Summer Fruit Cobbler

Every  year when summer rolls around I can't wait to get my hands on fresh fruit, blueberries, blackberries and peaches are my favorites oh and of course watermelon!

Well, this year our little peach tree has put out alot of little peaches. Of course the first thing out of our little guys' mouth was "Can you make us a peach cobbler?" Me: "Of course!" Hoping there is enough peach on those tiny peaches to actually make a cobbler.

I began to wash and cut the peaches only to realize there is more bad than good on the peach, it was either not ripe or some little critter got to it before we did. But I did manage to get  some good chunks of peach to add to my cobbler.

In order to fill the amount of fruit I needed I added some frozen blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. The boys loved it, so I would say it came out great!

Anyway, I used a cobbler recipe that I have been using for as long as I can remember, it is so easy and you really don't need to write it down, it is that simple.

Summer Fruit Cobbler

1 stick of butter
3 cups of fruit of your choice (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup of water
1 cup milk
1 cup of sugar
1 cup self rising flour
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put butter in casserole dish and melt in the oven. Meanwhile, put the fruit and water in a pot and simmer on the stove for approx 15 minutes. In a separate bowl mix together the milk, sugar and flour and vanilla, set aside. Once the butter has melted bring it out of the oven, carefully pour the flour, milk mixture on top of the butter, DO NOT STIR. Then spoon out the fruit from the stove onto the top of the flour mixture evenly, then carefully pour the juice from the fruit over top. DO NOT STIR and put dish back in the oven and bake for approx. 20-30 minutes.

Top with your favorite vanilla ice cream and ENJOY!!

Linking up with Let's Get Bananas & Blissfully Miller.

Wine & Dine Wednesday

Today, we will talk Mojitos.

Full of flavor and refreshing with all the mint that goes into these. And that makes it the perfect summer drink!

Here is my version:

Mint leaves (I used about 10-14 leaves)
Juice of 1 Lime
1 oz. Mint infused Simple Syrup
2 oz. Light Rum
1oz. Club Soda

The day before I made the drink I made the Mint infused simple syrup:
Add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add approx. 20-30 leaves of mint. Let sit till cool. Remove the mint leaves with a spoon. Pour syrup into a glass container and put in the refrigerator till cold or ready to use.  Just a little side note: most simple syrup recipes are equal parts sugar and water, but to me, my version was plenty sweet for this drink.

To make the drink:
Add mint, juice of lime and syrup to a bowl and mash with the back side of a spoon. You could muddle this but I do not have one. I also cut some of the mint leaves to release some of the juices from the leaves. Remove mint leaves with spoon or strain mixture.
Put ice in a glass, add rum, pour syrup mixture over rum and top with club soda and a mint leaf.

Enjoy!

Wine & Dine Wednesday

The heat is here!

 Warmer days are here to stay and while I love a good wine this southern girl also loves a glass of sweet iced tea! And what better way to enjoy the summer than sitting on the deck sipping on a cold glass of tea with mint.

Many many many years ago while in Las Vegas I realized that not everywhere makes tea the way we do here in the south.

So for those of you who have never been to the south or don't know how to make sweet iced tea....here is how I do it! (I know this isn't life changing but I'm sharing anyway!)

First, I begin by filling a pot with water and add 2 tea bags, bring to a boil. In the meantime, add one cup of sugar to a gallon pitcher.

Let cool slightly. Then remove tea bags and pour tea into pitcher (make sure it is still warm enough to dissolve the sugar). Stir to dissolve sugar and then add enough water to fill the pitcher then stir again. Or you can make a double batch on the stove and not add any water but this will make your tea really strong, which is still really good by the way. But, I usually go the first route and add water to my pitcher. You can also add more or less sugar depending on your taste.

Pour your tea over ice and add in washed mint leaves for a mint flavor. Of course you can leave the mint out if you like. Or you may add a lemon wedge if you prefer.

So glad summer is here!!

Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

These Chocolate Chip Cookies are the best. Forget the Nestle recipe on the back of the chocolate chips or any other recipe for that matter. These are the best and the ONLY recipe I use when making Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 

These cookies are made with Coconut Oil. Yep. it is so good people. This is the coconut oil I use:

First, let me share that this is not a recipe that I came up with on my own, I would however love to be genius behind it but I am not.



 

These cookies are so moist in the middle and crunchy around the edge.  The genius behind these cookies is Cheeky Kitchen, go there now and make these for yourself and for your family. You can whip these up really quickly and believe me they will be gone before the day is over! I make mine big so I only get around 20-24 out of the batch. However, one thing I have noticed is that I must watch them toward the end of baking to make sure they don't burn. There is a fine line of being done to being toasty in my oven.  Her website is full of yummy and healthy foods and everything I have tried has been great and went over well with the family.

