Count Down....

In 10 days my kids head back to school. I'm sure many of you are gearing back up for the school year too. Well, I am on the count down! I can't wait to make cookies for my girls again! EVERY MONDAY!!

It's been 3 years ago that I started Cookie Monday. We were in a new place (Carson City). My girls were starting in a new school and were not very excited about it. I wanted to do something for them. And that's when Cookie Monday came about. They got to where they would walk in the door every Monday, take a big breath/smell and try to guess the kind of cookie that was baking.

Now we are back in our home (Utah).... And we are keeping it going!! Welcome back Cookie Monday!

Last year we started a Back to School Cookie Celebration. After the first day of school we invited friends over for cookies and milk.  WE ARE DOING IT AGAIN!!  Everyone is invited!

August 23rd

Right after school...

2nd Annual Back to School COOKIE PARTY!

Come have Cookies and Milk

At the Rowley's House!

If you need directions, please leave me a comment with your e-mail and I will get you directions!

Here is one of the cookies I will be making for that day:

1 2/3 cup shortening
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. soda
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups chocolate chips
optional: nuts

Cream together shortening and sugars.  Add egg and vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients, then the chocolate chips.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

*This recipe came from my mom.  All three chocolate chip recipes that I have posted have the same ingredients, just different amounts.  It does make a difference in the taste of the cookie too.  When I made these I used my "BIG" cookie scoop.  The outsides had a nice warm crunch and the inside was soft and melty.  These didn't last long at our house!

Who still Checks My Food Blog???

Now that I am getting settled in my house, I am anxious to get some new recipes posted. But I wanted to check and see who actually still checks my food blog. I have a GIVEAWAY planned, but I wanted to see how many people still follow me. If you do, would you please leave a comment. And maybe even tell me why you like to look at this blog.

I am counting down the DAYS!

I AM STILL HERE!

We have been very busy getting our house ready to move back in to. And I am getting an almost NEW kitchen floor! I am so excited to get back in the KITCHEN and start cooking for my family again! I am biting at the bit to do some menu planning! Only about 1 more week! I will also have an office with a desk so I can actually sit and blog at a desk and not on the couch! Since I have been absent from my blog for so long I have been thinking of some fun ideas to do to celebrate BLOGGING and COOKING again! And ALSO-----This Blog is Having a BIRTHDAY in MARCH!! We have to CELEBRATE that! RIGHT?! So, keep checking back.....

FEATURED ON....

I have been traveling this last week and haven't had alot of time to do any blogging. So tonight I sat down, checked my new comments and guess what, I was FEATURED on another Food Blog!
Thank You to NAPTIME CREATIONS for the Link Up!

Thank You!

I just have to say THANKS!

Thanks for Following me/my blog. Thanks for sharing the recipes with others! Hearing your comments and seeing you share the recipes really lifts my spirits. Thank You! It's because of your comments that I keep doing this blog. You are all AWESOME Followers!

Giveaway WINNER.....

Thanks to ALL that follow my food blog! I loved seeing what your favorite kitchen tool is!

*****

And the winner of the Pampered Chef Mix-N-Chop is:

Comment #8

SANDRA WESTWOOD!

CONGRATS!

Sandra said that her Bosch is the one thing she couldn't live without in her kitchen!

Your Mix-N-Chop will be delivered soon!

BACK TO SCHOOL....BACK IN THE KITCHEN GIVEAWAY!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!
YEAH!!!

We (I) survived the first week of school at our house!

Let's celebrate with a GIVEAWAY!

I LOVE kitchen tools/gadgets that make cooking easier. I also LOVE kitchen tools/gadgets that I can use for more than one thing. So, for the Giveaway today, I am giving away one of my favorite kitchen tools....don't worry, it is a new one....not my used one! :)!

If you haven't seen one of these before, it is called a Mix-N-Chop.  It comes from Pampered Chef. The thing I use it for the most is when I am browning hamburger. I love how I can chop up the ground beef into evenly sized, small pieces. I also like to use it to chop up frozen orange juice or other frozen drinks. This is the one kitchen tool that gets used pretty much everyday. It is hardley ever in my kitchen tool caddy.  It is in the dishwasher. I have other favorites, but if someone were to ask me what my favorite tool is...this is the first thing that comes to mind!

