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It's no secret that I love roasted red peppers. One or more jars of these are always in my pantry, and this is one staple that I never want to be without. I don't know of any other item in my kitchen that is more versatile than these. With the possible exception of sweets (and the jury is still out on this), roasted sweet red peppers can be used successfully in almost any type of recipe from appetizers to salads and soups to side and main dishes. Over the weekend I decided to try my hand at making a roasted red pepper cheese spread. I love keeping Homemade Boursin in the fridge, as well as one or two varieties of hummus, basil being my favorite. It is so convenient to be able to grab one or more of these things, and make up an impromptu snack tray when an unexpected guest drops by. It's also nice to have things on hand when you've worked like a dog all day and the very thought of cooking overwhelms. This spread is easy and absolutely delicious. The addition of the mayonnaise makes it wonderfully spreadable right from the fridge so you don't have to worry about waiting for it to soften up or suffering from broken crackers, if not. The lovely fall color of the spread makes it perfect for this time of the year, and, in addition to being well suited for crackers and crudités, it is wonderful for breakfast when slathered onto a fresh bagel. Roasted Red Pepper Spread 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise 1/2 cup diced Melissa's Fire Roasted Sweet Red Bell Peppers 4 scallions, chopped 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (more to taste) Pinch of garlic powder (more to taste) Blend all ingredients together using a hand mixer. Store in the fridge, covered, for 3 hours to allow favors to meld. Serve with crackers or fresh vegetables, or substitute for your favorite sandwich spread. PRINT RECIPE This post is linked to: Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, The DIY Collective, Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything ElseView the full article

Were you looking longingly for September the way that I have been during the last month? Thank goodness it has finally arrived! This has been one of the worst summers that I can remember. We've had higher temperatures in previous years, but in the past, we'd get a break. This summer it hit the nineties in early June and stayed there all summer long. I'm not alone in the way I feel. I found this to be pretty much unanimous during a recent coffee with the neighborhood ladies at a local cafe. I also found (was relieved actually) that I was not the only one pulling out the pumpkins and fall decor mid-August. I didn't even wait for September to arrive before I started decorating with a pillow here and there, and this little vignette atop the fridge. Autumn is my favorite time of the year and I am so happy that it is nearly here. What are you doing around your house to welcome the season? Crate - Angry Orchard Plates and Pumpkin - Pier One Pumpkin Cider - Aldi Organics - Michael's This post is linked to Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Two Cup Tuesday, Amaze Me Monday, Busy Mondays, Inspiration Monday, Cooking & Crafting with J&J, Celebrate Your Story, Tutorials and Tips Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, Share Your Style Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else View the full article

I am not a lover of pies. In fact, I have been known to refer to pie as the liver of desserts. As a kid I'd always choose cake over pie; as an adult I went completely off cake and now cookies are my favorite dessert. I mean, what's not to like about the huge variety, not to mention portability? No way, for example, could you slip a piece of pie into your purse to nosh on later. No. For whatever reason, I could not stop thinking about pie, and wondering how a plum pie would taste. My mother used to make a lot of plum pies, often as holiday gifts. Everyone loved them. The very thought, back then, made me recoil, because, to me, a plum was just a young prune. Ew. This season, though, I have been enjoying the sweet juicy goodness of plums, so on a whim, made a pie. I tossed in a pint of blueberries for color and, truth be told, because I thought their days were numbered, and topped it with streusel because my big objection to pies is the crust overkill. A bottom crust is enough, the top needs something fancy. Here is thee result. It is amazingly good, even to a confirmed pie hater like me, and that's saying something! Plumberry Pie 2 1-lb. pkgs. Melissa’s Organic Plum Bites, pitted and quartered 1 pint organic blueberries 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel ½ teaspoon ground cardamom ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 single pie crust, purchased or homemade Topping 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup flour ¼ cup butter, diced Preheat oven to 375°F. Make streusel: In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Mix in butter with a fork or stand mixer just until the topping is crumbly; set aside. (You can also toss everything into a food processor and pulse until, as my grandmother used to say, "It looks right." This is what I did.) Place your pie crust (purchased or home made) into a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate. Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in lower third of oven. Toss plums and blueberries with sugar, tapioca, cornstarch, zests, spices, and salt in a large bowl; mound filling in shell. Crumble streusel evenly over filling. Bake pie until streusel is golden and filling is bubbling, 1¼ to 1½ hours. Cool completely, 3 to 4 hours. PRINT RECIPE This post is linked to: Dishing It & Digging It, Over the Moon, Silver Pennies Sunday, Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays, Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Two Cup Tuesday, Amaze Me Monday, Busy Mondays, Inspiration Monday, Cooking & Crafting with J&J, Celebrate Your Story, Tutorials and Tips Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, Share Your Style Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else View the full article

