A Note: I often write my updates several days, sometimes a week in advance. My posts for this week, this ebook sale, and some of my Facebook updates were written and schedules days ago. I am going to go ahead and leave everything scheduled as planned, because the Amazon sale is too late to change. Please keep reading though because I have something planned. 

Many of my readers know that I live in Oklahoma and I have received a lot of questions and comments about my family, so I wanted to be sure to give you a quick update. My family is fine, but so many in Oklahoma can not say that. The area I live in avoided the worst of the storms, but we are Oklahomans and our hearts grieve for those that are suffering. My husband and I lived in Moore, OK, for four years while my husband attended OU. The house we lived in during those years was in one of the neighborhoods hit so hard yesterday. We know that area very well. We still have family and friends in the Oklahoma City area. When tragedy hits so close to home, it makes you appreciate so much more what you have. It makes you hug your family a little closer.

This sale may be too late to change, but it is not too late to change what I do with the sale. My husband and I talked this morning and decided that a portion of the proceeds of all sales made over the next two days, will go to help Oklahoma storm victims. We are looking into ways to help those that need it the most. I will keep you updated on that.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those in Oklahoma that have been hit hard over the last few days. And thank you for your concern for my family. Please, keep Oklahoma in your prayers as they struggle to recover from this.

Over the last few months I have been working on a little project. Well, ok, a big project.

Many of you know that I eat gluten free. After years of health issues gluten free eating has changed my life and health for the better. I know many of you follow my allergy section, but I wanted to share this project with all my readers not just my allergy section, because I know many of you have family and friends that are gluten free.

Gluten free eating can be time consuming and expensive, but it does not have to be. It can be quick and easy to make and it can taste great. Gluten free food should be food that your whole family can enjoy.

My new project involves helping people make quick and easy gluten free food that is delicious. My new project is a brand new gluten free ebook and website.

The Gluten Free Baking Mix Cookbook will change gluten free in your house or those that you know. It makes gluten free cooking easy. Those nights where you don’t have a lot of time, but want to put a delicious gluten free dinner on the table, I have you covered with this new ebook.

Need a gluten free breakfast in a hurry? I have you covered with recipes that work great for making ahead and keeping on hand for busy mornings.

Dessert? I have that as well. Cobbler or cookies anyone?!

This ebook is more than just recipes, the whole concept is based on a mix. Think that bright yellow box at the store, but in a homemade gluten free mix. Yes, oh yes it is. And I am sharing 50 gluten free recipes to use the homemade mix in.

And for today and tomorrow, May 21st and 22nd, my new The Gluten Free Baking Mix Cookbook ebook is 99 cents!! Yes, I said 99 cents.

If you are gluten free or know someone that is gluten free, be sure to get your copy for 99 cents, while you can.

You can find out more details here. And be sure to follow my new site, GF Mixes. I will be share more recipes, tips, and more homemade gluten free mixes over there. I have great things  planned for making gluten free cooking easy and delicious!

My New ebook For Only 99 Cents and a Small Way To Help Oklahoma is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal. Delicious.

Really there is no other way to describe this. It is like a gourmet grown up version of those little packets of strawberry and cream oatmeal. And this baked oatmeal is not just for grown ups, it is for kids of all ages. So delicious!

I made this as a last minute decision one afternoon when a bowl of overripe strawberries were staring at me when I opened the fridge. I did not want to throw them out, but I was not sure of how I wanted to use them either.

Baked oatmeal is a favorite in our house, so I instantly thought a new version of baked oatmeal would be perfect.

Besides the strawberries I also had a small container of whipping cream in the fridge and what better way to make the cream part than with real cream. And I am so glad I used real cream in this. It gives it that over the top rich and creamy taste.

You need to make this for your family. Really it is so good. And it can be put together the night before and baked in the morning for a quick and easy breakfast. This is a perfect way to eat oatmeal during summer berry season.

Strawberries and Cream Baked Oatmeal is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I will totally admit that this week’s menu plan is for you. I put it together knowing that I will probably not fix one thing from it, well maybe one or two things that are in the freezer, but besides that I will not be doing much cooking this week.

