​We haven’t seen our out of town children and Grandchildren since Christmas because of the pandemic. Last week our youngest son John and his family came for a much enjoyed 2 night visit, it motivated me to make home made cinnamon rolls and do some house cleaning! Our Grandson Hunter wanted to take his driver’s test but after calling for an appointment to take the test in their area our daughter in law discovered there was a 3 month wait and that you couldn’t even sign up more than 3 months ahead. So she tried Fairmont and was able to sign him up. So on Friday Hunter took his drivers test in Fairmont and passed his first try so it was a successful visit!
 
My favorite salad with tomatoes is the one I am sharing with you today, I think the secret is the tarragon vinegar so don’t substitute another kind!
 
Connecticut  Hill Salad
 
3 cucumbers, scored and thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion cut in thin strips
3 medium tomatoes cut in 6 wedges
1 cup sugar
1 cup tarragon vinegar
1 cup sunflower oil
2 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon black pepper
3/4 Tablespoon white pepper
1/2 cup freeze dried chives
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
 
Place cucumber, onion and tomatoes in a medium salad bowl. Combine the next 7 ingredients in a 1 quart bowl. Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl and add enough of the oil/vinegar mixture to make a thin paste add to remaining oil and vinegar mixture and whip until slightly thickened, pour over vegetables, toss and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
 
Have a safe and good week!

​Hot weather means simpler meals, who wants to stand over a hot stove when its so warm outdoors? Not me! We are getting red ripe tomatoes from our very own plants and my Basil plants look like little bushes so I am all set for todays recipe! I hope you will enjoy it too.
 
Grilled Havarti, tomato & basil sandwiches
 
1/2 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
8 slices French bread or country loaf
8 slices Havarti cheese
1 large vine-ripened tomato, cut into 8 thin slices
leaves from 1 small bunch of basil, torn
 
Spread may on both sides of each slice of bread. On each of 4 slices bread, layer 1 slice of cheese, 2 tomato slices, a scattering of basil leaves, and another slice of cheese. Place the remaining bread slices on top of each.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot,. Toast the sandwiches until nicely browned on both sides and the cheese is melted, 4-6 minutes. Flipping the sandwiches about halfway through cooking. Reduce the heat to medium if the sandwiches are browning too quickly. slice each sandwich in half and serve immediately.
 
Makes 4 servings.
 
Have a safe and good week!

​I am beginning to feel like a recluse, many days I don’t leave our home, I am missing my friends! This week I am thinking of making a pitcher of todays recipe, whip up some veggie pizza and invite them over to my back yard for some distancing fellowship! I think its safer out doors and I know they have all been cautious too. I miss hugs, my kids and Grand kids as I am sure all of you do too.
Together by being diligent with safe practices this too will pass, eventually. There is hope with news of a possible vaccine so we can cling to that!
 
Tequila Mojitos
 
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup tequila
2 cups lemon lime soda ( like sprite)
 
Heat water and sugar, bring to boil until sugar dissolves, remove from heat, add mint and steep for 2 hours, strain, stir in remaining ingredients serve over ice.
 
Stay safe and have a good week!

​One of the best parts of summer is grilling and Vidalia onions!  So I am excited to share todays side dish recipe with you. I love onions in just about anything, have never been able to understand people who say they don’t like onions, my Dad was one of those people.  This recipe came from face book, I hope you enjoy it too. I am giving you the recipe the way it was printed but I didn’t use thick sliced bacon, I used what I had on hand and I par cooked the bacon a little just until some of the fat rendered out, it was still soft.
 
Bacon Wrapped French Vidalia Onion
 
4 Vidalia onions ( small-medium)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. Montreal seasoning
4 slices thick sliced bacon
4 oz. Gruyere, sliced or torn if you like
2 Tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
 
Basting Sauce
 
3/4 cup beef broth
1/4 cup white or red wine
1/4 tsp. chopped thyme
1/2 Tablespoon Montreal seasoning
 
Peel and  cut about 1/2 inch of the onion tops. Trim a small amount of the bottom of the onion so they stand upright.
 
With a spoon scoop out a few of the inner layers of the onion leaving the majority of the outer layers. Place each onion on a square of heavy duty tin foil or you could put them in a square tin foil baking pan.
 
Brush onions with the olive oil, sprinkle liberally seasoning over each onion, fill center of onion with cheese. Wrap bacon slices around each onion and secure with toothpick.
 
Combine basting sauce ingredients and put 2 Tablespoons of sauce in the center of each onion. Wrap foil around onions or cover foil pan with foil cook on a medium grill for 30-60 minutes, I like mine fall apart done, you can put them in the oven too.  Enjoy!
 
Stay safe and cool, Have a great week!

​It’s the time of year to try new salad recipe’s! I love just about anything called a salad but especially ones that have the fresh taste of summer. Today’s recipe comes from a Taste of Home cook book, unfortunately Pa Lloyd doesn’t think he likes avocados so I add come cubed cucumber, then take out a helping for him before adding the avocados for myself and guest. I admit I didn’t used to like avocado’s either but when I read they were rather high in calories I decided they must be good and little by little I leaned to like them. One of my favorite breakfasts is buttered wheat toast topped with thinly sliced avocado lightly salted, a friend Joanne Soma told me that was a snack she likes so I tried it and have been indulging ever since!
 
Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato salad
 
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 cartons ( 8 oz. each) fresh mozzarella cheese pearls, drained, found in the deli cheese dept.
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and cubed ( optional)
1/3 cup fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp. chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 medium avocados chopped
 
In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes and cucumber if using, cheese, basil, parsley and mint; set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, pour over tomato mixture,stir to coat. Cover and chill at least an hour. Just before serving , stir in the avocados, serve.
 
Have a good 4th and stay cool!

What a great rain we had, made our lawn nice and green again and gave my flowers a boost!
 
Today I’m sharing a easy chicken and mushroom quick meal, I love any recipe that calls for fresh mushrooms, I hope you will enjoy it too!
 
Mushroom Chicken Bites
 
2 Tablespoons oil, divided
1 # boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. each garlic powder and onion powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
3 Tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped, optional
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
 
Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add chicken, season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Mix well and sear chicken all over until browned and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes, transfer cooked chicken to a plate; set aside and keep warm. Heat remaining oil in the same pan with 1 tablespoon of butter, add mushrooms and cook, while stirring, until just beginning to brown and soften, 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining butter to the pan, let melt and saute’ onion and pepper until just soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes, add garlic and saute’ until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken back into the pan along with any juices released while resting. Mix through all of the ingredients to evenly coat in the pan juices. Continue cooking until all vegetables are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 1-2 minutes more. Taste test and season with salt and pepper if desired, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and serve warm.
 
Stay safe and have a great week!

​For the past 3 months my main outing has been going to the grocery store every two weeks. I go on Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m., very few customers on that day and time of day. When I first started on my routine I noticed that 99% of the customers I saw were wearing masks but this past weekend maybe half were. I am worried that we are starting to feel safe because in our county we haven’t experience new cases of the virus for a few days but we are still in the midst of a pandemic. Our state had over 300 new cases and some deaths yesterday so it is far from over. Many states are experiencing a surge of cases and since its summer people are traveling. I know its hard, we miss seeing our families, going out to eat, meeting friends for lunch, its hard to distance and wear the uncomfortable masks but the alternative of fighting to breathe because of this often fatal disease is so much worse. So please everyone lets try to protect each other and practice distancing, washing our hands frequently and wearing those masks!
 
I love just about anything that has cream cheese as an ingredient, this appetizer recipe I have recently found is no exception, I hope you enjoy it too!
 
Bacon cream cheese biscuits
 
1 can refrigerated biscuits
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
 
In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together cream cheese, bacon, green onions, garlic powder and parmesan cheese, mix well
Open can of biscuit dough and separate out each biscuit, roll each biscuit out flat.
Take a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture and place it into the center of the biscuit dough. take the edges of the dough and fold over until the cheese is covered, pinch edges to seal.
Place on a greased baking sheet and repeat until all the biscuit dough is filled. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese on each biscuit. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.
 
Have a safe week!

​Another easy and few ingredient recipe! The other day I wanted to share a treat with my little Great Grand daughter, but her Mother is gluten free so its always a challenge! I was looking through my Methodist church cook book and I found a three ingredient cookie recipe submitted by Kathy Kloeckner not using flour, I had noticed that recipe before but just didn’t think it could possibly work but it did. It makes about 24 cookies so not so many which I also liked I am thinking I may try  adding milk chocolate chips next time, then they would taste like Reeces peanut butter cups. If you like peanut butter you will like these!!
 
Peanut butter cookies
 
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
 
Blend sugar and peanut butter, add egg and vanilla. Roll into balls and roll in sugar. Bake 9 minutes at 350 degrees.
 
Trust me these will be a hit!  Have a great day and keep safe!!

​A fast breakfast!
 
We had some left over ham after Easter so that following week I decided to make omelets for lunch. I remembered this easy recipe I used to fix when my six oldest Grandchildren came to visit for a week during the summer. The children liked it because they could help make them adding the ingredients they liked. The recipe came from our Methodist cook book, submitted by Renee Poppe. A fast and easy recipe with little clean up! We enjoyed it just much now as we did those summers years ago!
 
Omelet in a bag
 
2 eggs
2 slices ham, cubed
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 Tablespoon onion, chopped
sliced mushrooms
1 Tablespoon chopped green pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
 
Crack eggs ( only 2 per bag) into a good quality resealable small freezer baggie. Press air and seal. Shake or squeeze to beat the eggs. Open the bag and add other ingredients of your choice. Remove air and reseal baggie: squeeze to mix ingredients. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, drop the bag into the boiling water and cook for exactly 13 minutes. Open the bag and roll out on the plate. Use a tongs to remove the bag from the water, Pa Lloyd wanted 3 eggs so I cooked his an extra minute. You may cook up to 8  bags at a time.