I am in no way being compensated by Pampered Chef with my comments about the Mix-N-Chop. It's just something that has made cooking for me easier and I wanted to share with you! 

To Enter the Giveaway you have to:

This one is Mandatory (any other entries won't count)

**Leave a comment telling me what YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOL is.

If you are an anonymous comment, please leave me a way to get a hold of you.

For additional entries:

(Leave a seperate comment for each additional entry)

1- LIKE Kristi's Kitchen Kreations on Facebook.

2- Become a Follower of Kristi's Kitchen Kreations Blog.

If you already LIKE and FOLLOW, you can leave a comment telling me you already are and I will enter you!

GIVEAWAY CLOSES Friday, Sept. 2nd, 2011 at 12:00 PM!



Back to School....Back in the Kitchen!

I have loved having my kiddos home for the summer. We have been so relaxed and haven't followed any schedule.  That works for the summer, but we are on day 3 of school and I'm sure the rest of you know that things just don't run as smoothly if there is not a schedule. So, even though I would prefer the relaxed days of summer, I am looking forward to a routine....which includes home cooked meals that (hopefully) will be planned ahead of time! Along with Back to School, I wanted to do another GiveAway! I wanted to do it when I hit 100 "Likes" on my FB page, but just didn't get around to it. I already have my GiveAway Item! So, stay tuned as I get this Back to School...Back in the Kitchen routine down this week. There will be a GIVEAWAY SOON! Thanks to all of my followers!

Watermelon...An Easy Way to Cut It!

My favorite way to eat a watermelon is COLD!  I remember when Mom and Dad would get a watermelon they would put it in a bucket or a cooler and let water from a hose run on it til we were ready to eat it.  Oh soo GOOD! We would always slice a huge piece for everyone and lay it on a big plate, then dig in!

*****

Here is how I cut my watermelon.

 Wash your watermelon.  I wipe it down with a wet paper towel.  When cutting, you push stuff from the outside through the watermelon. I set the watermelon on a cookie sheet to keep the juice from getting all over.

**

Cut a slice off the top and bottom.  It will stand on it's own then.

Cut the rine off in sections going from top to bottom.

 Cut into 4ths

Take one of the 4ths, lay it on a flat side and slice into 1"-2" slices.

Take half of the section you are working with, lay it on the flat side with slices stacked ontop of each other and slice into 1"-2" strips. 

Turn the section a 1/4 of a turn and slice again creating little squares/chunks. Cut the other section of the 4th that you were working with.  Continue cutting the rest of the watermelon the same way.

 Place in a large bowl and serve.

**It seems when I have a watermelon all cut up we eat it better.  If we just cut a slice off at a time, we never finish it. This watermelon is a seedless watermelon.  Watermelons with seeds have such a better flavor, but trying to remove the seeds for all the kids gets frustrating.

**I learned this way of cutting it from a sister in my Hyrum ward. This is about the only way I cut a watermelon.  I catanlope the same way...but I only cut it into halfs then start with the slices.

Guest Post at Savvy Sister Shops!

The Awesome Heather over at

Savvy Sister Shops 

invited me to Guest Post!

Trying to stretch that dollar?!

You need to check out Savvy Sister Shops!

She shares so many helpful, great deals! From couponing tips to deals on family activities and many other money saving ideas!
She was also recently featured on KSL News!
Seriously, if you are like me and need to find those deals, but just can't figure it out on your own, or don't have the time or patience, you need to follow Her Blog!
She takes the searching out of it for you!

Thank you so much Heather for this opportunity!

I was FEATURED!

THANK YOU to THE TATTERED TAG!  She featured me on her blog this week!  I feel so lucky and giddy and a bunch of Wow! Really? ME?  I love looking at THE TATTERED TAG and getting new ideas.  I'm featured as The New Neighbor on the Blog.  It's on the right side of her blog! Go check it out!

Stylish Blogger Award

Thanks to an awesome friend, Vicki, this is the second time I have recieved this award!  We used to be next door neighbors to Vicki and her son.  I loved sitting out at night with them.  We would chat and laugh for hours.  I have learned many great things from her.  Love you Vicki and thanks for the award!