This was a picture I took in my kitchen earlier this week. When I mentioned that I was redoing my kitchen I meant we were really redoing it. Like all of it.

In this picture the plumbing was about all that was left in my kitchen. Well, the refrigerator has stayed too, but besides that it has pretty much been torn down to nothing.

And the rest of my house pretty much looks like this.

New stuff waiting to be put in is everywhere, a few old things waiting to be put back, and furniture covered in plastic or sheets to make clean up a little easier.

And the dust, oh the dust and dirt. I think it will take months to get all the dust gone and that is with covering about everything we could, but it will be worth it.

So this week’s plan is for you. I hope you get some ideas for quick and easy meals and next week let’s hope I can at least use part of my kitchen again.

Breakfast

Baked Oatmeal Muffins- I made a bunch of my baked oatmeal into muffins and froze them  for quick reheating while we are without a kitchen.

Homemade Granola

and whatever you can find- Yes, I am sure there will be several mornings this week where that is the case.

 Dinner

One Pot Spaghetti

Crock Pot Chicken Legs

Chicken Bacon LoMein

Hamburger Helper Style Stroganoff

Mexican Pizza

 Cheeseburger Calzone

Slow Cooked Swiss Steak

 For more menu planning ideas see Menu Planning Mondays. 

Menu Plan and Kitchen Update {May 19th-25th} is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I shared a picture of this cake on my Facebook page when I made it for my daughter’s birthday. When I posted it, I said I would share it soon.

Well, that was back in April and here it is May 16th. What can I say except that life got busy and I forgot about it until I saw a picture of it the other day on my computer.

So, I am sorry it took me so long, but this cake is so good that really it was worth the wait. And not only was this cake really good, it was very easy. 

My daughter actually came up with this cake herself. She could not decide on what kind of cake she wanted so she spent some time looking around my site. She came to me and asked if I could combine this cake with this filling and frost it with ganache.

I love that she was creative enough to think it would all go well together. I think she is going to be my child that out cooks and bakes me someday. Her creativity in the kitchen amazes me. When I looked at the recipes she wanted to combine, I knew it would work well.

It turned out great. It was rich and delicious and everything a birthday cake should be.

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Kettle Chips but all thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

If you follow me on Facebook then you have probably seen me say that an open bag of Kettle Chips is a dangerous thing for me. I love Kettle Chips! I have for years. All flavors and all kinds.

And the fact that they are an Oregon based company makes me love them even more. I am an Oregon born and raised girl after all.

Kettle Chips taste great. They are The Real Kettle Chip. It is their name, not just a style of chips.

It is hard to pick my family’s favorite flavor, because we love them all. However, I think the Sea Salt Kettle Chips and the Salt and Vinegar ones are my favorite. Like I said, an open bag is dangerous for me. I have been known to eat a few more than I should.

One of the things I love about Kettle Chips is that they use real all natural ingredients. I can pronounce all the ingredients listed on the bag and there are not many foods that you can say that about.

Kettle Brand has used natural, non-GMO ingredients in all of its products since we were founded in 1978. And they were the first potato chip to be verified by the Non-GMO Project.

We are entering the time of year for barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings all of which Kettle Chips would be perfect for. They have twenty four flavors, so they really have a flavor for everyone.

Sea Salt & Vinegar

Sea Salt

Jalapeño

Backyard Barbeque®

Spicy Thai™

New York Cheddar

Honey Dijon

Sour Cream and Onion

Sweet Onion

Fully Loaded Baked Potato™

Unsalted

Cheddar Beer

Jalapeño Jack

Red Chili

Salsa with Mesquite

Zesty Ranch

Buffalo Bleu™

Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper

Cheddar & Sour Cream

Classic Barbeque

Sea Salt

Reduced Fat Sea Salt

Reduced Fat Krinkle Cut Sea Salt & Vinegar

Reduced Fat Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper

Bakes Sea Salt & Vinegar

Bakes Honey Hickory Barbeque

Bakes Sea Salt

Bakes Cheddar & Roasted Tomato

Bakes Sour Cream & Onion

Organic Country Style Barbeque

Organic Sea Salt

Organic Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper

Organic Sweet Chili Garlic

 

See, there really is a flavor for everyone!What is your favorite flavor of Kettle Chips?

