Joy in the Kitchen!

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 ...

I am posting this to avoid being a total liar. I told a friend that my recipe for Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies was on my blog.  I sat down to find it, and I can't find it ANYWHERE!   That blog post must be in the happy place in my mind with so many other things I "think" I've done....   like sending the check for our water taxes, or turning the stove off of high before I leave the house.  ;) We LOVE these cookies!  My sister, Peggy, used to make these and they're so easy and tasty, I'm sure she has no idea how often we've used that recipe she shared with us over 20 years ago.  One thing I love about them, is that in the summer, they don't heat up the house like baking a batch of regular cookies would.  They are also a healthier sort of cookie than many...  peanut butter gives them protein, oats add all sorts healthy things - hefty amounts of iron, protein, and a little calcium, not to mention a good serving of fiber!  Really, the...

What to do with a few LARGE handfuls of fresh green beans?  We love this easy way to prepare them.  I especially love that I don't need to snap them.  I just snip the ends!  We like them fairly tender, probably to the point that some feel they're overcooked.  :)   Check them every few minutes to see if they're at the point YOU like them.  If you LOVE garlic, go ahead and throw in a few more cloves.   Mmmmmm! Garlic Green Beans A couple of good handfuls of fresh green beans a few tablespoonfuls of olive oil 2-4 cloves of garlic, sliced or minced salt & pepper  Heat oil in large skillet.  Add garlic and saute' just a minute to flavor the oil.  Add green beans and cook over medium-medium high heat stirring occasionally to keep garlic and beans from burning.   If you'd like the beans to be very tender, put a lid on your pan & they'll soften up faster.  After about 10 minutes, test to see if the beans are d...

This week, along with my usual Bountiful Basket of fruits & veggies, I ordered a Mexican specialty pack.  What a fun bunch of new (to me) items to cook with!  We had jalapeno's, green chilis, limes, cilantro, garlic, tomatillos, avocados, green onions, and a couple of yellow onion.  There are several of those items I've never used.  A quick search online revealed MANY recipes to consider!  This is the one I found that looked the most interesting and that I had all the ingredients on hand.   The directions were easy to follow and I only made a few adjustments to the original recipe.  It turned out delicious!!!   We served ours with Spanish Rice and warmed corn tortilla's. My changes:   I used only 1/2 a jalapeno, added 2 green chilies, which I roasted but did not take the skin off of, only about 1/3 of the cilantro.   I also put mine in a crockpot.  Then an hour before dinner, I ladled off most of the liquid, put i...

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...

While my daughter Keeley and I were planning the Mothers Day menu, she came across this recipe online.  I wasn't too sure about the pineapple salsa, but we decided to try it.  It is AWESOME!  The chicken was tender and flavorful, the salsa was sweet, but not too sweet, and is a terrific accompaniment for the chicken.  YUM! You can find the recipe for the Yogurt Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Roasted Red Pepper Salsa right here at the Food Network. We added less hot sauce, but next time we'll add more.  I marinated the chicken for 5 hours just because that's how it worked out. :o) We will definitely be adding this to our menu in the future.  It is nutritious, tasty, and FUN!   Give it a try & let me know what YOU think! Here's the rest of our Mothers Day Dinner.... Shrimp Cocktail Garlic Roasted Potatoes                    ...