About Anita

Old Fashioned Ice Box Cookies

Slice and Bake Cookies

Mom’s recipe for Ice Box Cookies when Nucoa was a favorite cookie ingredient. No Nucoa here! If these cookies remind you of chocolate chip cookies without the chips … Yep, that’s what I taste. So, add chocolate chips if you like and you have homemade chocolate chip cookies at your fingertips. I keep a roll in the freezer for those immediate needs for family and friends. Add what you like and subtract the nuts if to your liking. Here are some great ingredients to add: assorted flavored chips, broken pretzels, crushed Butterfingers, crushed peppermint, your choice of nuts.

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Italian Vegetable Chowder

Rich creamy vegetarian soup for the cold winter meal. Spice it up with red pepper flakes for more warmth. Tame it down with broth instead of cream. Make the recipe your own or enjoy just this way. And for those that can’t go meatless add crumbled cooked Italian sausage.

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Cheesy Biscuits

Whips up easily! Few ingredients … you have in your pantry. I woke up this morning craving homemade biscuits but wanted to try something that could be a standalone breakfast. Not that this biscuit in smaller form isn’t the perfect appetizer. I love the cheese and green chilies combination, but I found this quick recipe by Sargento that combines cheese and butter. Oh, and black pepper too. Rich, flakey and delicious!

 

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Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Cakes

A little different take on pumpkin cake and certainly much easier than the traditional pumpkin roll but with similar rich and spicy results. This recipe is inspired (or more) by a King Arthur Flour recipe. I didn’t use their Harvest Mini Loaves Pan which is so perfectly fallish but used a William Sonoma Bundtlett Pan. Admittedly, the Harvest Mini Loaves Pan may make for a easier even distribution of filling … not having to deal with the center chimney in the bundt pan. I truly enjoy King Arthur products and can’t wait to use their Vermont Boiled Cider in my next apple pie.  But for now….

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Pumpkin Season

Fall is my favorite time of year and with it … all those delicious pumpkin recipes. The pictures above are of recipes that don’t usually come to mind when thinking pumpkin. Savory pumpkin dishes are amazing. Give these a try, here. I’m putting together a wonderful pumpkin bread recipe in the meantime. BUT plug pumpkin in the search box above and see oodles of delicious recipes.


Pulled Chicken

Have you tasted a chicken salad only to find the chicken apart from the salad dressing has no taste. Here’s a simple way to remedy that! This recipe is large enough for several meals. Use this for tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, salads or any recipe calling for cooked chicken.

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Portuguese Stone Soup

This is a pretty easy recipe … There is no wrong here. A soup with mainly vegetables and just the right amount of linguica (or chourico) to give it that special flavor. Adding stale crusty bread soaks up the liquids and this soup becomes more stew-like. I love it! And when I want to be really decadent I add butter to the chunks of bread before smothering with the soup. Yikes!

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HGTV Addict

Yep, I’ve given up news. Oops! And have become a HGTV junkie. So much for Grandma Rose’s cookbook for now. Getting dirty is my newest high. Just ask my neighbors! I’m sure they’re thinking my cut offs are not my age appropriate. In this 1927 fairytale two-story staying cool while ripping up carpet, removing stapled pad and carpet strips is impossible. Who uses 1 1/2 inch nails for securing carpet strips anyway! Going to make everything around me beautiful! (Elsie De Wolfe) Problem is while the house is improving my beauty regimen is taking a sabbatical.

It all started when I pulled up the carpet in the upstairs hall. Was over it!

Surprised! Haven’t decided about this yet but for now it’s staying. Stenciled hardwood floors … someone really loved loved this storybook home. This is the original floor.

Moving from the hall to the stairway I was hoping for oak like the rest of the house. The stairs were heavily painted and I teased the idea of stripping but chose to paint (too many flaws), riser-white and tread-gray. All was done by me. Visiting is pretty much off limits for now.

Before

 

 

 

 

 

And

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So worth it! Clean and bright! BTW, who’s your favorite HGTV team? I like them all but caught up on Mina and Karen. Karen makes me smile. Big and Erin are a close second. Renovation Island? You bet! The bad thing about watching … I’m now working on the upstairs bathroom … one of those faux painted rugs.

More recipes to come!!


Bacon Chutney

When cooking for the family vegetarians here’s a side that keeps the meat eaters happy. Great on pot beans & green beans, eggs, waffles & pancakes, hot dogs & hamburgers and maybe a crostini. Ice cream, not so much. Honestly, you can use this chutney on just about anything. Few ingredients and simply made this recipe keeps in the refrigerator for a good week. Let’s get to it!

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Blackberry Roly Poly

Old fashioned recipe for sure! It’s a cobbler in a roll-up. Use your favorite biscuit recipe or this Fannie Farmer’s. For me, even with cobbler, I prefer a pie crust. Yep, I’m one of those that can eat pie crust with a bit of cinnamon and sugar. See here.

Enjoy this simple blackberry dessert. Oh, and don’t do as I did. Do remove the previously whipped cream from the refrigerator to warm up a bit for a smoother creamier topper … Presentation is often more than 50% of taste.

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