TheKitchenCookie

Happy Monday All! I love Mondays! Don't you? New week, new beginning, another chance to start fresh. So many positives about a Monday! ☺ I've been enjoying this simple but scrumptious breakfast the last little while. Vine ripened tomatoes can't be beat when it comes to fresh eating. The honey mustard/mayo spread adds a great flavor and the sprouts a very pleasing crunch. The bacon and poached egg? Well they're hard to beat too! and combining all of them on a wheat toast is sure to satisfy you and start your morning out right! Wheat Toast 2 teaspoons Mayo 1 teaspoon Honey Mustard Sprouts Tomato slice 1 piece of Bacon Poached Egg Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Assemble and enjoy! ~Have a blessed Monday !~

MMM MMM MMMM! Using up the Grilled London Broil  for an easy, delicious lunch was a hit with my men here at the house. Sliced thin and added to stir fried veggies and served in fajita form was sure hard to beat. I did add a bit of lime juice and Fiesta Citrus Seasoning to the veggies as they were frying. Juicy, delicious and full of flavor they were! Oil Butter Just a bit of both. Green and Red Peppers Onions Fiesta Citrus Seasoning Lime juice Steak, sliced thin Small Flour Tortillas Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese Sour cream Lettuce Tomatoes Salsa Saute the onion strips just until they're tender, add the pepper and steak strips and saute until the steak is heated through. Assemble fajitas and Enjoy ! It's gonna be a quiet weekend here. The guys all went on a road trip with their Dad/Grandpa to reminisce at the hunting cabin and grounds in Northern Pa where my husband first started hunting when he was young. So, with them ...

For the last few years I've been buying preseasoned dry pilaf mix in the bulk food section of the local grocery store which I really enjoyed. I thought it would be fun to recreate it from scratch but never really took the time till recently I found a similar recipe at WholeFoodsMarket.com. It tastes just like the mix that I buy and I have the satisfaction of knowing exactly what's in it. ☺ I changed a few ingredients of the recipe to suit my tastes and was happy with the end result. I hope you enjoy it too! Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons light olive oil 1 small onion, diced ½ cup button mushrooms, halved  then sliced thin 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ cup celery, chopped ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped 1 teaspoon each dried thyme and rosemary 2 cups brown and wild rice mixed 4 cups vegetable broth diced baby carrot, enough to add color diced red bell pepper, enough to add color In a large pot (I used my dutch oven), heat the olive and saute the ...

I'm on a mission to learn more about steaks and how to prepare the different cuts. This cut has been on my latest list. I found what I was looking for on the Food Network for this recipe. The evening I prepared this ended up being a ball game night. My big eaters really don't eat much on those nights so I kept most of it for the Steak Fajitas (coming later) which we really enjoyed yesterday! I'm a new fan of easy to prepare steaks like this for summertime entertaining. Served with a tossed salad, perhaps some grilled veggies and garlic toast with a cheesecake for dessert and you have it covered without having spent tons of time in the kitchen. All the fun with minimal hassle. Win win! ☺☺☺ For the Marinade: 4 gloves pressed garlic 1 Tablespoon each fresh Rosemary and Thyme, roughly chopped ¼ cup balsamic vinegar ½ cup red wine (cooking) ½ cup light olive oil Freshly cracked black pepper 3 lb. London Broi...

~Raspberry Rhapsody~ I saw this beautiful dessert several years ago in a Cooking Light magazine from 2007 and knew that someday I would have to satisfy the urge to recreate it simply for the pleasure of doing so. I kept looking at it waiting for the right time. Well, I don't know if now is the right time or not but it's made, it's delicious, it's eye catching! And easy. Wow, so many reasons to love it! I don't really buy into the whole low fat, fat free, reduced calorie thing (I have my theory about those things), so I didn't go out and buy the ingredients to make it fit the 'Cooking Light' criteria, I just used my normal stuff that I had here. I will give it to you the way I did it. Crust: 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa 6 chocolate graham cracker sheets 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped Dash of salt 1 large egg white  Cooking spray Filling: 1 cup milk 2 Tablespoons sugar 2 large egg yolks 1 ...

I planted one zucchini plant this Spring for the express purpose of recipes like this. I'm not a huge pasta fan so these are a nice replacement, and much better for you too. They also take less time to prepare which makes this dish an all around quick last minute option that is super tasty. I tried a few different recipes till I found a Carrabba's Copycat Recipe that I liked best at Food.com. I changed a few of the ingredient amounts to suit my tastes. It is delicious! Ingredients: 4 medium Zucchini, grated lengthwise 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used the equivelent in chicken breast tenders) 4 shallots, chopped fine ½ lb. small button mushrooms, quartered ¼ cup dry Marsala ¼ cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon lemon juice Butter, for frying Salt and Pepper Peel and grate zucchini lengthwise until you get in to the seedy part. Set aside. In a sautè pan melt butter and brown the chicken tenders on both sides till golden...

Otherwise known as a Monster Cookie. What makes them monster cookies? Anybody know? This is my revised version of the Monster Cookies I posted way back in the beginning of my blogging adventure. We like these better and the only difference is they have only M&M's and no chocolate chips. Too much chocolate, I say? Yes in this case I think it's true! This revision happened by accident several weeks ago when Son #2 ☺ Shawn ☺ was in a baking mood and wanted to make Monster Cookies and I was out of chocolate chips. He baked them again a few days ago and they are perfect. And delicious with milk! I like it that you can actually taste the peanut butter with just a bit of chocolate instead of the other way around. 6 eggs 1 cup butter 2 cups brown sugar 2 cups white sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 4 teaspoons baking soda 1-1/3 teaspoons salt 3 cups peanut butter 9 cups oatmeal 2 cups mini M & M's Mix in order given and drop on cookie s...

