Dill Pickles

I've been waiting for Shannon to post this recipe, but she seems to be a slacker lately. Not like she has cancer or anything!!? I made dill pickles with her when Madeline and I stayed with her back in June and we LOVED them. Great use of those extra cucumbers from the garden! This was a Taste of Home original, but of course it has been altered.

Ingredients:
15 pickling cucumbers (cut in spears or chips)
30/40 sprigs of fresh dill (just buy a small bunch of it at the grocery and separate)
2 large onions (finely sliced)
1 bulb garlic (peeled, separated, and sliced)
1 qt water
1 qt vinegar
1/2 cup pickling/canning salt

Directions:
- Boil water, vinegar, and salt.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir cucumbers, dill, onion, and garlic into the brine.
- Let cool.
- Place in fridge for at least 4-5 hours.
- Put pickles into smaller jars/containers to store in fridge for up to 3 months.

Reality Notes:
- If you aren't a big garlic/onion eater-- cut back or you'll be shocked at the strong flavor. Also, the longer they are in the brine with all the garlic and onion will determine how strong they are. You can strain out the garlic and onion when packing into smaller containers. (I love the strong flavor, but some people don't!)
- The amount of cucumbers to use really depends on how big they are. Use as many as you can cover with the brine. I was able to use more than 15.
- Make sure when you eat these that everyone in your company eats them too! Makes for some pretty scary pickle breath! :)

Candied Peaches & Cream

Just made this the other day, and was seeking some input. Feel free to adapt, comment, or compliment!

Ingredients:
- 3 Fresh Peaches (peeled, pitted, & halved)
- 1-1/2 cups Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Vannilla Extract
- 1 pint Heavy Wipping Cream
- 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
- pinch Cinnamon Powder

Directions - Peaches:
In a sautee' pan set to medium , heat the Brown Sugar, Vannilla, and Cinnamon untill melted and hot. (You can use a candy thermometer to make sure you stay in the soft crack or lower range.) Add the Peaches with the pitt side down into the sugar, be careful it may boil on you if the peaches are very juicy. Cook till slightly soft, but with a little firmness left. Remove from the pan, and reduce the syrup, and set aside for plating.

Directions - Cream:
Chill a stand mixer with ice for 10 - 15 mins (should be VERY cold to touch). Empty ice, and wipe excess water from the bowl. Combine Cream and Powdered Sugar, and wip till thickened, about 10-12 mins depending on how cold the bowl is. Place in fridge for 20 mins to set before plating.

Plating:
1 peach, add cream, garnish with the syrup.

Puff Pastry Pizza

We made this pizza last night from the July Cooking Light and it was delicious!!! Now, I did some improvising so check after the recipe to see my changes. This was great!

Phyllo Pizza with Feta, Basil, and Tomatoes

Ingredients
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 (18 x 14–inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
Cooking spray
2 cups thinly sliced plum tomato
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl.
3. Cut phyllo sheets in half crosswise. Working with 1 phyllo sheet half at a time (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), place phyllo sheet on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat phyllo sheet with cooking spray. Repeat with 2 more layers of phyllo. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese mixture. Repeat layers 5 times, ending with 2 phyllo sheets. Coat top phyllo sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese mixture. Pat tomato slices with a paper towel. Arrange tomato slices on top of cheese, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with onions and the remaining 6 tablespoons cheese mixture. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with basil leaves.

Notes: They didn't have any phyllo sheets at the grocery store so I bought puff pastry hoping it would work. Well, it was great! There are two sheets in each pack and each sheet is divided into 3 pieces. I used 2 2/3 of the box. Since I didn't use the phyllo there was no layering needing to be done so I just spread part of the cheese out on the dough, layered the tomatoes and onions, and topped it with the rest of the cheese (and added a little more mozerella for the fun of it)! I also just used a regular tomato- I don't think that matters at all. I have fresh basil and oregano in my garden now so it worked great. We also cooked the pizza a little after putting on the basil just so it would be wilted and stay on the pizza better.

