiana) – A Simple Palate.pdf Download

I like how there’s a baked version of the recipe (if you don’t want to fry the cutlets in oil first), but for my first time making it, I decided to fry the cutlets.

I didn’t have sliced mozzarella, so I used about 8 ounces of grated mozzarella and it was yummy. I also didn’t have basil, so I topped with a bit of fresh parsley leftover from my Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken.

My husband was very appreciative (as always) of my efforts and I liked it too. I used store bought marinara sauce (Rao’s), so it was really pretty easy.

I recommend buying high-quality organic chicken breasts (like Bell & Evans) and slicing them into cutlets yourself before pounding.

Buy the good chicken breasts for best results

Healing stew (hopefully)

December 13, 2025December 14, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments

The healing process for my husband’s knee replacement is ongoing. Sadly, we had to cancel dinner with our son for his 25th birthday tonight, because my husband just isn’t ready for restaurants yet. There’s still a ton of pain, swelling, and stiffness, which apparently is normal at this stage (3 weeks post-op), but he’s never dealt with anything like this, so it’s pretty hard.

I decided to try a recipe I saw on NYT Cooking “most popular recipes of 2025” list—Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken. It looked easy and it was. My husband loved it. He said the flavor was great and it really was. I even made my own croutons, which soaked up the delicious sauce perfectly.

New England is experiencing real “depths of winter” cold right now. (It’s giving late January vibes.) Given the very cold weather and the knee, I think this was a success. And so easy.

Next time I’ll put the croutons in the dish first to absorb as much sauce as possible 😋

Here’s the recipe:

Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken .pdf Download

Slow cookers (aka crockpots) are the best, right?

Dessert invention

December 2, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 3 Comments

As people who read my blog may know, I am a big fan of dessert. I take flavor combinations seriously and I think I know when one is extra special.

Through endless trial and error, I have stumbled across a real winner in the ice cream mix-in department. It’s SO good.

If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, you gotta try this:

Take three Trader’s Joe’s Soft-baked Snickerdoodles (no substitutes!) and microwave them in a small bowl for 15-20 seconds. Top them with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and top that with about a quarter cup of Grape-Nuts cereal.

Next: mix them together thoroughly, breaking up the cookies as you go.

Oh my god. So delicious. If you’re in mood for a satisfying, cinnamony dessert, give it a try.

What are your favorite ice cream mix-in combos?

Memorial Day

May 25, 2025September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments

It’s still much too cold here in New England, but I attempted to get in the spirit of the holiday weekend by making a red, white and blue dessert. We got a pint of fresh local strawberries from a farm stand (for ten dollars!) and a massive quantity of blueberries (on sale at Whole Foods). Sadly, I could not find any biscuits or mini sponge cakes in the store for strawberry shortcake. (I actually went to two stores looking for them.) So, I substituted puff pastries and here’s what I learned:

You really want an absorbent base for strawberry shortcake. That’s why biscuits or sponge cake work well. Puff pastries, though delicious, don’t exactly enhance the flavor because they don’t absorb the strawberry juices.

Ah well…we managed to polish it off anyway.

The second try was better because I figured out how to remove the top and actually fill the puff pastry.

Thank you to all who have served. I’m from an Air Force family.

My father and my late Aunt Theresa in their Air Force uniforms (mid 1950s). My aunt served for twenty years (1951-1971) in various administrative positions in Germany, Japan and the US.

My oh-so-dashing father-in-law (1923-2016), a member of the Greatest Generation, enlisted in 1943 and retired as a Major in the USAF in 1968.

The United States military was a key component of achieving the American Dream for these children of poor Italian immigrants. It changed everything for them, and therefore, for us.

Baked Oatmeal

March 26, 2025September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

As I’ve mentioned many times before on this blog, I like sweets, especially baked goods! (When I was pregnant many years ago, I had what seemed like hours-long “bakery dreams” about pies, cookies, Congo bars, etc.) In recent years, I have become a big fan of the blog: Sally’s Baking Addiction. Virtually all of her cookie, bar, and muffin recipes come out perfectly. I also subscribe to her free newsletter, which recently highlighted some healthier options.

Her “One Bowl Baked Oatmeal” caught my eye, so I gave it a try this week. It’s really good—and so easy. These oatmeal bars are delicious hot or cold. Nonfat vanilla yogurt makes an excellent healthy topping (but vanilla ice cream works too).

As the recipe suggested, I used real maple syrup (thank you, Vermont). I also chose to use applesauce (rather than the mashed banana option) and no nuts, because I am allergic.

11 ingredients mixed together in one bowl and poured into an 11×7 sprayed baking dish

Sally’s suggested cooking time of 35 minutes at 350 degrees was perfect

Big Day

March 16, 2025September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 12 Comments

After many years of saying no, I agreed to serve on the Executive Team of my church for this fiscal year (summer 24-summer 25). Typically, it’s a three year term, but I’m filling the final year of a term that was vacated by a gentleman who sadly became sick and died.

I didn’t really want to do this heavy lift of a volunteer role, but I had run out of good excuses to say no. (I’m not working and my kids are grown.) Plus, I only had to commit to ONE year (not the usual three).

