Shortcut One-Pot Sausage Bolognese
A shortcut bolognese made in one pot, with Italian sausage and the pasta cooked right in the sauce. The food processor handled the vegetables, so there was minimal chopping, and with just one pot plus the processor, cleanup was a breeze. It made 6 servings. I wanted a little more spice, so I added some […]
Tommy, Evie, and the Tucson Moon
Tommy, Evie, and Tucker fly a laundry-basket rocket to Tucson to make sure Dad is okay, and the moon sends them home with a reminder.
Why I’m Building More of My Work Around Grok Bot
Grok Bot now runs the sites I manage, a personal finance dashboard, and Precision Conveyor’s operations, mostly through chat.
Why I Left OpenHAB for Home Assistant After 20 Years
After 20 years on OpenHAB, a new house and Home Assistant’s MCP connection were enough to switch.
Spicy Crockpot Mongolian Beef & Noodles
This was really good. The onions cooked down into the sauce and gave it almost a French onion soup flavor. Could have used a little more spice. The beef was tender, but not quite fall-apart after 5 hours on low plus some extra time on high. Next time: more heat and a longer cook on […]
Sheet-Pan Hot Honey Chicken with Sweet Potatoes, Jalapeños & Feta
This one turned out really good, but there are definitely a few things I’d change next time. It wasn’t nearly as spicy as I wanted, and it definitely needed more hot honey. I used bottled hot honey this time, but next time I think I’ll make my own so I can really control the heat. […]
Ground Beef Chili con Carne
This ground beef chili con carne turned out incredibly good—fresh, rich and properly spicy. We originally served it over rice with sour cream and fresh pico de gallo. Mollie wasn’t convinced the pico was necessary, but it added a bright, cool contrast that really pulled everything together. Somehow, the chili was even better the next […]
Creamy One-Pot Sausage and Zucchini Pasta
This creamy sausage and zucchini pasta has plenty of flavor without creating a sink full of dishes. The sausage is browned first, and then the sliced zucchini is fried in the rendered fat until golden. A second grated zucchini practically disappears into the sauce, adding body without making the dish feel heavy. The pasta cooks […]
Roasted Garlic Jollof Rice with Chicken Thighs & Fried Plantains
There’s a big difference between throwing ingredients into a pot and actually building flavor layer by layer. This jollof rice started with a fully roasted base of tomatoes, red peppers, habaneros, garlic, red onion, and fresh thyme to create a deeper, smokier flavor profile than the standard approach. From there, caramelized onions, fried tomato paste, […]
Week 3 Complete – ConMet Startup (Monroe, NC)
Three weeks into startup at ConMet in Monroe, and I’m writing this from the airport after one of the toughest weeks of power-up and testing I’ve been through. Delays, bad components, and coordination across multiple crews slowed us down—but we painted our first part. Now it’s about tightening everything up and finishing strong.