We then used the last piece of puff pastry for dessert. We just sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar and baked it. It was soooo delicious! All we could think about was all the other amazing things we could do with puff pastry. Delicious and addicting!

Southwest Salad

This is a recipe I got from one of Drew's aunts and we love it! It's a great, quick, summertime, weeknight meal that requires no cooking. We also eat it in the winter sometimes just because we love it so much.

Ingredients:

1 bag of lettuce (you can cut up your own but I'm a fan of the convenience of the bagged stuff.)
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
1/2 c of salsa
1/2 c of ranch dressing
as much shredded cheddar or Mexican mix cheese as you want
1 chopped tomato
tortilla chips

Layer first three ingredients in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Mix together salsa and ranch dressing and pour on top of lettuce mix. Top with cheese and tomato. Crush tortilla chips and put on top.

NOTE: We like to just put chips on the salad that we eat so they don't get soggy. You could cover the whole dish if you were taking it to a picnic or something.

Enjoy!

Cowboy Beans

Another great potluck crock-pot recipe!
My Gastonia friends that have eaten these say they are called Cowboy Beans... whatever their true name... they sure are yummy!

Ingredients:
2 cans pork & beans
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans baby lima beans
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 cups ketchup
2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
6 slices of bacon
1 small onion, chopped

Directions:
- Fry bacon and onions together until bacon is cooked and onions are tender. Drain off grease.
- Add the rest together in a crock-pot and leave all day.
- On high these are ready to go in about 3 hours, low probably 5.
- Leave lid off about 30 minutes before serving and the liquid should thicken.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- This recipe serves about 10-15. Can be cut in half to serve fewer.
- Same recipe can be made in the oven - cook for 45 minutes @ 350 degrees.
- I hate onion, so I've made it without and it is still yummy!

Goat Cheese Pesto Dip

At the grocery store this week I happened to see Pita Chips on sale near the deli and it reminded me of one of my favorite recipes. It is so simple and you can either make it elegant or just a regular dip to eat on the weekend.


4 ounces soft mild goat cheese at room temperature
2 ouncres cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup pesto

Mix together and serve with a sturdy cracker, pita chips, veggies, or use as a spread on a turkey sandwich. Enjoy!

Vegetable Lasagne

This is Amanda's Recipe and it is absolutely delicious!! This makes a very large serving and is ideal for a family gathering!!

1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 sm onion
1 box Lasagna noodles - uncooked
3 jars of chunky garden style sauce
2 pkgs of shredded mozarella cheese (4 cups)
1 pkg of shredded parmesean cheese ( 1 1/2 cups)
2 eggs
1 sm container of ricotta cheese
1 sm container of cottage cheese

Preheat oven to what noodle box says.

Chop all of the veggies, add to sauce and heat on stove for a short time.

Combine eggs, 1 1/2 cups mozarella cheese, 3/4 cup parmesean cheese, l sm container of ricotta cheese, and a couple of spoonsfuls of cottage cheese. Blend together to make a nice cheese paste.

Spread a small amount of sauce mixture on the bottom of a casserole dish.

Add a layer of noodles, followed by cheese paste, followed by sauce mixture. Repeat layering one more time, ending with sauce layer on top.

On top of the last sauce layer, add some shredded parmesean and mozarella cheese, covering the sauce layer.

Put in oven and bake according to directions on noodle box. Watch it to make sure the cheese does not get too brown.

If you don't want to use fresh vegetables you can get a mixture of frozen vegetables and do the same thing. I think it is much better with the fresh vegetables.

Enjoy it!!

Tomato Pie

1 Deep Dish Pie Shell
1 ¼ cups grated cheese, divided (I used the 4 kinds of grated cheese)
2 large tomatoes, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 small sweet onion, minced and divided
½ cup chopped fresh basil, divided
½ teaspoon salt divided
½ teaspoon pepper divided
¾ cup creamy mustard-mayonnaise blend (you can use Dijonnaise)


Prick sides and bottom of pie shell. BAKE at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with ¼ cup cheese.

