I'm Feeling Peachy

Well I did make this dessert with blueberries as well but I am not feeling blue. I am actually feeling pretty peachy. I had blueberries and peaches that I did not want to go to waste so I decided to make some cobbler. I am already thinking about the next time that I make this and changing up the fruits. An update on the bread pudding from yesterday's post, Randy loved it. He said it was delicious.


Blueberry Peach Cobbler

1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
5 cups sliced, peeled peaches
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
dash salt
1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in juice until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the peaches, blueberries, butter and lemon juice. Pour into a greased shallow 2 quart baking dish.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form. Stir in milk and egg. Spoon over fruit mixture. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm.

Another Request From Randy

Last week while I was looking for some recipes, I happened to leave the cookbooks out and when I came home that night from work, I had a request from Randy to make him the bread pudding that was in one of the books. I checked the recipe and saw that I would have to make a trip to the store, so I set forth making a list of the things I needed and added a few extra things that I knew I would need in some other recipes. On Saturday I went into town to get all the supplies I needed so I would be all set this morning to make the pudding. It was alittle later this morning when I decided to start make the pudding, but it didn't take anytime at all to prepare and the recipe was very easy to follow. I did have to try some to see how it tasted and it is rather good, let's just see how Randy feels about it. I will let everyone know what he thought in tomorrow's post.

Feel Better Bread Pudding

3 cups finely diced day-old bread

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

3 cups very hot water

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

whipped cream or chocolate sauce for the top is optional

Butter a 2 quart baking dish. Place diced bread and raisins in baking dish. Toss to distribute raisins evenly throughout.

Combine condensed milk and water. Pour over bread and let stand until lukewarm.

Meanwhile, combine eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, salt and vanilla.

Pour over bread in casserole. Let stand about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 35o degrees F. Set baking dish in shallow pan of hot water. Bake uncovered about 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Feeling Fruity

On Saturday was the graduation party for Randy's cousin's daughter. I had been thinking of what to make all week and debated whether to make some cookies, a salad and then I finally came up with the idea for a fruit pizza. I was not able to attend the party because I had to work, Randy let me know when I came home that the dessert I made was a hit and it was all gone when he left the party.

Fruit Pizza

3 tubes of sugar cookie dough
3 containers strawberry cream cheese
4 cups fruit of your choice

Place the cookie dough onto a large cookie sheet and smooth out. Bake at 35o degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. After the cookie has cooled completely, spread the cream cheese over the top. Add the fruit on top. Let chill for 1 hour.

A Storm Is A Brewing

I was enjoying a relaxing afternoon after having a rather busy morning, when I noticed out the livingroom window that the sky was getting rather dark and the wind had started to pick. I could hear the thunder off in the distance and knew before long the storm would be here. Well it took less than fifteen minutes for the storm to arrive. The rain was coming down rather hard and blowing across the road. While it was storming I decided to take a few pictures to share with everyone.

The storm clouds starting to move in.

This is when the wind started to pick up, the tree is being pushed over by the wind.

This is when the rain was coming down rather hard. I did have to step out the door to get this picture but I didn't get soaked. I managed to take the picture really quick.

A Summertime Treat

The last few days have been very nice, with sunshine and warm temperatures. I have been enjoying the start of summer and am hoping this beautiful weather continues for many more weeks to come. A great way to enjoy yourself on these nice days is to, grab your lawn chair, a good book and whip up this tasty, healthy and refreshing treat. Ahh... now that sounds like a wonderful idea.

Summer Parfait

1 cup strawberries
1 cup blueberries
4 ounce container of Light and Fit strawberry yogurt
4 ounce container of Light and Fit blueberry yogurt
1 cup granola

In a large cup or the dish of your choice, place a few strawberries and blueberries in the bottom with a handful of granola. Next add the strawberry yogurt and another layer of strawberries, blueberries and more granola. The blueberry yogurt comes next and then top off with the rest of the strawberries, blueberries and the granola.

Breakfast For Dinner

Well tonight that is what Randy will be having for dinner. I bought 2 pints of blueberries and asked Randy for a suggestion of what to make and he said he could go for some blueberry pancakes. So this morning before I went outside to weed the flower gardens, I made the pancakes per Randy's request and of course I did not forget the blueberries. Oh and an update on my last post for the veggie burgers, Randy did try them and said they were actually pretty good. Hmm... well maybe I will have to make them more often.

Blueberry Pancakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup blueberries

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, egg and stir until flour is moistened. Fold in blueberries. For thicker pancakes, use only 1 cup milk.

Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat. I chose to use the smallest frying pan I have and it worked out excellent, to give the perfect size pancake. Pour batter into the skillet using 1/4 cupfuls; cook until tops are bubbly and bubbles burst; edges will look dry. Turn and cook until undersides are golden.

Serve pancakes with butter and syrup or the topping of your choice.

