Zucchini Cake without frosting!

This is one of my very favorite ways to eat zucchini!

Zucchini Cake

1/2 C. butter

1 3/4 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 C. oil

1/2 C. buttermilk

2 C. grated zucchini

2 1/2 C. flour

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking powder

  

Combine wet ingredients.  Add dry ingredients.  Pour into a greased 13X9 inch pan.  Mix together, 1/2 C. chopped nuts, 1/2 C. chocolate chips, and 1/2 C. brown sugar and sprinkle over the top.  Bake at 325* for 40 minutes.  No frosting needed!

Pizza Crust

Here is my all time favorite pizza crust recipe as per request.

Pizza Crust

1 1/2 C. warm water

1/4 C. sugar

4 1/2 Tbsp. yeast

Combine and let stand 5 minutes

In mixer, combine:

2 1/2 C. warm water

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

6 Tbsp. butter

10-12 C. flour

Add the yeast after about half of the flour.  Knead in mixer for 10 minutes.  Let rise till double in refrigerator. Break off about two cups of dough and roll into desired shape, top with sauce and toppings.  Bake at 400* for 20 minutes.  Makes about 5 pizzas.

My favorite bottled salsa

My parents grow the best tomatoes!  They were kind enough to share some of them with me this year.  I bottled them and made salsa.  This is my favorite salsa recipe.

Salsa

30-40 peeled tomatoes

6 green bell peppers and 2 red

6 jalapeno peppers

6 yellow peppers

5 medium onions

 Chop finely or use a food processor.

2 Tblsp. pepper

4 cloves of garlic

1 can tomato soup

2 cans of tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

1 1/2 C. vinegar

1/2 C. salt

1/4 C. sugar

2 tsp. paprika

Simmer all day or until desired thickness is reached.  Pour into sterilized jars and adjust two-piece lids.  Place them in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes (pints).  Let cool for 24 hours.
Sometimes, I add some chili powder if I so desire. \

Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins are divine!  I love how moist and hearty they are. They breach the level of heavenly when you smother them in raspberry jam!

Pumpkin Muffins

2 1/4 C. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 C. canned pumpkin

1 C. sugar

1/2 C. milk

2 eggs

1/4 C. oil

Combine pumpkin, sugar, milk, eggs, and oil.  Sift dry ingredients.  Stir them together until smooth.  Makes 12 large muffins.  Bake at 400* for 20 minutes.

Peach Crisp and Pie in one

Peach Crisp/Pie

1 C. shortening

3/4 tsp. salt

2 C. flour

1/4 C. ice water

Combine shortening, salt, and flour.  Add ice water.  Mix until just sticks together.  Shape into two balls and roll to form two 12 inch circles.  Place one in a pie tin.

Filling

3/4 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. butter

3/4 C. rolled oats

Combine all ingredients.  Peel, slice, and place 8 peaches in crust.  Spread the brown sugar mixture over the peaches.  Place top crust over the brown sugar mixture.  Trim and form the edges.

Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

Snickerdoodles!

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 C. sugar

1 C. butter

2 eggs

2 3/4 C. flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Combine first three ingredients then add dry ingredients.  Form into one inch balls and roll in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.

The snickerdoodles are the flat ones on the bottom of the picture. 

Snickerdoodles are fun!  My 15 year old son makes them the best!  I have found through trial and error that some butters are better than others for baking with.  These cookies definitely need a good butter or they will be flat like mine!  I have made them before and they are puffy!  Butter is the key.  

Apple cake in a Jar!!

I love carrot pudding at Christmastime!  It is moist and delicious.  A couple of years ago, I stumbled across this recipe for apple cake in a jar.  It resembles carrot pudding in consistency and is so delicious!  The first time I made these moist little cakes, they didn't last but a few months.  This time, I made several batches and am hoping they last through the winter!  They are fairly easy.  The only recommendation I have is to grease and flour your jars instead of using a non-stick spray.

