Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Today was corn day. Lori and I froze 20 dozen ears of corn....that equals roughly 37 quarts. In order to have the energy to husk all that corn, cook it, cut it off the cob, bag it and freeze it; we needed to start the morning with coffee and a treat!

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake
1/2 C. Butter, softened
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
15 oz. Can of Pumpkin
3 Large eggs
2 1/2 Cups flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 T. Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. Allspice

Streusel Topping
3/4 C. Flour
3/4 C. Sugar
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
4 Tbsp. Butter, melted

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking pans (I used 2 8" round pans) with nonstick spray; set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Add pumpkin and eggs, mixing well. Add flour, baking powder and spices. Add gradually to pumpkin mix. Beating well after each addition. Pour batter into prepared pans. Prepare topping: In a small bowl combine topping ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle over cakes. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This was truly a treat!! One that I will definitely make again.

HAPPY EATING!

Grilled Tailgate Chicken Wings

For whatever reason, the blog decide to turn the pictures sideways and well, since I am not that advanced at this whole blogging thing yet, I can't figure out a way to turn the photo so it is the right way. Sorry, if anyone has any suggestions, please email me or leave a comment!!

This recipe was a great find and will provide a "healthier" way to eat wings, rather than just frying them....if wings can be healthier! My kids even liked them!! This will also be great for you die-hard tailgaters that take your grill to the game with you! Throw these bad boys into the marinade, mix up the sauce and place in a large container and off you go!

Grilled Chicken Wings - (adapted from Allrecipes.com)
3/4 C. Low Sodium (or lite) Soy Sauce
3/4 C. Free Zesty Italian (Kraft)
3 1/2 lb. Chicken Wings
6 Tbsp. Butter
1 1/2 tsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 C. Franks RedHot Sauce
DIRECTIONS: Combine soy sauce and zesty italian dressing. Place chicken in a large ziplock bag and pour dressing over. Marinade 4 hours or overnight in the refrig. Preheat grill to medium heat. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in soy sauce and RedHot sauce. Remove from heat and reserve. Turn grill to low. Remove wings from dressing. Grill over low heat approx. 25-30 minutes. Place wings in a large bowl and pour butter sauce over wings. Toss well. Serve with celery and bleu cheese or ranch dressing.

HAPPY EATING!!

Feasting on Fellowship Friday.....

I shared the Peanut Butter Cookie recipe with www.comfyinthekitchen.com today. If you get an opportunity, check out her blog~today is Feasting on Fellowship Friday which has links to a TON of different recipes and blogs.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

HAPPY EATING!

Peanut Butter Cup Peanut Butter Cookies...

Look what I found.

That's right! Mini peanut butter cups! Can I just say that I love peanut butter cups, and combine them with peanut butter cookies and you have FABULOUS!

Peanut Butter Cup Peanut Butter Cookies
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 C. Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla
3 Bags of the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Minis (found in the candy bar section of the grocery checkout)
DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 375. Cream together butter and peanut butter. Add sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add dry ingredients. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes.

HAPPY EATING!

Summer.

We're tired of the pool.
Okay, I'm tired of the pool.
Friday we spent the afternoon at the Silver Mine Park instead. It was a nice change of pace.
Even nicer is JD can catch and release his own fish....Mom is not required to bait the hook or touch the fish. I'm happy about this!

Riley sat on the dock and splashed us...she thought it was funny. I thought it was refreshing!

Wading in the creek.

Break from fishing...

Quiet spot to read!

Hope you all enjoy the last week of summer!

Ham, Potato, Corn Soup!

Easy, quick meals seem to be out motto lately! I can see how easily it would be to slip into the fast food regime, I mean I have to feed my family at 4:30 in order to get out the door by 5:15ish so we can make practices. Some days I feel like I should be getting the "early bird" special.

Anyway, tonight I made this really easy soup and everyone in the family loved it! Even Riley asked for seconds....which, when it comes to soup...Riley only asks for seconds when I make Nicole's Crab Soup recipe and now this!! This soup would also be nice for a tailgating party....make ahead and place in a crock pot or ladle into a thermos to take along to the game!

Ham, Potato, Corn Soup
3 1/2 Cups peeled, diced potatoes
1/4 C. chopped onion
1 C. diced ham
3 1/4 C. Water
2 Tbsp. Chicken Bouillon
2 Cans Creamed Sweet Corn
4 Tbsp. Butter
4 Tbsp. Flour
2 1/2 C. Milk
DIRECTIONS: Combine potatoes, onion, ham and water. Bring to a boil and then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender. (Approx. 15 minutes). Stir in chicken bouillon. In separate saucepan melt butter and whisk in flour, whisking constantly until thick. SLOWLY whisk milk in (so no lumps form), until all milk has been added. Continue whisking until mixture thickens. Add milk mixture to potato and ham. Stir. Add creamed corn and cook until heated through. Makes 8 one cup servings!

