Busy in the Kitchen

 Hello Friends!

How's your week going so far?

I'm enjoying some slow days around here this week. Other than the grocery store Monday morning, I haven't been anywhere, which means I've had plenty of time to work around here. 

Look at this cute little cup I bought myself. Isn't it adorable? It's too small to be a coffee mug, so I have used it for tea instead. With the roof/lid, it's the perfect cup for letting the tea steep. I got it from a website I visited while looking for pillow cases and well...one thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I had a new cup. 😁

So, speaking of working around here...

I've been busy in the kitchen making a few easy recipes.

I made this gluten free Focaccia bread, which I have made once before and really liked it. It's made from oats and a few other ingredients that were on hand. Bake it for 30 minutes and you have a nice treat when you want a piece of bread with your meal. Today I'l try it with some butter and jelly and see how it goes.

This is the simple dough for the bread. You put everything in a blender and mix, then set in a bowl and let it rise for an hour.  The ingredients are: 2+ 1/2 cups gluten free oats, 1 cup warm water, 2 TBS raw honey, 1 tsp active dry yeast, 1 egg, 1+ 1/2 tsp olive oil, 1+ 1/4 tsp sea salt, fresh thyme leaves if desired. 

Spray your pan with cooking spray and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. 

Next I made a batch of homemade Ranch dressing and dip. This is one of my favorites and I've been craving it lately, so I'm glad I had time to spend in the kitchen this week.

What I like about this recipe is that one batch of mix will make several jars of dressing or bowls of dip, whichever you prefer.

I had to get a shot of this adorable set of measuring cups (Pioneer Woman, of course). Apparently I'm partial to cute cups of all kinds. 

I always keep a can of this powdered buttermilk on hand. I don't make too many recipes that call for buttermilk, but when I do, I am prepared. 

The dressing calls for mayo and sour cream, plus all of the spices, and it comes out just as Ranch dressing should. It's so yummy!

I pour it into a mason jar and use it up within a week. I also keep the powdered mix in a jar and store it in the fridge. That one small jar of mix will make about 3 batches of the dip or dressing, so it goes a long way for us. 

I decided to go ahead and make a batch of both dressing and dip this time, since we will have extra people here for the 4th of July. 

Here's the recipe for the Ranch dip and dressing.

Today I will be busy cleaning and getting ready for all the kids to come tomorrow for the 4th. David will be grilling burgers and we will get some sparklers for the kids to play with outside when it starts getting dark. 

There's a hurricane blowing out there, which we will probably get some rain from eventually, but hopefully not tomorrow. The temps have been up to 99 this week, so it's been very toasty during the day. We've been waiting until 7:30 each night to water the flowers. This is summer in Texas 😅

Well, I hope you have a great celebration tomorrow! Have fun, be safe, and I look forward to reading all about it on your blogs in a few days 🧨🍔🍉

Until Next Time...

Blessings!