TheKitchenCookie

My new favorite lunch! Day 1 While I know that this salsa is not the latest/newest concoction to spring from the pantry I never imagined that the words "I love black beans" would ever come out of my mouth. (And while I know that isn't a correct statement, I think you all understand what I mean.) ☺ So, in my household, it is a relatively new thing, and I can say that I mean it when I say those little things are quite good to eat! And if you mix them with red onions and tomatoes and silky smooth avocados and lime juice to boot you have a winning combo that is also versatile. So without further ado I will share with you my latest lunch happiness! Day one I ate it with dip chips. ♥ Day 2 Day 2 I put this concoction in a wrap with some leftover chicken breast, Romaine, and fresh Spinach. Aaaahh, yum!! ♥♥ Day 3 Day 3 I ate it as a salad with chicken breast and a small amount of ranch dressing.♥♥♥ All of these lunches were delicious and very satisfying! As for the ing

                                                        So Smooth, So Creamy so delicious!! I was asked to bring a Pumpkin Cheesecake to a ladies evening at church and my friend Rose directed me to this Taste of Home recipe. Wow, I'm so glad she did! I like when cheesecakes are tall and creamy but most recipes are baked in 9 inch pans and are more flat and dry. I increased the recipe in part so that it would fill a 9 inch Springform pan. It did not disappoint! It was smooth and super creamy! I liked the nut topping too, it added just enough crunch to keep it interesting. ☺ And everyone seemed to enjoy it a lot! Crust ingredients: 1½ cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 32 cookies) ¼ cup melted butter Cake ingredients: 5 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened 1½ cups sugar 5 eggs, lightly beaten 1¾ teaspoons vanilla extract 8 ounces white baking chocolate, melted and slightly cooled 1¼ cups canned pumpkin 1¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon g

I was in the mood for something easy that would allow me time to get my errands and cleaning done so I put a pork loin in the crockpot. The result was delicious, tender meat that was seasoned with onions, garlic, Sweet Baby Rays and Worcestershire sauce. Here is the complete list: 4 lb bone-in Pork Loin End Roast 12 oz. pineapple juice generous sprinkle of  Montreal Steak Seasoning 1 small - medium sweet onion, chopped 3 large cloves garlic, chopped Place loin into crockpot and pour pineapple juice over, then sprinkle with steak seasoning. Place chopped onion and garlic on top. Cook on high for 2 hours, reduce heat to low and continue cooking for another 5 hours on. I flipped it around once so the top would have a chance to cook in the juice. When it's cooked and tender, drain (reserve onions and garlic) and remove to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Place back into the crockpot along with the onions and garlic. Add Sweet Baby Ray's and a few dashes of Worcest

Don't be fooled by the plain nondescriptness of the picture. These babies are fresh and warm and so good with the fresh Applebutter I had made the day or so before these. I have made them before but never with freshly ground barley flour. I liked that they had more of a whole grain texture but were still tender and fluffy. I also added the regular Gold Medal all-purpose flour. I did not allow myself to eat more than a few of these total because I am in reduction mode and bread is a killer for me so I try not to even give in to the cravings much. So far, so good. ☺ I thought it took them sort of long to rise, so maybe the instant yeast in my freezer feels a bit tired , not sure, but they did turn out really nice in the end. The ingredients: 2 Tablespoons instant yeast 2 Tablespoons sugar 4 Tablespoons warm water 1 cup butter, melted 2 cups milk 1 cup sugar 6 eggs, well beaten 2 teaspoons salt 4½ cups fresh barley flour 4 cups all purpose flour ¼ cup butter, melted

Wow a lot has been happening and I feel a little disconnected from all of you. I've had a very busy week and it looks to me like life will continue on at this pace for quite a while yet! I always thought once our kids get older things would slow down, ha, that was an illusion! So, for those of you out there thinking the same thing, settle in, just because they're older certainly doesn't mean you will have more time. It only means you no longer have to give them a bath and wash their hair and  brush their teeth. But you have more laundry, etc. etc. etc. Not complaining here, just sayin'. ☺ I was browsing Pinterest and found something that intrigued me enough to try it out and I was very pleased with the end result! It was Homemade Crockpot Apple Butter. Delicious and super easy! and so yummy with fresh, warm from the oven Butterhorns. And it would be perfect for the half moon pies my Mom used to make, but those will be for another post. This is what I used: adapte

                                                                                                                                                                                  Sweet Crunchy Good -ness For a long time now I've been looking for a granola recipe that is just right (at least in my opinion), and for years I've read and reread recipes and tried different ones but was always just a little disappointed with textures. The flavors were good enough but I have something against seeds or wheat bran etc. floating to the top in my cereal bowl. Just don't really like that . Every once in a while I've been buying some organic granola at the local grocery store that I really liked but was a little put off by the price so I thought I would try to imitate it by trying to figure out ratios. Some of the ingredients were a bit hard to find and theres one (tapioca syrup) I had to leave out because I couldn't find it and I added a few ingredients just because I en