Blueberry Lemonade

This will be one of my summer drinks this year.  Seriously, it's so refreshing. The blueberry flavor and the lemon flavor meld so nicely without one flavor overpowering the other. Perfect on a hot day by the pool or after a long day doing yard work.

It cools you right down.

It makes you want more.

I'm gonna go get some.

Blueberry Lemonade
Recipe from Damn Delicious

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fine granulated sugar
• 1 cup blueberries
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Cooking Directions

1. in a medium saucepan, add the sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Add the blueberries and bring back up to a boil, then lower to simmer for about 3-4 minutes.
2. Strain the mixture with cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer and let cool.
3. Add 5 cups of water to a pitcher and add the lemon juice. Stir in the blueberry mixture and chill.
4. Serve over ice with additional blueberries if desired.

Peach Cobbler

Being in the South, it's imperative to have these classics available.  Especially when the peaches here are some of the best you've ever tasted!  My daughter and I love to go peach picking at a local farm nearby.  Peach picking doesn't start here for about another month but the farm still had some available when we went there to pick blueberries.  I quickly brought them home and before we ate them all I knew I'd have to make this cobbler.  

Very simple to assemble, no fancy ingredients and even if you're not a baker, this one is easy. The finished result is wonderful.  Sweet crust with a tiny bit of chewiness around the edges.  The peaches are sweet, tender and juicy.  We topped this with some of the homemade ice cream I made recently and it was amazing. 

Peach season will be here soon!  Time to get ready!

Peach Cobbler

Recipe from Southern Living My Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups fresh peach slices
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. Melt the butter in a 9x13 inch baking dish or you can melt it in a small bowl and pour it in the dish.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, 1 cup of sugar, the baking powder and salt. Add the milk and mix just until its all moist.
4. Pour over the top of the butter. Set aside.
5. In a saucepan, combine the peaches, lemon juice and the remaining 1 cup of sugar and cook until boiling, stirring constantly.
6. Pour over in the prepared dish but DO NOT stir.
7. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.
8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Coconut Oil Honey Almond Granola

Sorry for my lack of posting lately.  I upgraded the operating system on my computer and it changed all of the ease and familiarity I had with my old one.  I've had to relearn where all my pictures are.  I'm not 100% with it yet, but I'm getting there.

I love this recipe.  I love it because it tastes amazing but I also didn't realize how much I would just snack on it instead of something worse (like chips).  I eat it like cereal, top yogurt with it and just eat it plain.  It's sweet and nutty and easy to make.  My daughter even liked it.  I think this would be a great travel food to bring on a plane or a long car ride.  

Great recipe!

Coconut Oil Honey Almond Granola

Recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole almonds, divided
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp almond extract

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350º
2. Pulse half the almonds in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Pour them into a large bowl. Coarsely chop (by hand) the other half of the almonds and add them to the others in the large bowl.
3. Add the oats, salt and brown sugar into the large bowl with the almonds.
4. In a small bowl combine the coconut oil and honey and microwave for 40 seconds and then stir. Add the vanilla extract and almond extract and stir again.
5. Pour the honey mixture over the oats and stir together until well coated.
6. Pour the mixture onto a jelly roll pan (with sides) in an even layer on top of a silpat or parchment paper and bake for 5 minutes. Remove and stir, then bake for 5 minutes longer. Remove and let cool completely.
7. Break up the granola and store in an air tight container.

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

This breakfast is a great suggestion for those busy mornings.  Easy to make and have ready first thing in the morning or else to make the night before and refrigerate so you can grab and run out the door.

My daughter actually liked this, which is saying something for her.  Miss picky.

Also a great idea if you've got company over and are looking for a filling breakfast that everyone will love.

I used frozen wild blueberries which tend to be smaller.  If you're using large berries you may want to add more.

Enjoy!

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

Recipe from Crazy For Crust

Ingredients

• 2 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Cooking Directions

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Spray a 11x7 or 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, applesauce, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. 
4. Add the cinnamon, salt and baking powder. 
5. Add the oats and milk. 
6. Gently stir in the blueberries. Spread in the prepared pan. 
7. Bake for 24-38 minutes or until golden brown and not jiggly in the middle anymore. 
8. Serve hot with syrup or yogurt, or refrigerate and cut into bars. You can also freeze in portions and unthaw overnight so it's ready the next morning. 

Pasta e Fagioli (Olive Garden CopyCat)

It's getting a little warm in our neck of the woods to be making soup but this one is too darn delicious to pass up. Simple and easy ingredients that you probably have most of in your refrigerator already.  You can make this spicy or mild depending on the sausage you use.  I used a sweet sausage so my daughter would eat it, and she did!

So comforting and just like you would get from Olive Garden. This version is fairly quick and can be on your table in less than and hour.

Make sure to get some good ol' crusty bread from your super market or try this recipe if you know you're making this one in advance. So good!

Pasta e Fagioli (Olive Garden Copycat)

Recipe by Damn Delicious

Ingredients

• 1 cup ditalini pasta (or other small pasta)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

Cooking Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water. Drain and set aside. 
2. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large stock pot or a dutch oven. Add the sausage and cook until no longer pink.  Crumble it as  you cook it. Drain off the excess grease and set aside. 
3. Add the remaining oil, onions, garlic, carrots and celery to the pot cook until tender about 3-4 minutes. 
4. Return the meat to the pot with the vegetables. 
5. Whisk in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender.  About 15-20 minutes. 
6. Add both beans and heat through and then serve hot. 

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all of you women out there.  Mom's have the hardest but most rewarding job in the world and you should be appreciated every day!  I hope this day is a wonderful one that lets you do exactly what you love doing.  Enjoy the day!

Mini Vanilla Scones

I craved these scones ever since I saw them on Pinterest.  The original recipe uses vanilla bean.  I didn't have that so I used vanilla extract.  Normally you would see beautiful little black specks throughout.  I will definitely make these again when I have some vanilla beans.

However, the flavor of these little scones are still just what I wanted.  Vanilla flavor topped with more vanilla flavor.  Can't beat it.

The scones themselves were moist yet firm.  The sweet glaze on top was just heaven.  I loved them.

Made with real vanilla beans above.

Mini Vanilla Scones
Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup half and half (I used whole milk)
• 1 whole egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or 2 vanilla beans, scraped

Glaze

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 6 Tbsp half and half (I used whole milk)
• 1 bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean, scraped or extract

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the oven to 425º
2. Get a cookie sheet ready by using parchment paper or a silicone mat.  Set aside. 
3. Use a food processor, bowl or stand mixer.  Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and give it a quick mix/pulse to blend. 
4. Add in the cold butter and pulse or blend to mix in until it looks like very small pieces of butter.  You can also use your hands to sort of squish the butter and then mix in. 
5. Add the half and half, egg and vanilla to a separate bowl and mix, then add into the flour mixture. Pulse until it comes together as dough.  
6. Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead 4-5 times.  Roll out into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 6 rectangles and then cut each of those in half diagonally to make 2 triangles. 
7. Place on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown. 
8. Remove to a cooling rack and prepare the glaze. 
9. Whisk the glaze ingredients together until smooth.  Dip the cooled scones into the glaze and then transfer back to the wire cooling rack to let the glaze harden.