Amish Friendship Starter - you may also hear it called Herman Starter.  This is a sweet starter mix used for sweet breads, coffee cakes and the like.  It's not typically used for regular bread baking.

I first heard of steel-cut oats while watching Alton Brown on the Food Network.  Later, I found that they have a lower value on the Glycemic Index than regular oatmeal - which prevents glucose spikes for diabetics.  Plus, they have a better texture than rolled oats - they have to be chewed.

Now, my Granny usually made her chocolate pie from scratch, particularly if she knew we were coming down for a visit, since Mom's favorite pie was . . . yep, chocolate.  Once, while I was visiting during summer break, I asked her about a butterscotch pie and she said, "Well, we can make one.  It's not much different than a chocolate one."  Granny was right, as usual.

Last year, I entered a contest to create a new Chex Mix.  I didn't win - but I still like my recipe, what's not to like?  Garlic, Parmesan and Chex along with a few other things, too.  Here's a great mix to add to your movie night.

Welcome to a new year!  I've been blogging for about a year now.  I hope that you found some interesting recipes over the last year and maybe learned a few things you didn't know before.   I'm going to try to include more pictures (and I'll try to update older posts with pictures, too).

Here's my ultimate comfort food for when I'm feeling down or sick.