TheKitchenCookie

Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!   If all goes well we will spend the weekend here -   need an updated summer photo but this will have to do for now :)   -reconnecting with my family and celebrating our oldest sons 17th birthday and also my sister Rosanna's 50th. Special thanks to some of ours friends for feeding our animals & watching our place while we are gone. :)   See you all next week again, when the real reality sets in that Summer is over! & Fall is right around the corner. :) I love the cooler weather and the slower pace.                                                                   ...

There was a box of Corn Flakes hanging out in my cupboard for a long time. The kids prefer the sugar coated variety (I'm just as horrified with that fact as you are) and these were plain so no one ate them. I could have thrown them out but that didn't sit too well with me either, so I decided to roll some chicken strips in them. No one complained. They were actually quite happy to eat them! Served with crispy roasted waffle cut potatoes and a salad they all seemed satisfied... for a max of two hours. It was actually less time than that when my daughter was in the fridge getting an apple. I made her wait till snack time. AND if you are interested, Son #1 ate 3 eggs, 2 pieces of toast, 2 pieces of bacon, AND a bowl of cereal with milk for breakfast this morning before school and was wishing for orange juice! And sometimes I wonder what I'm doing wrong when the grocery bill rivals the national debt. Well, maybe not quite that bad but... anyway, ...

  Fast - Easy - and Yummy!     I got a call late last evening from a niece who lives a few hours away saying they (she, her husband, and baby daughter) are in the area for a wedding and a reunion, could they stay at our house for the night? YES, OF COURSE! It just so happened that Lin and the boys were gone for the night so this worked out especially well. And I'm always happy to host family that I don't get to see real often. ☺  And it gives me a reason to serve things like these quicky rolls. ☺ I could think of other reasons too but... anyway I've had these on my mind for a while and this gave me the perfect opportunity to serve them.   Ingredients: Refrigerated Crescent Rolls ½ cup brown sugar ¼ cup finely chopped pecans ¾ teaspoon Cardamom grated orange peel from 1 large orange, divided (I added three fourths of it to this mixture, and a fourth to the glaze.)   Preheat oven to 375°.   Spread do...

The flavor combination of Blackberries and Limes fascinates me for some reason. And the colors are a lovely hue. So I decided to combine them in an Angel Food Cake Roll. It was lovely but could have had a bit more of a blackberry flavor. So I think next time I would add some blackberry extract or replace some of the sugar with an equal amount of dry blackberry jello. The filling was an ever so pale green and the roll stayed moist for quite a while in the refrigerator.   Ingredients: Preheat oven to 300° 1-1/3 + 1Tablespoon cups sifted cake flour, (I use Swan's Down) 2 cups white *sugar, divided Sift the flour before measuring and then sift the sugar and flour together three times.   2 cups egg whites, beat until frothy-   then add: 2-2/3 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 teaspoons clear vanilla 1 teaspoon almond extract 1/3 cup blackberry pulp (blended blackberries pressed through a sieve) Beat until stif...

  This is the Banana Bread recipe I've been using for the last 18 years and it always turns out delicious but I recently began adding  a few things that I think kick it up just a notch. I have a mixture of finely chopped dates, unsweetened coconut, and chopped almonds on hand that I was experimenting with for another recipe. Adding some of that to this banana bread batter adds a little bit of crunch and a lot of yummy. I also began baking the batter in muffin form because it's easier to grab and go, handier for lunches, bakes in less time, and there are less crumbs from cutting a slice.     And I bake most of them plain, without the yummy add ins because that's what most of them prefer.☺ The add ins are for Anthony and I. He is my most willing taste tester. ☺   The mixture is as follows: 1 lb. pitted dates 1 cup sliced almonds 1 cup unsweetened medium coconut   A food processor does a wonder...

The sunset tonight was pretty ...and I happened to be close to this farm....aaaand since I've always wanted a sunset photo with a silhouette of this Amish farm I decided to give it a shot, or two, and thought I'd let you see what I saw. Haha, that sounds cheesy.☺ I hope to take many more of this kind at various farms in the area.                                                                                                            ...

I know. That title doesn't really make sense. But it will in just a bit if you keep reading. In recent years I started mixing all my salsa ingredients and instead of heating it and then putting it into jars and then heating it again. I mix it, put it into the jars uncooked and water bath it for 20 minutes. It comes through the process looking and tasting a lot fresher than the other way around. I've also experimented with pressure canning it but found the water bath method yields a better over all product. That is just my personal opinion. I like this method also because it's less time consuming. And I'm always looking for ways to simplify a process. Ingredients: 14 lbs. tomatoes, skinned and de-seeded and squeezed* 2½ lbs. Onions 10 green peppers 5 Habenaro Peppers 10 garlic cloves 10 stems fresh parsley 10 stems fresh Oregano, leaves only Fresh Cilantro, optional (I like it better to add this fresh when I open a jar) Put all of these ingredients th...

