Welcome 2026

Now that my husband and I are settled into our Blue Ridge Mountain home, it’s time for me to get serious about my passion project: turning my big blue recipe book into a digital collection that everyone can enjoy. The book was a gift from my mother over 30 years ago, filled with recipes I grew up loving — and a few I’ve never tried.

My goals for this year

• One blog post per week

• Two IG/TikTok posts per week

• Plenty of recipes, old and new, shared with family and with old and new friends

The additions I’ve made to my mom’s Italian Spaghetti recipe come from different family members, each adding their own touch.

I also added Sissie’s Peanut Butter Krispie Treats to my recipe index. This recipe carries a beautiful story. During my freshman year at what was then Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of Louisiana at Monroe), I lived with two of my first cousins, Laurie and Rob Henderson. Sissie was their paternal grandmother, and when I visited their home in Vicksburg, Mississippi, she treated me as if I were her granddaughter too. She often sent us back to school with her amazing peanut butter Rice Krispie treats — and her chicken and rice. I’m still searching for that chicken and rice recipe; I’ve never been able to recreate it. But finding this treat recipe thrilled me, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

I also added two shrimp dip recipes. I wanted to include something that represented everyone in my family, and my Aunt Joan — my mother’s sister — was famous for her shrimp dip. We lost her in April of 2025, and it was important to me that she be part of this book. The second shrimp dip recipe comes from my grandmother, my dad’s mom, who absolutely loved to spoil me. My dad was an only child, so my brother and I were treated like royalty.

If you want spicy, make my grandmother’s recipe. If you prefer savory, try Aunt Joan’s. Both are fantastic, and my husband can attest to that.