Food Week :: Pear Pie

Our pear trees are loaded with fruit again this year. In fact, it might be the best crop we have ever had.

The first ripe pears are always used for our favorite fresh Pear Pie.

Our mother always made this delicious Pear Pie for our family with pears picked from their trees so it brings back wonderful memories every time I make it.

The crop was great this year so pies will not be the only thing made with all these beautiful pears.

Some will be canned, some dried and hopefully a batch or two of pear chutney will be preserved as well. YUM!

Happy Wednesday!

PEACH~BLUEBERRY Cobblers :: for 2

The Peaches and Blueberries are ripe and ready for baking, freezing or snacking. 

Once again our blueberry bushes gave us a good crop so our freezer has been getting restocked the last several weeks and of course we are always picking a handful { or two! } to eat throughout the day.

But, no matter what, there are always enough...

...for baking something sweet.

These little individual cobblers are easy to grab when we are in need of a sweet treat. And, around here, that happens to be quite often.

They definitely are a nutritious snack picked right off the bushes

but, if we can wait long enough,

they make a perfect little dessert too!

YUM!!

Happy Monday!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Fun Jello® dessert for Cinco de Mayo.

Easy and non-alcoholic, this simple Lime jello made our Mexican meal extra festive.

Mr. Wonderful made our favorite Chile Colorado and Mexican Rice for dinner so I decided to make a quick and simple dessert since I was short on time. 

These stemmed Margarita glasses definitely kicked our lime dessert up a notch!

Have a

Specu~TACO~ular

Day!

Bridal Shower Cupcakes :: BLUEBERRY LEMON

These Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes were one of two flavors chosen by our soon to be daughter~in~law for her Backyard Bridal Shower. 

A couple weeks before the shower I made a test batch for practice and to determine if any recipe and/or decorating adjustments were needed. They turned out great however I did decide to kick them up a notch by adding a homemade Lemon Curd filling. 

It was hard to decide between Lemon Curd or Lemon Curd Mousse however I went with Lemon Curd after consulting with my bakery sous chef Miss E. Lemon Zest and some Lemon Juice gave the cupcakes a nice lemon flavor and the added lemon curd gave them a little extra pop but was not over powering. We agreed, they were just right. 

Before making the frosting I made a small batch of blueberry syrup using fresh picked blueberries from our garden. Once it was strained and cooled a small portion was set aside. The remaining syrup was added to the frosting which gave it the pretty color as well as a subtle blueberry flavor. After the cupcakes were frosted the saved blueberry syrup was drizzled over the tops of most, but not all, of the frosted cupcakes.

A few cupcakes were left unfilled just in case anyone preferred a more simple version. To differentiate between the filled and unfilled I simply did not drizzle blue syrup over the top. 

The tops were decorated with a few fresh blueberries and then these Blueberry Lemon Bridal Shower Cupcakes were ready to go however there was another batch of cupcakes still to be made. I will be back soon to share the Orange Fiesta Cupcakes and the fun little surprise I had in store for the guests. 

Have a Great Thursday!

Cookies, Pudding & Pumpkin Pie ... OH MY!

Thanksgiving dinner is always the traditional fare at our house consisting of turkey and stuffing with a side of dressing, potatoes and gravy, a variety of salads and of course cranberry sauce. As for dessert, there are always a couple of pumpkin pies and a few other sweet treats as well, and as tradition would have it, there were plenty of choices.

If pumpkin pie was not your thing or you needed a chocolate fix these Chocolate espresso acorn cookies were just the ticket. The recipe was one that I clipped from the newspaper years ago and is definitely a keeper. The cookie dough is rolled by hand into acorn shapes, baked and then dipped in white chocolate and topped with a mini chocolate chip. So easy and absolutely delectable.

The gingersnap cookie cups filled with pumpkin mousse and sprinkled with English toffee bits were easy to make and so good that it was hard to stop at just one. 

Our dessert menu included some gluten~free options as well. These GF Pumpkin Cupcakes turned out great and tasted wonderful. I topped half with butter cream frosting and for a diary free version I made coconut milk frosting. It was my first attempt with coconut milk and I was amazed at the flavor and how easy it was to make. A great dairy~free alternative. The cupcakes were frosted Thanksgiving morning and since things were so busy they were gone before any pictures were taken so, you never know, you may see the frosted version next fall.

