You may have heard it said that the kitchen is the most important room in a home. It is where you go to gather with your family and guests to cook, eat, socialize, do homework, craft, play games, and, on occasion, even scrapbook 😉 . With so much of our day-to-day happening around the kitchen, we are experiencing moments that are inevitably turning into nostalgic memories that we long to hold onto.
Naturally, because of our whole-hearted belief that everyone should be memory keepers, we came up with a system to help you preserve those precious memories from the kitchen.
Designed for so much more than to hold recipes, the Cut Above® Kitchen Traditions recipe kit is a collection of materials you can use to create a unique keepsake. It comes with recipe cards for those memorable meals that you yearn for, while also providing a place for photos and journaling to share why the recipes mean something to you.
We offer the kit in three configurations, so you can choose what fits your needs best. The first is the basic Cut Above® Kitchen Traditions recipe kit, which comes with 60 4″ x 6″ cards (including recipe, title, journaling, and pattern cards), six 6″ x 8″ divider pages, two sticker sheets, and a helpful guide containing tips and ideas on how to use the kit. The second option is the Cut Above® Kitchen Traditions recipe kit with Memory Protectors™. This option includes all the same materials as the first but also comes with 6 Memory Protectors™ to hold your cards and pages. The last option is the Cut Above® Kitchen Traditions Bundle, which is an all-inclusive bundle that comes with the basic kit, the Memory Protectors, and a Bashful Everyday Life™ album and the coordinating My Acrylix® Kitchen Traditions stamp set (D1770).
We want to give all memory keepers—and aspiring memory keepers—the tools you need to beautifully document those special moments from your kitchen. That is why we are giving away 5 (!!!) Kitchen Traditions bundles to 5 lucky winners! For a chance to win, you will have to do a little bit more than what we’ve done in the past. First, you must be a subscriber to this blog. (If you aren’t yet, just push that big blue “Subscribe to list” button on the sidebar!) Second, you must leave a recipe you love in the comments below with a short explanation of why you love it. The drawing will take place Monday, April 30, at 2 p.m. MDT and winners will be notified via e-mail, as usual.
To kick things off, here’s a recipe from Close To My Heart President Monica Wihongi:
Frijoles a la Charra (Bean Soup)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 diced white onion
- 6 strips cut bacon cut into 1 inch pieces (raw)
- 4 cans La Constena pinto beans
- 1 can Rotel Mexican Festival tomatoes
- 3 cans petite diced tomato
- ¼ cup mild Herdez Salsa Casera
Directions:
In a large pot, boil the beans. While you wait for the beans to boil, fry the bacon in a separate large pan. Once the bacon is soft, add the onion and sauté it in the bacon grease. Add one can of diced tomatoes at a time and bring to a boil each time. Add the Rotel tomatoes and bring to a boil again. Add Herdez Salsa and cilantro and bring to a boil one last time. Combine your mixture with beans in the large pot and bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes.
Now, it’s your turn. Can’t wait to see what’s cooking in your kitchen!
Monster Cinnamon Roll Cookies; My mouth waters just thinking about these cookies. My mother made Cinnamon Rolls every Saturday for Sunday breakfast. I love cinnamon, but the rolls have an emotional memory.
*** Large cake-like cookies, swirled with cinnamon, sugar, and butter. Like a cinnamon roll, but is a cookie! Adapted from Esther Brody’s 500 Best Cookies, Bars and Squares
Servings: 12 -14
Author: Adapted from Esther Brody
Ingredients
3/4 C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 C buttermilk
Filling
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 C brown sugar
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
Glaze
2 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3-4 tbsp milk
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar together until creamy, and mix in the vanilla. Add the baking soda to the buttermilk and stir. Add one cup of the flour slowly to the butter mixture until combined. Pour in the buttermilk/soda and mix until combined. Finish by adding the rest of the flour. Mix until just combined (don’t over mix). Put the dough into the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare the cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray the sheets with cooking spray.
Generously flour your counter or baking marble. Turn out the dough onto the flour and shape into an approximately 12″ x 8″ rectangle, about 1/4″ thick. (Yes, it’s a very sticky dough, be patient!) Spread the butter evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll the dough from the long side, slowly nudging up and as tightly as possible without breaking the dough. Don’t worry if there are some little places that open up – just lightly pinch them closed.
