The Labor of Labor Day

"The difference between try and triumph is a little umph."--Author Unknown

     Why is it that when you want your kids to work at home or in the yard you have to almost beg and plead.  But you give a kid a shovel on a sandy beach and they are happy all day long doing the same thing you wanted them to do at home.  Go figure.
     We spent Labor Day at Bear Lake on the North Shore.  It was a little crowded but the weather and temperature were perfect.  The kids had fun in the sand and in the water.  We hauled the canoe and kayak up there and remembered to bring the metal detector; although we didn't find any buried treasures.

 

 

 

Views from the canoe. . . . .

 

 

The Bear Lake area is famous for the raspberries they produce.  After our day at the lake we went into Garden City to La Beaus for the best raspberry milkshakes ever and hamburgers.  Yum!!

 

 

 

Apple season is almost upon us.  We use this recipe for almost any fruit.  We had peach crisp just last weekend.

 

 

Apple Crisp

4 C. sliced cooking apples                              ½ C. brown sugar

    (4-5 medium sized)                                     ½ tsp. salt

1 T. lemon juice                                               1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 C. flour (whole wheat)                              ½ C. butter, melted

1 C. rolled oats

            Heat oven to 375°.  Place apples in greased shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Combine dry ingredients; add melted butter mixing until crumbly.  Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of apples.  Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes or until apples are tender.   Serve warm or cold with ice cream or whipped cream.

 

I found a quilt similar to this one online.  I used it as inspiration for my own apple quilt.

 

 

 

Here's an easy crock pot meal that is so good during the fall months.

 

Tomato-Sauced Spare Ribs

3 lbs . boneless pork spareribs                                   3 stalks celery, chopped

1 tsp. salt                                                                     1 medium green pepper, chopped

¼ tsp. pepper                                                              1 medium onion, chopped

1-28 oz. can tomatoes                                                 hot cooked rice

Brown spareribs in skillet and transfer to crockpot.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Stir in undrained tomatoes, celery, green pepper and onion.  Cover and cook on high setting for 4 hours.  Serve over hot, cooked rice. 

 

This book by Richard Paul Evans was a nice, entertaining break.

 

Adios August!

"Whether you think you can or think you can't; you're right."--Henry Ford


     Check out this bird apartment house that my son-in-law made for me!  I love it!  It's made from an old fence post and someone's old, red fence.

     My husband took a day off work this month and went with me to the 39th Annual Quilt Show at the Springville Museum of Art.  Today is the last day of the show.  There were some beautiful quilts on display.  My husband thought the metal water sculpture was pretty cool. 

Springville Museum of Art

 

Loved the beads and other adornments

I love the colors in this country quilt

This iris quilt was stunning

Beautiful tree skirt

Look at the color in this one!

metal water sculpture

Since we were in Springville, we had to go check out The Corn Wagon Quilt Shop there.

The Corn Wagon Quilt Shop

One of the highlights of the day was lunch at the Art City Trolley Cafe.  The owners found a trolley back east and brought it to Utah and it is used as the front of the cafe.  I loved the retro look with all the tin signs inside.  The rear of the cafe is just as cute as the front.  The food wasn't bad either.

 

 

 

 

 We can't leave August without first printing a couple of zucchini recipes.  Here they are.

 

 

Zucchini Muffins

¾ cup whole wheat flour                                            ¼ tsp. nutmeg

¾ cup all-purpose flour                                               2 eggs

¾ cup sugar                                                  ¼ cup canola oil

½ tsp. baking powder                                    ¼ cup applesauce

½ tsp. baking soda                                       2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini

½ tsp. salt                                                                   ½ cup sunflower seeds

½ tsp. cinnamon                                      ½ cup dried cranberries (craisins)

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix  eggs, applesauce and oil in a small bowl; stir into dry ingredients until moistened.  Fold in zucchini, sunflower seeds and dried cranberries (craisins).             

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray or use paper liners.  Fill with batter all the way to the rim.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for five minutes before removing from pan.  Makes 1 dozen medium-sized muffins.

Zucchini Sunshine Casserole

5 cups zucchini, sliced                                  1 cup sour cream

                     ¼ cup onion, chopped                                 1 can cream of chicken soup

                   2 cups carrots, sliced                                    1-8 oz. package stuffing mix

                                                                              ½ cup melted butter

    

                                                                          Cook squash, carrots and onion in boiling, salted water for about 5 minutes or until tender.  Combine soup and sour cream.    Mix stuffing mix with melted butter and spread half on the bottom of a casserole dish.  Layer vegetable mixture next and top with remaining stuffing.  Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

                                                                       

 

 

 

 

Back to the Classroom

"Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing."--Albert Einstein

     My three youngest children are back in school now.  The days seem very quiet.   At least once each summer, we try to take the family to the Motor-Vu Drive-In Movie Theater here in Erda.  The featured movies this time were Brave and The Avengers.  We enjoyed both.  I have been going to the Motor-Vu since I was a small child.  In fact,  I worked there as a teenager.  The snack bar hasn't changed a bit since then.  The menu, however, has expanded slightly.

