At Home My Way

Slices of hot, buttered toast using homemade sandwich bread + juicy, garden ruby-red orbs of deliciousness a/k/a "garden tomatoes"  = one amazing summer lunch! Tomato sandwiches!!  YUM!! Not only do I LOVE summer for sandy beaches, hot concrete under my bare toes, and shorts & flipflops.  I also love summer for the abundance of fresh garden food!  Last week it was peaches and this week, we are popping at the seams with garden fresh tomatoes! Lucky are we that my husband's uncle lives in our neighborhood and that he has a bumper crop of garden goodies!  He leaves garden goodies all over town!  For us, we find bags of red, plump tomatoes, dark green zucchini, cucumbers and peppers hanging on our front door while we are at work. Rolling into the driveway, we can see that "Jerry's been here!" Yesterday, I put a loaf of our everyday white, sandwich bread ( RECIPE HERE ) in the oven with plans of eating it for breakfast as toast, slathered in...

* Because I hate scrolling down for the recipe, my recipes are AT THE TOP - comments are at the BOTTOM below!  :)) "They are mighty little peaches; sweet, juice running down your chin kind of peaches! Delicious and smell divine!"                           Fresh Peach Preserves  Less Sugar Recipe 5 half-pint canning jars with lids/rings 4 1/2 cups peeled/chopped/pitted fresh peaches (place peaches with skins in boiling water and then in ice water and the skins loosen, just like for peeling tomatoes) 2 Tablespoons lemon juice 3 cups white/granulated sugar , measured into a separate bowl 1 box SUREJELL For Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine (optional) Instructions (FOLLOW directions in order exactly or pectin won't work): Sterilize jars, lids and rings per USDA recommendations. Place peaches in boiling water and then place in ice water for...

* Because I hate scrolling down for the recipe, my recipes are AT THE TOP - comments are at the BOTTOM below!  :)) *I love sharing recipes at Weekend Potluck.  This week is Weekend Potluck #284 .  Come find ME and lots of other fantastic recipes HERE !  Super Easy Crockpot Granola 4 cups old fashioned rolled oats 1 cup raw nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.)  (I only had about 2/3 cup) (nuts could be omitted all together) 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup oil (olive oil or melted coconut oil) (I used coconut oil) 1/2 cup liquid sweetener, such as maple syrup, honey, agave syrup)  (I used maple syrup) 1 Tablespoon vanilla Add-ins for after cooking (dried fruit such as dried blueberries, cranberries, raisins, apricots, apples) Super Easy Instructions: Spray or lightly oil the sides and bottom of crockpot. In a small bowl/mug, mix the liquid sweetener (maple syrup), liquid oil (melted coconut oil...

It's that time again!  Not black Friday, not Christmas, nor your birthday!  It's Zucchini season! You know what that means?  Those dark green beauties start popping out on super hot days, growing at a fairy tale rate until they are huge blimps in the garden, and people are handing them out everywhere!  You find them on your door step, hanging in bags on your front door, and even slid underneath your desk by zucchini fairies who leave them like secret gifts by unknown admirers LOL. Like the ever elusive valentine, zucchini are given secretly and offered up with well wishes.  They are a symbol of prolific and healthy gardens, and given by folks who have too many and no idea what else to do with them. If you find yourself the keeper of a prolific zucchini garden, or if you find some left at your door by a secret admirer, here are a couple of random and superb zucchini recipes to use up these precious gifts of summer! Sharing this recipe at Weekend Potlu...

Keeping Recipes at the top!  My message is now at the bottom. Also - I'm sharing this recipe at Sweet Little Bluebird - Weekend Potluck.  Find me and some other amazing recipes HERE ! Here's how I make Southern Buttered Cheese Grits AT HOME MY WAY: Southern Buttered Cheese Grits 2 cups water 1 cup milk 3/4 cup  Quick  Grits (I used Quaker brand) 1/4 teaspoon salt (or a tad more than that) 2 Tablespoons butter/margarine 1/2 to 3/4 cup of grated SHARP cheddar Instructions: Combine the milk, water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Be careful!  Remember, that milk will scorch so stir often and don't cook on complete high. Add grits and stir.  Stir occasionally until back to boiling.  Cover.  Time and cook for 5 minutes while covered, stirring often - lowering the temperature almost off so that they don't boil over or scorch.   After cooking 5 minutes, covered, remove from the hot burner.  T...

I had one of those moments the other night with hamburgers and chicken on the grill and found myself with NO BBQ sauce.  Ugh! I think it was even a Monday!  Bah! I decided my hand at making some since I prefer my burgers and chicken heavily sauced.  Sometimes my hubby likes my homemade stuff and sometimes he is not having it, he wants store bought.   Luckily for both of us, he loved this sauce!!  I tweaked a recipe I found to produce my version of this sweet & smokey sauce.  Our chicken and burgers were nearly finished so all I could do was stir it up and use it.  I'm sure it would be best if you had time to simmer it for a little while, but if you don't - no worries!  Just mix it up and use it. BBQ sauce is so expensive.  Why buy it when you can make it, right?  This sauce is smooth, sweet, and just delicious!  It tastes so much better and fresh compared to bottled sauce.  Doug agreed that I needed to post th...

This Strawberry Pie recipe is SUPER EASY!  I know your family will love it! I don't usually incorporate very many boxes of "stuff" in my recipes but I made an exception for this one.  It was so fast to make and I will be making it often! Apparently this is Weight Watcher friendly.  I couldn't believe how delicious it was!  It is made without a crust, but in a pie plate and it cuts like pie.   You can make it sugar free, however, I don't like to eat sugar substitutes so I just made it with regular jello and pudding mix. Make this pie for your mom! Remember, it needs time to chill so go ahead and get it ready on Saturday.  Sunday, you will be hoping that she lets you have a slice! Here's the recipe for SUPER EASY STRAWBERRY PIE and how I made it AT HOME MY WAY: Super Easy Strawberry Pie Strawberries, washed and sliced - enough to fill a pie plate.  (I bought about two quarts of berries.) 1 small box of strawberry jello, sugar free...

Made these on Monday!  So yummy. I decided an update to the photo on the original post was badly needed and this one turned out great! For the recipe , SEE HERE !

Do you like soft & chewy chocolate chip cookies?  I have found the recipe for you!  They happen to also be eggless and can be vegan if you want to use those options.  The key to the softness is the coconut oil.  Every time I use coconut oil in cookies, they turn out THE BEST! I've been really hating that so many bloggers bog my phone down with lots of chatter and ads before I can get to the recipe, so without much chatter, here's the recipe.  I will list a few tips for making cookies with coconut oil down below. Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (No Eggs & Vegan) 2/3 cup coconut oil (warm just slightly to soften-stirrable) 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup granulated/white sugar 1/2 cup applesauce 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons cornstarch 2 cups chocolate chips (dairy free, if vegan) Directions : Warm measured coconut oil until not melted completely but s...