TOSS tomato slices with flour; arrange 1 layer of tomato slices over cheese. Sprinkle
Evenly with half of onion, basil, salt and pepper. Repeat procedure with remaining tomato slices, onion, basil, salt, and pepper.

STIR together remaining 1 cup cheese and mustard-mayonnaise blend, and spread over top of pie.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. We love this in the summer with all of the fresh tomatoes!! It tastes almost like pizza!!

Blueberry Cheesecake

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

Vegetable cooking spray

2 (8-ounce) pkgs 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 (8-ounce) pkg fat-free cream cheese

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ teas salt

2 large eggs

2 egg whites

1 (8-ounce) container light sour cream

1 teas vanilla extract

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind (I did not do this)

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 cup fat-free frozen whipped topping, thawed

¼ cup light sour cream

Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl.

Press mixture on bottom and 1 ½ inches up the sides of a 9-inch spring form pan (I just used a regular pan) coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with electric mixer until smooth.

Combine 1 cup sugar, flour, and salt. Add to cream cheese, beating until blended. Add

eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add egg whites, beating until blended.

Add 8-ounce container sour cream, vanilla, and lemon rind, beating just until blended.

Gently stir in blueberries. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center of cheesecake is firm. Turn off oven, and let cheesecake stand in oven, with oven door partially open, 30 minutes.

Remove cheesecake from oven; cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes.

Cover cheesecake, and chill 8 hours. Release sides of pan.

Stir together whipped topping and ¼ cup sour cream. Spread over cheesecake.

Makes 12 servings

Prep: 20 min.; Bake 1 Hr., 15 min.;

Stand: 30 min.; Cool: 30 min.; Chill: 8 hrs.

Though this isn’t really a low-fat dessert, it has less than half the calories and less

than one-third the fat of the original. This is a really delicious and a great dessert for summer because

of all of the fresh blueberries we can get right now.

Crock-Pot Chicken Tetrazzini

I love easy crock pot cooking-- being able to come home in the late afternoon and know your dinner is almost ready-- woohoo! This was a recipe I tried this winter-- because it is hot-- but I kept forgetting to give it to Rachel, so here it is.

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
1 jar mushrooms or 8 oz container of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 large jar of pimentos
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup (I use whatever is in the pantry!)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
salt and pepper
8-10 oz cooked thin spaghetti

Directions:
- Put all ingredients EXCEPT the pasta noodles into the crock pot and turn on low
- 30 minutes before ready to eat, cook pasta noodles, and add to crock pot mixture
- Serve and enjoy!

Notes:
- You can used canned chicken for this to save you some more time.
- I like some spice in my food- so we have added hot sauce to the tetrazzini once before
- After adding the noodles if it doesn't thicken up enough for you-- use a little cornstarch (or flour) mixed in cold water-- and wisk it in
- This is also a great recipe for a potluck!

Chocolate Pretzel Squares

Ingredients
Bag of Pretzel squares
2 bags of Rollo candy

Directions
- unwrap the Rollo candies and place to the side
- next place pretzel squares on cookie sheet
- take Rollo candies and place one on each of the pretzel square
- place cookie sheet in oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes
- take out of oven and place pretzel square on top of Rollo, gently pressing down
- let cool before eating

This obviously is a very easy recipe. A friend made this for the staff Christmas party but I have found it great for any type of get together.

Zucchini Fries

Cut 2 unpeeled zucchini into 3 inch sticks. Pat dry. Whisk 1 egg white, then add 1/4 cup of skim milk. In a separate bowl combine 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan with 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs. Add salt & pepper to taste. Dip the zucchini sticks into the egg mixture, and then roll in the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Reality notes: Easy to prepare! Great use of excess zucchini from garden! Tastes wonderful dipped in Ranch dressing. Healthier than French Fries, that is until you dip them in Ranch!

