A Proverbs 31 Kind of Day

A long time ago, there was a tomato basil soup mix that I loved. I made it a lot during the winter months and we would swoon over it. I've not been able to find a mix similar, but we still love a creamy tomato basil soup. I've looked for recipes that would seem to mimic that soup. While this one doesn't remind me of that mix, I sure do like this one! Since it's gotten cold, I had the Mr. grab the ingredients when he ran into town the other day. We were wrapping presents and I whipped this up and kept it warm until we were ready to have dinner. This is what the Mr. likes to do: wait until the very end and wrap all the presents at once. When Christmas day is practically here. This is what it does to me: causes me undo stress and tears. 22 years of this and I've said no more. As we both grabbed our own set of paper, scissors, and tape, I divided the gifts between us. While he was still finishing up the boy ch...

It doesn't seem like it's the holiday season until someone brings these gems to the party! I'm not really big on this appetizer. I've never really been impressed with small cocktail sized smokies in a bbq sauce. Now!  There are other ways I like these done, like wrapped in bacon, or phyllo dough, or even a crescent roll. But not swimming in a sauce that I usually don't like. So when the Mr. suggested we do a small snack break at the office, and thought these would be good, I went to searching for something different to do! Do I mix them with grape jelly, or cranberry sauce, or pineapple preserves? The options were great, but I finally decided on this recipe! Holiday Cocktail Little Smokies 28-32 oz package of little smokies 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup ketchup 1/4 cup honey Dijon mustard Place the little smokies in a crock pot. In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, ketchup, and honey Dijon mustard together and pour over the littl...

I'm so excited to announce my new adventure! This is for all of you who live in the OKC/surrounding area! Here's the scoop! I think meal time is one of the most important times of the day with your family; regardless of how big or small your family is! When at the table, with the TV off and phones down, you have some of the best conversations. But meal times are difficult! Schedules are full. Meal planning takes time. Whether it's coming in after a long day at work or after a packed schedule of practices; That's why I have "Meal Thyme." Each month, I'll have different meal kits, along with an optional dessert kit, that you can order. All you have to do is buy the meat, put it in the bag of seasoning, and throw it in the freezer. Then, when you're ready to cook, just thaw your meal and put it in the crock pot! Come home to a hot meal ready to eat! If you really want to "get fancy," you can add a veggie or side...

Recently, we were a host home for our girls' retreat at church. Let me translate what that means: I clean like a mad-woman for several days before, as if high school girls are even going to care about what the house looks like!  I spent days thinking through the "snack" menu and what to do for breakfast for them on Saturday, and through it all, the Mr. and my boy cherub leave the nest and are gone the entire time! So by "we," I mean me! But it was a GREAT time and I'd do it again!  The girls that were at my house were amazing! They commented on how good the house smelled . . .which I really have no idea what they were smelling! And they loved the pancake bar we did on Friday night and the were so appreciative of breakfast! They also drank a lot of coffee! Who knew!  I clearly didn't plan well in that area, but that's ok! Another mom was my co-host.  She was a trooper! On Friday night, she came over and helped me cook pancake...

A loooong time ago, a friend of mine had a football watch party. At the party, she served all kinds of tailgate-type food. One of the things she served, of course, was nachos. But they were so much tastier than just plain 'ol nachos. She had "jazzed up" the meat that she put on the nachos. The other day, I texted her to ask what her recipe was. Remember, it was a long time ago . . . but I kind of helped to jog her memory and she gave me, "it was probably   . . . " " . . .or it could have been . . ." But thinking back to what it looked like, I went with the first option of possibility. Here's my dilemma:  I typically like tacos, etc, but I don't typically prefer the taco meat. It is usually dry. It's seasoned fine, but to me, it's just kinda dry. Not so dry you have to choke it down or chase it with a big glass of water. But just sorta dry. So I took my friend's suggestion, tweeked it a bit for what...

My boy cherub has loved oatmeal cookies since the time he could say, "cick-koo." And as a little guy, I knew exactly what he was saying when he asked! Not much has changed as he's grown . . . and oatmeal cookie is still a great treat to him. This week, he has been asking for dessert. Well, he and the girl cherub both! But I haven't made anything. Not because I didn't want to. But we were in and out so much this week, and we were all going to be gone this weekend, that I didn't think it was necessary to bake this week. But here it is, Sunday afternoon, and the weather is perfect, and the house is quiet, so I decided to make the cherubs happy and bake! I'm not really certain that I've made an oatmeal cookie since we've been gluten free, which has been about 2 1/2 years, so it's about time I get a good recipe! This one, I do think, is a keeper. If you're not gluten free . . . but you've kept reading...

