Raspberry Crumble Bars

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from weekends at my grandparent's home in the country.  They had a HUGE raspberry bush and I would spend hours picking berries and taking them to my granny so she could make jam.  I never accumulated many berries though; I always ate them as I picked...I eat them until I had a stomach ache :)  My granny's jam was amazing and I miss that raspberry bush-it's long since gone. 

Although these raspberries came from the store and not my grandparent's, these bars were still delicious.  The original recipe says to make them in a 13x9 baking dish but I made mine in a 9x9.  I really love raspberries and wanted the raspberry layer to be extra thick and tart. These crumble bars are so yummy- I cannot wait to make more.  Actually, this was my third attempt at making them-I bought raspberries on two previous trips to the grocery and each time I ate all the berries within a day or two and never got to make the bars :) I have no self control when it comes to fresh fruits, what can I say? I love them! You could use any berry or fruit you wanted, if by some crazy chance you don't like raspberries. 

Raspberry Crumble Bars

Adapted from:  Annie's Eats

Printable Recipe 

Yield: 1 pan (9x9)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon
16 tbsp COLD unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
12 oz (2 containers) fresh raspberries
4 tsp cornstarch
juice of 1 lemon

Directions:
Preheat oven 375 degrees F.

Prepare 9x9 baking dish by buttering inside and lining with parchment paper (allow 2 inches to come up over 2 sides for easier lifting from pan).

In a large bowl mix: 1 cup sugar, baking powder, & flour.  Mix salt and lemon zest with a fork.

Cut in butter and egg with pastry blender until pieces are the size of a pea. 

Place half the crumble mixture in pan and press down with hands until flat and surface is even.

In a small bowl whisk cornstarch and lemon juice.  Fold in raspberries and pour them on crumble crust.

Cover raspberries with the remaining crumble mixture. 

Bake 40-50 minutes or until top is slightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely then cut into squares & ENJOY!!

Zucchini Bread

 

One of the many reasons I love summer is because of the amazing fresh produce :) I love how everyone's gardens start to produce fruits and veggies and most gardeners I know are more than willing to give you FREE stuff! I love free, don't you?  My mom's friends gave her some zucchini because their garden is producing far more than their family needs.  Mom said she was going to make bread with hers and after she gave me 2 HUGE zucchini I decided to do the same and I'm so glad I did.  Zucchini bread is so simple and yet so satisfying.  My favorite is to smear some cream cheese on a slice :) YUM!!

 These zucchini (wishing I had taken a picture before shredding them) were so large that I had 5 cups and only needed 2 cups for two loaves of bread. What did I do? Stuck them in the freezer for another day. If you don't have a food processor you can certainly grate zucchini by hand (I've done so several times) but if you do have a food processor it takes 15 seconds at most to get these babies shredded and ready for baking. Have I mentioned how much I love my food processor? I LOVE IT! It was a gift from my in-laws for Christmas this past year and I have already gotten their money's worth :) HEHE. It's so wonderful for so many things: making sauces, grating hard cheeses, veggies, etc. Oh, and it makes pie crusts a breeze! I've also made many a smoothie - practically retired my blender. A blender is too noisy anyway, right? Is anyone in need of a blender? I might be getting rid of mine-I've only used to twice I think and NONE since getting my food processor :) Did I mention I love my processor? HA.

pure beauty

Anyway, back to the bread....the recipe I used is pretty basic and yet so so good.  The bread comes out nice and moist (my bread MUST be moist) and I love the hint of cinnamon you can taste-so good!  This is such a "quick" bread, it only takes 5-10 minutes before you're reading to pop the bread into the oven for baking. 

 This bread, along with others like it (banana bread, pumpkin bread, etc) are good for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a midnight snack-pretty much any time of day you're hungry! I really enjoy having things like zucchini bread on hand because it makes me feel much better to go grab a slice of bread (even with cream cheese on top) than a bag of chips or candy. And since zucchini is a vegetable, it's totally healthy and fat free, RIGHT? Who's with me? I love nothing more than a good slice of bread and coffee in the morning for breakfast on a weekend....

Zucchini Bread   

Source: The Taste of Home Cookbook  (pg. 506)

Printable Recipe 

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium sized zucchini)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F & prepare 2 8x4x2 loaf pans-well greased.

In a large bowl, combine: flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder.

In a small bowl whisk: eggs, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon zest.

Stir into dry ingredients until moistened then fold in zucchini.

Transfer to 2 greased loaf pans and bake 55-65 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean from the center of bread.*

Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove until cool rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Go make this and ENJOY!

*Next time I make this I will only use 1 loaf pan. I have one loaf pan that is a bit larger than the standard size so I will just use that. This bread turned out great but the loaves were very small-about 1 1/2vinches in height and I really like my breads a bit bigger than that.

Garden Update

My garden is doing really well.  My Italian parsley is really rompin' and my tomato plants had to be cut back they were beginning to take over my pepper plants.  Actually, one of my pepper plants hasn't grown an inch since I planted them so Steve moved it for me in hopes that it will grow.  My thyme isn't doing well and I don't really know why.  Last year I had thyme in a pot and didn't tend to it often and it grew very well.  However, this year it's not doing anything. Not sure what that's all about?

