Just~One~Donna

Easy Beef Barley Soup: Two Ways Hubby was telling me about a delicious tomato soup he'd had recently. When I told him how much I love tomato soup, he just laughed. He knows I love every kind of soup! So, I suppose I need to be a little more specific when I talk about my favorites. When it comes to soups with a rich, beefy flavor, beef barley soup is at the top of my list. This is one of my favorite ways to use leftover roast beef. Instead of serving the same roast beef dinner twice, you can turn those leftovers into a completely different meal. Tender vegetables, hearty barley, diced tomatoes, and savory beef broth come together to make a satisfying soup that's perfect for a chilly day. This post contains affiliate links. You can make this beef barley soup in your slow cooker or on the stovetop. Either way, it's an easy, comforting dinner that makes good use of what you already have in the refrigerator.

Do You Really Need Another Cutting Board? Have you ever stopped in front of the cutting board aisle at Home Goods? There are so many of them. Big wooden boards. Small wooden boards. Thick boards. Thin boards. Boards with handles. Boards that are beautiful enough to put right on the table. There are boards for chopping, boards for serving, boards for entertaining, and boards that make you wonder who actually needs all these cutting boards.   Then you think about the cutting boards in your own kitchen. Maybe you've had them for years. They aren't particularly pretty. They're scratched and stained. You've washed them hundreds of times. They've chopped vegetables, sliced bread, prepared dinner, and helped you get food on the table more times than you can count. They are dependable. They're also, if you're being honest, completely utilitarian. So when you'r...

Easy Fall Charcuterie Board for Entertaining Fall is one of my favorite times to gather family and friends. Whether you're watching football, having friends over for a casual evening, or getting everyone together for Thanksgiving, a charcuterie board is an easy way to put something delicious on the table without making another full meal. And you don't need an enormous assortment of specialty meats and cheeses to make a beautiful charcuterie board.

Soft Wheat Bread in a Bread Machine If you've tried making wheat bread but ended up with a heavy, dense loaf, this recipe is for you. I use a simple 50/50 blend of whole wheat flour and bread flour to make a loaf that's hearty enough to have that familiar wheat flavor, yet soft and tender enough for everyday sandwiches. (This post contains affiliate links.  I may receive compensation if you shop using these links.) The bread machine does all the mixing, kneading, and first rise using the Dough cycle. I simply shape the loaf, let it rise one more time, and bake it in a regular loaf pan. The result is a soft sandwich loaf with a nicely browned crust—and all the convenience of the bread machine. If you've been disappointed by dense whole wheat bread, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this recipe. Why You'll Love This Wheat Bread Jump to Recipe Soft Textur...

Summertime Cucumber Salad the Way You Like It There’s something about summertime and cucumbers. By August, gardens and farmers’ markets are overflowing with them, and if you grow your own, you may be wondering what to do with all those cucumbers. Cucumber salad is an easy answer, but only if you like cucumber salad. Maybe you don’t like all the seeds. Maybe you’ve made cucumber salad that turned out watery. Or perhaps you’ve tasted versions that were so bland you wondered why you bothered making them in the first place. This is my summertime cucumber salad the way I like it: crisp cucumbers, thinly sliced red onion, a creamy dressing with just enough tang and sweetness, and dill for that classic summer flavor. And because we all have different ideas about what makes a good cucumber salad, I’ll show you a few simple ways to adjust it so you can make it the way you like it, too.