My original plan was to prepare this on the grill but time and the fact that it was extremely warm outside kept me from doing that. I baked it in a high temperature for a short time and finished it on a lower one. It turned out  juicy and delicious and the flavor was wonderful. Served with a salad it hit the spot and was a quick, easy, and satisfying Summer supper. Ingredients: 2½ -3 lb. London Broil Steak 1/3 cup light Olive Oil 2 Tablespoons Smokey Mesquite Seasoning 1 teaspoon Smoked Sea Salt 3 Garlic Cloves, pressed through a garlic press Combine Oil, Garlic, and Seasonings and allow to rest till the oil has been mostly absorbed. Place steak into 9 X 13 baking dish and spread generously on both sides with oil/seasoning mixture; cover and refrigerate several hours. Allow to come to room temperature (½ hour) on the counter before baking. Bake @500° for 5 minutes, flip around and bake 5 minutes more. Reduce heat to 350° and bake an additional 5-8 min...

*Summer Fresh* I went "bounty" hunting early this morning, and these were some of my finds. Summer in our neck of the woods keeps racing along. I'm sure it's the story for most everyone. So many things to do and only so much time. Well, I'm here to tell you that there are things right here at home that can be enjoyed. Small things, but who says it has to be a big thing? Lots of times we are too busy to notice that we are blessed with abundance and beauty all around us. *Summer Beauty*  CASA BLANCA LILLIES!! I love these beauties! The scent coming from their green veined throats is fabulous! I told my son to take a sniff and he gave an appreciative exclamation. ☺ I told him they are Casa Blanca Lillies and his reply was "whatever". Haha, gotta love those guys! We had a busy weekend with my husbands Aunt and Uncle and cousins and their families coming for the weekend from the Midwest. It was fun to catch up with them again af...

These bars have a cake-y texture and are best the day after they are made. They are simple and quick .... and delicious. With the Summer months upon us I frequently need something for Son #3 to do and he is only too happy if I ask him to bake something. He loves it in the kitchen and is getting quite good at it. He often asks to make these because of the step that calls for melting the butter and chocolate on the stove. Not sure why but that's his favorite part. ☺ He made these last week sometime and asked me if I have blogged them yet. ☺ So here they are for those of you who need that next chocolate fix. Ingredients: ¾ cup water ½ cup butter 1½ squares unsweetened chocolate 2 cups AP flour 1½ cups brown sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 2 eggs ½ cup sour cream 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract Mini Milk Chocolate Chips In a small saucepan combine the water, but...

*Delicious* This could be considered a cheesecake of sorts because of the amount of cream cheese that goes into it but it's not really your typical cheesecake. I tried this recipe last week and it ended up way beyond too sweet. So I played around with the ingredients a bit and prepared it again. It will still satisfy a sweet tooth if you have one but the sweetness is not as extreme as it was. As far as toppings any fresh summer berry or peach topping would be good. I chose peach because they are just coming in season here and we haven't had as much of them yet as we have had of berries. Everyone gave a hearty stamp of approval!☺ It will not last long! Preheat oven to 350° . For the cake: ½ cup white chocolate chips, melted 3 eggs, beaten 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 4 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/3 cup sour cream ¼ teaspoon salt ¾ cup AP flour In a mixer bowl combine the cream cheese and sugar and beat until fluffy. Add...

I needed something quick and easy for a pregame supper so I looked through the fridge to see what my options were and came up with these. 1 whole chicken breast, shredded 1 Tablespoon chopped onion 2 Tablespoons Red Bell Pepper, chopped 4 ounces shredded Cheddar/Jack Cheese  1 cup loosely packed spinach, chopped ½-1 cup sour cream 1 Tablespoon Taco Seasoning Red Pepper Flakes Cumin 8 medium sized flour Tortillas Mix the first 9 ingredients, add enough sour cream to make the mixture stick together. Divide evenly between 8 tortillas place down the center of the tortilla. Roll tightly and lay on a parchment paper lined baking sheet seam side down. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes, turn and bake until crispy and heated through. I'm usually in a hurry for them to crisp and after turning them I turn the oven temperature to 400° and watch them closely. Serve with Sour Cream and Salsa.             ...

This is another easy, inexpensive summer favorite that goes well with lots grilling season entrèes. It's a quicky side dish with a good flavor that I like to prepare ahead of time to let the flavors blend together better. Just give it a stir when you're ready to serve it. The Ingredients: 1 whole medium head Cabbage 1 Celery rib 2 TBS.Onion, chopped Shredded Carrot, to add a bit of color ½ of a small Red Pepper, diced fine ¾ cup Miracle Whip 8 ounces Sour Cream ½ cup Sugar ¼ teaspoon Salt In a food processor chop cabbage, onion, and celery rib. Dice pepper and shred the carrot. Combine veggies and dressing ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate and stir again before serving. The parties are here! See Ya In the Gumbo, Creative Blog Hop, Sunday Showcase, Stonegable ~Blessings!~