Bottled Apple Cake

2/3 C. soft butter

2 2/3 C. sugar

4 eggs 

2/3 C. water

3 1/2 C. grated apples

2/3 C. raisins (optional)

2/3 C. nuts (optional)

Combine above ingredients and add:

3 C. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Make sure to use wide mouth pint jars!!  Grease and flour 7 or 8 pints.  Fill 2/3 full.  Bake in preheated oven at 325* for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven, wipe rims, and place a lid that has been heated (according to directions on package) on each jar.  Tighten rings.  Place on towel and listen for the harmonious popping sounds emitted.  Leave them for 24 hours before putting them away. Store in a dark cool place (not in the fridge).  If one fails to seal, indulge!

  

I think they would be perfect heated with warm lemon or rum sauce drizzled over them!

Fish On!

Present a man...or woman in this case...with a fish and he will eat a good meal, teach him to fish and he will feed himself and those around him for a lifetime.

I have been given the invitation a couple of times to accompany an incredible, seasoned fisherman on his adventures.  Fishing requires much more skill and patience than I first imagined!

The only experiences that loom in my mind from childhood are not great.  The fish my brothers brought home was bone intensive and very fishy tasting.

Along with my new found love of fishing, I have been surfing the web as well as thumbing through cherished volumes of recipes in search of fun ways to prepare fish and have found several great recipies and am looking forward to more experimenting.

To this point in time, halibut and tilapia were about the only cuts I ventured to try.  Move over halibut, you have most definitely taken a back seat!

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter softened

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

2 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp chopped green onions (I used dill)

1/4 tsp salt

1 dash hot pepper sauce

2 pounds skinless fillets

 preheat broiler, grease baking dish

 Mix ingredients together, broil fillets until it flakes (about 8 min) apply mixture on top of fillets and broil for another 2 minutes or until it is bubbly and lightly browned! Enjoy.

My Dad is having fun showing this picture off and some have questioned its authenticity.  I added a few more just to help the doubting Thomas' believe.  This is actually me.  These are real fish.  I caught them in Bear Lake in the previous two months.

Bloom where you are planted

Look what I found blooming in the sidewalk!  It reminded me that no matter where we may find ourselves in life at any given moment, we have the choice and ability to become and mirror that which is inside us.  We can push through all the ugliness and overcome the concrete walls that seem ever increasing in our path.  Shine in your own little corner of the world and by so doing perhaps you may give hope to another.

Peach Days

I live in a town where Peach Days are celebrated each September. It is an exciting time of year.  I love peaches and often bottle them in order to enjoy them in the Winter months.  I have been eating as many as I can get my hands on this year.
I have a favorite apple crisp recipe and decided to try it with peaches tonight.  It turned out fabulous.

Fruit Crisp
1 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg

Delicious served warm out of the oven a la mode.

1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. oil
1 c. oats

Combine dry ingredients.  Fold in eggs and oil.

Peel and slice fruit in the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan.  Crumble topping over fruit.  Bake at 350* for thirty minutes.

Gone Fishing

I have had an awesomely fun Summer!  My kids and I have been on many adventures together.  Over Labor Day weekend, we spent some time in Flaming Gorge.  I have never been there before in my life!

I have been waiting all Summer long to go camping in celebration of my grades last semester.  We stayed in our tent and had a great time!

The small town we stayed in had a parade in the morning and a boat parade and fireworks that evening.

We floated the river, and took the tour of the Flaming Gorge Dam.
I have heard the fishing is good there and we did try to fish but as luck would have it, we got seriously rained out!

So yesterday I imposed on a friend of mine who was out fishing all day and was gracious enough to take me out for an evening run.  The wind was blowing and the water was anything but calm.  Despite these conditions, I caught my first big fish!!  It is a Mackinaw.  It was thrilling and I now know that someday when I get my lathe, one of the things I am going to be trying to make is fishing lures!
Here is a photo of my fish which now resides in my freezer.
I even caught him on my favorite lake!