From as far back as I remember my Mom had one of these very handy hand cranked food grinders. We used it for lots of things! One thing in particular that I find it handy for is making 'real food' perfect bacon bits. My MIL introduced me to the uncured bacon ends from our local grocery store that are sold for a very good price and perfect for this type of thing. If I put the package into the freezer for a half hour before grinding it works like a charm. And the kids love this job! ☺ Fry and drain well. I usually drain most of the fat off like this and then pour the bits onto several layers of absorbent paper towels. Place a couple more layers of towels on top and press to remove the rest of the grease. I made the mistake recently of not pressing the grease out. Bad idea! It froze in a solid clump and had to be reheated and drained again. Store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and freeze. I use these on pizza, salads, or wherever else that bacon bits a...

If you're hungry for something simple that has plenty of flavor and fresh ingredients, here it is. I loved the chewy-ness of the English Muffin and the crunch of the lettuce and celery along with the smooth creamy avocado and fresh tomato. mmm -YUM!  The bacon bits and Smoked Cheddar flavors along with the hint of horseradish were quite nice too! ☺ Oh and the colors are pretty too! 5 hard boiled eggs, grated ¼ cup Real bacon bits 2 ounces cream cheese ¼ cup Mayo 1 -2 teaspoons horseradish 2 Tablespoons finely chopped celery Grated Smoked Cheddar Cheese, for topping 2-3 English Muffins Avocado slices Tomato slices Lettuce leaves Yields approximately 5 sandwiches. In a bowl combine grated cold hard boiled eggs, bacon bits, celery, and horseradish. In a separate bowl combine cream cheese and mayo till smooth. Add to the egg mixture and toss gently. Cut the English muffins in half and toast in the toaster. Stack the veggies on top and place a scoop (size...

When my Mom would make filled eggs when I was young they were often colored with red beet juice to give them a nice color just like this. It was also a job she often gave me as a preteen working in the kitchen. While we enjoy them just plain, this time my memory called for something from the past.☺ I made these a while ago with my new favorite crush. Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette for salads. Have you tasted it yet? You must! It's the best! It adds a lovely flavor to these yummy eggs. Ingredients: 1 dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled, halved, and yolks removed Red Beets in their own juice ¼ cup mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette 1 Tablespoon Sugar 1 teaspoon salt Cover peeled eggs with red beets and juice. Allow to marinate for several hours. Just long enough to give them color on the outside. Cut in half, I used a Pampered Chef Crinkle Cutter. Gently remove yolks and place into a small, shallow bowl. Mash with a fork. Add the other ...

This post has nothing to do with food. Don't say I didn't warn you. ☺ Ever have one of those days when stuff about life doesn't make sense? Yeah me too. Then I'm reminded that God IS watching, and He has it under control. It may not be perfect the way I see it, because I can only see the "chapter" I'm living. But I believe there are better pages written in future chapters. Reading and rereading the same "page" simply won't do, so I move on and find the peace, serenity, and beauty that's been there all along, right in front of me. I thought I'd share some of that with you. I hope you enjoy it. ☺ And thanks for stopping in! "Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying." Romans 12:12

For an easy potato side dish that is a bit more dressed up than plain baked potatoes try these sometime. They paired very nicely with the Dutchman's Roast Beef and with fresh herbs readily available they turn into something special. I didn't use quite as many herbs as I should have so the flavor was a bit milder but be generous with them and work them down in between the slices. A lot of people like fresh basil but I think Rosemary and Thyme are my two favorites. Do you have any favorite fresh herbs? Preheat oven to 375°. 4 medium russet potatoes, washed and dried 4 Shallots, finely chopped Fresh Rosemary and Thyme, approx.   1 TBS . of each  per potato ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Sea Salt Cut the potatoes in slices nearly through, but not all the way through. Place in an oven safe baking dish, and sprinkle with chopped shallots and herbs. Make sure you get them down between the slices. Pour olive oil over each potato, (approx. 1 TBS. per potato...

Last night was the last game of the season for for my guys and like usual they wanted to eat light and because I was peeling peaches most of the afternoon I also wanted something easy. I recently discovered a bacon horseradish spread at the local grocery that I thought would taste good with these small beef and cheddar sandwiches. The flavors complimented each other very well and they disappeared in a hurry. Simple ~ Fast ~ Delicious Ingredients: 12 Martin's Potato Rolls Deli Roast Beef Smoked Cheddar Slices Bacon Horseradish Spread 5 TBS. Butter, melted 1 TBS. Dried Onion Flakes !TBS. Worcestershire Sauce Lightly spray a glass 9 X 13 baking dish with non stick spray. Cut rolls in half and place the bottoms in the pan. Spread gereously with Horserash spread. Place desired amount of Deli Beef  and Smoked Cheddar slices on top. Melt Butter and mix with onion flakes and worcestershire sauce and let soak a bit. Pour over cheese. ...