So far I haven't had any ripe tomatoes but there are probably 20 or more tomatoes on the plant just waiting to get a little bigger and ripen.  I also have two peppers on my bell pepper plant-VERY EXCITED!! My basil is also doing pretty good and I've already made two batches of pesto!

Here are some pictures:

Italian parsley

Sweet Basil

thyme :(

relocated pepper plant

YAY!

maters

looking good

cute little one

How are your gardens doin'?

tired puppy!

Camera

I've been wanting a nice camera for awhile now and yesterday Steve got me one! I've been using his work camera and my iphone (don't judge) up until now.  I have NO photography skills so it should be frustrating fun trying to learn this new camera. :) 

picture taken with iphone :)

It' a  Canon Rebel T3
Ain't she a beaut? We also got a semi-fancy lens (I don' know what kind) but the store was out so they are shipping it to us this week! I cannot wait to start using this in the kitchen!

Coming this week: a yummy dessert recipe & garden updates!


Happy 4th of July!!!!

Finished Kitchen!!!!

I cannot tell you how happy I am that my kitchen is finally finished! It's crazy how much a little paint and new drawer pulls can change a kitchen and my feelings toward it.  I loved being in my kitchen before-cooking or baking up some yummy food but I really didn't like my cabinets.  I was very glad when we bought our home that the kitchen was bigger than others we looked at and it had twice as many cabinets and counter space as the other homes as well.  However, the oak finish just isn't me.  I knew we would never have the funds to get new cabinets, so when Steve agreed to paint them black I was thrilled!

Here are some before and afters:

before

after (my sweet baby girl posing for the camera)

before, wish I had a picture with the cabinet doors on so you could really see the difference that made

 

after

my favorite cabinet

Maybe one day we can get new appliances but for now I am extremely happy with my cabinets and my kitchen! Now all I have to do is figure out what to cook!?

Incase you're wondering what paint we used on the cabinets it's Valspar color: Cracked Pepper and the finish: Kitchen & Bath Enamel.

I would like to say a special and HUGE thank you to Steve, my husband who did most of the work and did a fantastic job! I LOVE YOU! 

Corn Fritters

Stephen had been asking me to make these for weeks! Almost every night when he came home from work he would ask if we were having corn fritters for dinner.  So, I finally made them for him and they were amazing! I don't know what it is about simple foods but more times than not, it's the simplest foods that are my favs. How about you?

You can really make this recipe suite your tastes and experiment with different flavors.  The recipe I used calls for cayenne pepper, but if you don't want something with a kick you could change it out for whatever spices you prefer. I added a little more cayenne pepper and left out the chives from the original recipe.  The first time I made these I opted out of powdered sugar and maple syrup...BIG MISTAKE! I tried it the other night and it was great! It didn't seem like a good combo to me: slightly spicy corn fritters & sweet powdered sugar and maple syrup but it's genius I tell you. 

Corn Fritters
Source: The Pioneer Woman
Printable Recipe 

Ingredients:

• ¾ cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 whole Eggs
• ½ cups Milk
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 3 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 4 cups Corn Kernels: Fresh, Frozen, Or Canned (I used frozen)
• Canola Oil, For Frying
• Powdered Sugar (optional)
• Maple Syrup (optional)

Directions:

Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add in the eggs, milk, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir together to make a batter.

Add corn and fold together to combine.

Heat canola oil to 365 degrees. When oil is heated, drop spoonfuls (I used a large cookie scoop) of batter and cook, flipping to the other side, until golden brown.

Drain on a towel-lined plate. Serve alone, with dipping sauces, or sprinkled with powdered sugar or drizzled with maple syrup. I HIGHLY recommend the sugar and syrup!

 Make these & ENJOY! :)

Grocery Budget Update

I just have a short post today to let you know how my first month of the $200.00 a month grocery budget went.  I made my last trip to the grocery (of the month) today and I only needed a few items: milk, bread, flour, & eggs.  My budgeting went much easier than I had initially expected.  I figured it would be really hard to just spend $50.00 a week but it wasn't too bad.  Going to the grocery, I had $22.00 to spend.  I kinda freaked out last week when I left the store and only had $22.00 for this week's food but once I realized I only needed 4 items, I knew that was more than enough money.  My bill today was $21.65! I know that's not much left over but you must consider I bought an extra bag of flour (it was on manager special), pack of tortillas (on sale and I had a coupon) and I also got a Spider Skimmer, which wasn't on my original list.  It was really exciting (probably too exciting) that after getting the 4 items I had to have, I still had money to spend and since I had been wanting a skimmer and I wanted to make tacos tonight, I could get a few extras :)

Needless to say, I'm really excited about next month and can't wait to keep you posted :) Although I'm not one of those extreme couponers I have really been trying to use as many coupons (or items I already buy) as possible.  So far, my biggest savings on one trip has only been $10.00 but that's a huge improvement from 6 months ago when I had NEVER used a coupon!