mr. bunny rabbit

little bunny rabbit
in my yard everyday
munching on clover
eyes wide
white cotton tail
not afraid of the chickens
coat looks so soft and shiny
wish i could pet him
please mr. bunny rabbit
stay clear of my garden

Summer Picnic Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispies

Well, another week has come to an end and summer is just sailing by. We are approaching the end of July and I can hardly believe it. I have enjoyed this summer tremendously. Our winter was very long and cold with a lot of snow, so summer was well received in our neck of the woods! I love listening to the cicadas, smelling freshly cut grass, watching the tomatoes grow, seeing fireflies light up the dusky, damp evening sky, and feeling the warmth of the driveway on my bare feet.

I also love a good summer evening picnic with friends and relatives. My son and I went to a picnic last evening at my good friend Becky's. I swear, the food at summertime picnics is the best..so delicious and refreshing. I am always in awe of the clever and different recipes that show up at these events. I find myself taking a tablespoon sampling of each one, even if I am not sure if I will like it, because it always turns out that I love it!



Her and her husband were having a lamb roast and I was so excited to go as I have never been to a lamb roast before. I was so ready to sink my teeth into the lamb that had been roasting on a spit for 6 hours carefully tended to by the master roaster Robbie (my friend's husband). The lamb was so delicious. I was so pleasantly surprised by the taste.



The seasoning was perfect, nice and salty and flavorful. The fat from the lamb and the garlic cloves, salt and pepper made for a moist and juicy piece of meat. I hear they are planning a pig roast in the fall, and guess what...I'll be there! I now want to host a lamb roast at my house. First I need to find out how and where to buy a lamb. They bought theirs at the 4-H auction at the yearly Hookstown fair. I am so jealous, I want to do that too! Well, whatever way I come by a lamb, I am having a roast, and I am pretty excited about it. My family and my husband's family have never had a lamb roast, and I've been married into this family for 18 years now, so I think it is high time to change things up a bit!! Besides the lamb, there was enough food to feed a king and his army: buttered noodles with mushrooms, cheesy potato casserole, broccoli rice casserole, tabbouleh, creamy cucumber salad, loaded potato salad, watermelon, fruit salad, fruit pizza, rigatoni, baked beans and hot dogs, blueberry cobbler, pound cake berry trifle, chocolate zucchini cake, and so on. I chose to bring a dessert and made a recipe I found on the blog Picky Palette. Here is the link. picky-palate I slightly altered the recipe according to what I already had in my pantry, but it is really almost identical.



It is called Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Layered Krispie Treats. Oh my it was delicious and oh so easy to make! The topping was to die for as I love, love, love, chocolate and peanut butter combined! If you would like to give it a whirl, here is the recipe!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUP LAYERED KRISPIE TREATS

6 C. RICE KRISPIES CEREAL
1 BAG MINI MARSHMALLOWS
1/4 CUP MARGARINE OR BUTTER
2 C. CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER
1 PACKAGE MINI REESE'S PEANUT CUPS, QUARTERED
1 HERSHEY BAR, BROKEN AND MELTED
1/2 TSP. CRISCO

MEASURE RICE KRISPIES IN A BOWL. PUT MARGARINE AND MARSHMALLOWS IN LARGE MICROWAVABLE BOWL AND COOK FOR 3 MINUTES, ONE MINUTE AT A TIME UNTIL MELTY AND PUFFY. DUMP MARSHMALLOW MIXTURE INTO CEREAL AND STIR TO COAT EVENLY. DUMP INTO GREASED 13 X 9 PAN. PUSH DOWN INTO PAN GETTING INTO CORNERS AND MAKING IT LEVEL. MELT 2 CUPS PEANUT BUTTER IN MICROWAVE FOR 1 MINUTE. FOLD QUARTERED PEANUT BUTTER CUPS GENTLY INTO PEANUT BUTTER. POUR EVENLY OVER RICE KRISPIE TREATS AND SMOOTH OUT WITH RUBBER SPATULA. MELT HERSHEY BAR WITH 1/2 TSP. CRISCO IN MICROWAVE. MIX WELL. DRIZZLE MELTED CHOCOLATE ALL OVER TOP OF PEANUT BUTTER TOPPING. CHILL IN FRIDGE AND CUT INTO SQUARES.

ENJOY!


P.S. Here was the final scene at my friend's house.
The beautiful silvery moon rising above the corn field illuminating the countryside.
Ah, yes...how I love the countryside. I am completely at home here.

Triple layer Applesauce Cake

Who says a birthday cake
has to be the traditional white frosting
with yellow or blue roses?

Of course,
I do love a traditional cake
as I am a traditional kind of girl
...but there is ALWAYS room
for something new
in my tattered old recipe box.

I've made many birthday cakes over the past few months
...all of the them the non traditional variety.
My latest was no exception...
a towering, triple layer Applesauce Cake.

