Cardamon Butter Cookies

Note to self:  For future reference, you have offically banned these tiny cookies from your house!  (at least, until the next time you are craving them. LOL).  These cookies are right up my alley.  They taste just like a Mexican wedding cookie only kicked up with a delicious dose of cardamom.  I love cardamom. So of course, I love these cookies.  Sadly, they are tiny little balls of heaven that just seem to pop right into my mouth perfectly and frequently throughout the day.  I loose count of how many I am eating and end up with an empty plate in no time.  They also go together really fast.  So, my suggestion is that you go put on a pot of coffee and enjoy...enjoy..enjoy. 

I LOVE barns!

My husband and I got up early on Saturday morning and went for a long drive.  I had read about a 20 miles stretch of beautiful barn filled country only minutes from our house.  It was fantastic.  There were 9 (NINE) must have barns to photograph!  At the first one, I jump out of the car and got all set up only to find that my memory card was in my computer at home.  UGH!!!!  I own three... so really could I have not had at a least one spare in the bag?    Apparently not.  So instead, I just completely enjoyed the views, rolling hills, barns and my husband for the day.  Was good.  I also have a sunrise date with myself and those barns later this week.  Why oh why did every single great barn have to be on  the sunrise side of the road?  I was looking and hoping for sunset.  I really like to sleep in you know.  Anyway...here is a barn for your enjoyment.  Happy Monday everyone.

The Best Ever Snickerdoodles

Grrrrr.  I was sitting at my laptop this morning enjoying coffee and goofing off in the too early a.m when in a moment of carelessness I totally dumped my full cup of coffee all over my desk and floor.  GRRRRR.  I hate that.  To top it off, my super hyper dogs are going to be even more so as they lapped most of it up while I was searching for paper towels.  Oh well, at least the cookies didn't get wet.  These snickerdoodles are perfect.   Crisp around the edges and super soft in the center.  I also have taken one for the team and left a few on the counter for three days just to make sure they would not harden up after a few days of storage.  They don't. Just perfect.  Would be even better with a tall cup of coffee......oh well.    

Bev's Spaghetti Sauce

After that long day of hiking, I decided to stay home on Sunday.  The house was screaming to be cleaned and the weather was perfect for cooking.  I was also totally in my mood for it and you know that is the most important ingredient.  So, I made all of my favorite things and a few new ones too.  We are hooked up this week and most of my work is done.  Done on day one!!!  Yay!  So anyway, I don't know who Bev is but I am a huge fan.  I found this recipe on Recipezaar and love love love it. This sauce has the perfect flavor.  It makes my kids very happy and I know only great things went into making it.  A must have in the freezer.  It is way cheaper than buying a jarred sauce and so much more tasty.  It makes 3 to 4 dinners depending on the size of your family. 

Beauty In The Backyard



We spent the day yesterday at the local state park.  You know trying to surround ourselves with beauty.  The leaves are all changing up there and when you add the beauty of the foothills it is really something.  We hiked all day and just fell in love with where we live all over again.  So this morning I wake up a bit early and call my mom.  We have morning chats every Sat and Sun.  Love them.  I am sitting on the couch enjoying my Sunday morning coffee and chat when I look out the back window and see this. 

I love Fridays!!!

Loving this Friday morning.   Great plans this weekend and the best part.....no alarm tomorrow morning.  Ahhhhh..Life is sooo good!

Chicken Fried Chicken

Chicken fried chicken from the Texas Roadhouse and cream cheese....the things I miss the most in life.  Mind you I am without a doubt healthy not eating the first item.  I would be in my fat pants for at least two days after eating that meal.  I am guessing it was the salt.  Ugh.  Which makes this recipe all the better. It tastes pretty darn close to the real thing and is so much better for me.  I know the gravy should be white but really folks we can be too picky.  When I told my husband I we were having chicken fried chicken for dinner, he gave me a sad look and took out the take-out menus.  Haha!!!  I proved him wrong with this one.  LOL.  He even ate the leftovers for lunch.  Anyone who knows him knows that was quite a feat!  I think the thyme is very important in this dish.  Don't leave it out. Enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

I have been so happy this whole summer.  The heat and beauty of summer I love but I am offically ready for fall.  I am new to this whole four season thing having spent most of my life in Florida but I am starting to getting it.  Four months are perfect.  You get a good feel for the season and right before you get sick of it...it is gone.  Love that.  Although, sometimes it seems like winter lasts a bit longer than it should.  So the weather is starting to get a bit cooler here making it perfect for biscotti baking.  We loved these.  Usually I can make up a couple dozen biscotti and enjoy them with my morning coffee for at least two weeks.  These were gone in three days.  UGH!!  The husband and kids could not get enough.  They are chocolate chocolate chocolate in a cookie.  Love.

Gingerbread Pancakes

I am offically a year old!  I started this blog a year ago because I was having trouble finding soy-free dairy-free recipes for my family.  I am so happy I did.  It has been a great way to share my recipes with my family, show others that dairy-free doesn't have to be yucky and more important it has become a great recipe database for myself.  I have been struggling the past couple of months with cooking in general because really who wants to cook in hot weather and no air conditioning?  So I have decided to keep this blog but give myself the freedom to post whatever I feel like.  Photography, sewing and of course cooking.  I am looking forward to this next year.  So look for new things.  Now on to the pancakes.  I have never cooked something and then posted it within the hour.......until now.  I LOVE these pancakes!  Gingerbread in September you ask.  I answer why the heck not?  I found this recipe on http://www.acozykitchen.com/gingerbread-pancakes/ last night and woke up at 6 a.m. to make them for my family.  They were all a bit shocked as I don't usually do breakfast but everyone loved them.  Seemed like it should have been a holiday not a Monday.  So, I say shock your family and make these gingerbread pancakes this morning.  You will be so happy and so will they.  Happy Monday everyone.

Argentine Beef Skewers With Chimichurri Sauce

I am a very happy girl this week.  My husband's parents spent the week with us last week.  You may think my happiness comes from their departure but you are wrong.  They are fantastic company and seems to inspire my husband to complete his to do list.  The list that has been hanging around for over a year with no crossed off bits.  This morning I woke up to a finished closet floor, a wireless basement, beautiful window sills, a painted ceiling and new blinds to keep the sun away at dinnertime.  Happy is what I am.  This recipe was the highlight of this week.  The rub was wonderful but the sauce was just delicious freshness.  We loved this one.  The sauce tasted just as fresh and wonderful two days later too.  I also loved the rice as did my kids and my in-laws (I think) but my anti-mediterranean eating husband was not a fan.   Either way this is a perfect end of summer grilling recipe.

Zucchini Tain

A tian is both a Provençal cooking vessel and a finished dish. The vessel is usually oval, slightly deeper than a gratin dish, and is made of terra-cotta.  I love mine and I love this dish.  It is one of the best parts of summer.  We try and made it at least once a week July to September while the veggies are the ripest.  My kids love it.....even the non-veggie lover.  I must have taken about 30 pictures of this dish but have decided that none of them do the dish justice. You will just have to make one up to see what I mean.  It is also delicious to substitute eggplant for the zucchini.  So good.