Family Farmhouse Breakfast

I. Love. Country breakfasts.

Especially when my mom is doing the cooking and we're eating in her cozy farmhouse kitchen.  On this particular morning, it was delightful to wake up to the aroma of warm muffins and bacon frying.  We drank the first cup of coffee on the front porch while Mom was finishing breakfast.

We came in for the weekend for a fun visit and a hike around Hematite Lake. This big breakfast was not for any particular occasion.

Mom is just "the best" like that!

When fixin' a big breakfast, my parents pour the milk into one of their antique, glass milk jugs for a old fashioned experience. (Besides, who wants a gallon of milk on the table?)  We are a very nostalgic family!  :)

Look here at the extra crispy, thick cut bacon and homemade hash browns.

Wow, this looks good right now!

Unbelievably moist, spiced apple & pecan muffins on one of her beautiful cake plates that she collects.   Her kitchen is full of pretty things.  I love the cherry branch photo in the background, and the china cabinet you see is mostly filled with family kitchen heirlooms. 

I bought Mom this cream & sugar set at a little shop in Asheville, NC.

Look how dainty they are!

Toast and strawberry jam.

Golden scrambled eggs lie on a Currier & Ives plate.  This is a beloved family collection that was passed to my parents.

This adorable cherry tablecloth is one of my favorite's of hers.  Simply sweet.

You can see the refreshing fruit salad on the table filled with blueberries cherries, and kiwi! 

I wish you could see the beautiful view outside of  rolling farmland through this picture window.  It's lovely to sit at the table and eat breakfast with a view like this.  I often sit at this table and talk to mom while she is cooking.  Thinking about times like this reminds me of how blessed I am with my family.  God is so good! 

 I like the way mom didn't use all the same dishes here.  It's more casual to use ones that just coordinate.  Look at these pretty napkins and rooster plates-- nothing says French country more than these!  They are in her favorite color, red!

The morning sunlight was streaming in on our delicious, country breakfast table!

Now do you see why I call their house a Bed & Breakfast?!? 

Thanks so much to my wonderful parents for always making our stay so warm and inviting- and fun!!!




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Homegrown Cucumber Salad

Good Morning Friends!

This is a very simple recipe that will give you possibly a new way to use some of the abundance of your garden!  We are blessed with grandparents who have big "family gardens", so they love to share their harvest with everyone!  We've had home grown tomatoes and cucumbers growing out our ears (so to speak!).   Just knowing that our loved ones used their hands to plant and tend to these beautiful vegetables in family soil makes every bite seem a bit tastier.  

This salad is so simple. No really, it's almost embarrassing how few ingredients there are.  We love to eat this  with just about anything in the summertime, especially when we are grilling or have a platter of fried chicken.  This salad is not only bright in color, but flavor as well with the simple ingredients and addition of the fresh basil.  When peeling the cucumbers, I do what my mom and granny has always done--I like to leave thin  stripes of the peel so that when you slice them, they have pretty two-tone green cucumber in your salad.  It's the small things remind me of home.

I'm going to take advantage of the fresh vegetables and fruit while they still last.  In a few months we will only be dreaming about taste of the fresh summertime harvest that we now have at our fingertips!

Homegrown Cucumber Salad

3-4 Cucumbers, peeled and sliced

2 Slicer Tomatoes, rough chopped

Newman's Own Olive and Vinegar Dressing

Fresh Basil

(shredded, torn, however you like)

Salt & Pepper 

In a bowl, put the cucumbers and tomatoes.  

Add enough dressing for the vegetables to be completely saturated, plus some.  

Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Mix all of this together and allow to sit for at least 2 hours covered on the counter or overnight in the fridge.  

Before serving, stir again and add the fresh basil to the top.  

Serve with a slotted spoon and enjoy!

Serves 6-8

Thank you to Kim at Savvy Southern Style for featuring my peanut butter cookies.  Please check her beautiful home out if you haven't already!

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Decadent Peanut Butter Cookies!

Wow, the weather has been just perfect these past few days!  Sunshine and highs in the low 80's with a constant breeze....is this really August??  I'm lovin' these summer days!  

I've been in the mood to make some really good peanut butter cookies lately.  You know, that over-the-top kind with lots of peanut butter morsels and crunchy peanut butter, the kind that are chewy on the inside and a bit crumbly on the outside--indulgent peanut butter cookies!  Well, I finally found that perfect recipe over at Sugary Sweets, a great food blog that I've enjoyed following!  (Please check her recipes out, because she has some fabulous ones!) This is exactly the peanut butter cookie Mr. Cozy and I were craving!  I decided to make a batch while we were watching a movie Saturday night.  (I love my weekends with my husband!)

I know I say this a lot, but I love the aroma of something tasty baking in the oven.  There is nothing better, in my opinion, that says "home sweet home" than freshly baked cookies, warm bread or a bubbly pie sitting on the stove top when your family gets home or friends come by for a visit.  I am all about a comfy, cozy home that stimulates all the senses!  These delicious peanut butter cookies certainly gave me that warm fuzzy feeling!