And be sure to visit the Kettle Chip page to share why real ingredients are important to you. I know I love them because they are #TheRealKettleChips.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kettle Brand. The opinions and text are all mine.

Kettle Chips and Why I Love Them is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

Have you all seen the new Ball Jar Heritage Collection Pint Jars ?! I love these.

I love jars of all kinds. I have mentioned before that I use them for all kinds of things. I love them for canning of course, but they work great for storing and serving as well.

I even have a collection of old jars, including some really old blue glass jars. Some of them even have the glass lids or the old fashioned screw on metal ones. I have quite a few that were my grandmothers, but also some that came from garage and estate sales. Over the years I have found various ways to display them in my house.

My friend Jessica recently posted a picture of a blue jar she was drinking out of and I thought it looked great because I love uses jars for things like that.

Then I was in Target last week and saw these new Ball Jar Heritage Collection Pint Jars  on an end display and instantly knew I wanted them. I thought they would be great to use in food photos. Yes, I can use my old blue jars, but since many of them were my grandmother’s I don’t like to, so I knew these would work well in photos.

And I will admit that Target is a dangerous place for a food blogger. They have so many cute kitchen and food related things. I really have to be careful when I enter Target. This day though I gave in and bought a package of six jars.

Once I got the jars home and washed them, I knew I would be using these for way more than food photos.

I mean really doesn’t that jar full of ice water look so good! Perfect for hot summer day. And I am thinking these jars used as drinking glasses on a table with my Fiestaware dishes would be perfect.

My house and table are far from fancy. I live in the country with three kids, animals, and a lot going on. Fancy does not describe my family at all, so I think I will be going back to Target for some more blue jars to use for drinking glasses.

What is your favorite use for jars? 

Disclaimers: This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting this site. 

Ball Blue Jar Collection is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I am a brand ambassador for Holland House, but my thoughts and opinions are 100% mine. 

Roasted vegetables are one of my favorite ways to serve vegetables. It is a simple, delicious, and healthy way to serve them. My family loves the flavor that roasting vegetables gives them.

You can roast them by simply drizzling with oil and sprinkling with salt, but by new favorite way to serve them is oil, salt, and a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

I have found some really good asparagus at the store lately and my kids enjoy eating it. Yes, my kids love asparagus. So, roasting it with a little oil, salt, and balsamic vinegar is the way I have been serving it and my family has loved it.

Balsamic vinegar is a staple in my kitchen, especially this time of year. It is one of the easiest ways to add a lot of flavor to vegetables or salad.

This is the time of year for all kinds of fresh vegetables and salads. Trying drizzling yours with a little Holland House Balsamic Vinegar to add a lot of flavor without much work.

 Have you tried roasting your vegetables? 

Disclaimer: I am compensated for my time working with Holland House, but my thoughts and opinions are my own.

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

In case you missed my post earlier this week, I shared a few thoughts on Mother’s Day. It is a keeping it real, sharing what I have been thinking, type of post. And I want to say thank you all for the nice comments and thoughts on that post. We all have so much to be thankful for!

There is still a few more days to enter the Pampered Chef give away, so if you have not entered, be sure to check out the recipe I shared and the pink Pampered Chef products I am giving away.

This week’s plan contains lots of my family’s favorites. And as always I am keeping it pretty simple.

Breakfast

Granola- We are still eating from the large batch my daughter made recently

 Pancake Muffins from the freezer

Yogurt and Toast

Eggs and Sausage from the freezer

Dinner

Taco Pasta

Skillet Potatoes and Eggs

 Mini Turkey Meatloaves

Slow Cooked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Tacos

 Cheeseburger Pizza

 Teriyaki Steak 

Dessert of the Week

Easy Candy Bar Fudge 

For more menu planning ideas see Menu Planning Mondays.

