Creamed Corn

I'm a firm believer in not eliminating certain veggies from my diet because they are "carb" heavy - because really, did anyone get fat eating too much corn or carrots? I think not. The exception to that rule might be veggies made following recipes like this one Cathy found for the most absolutely fantastic, rich, delicious, creamy, sinfully addictive corn - there isn't anything about this recipe to keep me from gaining weight, and I'm ok with that. Some things are worth the calories and this is one of them. We couldn't stop eating this, I even took some home for breakfast the next day. It's beyond good!

Ingredients:

• 2 (10 oz) packages frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 t. salt
• 2 T. granulated sugar
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• 2 T. butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 T. flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a skillet over medium heat, combine the corn, cream, salt, sugar, pepper and butter. Whisk together the milk and flour, and stir into the corn mixture. Cook stirring over medium heat until the mixture is thickened and corn is cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted. Serve hot.

'cream corn like no other' recipe found at allrecipes.com


10.7.18: around the campfire recap 
10.7.17: framed bats

10.7.16: Brooke makes a funky pumpkin

10.7.15: boo painted mug

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 40)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at MMDC this past week:

Posts ~

9/29: 🔥 (week 39)
9/30: confetti wrapping paper
10/1: tip-sy Tuesday: dividing batter
10/2: baby spinach salad with dates and pita croutons
10/3: 30-day plank challenge
10/4: spring rolls
10/5: baked zucchini 

What's cooking ~

• tuna noodle casserole
• grilled chicken sausages, orzo with roasted tomatoes and feta
• buffalo salad
• chicken spaghetti (recipe to follow soon)
• steak and gorgonzola fettuccini alfredo (recipe to follow soon)
• grilled chicken, veggie tots, kale salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read "Before I Say Goodbye" by Mary Higgins Clark ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ good, suspenseful, thriller.
• read "A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman and if I had more than 5 stars I'd give them. Loved this book! Made me cry, which isn't easy to do, those are the best ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• our niece was home this weekend and we got to have an early birthday celebration for her - I made her the above fettuccini alfredo and a pineapple upside down cake (her favorite), then we played ping pong and had so much fun :) Happy early B-day Buffy! 

Spot (and Speedy the snail) seems to be doing really good and if his crazy zoomy swimming is any indication he is living the dream and happy. 

Can't believe how fast Halloween is coming - someone asked me if I have Halloween plans and I thought to myself "Halloween? That's so far away..." nope, it isn't. I don't decorate much, mostly my front porch with pumpkins and bats, I put up the skeleton wreaths, and I have a cool metal jack o lantern made from an old propane tank out there. That's about it. You? 

Have a great week!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

Baked Zucchini

I don't love zucchini, I think I've mentioned that before, but bake it with a crispy crunchy panko parmesan topping and I'd eat this every day. Every day. It's that good!

1 t. olive oil
1 pound zucchini, sliced 1/4" thick
salt and pepper
pinch of paprika

For the topping:
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 T. olive oil
8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stem

Heat oven to 350'. Brush 1 teaspoon olive oil on the bottom of an 8x8" baking dish. Arrange the slices of zucchini in the dish, overlapping as necessary. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.

In a small bowl combine the panko and parmesan, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and stir until all the breadcrumbs are soaked with the oil. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the dish and bake until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve with marinara on the side if desired.

recipe by Sunny Anderson, Food Network

10.5.18: paper strip pumpkin

10.5.17: mummy picture

10.5.16: m&m cookie bars

10.5.15: squash ghosts

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Do you love spring rolls? I do. I've never made them and woke up the other day thinking I should.

Note: do other people wake up thinking about what they want to make that day? I'm totally normal, right?

And look - they turned out! Sort of like an egg roll but not fried; spring rolls are filled with fresh veggies and rice noodles, you can dip them (I come from a family of dippers!), and they're easy to make... what a nice, healthy, fresh, pretty lunch we had today ;)

For rolls:

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli noodles
• 8 (8 1/2") dried rice paper sheets (also called spring-roll wrappers, but the dried kind, not frozen)
• 8 jumbo (21-25 count) cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh Thai basil (regular basil works too)
• 2 large romaine leaves, chopped (about 1 cup)

For 2 dipping sauces:

#1 - 

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced

#2 - 

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

Assemble rolls:

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Cook noodles, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, then rinse noodles and drain again. Cut noodles into shorter pieces with scissors.