Brat Wraps

I LOVE Brats! I guess it is the German in me. People down south only know about Johnsonville Brats, but the best brats in the world come from Kern's in Frankenmuth, MI where my mom's family all lives. Every time we go to visit I take my cooler and buy a big box to freeze and so I can make it till our next visit. Mark didn't understand at first... but then he ate one. Kern's also sells the best brat buns-- very different from a hot dog bun. But they don't freeze well-- trust me I've tried-- and nothing here in NC is close.

So, I LOVE this recipe because it has a bun alternative. I HATE buying hot dog buns, because if you want them to taste good you really need to buy them the day you need them. Then, you only use 4 at most and end up throwing the rest away-- unless you're like my husband who will eat them as toast, sandwich bread, etc-- but he is weird. :)

This is a slightly altered Kraft Food Magazine recipe - hope you like it as much as we do!

Ingredients:
- 1 large sliced onion
- 1 tbsp oil
- 4 cooked brats (I prefer the grill or using my George Foreman)
- 1 tbsp A-1 sauce
- 4 flour tortillas
- 1/2 cup cheddar shredded cheese

Directions:
- In a skillet, cook and stir onions in hot oil until tender.
- Stir A-1 sauce into onions
- Top tortillas with cheese, bratwurst and onions; roll up.

Notes from A Kitchen of Reality:
- Some people (Diane) don't like it with cheese-- some like the addition of peppers.
- The original recipe called for Kraft singles-- but I like real cheese better.
- I have used the small tortillas and a large tortilla cut in half-- less bread is better for me but microwaving the tortillas about 15 seconds makes them easier to roll!
- Brats always taste best with an ice cold beer!

Schmeckt gut!!
(That means "tastes good" in German. I think!)

Easy Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles

I've been making these pickles for the past two seasons and they are super easy and super tasty. It's a great way to use all those cucumbers your grandparents give you from their gardens! I have used the small white-skinned pickles and the regular green-skinned pickles and both seem to work fine. I got the recipe, and most all the recipes I'll put on here, from Cooking Light so they should be a little healthier than other pickle recipes. They sure don't taste light though!


Ingredients
5 1/2 cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon turmeric


Preparation
1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours. Drain; rinse cucumbers under cold water. Drain; return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to bowl.
2. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Pesto: w/ or w/o nuts, your choice!

Diane had to have this, so I will try to give you the best guess as to how I make my pesto.

1 lg. Bunch Fresh Basil (no stems)
2-3 Cloves Garlic (whole)
Olive Oil (have no idea how much, you will have to watch as you pour)
1/8 cup Toasted Nuts (any kind will do, or none if allergy)
1/8 cup Fresh Grated Parm. Cheese (Kraft shakey stuff works, but may need more)

Directions:

In a food proscessor, add your basil, garlic, parm. cheese, and half your nuts. Proscess while drizziling in your olive oil slowly till you have a uniform texture. Add rest of nuts, and pulse to chop lightly. Salt and pepper to taste. Will have best flavor if allowed to rest over night before using.

Fruit and Cheese-stuffed French Toast

This breakfast/dinner serves 2. I have made this numerous times and my family LOVES it. We actually eat it more for dinner than for breakfast. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp light cream cheese (Neufachatel) softened (off brand works fine)
4 slices whole-wheat bread
2 Tbsp strawberry jam
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
3 Tbsp fat-free milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sliced strawberries (optional)

Directions:
-Spread the cream cheese evenly on 2 slices of bread leaving a 1/8 inch border. Spread the strawberry jam on the remaining slices of bread also leaving a border. Put the slices of bread together to make 2 cream cheese-fruit sandwiches. Set aside.
-Beat the egg and egg whites in a large shallow bowl or pie plate; whisk in the milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add a sandwich to the mixture and allow to soak for a few seconds. Flip and coat other side.
-Spray a large non-stick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the sandwiches and cook until browned. Serve with a little syrup and fresh berries if you have them.

