Good Books

Stumbled upon a great book recently...Divergent by Veronica Roth. The first in a trilogy...


insurgent is the 2nd in the trilogy

Fabulous take on the "Well crap the human race has really screwed up the world". Set in and around what was once Chicago, a place of devastation has become well controlled.

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue -- Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is -- she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.... {from cover of book}

The characters are intriguing, the writing is good and it is a fast read. loved it!

Favorite summer recipes

Unfortunately the end of summer is here....so I decided to share a few of my favorite recipes from this summer.

Camp donuts

4 pack of biscuits
Bottle of vegetable oil
dutch oven
gallon bag with cinnamon and sugar mix
gallon bag with powdered sugar

1. Heat oil in dutch oven over camp stove
2. open biscuits and have kids help pull biscuits apart in the middle to make a ring

3. put 6 or 7 rings in hot oil
4. turn once, cook until golden brown
5. drain donuts on paper towels briefly then place warm donuts in either sugar bag
6. Have kids shake (closed) bag until donut is coated.
7. Make sure you grab one before they all disappear!

Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam

Here’s how I make Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.  I simply use the recipe in the package of Sure-Jell low sugar, but substitute rhubarb for part of the strawberries.

First wash and cut up the rhubarb stalks and place in a large sauce pan.

Add enough water to make sure that it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan.  Cook rhubarb until soft and set aside.

Wash your strawberries.

Remove the stems.  I run water over them again just to make sure they’re good and clean.

Mash strawberries.  I put them in a 11×15 pan and use a potato masher

I added more strawberries and mash again until they’re all ready.

Measure out exactly 4 cups of strawberries and rhubarb.  Experiment a bit with the portions.  I used 1.5 cups rhubarb and 2.5 cups strawberries (use a liquid measuring cup).  Set aside.

Measure out exactly 3 cups of sugar into a large saucepan.  (This is organic sugar so that’s why it’s darker)

Add a box of Sure Jell Low-Sugar pectin and mix together well.

Stir in one cup of water.

Bring mixture to a boil on medium-high heat.  Make sure to stir constantly.
Boil and stir for 1 minute and then remove from heat.

Stir strawberries quickly into hot pectin-sugar mixture.  Stir for 1 minute or until thoroughly mixed.

Pour into prepared containers.  Make sure to leave 1/2 inch space at the top for expansion during freezing.

Cover and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set.

You’ll be able to refrigerate up to 3 weeks or store in the freezer for up to one year.

If you’ve never made homemade jam before this is a great method to start with.  You don’t need a canner and it’s really very simple.   The biggest thing is to follow the directions in the box exactly.  Once you’ve had homemade, you’ll never go back.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I have a garden and this uses the over abundance of zucchini I have through most of the summer.

 

3  c flour

2  c sugar

1  T cinnamon

1  t baking soda

1  t salt

1/4 t baking powder

2 c shredded zucchini

1 c oil

3 eggs

2 T vanilla

2 squares baking semi sweet chocolate melted

1 c walnuts (optional)

1 c chocolate chips save for last

1. mix dry ingredients

2. mix wet ingredients in separate bowl, adding melted chocolate last while still warm

3. mix wet and dry ingredients 

4. add chocolate chips and walnuts last

5. divide evenly between two full size loaf pans

 

bake at 350 for 1 hr- 1 hr 10 min. makes 2 loaves

First Day of School

Brenna started 4th grade this week. Her first day she came home and threw her hands up and said "I love school. I love my class, my first day was Awesome, awesome, AWESOME!" She has Mrs. Robinson this year. I went to grade school thru high school with her teacher and think she will be great for Brenna. I believe she will be a great motivator. This is Brenna on her first day.

Carlee started Kindergarten on Thursday. Staggered start this week meant she only went one day. She is disgusted that she has to wait 5 days to go to school again. She is very excited to be going to school again. She has Ms Shaw and is at Willow school. Here is a pic of Bren, Carlee and Gage our 3 month old lab on Carlee's first day.

Peach Huckleberry Cobbler

 

Peach Huckleberry Crisp

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh (or frozen thawed), rinsed Huckleberries
• 4 peaches peeled and chopped (~2 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 T cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• zest and juice of one lemon (or 2-3 T of lemon juice)

For Topping

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 sugar
• 1/4 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 stick room temp butter

Directions: Mix the huckleberries, peaches, cornstarch, sugar, lemon zest and juice together in a 1 1/2 qt. baking dish. Mix topping ingredients together until crumbly and pour it onto the huckleberry and peach mixture, make sure you cover all of the fruit. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream or cool whip.