    

     This quilt is called "Summer Romance".  The pattern comes from a book called The Sweet Life by Heather Mulder Peterson.  She is one of my favorite quilt designers.  She also designs her own lines of fabric--very talented lady!  I just need to mention that I love the cropped corners and I love purple quilts!

 

    
      Here are three recipes that mark the end of summer.  They are some that we use frequently in the summer months.

 

Sizzlin’ Good Chicken and Pasta

3 T. vegetable oil                                              1 medium carrot, cut into strips

1 tsp. season salt                                              1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks

½ tsp. minced garlic                                          1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper                                    8 oz. spaghetti, uncooked

1 lb. boneless chicken,                                      1 C. sliced fresh mushrooms

        skinned and cut into chunks                       1 tsp. season salt

 

     In medium bowl. Blend first four ingredients.  Add chicken, carrot and peppers; toss to coat.  Cover, marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  Prepare spaghetti according to package directions; drain.  In large heated skillet, combine chicken and vegetable mixture; stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender crisp. Add mushrooms, stir-fry 1 minute.  Add spaghetti and season salt; toss to mix.  Heat through.  Arrange on warm serving platter.  Garnish as desired.  Serve immediately.  4-6 servings.

 

 

Tossed Greek Salad

Salad ingredients:                                              Dressing ingredients:

2 pita breads                                                    1 T. dried parsley

8 leaves romaine lettuce                                    1 tsp. garlic powder

2 green onions, chopped                                   ¼ cup lemon juice

1 cucumber, chopped                                       ¼ cup olive oil

3 tomatoes, cut into wedges                              1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper

 

1 can black olives, drained

 

Preheat oven to 350° and toast pitas for 5 to 10 minutes until crisp. Remove from oven and break into bite size pieces.  Tear romaine lettuce into bite size pieces and toss in large bowl with pita pieces, green onions, cucumber, tomatoes and olives.

            In a small jar mix the dressing ingredients together.  Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss.  Makes 6 servings.

 

 

Homemade Hamburger Buns

2 cups water                                                     1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 egg white                                                       4 ½ cups flour

¼ cup powdered milk                                      1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons butter                                       1 tablespoon instant yeast

1 tablespoon sugar                                          1 egg yolk

                                                                            1 tablespoon water

     Add all but last two ingredients in the order listed to a bread machine.  Select the dough setting and let process.  Punch the dough down and divide into 12 balls.  Flatten each ball and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.   Let rise for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush on top of each roll.  If desired, sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake for about  15 to 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

 

 

 

I got such a kick out of this book, A Year Down Yonder and it's sequel, A Long Way From Chicago, written by Richard Peck.  The books are actually written for older children but I think adults can enjoy them just as much as the younger generation.

 

 

Pretty in Pink!

"It is not a slight thing when those so fresh from God love us."--Charles Dickens

    



     This adorable little baby girl finally came to earth to be with her daddy and mommy.  I am thrilled to have my first grand daughter! 

     A month or so ago, I had the fun of putting on a pink baby shower for the coming sweetheart.  Along with chicken salad on croissants, we had raspberry jello salad, raspberry lemonade, and a tossed green salad.  For dessert we had raspberry lemonade cupcakes and cool raspberry dessert.  I hope we had enough pink going on.

Cool Raspberry Dessert

                                ½ gallon raspberry sherbet                  2 to 3 bananas

                                ½ gallon pineapple sherbet                  1 C. walnuts (optional)

                                1 pkg. frozen raspberries

            In large bowl, mix sherbet and raspberries all together until softened.  Stir in sliced bananas and nuts.  Serve at once in cups.  Can be frozen.



     The recipe for the cupcakes came from Studio 5 KSL TV.  Very yummy!!

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• Cake:
• · 1 package white cake mix
• · 1 small package vanilla instant pudding
• · 3 T. sweetened raspberry lemonade drink mix (like Country Time Lemonade- pink
• lemonade mix works too)
• · 1 c. sour cream
• · 2 t. lemon zest
• · 3/4 c. water
• · 3/4 c. oil
• · 4 whites eggs (save the yolks for tomorrows recipe)
• · 3 drops of red food coloring
• · 1 c. fresh raspberries
• Frosting:
• · 1 c. butter, softened
• · 1 c. shortening
• · 1/2 c. frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
• · 2 t. milk
• · 2 t. vanilla
• · Zest from 1 lemon
• · 2 pound package or 7 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• · 3 drops of red food coloring

Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk cake mix, pudding mix, and drink mix together. Add sour cream, lemon zest, water, oil, and egg whites to the dry mix. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Add drops of food coloring and mix in. Fold in raspberries and mix gently to incorporate.
2. Scoop batter into 24 lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in one comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.
3. Prepare the frosting by creaming butter, shortening, and lemon zest together. Then add lemonade concentrate, milk and vanilla with a mixer. Beat until smooth. Gradually add the sugar, mixing well until light and fluffy. Beat in the food coloring.
4. Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes. Place a lemon fresh raspberry on top of each cupcake. Enjoy!

     This is the little pink quilt that was made for our little sweetie.  It's made from 24 charm squares with a fussy cut square in the center.