Mother’s Day and a Menu Plan {May 12th-18th} is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

This is a post is written on behalf of Pampered Chef, but my opinions are 100% mine. 

One quick look around my kitchen will let you know that I love Pampered Chef. I tried figuring out how many Pampered Chef items I owned and I lost count. Yes, I own that many.

After fifteen or so years I now have quite a large collection of Pampered Chef items. From the stoneware to the measuring cups and spoons, I love it all. I love to use it in my kitchen and I love to give it as gifts. 

When Pampered Chef contacted me recently about working with them on their Help Whip Cancer campaign, it was easy to say yes.

And when I found out it involved a giveaway for my readers, the answer was definitely yes. I know you all love Pampered Chef as much as I do.

Here is a little information about the Help Whip Cancer campaign and how you can help.

• Since the campaign’s beginning in 2000, Consultants and customers have raised more than $10.2 million to Help Whip Cancer®. Make a Difference in May and October with The Pampered Chef®!
• Funds raised by the Help Whip Cancer® campaign are distributed to breast cancer education and early detection programs across the country.

Here’s how you can Help Whip Cancer®:

• Host a Fundraiser Show! - When you host a Help Whip Cancer® Fundraiser Cooking Show in May and/or October, up to 25% of Show sales will be donated to the American Cancer Society®.
•  Purchase pink products! - Pampered Chef® pink products are available in May and October. We’ll contribute $1 to the American Cancer Society® for each one that you purchase.

You can also find out more information about this campaign and the message by visiting the Pampered Chef website 

Since the Help Whip Cancer campaign is to benefit the American Cancer Society I was asked to turn one of my favorite recipes pink in support of breast cancer awareness. When I think of Pampered Chef recipes I think quick and easy. Their recipes are recipes for everyday cooking. So, I knew I needed to turn one of my favorite quick and easy recipes pink.

I decided to involve my kids on this one and make something fun for them. I decided to turn a favorite crispy rice treat pink. And it could not have been easier.

One of the reasons I choose to make these was that it is one of my favorite things to make using my rectangular stoneware baker. The stoneware baker is nice and deep, so it makes a nice thick treat that my kids love.

This is pretty much your basic crispy treats recipe with the amounts changed to fit the deep stoneware baker. And with a few drops of food coloring added.

Nice and thick and delicious! Wouldn’t these be fun for all kinds of things. Parties, kids treats, etc. My girls loved them pink.

Now for the giveaway!!

Pampered Chef is giving one of my readers a set of their Pink Products.

Two of my favorite Pampered Chef items are in this giveaway. A paring knife and the clips. My mom gave me one of their paring knives years ago and I still use and love it. The clips, well those are good for just about anything. From bags of chips and crackers to flour and chocolate chips, I used them on everything. I think you will love these as much as I do!

One reader will win a set of pink Pampered Chef items just like the one pictured above.

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment. You can leave any comment, but I would love to hear what your favorite Pampered Chef item is. 

• Giveaway ends Tuesday May 14, 2013.
• For more details please see my giveaway policy.
• If you are reading this through email you must click here and leave a comment to enter. Responding to this email does not count as an entry.

Disclaimer: I have been selected by The Pampered Chef to be an ambassador for their Help Whip Cancer®program. While I have received product in exchange for my post, my opinions are my own, and I have not been paid to post positive comments.

Fun and Pink Crispy Rice Treats {And a Pampered Chef Giveaway!} is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

Today I am totally changing direction from the post and recipe I had planned to share. I was going to talk oven fries and tips for cooking them, but I felt like I needed to share something totally non food related today. I hope that is okay with you all.

I don’t know about you, but this year the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day have left me with a case of the I wants and I wishes.

As I look around at magazine articles and internet sites and listen to radio and T.V. ads, I end up losing site of what Mother’s Day is and truly should be.

If I listen to those ads I should be receiving large bouquets of flowers or chocolate covered strawberries delivered to my door. If I pay attention to those magazine articles and internet sites I should be expecting breakfast in bed, a fancy dinner, the gift of my “dreams”, or the entire day off.