When my grandson was over the other day, he stood in the kitchen, looked around and asked, “Why the piggies, grandma?” “Piggies? ” I asked. "They're everywhere," he observed. They are? I thought to myself as I stood next to him, and looked around. Huh. I guess they are. I never set out to collect pigs. I'm not even sure how this happened to tell you the truth, but it would appear that I have a bit of a pig collection, and because some of you inquired about the wooden pig bowls from my Baker's Rack Redo post, I thought a porcine post was in order. The two wooden pig bowls that you all liked so much were the first pigs in my collection. I bought them while we were living in Austin and working at the Harry Ransom Library at the University. Because we were always cooped up in the library all week, on weekends we'd explore the area. I spotted these pigs in a local gift shop that was going out of business and closing down the next day. Few things were left except for this pair. I loved them and was happy to not only have them, but at a drastically reduced price. The next pig I acquired was this watering can. It was a no occasion gift from my husband. He found it, interestingly enough, in a little newly opened gift and antique store in Ferguson, MO. During the rioting a couple of years ago I'm sad to say that this shop was torched and burned down. I spotted this pig rug at Garden Ridge while we were shopping for a doormat and came home with it (but no door mat, as it turned out). This cutting board is from Pottery Barn. We serve a lot of cheese and antipasto plates, so I'm always looking for new boards and trays to use for this purpose. This one was different from the others that I had, so it was a nice addition. I sneaked this sign from Decor Steals into a rather boring spot over the cabinets while my husband was visiting family in New Jersey. Men being men, he didn't notice it until about six months later. These colorful pig bowls made me smile. They are from two sources. The large one is from the now defunct Napa Style catalog (I dearly miss that catalog.), the smaller one is from World Market. I like the cheery colors, and these are perfect for storing potatoes, onions, shallots, and garlic so it is close at hand. This napkin holder is a real favorite. I got it last year as I recall and from either Pottery Barn or Sur la Table. No one was more surprised than I to learn that I have a pigcollection. Now that I'm aware that I do, I'm on the hunt for more! This post is linked to: Dishing It & Digging It, Over the Moon, Silver Pennies Sunday, Merry Monday, Art of Homemaking, Amaze Me Monday, Busy Mondays, Inspiration Monday, Cooking & Crafting with J&J, Make It Pretty Monday, Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Two Cup Tuesday, Celebrate Your Story, Tutorials and Tips Tuesday, Homemaking Party Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, Share Your Style, The DIY Collective, Thursday Favorite Things, Tablescape Thursday, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else View the full article

I am an avid maker of chutney, as you all know. I'm sure when I talk about chutneys and provide you with a yummy recipe, most of you probably just glaze over and move on. My guess is that you do so because you think it is solely for use with Indian food. You couldn't be more wrong. Chutney is a wonderful, spicy-sweet condiment that can be used in many ways to pep up even the most mundane of dishes. Over the weekend I turned two beautiful Melissa’s Keitt Mangoes into mango chutney. I did so in order to make this recipe for Spicy Shrimp Salad with Mango. Without the chutney this is just another shrimp salad, with the chutney it is sophisticated, flavorful, and exotic. It gives it that certain je ne sais quoithat makes it both delicious and memorable. Spicy Shrimp Salad with Mango ¼ cup mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice ¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning 1 Tablespoon mango chutney ½ cup chopped celery 4 ounces peeled & cooked medium shrimp, coarsely chopped Fresh cilantro or parsley leaves for garnish, optional Whisk together mayonnaise, cilantro, lime juice, Cajun seasoning, and chutney in medium bowl to blend. Stir in celery and shrimp. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. (Salad can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serve on a bed of lettuce, between slices of cheese bread, or make lettuce wraps. Yum! PRINT RECIPE This post is linked to: Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Two Cup Tuesday, Celebrate Your Story, Homemaking Party Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything ElseView the full article