The batter boasts a whopping 3 cups of applesauce
making this cake supremely moist!
Spicy undertones of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove
conjure up warm memories of golden autumn afternoons.



No matter we are smack dab in the middle of summer...
every bite will have you droopy eyed and smiling
on the hottest of summer days.

The sweetened whipped cream,
kissed with just the right amount of cinnamon
marries the rustic flavors
of apple, sugar and butter
found in the cake.



What a treat this would be
at backyard picnic
amongst family and friends.

You'd better bring copies of the recipe though...
as I'm sure there will be many requests!

TRIPLE LAYER APPLESAUCE CAKE

3 C FLOUR
3 TSP. BAKING SODA
1 1/2 TSP. BAKING POWDER
3/4 TSP. GROUND CINNAMON
3/4 TSP. GROUND NUTMEG
1/4 TSP. GROUND CLOVES
3/4 C. UNSALTED BUTTER (SOFTENED)
1 1/2 C. SUGAR
2 EGGS
3 TSP. VANILLA
3 C. UNSWEETENED APPLESAUCE

CINNAMON WHIPPED CREAM

2 C. HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM
3/4 C. POWDERED SUGAR
1 TSP. GROUND CINNAMON
1/2 TSP. VANILLA EXTRACT

DIRECTIONS FOR CAKE: PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES. SPRAY THREE, 9 INCH CAKE PANS WITH NON STICK COOKING SPRAY. DUST WITH FLOUR. IN MEDIUM BOWL, COMBINE FLOUR, BAKING SODA, BAKING POWDER, CINNAMON, NUTMEG AND CLOVES. SET ASIDE. BEAT BUTTER WITH MIXER FOR 1 MINUTE. ADD SUGAR, BEAT. ADD EGGS AND VANILLA AND BEAT FOR 2 MINUTES. REDUCE SPEED TO LOW AND ADD FLOUR MIXTURE BY THIRDS ALTERNATING WITH ADDING THE APPLESAUCE. BEGIN AND END WITH THE FLOUR MIXTURE. DIVIDE BATTER AMONGST THE 3 CAKE PANS AND BAKE FOR 35-40 MINUTES. COOL IN PANS AND INVERT CAKES ON BAKING RACK TO CONTINUE TO COOL.

WHEN CAKE IS COMPLETELY COOL, PREPARE CINNAMON WHIPPED CREAM. COMBINE HEAVY CREAM, POWDERED SUGAR, CINNAMON AND VANILLA EXTRACT IN MIXER BOWL. BEAT ALL TOGETHER ON MEDIUM-HIGH SPEED UNTIL STIFF PEAKS FORM. DO NOT OVER BEAT. FROST AND STACK ALL THREE LAYERS.

Enjoy!

OMG! Bacon, tomato and mayo sandwich!

Tomato, bacon, mayo, salt and pepper on toasted Italian bread.
Can you please tell me if there is anything better than that?

I think not. :)

magnificent mini chocolate chip raspberry muffins!

Mini chocolate chip raspberry muffins are the bomb! In my last post, I spoke of freshly picked sun ripened raspberries. I used a tried and true recipe that was perfect for my raspberries. I mixed up a batch of these babies and they were so delicious, I wanted to share the recipe!

MINI CHOCOLATE CHIP RASPBERRY MUFFINS

1 HEAPING CUP FRESH RASPBERRIES
2 C. FLOUR
3/4 C. SUGAR
1 TBSP. BAKING POWDER
1/4 TSP. SALT
2 EGGS, SLIGHTLY BEATEN
1/2 C. MILK
1/3 C. VEGETABLE OIL
6 OZ. SOUR CREAM
2 HEAPING TBSP. STRAWBERRY JELLY
2 BIG HANDFULS CHOCOLATE CHIPS

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 DEGREES. SPRAY MINI MUFFIN PAN GENEROUSLY WITH NONSTICK COOKING SPRAY. COMBINE FLOUR, SUGAR, BAKING POWDER AND SALT. MAKE A WELL IN THE CENTER. COMBINE EGGS, MILK, OIL, SOUR CREAM AND STRAWBERRY JELLY IN A MEDIUM BOWL. ADD EGG MIXTURE ALL AT ONCE TO FLOUR MIXTURE. STIR JUST UNTIL MOISTENED. FOLD IN RASPBERRIES

AND CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

SPOON BATTER INTO PREPARED MUFFIN CUPS, FILLING EACH A LITTLE OVER 3/4 FULL. BAKE FOR 18 MINUTES, GIVE OR TAKE A FEW MINUTES....KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR MUFFINS. THEY SHOULD HAVE A NICE GOLDEN COLOR TO THEM. COOL IN PAN. ENJOY!!

MAKES APPROX. 62 MINI MUFFINS

*OF COURSE THIS RECIPE CAN BE MADE IN A REGULAR SIZED MUFFIN PAN...IT JUST WON'T BE AS MUCH FUN!!