Baked Potato Soup

I have 3 bags, 5lbs each, of potatoes. So, I made baked potato soup for dinner. It was a huge hit. Tomorrow, potato salad and corn dogs!

Variations

I like to try variations of things I have already made. It makes my life entertaining, ok?

So last night I made a blueberry & apple crisp. It wasnt as good as the pear & blackberry, but good.

I realized a little too late that I wa out of brown sugar so the white had to suffice and I didn't like it as much. Also, the apples aren't as sweet and needed a little more sugar. Otherwise, it was good. Jared had plenty.

My task is to now try Lacto-fermenting with some of my peppers and make some salsa!

Blackberry & Pear Crisp- Recipe!

I made this amazing desert last night. I was super happy that it turned out so good, since it is even pretty healthy too!

My MIL had an insulin reaction last night so we took her dinner. Split pea soup in bread bowls and this Crisp. She loved it too.

So, here is the recipe I made up/was inspired by a few recipes.

Nichole's blackberry & pear crisp:

*Adjust to the size you want to make, I made a small one to try this time.

1 12 oz container of blackberries
5 medium sized pears

Slice pears and cook on medium
Heat with a tbsp of truvia (or regular sugar if you choose), until pears are sift and juicy. Poor over blackberries in baking dish.

Topping:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
6 tbsp of coconut oil (or butter if you choose)

Mix dry ingredients then cut in
butter. Sprinkle or drop on top of fruit mixture. Cook 20 minutes on 350. The juices will be bubbling and the topping will be golden brown.

It's also yummy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

So, get out there and create!

Experiment in the kitchen my friends, you never know what you will come up with!

An Advantage

...to having a bum leg that I get to elevate and rest for a few more days is that I get to take time to sit. Sitting lets me do some things I haven't had a chance to do lately. Such as:

1) work on and hopefully Finnish the afghan I have been working on.

2) write in my journal.

3) watch an episode of ER that brought back one of my all time favorite characters, which I would have missed had it not been for the sitting.

4) I get to read for long periods of time.

5) I have had lots of time to ponder my next move with my hair.

6) find great new recipes online

7) been able to catalog all my pictures, not just by month but by event as well.

8) I did my nails

9) Planned my garden for the year

and

10) find new blogs to love :)

Yummy Lemon Bars

I was craving lemon bars today and pulled out my super easy and favorite recipe. I didn't think to take pictures of the process, but it is so easy you will whip through it too.

Lemons Bars:

Crust:
1 cup flour
7 Tbsp. butter (you can use a substitute, but it isn't as good)
2 Tbsp. of powdered sugar

Combine flour, butter and powdered sugar and press evenly into 9x13 pan or they are very sophisticated in tart pans. Preheat oven to 350, you won't want to do this until this point. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until it is golden brown. Cool.

Filling:

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup of lemon juice (or you could spice it up and use lime!)
2 Tbsp. flour

While the crust is baking/cooling, wisk eggs, sugar, lemons and flour in large bowl until it is smooth. Pour into crust.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes until it is set. Sift powdered sugar on top of hot bars.

I like to eat one right out of the oven, but I like right of the oven stuff. Cool for about 10 minutes and you are ready to serve. With a very light but definite taste it is sure to please. Let me know if you try these out!

Yummy

I felt the urge to bake. And bake and bake! I tried a few new recipes that I have decided that I love. First, the Wheat Muffin. It uses only wheat flour (which I really like) and a little brown sugar and it was wonderful! I really enjoyed how great they turned out. And the perfect breakfast muffin for me.

Next I tried some Dutch Apple Bread. It was easy and it is a wonderful after dinner treat. I added a little wheat flour to this one, even though it didn't call for it. It came together super quick and made the house smell like summer apples! With the apple tree I have in my yard you can expect great amounts of this bread to be made and given away and frozen.

All in all it was a great experience. I just could not stop cooking, so I made pancakes for lunch, some egg salad, jello and prepped some stuff for the party tonight. And I added some raspberries to some of my wheat muffins, don't worry, they were great!

Let me know if you want one of these recipes, and I will be sure to add it.

New Layout

I decided I needed a change. So I found something I liked and here it is. I am still working out kinks (as you might be able to tell by the blog roll. I don't know why it isn't working, the codes are good, hmm...) Anyway.

I spent a good amount of time this week looking for cotton candy. My friend Logan and I needed it for the Drive-in. We found it at the party store, we should have started there. But it was fun looking for it. The drive-in was fun. I was sandwiched between two guys, all squished together, heads on shoulders, sharing blankets, and hand holding...it was fun!

For enrichment this week we learned to make eclairs. They were so yummy! We are trying a variation on the classic with a coconut flavored filling with coconut flakes on the top...yum. I like coconut so it sounds good to me.

Beside me in the back row is Lisa Jensen, she is the RS advisor in our ward and she has been so wonderful to me. She knows that I am struggling with a few things and after an evening of making eclairs (her recipe, she once made 1,000 for her sons wedding!) she took me to dinner to talk and have a moment to have a "mom" since mine is so far and I won't see her until Christmas, if then. I am very grateful for Lisa. She is fun and silly and I am glad I get to hang out with her.

OK, this is the easy and wonderful recipe for our Eclairs.

Lisa Jensen's Eclairs

Shells:

1/2 c. butter or margarine (you can't tell the difference so it personal preference)

1 c. water

1/4 tsp. salt

1c. flour

4 eggs

Combine butter or margarine and water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add flour and salt all at once; stir vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each one until smooth (you can not over beat this, but you can under beat it. Your pastry will go flat if it is not beat enough. DO NOT use mixer). Put through a pastry tube making 3 inch strips (you can do puffs as well, using spoons) Bake at 400 degrees on greased cookie sheet for 30 minutes. Put on cooling rack and poke a hole in one end (a skewer works great!). let cool. Frost with chocolate frosting.

Filling:

1 8 oz. cool whip

1 sm. package instant vanilla pudding

Mix pudding as directed. When it has set up, fold in the cool whip. Put it in a pastry tube and fill the shells. Keep in refrigerator until you are ready to serve!

This recipe will make about 3 dozen small eclairs. You can do larger ones or puffs. These can be frozen with the filling in them and un-thaw beautifully. Try variations of banana pudding, using strawberry icing on the top, pumpkin flavoring or coconut.

Enjoy and let me know if you end up trying this great and easy recipe!