This year I have struggled to ignore all that. This year I wish I could turn off the what the world is telling me Mother’s Day should be, because that is not reality, at least in my world, and I am guessing not in most of your worlds.

Now don’t get me wrong if your husband or family blesses you with packages, gifts, and a fancy meal, I think it is great, but for many of us it is just not reality.

Do you know why all that it is not reality? It is because on Mother’s Day we are still Mother’s. There are still meals to be cooked, dishes to clean, messes to be made, and in many houses diapers to be changed. We are mothers and we still have responsibilities even on Mother’s Day. And for most of us we would not have it any other way. 

Yes, the days are long, but as the saying goes the years are also short. Yes, in the midst of all of the work of being mom we long for a break, but we need to remember that all that work and mess is what makes us a mom.

In my house there will be no breakfast in bed. There will be no fancy meals made. And there will be no fancy gift wrapped up in a beautiful package. And I am fine with that.

Breakfast in bed won’t happen for me on Sunday because Sunday mornings are a bit chaotic at our house as we try to get everyone ready, breakfast made, and out the door to church.The reality though is that there is no place I would rather be on Mother’s Day than sitting in church with my family. Breakfast in bed doesn’t even come close to comparing to that for me. 

There will not be any fancy meals at my house either. My husband is not a cook. He does not enjoy it and really is not that good at it. And do you know what? I am fine with that.

The kitchen is my place. Not in a the women has to be in the kitchen kind of way either. I enjoy it. I like it being my area. My thing. My territory to have control over. I think we get along a lot better if he stays out of the kitchen. It works for us. So, if I want a fancy meal on Mother’s Day, yes I would rather spend the afternoon in the kitchen fixing it myself. In fact, I would probably enjoy an afternoon in the kitchen all to myself more than a meal being made for me.

Large packages with a fancy gift inside will probably not be happening at my house either. After almost 19 years of marriage I have accepted that fact that my husband is not much of a gift giver. Now don’t get me wrong, I usually get a gift, but there have been a few gifts that we still talk about because they were a “can you believe you gave me that for a gift” kind of gift. But the reality is I am fine with that.

My husband gives me a lot of other gifts. He goes to work each and every day and works hard so that I have been able to stay home with our kids. He works hard around our house and property. He has provided me with a life far beyond anything I ever thought I would have. And those gifts can’t be measured to any gift that can be wrapped in a package. 

My Mother’s Day may look nothing like what I see in magazines and other places, but that is fine because I am very thankful for the life I do have.

None of our lives may look like what we see around us, but this Mother’s Day I encourage you to focus on what you have and not what you don’t have.

You may not have breakfast in bed, a fancy meal, or the day off, but look around at how you do get to spend your day and who you get to spend it with. You may not have a beautiful package to open, but look around at all the gifts you do have. Even if your world  around you looks nothing like you hoped, I am sure you can find a gift in it.There is always something to be thankful for.

Focus on the fact that you are simply blessed to be a mom!

I can’t leave this post without saying a word to those that long to be a mom. I was there not all that long ago. I know the struggles and the pain. I know the tears that have been shed. Take a little time today for yourself. Go out to dinner. Buy that book you have been longing to read. Buy a treat you have been wanting. It is okay to take a little time for you. To grieve. To pray. To focus. But then I encourage you to go focus on someone or something else.

The best way I have found to deal with my discouragement with my own life is to focus on others. My life and problems always seem small when I look around at how I can help others with their problems. Doing encouraging things for others always encourages me. (Some day I will write a whole post on that subject.)

Even though it is hard, try to focus on someone else. Offer that mom with three kids under five some encouragement or help. Spend some time with that older person you know that has family across the country or that is too busy to care about her on Mother’s Day. Find that friend or person that is like you, longing for something they don’t have. Share your heart with each other. They may be looking for encouragement through this time just like you are. And most of all don’t give up. You never know what your future will hold and what surprises you may have ahead.

I would love to hear what are you thankful for this year? 

A Few Thoughts On Mother’s Day This Year is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2012 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.