I have a wonderfully easy family recipe, that I've always loved, for peanut butter cookies.  They are simple and delicious and I'll have to share them with you another time!  These peanut butter cookies that I'm sharing with you today are a bit more involved, but are filled with all that extra goodness!  Please give yourself the opportunity to make your home waft with welcome and your taste buds dance with delight with these decadent peanut butter cookies!  

Don't you love my fresh sunflower arrangement?   

As Mom has always said, they are a "happy" flower!

Decadent Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. butter flavored Crisco

1 1/2 c. crunchy peanut butter

1/3 c. milk

2 tbsp. vanilla

2 eggs

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 bags peanut butter morsels

Combine sugar, Crisco, peanut butter milk, vanilla.   Add egg.  Beat in flour salt, and baking soda.  Mix in morsels.

Drop by large Tbsp on cookie sheet.  Flatten with fork, making criss-crosses.

Bake at 375 for 10-13 minutes.  (I found that 9-10 minutes worked best for me.)

These make a large batch (about 4 dozen), so I divided the recipe in half for us.  

Enjoy!!!

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Finger Lickin' Good, Sticky Slow Cooker Drumsticks

This recipe is sooo good and incredibly easy!  Spicy, sweet and sticky chicken legs that have been slow cooking for hours for fall of the bone, tender goodness that basically just melt in your mouth!  This is truly a dish that the whole family will enjoy eating together.  I made this during a very hot spell we had last week whenever I wanted a grilled chicken taste without having to go outside in the heat and sit by a hot grill.    

You may ask, what's the crumpled foil for?  Well, it keeps the drumsticks more crispy and "dry-rubbed", rather than the usual braised crock pot meat.  (I love braised, but maybe not for this recipe.)  I heard about this trick, and I decided to try it here for the first time.  It worked out great!  They had more of the look and taste of bbq or smoked chicken legs.  I made these with some baby potatoes that I also put in the crock pot and delicious molasses baked beans--my mouth is watering as I speak--they are that good!

For an easy family meal, please try these finger lickin' good, crock pot drumsticks and don't forget to wash it down with some fresh lemonade or sweet tea! 

Sticky Slow Cooker Drumsticks

2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. thyme leaves

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

4 lbs. chicken drumsticks, skinned if desired

(I skinned mine)

1/2 water

1/2 c. chicken broth or stock

(Or use can just use water if you don't have this on hand.)

foil for crumpling up in crockpot

Mix the spice ingredients together in a small bowl.

Rub into the chicken legs.

Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat.  When hot, place the chicken in the skillet to sear on all sides, for a crispy crust.   You don't want to cook it through, just brown the meat.

Place the foil in the bottom of your crock pot.  Pour the water and chicken broth (or like I said, just water if that's all you have) in the bottom of the crock pot, underneath the foil.  This will allow more steam to come up and keep the chicken moist.

Place the chicken legs on the foil.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, until very tender.
 (Mine were just right after about about 7.)

Serve with additional bbq sauce if you like.
Eat and enjoy!


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Sharing with You My Wonderful Weekend

Beautiful sunset over our "Shire".

Finally after at least a month, we got some rain this weekend.  A nice thunderstorm, in fact!  I can't help but to love waking up to a steady rain and rumbling thunder on mornings that I don't have to jump right out of bed and work.  My husband and I were both off this weekend and we had the best Saturday not doing much of anything(!!!) around the house.  Instead of mowing the yard and doing other previously planned things, all we did was watch our favorite movies, The Lord of the Rings and make yummy food! 

 Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of all of this, but for breakfast I made texas toast style, cinnamon & sugar french toast with homemade raspberry maple syrup!  Yummm!!!  I came up with this recipe, and I'll have to make it again just to tell you all about it. We slowly woke up while enjoying this with fluffy scrambled eggs and bacon.  Later that afternoon we enjoyed a good lunch of my homemade tomato soup with triple grilled cheese sandwiches  (OMG, good!)  See, we never keep white bread around the house. So whenever I bought this loaf of white texas toast bread, we were trying to think of the best ways to use it.  I mean, what's better than french toast and a gooey grilled cheese??   Heath surprised me with ordering a pizza for dinner, so I didn't have to mess the kitchen up again, and we feasted on it while finishing The Return of the King.  Perfect Saturday for us.  Okay, I almost don't want to admit this, but I think I kept my pj's on until about 4:00 that afternoon.  (I said it was a lazy day!! :)

I have to say that we don't eat like this everyday!  It was for sure a splurge day, and I'm back at the gym to get those extra calories off.  It was sure worth it, though!!