A Burger At It's Best

I love burger and I especially love veggie burgers, not only are they tasty but they are a healthy alternative to a hamburger. It has been sometime since I have had one so I set off to find the perfect recipe, well I found many of interest to me. I took ideas from each recipe and came up with my own.

Veggie Burgers

2 1/2 cups canned garbanzos, drained and rinsed

4 large eggs

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup broccoli, chopped

1 cup saltine crackers, crushed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Combine the garbanzos and eggs in blender, puree until mixture is thick.

Pour mixture in bowl, add chopped onion.

Add crushed crackers, stir and let sit so the crackers can absorb the moisture.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, cover and cook 10 minutes, flip and cook 10 more minutes.

Makes 8 medium size patties.

Butterscotch is Good

I have so many different recipes that I want to try and I am starting to work on making some of them. This recipe just so happens to be the first one that I have been wanting to make. I love butterscotch candies and I love anything that has butterscotch in the recipe. I made some changes to the recipe to accomadate what ingredients that I had on hand.


Butterscotch Blondies

9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Put butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until well combined. Mix in butterscotch chips and pecans.
Pour batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, 42 to 45 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into squares.

A Successful Fishing Trip

On Saturday afternoon Randy went fishing on the Black Lake. He wasn't in a boat but fishing off a dock that is down the hill on his uncle's farm. Randy had lots of luck catching a few sunfish but didnt' catch a big fish like he would have liked. Well this morning, Randy went to the same fishing spot and had luck with this nice bass that he caught. As you can see he was rather proud of the fish he caught because he wanted me to take a few pictures.

The fish was well over 4 pounds and 16 inches long. A very good catch.

I would say this was a very successful trip and Randy is planning on doing some more fishing this weekend.

Nothing Beats Homemade

As many of you can see it has been sometime since I have posted. I have had so much going on since last Friday with the Relay for Life event, getting together with family, meetings and inservice trainings for work and just with work itself plus trying to get things done around the house. So far the week ahead looks rather calm which I am hoping stays that way because there are a few recipes that I have found and really want to make. Now on to this post, when I went grocery shopping on Thursday, I picked a quart of strawberries with the intent of making some kind of dessert. Well I wanted to have some strawberries and biscuits but Randy does not like biscuits at all and said he likes to have strawberries with angel food cake. I knew in my Good Housekeeping Cookbook I had a recipe for angel food cake and I knew I would also have plenty of egg whites since one of Randy's coworkers has been giving us eggs from her chickens. That was a definite help because I would not have had enough eggs. I was alittle hesistant at first about making the cake but it wasn't so bad and when the cake was all done and cooling I was rather proud of myself and am looking forward to the next time to make another one.


Angel-Food Cake
The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup flour
1 2/3 cups egg whites (12 to 14 egg whites), at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract ( I used strawberry extract instead)
1 1/4 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In small bowl, stir confectioners' sugar and flour; set aside. In a large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until soft peaks form; beat in extracts. Beating at high speed sprinkle in sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until sugar is completely dissolved and whites stand in stiff peaks. Fold in flour mixture just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert cake in pan on funnel or bottle; cool completely in pan. With metal spatula or I used a butter knife to carefully loosen cake from the pan; place on cake plate.


Some strawberries and a dollop of cool whip make this dessert complete.

For The Love of Chocolate

Do you ever get the craving for a certain food and you will not be satified until you have it. That is how I felt the other day when I was craving something made with chocolate. I knew just the thing to make that would satisfy the craving I was having. These brownies are chocked full of chocolatey goodness and are so easy to whip up when you need to satisfy that chocolate craving.


Chocoholics Brownies

1/2 cup flour
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Grease an 8x8 baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Add oil, vanilla and eggs; stir until well combined. Spread the batter evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is shiny and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cut into 24 squares.

Casserole for Dinner

I wanted to make a whole sum hearty meal for Randy's dinner tonight. Using ingredients that I had in the pantry I came up with Chicken Noodle Casserole. Of course I had to try some after it was made and it certainly hit the spot.


Chicken Noodle Casserole

1 can fat free cream of celery soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup chicken breast, cut into cubes
2 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles
8 whole wheat Ritz crackers, crushed fine


Stir soup, milk, peas, chicken and noodles in a 2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until hot. Stir. Sprinkle crackers on top and bake for 5 minutes more.

Spaghetti A New Way and A Thank You

I found this recipe in the June/July issue of Taste of Home. I made changes to the recipe to the ingredients that I had on hand. I served Randy the bowl above and he ate every last bit of it. I know he really must have liked it because as he was leaving for work this morning he thanked me for making such a delicious dinner. That really means so very much to me to be able to make a meal for someone I love very much.


Summertime Spaghetti Sauce
I am going to share the recipe I came up with but if you would like the orginial recipe be sure and check out the Taste of Home June/July 2009 issue


1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium yellow pepper, chopped
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
hot cooked pasta
parmesan cheese


In a large skillet, cook ground beef until it browned and no longer pink. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in the same skillet; add onions and yellow pepper. Cook and stir until tender.

