Levi's gift

After 23 years of marriage, my pots and pans have had it. But thanks to Levi and his unexpected gift of these Better Homes and Gardens beauties, I am set for another 20+ years!

Strawberries and Pie Crust . . . and a walk down memory lane

Growing up we always had a great strawberry patch. I have the best memories of picking strawberries and even better - eating strawberries as a kid!

And since I have a summer birthday, I often got angel food cake and strawberries for my birthday. Still one of my all-time favorites.

My kids love strawberries too. We had a great strawberry bed at our first house.

When he was little, Joel was notorious for going outside and picking his own strawberries and eating them right on the spot!

Joel probably about 1 1/2 years old caught eating a strawberry!

I love strawberries so much that my first kitchen was ALL decorated in strawberries - even down to a red stove and refrigerator. Have you ever seen anything so cool?

Red stove and refrigerator bought from
Brian's boss for $75 - I totally LOVED them!
Longaberger recipe basket with strawberries painted
on the top by Brian's mom - I still use it today.
And of course strawberry towels and hot pads.

Me (pregnant with Megan) making French toast.

(sorry for the crooked scan - lol)
Notice the strawberry basket ceramic canisters
above the window and matching strawberry wind chime
hanging in the other window.
These were a gift from my mom and dad on my 16th birthday.
They were made by a local Baptist preacher
who also had a small ceramic shop.

Now that it is understood that I love all things strawberry - on to the recipe at hand.

Probably my most favorite way to eat strawberries is with broken up homemade pie crust.

Simple. Sweet. Salty.

Pure summer goodness at its finest.

Pie Dough -

1 cup flour
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. Crisco
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix ingredients well.

Gradually add 3 Tbsp. ICE water.
Mix well and form into ball.
Roll out flat on floured surface and place on cookie sheet. With a fork, poke holes in dough.
Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
Allow crust to cool. Break into pieces.

Serve with room temperature sliced and lightly sugared fresh strawberries.

If you are craving strawberries and pie crust but don't have time to bake your own crust, try crumbling up Ritz crackers over room temperature sliced and lightly sugared fresh strawberries. Equally as yummy.

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Dreaming in green

This is a Jadite mug similar to the one that
my great grandpa, Pop, used to drink coffee.
I would love to have one to drink my morning coffee out of -
just to think of him!
I will have to save my pennies
because I haven't seen one for less than $45.00!

Jadite measuring cups. I love them!
But I doubt I will be measuring with them any time soon -
I saw these at a nearby antique mall for a whopping $235.00!

Jadite batter bowl. Possibly my favorite.
This would look awesome on my kitchen counter!
Compared to everything else it seems like a pretty good deal -
not quite as pricey at $55.00.

If you like Jadite - check out this blog and her corresponding
Etsy shop.

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Starbucks nesting tea cups

How fun are these! These adorable nesting tea cups from Starbucks are on my Mother's Day wish list!

I can think of lots of uses for these sweet little cuties - everything from tea as intended to cozy bowls for warm cooked pudding or small servings of cereal.

Stackable cuteness!

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Lemon-scented Kitchen hand soap

I am in love with lemon scented products right now. Citrus scents have a way of invigorating me - somehow lifting my spirits.

I use Lemon Joy dish soap and keep Bodycology lemon-scented kitchen hand soap handy as well. I love the clean smell of lemons!

It is funny how small things like hand soap can bring such pleasure.

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Glass nesting prep bowls

Megan bought me these for my birthday, and I absolutely love them. I collect bowls - especially nesting bowls - but these are not only cute they are super useful!

The uses are limitless:

beat eggs
serve small portions of pudding
premeasure dry ingredients when baking
serve salsa or other dip
pretend you have your own cooking show on the Food Network!

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Pampered Chef Micro Cookers

Pampered Chef Micro Cooker

I don't own a lot of Pampered Chef items - in fact, since I dropped a cast iron skillet on my Pampered Chef pizza stone (oops!) the Pampered Chef Micro Cooker (large and small) are the only Pampered Chef items I own.

But I use them absolutely every day and thanks to Angel - whose party I bought them at and who told me about browning hamburger from a frozen state in 5 minutes - they have become my best go to kitchen gadgets.

How I use them:

- I use the small cooker every morning to make poached eggs (they taste like boiled eggs only they are flat). Crack two eggs into small cooker sprayed with Pam. Cook on high 1 1/2 minutes. Viola! Easy, healthy breakfast.

- I use the larger cooker to brown ground beef. Frozen to browned in 5 minutes! Use the chopper to break the meat up halfway through the cooking time and then once done. I love it that the lids have the strainer holes. Talk about easy!

- I use the larger cooker to microwave potatoes. Just place in cooker and use the potato button on the microwave. The cooker helps hold in the moisture and makes a much more moist potato.

- Forget buying expense steamer bags for vegetables. I use both the small and large cooker (depending on how much I am cooking) to steam vegetables. Fresh and tasty!

Don't overlook these awesome cookers at the next Pampered Chef party you go to - they aren't fancy, but they work great and are easy to clean!

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Meat Grinder

I don't have a lot of fru-fru in my kitchen.

One - there isn't enough room for extras; and two - I am just not a fru-fru kind of girl.

My kitchen has the basics and that's it. I don't have a garbage disposal (What would the raccoons eat?) and I don't have a dishwasher (Where would I put it?).

But one thing my kitchen does have is a meat grinder. I love this little baby. I picked it up at my neighbor's yard sale several years ago. Although a real bear to clean, three of my favorite recipes require it.

1. ham loaf
2. banana pudding with peanuts
3. Virginia's ham salad

Since I am highlighting each of these recipes, I decided to do a little post on the meat grinder itself.

This is similar to the grinder I have -
although I don't have the shredding pieces

My meat grinder is a Rival model and is probably from the 70's I am guessing. While not as old as the one my mom uses, I think it is a really nice grinder, and I am pretty pleased with my yard sale find.

This is similar to my mom's grinder

One thing that definitely helps with the grinding process - a teenage boy to turn the handle!

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1/4/10 Menu

Monday - crockpot swiss steak/cottage cheese/green beans
Tuesday - potato soup with white beans and sour cream/French bread
Wednesday - deli meat sandwiches/chips/fruit (quick meal before church)
Thursday - crockpot moist drumsticks/salad/fat free egg noddles
Friday - eat out after Joel's game

A lot of the meals this week are in the crockpot because I work a lot this week. Joel has two away games which ramps the hectic level up a notch. I also am using the crockpot a lot because my oven is still on the blink.

Brian and I have unofficially started a fitness challenge - with each other not against each other. So my goal is to send him with healthy leftovers every day for lunch.

Along with Levi working, Megan will be back to substitute teaching and Joel will be back in school as well, which will necessitate me restocking my bowls. These have proved very handy with making lunches and provide easy access to after school/work snacking.

Bowls (which need filled) hold poptarts, granola bars,
oatmeal packets, snack crackers, snack cakes,
applesauces, fruit, drink mixes . . .
everything for breakfast, lunches, and snacking!

Recipes I will highlight this week: potato soup with white beans and sour cream (our new favorite) and crockpot moist drumsticks.

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