Two days until Halloween! It is hard to fathom that October has flown by so fast. It won’t be long and Thanksgiving will be upon us.
The first thing I want to share is a recipe that was given to me nearly 40 years ago. It was 1979 and I was living in West Germany. (Yes, it was still divided then!) I lived in a little town called Kleingerau. It was right next door to a larger town called Grossgerau. (Klein means small in German and gross means big. I always thought that was sort of cute.)
One morning when I was taking my kids to the school bus stop, down the street and around the corner from my apartment, I met Deana. She had grown up in Oregon and I in Western New York. We became fast friends and in a way, our little overseas family.
We each had a different set of recipes that we were equipped with to face married life. In her kitchen I tried artichokes for the first time. (I really can’t figure out why I hadn’t had them before. My Dad was a produce man and we had tried every veggie known to man, at least I thought.) One of my favorite recipes that she gave me is a super easy peach cobbler. I made it not long ago and loved it as much as I did the first time. I texted her right away and told her I had just made it. We both wished we lived closer so we could share some with a cup of coffee!
Peach Cobbler
2 cups canned, sliced peaches (drained)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 stick margarine
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
pinch of salt
Mix peaches with 1/4 cup sugar. Put the margarine in a deep cake pan and set in 350 degree oven to melt. Stir the batter consisting of 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and the milk. Pour in cake pan over melted butter. Do not stir. Put peaches on top and again, don’t stir. Put into oven and bake for 1 hour or until top is golden brown. The batter rises to the top during baking and so does the butter which produces the golden brown crust.
*This recipe was given to me before the invention of microwave ovens. I melt the butter in a casserole dish in the microwave now instead of using the oven to do it. Either method works just fine.
The above picture shows how it looks when you put it in the oven.
This is a piece of the cobbler after baking. Notice the wonderfully golden brown crust.
Recently, we celebrated my twin grandchildren’s birthday. They are 19! Can someone please tell me how that happened?!! My granddaughter, Sierra, wanted an ice cream cake. She is my only granddaughter so naturally she gets what she wants. I have a super easy way to make one!
Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
1 jar of caramel sundae topping
16 ounce container of whipped topping
small bag of your favorite candy (I used peanut butter cups)
24 ice cream sandwiches
Using a 9″ X 13″ pan, unwrap half of the ice cream sandwiches and make a single layer on the bottom of the pan. You might need to cut one of the sandwiches to make the layer. Next, spread half of the whipped topping on top of the sandwiches. Then you liberally drizzle some of the sundae topping on top. Cut up some of your candy in smallish chunks and sprinkle on top. You will repeat the layers once more to make the cake. Put in freezer for a few hours or overnight. Make sure you cover it with foil so that it doesn’t absorb any odors. (For instance, I have green pepper frozen in my freezer and when I open the door that is all I can smell. You don’t want your ice cream to taste and smell like green peppers!)
As you can see I was beginning the process of making the second set of layers.
Voila! The finished product. Sierra loved it!
I was doing some research into foods that have an anti-inflammatory effect on our bodies. One of the recipes I found was a vegetable soup that sounded delicious! I tried it and it was sooooooooo good!
Vegetable Soup *savingdinner.com
8 large green onions, chopped fine, including stalk
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 green peppers, seeded, cut into bite sized pieces
4 cloves roasted garlic, smashed
4 carrots, cleaned, cut into bite sized pieces
10 ounces mushrooms, cut into thick pieces
1 bunch celery, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 head of cabbage, clean, and chop into bite sized pieces
2 cans diced tomatoes, with juice
48 ounces chicken or veggie broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Curry, to taste (optional)
In a large soup pot, put 2 tablespoons olive oil, add green onion and garlic, saute about 4 to 6 minutes until onion is clear. Add in the rest of the ingredients to the pot all at once. Add water until everything is covered with liquid, if needed. Cover and cook on low heat for about two hours. Season to taste.
As you can see, there are a lot of good-for- you veggies in this recipe. The one thing I did to change it up was to saute the green onion and garlic in a saute pan and then put them in my slow cooker with the other ingredients. I put it on low and let it cook away all day until the veggies were nicely cooked. The next time I make it I might add another can of tomatoes to the recipe. I really like the tomato flavor highlighted in my foods.
Hacks and All That Jazz!
- I have had acrylic nails put on for many years. I decided about 3 weeks ago to stop, at least for a while. My nails have always been thing and now that the acrylic is off they are dry and peeling. I was doing some investigation online and found a way to fix it. You put some olive oil in a dish that you will be able to dip your finger tips into. Then warm it for 35 to 45 seconds in the microwave. It is recommended that you soak your finger tips for 15 to 30 minutes. I really have a hard time sitting still so I am doing 15 minutes for each hand once a week while I watch tv. It has helped tremendously. If I had the patience I would do it twice a week until I get on track. If you have dry and peeling nails I would highly recommend this treatment.
- If you are baking something that requires chocolate chips or any other flavor you should toss them in flour which will keep them from sinking to the bottom.
- If you have leftover cake you should put a slice of bread at cut end and it will keep the cake fresh.
- In an effort to keep my chest freezer organized I developed a method using those reusable shopping bags. In one bag I put all of my poultry. Another holds all of my beef and so on. It really is helpful for me so that I can easily find what I need and also tell what I am running low on.
- Did you know that sticking with the same doctor for many years may increase the length of your life? Linked with this is greater patient satisfaction, fewer ER visits and better adherence to medication. In other words, if you see a doctor who has the big picture of you and your health and then a specialist when needed your health and ultimately your length of life is better.
- Along the same vein, keeping your teeth healthy has a lot of benefits linked to it. These are a stronger heart, lower cancer risk, lower blood sugar, clearer lungs and a sharper brain. So the moral of this is find a good dentist and brush your teeth (and your tongue) twice a day for at least 2 minutes.
Hopefully there was a thing or two in this post that is helpful to each of you. I encourage you to leave a comment. They always make me smile!