Ginger Cardamom Pumpkin Pudding has graced our Thanksgiving feast before.

It is so wonderful that I decided to add it to the menu again this year. This dessert also happens to be gluten~free which is a nice option for everyone.

Since Christmas is right around the corner I could not resist decorating some of the Gingerbread Cookie Cups with festive gingerbread men sprinkles to serve after Thanksgiving.

A sweet transition into Christmas.

So there you have it, sweet endings to a wonderful Thanksgiving day.

Thankful, Grateful, Blessed!

Taco’s with a Twist x 2 = easy

Last week I made two Taco Bake dinners, one for our neighbors and one for us. 

As you can see already, these are not your typical tacos. Instead of using taco shells to hold the meat and fillings I lined a pie plate with homemade bread dough. 

While the Taco Bake dough was rising I began cooking the taco meat and also made a colorful salad and some homemade Avocado Salad Dressing which I assembled in a clear bowl. Since it is getting close to Halloween and this meal was being delivered to our friends who have young kids I decided to add a little Olive Spider to the top of the dressing just for fun.

Once the dough had doubled I topped it with the cooked seasoned hamburger and put it in the oven to bake. When the edges began to turn golden brown I took it out and covered the top with cheese which melted over the meat. 

My idea for the salad, which actually has more lettuce hidden below the toppings, was that it could either be tossed with the dressing or could be used as toppings for the Taco Bake. The Taco Kit was ready to go. 

To complete the meal I baked a pan of Apple Squares. I considered Apple Empanadas but settled on Apple Squares instead because they are quick and easy and so good. I drizzled some icing over the top which looked a bit like a spiderweb so I could not resist adding a plastic spider to the dessert as well. 

As my family knows I love a theme, even at meal time. So spiders it was.

I will be back soon with another Meal Delivery idea.

Happy Monday!

A Taste of Summer :: Peach Crumb Bars

It is Peach season and our young little tree produced some big beautiful peaches this summer.

Not quite enough for canning but plenty to just slice up in a bowl with maybe a drizzle of cream on top or even as a topping for ice~cream and then of course some reserved for baking. 

After eating one, because of course who can resist eating a fresh warm peach picked right off the tree, it was hard to decide what to make first so crumb bars it was since those are always so quick and simple.

They are also easy to serve which is another good reason for choosing to make crumb bars. You will need some little napkins though because they are, well, a bit crumbly.

In addition, these peachy little treats are quick and easy to make which is especially nice if you are short on time.

I went a bit conservative on the filling for this batch as I have so many peach recipes I want to make and a limited amount of fresh peaches from our tree. The bars were still plenty Peachy though, however, once our tree has its first bumper crop it will be temping to increase the amount of filling, at least a little bit. 

A taste of summer in each little square. It doesn’t get better than that!

Happy last day of August!

Banana Cupcakes

What a busy month! It is hard to believe July 2021 has already come and gone. The days and weeks just seemed to fly by with all the activities keeping us busy however there was always time to squeeze in some sort of baking even on the busiest days which is always fun.  

These  cupcakes are quick and easy to make and a great way to use those bananas that are getting overly ripe. 

The nice thing about the Banana Cream Frosting is that it is not overly sweet and is perfect for these cupcakes. 

These Banana Cupcakes are one of our favorites, even for breakfast. When it comes to dessert though, we love it anytime! 

    Banana Cupcakes

    with Banana Cream Frosting
   

      by http://thegrandsurprise.blogspot.com 

    by Jennifer Stull

Ingredients

• 1-2/3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 10 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 mashed ripe bananas 
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl.3. In another bowl, mash bananas and add milk and              water.4. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy5. Add eggs and mix until combined.6. Add half of the flour mixture and beat alternately  with the milk mixture and beat after each addition until well combined.7. Fill cupcake liners with batter until about half full and bake approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick   comes out clean. 
FrostingMix 1 cup of whipping cream and 1 Tablespoons instant banana pudding powder in a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Add a small amount of sugar for a sweeter frosting and a drop or two of vanilla, if desired. Spread on top of cupcakes. 

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Happy Saturday!