One last picnic!!

Labor Day weekend.....a great time for family and picnics! we are having one today and I had a craving for apple crumb pie! here it is cooling on the cooling rack. MMM does it smell good! hope you enjoy one too! (p.s. don't get the wrong impression on my pie crust making.....I actually do make homemade pie crust but on occasion it's so much easier to use the ready made ones. Pillsbury roll outs are the best as far as I am concerned! haha

Apple crumb pie

5-7 tart apples (I used Paula Red, in season now)

1 -9" pie crust

1/2 C. sugar

1 t. Cinnamon

dash nutmeg (optional)

Crumb topping:

1/2 C. sugar

3/4 C. flour

1/3 C. butter or margarine

Peel and prepare apple to desired size. Toss with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Roll out crust and place in pie plate.

With pastry blender or fork mix crumb topping mixture until crumbly. Pour apples into pie shell and sprinkle topping on top. Place on cookie sheet lined with foil.

Bake at 400* for 50 mins. Cool and serve with icecream or cool whip! ENJOY!

Tomato season

It's time to enjoy those yummy tomatoes! we are making a family favorite tomorrow, Bruschetta! we got the recipe from my good friend Susie! we went over there for dinner and she had this scrumptious snack for us while we waited for the salmon to grill (another delish recipe for another post! haha) So we have to share it! my 14 yr. old son makes this for us often, he's got some cooking skills perhaps! ha ENJOY!!

Brushchetta

3-4 med. sized tomatoes diced (or 5-6 Romas)

2 green onions sliced thin

1 clove garlic or more if you like garlic (or 1/4 t. dry)

4-5 leaves basil cut in small pcs. (fresh is a must, but dry will do if you have to!)

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1/4 C. olive oil

Parm. cheese to top

1/2 t. salt/few dashes pepper

1 Loaf hard sliced Ital. bread(bakery section, I buy it presliced it's easier)

Olive oil

Mix diced tomatoes with onion, basil, garlic, vinegar, oil and salt and pepper. Stir together and let sit for 20-30 mins. at room temp.

Preheat oven to broil, lay bread slices out on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil lightly. (To be faster I spray the bread with an Olive oil cooking spray lightly or dip them on a plate with olive oil on it)

Broil brushed bread until lightly browned (1-2 mins.), remove. You might have to do 2 trays to make all the bread fit.

About 15 mins. before serving place an even layer of the tomato mixture on the bread slices. Sprinkle with parm. cheese. (Fresh grated is the best!)

If you wish to serve it as sort of a dip, let people put their own tomato mixture on top and have the cheese on the side.

A wonderful "tomato season" snack, our family loves this, even the younger ones!

HAPPY MONDAY ALL.......I'm tired today, I keep staying up too late and watching t.v. or reading! well one more week of that and then I can't do it, so I may as well enjoy it now! haha

Came accrossed a neat quote today and thought it was pretty neat during those times in life when you just feel too tired to push forward:

When there's no wind.......ROW! (smile)

Communion!

Today we took communion at our church and it seemed the Holy Spirit was really working there today! Our message was on how God provided manna and I was so impressed that when I let my thoughts and my mind get so wrapped up in "tomorrow" that I forget that God provided a gift in today!

When we partake in communion it can be such a personal time. I felt overwhelmed with how much God loves me, a simple mom, who thinks the roof is caving in somedays! I forget how good he is to me on a DAILY basis!

My words are getting jumbled haha I love the song by 3rd. day called communion.....I hope your speakers are on and you can bask in those words and be "hungry" for HIM and know that today is what HE has given us! Aren't we blessed to sit in a church and be able to freely take communion and "commune" with a God who loves us on such a sweet and personal level!!??

We Love Lucy!

It's so hot today.....we hung out by the pool all afternoon! my nieces and nephew came over and my mom and we ate lunch and hung outside! It's steamy hot.....we'll enjoy every last moment of hanging by the pool, even after school as long as the weather holds out! I LOVE LOVE LOVE summer livin' but I think the troops are ready for a change!

We are heading out to Subway for dinner downtown and then to see Kung Phoo Panda at the cheap theatre, $3 a ticket! one of our favorite aunties is joining us and our uncle! we try to get together as often as we can on Saturday nights! it's become tradition practically! We love to grill up something scrumptious and ooh and ahh over how good it tastes, play some board games or curl up with a movie or an episode or two of our favorite RED HEAD.....I LOVE LUCY!! hope you are all enjoying the last scraps of summer!!!

CLEANIN!

Well I'm grabbin my mop it's Sat. morning and I'm getting this place back in shape! you can tell we are on summer vacation! I'll have some pictures to post hopefully by early next week of some cleaned out closets and reorganized shelves! Thought you might enjoy a change up in music.......hey it might encourage you to do some dancin with your mop or do some directing with your swiffer duster! ha You might enjoy leaving the blog on and listening to the music while you get something done! I know there are sights I love to pull up and leave the music on! I'll share a few later! Happy weekending!!