As I mentioned earlier, my dad has been eating his weight in fresh corn this summer, buying it up at every sale (and there are a lot of them), and sharing it with me. I've fixed it in many ways, but now, with fall approaching, I've started to make chowder. This chowder is a snap to make, and is so rich and delicious that you’ll want to have it all of the time. Bacon and Corn Chowder 5 slices bacon, cut into pieces (reserve some for garnish) 1 cup diced yellow onion 2 large carrots, diced 1 celery rib, diced 1/2 cup diced Melissa's Fire Roasted Sweet Red Bell Peppers 6 Melissa's Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes, quartered 2-1/2 cups corn broth* 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 3-4 ears corn, stripped of kernels, cobs reserved 3/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper * Make corn stock by using your stripped-of-kernels corn cobs and 3 cups water. Add a rib of celery, a couple of scallions, and half of a carrot, and cook for 20 minutes to reduce to 2-1/2 cups. If you prefer not to do this (although I do encourage it, and it is so easy), you may substitute chicken or vegetable stock. Cook bacon in a large pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Into the pot vacated by the bacon place onion, carrots, and celery, and cook, stirring frequently until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add potatoes, broth, and thyme, and simmer, covered, until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. Add corn, roasted red peppers, and cream, and simmer, uncovered, 10 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in bacon. Garnish with crumbled bacon, some kernels of corn, and chopped chives. PRINT RECIPE This post is linked to: Over the Moon, Dishing It & Digging It, Art of Homemaking, Amaze Me Monday, Busy Mondays, Inspiration Monday, Cooking & Crafting with J&J,, Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Two Cup Tuesday, Share Your Style, Full Plate Thursday, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else View the full article

Some time ago one of you asked if I would be making any of Jim's recipes. I thought that sounded like a wonderful idea, so last night I made what came to be known as “Jim's” Steak Diane. The non-Jim version is fairly standard; what makes his special is the addition of mushrooms. He didn't set out to wander from the original recipe that he’d found in the cookbook accompanying the box of Omaha Steaks we'd received, it was pure serendipity, much like that experienced by Rachel Green in her failed attempt to make Trifle on the old sitcom, “Friends.” Jim combined the recipe for Filet Mignon with Mushrooms and the recipe for Steak Diane. In his defense, they were side-by-side on the same page in the cookbook, and that type is small! As it turned out, we liked his version quite well, and this is how we’ve made it ever since. My philosophy has always been that mushrooms enhance any savory dish to which they are added. This recipe proves that’s right. Jim's Steak Diane 2 6-oz. Filet Mignons 1/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp. butter 6 crimini mushrooms, sliced 1 tsp. Dijon-style mustard 2 Tbsp. shallots, minced 1 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 1-1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 Tbsp. fresh chives, minced 1 tsp. brandy 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a heavy skillet, and sauté mushrooms until juices are released; add mustard and shallots, and sauté 1 minute more. Add steaks and cook approximately 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Remove steaks to serving plate and keep warm. To pan drippings, add 1 Tbsp. butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and chives. Cook for 2 minutes. Add brandy, stirring until warmed through, and pour sauce over steaks. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately. This post is linked to: Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, The DIY Collective, Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else View the full article

I know I’m not the only one who occasionally gets a craving for chocolate, only to find that there is none in the house. Okay, okay, I did have a bag of chocolate chips, but I wanted something that I could really sink my teeth into. Enter this old recipe for Chocolate Dulces and I’m in business. I’ve had this recipe forever, but never made it, so as I am wont to do, changed things up a bit by adding a tiny bit of cinnamon, and made things easier by melting the chocolate in a microwave instead of a double boiler. I also used parchment-covered cookie sheets, which made it very easy to slide the cookies off to cool. Because I find dropping cookies to be tedious, I used a disposable pastry bag to pipe mine. This made the job much faster and easier. The recipe claims that it makes 50 cookies. Umm, no. Piping a teaspoon for each cookie, I finally stopped at 178. That is not a typo. They are small bites, very chewy and chocolaty, and very good, so you can eat a number of them and still feel virtuous. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Chocolate Dulces 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup sugar 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup butter 1 cup flour 1 cup finely chopped pecans 1 t. Mexican vanilla extract A whisper of cinnamon Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix chocolate chips and sugar together in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high at 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted, 1-2 minutes. Add condensed milk and butter, stirring until blended. Stir in flour, nuts, vanilla, and cinnamon, until combined. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for exactly 10 minutes. Remove at once to a sheet of waxed paper to cool. Makes lots! PRINT RECIPE This post is linked to: Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Two Cup Tuesday, Celebrate Your Story, Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else View the full article

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