Friday, August 30, 2013

Happy Labor Day~My cute little Strawberry Dish

Summer is definitely here!  
I've been enjoying time outside and not cooking and baking like I would normally do in the cooler weather.  As a result my blog has been languishing a bit.  
I never thought I'd say it.... but I really am looking forward to more tolerable weather.  

I recently picked up this cute little dish for my Sweetheart Kitchen and love it so!  
Best of all it was only 50 cents!  How could I ever resist such cuteness?  

We're been invited to a labor day Barbecue and I'm wondering what to bring for the potluck.
I really want to try something that I haven't made in the past year so will have to go through my recipe archives and see what strikes my fance. 
I'd love some suggestions if you have them!  

Have a wonderful Holiday Weekend! 


Sunday, August 25, 2013

A New Home for Rednesday!


Please head on over to Melody's blogs~  Her adorable blog can be found here.  Please stop by her blog and shower her with much love and comments!   

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Rednesday~

Have you ever bit of more than you can chew? 
I have and it's finally nice to be able to play catch up and get back to normal.  

 I've always wanted to host a linky party/blog hop so when Rednesday became available it seemed perfect for me.  I jumped at the opportunity to host it.  

But along the way, I've seemed to lose something...  

The requirement to host and blog has become difficult for me to maintain.  It takes me nearly an hour to put the weekly Rednesday blog post together.   I was frantic over featuring everyone, not wanting to leave anyone out,  and there was a lack in my blogging and commenting with other bloggers.  

I wasn't CONNECTING to other like minded bloggers out of friendship but out of obligation.  
Motive is important to me.  
It was becoming something I had to do instead of wanted to do.  
I'd like to simplify and go back to the reason I started blogging.  
To make friends and connect.  

So, with all that being said,  I'm relinquishing Rednesday.  
I still love blog hops but I don't think I'm the type of person to host.  Participating is more my game.  
  
If you'd like to take over please leave a comment on this blog post and I'll make an announcement directing folks over to your blog.    

Thank you so much for visiting, for linking up, and for sharing a part of your life with me!   
Most of all, thank you for understanding! 

Banana Crumb Muffins

These are good.  Really good.  What I really love about them is that they don't take forever to cook (like traditional Banana Bread does) and they don't get too dark where the muffin and pan meet.  Win/win in my book.    
I hope you enjoy these as much as my hubby and I are!

Mix together Streusel/Crumb Topping Ingredients.
1/4 cup butter or shortening (your preference) 
1/2 cup sugar 
1/3 cup flour 
Add more flour and sugar if neccesary so topping is crumbly and not too greasy.   Set aside.

In bowl, mix together following dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour 
3/4 cup sugar 
1/3 cup oil 
1/2 tsp salt 
2 tsp baking powder

In seperate bowl mix together following wet ingredients 
1 egg
1/3 cup milk 
3 medium bananas (mashed with a fork)

It's best to mix these by hand since using a stand or hand mixer usually causes them to be overmixed.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients using a wire whisk or spatula just until moistened and flour clumps are mixed in.  Do not overmix or the consistency won't be right.  

Scoop into greased muffin tins and top liberally with streusel/crumb topping.  

Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean and top of muffins springs back when touched.  Add an additional 3 minutes of baking if needed.  


Saturday, August 3, 2013

Cherry Fluff

This is so yummy on a hot summer day, for a picnic or a potluck or any time you fancy something chilled and sweet.  It's so easy to throw together and I like to make it the day before so it has time to chill and firm up.  
I hit Aldi's today and found everything that I needed in generic form~ and it didn't effect the taste in any way.  

One can cherry pie filling 
(I've always wanted to use another type of filling but have never taken the plunge yet!) 
One can sweetened condensed milk 
16 ounces Cool Whip 
16 ounces crushed pineapple~  do not drain
1 cup chopped nuts (optional) 
1 cup mini marshmellows
In a very large bowl combine pie filling, crushed pineapple and sweetened condensed milk.  
Toss in mini marshmellows and nuts.
Whip all together until incorporated.
Fold in Cool Whip.  
Chill overnight or for a few hours before serving.