I saw this recipe by The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drumond) on Facebook and knew I had to try it!  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....it is so very good!!  My husband wanted to know if I wanted to take a picture of his empty bowl...ummm..no. 

Hope you enjoy it!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/01/cauliflower-soup/

Here is the link to her recipe and step by step instructions.

Egg Rolls!

I haven't added anything new recently because I had an issue with my computer but that is all fixed now!  So, my baby brother had a birthday yesterday and I usually try to fix everyone their favorite meal on their birthday so I fixed Egg Rolls and Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry.  Mmmmmmm  Mmm good!  We have some very special friends that taught us how to make Egg Rolls and so far it is the best I have ever had.  It can be time consuming but worth it!  I am sharing the recipe with you and I hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

Egg Rolls

2 lbs. Ground Beef- chopped fine
2 cups Carrotts- chopped fine
2 cans Water Chestnuts- chopped fine
1 bunch of green onions - chopped fine
2 Tblsp. Soy Sauce
1 Egg
Few dashes of garlic powder (or garlic salt depending on how much salt you have already added.)
2 packages Egg Roll wrappers (Spring Roll wrappers)

Brown ground beef.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chop real fine (as fine as you can).  The baby carrotts work best, just wash first and chop fine.  (I use my food processor and it is done very quickly!).  I also use the food processor for the water chestnuts but not for the onion.  Chop the onion and use the green tops also by hand but very finely.  Add soy sauce and beaten egg. Roll about 2 to 3 Tablespoons of meat mixture in wrapper and seal with a dab of beaten egg.  Deep fry in oil and set platter covered with paper towels.  DO NOT COVER!!  They will get soggy!  Trust me....it is worth the trouble!!!  :0)

(The pictures above are the egg rolls before they are cooked)

The Perfect Cookie

I have made lots and lots of cookies....but I have found the "perfect" Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe!  Seriously good.  Just had one with my cup of hot tea for breakfast.  Crispy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside.....I am making you want one right now aren't I?  :0)  I actually split the dough in two and I made one with raisin's and the other with chocolate chips.  I haven't tried the chocolate chip ones yet but my dear husband had 4 so I think they might be good too!! 

I found it on the Taste of Home Website:

 

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture, just until combined. Stir in the oats, raisins and pecans if desired.
• Shape into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a greased glass bottom.
• Bake at 350° for 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Do not overbake. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

The only revisions I made were to use Butter Flavor Crisco and I found that baking it at 13 minutes was just perfect. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, optional

Blackberry Cobbler....no other introduction needed.

It's Thankful Thursday in my lovely daughter Selah's kindergarten class today and we ARE thankful for Blackberry Cobbler, are we not?   I will just keep this short and sweet....just like the pictures below...

These blackberries were picked at the one of my most favorite places in the world.....my Mom and Dad's!  Here is the recipe because I know you will want to make this one! 

Texas Cobbler

2 Cups peaches or other fruit
2/3 cup sugar

Combine these two and set aside.

In quart baking dish:
1 stick of butter ~ Set in oven or microwave to melt.

Mix together just until combined...don't over stir:
2/3 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Flour
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 Cup Milk

Pour batter over melted butter.  Pour fruit over batter ~ Bake in oven @ 325 degrees until golden brown about 45 - 50 minutes.  ~ Serve warm. 

Tip:  We like to serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top but my Dad (who is originally from West Virginia) likes to pour milk over the top just as you would cereal.  Hope you enjoy!!

Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry with Noodles

Today was one of those days where I really needed to go grocery shopping but thought I would take on the challenge to see what I could fix with what ingredients I had.  For chicken breasts, I buy the frozen bag of chicken tenderloins at Sam's Club...easy to thaw and the chicken is more tender.  I only had about 6 tenderloins so I automatically think "stir-fry!" (if you know me at all, you know I could eat some sort of asian food everyday).  I normally buy jasmine rice to go with my stir fry but I was out and I had about a 1/2 package of fettucini noodles so here is the final product...still simmering in all it's goodness.  It was dee-lish....my wonderful children helped me make fresh squeezed lemonade and also served Silver Queen corn on the cobb on the side....

So there really wasn't a recipe but here is what I did:

Boil about 1/4 to 1/2 package of fettucini noodles.  Rinse and set aside.  Add about 3 TBLSP. oil to wok and get hot.  Add about 6 chicken tenderloins that have been cut into about 1 inch pieces.  Next add about 1/2 large sweet onion.  Sprinkle this with garlic powder or about 1/2 tsp chopped garlic.  Saute until chicken is no longer pink.  Remove from pan.  Add about 3 cups of frozen broccoli and saute.  I added about a 1/2 can of chicken stock to this.  Pour your chicken/onion mixture and noodles into the broccoli.  Let that saute together for a few minutes.  If you like a thicker sauce like I do mix about 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 1 tsp. of cornstarch mixed together and add to stir fry to thicken.  Voila! 

Welcome to my "Cozy Kitchen"!

The leaves are turning, clean breezes are blowing, backpacks are hanging up in the hallway and my love for baking is blooming once again!  Isn't it amazing how the aroma of food cooking awakens the senses and can bring back so many wonderful memories?  I love the feeling of walking into my Mom's house and she has brownies baking or seeing her canning at the stove.  Baking to me creates a warm and cozy atmosphere for my family and creates lasting memories for them to enjoy and even pass down to their children.  Being that Labor Day is on Monday, we are enjoying our three day weekend and I had some banana's left over from the kids' lunch so I decided to make banana bread!  Take a deep breath...Hmmmmmmmmmm....it smells delicious in my house!!  This recipe comes from my Mom, she is a wonderful cook and has taught me so many things in the kitchen.  Cooking is not hard and if you can find recipes that are not complicated, it can make even the person that does not enjoy cooking find themselves loving it!  Hope you find this recipe easy and create a wonderful aroma in your kitchen.  Now excuse me while I go pour a glass of milk and have a taste of this bread for ya.  ;0)

Banana Bread

1/2 C. Butter
1 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
3 Banana's mashed
2 C. Flour
1 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
2 1/4 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 C. Nuts (I use walnuts)

Mix together and bake in loaf pan @ 350 degrees for 40 - 50 minutes.  (I split this recipe up into two loaf pans but it can make one large loaf.)