This one's right down my alley! I'm happiest when I'm in my kitchen cooking and/or baking! TRI-TIP ROAST 2 lb. Tri-tip sirloin ⅓ cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio) 1 jar sundried tomatoes, oil drained 8.5 oz. package feta cheese Place roast in crockpot. Place drained tomatoes over top of roast. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese. Pour wine over all and cook on low for 6-10 hours. Note: We all really like this! Its different and has a good flavor. Leftovers are very good on buns! Here's one for game. SLOW COOKER VENISON ROAST Very good! 3 lbs. boneless venison roast 1 large onion, sliced 1 tbsp. soy sauce 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp. garlic salt ¼ tsp. ground black pepper 1 (1 oz.) package dry onion soup mix 1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup Put cleaned meat in slow cooker and cover with onion. Sprinkle with soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the soup mix and the soup and pour mixture over the venison. Cook on low setting for 6 hours. And who doesn't like Cheese Danish?! CHEESE DANISH 2 pkgs. Crescent rolls 2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese 1 cup sugar 1 egg yolk, reserve the white 1 tsp. vanilla ½ cup sugar ¼ cup chopped walnuts 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 egg white, lightly beaten Preheat oven to 350˚. In a medium sized bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla together. Set aside. Unroll 1 package of the crescent rolls on the bottom of a 9x13 in. baking pan. Pinch seams together. Bake for 5 minutes at 350˚. Spread the cream cheese filling on top of the baked crescent roll. Top with remaining crescent roll. Brush the top with egg white and sprinkle with walnuts and cinnamon. Bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes. ~Sandy~

Good afternoon! I recieved a fabulous box from Trina yesterday!!! Here is what she sent me: Southern Living Cookbook- So many great recipes in here!! I still haven't looked at everything! I love it!! Southern Living magazine Birdhouse Writing Tablet & Envelopes Matted & Framed Cross stich that says, Welcome Enter with a warm Heart. Did you make this Trina? Either way, I love it. It already has a home on my wall! Set of 4 Kitchen Towels (The Food Network) in beautiful colors, LOVE them! Set of 4 Kitchen Scrub Cloths (also The Food Network) I will get plenty use out of these! Oven Mitt with Silicone ( The Food Network) LOVE this also!! Cinnamon/Red Doile- Beautiful, its under a boquet of intense purple amaranth and Maximilum. Inside the doile were 2 beaded-handle spoons that are bent in a hook shape..I've never seen these before, but I'm using them to keep my towels in place on my oven door handle. (lol, Am I even close as to what these are for? I feel like a dummie) I do love them though!! and last but not least, a bag of mixed color Tulips. Trina, thank you sooo much for such a wonderful box of goodies. I hope you are doing fine, you are in my thoughts! Hugs, Karen

barb_roselover_in- How much tomato powder did you order? If it's a small amount (8-oz. or less), then store it in the refrigerator. It hardens because there are no fillers (ingredients) to keep it free-flowing. So any time you open it, get in and get out quickly. The moisture in the air can cause it to clump, or even harden. I tuck a few moisture absorbers (leftovers from bottles of supplements we take) in the top of the jar to absorb any moisture from opening the jar. Your frost-free refrigerator is a very dry environment, which is why it works to keep your powder dry, so to speak ;-). If the tomato powder gets hard, you can usually break it up with a spoon or grate it on a fine box grater or microplane back into a powder again. Just don't leave the lid off for any length of time. If you purchased a large amount, like a #10 can, place it in user-friendly amounts - pint or 1/2-pint canning jars - and vacuum-seal them shut with a FoodSaver using the jar attachment. Kept in a dry, dark and cool environment (vacuum-sealed) it has an indefinite shelf-life. I've suffered with arthritis since I was 14-years old, so you have my sympathy.... You may get some relief if you limit foods from nightshade plants, so you might want to research that. I decreased inflammation considerably by eliminating wheat. I have a flaker mill so I can make flakes from a large variety of soft grains - rye, spelt, einkorn, barley, wheat, kamut, quinoa, oat groats, triticale... Check Bob's Red Mill for a variety of flakes. Unfortunately, nothing tastes like oats. Many years ago a local mill made "heavy bran" from hard winter white wheat, which was made like oatmeal, and worked in recipes just like oatmeal - but that wonderful taste was sorely missing. I was part of a small group challenged to use heavy bran in recipes, but the product was too work-intensive to be put into production on a local basis - after I used 25# of it in experimental recipes. Heavy bran is generally used as the base product for making flaked cereals. You may have better luck if you soak your oats, rather than consuming them raw in granola. Or soak and dehydrate them first, if you want to use them in granola-type mixtures. Oats contain more phytates than almost any other grain. I generally soak and dehydrate nuts before I add them to granola so they are easier to digest and have more available nutrition. If you aren't familiar with soaking gains/nuts/seeds, check your library for a copy of "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., and you can find more information on-line. When it comes to chia seeds, I purchase them 5-pounds at a time and have used them for 7-8 years. They are my #1 health food. -Grainlady

This is easy but delicious (from eatingwell.com) Slow cooker braised pork with tomatillo salsa 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, or butt [i use loin] 1 1/2 cups prepared tomatillo salsa 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth [I use 1 cup or less] 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, or ground cumin 3 plum tomatoes, (1/2 pound), thinly sliced [I usually use drained diced fire roasted tomatoes from a can] 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream Directions: Trim and discard pork surface fat. Cut meat apart following layers of fat around muscles; trim and discard fat. Cut into 2-inch chunks and rinse with cold water. Place in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to high. Combine salsa, broth, onion and cumin seeds in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour over the meat. Add tomatoes and mix gently. Put the lid on and cook until the meat is pull-apart tender, 6 to 7 hours. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a large bowl; cover and keep warm. Pour the sauce and vegetables into a large skillet; skim fat. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil, skimming froth from time to time, for about 20 minutes, to intensify flavors and thicken slightly. Add the pork and 1/4 cup cilantro; heat through. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of the remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. Oven method: Total: 3 hours Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine pork, salsa, 1/2 cup chicken broth, onion, cumin seeds and tomatoes in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; cover snugly with foil. Bake until the pork is pull-apart tender, about 2 1/4 hours. Skim fat. Uncover and bake until the meat begins to brown, about 15 minutes more. Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro. Ladle into bowls, garnish with sour cream and remaining cilantro. Note---I usually I don't have time to start and/or finish the sauce on the stovetop, and it still tastes very good.