Our Facebook friends who are searching for a one pot meal need look no further than this recipe. It’s a recipe a mother can love: kids like sloppy Joes, it calls for added vegetables, and they just aren’t that sloppy!

The ingredient list is straightforward. (Don’t worry about that orange pepper; the recipe calls for a green one.) There’s just a small bit of chopping. After that, the meal comes together quickly.

We liked that the vegetables held their snap in this sandwich. We also liked that the sandwiches weren’t too saucy. A good weeknight meal.

You’d think it would be easy to cook from the Friends’ Cookbook once a week. But my sister is getting married in three months, and I have a dress fitting (ugh) coming up. Any chance I get to cook for other people, I take. So even though my hostess told me that she didn’t need any more snacks for the Super Bowl party, I took the opportunity to whip up Spicy Pretzels.

The difficult part of this recipe was breaking up the pretzels. You stir together a few ingredients, drizzle the mixture over the broken pretzels, and bake in a slow oven. They were goooooood. Not too spicy, sort of a slow burn.

Although I stirred them frequently, not all of the pretzels absorbed the “marinade.” I think if I made these again (and if I’m invited back, I will–the hostess loved them) I’d toss the pretzels with the marinade instead of pouring the mixture over the pretzels as called for in the recipe. There can’t be enough of the spice combination on these pretzels for me.

These were a big hit on a day when there was plenty of snack food to choose from. Even people who aren’t into spicy foods liked them…although you will occasionally get a pretzel that seems to have absorbed more cayenne than any other spice. A winner!

I have to admit I am loathe to post this and knock the $100,000 post from the top of the blog. It’s such a large, lovely number. Congratulations again to all the Friends.

I cooked this at the behest of Facebook Friends looking for one pot, hearty soups for the winter. Even though we’re experiencing some spring right now, it was still winter when I made this. You should definitely keep it in mind for when the cold returns, whether that be in seven days or seven months!

This recipe calls for quick cooking barley, which I could not find at two local supermarkets. I precooked the barley. This worked fine but it meant I needed almost twice as much liquid called for in the recipe. Also if you are like me and automatically think “stew beef” when you are making soup, recalibrate yourself for this recipe–it definitely needs a beef that can survive quick cooking.

As you can see from the photo, this soup has loads of good vegetables and wholesome grains, in addition to the beef. With just a few ingredients to prepare, it was quick and easy–and it would be even quicker if you could find the right barley! My husband enjoyed it, saying that it was hearty and had nice layers of flavor. I’m not a beef lover, but I did enjoy this one. There’s a sprinkling of thyme in it that seems to work so wonderfully with the veggies.

Due to popular demand, I sought out hearty, cold-weather foods for this week’s recipe. Indiana Pantry Soup, which calls for five pounds of potatoes, seemed like exactly the right recipe to tackle in the face of the monster storm predicted for Wednesday.

It’s super easy to put together with many ingredients that you probably have on hand: bacon, onions, celery, potatoes, and milk. (No need to fight the crowds at the grocery store!) After I peeled five pounds of potatoes, the soup came together quickly.

A better description of this dish might be mashed potato soup. (I don’t know that much about Indiana.) It was very hearty and sustaining–just the thing for filling up before you head out to chip away the ice in the driveway or for warming up after such work. The bacon imparts a smokiness, and I added celery salt to enhance the celery flavor. (I also tried to dress up my shot of the soup with a few celery leaves which quickly wilted; a food photographer, I am not!)

I like really bold flavors in my food, and this didn’t really fit the bill. (Maybe that’s the Indiana part?) I added a handful of sharp cheddar, which added a good kick. I’d guess this soup would be perfect for kids, but adults who like a little more zing could add anything you’d use to dress up a baked potato: salsa, hot sauce, garlic, or even ham. Of course, that would take it out of the realm of the pantry.  Either way, this soup will fill you up and keep you warm!