This past weekend was spent at the lake with the Mr.'s family. We had a great time of hanging out, laughing, and sitting by the fire. The 7 cousins played marathon air hockey . . .so much that my girl cherub's arm was sore! With 4 families represented, we decided that each family would take one dinner for each of the days we were together and be responsible to provide the food for everybody. Breakfast and lunch . . .each family brought what they wanted and just shared. But dinner was a little more organized. The Mr. and I had the Saturday night dinner. We had big shoes to fill because my brother in law and sister in law did a shrimp boil for everyone on Friday night. It was fantastic! So Saturday afternoon, we set about our dinner preparation. I did all of the prep work that could be done ahead of time at home so that cooking on Saturday night would be as easy as possible. We had the roasted potatoes that I posted a few weeks ago. http://karen-proverbs31...

I'm a self-proclaimed ranch dressing snob. I like ranch dressing, but I'm particular about it. So please do not offer the bottled ranch dressing to me. It's not my preference. Which is a nice way of saying I don't like it. It's nothing against bottled ranch dressing . . . it's that I just don't really like most bottled dressings. Confession time is over;  back to the ranch dressing. I like good ranch dressing. Ranch dressing with flavor. Ranch dressing with zip. Ranch dressing with depth. Ranch dressing that has "character" to it. That's why I like this ranch dressing. I think I ought to call it "green ranch dressing," because I mix it together in a blender, which does change the color of the dressing. But if you want to mix it by hand, then I think you'll not call your dressing "green ranch dressing." So, why do I mix it together in the blender, you ask? Because I like it really, real...

Smoking meat is one of those things I really want to learn to do. Correction:  smoking meat is really one of those things I really want the MR. to learn to do! He has smoked meat a several times. But truthfully, there is an art to doing it well. Some people call that "a knack!" The problem is that the Mr. doesn't want to learn how to do this "art," as much as I want him to learn! Oh, the problems we have! But!  My smoking meat dilemma was cured a few weeks ago when a friend of ours offered to smoke some meat for us. He's really good at what he does! He's even won a "smoking competition." Now!  Before you go making wise cracks about that statement . . .I already know what you might say. Honestly, though . . . there's a lot to being able to smoke meat well. And well he did! After the meat was smoked, the Mr. and I put it into the freezer so that we'd have it when we wanted it. This week, with the crazy schedule...

I can't even remember what I was fixing but I needed a side dish to serve with it. Oh wait!  Just typing that sentence made me remember what I was making! Ham! Which reminded me . . . I'm going to post my ham recipe! But not right now. Right now, it is about the potatoes. Since I was making a ham, I wanted to have a complete meal. You know, not the one-dish-call-it-good meal. But a meal that resembled thought, and preparation, and time, and love, and all those things! I had some potatoes in the refrigerator. I keep my potatoes there because I don't use them fast enough to keep them in a cute potato basket. Because if I kept them in a cute potato basket, my potatoes would be gross. And unusable. So I keep them cold so they won't get gross so fast. Now, before you start thinking about all the bad things that happen to cold potatoes. I know. The starch changes to sugar. They don't taste the same as if you store them ...

By the looks of it, you might think it's been a slow month at our house! Truthfully, though, it's been kinda busy. Just this month, we have spent a week in the mountains, prepared for the start of school, and I've gotten to share with a group of ladies about meal preparation. That's why I decided to write today. Because of my time with the moms. It got me thinking. One of the things I did at the cooking class was show how to prepare five meals with five pounds of ground beef. Easy enough. But there was really more to it than that. The "more to it" was this: eating at home is cheaper than eating out. cooking at home tastes better than eating out. cooking takes a little bit of prep, but it's worth the effort eating dinner together, as a family, is more than the meal; it's about sharing together   For some, cooking is intimidating. But I've shared this thought with so many . . .and I shared it with the moms at the cooking c...

Everyone has their favorite chicken salad. But if you're like me, you're always on the search for "the best" chicken salad. I've scoured lots of church cookbooks, tea room recipes, and magazines searching for an even better chicken salad recipe. Truthfully, I've had some delicious chicken salads. But this one . . . this is one of my favs! I've used this recipe for more than 15 years. Honestly, though, I don't make it a lot. And for that, I'm not sure as to the reason. Bust as we planned a get-away this Summer, I decided to make this to take with us. When we travel to the mountains, that is our let down and relax time. I don't mind cooking . . .but I want to do it at home and just take it with us in the cooler. That way, while we're away, I feel like I'm getting a vacation too -- rather than having to spend so much time preparing meals! Chicken Salad 3 cups cooked & cubed chicken (I roast a whole ch...

