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.