The next day we drove in to visit my family, because my brother just got back from being in Germany for the summer.  He was taking classes there and doing some great sightseeing with his German friends he made here in the states.  It was so nie to catch up with him while he shared with us his great picture and stories! Mom made a big Italian supper of lasagna, fresh salad and different loafs of fresh bread with olive oil and cracked pepper for dipping!  Everything was delicious!  The dessert was my favorite, though.  Turtle ice cream cake that was to die for!!  Everyone somehow found room to eat a piece of this dreamy dessert and it was the star of the night! 

If all of that wasn't a big enough night of celebration...it got even bigger!  My younger sister just announced her engagement!!!!  I am so happy for them, but can't believe my "best sister" is going to start planning her wedding!   She will be a beautiful bride and a wonderful wife, I already know it.

 What an exciting time this is right now.  I just had to share a piece of my life with all of you!  God has blessed us and our family so abundantly!  I'm excited to see what else he has in store for us soon to come!  I'll be back to my usual recipe posts very soon, don't worry.  Hope you all have a wonderful day!   Be blessed! 

A Basket Full of Coconut Macaroons

Saturday night we went over to a good friend's house for a fun night of good home cooked food, movie and games.  The food was amazing!--smoked brisket, cornbread filled with an ear of fresh corn and cheddar cheese, baked beans, pasta salad, and roasted garden squash!  What a good summer meal!  I was asked to bring some cookies for dessert.  My sea salt double chocolate chip cookies were requested, and my husband suggested coconut macaroons!  We had all of the ingredients for them, and they are so easy  to make and coco"nutty" delicious!  (We love some coconut!)  I filled a cute pie basket full of cookies to share with our friends!  

Mr. Cozy actually helped make these...he's very handy in the kitchen...and they turned out beautiful. They are gooey, even creamy in the center, and a bit crisp on the bottom, while being loaded through and through with coconut!  I like how the top get toasted for that yummy intense coconut flavor.  For my Cookies and Cocoa Christmas party last year I made these, and drizzled some with melted chocolate!  We wanted to do the same this time around, but we had to run out the door right after these came out of the oven.  Hot and ooey gooey!  With only a handful of ingredients, these cookies take no time make, and seriously, no time before they're gone!  

Thanks to my Honey for helping me make these cookies.  They were perfect!!

(Oh, and thanks to Sarah and Jordan for good meal and fun time over the weekend. :) 

Coconut Macaroons

(Barefoot Contessa recipe)

14 oz. sweetened shredded coconut

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

(You can also use low-fat or fat-free)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 extra large egg whites, at room temperature

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine coconut, condensed milk and vanilla in a large bowl.  Whip egg whites and salt in a large bowl until reaching medium-firm peaks.  Carefully fold in whipped egg whites into coconut mixture.

Drop about tablespoon sized balls of batter onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  (Check at 25 minutes.)  Serve warm or cool.

Makes 20-22 cookies.

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Irresistable Tropical Pineapple & Coconut Bars

This is a Paula Deen dessert recipe.

That is all I should have to say!

I came across this recipe in an older Paula Deen magazine, and I immediately knew by the picture that these bars would be mouthwateringly d'lish!  Every single Paula Deen dessert I've made has been unbelieveably good!!  (Here's my favorite cookbook of hers.)

I quickly made the decision that this would be the dessert to make for a visit from my wonderful mom and sis!  We were not dissapointed--these are amazing!  Gooey, chewy and sweet pinapple in the middle that's sandwiched between a crumbly coconut shortbread-like crust and a toasted coconut topping. (!!!) 

These are seriously yummy! :)  We nibbled on these bars all afternoon.  I mean we could've skipped the fried chicken dinner, I made, for these pineapple and coconut bars if that tells you how good these really are! (Trust me fried chicken is a rare treat for us.) 

Yes, we kind of splurged on Saturday.  Although I did also make a yummy, fresh from the Farmer's Market salad with heirloom tomatoes, avocado and mozzarella tossed in a olive oil vinagrette that was light and tasty!  I'll have to make it again and tell you guys more about it...

Please make these if you like coconut or pineapple even a little bit, because they will become one of your favorite desserts to make!  Easy and good, how does it get better than that?  Frost some milk glasses and you'll be ready to sit down for a treat with some tropical pineapple & coconut bars!

Tropical Pineapple and Coconut Bars

3 1/2 c. all purpose flour, divided

1 c. sweetened flaked coconut

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. butter, divided

1 c. sugar

3 large eggs

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained well

Garnish: toasted flaked coconut *Must*

Preheart oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 13x9 in. baking pan.

In a large bowl, combie 2 1/2 c. flour, coconut, brown sugar and baking soda.  

Using a pastry blender, cut 1/2 c. butter until mixture is crumbly. 

Reserve 1 c. crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat remaining 1/2 c. butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixture until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in remaining 1 c. flour.

Stir in pineapple.

Spread mixture over baked layer.

Sprinkle evenly with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted somes out clean.

Add the delicious toasted coconut to the top and allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Eat and be merry. :)

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