Chew on these stories...

Sometimes, practical overrules in the kitchen. However, that caramel apple dip they sell in the tub around the corner from the produce section simply isn't worth the trade-off in convenience when I can grab three ingredients from my kitchen and put something much better together. Leveraging some individually-wrapped caramels and your trusty microwave, you can put together a peanut butter caramel dip that'll make your pretzel sticks cheer and your apple wedges swoon. I guarantee Your kids are gonna love it! (...unless your kids are allergic to peanut butter and/or dairy; then probably notsomuch.)

Spaghetti and meatballs is an American institution. And while pasta and sauce may be a turn-key event, many folks seem to shy away from making meatballs and just dump the ground beef into the sauce. I think that somewhere along the way, we all got duped into thinking that homemade meatballs were difficult and messy to make. Those in the know will tell you that this couldn't be further from the truth. If you've got a cookie scoop and a couple of other kitchen essentials, making meatballs from scratch is as easy as making meatloaf; and just like meatloaf, the best place to cook a mess of perfectly portioned orblets of beef is your oven.

Now that both kids are in school and I'm doing more consulting work than ever, it's getting tougher to strike that balance between daily demands and family time. All the same, I will always pump the brakes for birthday cakes. This time however, I didn't leave myself with much stopping distance, and I needed an easy from-scratch birthday cake that presented well and tasted just as good. Chocolate sheet cakes are tasty and easy; and with a simple trick and a minimum of kitchen tools, you can transform one into a four layer spectacle that you'll be proud to present at a loved-one's birthday spread.

Sugar and fat-laden beverages are the bane of most New Year's resolutions. They go down easy, and essentially contain a half-meal's worth of the worst kind of stuff for a dieter's total caloric intake. I was asked by one of the good people at Hays Kansas' own Main Street 24 Hour Gym and Fitness Center to come up with an enjoyable way to ensure that their clients stay on task, with one stipulation: Whatever I created had to contain chia seed. What I ended up concocting was a health drink in the guise of a frozen coffee beverage that's high in protein, low in fat, weighs in at under 200 calories, is chock-full of vitamins, and has all the fiber and those wonderful omega-3 fatty acids that chia is known for. This…