Put in refrigerator for about 15 minutes, then slice into 1″ slices, wiping the sharp knife between cuts. Place the cookies onto the cookie sheet, at least 2 1/2″ apart as they will spread. Lightly reshape cookies into circles if needed, making sure the cinnamon sugar is showing in spirals. Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer baked cookies to a wire rack immediately to cool.
After cooled, mix the glaze ingredients together until smooth and desired texture. Spoon glaze to completely cover the cookies and give them enough time to set before serving.
Recipe Notes
Tips and Stuff:
Don’t skip the refrigeration part. The dough is sticky and needs to firm up some. It won’t be like a thick bread dough – more like a thick cookie dough.
When glazing the cookies on the rack, place a big piece of wax paper under the rack to catch the drippings.
Store in a tightly sealed container.
Luscious Burgers
1 pound hamburger
1 egg
1/3 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 small onion, diced
1/3 cup bread slices cut in cubes (1 slice)
Mix all ingredients. Form into patties. Broil 8 minutes per side.
This is a favorite recipe not only because it is delicious, but was one that my mother made. I even have the recipe written out in her handwriting. What a treasure!
Sausage Dip
INGREDIENTS
1 lb pork sausage
8 oz cream cheese
1 can Rotel Tomatoes
INSTRUCTIONS
Brown sausage and drain. Mix all ingredients in Crockpot. Once it is nice and warm and melty, serve with tortilla chips.
Holiday Pinwheels
8 oz. cream cheese
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
¼ c. chopped onions
¼ c. chopped bell pepper
1 (4-1/2 oz) can chopped ripe olives
1 (2 oz) jar pimentos, drained
¼ c. chopped celery
10 flour tortillas
Mix cream cheese, dressing mix and garlic powder. Drain all vegetables on paper towels. Add to cream cheese mixture. Spread evenly on flour tortillas. Roll each tortilla in a jelly roll fashion. Cut each tortilla into 10 pieces. Refrigerate. (I usually let mine refrigerate overnight and cut them the next day with an electric knife.)
This recipe came from a Weight Watchers leader years ago. It has become a favorite of my children and grandchildren.
This is my favorite chemistry experiment! It’s fun to do with the kids and have them guess what will happen. Perfect when studying the states of matter. The only draw-back is that since you usually have all the ingredients on hand, you can make brownies anytime!!
Hershey’s One Bowl Brownies
Mix:
3/4 c Hershey’s Cocoa
and
1/2 t baking soda
Stir in:
1/3 c vegetable oil
Add:
1/2 c boiling water
Stir until mixture thickens.
Stir in:
2 eggs
2 c sugar
1/3 c oil
Mix until smooth.
Add:
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 1/3 c AP flour
Blend completely.
Pour into a greased or sprayed 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees F 35-40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely.
Note: for Pampered Chef brownie pan, use the large (3 T) scoop to fill each well. You will have extra batter.
Morning Glory Muffins
In large bowl, mix:
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Stir in:
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup coconut
In a separate bowl beat:
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
Stir flour mixture with liquid until batter is just combined. Spoon into greased muffin cups, filling to the top.
Bake at 350 for 20 min.
I stumbled upon this recipe and my family loves it, one of the few new experiments they have enjoyed.
You’ll need at least 9 cooked strips of lasagna noodles.
For the sauce:
Melt ½ c butter
Add 2c heavy cream
4 oz cream cheese
1/2t garlic
1 T garlic powder
Once that is combined add 1c Parmesean cheese, mix until no longer lumpy.
Put 1/2c in bottom of a 9×13 pan
For the roll-up
To the remaining mixture add 2 c cooked, diced chicken and 1 1/2c bacon crumbles.
Spoon into pre-cooked lasagna pasta,(I use about ⅓ to ½ c) roll up and place in 9×13 p an, about 9 pieces. Place remaining mixture on top and top with 1c (or more) mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350 for 30 min.
This recipe also makes some great leftovers, as the flavors get stronger when made the night before, placed in the fridge and then baked before serving.
I just received my bundle in the mail, it is even more beautiful in person. Thank you Close to My Heart for giving me the opportunity to start this wonderful project with such amazing supplies. You are the best.
Enjoy watching all you guys making your cards and all
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