Who knew that lasagna noodles needn't be cooked before baking the lasagna? Here are two oh-so-easy lasagna recipes, one for a 'personal pan lasagna' perfect for cooking for one or two, another for lasagna made in the crockpot. “I never cook anymore, now that it’s just me,” say women, especially, once their families are grown and their husbands gone. Often, it’s just easier to rely on frozen meals. That means no cooking, no waste and no clean-up – but to my mind, no pleasure, either. So I’ve been working on recipes especially suited for cooking for one or two, ones which I hope perfectly blend convenience and freshness, flavor and pleasure. SPINACH DIP The lasagna’s spinach mixture double-duties as spinach dip, too, perfect for spreading on crackers or tucking into an omelet or packing into the slit of a thick pork chop. Use the same ingredients, just sauté the onion in a little water or oil before combining with the spinach, ricotta and seasonings. CRO...

Perfect for Pancake Tuesday (that's Shrove Tuesday on the Christian calendar) or Sunday breakfast or Pancake Night , this is my mother's recipe for light and fluffy pancakes, either buttermilk pancakes or sweet-milk pancakes. Especially for new cooks, the recipe includes lots of pancake tips and tricks. ~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~ COMPLIMENTS! "Awesome recipe! ... So nice and fluffy!" ~ Anonymous BEST RECIPES! Mom's Pancakes Made the List! Best Recipes of 2009 Pancakes for Supper, An Annual Tradition On Mardi Gras calendars, the Tuesday before Lent is "Fat Tuesday". On Christian calendars, that same Tuesday is "Shrove Tuesday," the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, the day that we plant Lenten Grass . But on culinary calendars, that Tuesday is "Pancake Night" – the one night a year when tradition moves pancakes from the breakfast nook to the supper table. A Weekly Opportunity? W...

The Recipe: A loaf of lemon quick bread, bright with citrus and smoky with black walnuts, Missouri's much treasured nutmeats, so difficult to harvest. At Christmas, I jumped on the chance to purchase husked, shelled and picked native Missouri black walnuts. Knowing how difficult it is to extract the meat from black walnuts, I wanted to use them in a way that would highlight their distinctive flavor. This recipe is the first keeper, one that pairs black walnuts with lemon. The walnuts came from a friend of a friend whose parents wile away winter evenings in front of the television with industry: shelling black walnuts. It's tedious work but generates a little cash, an old-timer's practice that's likely to slowly die off, what with the digital distractions of Netflix and Facebook. Really, who has time for shelling walnuts? Sigh. It's not easy to find black walnuts, even in Missouri. Believe it or not, the most reliable source is Sam's Club, usually righ...