I'm beginning this post on Saturday, May 29th. Midnight. And not sleepy. I already went to bed, already went to sleep, and already even dreamed before I woke up an hour later (now). Wide wide awake. What better time to get a few things done, like write a blog post (and eat some ice cream)...
The boys had just as much fun as the girls. I wish I'd taken a picture of a certain monkey (no, not my child) that buddied up to my boys. We'll just have to go back and visit their new pal sometime.
My parents' house is in full bloom. I couldn't resist posting the pictures of spring colors (it's about time we had spring, since Summer is theoretically just around the corner). My mom does a marvelous job with her flowers, which we all enjoy.
Recipes:
I made frozen yogurt pie last week. The crumb crust was made from cinnamon cookies I'd made that nobody liked - so I crumbed the cookies, added some graham cracker crumbs, and some butter to make it stick. So easy. Then I mixed about 2 cups of plain yogurt with a small carton of Cool Whip (gently so it stays nice and fluffy). I had crushed up strawberries and added sugar (Eleanor calls it "Strawberry Mush"), so I stirred in the strawberry mush to the yogurt mixture, spooned it all into the crust, popped it into the freezer, and voila - a delicious dessert.
Oliver (my gourmet guy) has been begging me to try a recipe for blueberry muffins. The recipe is printed on a hand towel that has been hanging on the cabinet handle for some time now. The batter turned out quite thick, almost like cookie dough, and I was worried it'd be a waste. But they baked up nicely and turned out more like scones than typical muffins. Jeff raved about them, and when Jeff likes something you know it's good. The only drawback was they didn't taste as good the second day, so eat 'em fresh! The recipe says baking "powder" then the directions say baking "soda" - I stuck with the baking powder (more biscuity and it was tasty!).
Blueberry Muffins from the Hand Towel (I doubled it for my family, but here's the single batch recipe)
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
1 1/2 Cups Blueberries
1/4 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Butter, Melted
2 Eggs, Beaten
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder (the is where the hand towel says "soda" - never trust a hand towel)
Add 1 Tablespoon of flour mixture to blueberries, tossing to coat.
In a small bowl, combine milk, butter and eggs until blended. Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fill in blueberries. Spoon evenly into greased or paper lined muffin cups. Bake 10-25 minutes at 400. Makes 8-10 muffins.
Lasagna Soup
(Warning: this uses fake food, but it's good when you're in a rush). I actually made this in a Dutch Oven on the stove, then later put it in a crock pot just before dinner to reheat.
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 pckg (7 3/4 oz) lasagna dinner mix (This is where I'm embarrassed - using a box. I had bought some when on sale for food storage and needed to use them up, so today's soup was a triple batch)
5 cups water
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (I used tomatoes from my in-laws' garden that I'd canned - don't know if I'll ever can again, but it was good to have in storage)
1 can (7oz) whole kernel corn, undrained (I used corn from my in-laws' garden that I had frozen last year)
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
Any veggies you want to add. I sauteed green peppers and celery, threw in some canned mushrooms (no, I didn't can them from my in-laws' garden :) hee-hee), And at the end you can put in zucchini, summer squash, etc.
In a Dutch oven (which I used) or soup kettle, cook beef and onion over medium heat until no longer pink, drain. Add contents of lasagna dinner SAUCE MIX (not the noodles yet), water, tomaotes, corn, other vegetables (but not soft veggies, like the zucchini or summer squash), and Parmesan cheese (I forgot to put in the Parmesan this time, it was fine).; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the lasagna noodles and zucchini or other squash. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.
Makes 2 1/2 qts (10 servings).
Speaking of Dutch Ovens, I made our chicken in one this week because the grill was out of gas and I like Dutch Ovens. In the background is some asparagus from my in-laws' garden. Tasty!
Besides asparagus, chicken, fruit, & cottage cheese, here is also baked sweet potato fries (my favorite!). Cut sweet potatoes into strips, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, and bake at 400F on a baking sheet for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
And the trick to asparagus, by the way, is this:
Cut off the woody ends, rinse, then soak in a pan of ice water. Meanwhile, bring a large skillet of water to a boil on the stove. When boiling, add chilled asparagus to the water, then let the water return to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil, remove the asparagus and return it to the ice water pan (you might need to add more ice). The asparagus is perfectly cooked. Sometimes I then grill it a little (brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt). Sooooo good.
The wrap was so pretty I had to take a picture. I used Italian Flat-Out bread, alfalfa sprouts, lots of lettuce, carrots, and left-over chicken, and mustard for flavor.
I made these bran muffins a while ago. I'll add the recipe later (the kids are going crazy with me on the computer). The nice thing is that you make the recipe, bake up what you want, and keep the rest of the batter in the fridge - then bake new muffins as needed. Scrumptious.
wow. thats all i have to say. i'm hungry AND missing yellowstone, the cabin, the playmill, family . . . :(
ReplyDeleteI was thinking today, overly proud, that there are few people that I know personally that eat better than me....and then I was humbled by your magnificent cooking! I don't know when was the last time I baked anything. I am a horribly lazy baker. When you find out where Purplestone is I want to go there too.
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