Notes: One sandwich is not enough for Matt, so I actually make three sandwiches with the same recipe. For us, there is enough egg mixture to generously coat three sandwiches. I just do 1 Tbsp cream cheese and 1 Tbsp jam for each sandwich.

Bonus! If you are on Weight Watchers and eat one sandwich with no syrup this is a 5 point recipe.

Grand Little Pies

Tasty fruit filling with a streusel topping, these are great for a pot luck, picnic or just to eat at home.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 can Grands Flaky Layer refrigerated biscuits (you can use off brand)
1 can apple, blueberry, or cherry pie filling
whipped topping
cinnamon sugar

Directions:
-Heat oven to 350. In medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. With pastry blender or fork cut in butter until mixture look like coarse crumbs, stir in chopped nuts. (I did not put nuts in mine and I think next time I would cut back on the amount of butter a little.)
-Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Split each biscuit in half to make 16 rounds. With floured fingers, flatten each to form 4-inch round. Press each round in ungreased muffin tin. Spoon 2 Tbls. pie filling into each biscuit-lined cup. Sprinkle each with about 2 Tbls. flour mixture. (Cups will be full.)
-Bake 15 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from muffin tin, place on cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes.
-Top with whipped topping and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar when ready to serve.

We had these over the 4th and they were a big hit. Enjoy!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

I'm not even sure where this recipe came from originally, but Mom (Diane) and I have been making these for years. I love them because you don't feel bad about eating these tiny little rolls as opposed to a HUGE cinnamon roll-- but that's just me! :)

Here's the recipe!

2 packages of crescent rolls (off brand works fine)
1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened (not melted, Rachel)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

- Mix brown sugar & cinnamon in small bowl.
- Separate each tube of crescent rolls into 4 big rectangles-- press perforations closed. (This will make more sense when you open the can of crescent rolls!)
- Roll with a rolling pin to make bigger.
- Spread each rectangle with butter and then generously sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.
- Roll up each rectangle starting at the short end.
- Cut each roll into 5 or 6 slices.
- Place cut side down onto a greased baking pan. (Put them fairly close together!)
- Bake 20-25 minutes @ 350.
- Make glaze of powdered sugar and milk.
- Let rolls cool slightly before topping with the glaze.


NOTES FROM A KITCHEN OF REALITY:
I usually end up having to add more sugar and cinnamon towards the end-- what can I say-- more is better! I also for the first time this weekend, made these ahead of time. I stopped short of cutting them, just wrapped them in parchment paper and put them in the fridge. I was actually able to get about 8 slices this way.

The best part about them being pre-made and sitting in my fridge you ask?? My husband cut them this morning, threw them in the toaster oven and made me breakfast!! AWESOME right??

Happy Cooking!

The Purpose of the Blog

We chose our title because our real world lives leave little room for what we see on the food network! We always seem to be passing recipes on scrap pieces of paper, random emails, and over the phone that we have somehow changed, tweaked, or totally revamped-- so here is our attempt to be internet savy and use a blog to share recipes among the great chefs/bakers we know.

To our followers: We will be updating new features to the blog as it grows-- but for now-- enjoy our first recipes and comment/rate them if you make them. Be honest if you hate them, they don't turn out, or you have suggestions. Remember it is the Kitchen of Reality, we seek out honesty in cooking!! If you are interested in contributing (and we know you) email Anna and she can set you up with author rights. Sorry, we don't allow random strangers to contribute.

To our growing list of authors: We ask that you post recipes that you yourself have made, really liked, and are planning to make again. Because this is the kitchen of reality please add on the end of your post any variations or changes you would recommend. Also, be sure to label your recipe so we can begin to develop categories-- desserts, pastas, veggies, etc.

We look forward to seeing where this blog goes!
Happy Cooking!