HAPPY EATING!

Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie (thanks to Bisquick!)

Let's just say that if you are looking for a quick, easy meal to throw together...this very well could fit the bill! This is another dish that my mom used to make when I was growing up....except I didn't like it as much back then as I do now. I got home from work today around 4:00 and hadn't set anything out to thaw for dinner so I quickly decided that this would be dinner. I grabbed the frozen ground beef and browned it over low heat. (I recommend thawing the beef first, it will save a little time). Once the beef is browned, the rest is easy!

Once ground beef is browned, place in bottom of a 9" greased, pie plate and top with cheese and Bisquick mixture:

After it is baked:

Served with grilled onions and fresh tomatoes...yummy!

Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 Small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt (I used a sprinkle of Tastefully Simple Everyday Grilling Seasoning)

1 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 C. Bisquick Baking Mix

1 C. Milk (I use 1 1/2% and it turned out fine)

2 Eggs

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 400. Spray a 9" pie plate with cooking spray. Brown beef and onion over med-high heat. Stir in salt (or whatever seasoning you choose). Spread beef in pie plate and top with cheese. In a mixing bowl~mix Bisquick, milk and eggs until blended. Pour over beef and cheese in pie plate. Bake about 25 minutes. Serves 6.

HAPPY EATING!

Football!

Well, it's official....football has begun! Three nights this week, 5 nights (2 hours a night) for the next 2 weeks.....what a whole new world this sport is~between needing a girdle (JD, not me...although~maybe I should get one too!), practice every night, shoulder pads, helmets, cleats~I feel lost in a football world! I stay at the practices~not because I like to hover over my kids, but because I need to learn the game.....it could be a long process!


JD (#60) and his best buddy Isaac (#90):

Running drills:

Listening to the coach~

Getting his helmet "branded" as I like to call it...

Running more drills:

Huddling (sort of):

Ending practice with your best bud and Isaac's #1 fan...."P" Man.

Stay tuned for some fun tailgating recipes as we head into fall!!

LETS GO COMETS!

Creamy Salsa Dip!

Who would have thought that this dip would be a hit....so easy and simple make and the bowl gets emptied every time!

Creamy Salsa Dip
8 oz. light sour cream
16 oz. Salsa (I use Kirkland Brand, Organic Salsa...you can use whatever brand you prefer)
DIRECTIONS: Mix in bowl and serve with tortilla chips!

That's it! I swear...nothing more, nothing less!

HAPPY EATING!

Strawberry Freezer Jam!

Unfortunately, I have created jelly "snobs". My kids tend to only eat my strawberry freezer jam and I missed strawberry season this year....lucky for me, I found some nice strawberries at the store this week, which is good because I was down to my last jar of jelly from last year!


Start with clean jars, strawberries, sugar and a fruit pectin. (I typically use SureJell; but could only find the Ball Fruit Pectin this year:

Wash your berries:

Now, I do not like chunks in my jelly, I prefer it smooth so I place berries in a blender and blend them into a sauce. Some people just place them in a bowl and mash them...all in your preference.

Pour into bowl and mix with 2 Tbsp. lemon juice and 4 cups of sugar. Mix well and allow to sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. During this 10 minutes, combine the fruit pectin and 3/4 C. Water in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and boil continuosly for 1 minute. Pour pectin mix into the strawberries. Stir for 5 minutes.

Pour into jelly jars and allow to sit for 24 hours. Freeze for up to one year.

This is really an easy recipe. Once you buy the fruit pectin, there is a sheet inside. Follow the instructions for freezer jam. Easy peasy!

HAPPY EATING!

Triple Layer Cookie Bars!

I stumbled upon this recipe, while searching for things to make with ingredients I had on hand! It is a HUGE favorite around our house now! This is very simple to make....

Triple Layer Cookie Bars~

1/2 Cup Butter
1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (approx. 1 sleeve of graham crackers, crushed)
7 oz. Sweetened, flaked coconut
1 (14oz) Can Sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) bag of Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C. Creamy PEanut Butter
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350. Place stick of butter in 9x13 and place in oven until melted. Once butter melted, remove from oven and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Layer coconut on top of crumbs. Pour sweetened condensed milk over entire pan. Bake for 25 minutes. While bars are baking, place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a saucepan. Place on low heat and melt. Stirring every so often until melted and smooth. Remove bars from oven when done and top with peanut butter/chocolate mix and cool completely.

HAPPY EATING!

Some vacation pics...

Sorry, I have been absentee....the beach was calling and I went running! I love the beach! Here are some vacation pics....

I am pretty sure that JD and Jimmy surf fished every morning, way before Riley and I arose!

JD's catch...

Ry....

Searching for treasures...

Chillin' in the pool at the house...

HAPPY REMAINDER OF SUMMER!!!!