I gotta say…I am good at leadership. I believe I have significant skills in this area. I have received a lot of positive feedback from the congregation and other members of the Executive Team. So that’s been nice, but the long meetings and endless emailing have led me to conclude that if I’m going to do this type of work-work, I should get paid. I should seek out a role for which I’d start getting paid again for my skills. I’m too young to fully retire. I want to limit my church volunteer roles to the fun stuff (ie singing in the choir, circle dance, helping organize the jewelry booth at the country fair).

One thing I did on the Executive Team this year is project management. We got a donation to create a “memorial garden” — a contemplative outdoor space where people can go to reflect. We set a goal of March 16 to dedicate the space (in honor of the donor’s late wife’s birthday) and by George—it is happening today!

Later this morning, after the service, we will gather on the side lawn of the church to dedicate our new space and dramatically unveil the new stone monument at its center. The weather is going to be warm (for Massachusetts) and people are excited. The donor’s extended family and the artist who created the monument will be joining us.

Here’s a group of us in front of the 1.2 ton stone monument, which got installed in the nick of time on Thursday.

I have made lemon squares from scratch for the reception afterwards because it’s a Big Day. (And Big Days require something a bit more special than brownies from a box.)

I taste tested my lemon squares last night and they’re good.

A winter stew for you

February 4, 2025September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 11 Comments

I’ve posted many times about the great cookies and other baked goods I’ve made with recipes from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Although she’s mostly a baker, Sally does have a few other recipes and I decided to give one of them a try: Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken & Corn Soup. It’s really more of a stew or chowder (chow-dah, if you’re from Boston 😉).

If you have a large slow cooker (aka crockpot), this recipe is easy and good. The inner part of my slow cooker is safe to use on the stovetop, so I didn’t even need a second pan to cook the bacon. For me, it was truly was a “one pot meal.” The only other tools I needed were a cutting board, knife, and potato peeler (for the sweet potatoes).

The only ingredient that was a bit hard to find in the store was a can of cream style corn. I had to go to two grocery stores to find it.

It cooks on low for 7-8 hours and smells wonderful while it’s cooking.

Great winter recipe.

❄️🥶☃️

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken & Corn Soup – Sally’s Baking Addiction Download

Muffins and Thoughts

January 21, 2025September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 22 Comments

I may turn this into a baking blog for the next four years.

As the holidays are over, I wanted to veer away from decadent cookies, and try some healthier stuff. I’ve always liked “morning glory” muffins and this recipe from Sally is a winner. They are moist and delicious. I never make recipes with 18(!) ingredients, but I happened to have most of them in the house already. The only things I had to go buy was ground flax seed and unsweetened apple sauce. I substituted coconut flakes for the pecans, because I am allergic to tree nuts.

Random thoughts from the past two days:

I didn’t watch the inauguration live, but the photos were unavoidable. Melania’s hat was a lousy choice for an indoor inauguration. Even if the inauguration had been outside, she did not need a brim that wide! She looked so severe and frankly, mean, in that navy blue get-up. Major Cruella de Vil vibes.

The Washington DC Episcopalian Bishop has balls, asking Trump to his face to have mercy on the people he attacks. Good for her!

Finally, I loved AOC’s response to all the inquiries about whether or not she was attending the inauguration: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFB3HenR4az/?igsh=MTRuY29xeXc0am51YQ==

Candy cookies

December 21, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 12 Comments

I’m not sure when cookies with pieces of candy in them were invented, but I feel like they got very popular when I was a kid in the 70s. In fact, I’m just going to go ahead and claim them for GenX. We may not have invented candy cookies, but we sure made them very popular.

I fondly remember my first “hidden treasure” cookie—a powdered sugar-covered cookie ball with a Hershey’s Kiss in the center. My mom made those every Christmas. And remember those first M&M cookies? Those were my second favorite type of Mrs. Fields cookies to get warm at the mall.

As every American who has ever trick-or-treated knows, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the best mass-produced candy in the US, which of course leads to numerous recipes which incorporate them.

These Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (recipe from Sally’sBakingAddiction.com) are perfect because you sink the candies into the hot cookies and then put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes to prevent too much of the chocolate melting. This results in the perfect integration of candy and cookie. The cookie dough itself has peanut butter in it and is rolled in granulated sugar before baking. It elevates the already perfect peanut butter cup to a whole new level.

This batch of cookies officially concludes my 2024 Christmas Baking Extravaganza, which may or may not have been partially motivated by election-related escapism. I hope you’ve enjoyed it!

Fortunately, my son has been home to help eat all these cookies.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

More White Chocolate

The Holiday Spritz

December 16, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 16 Comments

I am baking up a storm over here in the land of incredulous liberals who are (to a person, I believe) avoiding the news. (I did take a quick peek at Facebook earlier and saw that the incredible Randy Rainbow has just dropped a new video, which basically says it ALL.)

Back to baking…the holiday spritz is a tradition for my family. I received a fine Italian-made cookie press from my childhood friend Bethanne at my bridal shower 30+ years ago and have been making these cookies pretty much every year since. (My mother had a cookie press and she made them for years too.) They are strictly a holiday cookie. I’ve never made them at any other time of year.

I also received a cookie cookbook from Bethanne at my bridal shower (we had baked many batches of cookies together as girls), and I still use the recipe from that very same cookbook:

If you’re not familiar with how a cookie press works, you stuff a pump/barrel full of cookie dough and then squeeze it out through little silver discs, which form various decorative shapes. (There are about 12 shapes to choose from.)

50 Happens

Gen X Mom Keeps Calm & Carries On

Recipes