Recipes Archives | The Sparrow's Home

Homemade yogurt is easier than you think!

April 17, 2020 by Susan 8 Comments

If you eat yogurt, you should give homemade yogurt-making a try. It’s not difficult, and tastes better than store bought!

Yogurt is something that I am always telling myself I should eat more of. And now that I’ve started making it myself, I finally am!

There’s something fresher about it that I just can’t get enough of. Plus, I get to play around with it a little to make it perfect for us.

I haven’t tried straining my yogurt yet to make thicker, Greek-style yogurt (which is what I usually buy if I’m buying yogurt), but it’s on the agenda! The thinner yogurt works better for us now, since I’m the only one who eats it as is. The fellas in my house will only eat yogurt if it’s in a smoothie (or in frozen yogurt form) so this is perfect.

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

December 9, 2019 by Susan 2 Comments

Jam-packed with salty pistachios, tart dried cranberries and sweet white chocolate, this cookie is the perfect bite. It also looks beautiful on a cookie tray!

I made a cookie similar to these a lot of years ago for a work Christmas party and was told by one co-worker that they were the best cookies he’d ever had. They are kind of the perfect bite…sweet, tart, salty, rich. YUM!

They’re certainly perfect for Christmas with the red, green and white, and look pretty on a cookie tray. I think they’d make a lovely gift, too.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cream Pie

November 25, 2019 by Susan 7 Comments

This light, fluffy chocolate cream pie is made with marshmallows and tastes like a sweet candy bar. Easy to make and no-bake!

Pie is where it’s at.

Pecan pie is the standard at my house for Thanksgiving, but we always have to have an option for the non-nut eaters.

Even my picky-eating kids, who have categorically denied pie in the past love this. (How you can say “I don’t like pie” is beyond me…there’s only about a million kinds of pie, and you know you don’t like any of them??… Sigh, I love my kids.)

They have since decided that some pies…mainly chocolate pies…are okay to eat. God bless pie.

I’m a big fan of French Silk Pie. Rich and luscious perfection if you ask me. However, sometimes you want to make something a bit lighter, but still creamy chocolate perfection. This pie hits those notes.

Think candy bar in pie form, but fluffier.

By the way… if you’re looking for a great French Silk Pie recipe, my go-to is this one from Pioneer Woman ==> French Silk Pie

But today we are foregoing the cup of butter and half hour of mixing to whip up this sweet, fluffy confection.

The filling is pretty quick to make, it just needs some time in the fridge to chill before serving. This recipe will make two pies if you use the ready-made chocolate pie crusts or one deep dish homemade cookie crusted pie.

7 Pinterest recipes that are as delicious as they look!

October 14, 2019 by Susan 4 Comments

Finding recipes that you love is kind of exciting, isn’t it? We’ve all had our Pinterest “fails” in the past. These are seven recipes that we tried and loved and I think you will too. Easy and delicious. Big thumbs up on these Pinterest wins!

With my picky kids off at college, my husband and I were excited to make a wider variety of meals, including trying some new recipes. And when I say new recipes, everyone knows that means heading to Pinterest, right?

If you’re like me, you’ve had tons of recipes that you pinned who-know-how-long-ago and just haven’t gotten around to making. You may also have had your share of Pinterest ‘fails’ in the past.

Don’t ask me about the time I tried making oven-baked crispy taco shells. LOL

But by all means, DO ask about the Pinterest wins we’ve had in the last few months. It’s so much fun to try a new recipe and love it!

Do you have a happy food dance, or is it just the ladies in my family?

Simple and amazing summer lemonade

July 22, 2019 by Susan 1 Comment

I make this easy homemade lemonade all summer long. It’s so simple, but I get asked for the recipe frequently. Tart. Sweet. Summer in a glass.

Let’s clear one thing up right at the start: When I say homemade lemonade, I do not mean squeezing your own lemons.

I mean, theoretically you could. But you really don’t need to, and in my book, this falls in the same arena as making my own pizza dough and pie crusts. I could, but when it’s so convenient to buy Trader Joe’s handy and delicious versions, why would I?

Need to make hot dogs for a crowd? Use the crock pot!

June 24, 2019 by Susan 4 Comments

Super simple. Yummy. Feeds a crowd.

You are going to want to hold on to this one.

We hosted our second and final graduation party last weekend. (One week after we geniusly decided to hold a yard sale…not the best decision!)

My eldest son had requested jambalaya for his grad party. It was delish, but when my currently graduating son requested hot dogs and chips for his party, I was not disappointed at the ease of this menu.