So, since I have done this already on my family blog, I decided to list 7 facts about food that pertain to me.

#1 Hello, my name is Kristi and I am a FOOD A HOLIC!

#2  Of Course I LOVE CHOCOLATE...My favorite chocolate is Dove Milk Chocolate/Symphony Bars(with or without toffee bits)/Caramel filled Hershey Kisses!
 

#3  Some wierd combinations I like are: Potato Chips with Cottage Cheese or Pickles; Miracle Whip and Breaded Fish; Porkchops dipped in Applesauce....hmm, I'll have to think about this one some more. I know there are more.

#4  Vanilla Icecream is my favorite kind of icecream...because you can add whatever you want to it!

#5  My strong drink of choice is DR. PEPPER! 

#6  Rice Crispy Treats intimidate me!  The first time I made them....many years ago, they were hard.  I have only made them about 3 times since.

#7  For my wedding reception we served Pizza and Rootbeer Floats! I think there were a few hershey kisses on the plate too!

Crocheted Hat and Flowers

I know this has turned into more of  a food blog, but when I did my first post, I did say that it was going to be a blog of whatever else I KREATE!  Well, I have been trying to keep my hands busy...and not with the computer. 

  

 Back at Halloween time I found the pattern for this hat...only the person doing it did it in Halloween colors.  I thought it would look cute in other colors too, so here is one I made.  I DID NOT make the flower on the hat.  But I plan to make some like it!

 My girls were arguing who got to wear it and who's it was.  Their Dad told them that there would probably be 50 of them around in the next few days that they could choose from.  Can't tell whether he likes my new project or not.  I suppose there will be a few more made though.

********************************************

Bubble Gum Pink

Black and White

Cozy Red

Warm Natural with Brown

Brown with Natural Creams

Mixed Pink with White

Denim Blue with White

Burgandy with Warm Natural

Black and White

**********************************************

B is wearing the Burgandy with Warm Natural

Super Bowl Sunday Menu

I have been stewing over lots of different snack ideas for the super bowl.

Chocolate chip cheese ball

homemade taquitos

hot and spicy chicken strips

7-layer dip

cream cheese/caramel apple dip

strawberry cream cheese fruit dip

nachos

buffalo wings

Mom's beef sandwiches

chicken salad on croissants

artichoke dip

icecream sundaes

rootbeer floats

Connie's wontons

Kettle Corn

Worms

chips/onion dip

There's just a few that I remebered as I am posting.  But I think I have narrowed it down.

So, here is my menu for Super Bowl!

Lunch:  BBQ Pork Spareribs/Baked Potatoes/Veggie/Jello/Rolls

FOR the GAME:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Fruit Dip/Apples and Strawberries

DR. Pepper (for me) Kids get Sprite

Store bought Taquitos

At the risk of losing some followers.....

GO STEELERS!!

Super Bowl Party Snacks!

Ofcourse every Holiday/Celebration has to have great food with it!  Super Bowl is included in that catagory.  So, I am trying to decide what to have for Super Bowl Sunday.  I told Jim that we needed my SIL, Shannon, here with us.  She always comes up with the yummiest snacks.  She even makes fruits and veggies yummy!  Well, since she can't come, I will have to do my own.

What are your favorite Super Bowl Snacks?
Please Share!

In Search of JILL!

Jill....Who left a 7-layer cookie for Santa and who lives in Hyrum!  I would love your 7-layer cookie recipe to try and feature it on my blog.  Would you mind sharing?  If you are willing to share, you can e-mail the recipe to me at Kristi Rowley at Hotmail dot com.  Thanks for following my blog!

What Am I Doing?!?!?!?!

Just another reason for me to sit at the computer. Yes, I am starting another blog. A FOOD BLOG (and maybe a few other Kreations). I have been contemplating this for several months now and have decided to just jump in and do it.

This blog will contain:

My weekly dinner menu's,

A weekly featured recipe,

And of course my COOKIE MONDAY recipe,

Along with any other KREATIONS done in the KITCHEN.