 

Plus, these are really great for sharing too! I had to pack these up before they all disappeared!

 



 

What are you baking this Tuesday?

Linking up with Let's Get Bananas.

 

 



Wine & Dine Wednesday

Hello!

The sun and sky is so beautiful here today and I hope it is where you are too! So happy Spring has arrived!!

Today we are talking wine again. This one we came across at a local wine store, again my husband picked this one. It has a great flavor, full of berry and a hint of vanilla. This one also has a great aged flavor.

This one I really enjoyed! It was Burgess Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 Vintage.

 

 You can check out the Burgess Cellars website here.



 

This wine was great paired with pasta, pizza and plus it was great to have alone and with cheese and crackers. Great flavor!

 

*I was not compensated for this wine all opinions are mine and we purchased the wine ourselves.

 

 

Enjoy!



Wine & Dine Wednesday

Hey!

Ok, so I said like 2 weeks ago that I was doing this new thing on Wednesdays called Wine Wednesday...well I am changing it to Wine & Dine Wednesday!

I thought about it and wasn't sure if I should change it and I thought, "Why not? It's my blog!"

So I am changing it!

This day will include any drink (alcoholic or not), food or restaurant review. I like the broad area this will cover so get ready, you never know what you might get!

Today......

 Avocado BLT with Lemon Mayo

Bacon (cooked crisp)
Avocado (sliced in thin wedges)
Tomato (sliced)
Arugula
Mayo (as much as you prefer)
Lemon
Salt & Pepper
Toast (or a favorite crispy bread)

I cook the bacon in the oven till crispy. Then move bacon to a plate covered with a paper towel to rest.
Slice the avocado and tomato (salt and pepper to taste)
Toast your bread
Put the desired amount of mayo in a small bowl and add lemon zest and some lemon juice from the lemon. (this part I just eyeball and mix to my taste. I also add salt and pepper to the mayo to taste as well).
Then build your BLT. Lay out the toast and spread on the lemon mayo, then tomato, arugula, avocado and bacon then top with slice of toast.

Of course this makes more than one sandwich, the good thing about this is you can make as many or as little as you like.
Enjoy!

Wine Wednesday

 This Rex Goliath wine is a good buy for the money, we have tasted a few by this company and they all have a good taste.

We purchase this wine at Target and I have also seen it at our local Harris Teeter.

The wine has a good flavor combination; plum, cherry and berry.  You can read the full description if you click the link above. It pairs well with many meals, for us, it was pizza and any red meat and don't forget it is always good alone or with good cheese.

It's funny, just this week, a friend of mine Melissa (Hi Melissa!) and I were talking about how we drink wine and snack on cheese and crackers while making dinner. Does anyone else do this? I was glad to hear that I was not the only one :)

Hope you guys have a great Wednesday!

Sorry the post is crazy and messed up but I cannot figure out to fix it!! :)

 



Chocolate Avocado Mousse

 

 

Doesn't that look so yummy, creamy, and full of chocolate goodness?

 

Well, don't let the look fool you!

 

Every so often, I come across a recipe that intrigues me and just have to try it out. This one was no different. I mean using certain odd ingredients in places that you normally would not find them is a little tempting and I just have to try it and taste for myself. Like these Cupcakes Made with Beets!!

 

One day while watching Giada At Home on the Food Network, she made Chocolate Avocado Mousse. My thoughts were..."Wow, 2 foods I love and if I can get my kids to eat it then fabulous!"

 

So, I made the recipe and set it in the frig to chill. After a great dinner, out came the dessert. Chocolate Avocado Mousse.

 

The hubby was the one to try it first, he was not fond of the texture, which is VERY thick by the way, and he could tell that there was something in it he just could not figure out......

 

I tried it, a little thick for my taste and while my eyes told me it was chocolate mousse, my mind was telling me it was creamy brown chocolate flavored avocados. See, that plays tricks on the mind and I did not like that one bit.  I knew that it had the potential to be weird but not quite that weird.

 

Our boys? They LOVED IT! Like I mentioned earlier, it was way thicker than chocolate pudding so they filled up on it before they finished their serving but hey! I got avocado in their cute little bodies and they never knew it!

 

So, a thumbs down for us adults but a hit with the kids!

 

This is one that I doubt I will make again, I prefer my avocados alone or guacamole style!

 

If you would like to try the recipe for yourself, here it is. Be sure to read the comments, almond milk and agave was not included in the ingredients so be sure to add those in, maybe if I added more almond milk that would have given it a thinner consistency.  Oh well, I gave it a shot, that was enough for me.

 

If you try it, let me know what you think!