Joy in the Kitchen!

Mmmm!!!   Fresh!   This week the weather has cooled off.  We've had rain and the leaves are turning to a beautiful yellow and orange celebration of fall!  Most of my garden is finishing up but the tomatoes and cucumbers are still producing well!  We live in a cooler climate so we are thrilled with any tomatoes that have time to ripen!  I have had a terrific crop of cucumbers this year, but not fresh dill to can dill pickles at this point.  That's ok as I love the crisp texture of a fresh cucumber from the garden! This little salad is easy to fix for just one, or for a crowd.  It is quick to arrange and if covered with plastic wrap, will hold a few hours until time to serve.  If desired you could add mozzarella balls or some type of olives to your plate.  Lately I love Kalamata and Castelvetrano olives.  I've had a struggling basil plant in the garden that is finally starting to thrive and I'm happy to have fresh basil to use ri...

  It has been cold and snowy white as far as the eye can see where I live!  This week the temperatures are supposed to be above freezing for the first time in several weeks!  I mean high 30's!  Absolutely balmy!  When we're this far into winter, I'm always ready for some peeks into spring.  Though we are several weeks away from the snow melting enough to see the ground, I enjoy including this colorful, fresh salad in my menu!  It's a lovely reminder of the garden harvest I'll enjoy this summer.  This is more of a throw-it-together sort of dish rather than one needing exact measurements, but I have some guidelines I use as the base of this dish.   I make it in this quantity for myself for lunch, or I leave the garbanzo beans out and add another cucumber and a little more olive oil and lemon and use it as a side dish for the family at dinnertime.   I've never been a fan of vinegar and oil dressing on salads, but I love, love, L...

Summer is coming bringing warmer weather and the stronger desire for cool salads.  This sweet and tangy Poppy Seed Dressing is perfect drizzled on your choice of greens.  Last night we enjoyed this on a grilled chicken salad and today I've just tossed some sliced strawberries and almonds on romaine.   This recipe is SO inexpensive per batch, particularly if you have the ingredients already on hand.  The only thing I had to buy this time was the poppy seeds.  I figured it cost me somewhere around $1.60 and it makes a generous 3 cups of dressing. My sweet Mom shared this with me several years ago and I've no idea where she found this recipe but it has certainly become my favorite!    Perfect Poppy Seed Dressing 3 T. chopped onion 2/3 C. white vinegar 2 tsp. ground, dry mustard 1 tsp. salt 1-2 tsp. poppyseeds 1 C. sugar 2 C. oil Blend the first 6 ingredients well in the blender.  Slowly add the oil while...

This hearty salad works well as a potluck side dish or as a main dish for a summertime meal!  Several years ago my sister Beverly brought this dish often to family gatherings.  It always disappeared quickly!  Several of my children request it.  I usually don't put the pineapple in and red grapes are as good as green.  Yum!  It calls for cooked chicken breast.  I usually simmer them in water until done but baked works just fine too. Bev's Yummy Chicken and Pasta Salad 4 boneless chicken breast, cooked and diced 6 oz. small shell macaroni, cooked and drained 2 C. celery, diced 1 bunch green onions, sliced 2 lbs green grapes (or red seedless grapes) 1 small can tidbit pineapple, drained 1 C. Kraft coleslaw dressing 1 C. mayonnaise 1 C. cashews (reserve a few for garnish) Mix mayonnaise and coleslaw dressing together.  Pour over other ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir to coat, sprinkle with a few extra cashews.  Chill until...

It is just about tomato time of year here!  At least mine in the garden have a few little green tomatoes and are setting a ton of blossoms.  There's harvest hope! I love a good, ripe tomato picked fresh from the garden.  So sweet and juicy!  So many yummy things to do with them too...  sliced thick for tomato sandwiches, diced and tossed with greens for salad, fresh salsa, canned salsa, spaghetti sauce and soups!  YUMMY! My sweet Aunt Lois was an amazing cook.  She gave Mom the recipe for these marinated tomatoes several years ago and Mom passed it on to me.  They are wonderfully fresh tasting.  (even with store bought tomatoes - and that's saying something because I'm really biased about home grown tomatoes!)  They are quick and easy to mix up, and in the heat of summer, this cold salad is a terrific side dish. Aunt Lois's Marinated Tomatoes 6 large tomatoes cut in wedges 1/2 C. sliced green onion Combine the ...

Our Memorial Weekend family reunion was a blast!  Rained enough one day to bring on that feeling of sailin' the high seas and everything!  My brother Kim and his family were in charge this year and did a Pirate theme.  We crafted boats out of styrofoam, made pirate hats out of newspaper, and flags for our camps.  For one potluck meal, several of my older children (you too Taylor) crafted this sailin' vessel to hold our fruit salad.   Quite a good job, don't you think!   (If you use your imagination, the "merman" on the front is quite effective.... thanks Grandma for letting us raid your toy box!)

We have a family reunion this weekend!  LOVE all the visiting, fun activities and FOOD!  We spend the weekend in my parents orchard.  We stay in trailers or tents.  Friday through Monday.  We only have to travel a mile to get there!  This year we have a Pirate theme.  Saturday evening our meal is potluck.  Bring plenty of grub to share.   Sunday roast beef is provided and we provide the side dishes and dessert.   The kids have requested Cookies Salad for one of the dishes we take.  It's easy and they love it.  (so do I but I'm making it "for the kids", right?!)   I won't even consider trying to remember to take a picture of it... too many other things on my mind this week.  BUT  I wanted to share the recipe with you in case YOU need a terrific side dish to take. I always double this for my family. Cookie Salad 1 C. buttermilk 1 8 oz container cool whip 1 small box instant vanilla pudding 2 small cans...

Mom shared a BUNCH of green peppers Dad grew in their garden.  THANK YOU Mom and Dad!  Our peppers were pecked to death by the chickens early on and we only got a few survivors. (peppers, not chickens lol )  I've been freezing the peppers from my parents a few at a time.  I've got 3 quarts of diced peppers in the freezer.  Tonight I chose to fill a few and use them for dinner.  Mom used to make these once in a while when I lived at home. YUM!   The little girls don't like peppers, so rather than waste a good pepper on them, I put some filling in muffin cups and let them have theirs that way.  I've found an easy way to keep the peppers upright while baking, is to set them in a large muffin tin. (the kind that makes large muffins)  If you don't have one of those, a casserole dish is fine, or check and see if your peppers are thin enough, they might fit in a regular muffin tin. As a side dish, and trying to use up more of our abundant c...