HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

 

Pot Pie on the Fly

When I was a kid, a family friend used to make Taco Cups when we came to visit. 

They're simple, portable and tasty. I introduced the taco cup to the kids today 

thanks to some leftover taco night ingredients and my craving for homemade bread dough.

They couldn't wait to experiment with some other flavors. 

Munchkin and I created a creamy base from scratch, used some frozen veg 

and added diced roasted chicken. DELISH! 

She chose the mini muffin tin to make them in---perfect for 2 dozen little ones. 

She thinks a couple paired with some fresh greens 

and carrot sticks would be so awesome. 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

A dozen of each savory cup flavor was prepped for the deep freezer. 

We also made 22 breakfast burritos & several batches of French toast but forgot to snap photos.

I'll have to request photos as they reheat and post another time.

Best Wishes,

Heather

Getting in the Groove

How is it almost time to head back to school? 

During the school year, I scour sales, buy in bulk & make multiple servings of meals to cut dinner prep to a minimum on our busiest nights. Why make a mess in the kitchen for the same meal 3 times, right? 

We cook a variety of foods seasonally, from scratch & on a budget. Once the weather cools, I get busy in the kitchen, sous chefs in tow and we're nice and toasty in the house without bumping up the heat. I've done this since college so it certainly works for singles & couples...we're just prepping on a larger scale these days. 

It's so nice to come in from work and not have to scramble around cooking at the last minute. It just takes a little planning, really.

While I'm home all summer, the kids enjoy the remaining meals with lots of fresh fruits and veg from the farmer's market and our garden. Once the deep freezer contents begin to dwindle, we have a terrific time following directions and practicing addition, subtraction, multiplication, division & fractions as we begin restocking. baking.

I start with breakfast and lunch items to help our mornings run a little smoother as we transition to early mornings of what seems like pure chaos the first month or two. 

The kiddos bring their lunches to school most days and are responsible for packing their own this year-----I'm pretty excited about that! 

I thought stocking up on some low cost snacks for the freezer would go over well with munchkin & our middle. Our oldest was happy to do some taste testing. Thumbs up, seal of approval.

Munchkin decided on oatmeal raisin cookie dough. She is not a fan of mixing without the Kitchen Aid. I hear you, girl. Exhausted after all the laborious mixing (with help, mind you) she graciously allowed me to bake all 8 dozen. I think we'll all sleep well tonight.

Best Wishes,

Heather

Wish you were here!

I have not been sewing. At all.

We're too busy playing.

We're spending gorgeous days at the beach and loving summer!

Toes in the sand,

soaking in the sunshine---just as we should be.

Best Wishes,

Heather

Simple Goodness: Cherry Bars

Looking for something sweet?

These simple Cherry Bars were a real treat!

I found a recipe on Taste of Home today

but had just one can of cherries in the pantry,

so the recipe was halved and baked in a smaller pan.

ingredients:
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
a couple drops of almond extract1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Middle Layer: 1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling

Glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 

& 1/4 teaspoon almond extract plus one to two 

tablespoons of milk-----to your desired thickness.

I added all ingredients except the flour

to one large bowl and mixed with a spatula.

When thoroughly mixed, I added the flour all at once.

I had no problems doing so

but if you're one to follow directions like a good 

little doobee, add the flour gradually.

*Be sure to grease your pan.*

Using the same spatula, I spread about half 

of the mixture on the bottom

of the greased square pan. 

It's sticky, so don't be concerned. 

Spread the can of pie filling over the layer of dough 

and when complete, drop remaining dough on to the top 

of the pie filling layer. 

For a dark 8" square pan, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees

and baked it at the same temp for 30 minutes before 

increasing the temperature to 375 for about 15 minutes 

until the top is golden brown (approx. 45 minutes altogether).

Cool completely.

When cool, mix glaze ingredients and drizzle 

over the top of your baked masterpiece.

Slice and enjoy.

Happy Baking,

Heather

Chocolate Macadamia Goodness

YUMMY!!!

Years (GEEZ time flies!) Decades ago, our neighbor needed assistance 

caring for peonies that surrounded her back patio. 

Her name was Tave and she always kept some of these decadent cookies 

in her freezer----white chocolate macadamia. Mmmm.

She liked to take a few out of a pretty little tin before 

we watered, weeded and chatted. 

By the time we were done, the cookies were ready to devour. 

I truly think she looked forward to cookies more than I did!

Not  long ago, I happened to pick up some macadamia nuts 

at Costco and still had half of a bag left when I remembered 

Tave's favorite treats. How hard could it be to whip some of her cookies up?

It turns out they're very easy to make. 

The recipe I used made nearly 3 dozen. 

2 dozen were immediately popped into the deep freezer for another time.

I found a recipe (and the gorgeous blog, the Noble Pig) thanks to Pinterest 

and whipped some up tonight. I tend to make larger cookies than average, 

so I did bake ours for 15 minutes at 325, 

but that was the only change required for my oven 

and they were still soft & moist.

You can find the fabulous Noble Pig Blog & this amazing recipe here. 

If you're on Pinterest and would like to see what I've been up to, 

feel free to check my pins out here.

Best Wishes,

Heather