Month: July 2018

Old Fashioned Chocolate Sheet Cake

Old Fashioned Chocolate Sheet Cake

For Christmas 1996, my mother sat down and made a hand written cookbook of her recipes for each of her children.  She passed away in 2011, and I am so thankful that she gave us those special gifts.  Each time I make a recipe from 

10 Tips for a Budget Friendly Back to School Experience

10 Tips for a Budget Friendly Back to School Experience

It’s that time of year again, ugh…back to school shopping.  From time to time, I try to write a post that might be somewhat helpful.  Today I’ve decided to share some tips and tricks to make this preparation for the new school year a bit 

Best Blueberry Muffins Ever!

Best Blueberry Muffins Ever!

This morning a co-worker brought homemade blueberry muffins with crumb topping to our staff meeting.  After one taste, I knew I had to get a picture of these muffins and the recipe!  Thank you to Courtney Taylor for our featured recipe this week…they are so delicious!

 

Blueberry Muffins

These blueberry muffins with fresh berries and crumb topping are so delicious they will melt in your mouth!

Course Breakfast
Keyword blueberry muffins
Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumb topping

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon room temperature butter cubed
  • 1/8 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

    2. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin liners.

    3. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. 

    4. Place vegetable oil in a 1 cup measuring cup.  Add the egg and enough buttermilk to fill the cup. 

    5. Mix wet and dry ingredients.  Fold in the blueberries.

    6.  Fill to about 2/3 full.

    7. Mix together topping ingredients until it has a coarse texture, then crumble on top of each muffin. 

    8. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

 

Don’t Touch the Neapolitan!

Don’t Touch the Neapolitan!

WARNING:  THE FOLLOWING POST MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES! 🙂 If you have been following my blog, you have noticed that I try to focus on the positives in daily life.  Well, I AM human..and there are times when I don’t stay so 

Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Cup Cake

I’ve been on a peanut butter kick recently, so here is another yummy recipe that I tried tonight. 😊   If you love peanut butter cups, this is the recipe for you! This rich, delicious cake is very simple to make! Print Slow Cooker Peanut 

Nutter Butter Cookies

Nutter Butter Cookies

 

You’re going to LOVE these homemade nutter butter cookies! It’s true, the actual cookies are only THREE ingredients, WOW! The filling is also very simple to put together. Try them!

Nutter Butter Cookies

These homemade nutter butter cookies are so good, you'll be begging for more!  Try this quick and easy recipe!

Course Dessert
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Cooling time 3 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
Servings 6 Cookie sandwiches

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Cup Peanut butter
  • 1 Egg

Filling

  • 1/4 Cup Butter Room temperature
  • 1/4 Cup Peanut butter
  • 1 Cup Powdered sugar
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

    Stir cookie ingredients until smooth.  Scoop out 1 inch balls of cookie dough and roll into log shapes. Roll in sugar.

    Press down with back of a fork to make criss-cross pattern on top of cookie. Pinch in both sides of each cookie to form a nutter butter cookie shape. 

    Bake for 12 minutes, cool for 1-3 more minutes. 


Filling

  1. Mix the butter and peanut butter in a large bowl until smooth.

    Slowly add in powdered sugar and beat until smooth. 

    Add milk, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.

    Spread a tablespoon of the filling onto bottom side of cookie, then top with another cookie to create a nutter butter sandwich.

    Yum!

Recipe Notes

This recipe makes 6 sandwich cookies, but can be doubled to make 12.

Low Carb Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Low Carb Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

  Arlena Stepp “stepped up” once again and supplied us with our featured recipe of the week! Arlena replaced bread crumbs with crushed pork rinds to make this a fantastic low carb option.  Print Low Carb Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs These mozzarella stuffed meatballs are a 

Our Blended Family Tradition:  “Whatever Wednesday”

Our Blended Family Tradition: “Whatever Wednesday”

This post contains an affiliate link.  If you click on this link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

All seven of our kids

When I married my husband 17 years ago, I brought with me three sons from my previous marriage.  My husband also had three children from his first marriage- 2 girls and a boy.  Those first few months as a blended family were challenging, to say the least.  We were all adapting to a completely new way of life…different parenting styles, different rules, picky eaters, and a whole lot of different personalities!  I remember describing our family as “the Brady Bunch gone bad”!  We adapted, though, and soon began to form a routine.  It was still chaotic, but it worked.  Two years later, one more was added to our brood when our youngest son was born.  He now refers to himself as “the only one that is blood related to everyone else in the family”.  I guess he is actually right.

With 7 kids in the family, meal planning became essential.  I can’t count how many times I’ve used the phrase “you get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit”…said with a tone that made the word “get” sound like “git”. Continue reading Our Blended Family Tradition: “Whatever Wednesday”

Take the Dirt Road: 5 Reasons Why

Take the Dirt Road: 5 Reasons Why

  A few days ago, the road that I normally drive home from a remote office was closed due to construction. I had two choices-turn around and backtrack to get to the highway, or take the nearby dirt road. I chose the dirt road. To