TheKitchenCookie

  A New Year is like a sunrise. It holds the promise of something beautiful. History that we can help shape by reflecting the goodness of a gracious God.     Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness."   Have a Blessed and Happy 2015!! ♥♥♥ 

  Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1-2     I realized after I left to take the kids to school that I should have taken the camera. So after I returned home I retraced some of my 'steps' and took a few photos. I may have to take up nature photography, I kinda like it!    The mystery and beauty of fog is irresistible to me. Love it!   ♥Be Blessed♥

  I figured Monday morning is a great time to start out with a breakfast of all the good stuff. When I say ALL that IS what I mean. Well, IMO, that is. :)   Onions and, mushrooms, and garlic sautéed in Avocado and Coconut oils till tender. Add a handful of each Organic baby Kale and Spinach. Continue to saute until wilted. Place on a plate and keep warm.   4 oz. Wild Caught Salmon, cooked and crumbled in the same oils as the veggies 1 sm. egg, scrambled Asparagus Spears   When finished place on the bed of sautéed veggies.    Garnish with:   Avocado Slices   Seasonings:     Dee-licious!!   Kind of a step up from my breakfast yesterday...     ...wouldn't you say? haha   Although that cake is nothing to sneeze at!! It's rich and moist in all of it's chocolate-y goodness!! (recipe coming soon)   And yes I was tempted t...

  Because sometimes nothing else will do but the old time favorites.   Today is one of those fabulously beautiful Fall days and I was working outside in the yard and 'hungry as a bear' when I came inside. Serena was baking cookies (the men are hunting) and had not had lunch yet either. I had two grass fed burgers in the fridge left over from last nights supper that needed cooking so I decided to make this a treat lunch for us. She preferred hers as a plain bacon cheeseburger on an English Muffin with BBQ sauce and mine had fried onions and mushrooms, bacon and Swiss cheese and Avocado (in place of mayo, YUM!) shredded lettuce and ketchup and mustard on an English Muffin.   Say it with me, du-licious!   Have a wonderful and blessed weekend!   ♥♥♥

So I had an open can of dulce de leche in the fridge and thought maybe before I/we eat it all with apples (not that that would be so bad but...) I could maybe concoct a rich creamy cheesecake with it? Ahh, Yum!! I was originally going to name it after one of my favorite turtle candies ( Coblentz Chocolate where are you when I need you?!) and really deck it out but decided it's rich and decadent enough without adding MORE caramel and MORE chocolate. And the truth is, it would work with pecans as well and maybe even as a caramel apple cheesecake? Who knows? I decided to leave it plain and make the decision of which piece by piece as I/we go along. And just for the record, I have no plans of feeding this whole thing to me or my family so if you are local and need a dessert, or simply want a taste :) Please do not hesitate to give me a shout out and say you want it. I merely wanted the pleasure of creating and a tiny taste and that's all over with now so , ye...

Photo overload... Don't say I didn't warn you! We were in Ohio for a beautiful wedding on the home farm. The day was gorgeous and perfect for an outdoor ceremony by the big pond. For many reasons this spot is one of my favorite places. But I'm sure I'm biased... :)     The barn that held the reception was just built in the last few years and isn't used in a typical barn fashion so it was still relatively 'clean' and with a good scrubbing filled the bill quite nicely.       This wedding was extra special to us. My nephew has been a great friend to all of our boys even though he is 3 years older than our oldest son and 7 years older than our youngest one. When we visit Ohio he was the one who always had time to hang out with them and Trish  was a great sport and shared quite nicely! :) I'm sure things will be slightly different (no sleepovers, haha) but the boys were assured that they would still be more than welcome at ...

  Posting these for Betsy  :)     There's something so appealing about a fog that makes a mystery out of ordinary places.     It's peaceful and gives permission to halt or at least slow down from the headlong rush that most of us engage in every day. I'm convinced we miss many a divine appointment because of the rush of our lives.   What was your Divine appointment today?   God will give you one or two or ten every day if you ask Him for them.   I don't feel the need to  share the specific one I had today,but I did ask Him for one this morning and He was gracious and gave one. Having conversations with Him is a highlight of my day.   I refuse to be rushed. The possibility of missing something He is trying to tell me is too great!      And just for interest I added a Winter shot of the same place. It's warm and muggy today and...