2. Fill a large baking dish with hot water. Dip 1 rice paper sheet briefly into water to soften slightly, about 1 second, then lay on a work surface. Note: the sheet will continue to soften, so don't worry if it seems too rigid at first. 

3. Arrange 2 shrimp halves over half of sheet closest to you, then sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons noodles, 1 rounded teaspoon each of mint and cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon basil, and 2 tablespoons lettuce, leaving 2 inches uncovered on each side. Starting with bottom edge, begin to roll up sheet tightly around filling. After 1 roll, fold in ends of rice paper like a burrito, then finish rolling. Make 7 more rolls in the same manner.

Make dipping sauces: 

Stir together water, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, chili sauce, and garlic in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir together hoisin and peanuts in another small bowl. Serve on the side with rolls. 

Rolls can be assembled up to 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered with damp paper towels and plastic wrap.

per roll: 82 cal, 0.7g fat, 3.3g pro, 15.8 carb, 0.6g fiber

allrecipes 6/16


10.4.18: skeleton hand wreath
10.4.17: sissy's Halloween decor (remember that awful bloody dining room table?)
10.4.16: photo coasters
10.4.15: pumpkin bisque

30 day plank challenge

Well I should have started this a couple days ago to make it easier to remember what day I'm on, but I'm still going to do this plank challenge for October - who's with me? Saw it on FB, so obviously it must work hahaha. 

I'm starting today with Day 3 - 30 seconds (if you aren't ready for 30, start slower and build where you can listening to your body.  Every little bit counts - but please don't hurt yourself!) 

It was this or "Sober October". So plank challenge it is 😂

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Pita Croutons

I've been spending SO MUCH TIME going thru photos on my phone and computer - side note: I'm developing a system finally after all these years to try to organize them, I think it's going to help a ton but sooooo time consuming - don't know about you guys but I take a picture when I see a recipe, craft, inspiration from wherever and then of course completely forget about them. I'm talking hundreds if not thousands of them! Going thru years worth of ideas is a bit overwhelming...on the plus side, you don't have to wonder if I'll ever run out of things to blog - the list is endless! But it does bring up one problem - I get recipes, photos, and ideas from my friends and family all the time (which I love - please don't stop!) but sometimes they get pushed down the list and then I lose track of them...like this great salad from Janis. I've never thought to make croutons from pita bread, so good!

1 T. white wine vinegar
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 1/2 oz. pitted Medjool dates, quartered lengthwise
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. olive oil
2 small pitas, about 3 1/2 oz., roughly torn into 1 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup whole unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped
2 t. sumac
1/2 t. chile flakes
5 oz. baby spinach leaves
2 T. lemon juice
salt

Put the vinegar, onion, and dates in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and mix well with your hands. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes, then drain any residual vinegar and discard.

Meanwhile, to make the pita croutons,  heat the butter and half the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the pita and almonds and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring all the time, until the pita is crunchy and golden brown. Remove from the heat and mix in the sumac, chile flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside to cool.

photo from the "Jerusalem" cookbook

When you are ready to serve, toss the spinach leaves with the pita mix in a large mixing bowl. Add the dates and onion, the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, and another pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

Serves 4

source of original recipe

Note: when I read "sumac" in the ingredients I thought "what the? Like poison sumac?" but then I did a little research and nope, it's totally edible and a popular spice used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean diets. It has a tangy lemony flavor and can be used in many different ways like in dry rubs, marinades, dressings, and sprinkled on food before serving. Learned somethin' new today :)


10.2.18: baggie wreath
10.2.17: caramel apple pudding shots
10.2.16: vegetable soup
10.2.15: bloody candles

Tip-sy Tuesday: dividing batter

Well here's a tip I should have thought of years ago - when making batter that gets divided equally into two (or more) pans, like 2 cakes or bread pans, I struggle with getting them even so one cake is invariably taller than the other (which doesn't look good if you're making a two layer cake) or I'll have different size loaves of bread...

Then I got the idea to use my kitchen scale - now I pour the batter into the pans and put them one at a time on the scale, then spoon batter from one to the other until they weigh the same. Now they are exactly the same size. I appreciate that this idea is probably commonplace in other bakers' kitchens, but not in mine so I'm now super happy to have this trick up my sleeve.


