Home Cookin'

How to Freeze Fresh Tomatoes

July 8, 2016 by Laura Tucker 29 Comments

I absolutely love a plump juicy tomato. There was a time in my life when I wasn’t a huge fan of them (unless it was in salsa and maybe a small sliver on a burger), but I credit my husband for getting me to eat them more frequently over the past few years. We planted a few tomato plants in our garden this year and we’ve been fortunate enough to have several produce. In fact, they’re producing a little bit faster than I can eat them!

Earlier this week my grandmother sent me home with a sack full of beautiful tomatoes. I had a few already sitting in my window that really needed to be eaten, but you just don’t turn down fresh tomatoes! So I decided to “put them up” as we say in the South. I really wasn’t interested in canning them, so I went the easy route and prepared them for the freezer.

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Jalapeno Peach Pepper Jelly Recipe

July 4, 2016 by Laura Tucker 11 Comments

When we planted our garden this year, one of the first things on my garden-wish list was pepper plants. I love cooking with bell peppers, and I especially love to add the heat of jalapenos to many meals that I prepare. My husband and I prefer our food on the spicier side, so we grabbed quite a few pepper plants. My mother in law makes this fabulous dip using pepper jelly (which I LOVE), and I knew that taking a stab at making my own pepper jelly was a must for this summer.

Once we started planting the plants, my husband realized that he accidentally picked up a carton of dragon cayenne peppers instead of the jalapeno peppers that we intended to get. I didn’t know much about dragon cayennes, but we decided to go ahead and plant them anyway and that my husband would pick up the jalapeno plants the next time he went to town.

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Bomb-tastic Blackberry Brownies with a Sweet Berry Glaze

July 1, 2016 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

Happy 4th of July weekend to all! I absolutely love this time of year. Everyone is cooking out on the grill, enjoying the outdoors, sippin’ on sweet lemonade and devouring the delicious fruits and veggies that grow in our summer gardens.

Mmmm. I can smell the hamburgers and apple pie cooking right now! Ok, maybe I’m just daydreaming over here, but it won’t be long before I get to enjoy those sweet summertime smells!

I DO smell something amazing filling the air of my home as I type this, though. I just took this beautiful batch of Bomb-tastic Blackberry Brownies out of the oven! Boy, aren’t they just heavenly? I’ve heard of people incorporating different things into their brownies to make them “healthier”. This recipe certainly isn’t healthy, but I figured if other people could put black beans and avocados in their brownies, then by golly I could put blackberries in mine!

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How to Simplify your 4th of July Menu (And Spice it Up) In 3 Easy Steps!

June 29, 2016 by Laura Tucker 179 Comments

Is it hot enough where you live this summer? If not, you can CERTAINLY have some of this South Alabama heat! I’ve never been one to love the heat and humidity, but one place that I love to have a little heat is in my food – especially BBQ and all the fixin’s! The 4th of July is coming up in just a few short days, and best believe I’ll be kicking up the heat on my plate this year! I’m anxiously awaiting it’s arrival so I can chow down on some delicious dishes, but one thing I’m not so hot on is all of the time and prep that can go into those dishes.

But fret not my BBQ loving friends! I’m comin’ atcha this evening with 3 quick and easy tips to prepare the best stress-free BBQ dinner this season (and I’ll show you how to spice it up, too!)

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Bacon Spinach Alfredo Twice Baked Potatoes

June 23, 2016 by Laura Tucker 2 Comments

Earlier this afternoon, my darling little girl took an incredibly long nap after going several days of not napping great at all. She knows just what Mommy needs sometimes! So I had some time to myself to really get into my element and get my creative juices flowing in the kitchen. Time in the kitchen without interruption (or a toddler trying her hardest to pull your pants down and/or digging things out of the trash can) is as valuable as gold to me. I don’t have the time to cook things from scratch nearly as often as I’d like to, so I consider it a real treat when I get to do it.

I started plundering through the pantry and refrigerator trying to scope out some things that were quickly approaching their expiration date. I had a sack of red potatoes that was starting to look a little pitiful, plus some spinach in the fridge that was looking pretty droopy and sad. I also spotted a half empty carton of heavy cream, so I knew I could definitely make a spinach alfredo sauce..but could that possibly be good with potatoes?