Add the tomatoes, brown sugar, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Return ground beef to the pan. Cook stirring occasionally.

Serve with angel hair pasta; top with cheese

Tropical Treat

I really love granola bars. I am always looking for something different to add to them when I make them and this time I went with some Tropical Trail Mix that we had bought at Walmart a few weeks ago. The recipe that I like to use I found on the box of wheat bran.

Tropical Granola Bars

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cup oatmeal

1 1/4 wheat bran

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups tropical trail mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, peanut butter, corn syrup, butter and vanilla; blend well. Stir in oatmeal, wheat bran, salt and trail mix. Press mixture evenly in prepared pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Very Berry Good

I wanted to make some muffins and knew that I had a package of mixed berries in the freezer that I have been wanting to use in a recipe and here was the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Old Fashioned Berry Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

12 ounce package mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a twelve cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, beat egg, milk until blended; stir into flour mixture just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in mixed berries.

Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove muffins from pan; serve warm or cool on wire rack to serve later, reheat if desired.

Randy's Omelet

On the weekend Randy usually makes us breakfast, and I know he likes to make himself a omelet where I like to have a sunny side up egg. I wanted to share with everyone the pictures and recipe that Randy likes to use for when making an omelet. I did help with the prep work by cutting up the peppers and cheese and took the pictures for this post.


6 Egg Omelet Courtesy of Randy

6 eggs
1 large orange pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
1 small can mushrooms

In a large bowl mix the above ingredients together and place in a large skillet on medium heat. Let cook on one side completely before flipping to cook on the other side.


The omelet before it started to cook

The finished omelet!

A Tasty Popcorn Treat

This morning was very busy for Randy and I. I had to bring Randy for some routine bloodwork and then it was off to a kickball tournament for work to benefit Relay for Life. It was a day full of games, laughs and fun. Our team was 1-2 for the day, even though we only won the one game we certainly did bring our a game for the other two. Goodies and treats were being passed out by the health and wellness booth that was set up there. One of the treats just happened to be this popcorn and to go along with it we were given the recipe so we could make it ourself. Well of course I knew I would be making this and that is exactly what I did when I got home.

Honey-Nut Popcorn

7 cups popcorn

1/2 cup salted peanuts

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons margarine

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray large baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Put popcorn into large bowl, mix in peanuts. Microwave honey, margarine and cinnamon for 30 seconds, stir. Pour over popcorn, stirring gently with greased spoon to coat. Spread popcorn evenly in pan.

Bake 12-14 minutes, stirring once. Let cool before serving.

Makes 7 one cup servings

Flower Gardens Complete

On Thursday when Randy and I both had the day off we started to work on making some new flower gardens and by this evening they were completed with the exception of the dirt piles in front of the one garden that need to be moved out back. We chose to go with rubber mulch this year and I am glad that we made that choice. All the plants that we planted are perennials so they will come back next year.

A Day of Gardening

Today Randy and I both had the day off and figured we would take advantage of this opportunity and the nice weather to do some work outside. We have been working on expanding the flower gardens in the front of our house. Here are a few pictures that I want to share with you.

I am hard at work clearing the weeds that were growning
around the wishing well.

Randy taking a much needed break from clearing out
the new flower garden.

One side of the garden after being cleared out
The other garden before the planting begins.

Strawberry Time

I wanted to make a cool and refreshing treat and since I love anything with strawberries I decided to make a strawberry pie.


Cool Strawberry Pie

Filling
1 can strawberry pie filling
1 tub Cool Whip extra creamy whipped topping

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter

Combine crumbs and sugar in medium sized bowl. Stir in melted butter until thoroughly blended. Pack mixture firmly into 9 inch pie pan and press firmly to bottom and sides, bringing crumbs evenly up to the rim. Chill one hour before filling, or bake in 350 degree F oven for 8 minutes, cool, chill and fill.

In a large bowl, mix strawberry filling and cool whip together until blended well. Place filling in pie pan and smooth out. Let chill for one hour and serve with a dollop of cool whip for a tasty and satisfying treat.

Soup For Randy

First I want to start off by thanking my sister Darcy for the idea of making some soup for Randy. Randy is not feeling very well and has a very sore throat so I am sure this soup will be a welcome surprise this evening to warm him up and soothe his throat.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

2 32 ounce containers of College Inn light and fat free chicken broth

1 package egg noodles

1 teaspoon minced onions

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1 cup cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces

1 package frozen stew vegetables

In a large stockpot, heat chicken broth. Add onions, garlic salt and parsley flakes. Let these ingredients simmer and cook noodles according to the directions on the package. Add chicken, vegetables and cooked noodles to the broth. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for an hour.

A Sweet Treat

Coconut Chocolate Squares


1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, flour and brown sugar until well blended. In a smaller bowl, mix eggs, vanilla, baking powder, salt, coconut and chocolate chips. Add these ingredients to the larger bowl and mix until blended together well.

Place into a greased 8x8 baking pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into small bite size pieces.