While we love desserts any time of year, (who doesn’t?), we especially love when the weather turns chilly and we can bake our favorite cookies and cakes. Yes, we do a lot of baking all year round, but the cooler weather makes it so much more enjoyable. You don’t mind the hot oven as much since it’s heating up the house. Plus there’s nothing quite like coming in from the cold to the smell of fresh-baked goodies wafting through the house.

Already we’re dreaming of dipping warm chocolate chip cookies into a mug of fresh hot coffee or hot cocoa. Then of course there’s our favorite pies like cinnamon apple topped with ice cream on top or a deliciously creamy cheesecake topped with cherry sauce.  I guess the truth is dessert is always on our mind! It’s just the cooler months give us more excuses to bake all of the time. There are always willing volunteers available to taste the results.

Casseroles are one of my favorite types of dishes to make for our family meals. I don’t make one every week, but I make them they’re always a big hit. Casseroles are tasty and satisfying, and can be made easily and simply at little cost. The perfect meal! There are many different recipes that can be found online for a variety of casseroles that are sure to please every taste. You can find recipes for meat and cheese type meals as well as many great vegetarian dishes too. You can cook them in just about any type of oven-safe dish, though I like making mine in bakeware like this durable Corelle Stoneware Casserole Set.

I love ceramic cookware because it cooks well, it looks great, it stores well, and it cleans up easily. To me it’s the perfect cookware and if I could use it for everything, I would. But then I also love my stainless steel cookware, so I guess it’s good to have both! This set has a handy 1 1/2 quart covered casserole and a 2 1/2 quart covered casserole. They fit easily inside each other for storage and they can be used in the oven and microwave. Plus they’re fridge and freezer-safe too.