Recipes

It feels as if it's already Christmas here in Northern Michigan with all the cold and snow we have had over the last few weeks. But, it's finally Thanksgiving this week! One of my favorite holidays and a time to look back on our lives and think about what we are thankful for: family and fr...
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The holidays are getting so close. So close that I almost pulled out the Christmas decorations this week. Almost. I had to force myself to hold off. If you haven't been in or around Northern Michigan or watching our weather forecasts the last week or so, we have been getting hit with ...
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The holiday season is on the horizon and that means it's time to start thinking about what else? Sugar cookies! I'll be honest, it's one of my favorite things about the holidays. Curling up in front of our pellet stove with a good book, a hot cup of coffee and a delicious homemade sugar cookie ...
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It’s apple season here in Michigan which also means it’s doughnut season. Up here in the Mitten state we just can’t drink a cold, tangy glass of apple cider without chasing it down with a doughnut. You can buy doughnuts just about everywhere you find cider for sale, but there’s nothing quite...
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Last week, my family had our first bonfire together.  We have a nice above-ground kind of fire pit on our deck, so on nice nights we’ll sometimes bring speakers out and sit around the campfire, listening to music, telling stories, and enjoying s’mores.  We can agree on the songs w...
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Sweet Potato Souffle - made by Gram and loved by generations of the Shorter family. My grandma Ruth made this sweet potato souffle for years, and it was always the hit of the meal. Now, my mom makes it and I make sure I have the dish of it right next to me at the table! This recipe is great ...
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As summer and warmer weather arrive, before any yard clean up happens, our first priority is to get that grill BBQ-ready! From the time the snow melts until the snow returns, our family practically eats every dinner from the grill. And one of our BBQ favorites is Shish-kabobs! Whether grilli...
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Easter is a favorite holiday of mine, but for years I struggled with how to decorate for the holiday. There are lots of items out there to purchase for Easter, and I seemed to have a little bit of everything. After trying to make it all work together, I finally decided to decorate based on color. Ou...
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Recently while I was stationed in Trapper’s Cabin, Grandpa Shorter’s lower level, (check out the random sales and other cool stuff down there) I was looking over our large assortment of cookie cutters and found one the shape of a piece of toast. Why would anybody want a toast shaped coo...
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As a kid, you never could have gotten me to eat squash. "Blechh" was a favorite phrase of mine when my taste buds had not yet developed. Now, I have a pre-teen in my house, and she is very much like I was at her age. She is not into anything new! I find myself trying to convince her to eat new food...
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