School Days

I have ALWAYS enjoyed being with my kids.  I love their company and have felt close to them during their growing up years.

When my oldest two children were little, the laws that are now in place for attendance were non existent, therefore, we would sluff frequently; at least during grade school when learning used to be slower and catching up was a piece of cake.

One of my boys would hide behind the large trunk of a tree when the bus came by and then come home claiming he had missed the bus.  I didn't have a vehicle and he knew I could not take him to school.  We enjoyed the days together.

I fortunately have never lived where year round school has been implemented.
I happen to LOVE the Summer when my children are out of school and we have always had a blast experiencing things together.

Summertime is so fleeting and the day school is back in session is dreaded.  My oldest boys are both out of high school.  My younger two started school yesterday.  Time is precious and I dislike the day school starts.  On a positive note, it requires us to be more grounded.  My grass will now get more water and the overgrown yard will get the attention it deserves.

This year was a bit different; I still felt the pulling of my heart strings as I sent my children off to new schools; with one attending sixth grade where she has a locker and class periods.  The other is in tenth grade and at the high school now.  They both seem so grown up and each year seems to be a little more tough for me.  This time, my semester at college began the same day as my kids first day.  It provided a nice distraction and made it fun when I asked my kids about how their first day was, they in turn, asked me how my first day was.  I have really great professors and am excited to learn and for all the experiences we will encounter this year.

Grandma's Peach Dessert

16 graham crackers crushed

1/4 C. sugar

1/2 C. chopped nuts

1/2 C. butter, melted

Combine above ingredients and place half of the mixture into a 9X13 pan.

In a heavy saucepan, melt a 16 oz. bag of miniature marshmallows and 1C. of milk.  Let cool.  Whip one pint of cream till stiff peaks form and fold into cooled marshmallow mixture.

Pour half of the milk mixture onto crust.  Slice 8-10 peaches over the milk mixture.  Pour the remaining milk mixture over the peaches and sprinkle the remaining half of the graham cracker crust mixture over the top.  Refrigerate.  

This is my Grandma's Peach Dessert recipe.  It is yummy and even better the next day.

Hanna, Utah

Spent the weekend in a place called Hanna, Utah.  It was super fun and relaxing!  My friend had a birthday party at his family's estate.

He was a most gracious host keeping us very well fed and entertained!  We enjoyed awesome grilled salmon and a cozy campfire while being serenaded.  Comfortable sleeping quarters in his spacious house were provided (not that we got much sleep we were by the campfire until 3 a.m.).

Saturday morning, we rode horses and four wheelers, herded cows that had managed to escape, and floated the river.  We even encountered a water snake!

This colt was very friendly, walked right up to me.

Had a most enjoyable time and met some awesome new friends!

Peach Pie

This pie is delicious and very simple to make.
I just received a bushel basket of peaches and a large box of pears! I will be making and posting things to do with both.

Love this time of year!

Autumn is by far my favorite; I can hardly wait for cool nights, harvest moons, and brilliantly colored leaves!

Pie Crust
2 C. flour (remove 1/3 C. set aside)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 C. shortening

1/2 C. butter

1/3 C. ice water

Preheat oven to 400*.  Mix flour, salt, shortening, and butter with a pastry blender.  Mix the reserved flour with the ice water then stir into the flour/shortening mixture till just combined.

Roll out 2 crusts and line two pie tins.  Pierce crusts with fork. Place in freezer for 20 minutes.  Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Glaze

2 Tblsp. corn starch

6 Tblsp. Tang

1/2 C. sugar

1 & 1/3 C. water

2 tsp. lemon juice

Boil ingredients together stirring constantly for one minute.  Set aside to cool.

Filling

8 ounces softened cream cheese

1/2 C. powdered sugar

8 ounces thawed Cool Whip

Mix cream cheese and sugar till smooth.  Fold in Cool Whip.  Spread mixture into cooled crusts.

Slice 4 large peaches and arrange on top.  Place 3/4 C. blueberries on top as well.  Drizzle with glaze.