Anxious!

SCHOOL!! SCHOOL!! SCHOOL!! SCHOOL!

Well my oldest went to high school orientation for the day! in my devotions this morning I was reading and Proverbs 25:12 came up and it says: "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up."

I hope I sent him off with a kind word, I tried not to appear anxious....I know these next 4 years are going to fly by! I prayed for God to protect him over these next 4 yrs. and to grant favor on him when making decisions big or small! He's a great kid with a good heart!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

STAPLES......School supplies are out in full force in all the stores! It's almost like that feeling when it's getting close to Christmas, the big signs go up, the ads are ALL about school sales! I hope all of you are getting in on the Penny deals at STAPLES stores if you have them! we've collected probably too much stuff here! but we use it for art projects and things throughout the year! I saw a commercial for Office Max doing the same thing! We've gotten many packs of pencils for either a penny or FREE! Like today......I sent my son in to get pencil boxes for .50 and they had pencils in pkgs. of 8 FREE! it was an instant rebate so enjoy! We can never get enough glue stix around here so for .20 for a double pack it's worth it! Happy saving!!!

A New Side to Peas!

Peas are always a favorite side dish especially for kids but if you are bored with them here's a recipe that will perk them up and delight the family! This is especially good in Fall and Winter for a warm creamy buttery side dish! I've been known to eat a big bowl of this all by itself for lunch!

Creamed Peas

1 Bag frozen peas (steamfresh makes it fast and easy)

3 T. butter

2 T. flour

1 C. milk

salt and pepper

Cook peas according to the bag's directions. In the meantime melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and stir, it will become crumbly almost, cook this mixture stirring constantly for about a minute. Lower heat to low. Slowly pour in milk and stir with a whisk constantly, it will thicken as you pour. (If you use up the entire 1 C. of milk then you can pour in a bit more if it is too thick, you want a gravy consistency.)

Let simmer for about 2 mins. stirring occasionally, add salt and pepper to taste. Pour in cooked peas and let simmer about a minute. ENJOY! (This is delicious with some chopped cooked chicken in it and hard boiled eggs over buttered toast, a mock chicken ala king sort of. Increase the butter, flour and milk to double to stretch it out)

Where's My Pie?

Well we got our blueberries washed and dried and frozen and put into freezer bags for future enjoyment! I got 8 bags to be exact! we will sure enjoy muffins, pancakes and of course PIE over the Fall and Winter months! Nothing like a fresh Blueberry pie for Thanksgiving!
In all my excitement over posting a picture of the pie we made last week I FORGOT to snap a shot of it baked......haha It was golden brown with a crackly crispy topping oozing sweet juice over the sides! so you will just have to be enticed by this photo right before it hit the oven and make your own!

BLUEBERRY PIE

1 recipe for a single crust OR Pillsbury ready made crusts in the cold case where you buy biscuits in the can etc.

3/4 C. Sugar

1/3 C. flour

2 ts. finely shredded lemon peel (if you have it)

1 T. lemon juice

5 C. fresh or frozen blueberries

1. Prepare and roll out crust.
2. In a large mixing bowl stir together the sugar, flour, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Add blueberries, toss gently. Let frozen berries sit about 15 minutes until partially thawed.
3. Pour berry mixture into crust.
4. Crumb topping: Stir together 1/2 C. flour, 1/2 C. brown sugar, and 3 T. cold butter. Cut together with hand held pastry blender or 2 knives. (Can also use food processor)
5. Sprinkle crumbs over top of pie, spreading in even layer.
6. Place pie on a cookie sheet with a layer of foil under it to catch the drips.
7. Cover edges of pie with foil for 30 mins. on 375. Remove foil and bake 25 mins. longer (30-35 if using frozen berries).
8. COOL, AND ENJOY WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM!

It's Early!

Well school is soon coming so we are trying to get to bed earlier and get up earlier! It's a good idea to ease into the early school mornings ahead of time! ha My youngest isn't having trouble waking up but the older two are! Guess I'll have to step in and be their alarm today! Heading to get some things organized.....one of my favorite things to do! will work on posting photos later! Have a great morning......God sure has given us some lovely mornings here! I added a photo that my middle daughter took early in the morning at camp this summer, I thought is was so cool how the fog was rolling in over the cornfields! God is such an artist!

Starting out!

Well I'm going to try this blogging thing, it looks like fun and I enjoy reading others! so why not! I'm a mom who Love's being a MOM! I love my home and everything to do with taking care of it! I love my kids, my husband, my cozy life, and I love the Lord!

We picked blueberries last week, 13.5 lbs. to be exact so I hope to have my first post up soon with a photo of our Blueberry Pie! Until then.......Lovin My Home!