At Home My Way

We've been having a terrible drought here in Missouri.  Just awful.  And yesterday we got the smallest bit of rain, but we did get some good mist and clouds (just a break in the baking heat is enough to be thankful for).  And what does a little bit of "cozy weather" do to me?  Makes me want to cook something, of course!  It wasn't cool outside but inside I was lazy, laying around watching TV, crocheting.  Just looking outside at the mist made me crave fall food.  But, in my laziness I definitely didn't want to go to the store.  I was out of eggs so baking cookies or a cake was out of the question (although I actually could have made my eggless, Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake ).  What could I make?  I always have lots of oats on hand (for making my favorite Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal ), and I had three apples in my fruit bowl starting to look a little puny, so Apple Crisp was on the menu!  I love finding ways to use what...

I have been completely astounded at the number of pins and comments on my Best Dill Pickles Ever - Just like Clausen post.  That is such a wonderful recipe, plus its easy and so impressive to share.   And it makes me especially happy that this recipe has been so well received. I love canning.  I had forgotten the wealth of filled jars in my cabinets and recipes to go with (for posting on my blog).  I'll try to do better about posting some of those canning recipes! One of my recent commenters asked for me to post my recipe for Sweet Pickle Relish.  Hey!  I can do that because I actually have a jar in my canning cabinet begging to be opened for this picture.  And hot dogs just don't taste as good without that little taste of summer.  (I'll try to get a pic posted soon of the relish itself slathered over a big ole' hot dog!) This is the very best relish recipe!  I even make it with all of those sunburned cucumbers that you f...

Microwave Brownie in a Mug Last night my older daughter came over for supper.  I made  homemade spaghetti for us (cooked on top of the stove but similar to this recipe).  It was great!  We were browsing Pinterest and dreaming up more things to cook.  But also having a serious "hankering" for something sweet!  What to have?  My daughter mentioned that she wished we had some brownies and knowing like I do that she and her Iphone are best buds, I told her to search for a recipe for "brownie in a mug" to see what she could find.  Boing!  There it was!  So we tried this recipe and it was delicious, warm, gooey, chocolate?  Need I say more? Here's how we made Microwavae Brownies in a Mug AT HOME MY WAY: Microwave Brownie in a Mug www.AtHomeMyWay.blogspot.com ·          2 Tablespoons Oil (I used canola) ·       ...

I grew up in central Florida.  I don't remember drinking much of anything EXCEPT sweet tea and the water from the hose outside!  Well,... maybe some Florida orange juice (ha-ha).  Sweet tea was  just one of those things that we always had in the fridge.  And we had NEVER heard of drinking it hot for heaven's sake!  Nor with lemon in it (ick!). Sweet Tea is also the "dish" I have to take to every family dinner.  People sometimes ask, "What are ya famous for at family dinners?"  Well... that would be the sweet tea for me!  How easy is that?  And I never bring home any empty containers so I must be doing something right.  This is how I make Sweet Tea AT HOME MY WAY: Sweet Tea 2 family-size tea bags (I use decaff-generic) 4 cups of hot water A medium sized pot (you will need a lid) 3/4 to 1 cup of granulated white sugar  ( Personally, I use just a little more than 3/4 cup - because as i...

We're talking super cheap breakfast here!  Oatmeal!  After weeks of 100+ weather here in Missouri, this week we have had the most wonderful weather!  Yesterday it only got up to 74 degrees!  Loved that!  And after lots of heat and no rain, a cool, cloudy morning rejuvenated my craving for oatmeal. And there's absolutely NO REASON to buy those little packets.  Truly, oatmeal is easy and quick without little packets. You just don't get much cheaper than oatmeal.  A huge container of oats costs about $1.50.  I make mine with one-half milk; one-half water, a little cinnamon, and whatever fruit I have on hand, in the freezer or maybe none at all.  I'm guessing this breakfast only costs pennies!  Mine cooks while I'm packing my lunch and getting ready for work.  I would say its almost as fast as pouring a bowl of cereal.  (One tiny hint:  I keep a 1/4 cup measuring cup in my oatmeal container.) Here's how I make oatm...

This weekend we went to a local butcher shop to buy meat.  Its called Jennings Premium Meats and all they sell is meat.  Well..they also sell. a little cheese and jerky, pickles, stuff like that but mostly meat.  The men in there were just going crazy buying stuff and my husband was just like all the others in there.  When we got to the counter I commented to the owner that his shop was was like Victoria Secret for men!  The other wife in line agreed with me and we both got a good laugh! Saturday night we put delicous pork chops on the grill.  I have to admit, they were awesome!  And much better than the meat I get at the most famous big box store.  Sunday my hubby wanted a big huge hamburger.  Well... I'm not a fan of "big huge hamburgers".  A little meat goes a long way with me so I decided to try to find a recipe for homemade Manwich.  I already make Sloppy Joes and those are delicious! But that's a different ta...

I spent yesterday cooking lots of recipes that I already have posted.  But they bear repeating because they are delicious.  I like to have some homemade bread for my sandwiches (I say MY because my husband prefers the store bread that is as soft as cake (ick) and I wanted something a little more toothy for my garden tomato sandwiches ha!) so I made a wheat/molasses version of my Homemade Sandwich Bread .  (I used 2 cups all-purpose non-bleached white flour with 1 cup of whole wheat flour and substituted molasses for the sugar in the loaf I made.  This picture is not the loaf I made yesterday.) We were barbequing one piece of steak and a few chicken tenders I found in my freezer for supper so I also made a loaf of Crusty French Bread .  It turns out just perfect!  I'm thinking I might put a few loaves of this in my freezer for using to make garlic bread (instead of buying those premade loaves of french bread at the grocery store). Also, for my ...