Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

Blog Surfing

Food.com has Low Fat Oatmeal Muffins that have no added fat. You will also find their Top 25 Kid-Friendly Recipes here.

Taste of Home has Maple Glazed Acorn Squash,  Crunchy Apple Salad

 and Apple Pancakes with Cider Syrup. It sounds like fall is here!

Cheeky Kitchen posted a recipe for Oatmeal Cookie Granola and it looks really good! I'm putting it on my "Things to Make" list.

Balloons are fun! I love this great idea for a kids balloon party. I found this idea on Inchmark Journal and you can see the details for the invitation here, the balloon pinata here and the party details here.

Simply Vintagegirl has step by step instructions with pictures on how to make lovely fabric flowers. I think they are very pretty and you can find them here.

It always amazes me how somebody gets an idea and figures out how to turn coffee filters into an amazingly beautiful bouquet of roses! You can see the roses here at Aunt Peaches - Making Sunshine on a Shoestring. If you are interested, you can also see a really cute bouquet of coffee filter flowers here at Design Sponge.

I found this amazing ruffle cake over at My Sweet and Saucy. It is a cake made out of ribbon and if you go here you can watch the tutorial video. Even if you aren't interested in making it, you should check out the pictures.

If you still have some fresh peaches hanging around, you might want to make these great looking peach cobbler bars from Une-deus senses.

Another great looking recipe from Baking Bites. These chocolate chip blondies with pistachios and cherries look good. A great way to dress-up a simple blondie.

Tasty Kitchen has a few recipes that caught my eye. The grilled and glazed carrots look very tasty. They are made with honey and balsamic vinegar. You can find a picture and the recipe here. These garlic and lime fajitas look great too. The recipe and picture are here. This recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice might come in handy in the next couple of months.

Cookin'Canuck has a warm healthy recipe for Mediterranean chicken, bean and pasta soup. If it sounds good for a cool fall day, you can find the recipe here. The prosciutto goat cheese and cherry jam rolls look great too!

A Feast for the Eyes has a recipe for bread and butter pickles made easy. There are step by step instructions with lots of pictures. If you have ever thought about making pickles, you should check it out. 

I had never heard of a Pineberry until today. You can check them out here. They look like albino strawberries and taste like pineapple! I wonder what they will think of next. Thanks to Tablspoon.

Blog Surfing

Tablespoon has 5-Star BBQ Recipes that includes chicken and crisp crust pizza, to name two.

If you like to preserve your garden's abundance for the winter months, Kittencal's Kitchen has instructions and a recipe for canning the perfect Pickled Beets.

Taste of Home is featuring Berry & Yogurt Phyllo Nests that would make a great presentation at a brunch. They are rated quick and healthy. And here you will find a recipe for Apple Praline Pie.

Food.com is featuring a Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake and they say, "This super moist cake weeps pink tears down its tender slices." That sounds very interesting!

How about some Homemade Polka Dot Fruit Roll Ups? If you don't like polka dots, you can make your own design. This came Fix Me A Snack which is a blog created by a mom that got tired of giving her kids crackers and ice cream. You should check it out. You will find a lot of great ideas.

There are so many interesting things to see at Edible Crafts & CraftGossip, I'm having a hard time deciding what to show you. You should check this out, especially if you have kids in your life. Here are few; Edible Fingerpaints, Owl Cupcakes and Christmas 2010 .

From Essential U Blog you will see how to make your own Pomegranate Lime Cocoa Butter Lotion. It would be great to make for the winter and would make a great gift in a pretty container.

Joy of Baking has an Apple Crisp recipe that is one of their most popular recipes.

The Kitchen has 14 make ahead dishes for a holiday weekend and you can find them here. You will find everything from brunch to dinner.

Kittencal's Kitchen has a recipe for Gingersnap Pumpkin Dessert that could make a holiday dessert that looks easy to put together.

From Tasty Kitchen, here is a recipe for Coconut Lime Banana Bread, here is a recipe for Baked Apple Oatmeal, here is a recipe for Cheery Cherry Chocolate Chip Scones, here is a recipe for Low-Carb Citrus Blueberry Muffins, and a recipe for Healthy Apple Butter here. One last recipe for Crock Pot Organic Yogurt.

Hoosier Homemade has a cute Fall Garland using items from your garden and yard.

Have you ever wondered what Ultra Pasturized means. You see it sometimes on heavy whipping cream. Nicole at Baking Bites explains it here.

The Crepes of Wrath has an End of Summer Salad with a Poached Egg.

Mary at One Perfect Bite has a recipe for Stuffed Eggplant, Italian style.

Brown Eyed Baker has 50 Fall Recipes that aren't apple pie. You can check them out here.

Here is a recipe for Spinach Salad with Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette from For the Love of Cooking.

Are you still looking for ways to use all of your zucchini? You might like this Zucchini Skillet Dinner from Krista's Kitchen.

Blog Surfing

I love this great idea for a special birthday party hat. I'm putting it here for safekeeping! From Hoosier Homemade. You should at least look at it!
 
This Grilled Vegetable Salad from Land O Lakes looks easy and good.

