Recipes of the Month: January 2026

I will try to post a few recipes that should be fairly budget-friendly and easy to make for anyone wanting to learn to make things from scratch.

I wasn’t sure what recipe to start with, but since January 4th is National Spaghetti Day, I figure that would be a good one to start with.

Special Holiday Meals: January Edition

Spaghetti is a pretty simple meal to make, and I have a couple of recipes that you could try. There is nothing wrong with boxed noodles and canned sauce, but these don’t need a lot of skill and can turn an ordinary meal into something special… even making a few additions like some browned meat to canned sauce can make it so much better.

With Valentine’s Day coming up next month, you might want to try out a couple of recipes so you can make a memorable meal for your special someone 😉

Continue reading “Recipes of the Month: January 2026”

Shyanne’s ‘Two Kind’ Cheesecake

This recipe was chosen last year for one of the birthdays, but we never actually made it. This year, we tried it out and changed things a bit to work better for us. Everyone loved it, but the original recipe was a little dry. After the changes, it was amazing!

Shyanne really loves this and would ask for the ‘two kind’ cake when she wanted more…lol. This works with any boxed cake mix and would also work with a packaged brownie mix. You could make the brownies as directed on the package and bake them in the springform pan so they could be your ‘crust layer’.

**Special thanks to my son-in-law @moments2lifephotography for the amazing cover photo!

Continue reading “Shyanne’s ‘Two Kind’ Cheesecake”

No-Bake Cookie Cheesecake

This recipe is so easy and is always a favorite around the dinner table. We even used this recipe to make the Groom’s Cake for my daughter’s wedding. This is almost always requested for special dinners like Thanksgiving as well.

It can be changed to use any cookie you like, or you can use graham crackers for a more traditional cheesecake.

**Special thanks to my son-in-law @moments2lifephotography for the amazing cover photo!

Continue reading “No-Bake Cookie Cheesecake”

Eema’s Vanishing Cream Cheese Cookies

Mr. Awesome has gotten hooked on the cream cheese cookies from a certain sandwich chain. We tried a ‘copy-cat’ recipe, but it had so many crazy and hard-to-find ingredients that I decided to try tweaking our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe to make something close to what he was craving. After a few tries, we definitely have a winner!

I call them ‘Eema’s Vanishing Cream Cheese Cookies’ for a couple of reasons. First, I became a grandma last year and we decided that I will be called ‘Eema’ by the littles… so cute and precious to hear that! Secondly, these cookies tend to vanish before your eyes, so you’ve got to be quick to grab one when they have cooled down enough to eat. They are so GOOD! I’m so excited to share this recipe with everyone I know!

You could probably use any dried or freeze-dried fruit as long as it wasn’t hard, like dried bananas. I don’t think fresh fruit would work unless you ‘dry’ it in the oven for a bit before using it… You can probably research how to dehydrate fruit in the oven for some ideas on how to do this.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and share this recipe! Be sure to hit the ‘Follow’ button as well so you don’t miss out on any future recipes!

Continue reading “Eema’s Vanishing Cream Cheese Cookies”

Granny’s Ambrosia

This recipe is so good, and we miss having dinners at the square dances because someone would always bring this dish with their own variations… YUMMY!

Granny’s Ambrosia

Ingredients:

Equal amounts of:

  • Mandarin oranges (1 can)
  • Pineapple chunks or tidbits (1 can)
  • ½ c. sour cream or Greek Yogurt
  • 8 oz of Cool Whip or other whipped topping
  • Mini marshmallows (1 cup)

optional add- ins:

  • Shredded coconut (1 cup)
  • Pecans, chopped (1 cup)
  • Fresh or canned fruits, chopped (1 cup each) ex: bananas, apples, peaches, pears, strawberries, grapes, etc.
  • Maraschino cherries, chopped (1 small jar)
  • Small box of vanilla pudding

Directions:

Drain cans of fruit and dump into a large bowl… save the juice for your kids, if they like that.

Add any optional additions.

Mix the sour cream and whipped topping together, gently stir into the fruit.

Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Continue reading “Granny’s Ambrosia”