One of my favs...

I recently received this cookbook this passed Christmas (thanks Bubba).

How did I live all of these 29 years without having discovered this gem?

It's almost as if I'm discovering cooking all over again. I'm the type of gal that likes to know the "why" behind everything. This cookbook answers all of that and then some.

Joy of Cooking is one of the most thorough cookbooks to date.

I love opening it up and reading it just like a book.

I made the most wonderful Chicken and Dumplings the other night thanks to this cookbook.

For some reason, that is a recipe that I always FAIL miserably at. My dumplings either turn out too dense as if you were eating sand. Or dissolve into chunks. Or I've burned them. Yuck! When I came across the dumpling recipe I thought I'd give it another shot. After all, Chicken and Dumplings are one of my favorite meals.

This time around, my dumplings came out perfectly. And I owe it all to this cookbook with its amazingly thorough directions.

This cookbook is officially one of my favorites.

What are some of your favorite cookbooks?

cooking with kids

My girls love to cook and they love being in the kitchen with me.

I have to be honest. This use to drive me crazy!!! Selfishly I knew it was more work for me too.

You know…. the all to familiar battle most mommies go through- doing it yourself vs. teachable moments. Tasks are much easier (and quicker and cleaner and….) if you do them yourself.

However, I have grown to LOVE having my girls in the kitchen cooking with me. We have a total blast.

I can see them growing in the area of cooking and that makes me smile.

My hope is to raise little girls who love to cook and appreciate good wholesome REAL food.

I bought KK this cookbook for Christmas. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it! The artwork is spectacular, the recipes are fun and simple, and it creates a sense of good ole’ home cooking nostalgia when you open it up that makes you want to grab an apron and whisk and whip something up.

There is a whole series of the books for girls and I highly recommend them. We also have the "See and Sew" book by Tina Davis and it's a gem as well!


Here are some photos over the last week of us hanging out and cooking together.....from scratch.

Kaylyn cutting her ham and pineapple. She is already so careful and great with knife. I let her do a lot of my food prepping.


My little dough girl, Rae Rae, spreading the homemade pizza dough.


A good reminder for me.....this is suppose to be "FUN"! Put a smile on your face momma and make a mess!


Kaylyn, spreading her sauce and building her pizza....the sauce was NOT from scratch.


I cold busted Rae Rae eating the sauce instead of spreading.


But, who could get mad at a face like that.....momma, laugh, I say. Laugh!


Because, there will be messes. Lots and lots of messes. Flour flying, sauces slinging, cheese crumbling....it's only part of it.


And there will be dishes. Lots and lots of dishes. A sink full of dishes to be exact. But, its okay. We had fun....and not only can my girls learn to cook, they can learn to do dishes too:). My momma always taught me,"A good cook always cleans up her mess."


The reward is far worth it and the flavors are unlike any other. Especially paired with a Virgil's Natural Micro-Brewed Root Beer. Heavenly. A real treat!


On a separate occasion last week, Kaylyn decided she wanted to make a chocolate cake from scratch. So we got out her cookbook and I let her pick her recipe out.

I was SOOOO proud of her. She made her chocolate cake all by herself without my help- not once.


Cracking the egg. She is pretty much a pro at this. I'm amazed that she can manage to crack 12 eggs and not get shell in the mix once (unlike her momma who is reckless abandon).



Stir, my love, stir.


Sifting her flower for the cake.


Oh and I would like to show you what the cake looked like, but it was gone far too quickly to capture it in all its beauty.

On the real......her chocolate cake was the BEST chocolate cake I've ever tasted. Ever. I think there was only a handful of ingredients too all of which were wonderful clean ingredients.

Titus 2 and Pressure Cookers

I'm sure you are wondering what in the world the two of these things have in common. Keep reading, and you will find out about a hidden treasure we've been missing out on all of these years!

We have been shacking up over at Aunt Debbie & Uncle Durward's house while our farmhouse is being remolded (pictures in the works on that).

A couple of weeks ago Aunt D bought a pressure cooker to start canning some extra things we had from our garden. When you are canning, some things have to be pressure canned in order to prevent bacteria growth. This miracle of a pot also came with a recipe book!

So, this is where it all comes full circle.

I have heard of pressure cookers. My mom used one occasionally when I was growing up. But, I remember being terrified of it so I think it might have clouded my views of the actual meals that came out of this pot.

I don't know if you have ever heard a pressure cooker cooking, but it resembles a freight train on crack.

My mom's pressure cooker was an older version and I remember thinking when I was little that if I EVEN looked at this pot the wrong way the little attachment that sits on top would fly off and hit me right between the eyes.

When it was on the stove working its magic in the kitchen, I would sort of duck and dive and run really fast if I had to walk anywhere near the stove while it was cooking.

As you can tell, I have had issues with these things in the past. However, a few days ago I witnessed a modern day miracle.

Aunt Debbie cooked a roast (a grass-fed beef roast) in her pressure cooker. Here is where the amazing part comes into play.....

SHE COOKED IT IN 45 MINUTES!!!

I don't think you are picking up what I'm putting down here people.

I repeat 'SHE COOKED IT IN 45 MINUTES!!!'

The even more amazing thing is that it was FALLING APART. This was one of the best roasts that I've ever had. And I’ve had plenty of roasts in my lifetime.

She added the carrots and potatoes once the roast was almost done cooking and those cooked in 5 minutes and were so soft and wonderful.

I was in complete shock initially. And then I was just bitter for not knowing about this sooner.

After all of those roasts that I've cooked ALL DAY long in a crock-pot or oven only to find that they weren't tender and 'slap yo momma good'. It was such a let down and a hit and miss operation.

Apparently you can cook all sorts of things in pressure cookers and they are delicious and very healthy for you. I think Aunt D also cooked a whole chicken in 20 minutes or something amazing like that.

Maybe it is just me.

But, I think that these are too amazing to keep locked up in our grandmother's cupboards (did I just say cupboards?). I really think that this should be part of the older women teaching the younger women just like the bible says we should do in Titus 2.

Somehow, we have got to get the word out.