Joy in the Kitchen!

Our local stores just had a case lot sale.  I bought a case of peanut butter at a great price so now I can make Peanut Butter Cookies!  A handful of these cookies and a glass of nice, cold, milk, are one of my kids' favorite after school snacks.  Mine too, truth be told. :)  These are easy to mix up and bake. The kids are out for spud harvest right now, and I haven't been baking much.  When I asked what type of cookie we should make they chose these! Peanut Butter Cookies 1 C. Peanut Butter (smooth or chunky) 1 C. butter or margarine, softened 1 C. sugar 1 C. brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 2 3/4 - 3 C. flour Cream butter and peanut butter until smooth.  Add sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Beat well.  Add flour 2 3/4 C. flour, salt and baking soda.  Mix well.  If the dough is too thin (needs to be thick enough to roll in a ball) add the other 1/4 C. flour. Form into walnut sized balls...

I love doing home canning, preserving food we've grown or that's grown nearby and having it all available to use during the winter.  I remember canning after school in the fall with my Mom.  It was by her side that I learned how to slip the skin off of a peach, cut corn off the cob, and carefully put lids on jars.  Even as a small child I was allowed to assist by mixing the sugar syrup to pour over fruit, or washing the jars.  (I felt so important doing that as Mom told me my hands were just the right size to fit in the jar!)  My Mother learned her canning skills from my Grandma (my Dad's Mother)... and I'm sure she learned to can alongside her mother.   Often when I'm standing with my girls at the sink or stove during canning season, I feel a strong connection with my ancestors.... strong, good women who worked hard to preserve food for their families out of necessity.  No running to Walmart for pre-packaged food for them!  I am honored to carry ...

I love corn on the cob, fresh out of the garden, barely ripe and so tender!  None of that tough, waxy corn at the store for me.  Corn on the cob season is winding down in our garden.  Still one more variety of corn that is coming on, but it may freeze before it's ready. I love my corn on the cob with lots of butter and salt and pepper!  I always thought everyone buttered corn on the cob just the way my family did it when I was growing up.  I'm finding that isn't the case! To butter our corn, we set a fresh, cold, cube of butter on a plate and then roll each ear of corn on the top.  It melts so wonderfully and is quick and easy to cover the entire ear.  Mmmm!   I know some people use a knife with a pat of butter on it and slide that over the corn, and we used to use a nifty little gadget called a corn on the cob butterer.  But, we much prefer the ease of simply rolling our corn on the whole cube of butter. :)  Who needs a gadget?...

Woohoo!!!  We've got a nice, rainy, cool, fall day here today!  I love days like this as long as I don't have to go out in them.   The BEST part of all though is that it is SOUP WEATHER !  A steaming hot bowl of soup just isn't as appetizing in 90 degree weather as it is on days like today. My friend Cherise gave me this recipe several years ago.  We were driving truck in Spud Harvest together (that's potato harvest for those of you outside of potato country ;) ) and she brought me a warm bowl of this soup one evening.  SO GOOD! Every time I fix this I can almost SMELL that good, Idaho, potato dirt.  This soup is NOT like a cheesy CREAM of Broccoli soup.  No cream added to it at all. (not counting the butter).  It also has veggies other than broccoli. The sauce is smooth and rich.  Tonight we're having it with a freshly made loaf of French Bread.   It's a great soup to dip bread in. (sort of like a thin cheese fondue with vegg...

Caramel Popcorn!  What a fun childhood memory!  Once in a while, Mom would fix a BIG bowl of gooey caramel popcorn we could share while we watched a show on TV.  Most of the time it was Sunday and probably Wild Kingdom or The Wonderful World of Disney .  You have to realize, that this was before DVD's or even VHS movies you could pop in anytime you felt like watching a movie.  When the TV station played the movie, we gathered around to watch! This is the kind of caramel corn that is rich and gooey,  Not the crispy Cracker Jack type of caramel corn. (though if you want, I'll share that recipe with you later)  I like best to eat it while it's still warm and fresh.  Oh my! First off, you need 6-8 Cups of unsalted, popped popcorn .  No, you can't use microwave popcorn for this.  No popcorn popper?  No problem!   Some of you might remember back in the day, before microwave popcorn or fancy popcorn poppers, families popped popco...

Today I thought I'd give a new recipe a try!  I often prefer to use recipes I nearly have memorized, just because it's quick & easy, but today... I felt like trying something a little different.  Gallo on Frugal Families (my favorite frugal website!), posted this cookie recipe for Jam/Jelly Squares.  I had some bottled jam that needed used, so it was the perfect recipe to try.  Gallo was sweet and gave me permission to share this recipe with you!  She said she's made it for her family for years and doesn't remember where it came from.  (that's how many of my recipes are as well!) They were easy to make and tasted terrific!  I'd definitely make them again.  In fact, I probably should make more jam & jelly just to be sure I have enough for this recipe!  I'll bet it would be delicious with my currant jelly.  Mmmm! Jam/Jelly Squares 2 C. flour 2 C. rolled oats 1 1/2 C. packed brown sugar 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 C. margarine 1 1/2 ...