If you're like us, you are glued to the TV for the next few days. As in, glued to the Olympics! Since the Opening Ceremony, we have been watching relentlessly! There is something about the Olympics that we love! Matter of fact, we'll watch sports, that at any other time, we're not really interested in! For example, the last time we watched ladies volleyball was . . . four years ago. But put the infamous 5 Olympic rings on the screen, and we become mesmerized by sports! Along with the sports, is the excitement of the host country! We like to learn a little about the country, think of things we'd like to do if we could ever visit, and look at the pretty landscape of the host country as we learn about it through the watching of the Olympics! Typically, on the evening of the Opening Ceremony, I'll make food from the host country. This year, I planned to do that, but our schedule kept us from having a watch party. But I still had the ing...

We were having a weekend of guests. Not over-night guests; just a weekend with a variety of guests. Breakfast guests. Hang-out-after-church- guests. Neighbor guests. That got me thinking. "What can I serve to drink besides the regular stuff?" Which that got me looking at different options. I went to one of my trusty cookbooks . . . the one my mom put together for me when I was getting married. She collected recipes from family and friends, from both sides of our family, and compiled all the recipes into a cute little cookbook. Which I still use today. This recipe is from our "Auntie Ronda," who, more than 30 years ago, started out as a neighbor and turned into family! There, in the appetizer section, was this recipe. Note:  maybe that's why I've missed it before . . .it was in "appetizer," rather than drinks, or miscellaneous . . . . But for whatever reason, I saw it. The ingredients are simple. At the bottom...

One Saturday, we were having guests for breakfast. But to do that, you have to start the prep work a bit earlier than I really want to function on a Saturday morning. I looked through my recipes to find some of our favorites . . . that were easy! And by "easy," I mean not extremely time consuming but tastes good! I decided on a menu that included fruit, breakfast cake, yogurt, egg cups, and . . . GRITS! Yes, grits! We love grits! What I particularly love about grits is their unassuming ability to take on just about any flavor! Plain grits. Sweet grits. Cheese grits. Savory grits. You can't go wrong with well-done grits! Even people who say they don't like grits will love well-done grits! Our guests had to end up changing plans the night before, but I went ahead with our brunch plans for our family. The best memories are made around the table, laughing, talking, and enjoying a Saturday morning together! Cheesy Breakfast Grits 1 ...

We are finally all home, together again, as a family! My boy cherub lived in DC this Summer and was a Page in the U.S. Senate. My girl cherub and I spent time at different camps and on mission trips. The Mr. did a little bit of everything, including a smidge of travel for work. So it's been awhile since we've all been together, under "our" roof. Now that we're back together . . . I really like it! Since my boy cherub was away, I have spent time making him some of his favorites. After his first "home cooked" meal, I made this for dessert. On a whim, we added vanilla ice cream to it; and just like that . . . A new dessert was made! We were kind of sad when we ran out of the fruit mixture! Ok, not really! But we did say we'd need to make this again! I like that it was super easy! Fruit and Cream 1 regular can of sliced peaches, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 regular can of pears, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 bananas, s...

We really do love mango. I'm not certain what it is about this fruit that is so enticing. Maybe it's their beautiful color!  Seriously!  Look at the picture!  The yellow, green, red, and orange  . . . they're amazing! And they can sometimes be a little expensive. But not necessarily in the summer. That's when the mangos are the best! Yesterday, the girl cherub and I bought a box of mangos. Now, we like mango . . .but my boy cherub is the one who really digs mango! But he's not at home this summer. So with that in mind, I needed to come up with some things to make with our many mangos. One of the things I want to try is mango agua fresco. I think it would taste great! But until I figure out how to do that, I want to share with you the recipe for mango salsa that my girl cherub made. The Mr. and my boy cherub are gone, so we girls made fish tacos for dinner. Topped with mango salsa. She looked at different recipes and discovered t...

When my girl Cherub goes to a party and comes home wanting to cook; we may be in trouble! Honestly!  She comes home from being at a bunco party with my mom and tells me about two different appetizers she had that we just "have" to make! The next day, she gets herself into the pantry and starts looking for the necessary ingredients. Don't you know:  we have them! She sets off telling me what she thinks is in the corn and bean salsa. And we commence to making it. She tastes. We adjust. She tastes. She gives the thumbs up. When my mom arrives, and reveals that the bunco host is going to send the recipes from the game night, my girl cherub says, "We don't need it.  We've got it figured out. It's not that hard!" Well, I can say this about my girl cherub; her taster is pretty on point! That girl can detect flavors better than anybody I know! True story:  We were having one of our favorite crackers and this is our convers...