Peanut Butter Snickers Peanut Butter Cup If you love all things peanut butter these are for you! Both of them super yummy! This week was my second son's last day at the job he had and he wanted to treat everyone at the shop and asked if I would make cheesecakes for this. Interesting, because he doesn't even eat/enjoy cheesecakes. But I guess he knew everyone else did. I was impressed when I asked him if he's sure he doesn't want something that he enjoys as well. His reply was, "Mom, this isn't about me and what I like, it's about them." (Proud Mom moment for sure! :) I asked if he has a flavor choice even though he won't eat it and he chose the Peanut Butter Snickers and the Plain w/Fresh Fruit (previous post) for two of them. (He did end up tasting the fruity one and said it wasn't too bad :) We may convert him yet! :) The two recipes here are pretty much the same except the amount of crumbs and butter used and t...

 - aka New York Style - Imagine my surprise today when I went to send a link to someone for the recipe of this delightfulness and found that I had never posted it! Yep, I was surprised! But I'm here now, and it is just as good as it was that first time I made it many moons ago. Besides the fact that it's wonderfully creamy and tastes fabulous with a variety of crust options (chocolate, shortbread, graham, etc.) it is super simple and always turns out perfectly without a lot of stress. And for a topping? Well, it goes well with just about anything there as well, but my all time favorite is just a plain fresh fruit concoction of whatever strikes my fancy at the time. Usually pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, and this time I added fresh peaches. No need, in my opinion, to add a sauce of any kind to the fruit. Keep it simple, Nature does it well on it's own. 2½ cups graham cracker crumbs 1 Tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon cinnamon 6-8 ...

  "Love is not a reward for attaining good character or perfect behavior,  but a weapon used in Spiritual warfare."     For God so loved the world that He gave (gave!) His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not die but live eternally. John 3:16   ♥     

Do you ever get tired of the same old salads? This one is a little more unusual but just as delicious as the more common potato salad and others like it.   I was thinking about the time in the past when I was employed at a restaurant and about the food that the diners always raved about and this was one of the recipes they couldn't seem to get enough of. I never would have imagined that it could be good and remember being very surprised when I tasted it to find that I agreed with them!!   Very simple and a lot less time consuming than potato salad, woohoo! And I like that it's a little more out of the ordinary. :)   3 lbs. baby carrots 1 medium sized green pepper, sliced very thin 1 medium sized onion, sliced very thin   1 sm. can tomato soup 1 cup sugar ½ cup olive oil 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper ½ - 1 teaspoon dry mustard   Steam carrots till they are cr...

  A year ago today we said good bye to Lin's Dad. In some ways it seems like yesterday and in others it seems much longer. Dad, you are missed and remembered with love. As much as we miss you it makes us happy to think of you in the presence of Jesus with a new, pain free body.   P.S. say "Hi" to my Dad for me. :)       ♥

photo credit: Sari Stoltzfus   We spent the past weekend in Dalton, Georgia watching these boys play ball. Back row 4th from the left is our son Anthony. Being the 3rd boy in a row means that you rarely get the opportunity to do something first that your brothers have not already done so this was extra special for him and for us.   To say I was excited when he hit a grand slam is an understatement!!! Seriously, I love to watch my boys play ball! Big Cheesy Grin! ☺   So. Much. Fun!!   They did quite well and were undefeated all weekend! In addition to being from three different teams when they are at home and two being from another state I'd say the coaches get a shout out too for pulling it all together!   Danny and Victor cheers to you both!   Summer is going faster than I ever remember it before but it's all good.        

Our Gift for the end of the day yesterday...     A Beautiful reminder of Promises kept, and even more that He wants to give!   If He Promised it He will do it, but you must also believe it's possible.     "Faith must be more than belief in certain facts; it must result in action, or it will die away". And the flaming intensity afterwards. Amazing!                                                                                                  ...