Want one of these?

I love, love, love my Kitchen Aid mixer.

So much so that during a recent game with our church's youth group (a game resembling the old TV version of The Newlywed Game but played with mothers and one of their children) my daughter was asked, "If your mother were to describe herself as one of the appliances in your home, which one would it be?"

Well. That was a no brainer for Kat or me to answer.  My Empire Red Kitchen Aid mixer, of course!

And, I've often said that if the house were to catch on fire, I'd do my best to grab my mixer on the way out of the burning inferno.  Right after my kids and cat, of course.

So...

Want to win one?

Go visit my blogger friend, Sandy, at Reluctant Entertainer, for your chance to win.  Hurry... the contest ends this Friday at midnight, September 23, 2011!  While you're there, take a look around the rest of Sandy's website... you'll love her outlook on entertaining and life!

Food For Friday - Company's Coming!

I've been lazy in the area of cooking this summer. Very lazy. (Just ask my family... I'm certain they'll agree with that self-assessment!)  However, there's nothing like the impending arrival of house guests to prompt some good, old fashioned meal planning for this list-maker! 


That's me on the far left!

My friend Valerie and I go way back. So far back, in fact, that I really don't remember when we first met. I'm guessing we were probably in early grade school.  We attended the same church, participated in the same youth group and summer camps, and even attended high school together for three years.  I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid in her wedding.  We've managed to stay in touch over the years despite living in different states (and countries!).

Val and her family are missionaries in Brazil.  (You can view pictures and read about their ministry on their website.)  She is here in the states for a short visit and she's coming to Texas next week to see me!  It's her first ever visit to the Lonestar state.

I want to prepare nice meals while she's here but I also don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen when there's so much catching up and sightseeing to do in the small amount of time she has in Texas.  So, I've been pouring over my recipes trying to find just the right dishes to make for her.

I came across this recipe for Blueberry Cobbler that I received from my best friend, Stephanie, who received it from her mom.  It is one of the most simple recipes ever and the results are so delicious.

So, I thought I'd share the recipe with my faithful readers (all one thousand two of you).  This is the second recipe from me in one week.  (You're welcome!)

Blueberry Cobbler

• 5 C fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 1/2 T lemon juice
• 2 C flour
• 3 C sugar, divided
• 1 C milk
• 1/3 C butter, in pieces
• 1/4 t cinnamon (my addition to the recipe)
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t salt, divided
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1 1/2 C boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread berries in a well-greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside.

Mix flour, 1 1/2 C sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and 1/2 t salt.  Cut in butter.  Add milk and mix well.  Batter will be thick. Spoon over berries and spread to the edges of the pan.  Set aside.

Mix remaining sugar, salt and cornstarch.  Sprinkle over batter.  Pour boiling water over top. Bake one hour.

Best served warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

(Note: I've used this same recipe with other berries and peaches and the results were equally delicious.)

Share a favorite recipe with me... or tell me about one of your oldest friendships... or both!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a regional holiday in Mexico, primarily celebrated in the state of Puebla, with some limited recognition in other parts of Mexico. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.

The outnumbered Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army that had not been defeated in almost 50 years. However, Cinco de Mayo is not "an obligatory federal holiday" in Mexico, but rather a holiday that can be observed voluntarily.

While Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. However, a common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish), the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

(Thank you, Wikipedia!)

For those of you who know me and my family, you know that Cinco de Mayo is just another excuse for us to eat Mexican food. (Like we need an excuse.) This year is no exception. We're grilling chicken fajitas on the grill and serving rice and refried beans on the side. We'll top off the meal with a confection that combines two of my favorite desserts into one: sopapillas and cheesecake.

And, because you are my good friends, I'm going to share this recipe with you!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 pkgs. crescent rolls

2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese (softened)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teasp. vanilla flavoring

2 eggs

1/4 cup lime juice (use Key limes if possible)

Topping: Combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 2 teasp. cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Open and unroll one package of crescent rolls. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. (Make sure all perforated seams are pressed closed.)

In a separate bowl, use a mixer to combine the cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla and eggs. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add lime juice and mix 'til blended.

Pour mixture over crescent rolls in pan. Smooth with a spatula so that it evenly covers the rolls.

On a piece of waxed paper, press second can of crescent rolls to the size of the baking dish. Flip onto the top of the dessert and peel away the waxed paper.

Sprink top with sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top. Let cool and then refrigerate until cold. This is very good served with sliced strawberries!

Notes:

This recipe may be halved and prepared in an 8 inch square baking dish.

Omit the lime in the filling and the cinnamon in the topping to serve this as a breakfast danish with fresh fruit or pie filling (cherry or blueberry).

Enjoy!

The Party and Lessons Learned

I’ve been a bad blogger. Oh, yes – I’ve been reading blogs. I just haven’t written my own. But I have a good excuse because I’m still recovering from the party we had last Friday night with 27 of my kiddo’s closest friends.

Yes, there was food. These are just the remnants. After all that I prepared, they still felt the need to raid the pantry and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. What would they have done had I served PB&J sandwiches? (I like that they feel that comfortable in our home!)

There were middle schoolers. We were grossly out-numbered. (Sigh…)

Jumping on the trampoline.

Several games of football.

Can’t have football without the cheerleaders.

And, it’s not a good party if you haven’t danced the Cha Cha Slide.

There were high schoolers.

A well-supervised game of twister.

Can you lick your elbow? Go ahead and try it. (We’ll wait…)

She can!

This is what honor students do to unwind after finals. Who knew?

A Dance Dance Revolution dance contest. Did anyone ever really win?

Max hid in our bedroom. Who could blame him? (Not really – we locked him in there for his own protection.)

The party was fun. Mostly. Both parents and kiddos learned a few things.

• Middle schoolers never get tired. Ever. Ever.
  
• It's really fun to hang out with teenagers. Seriously!
  
• It is good to have a spare pair of shorts around in case of an “accident” on the trampoline. All that jumping places a lot of stress on seams. Thank you for loaning replacements, Kat.
  
• Real friends respect your home, your possessions and your parents. If they don’t, they aren’t.
  
• The goal of TP’ing is to NOT get caught. Got that, Burrito? We’ve never been so embarrassed. Who would have thought that we would raise a kid who would get caught before even getting started?