10.1.18: peeping tom pumpkin
10.1.16: coffee treat
10.1.15: mossy halloween wreath

Confetti Gift Wrap

Check out this cool new wrapping idea I found while surfing the internet the other day - so easy and so fun! Wrap your gift in a solid color paper (that was my hardest part, most of my paper is patterned), then wrap with clear cellophane leaving one end open; insert confetti, tape the end closed, then shake the present to distribute the confetti. Love it - and it's perfect if you're shipping a gift, no smashed bow!

                                    

PS: it's my BFFE Mary's birthday today - not telling what's in the box but I'll tease her with the outside for now 😂

It's easy to make confetti - cut up little bits of colored paper, hole punch assorted shapes in different colors, add some sparkle with glitter paper or bits of tinsel...whatever you have on hand!

click here for the original source

9.30.18: 🔥
9.30.17: drying herbs
9.30.16: cauliflower pizza
9.30.15: photo vase

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 39)

Dear Campers ~

Computer seems to have fixed itself after last Sunday's boycott! Whew. Here's a quick recap of what happened at camp this week in case you missed anything:

Posts ~

9/22: week 38 🔥 computer problems!
9/23: driftwood art
9/24: tip-sy Tuesday: did you have a power outage?
9/25: banana poppy seed muffins
9/26: alfredo and pink sauces
9/27: make a flip book
9/28: banana-coffee non dairy ice cream


Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read "The Proposal" by Jasmine Guillory ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2,  pretty standard chick lit but quick, entertaining, albeit predictable, read. "One plus one" by Jojo Moyes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this story about a single mom doing the best she can and her happy ending love story. Another pretty standard chick lit quick read but I liked it. Also tried to get into "The Marriage Clock" by Zara Raheem but just couldn't, there were a bunch of people waiting for it so I let it go early. If you read it let me know if it gets better and I should have stuck with it!
• we were camping for a few days, weather getting cooler which is so nice for fall camping. It rained quite a bit tho so I didn't really do much cooking or crafting stuck in the RV. I haven't got any good recipes for cooking in my little RV kitchen - need to work on that.
• sad news for the week is that Nick the fish died in a tragic tangle with the filter. PSA: did you know that fish can get sucked to the filter? I did not. I was super sad so we went and got another fish - this time it's a "Dalmation Molly" named Spot. Wish me (and Spot) luck with the filter this time. 

  

  RIP Nick the fish

Hope you had a great week - stop back this coming week to see more fun crafts, recipes, and whatever else I think to make! It's almost time to start breaking down my garden, it's still producing tomatoes but the beans have given up - I do have peas that are making a comeback now that it's cooler but I don't know if they'll have time to produce before it gets too cold...yikes, winter is coming people! 

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and fish lover (whodaknew?) 

Banana-Coffee "Ice Cream"

I found this recipe on 'my crazy good life' and since I have a surplus of bananas right now I thought I'd give it a try - I'm not a banana lover so wasn't sure I'd like banana ice cream, Dave does love them tho so it's safe to say that if I didn't like the "ice cream" I'm sure he'd eat it. Plus I'm only out a couple bananas if it's gross...

Nope, not gross! It's actually really good, banana flavor and all. This took literally a minute to make, plus freezing time, and for a sweet treat that is really healthy* you can't beat it. Well you do beat it to make it creamy, but you get my drift. I'll stop talking now - make yourself this non-dairy ice cream and see for yourself. 

                          

Original recipe:

3-4 sliced frozen bananas

1/4 cup strong espresso coffee, cold

honey/sugar

1/2 t. vanilla or coffee extract

Add a bit of sweetener to the coffee, to your liking.

In a food processor, add frozen bananas, coffee, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy. Freeze for 1 hour. 

My changes ~ I made this in my Ninja blender,  used 2 1/2 whole frozen bananas and enough coffee to make it the correct texture. I used caramel flavored coffee, didn't add vanilla extract because I had flavored coffee, and drizzled honey in to make it just a tiny bit sweet.

*unless you don't like the sugar in the bananas, but I feel like hey, it's a fruit - and really, am I gaining weight from eating too many bananas or might the culprit be the wine I drink? Yep, not blaming the bananas.


9.28.18: chicken parmesan stuffed portobello mushrooms
9.28.17: my baking center
9.28.16: pumpkin nutella cookie bars
9.28.15: pumpkin tower