I have seen recipes for bacon in everything, including ice cream! Here is a recipe for bacon scones. I'm always looking for granola recipes to try. This recipe is for Cherry Almond Granola. Peach Crumble looks like it would be good. All from Taste of Home.

Most bakers have their favorite recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you haven't found your favorite yet, you might want to check this one out. From Serious Eats.

If you enjoy baking, you should check out Joy of Baking. Here is their recipe for German Chocolate Cake, but you should check out their blog. Lots of great recipes.

This Peach Vanilla Jam sounds really good. It is from Seasons and Suppers. I would love to make this in a few weeks. 

Smokey Mountain Cafe has a recipe for So Gone Pork Tenderloin. It looks and sounds like a great recipe!

Culinary in the Desert has Graham Cracker Chewy Bars that look easy to make and a great way to use up graham crackers.

Looking for the perfect Gazpacho? This could be it! From Tasty Kitchen.

Cookstr featured this recipe for Grilled Salmon with Fresh Blueberry Corn Salsa looks and sounds great. 

I haven't had time to read anything lately, so I'm keeping this here for when I do have time. I'm looking forward to seeing the Top 25 Recipes of the Summer. This was sent to me by Food.com.

I love how easy it is to make your own Cupcake Tower. It takes a couple of soup cans, cardboard, paper, ribbon and time. These are basic guidelines that can be adapted to make a cake tier also. If you enjoy creating this type of presentation, you should check it out. Thanks to Annie's Eats for the great idea with instructions and pictures.

These Pizza Cups caught my eye. You make them in muffin tins and they would be great as an appetizer or a portable lunch. From My Kitchen in Snippets.

You will find a few Blue Ribbon winning recipes from several State Fairs here.  They are from Food.com.

I have had my eyes on some blackberries that are almost ripe. This Blackberry Cobbler recipe could be a great way to use them. From Taste of Home.

If you like popcorn and use the microwave bags, you might want to read this information from Yahoo! Green.

Epicurious has a recipe of the day for World Peace Cookies. The promise to be a dark chocolate lovers dream!

Country magazine is featuring Taste of Home recipes for salad recipes using avocados, including this recipe for Avocado Mandarin Tossed Salad. 

I love these easy steps on How to Make a Flower Pie Crust that I found on Love & Homemade Recipes. It's a great idea. You might also like the Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes or one of her other zucchini recipes below.

Wordless Wednesday

"Lofthouse" Sugar Cookies

I made these cookies for a party way back in July. I knew there would be lots of kids and I though they would like these cookies with all of the sparkles. They definitely did! A couple of us got a kick out of watching as the kids came back for handful after handful while their parents were busy talking. My grandson was one of them. The adults came back for more too!

This is the first time I remember making cookies using a cake mix as the base. It made the whole process so easy! I wanted a sugar cookie but a little more soft and pillowy. The recipe I found sounded just right and it was quick and easy, which is what I needed at that time. I found this recipe at Food.com.

I started with a Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix. I added oil and two eggs, mixed it up until just combined, rolled them into balls, using a very small scoop. I baked them for about 6-8 minutes in a 375-degree oven. I let them cool and frosted them with a tub-o-frosting and showered them with sprinkles! That's it. If you would like the exact recipe, you can find it here. 

I forgot to try one before they were gone, but my sources tell me they were good.

After several weeks in moving/vacation mode, we are back on a semi-regular schedule, which will give me time to check in here more often. I have lots of pictures that I have downloaded but no cooking/baking at all. I expect to be back in cooking mode in a week or so.

It's Official (almost), We Are Oregonians Again!

 
Here I am, sitting in a Starbucks, enjoying my coffee and their WiFi, and then I remembered that in a previous life, I had a blog! I checked to make sure and yes, it was true. I have not checked in for a while but we are alive and still kicking! I hope that you are all enjoying your summer! Ours has been eventful, in a good way!

We arrived in Oregon on Saturday the 14th, which makes it almost official that we are residents of Oregon, again. 

We hit the road that morning at 4:30 a.m. and arrived at 11:37 p.m. That was a very long day, 19 hours and 7 minutes to be exact, especially after five hours of sleep the night before! We made a plan to take this trip a little slower than our usual trips. We decided that we would make more stops than we usually make. In hindsight, that wasn't the best idea we ever had. All of those hours spent on the road were almost unbearable. It broke our previous 'longest road trip' record of 16 hours and 32 minutes. Our doggies didn't complain but we sure did, or maybe it was just me that complained! Yes, it was just me!

We have been recovering this week as we are vacationing and will continue with our vacation through next week. I'm not sure if I remember how to cook and bake any more or if I every want to again. Being waited on is definitely a great way to live! Now being serious again, I will get back to blogging soon enough, and until that day arrives, I will post when/if I have a free moment. I have kept my camera close, so I have been taking lots of pictures, I just need to be in the same room with my USB cord so that that I can download! For now, we are traveling and vacationing and having a great time!

I'm guessing that we will be official Oregon residents after we take the drivers test. Hopefully we will pass the test and have our Oregon drivers licenses reinstated! I think that might be what makes it official. Either that or paying taxes to the State of Oregon.



I hope that you are enjoying your summer!