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Venison Taco Bites + A Dollop of Daisy

June 21, 2016 by Laura Tucker 38 Comments

I received a complimentary product as a BzzAgent in exchange for my review. All opinions expressed are completely my own. I only share what I really love! #DollopOfDaisy #GotitFree

It’s no secret that I love a good taco-inspired recipe. Mexican night happens almost on a weekly basis in my household, and I’m always looking for a fun new way to add a twist to the dishes that I prepare. Cooking with venison is an art that I’ve been learning slowly over the past few years. It’s absolutely delicious in these Venison Taco Bites, and they’re a huge hit with the hubs!

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Cheesy Italian Zucchini Boats – A Must Try This Summer!

June 13, 2016 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

Hello, friends! I’m starting off this week with another fabulous garden-to-table dish that is packed with delicious fresh veggies and is easy to make!

Last week I made a scrumptious taco stuffed summer squash recipe that is definitely going to become a staple in my menu rotation. It was super simple to throw together and my husband really loved it! Riding on the heels of the stuffed squash boats, I thought I’d try my hand at doing something very similar with another favorite summer time vegetable – zucchini!

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Taco Stuffed Summer Squash Boats

June 9, 2016 by Laura Tucker 4 Comments

Remember last week when I was getting a little creative in the kitchen trying to utilize all of the fresh summer squash that’s filling up my garden? (If you don’t remember, I made a lemon poppy seed cake with the squash and it was AH-mazing.) 🙂

Well, here I am once again trying my hardest to find new and creative ways to use up some of this beautiful squash that’s taking over. I feel like the past few summers the only things I could think to use it for was in fritters, casseroles, and just cooked plain with a little EVOO and salt. I mean, those are all super yummy ways to eat yellow squash, but this summer I’m just feeling like I want something a little extra. Know what I mean?

So when I went out to the garden this afternoon to pick all of the squash that was ready, I had a brilliant idea hit me! Why not try my hand at stuffing the squash? After all, I make stuffed peppers ALL the time! Well, upon further inspection of the size of my squash, I decided that cutting them in half and hollowing them out would probably work a little better than truly stuffing them, but it’s all the same really!

As a lover of all things Mexican food, I knew that fiesta-fying these bad boys was a must. Thus, the idea for these Taco-Stuffed Summer Squash Boats was born! De nada, mis amigos. 😉

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Lemon Poppy Seed Summer Squash Bread

June 2, 2016 by Laura Tucker 27 Comments

This recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Summer Squash Bread is a wonderful way to use up fresh summer squash straight from the garden! Shred it, bake it, slice is up and serve with a pad of butter on a hot summer day for a refreshing treat!

During the summer time, there is always an abundance of fresh produce filling people’s gardens and the shelves of local farmer’s markets. It’s one of my very favorite things about summer! My husband and I have a very small garden growing in our back yard. This year we planted yellow squash, zucchini, egg plant, tomatoes, an array of peppers and fresh basil. I enjoy incorporating those fresh elements into my cooking, but by mid-summer I’m always looking for something a tad bit different to do with them.

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Walnut Basil Pesto – A Must Have for my Family!

May 27, 2016 by Laura Tucker 2 Comments

Without question, the hands-down favorite dish that I prepare for my family is my Turkey Pesto Sliders with Brown Sugar and Poppy Seed Glaze. They’re insanely delicious, but they call for an ingredient that has proven to be a little bit difficult to find in my neck of the woods:

Pesto

Walmart definitely doesn’t carry it here. I’ve searched high and low at multiple stores trying to find a jar of the stuff, but I’ve never been successful in that endeavor. My Publix carries it, but they’re 45 minutes away from my house. Plus, the only place I’ve been able to find it there is on a tiny little table tucked away in the produce section along side a few other specialty spices and spreads. I was happy buying it there, but I always felt so nervous that one day I’d walk in and they wouldn’t carry those specialty goods any more.

In fact, one time they rearranged their produce section and removed the table with the pesto (without even consulting me first…so rude!) I thought for SURE that they had stopped carrying it. I almost had a conniption fit right there in front of the tomatoes and everybody! But I eventually found it on a little end cap nearby and bought almost every jar they had on the shelf out of fear and partial embarrassment. I don’t play when it comes to my pesto, y’all! That was too close of a call for me, and if I couldn’t get it there, I had no idea how I’d get my pesto fix.…

Home Cookin'

I received a complimentary product as a BzzAgent in exchange for my review. All opinions expressed are completely my own. I only share what I really love! #DollopOfDaisy #GotitFree

Pesto

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