community

Great Lakes Midwest

Home

Find a Location:  

Click on map to view location Minnesota Wisconsin Michigan Illinois Indiana Ohio

Great Lakes Midwest

The five Great Lakes touch on eight American states, of which six are considered part of the Midwest’s Great Lakes sub-region: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. (New York and Pennsylvania, you’re part of the Mid-Atlantic.) Native tribes hunted bison and foraged for wild berries, mushrooms, and the wild rice that grows along the shores of many northern lakes. French fur trappers explored the area in the early 17th century. They planted cherry trees along the shores of northern Michigan and settled towns like Detroit. The area grew up around fishing, fur trapping, farming, and finally big industry. During the 18th century, when the area was first opened to settlement, the Great Lakes and their river systems were crucial in moving people and supplies. Westward expansion brought Germans, Poles, Italians, Irish, Czechs, and many others into the Midwest. The cuisine that grew up around the Great Lakes area took the rich local bounty that the land and waters offered up and flavored it with the spice of the many cultures and traditions that have come together here.
 

Member Blogs

Member Blogs

Check out the latest blogs from our Supporting Members!

CLICK HERE

Display picture for Mad Cook

Featured Cook


Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: London, Ontario, Canada
Living In: Shorewood, Illinois, USA
About me:
I am a cooking fanatic. I have five children. I'm from a German family and was raised in Canada, my family are from-scratch cooks, so I've adapted to rich meaty foods with a flair of french-canadian sauces and combined flavors. I am willing to try anything once and often never use accurate measurements and stray from the usual with my own substitutions and additions. I seem to have good luck.

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews | Photos
Recipes | Blog

Create your own Cook's Profile | MORE Cooks »
 

Newest Cooks

5frys 

Cooking Level: Expert
Home Town: Ravenna, Ohio, USA
About me: Home Ec. teacher to active high schoolers. Proud military wife of 18 years and mom to 3. Have enjoyed living and traveling all over the world.

SHUGRPOP 

Cooking Level: Intermediate
Home Town: Dayton, Ohio, USA
About me: I am a stay at home mother of 2 boys that are 18 months apart. Born 5/07 and 12/08. I love cooking, scrapbooking, sewing, fishing, camping, swimming, hunting, going for walks, go…
MORE »

Stephanie 

Cooking Level: Expert
Home Town: Portage, Indiana, USA
About me: I love eating good food!! You can find some of my cooking experiences on my blog: http://lesjoujou.blogspot.com I'm also on Etsy where I sell hand knit toys: http://lesjoujou.e…
MORE »
 

Newest Photos

  • Click for larger view.
  • Click for larger view.
  • Click for larger view.
 

Newest Reviews

The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 5 star rating.

Meatloaf with a Ranch Twist

Reviewed on jul. 4, 2009 by M. Howland 
Very good, simple meatloaf. Moist and juicy even using 95% sirloin, so I can tell myself it's healthy. The ranch pack does add a delicious complexity and twist to the flavor, but the whole thing doesn't scream "Ranch!" so if you're looking for that just be aware. I might try adding 1/2 of another pack in the future, but something tells me to just leave it and enjoy. And yes, the sauce is as amazing as everyone else is saying - I doubled it and it didn't even last through half the slices, my boyfriend became that in love with it. I was going to give this 5 stars simply because no disgusting reprehensible icky ketchup is called for but this recipe earned them itself - thanks for sharing :)
Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.61 star rating.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Reviewed on jul. 4, 2009 by M. Howland 
The "Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies" was the first cc cookie recipe I had ever found and made for myself back in 2006 (mom's are delicous but thin and crisp), and with chocolate pudding and pb chips substituted I stand by my claim it makes the best cookie ever. Unfortunately, I've never been as impressed using it as-written for traditional cc cookies (though they're very good!), and thus I tried this one. This... is... it. Everything I've ever wanted or craved in a cc cookie. It uses melted butter, no softening time required, so I can get the idea in my head and 5 minutes later be scooping them onto the sheet. They remain fat and chewy even using only butter, which not being a baker I don't understand but absolutely love. The "other" recipe's cookie part is very soft and more complex in flavor and almost seems to compete with the chocolate chips in the mouth, whereas I feel this chewy simple buttery dough really allows the chocolate to sing. I added two heaping cups of chips as I most always like more but I think the two cups specified is perfect. Will actually post in my kitchen and always make exactly as written, will never search for another cc cookie recipe again (and this time I mean it), thank you SO MUCH for sharing!
Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful
The reviewer gave this recipe 4 stars. This recipe averages a 4.29 star rating.

Homemade Pancake Mix

Reviewed on jul. 4, 2009 by ewheat 
This easy recipe is way better than Bisquick. It's so easy to whip some up in the morning. Next time I'm going to try replacing the milk with buttermilk and see if I get better results.
Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

 
ADVERTISEMENT
 
Select Your Version:  United States  |  Canada  |  United Kingdom & Ireland  |  Australia & New Zealand  |  Germany  |  France  |  China  |  Japan  |  Frequently Asked Questions What's this?