November Magic of the Month – Ideas for Your Thanksgiving Table

The artistic creativity some people possess never ceases to amaze me. When it comes time for me to choose Thanksgiving centerpieces and place settings for my own table, I never lack for inspiring ideas from others. Thanksgiving place settings and centerpieces can be simple or extravagant, but no matter your ambition or budget, there are […]

October Magic of the Month – Simple but Delicious Casseroles

As we approach the beginning of this busy – but wonderful – time of year, sometimes making dinner for the family can be challenging. But throwing together a simple, but yummy, casserole can be just the trick. If you have the right recipe, you can just throw together a few ingredients and come up with […]

Happy Halloween!

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t care for some of the darker elements of Halloween. The celebration of gore, blood and death doesn’t appeal to me at all. But I can have lots of fun with spiders, ghosts (the fun kind) and the more lighthearted side of the holiday. Ever since I was a little […]

September Magic of the Month – Simple Fall Decorating

The temperature in Indiana this month has been above average. While that makes it harder to get into the autumn mood, I certainly didn’t let that stop me from buying pumpkins, mums and unpacking my twenty boxes – literally – of fall decorations! In the tradition of my mom, “Mama Bear”, my goal at our […]

August Magic of the Month – Canned Jams

As summer draws to an end and the weather begins to cool, I start picturing winter days snuggled in my house. Obviously, I can’t do that without having some good “comfort” food. I think toast or a biscuit with homemade jam definitely qualifies. Dawn has been on a canning craze lately, so we thought we’d […]

July Magic of the Month – Summer Canning

When we first moved to Indiana, my mom loved canning the vegetables she’d grown in her garden. Sadly, I usually turned down her request to help as somehow I thought there were more exciting things to do with my summer days. Dawn, however, grew up canning and is quite the expert. She, along with some […]

June Magic of the Month – Mexican Fiesta!

Dawn has had some special occasions in her family lately. Her youngest daughter graduated from high school, her oldest daughter gave birth to twins and her husband has started a new business venture. Since we like any excuse to celebrate, Dawn cooked up a Mexican fiesta for her family. Mexican is our family’s all time […]

Fourth of July

BARBECUE PORK SANDWICHES This barbecue was fantastic – so tender and flavorful. The recipe is from Dawn’s good friend, Greg Thornton, from Cincinnati, Ohio. He generously agreed to share his famous recipe with us! 1 pork shoulder/butt roast 1/2 cup garlic 2 tablespoons pepper 1 tablespoon salt 1/2 green pepper, sliced 1/2 red pepper, sliced 1/2 yellow […]

Fourth of July at the Den

As we approach Fourth of July, we thought we’d revisit last year’s party to give you some decorating ideas!  Check out the recipes on Taste the Fairytale. Our guest table decorations were very simple. We used red and blue bandanas as table runners, spray painted tin cans to look like a flag, filled them with flowers […]

May Magic of the Month – Five Fabulous Sandwiches

When we’re hungry, sometimes nothing satisfies like a yummy sandwich. Sandwiches can come in an endless variation of size, shape and taste. We’ve included some of our favorites for this month’s feature. Enjoy! REUBEN SANDWICH This is my husband’s all time favorite sandwich. This recipe is for one sandwich and, of course, the ingredients can […]