Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Cheers to Dad! Root Beer Float Fun & FREE Printables; Peanut Butter Pie

Celebrating Dad!


Father's Day weekend is upon us and just in 
time I have some pretty cute Dad's Day Root Beer Float
fun to share with you.
Simply print out the ties, color and cut out...attach with
tape or a dot of glue...and you're ready for a fun root beer party!!
Cheers to dad!!  (Printable ties below)


Another FUN way to have a little celebration is with S'mores!!
We couldn't LOVE dad S'more??... Right? --and even easier...s'mores
in the oven...that's right, skip the mosquitoes...and
make a crowd sized batch of s'mores
right in your kitchen!!  Details below...


This Father's Day, my husband asked for mulch... 
not glamorous...but totally practical... 
and I think by asking for mulch, 
he's also looking for extra helping hands to
put all that mulch out... so we know what we'll
be doing this Sunday afternoon.  By 4 PM we will
only too happy to sip a root beer float
after a hard day's work.  


Happy Father's Day to all the dads, and granddads this
June 16th...including my very own mulch-loving
husband and my dad (the kid's grandpa)...being a dad or
a granddad, it's an important job...and they do it well.

What are your Father's Day plans??  
It's probably better than putting out mulch!!


Need a peanut butter pie recipe??


I have one for you... this version (pictured) has
a chocolate graham crust... if you scroll down, I made a
brownie bottom crust for Fox19 last year...both are
delicious and both pies would put a smile on dad's face!!

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

When Refrigerator Eyes Are Smiling: Berry Cake

Of all the questions relating to
food and baking that I get asked... 
the most frequent question 
I hear might surprise you...

 The question I hear most...is from the 
open refrigerator in our very own kitchen.

"Mom...we are out of butter?"...
"Because I don't see it...!!"

or

"Mom... Do we have ketchup?? 
I don't think we have any!..."

Surprised??

My 14 year-old son has a "condition" 
we lovingly refer to as: "refrigerator eyes" 
He's had a case of "refrigerator eyes" 
ever since he started playing 
with LEGO toys,
I'm guessing he was 3 or 4 years old.

Will can stand in the kitchen, 
with refrigerator door wide open,
he will be positioned directly
 in front of the milk...
and he won't see it.

...Same for the ketchup and butter... 
Will almost always tells me he is S U R E,
 100% sure, we are 
out of very important food staples
--quite regularly, in fact... and... then...like magic,
I point out the missing item.... and he smiles and 
grins...and says a sheepish "Thanks mom"

I have recently started to reply to his
many food-related mysteries with...
"If I come and find it...
you'll owe me one chore...no complaining."
--to which he replies..."I will look again..."
...and the second look usually gives
 Will what he was searching for.  Oh boy...

Which brings us to this past weekend, 
Will and I were antique hunting... 
he looks for coins usually,
I search for odds and ends...
Sometimes I have a list, or a
 particular item in mind
...other times...I just like to see what's there...

It's great fun to have a shared
 hobby that the two of us enjoy.

I showed Will a picture of what 
I was searching for this trip...

It was a particular vintage
 tin I had on my
radar for quite some time now...
We looked high and low... 
and my sweet boy,
the one with the 
beautiful blue refrigerator eyes... 
he spied the tin I had been searching for!

You'll see the tin in these photos... 
I put together a collection
 of patriotic-colored
 vintage tins for the 
upcoming July 4th holiday...
and Flag Day is next week too... 
Honestly, from Memorial Day through 
Labor Day... it's pretty patriotic at my house...

Will spotted the Campfire Marshmallow tin... 
and I am so thankful he did,  -- it
was just what I was looking for...
and special because I will always remember 
how thrilled, how absolutely
 excited he was to find it for me!

His smile was a mile wide...
and I can tell you for
sure, I missed the tin completely...
tucked away on 
a bottom shelf, 
nestled behind taller tins...

Truly, a needle in a haystack.

Will told me I owed him a hug 
for finding the tin... and I was
happy to oblige... I'm not sure how 
long teen-aged boys 
accept hugs in public from their moms... 
so I jumped at the chance...I always will.

Next time Will can't find the milk...
maybe he'll owe me a hug 
instead of a chore.  ;)

I think the elusive Campfire
 Marshmallow tin is
a lot like the things we end 
up searching for in life...
it's on our list... and it doesn't
 have to be a "BIG" something...

Sometimes we have a list a mile long, 
a list we eagerly check off...
 We know what we want, 
we know exactly how to proceed.

...and other times, we know
 there is that 
'something'...
that 'thing'  that's out there, and while
we might not know exactly what
that something is, 
we know for certain,
we will know it when we see it.

Whether you find your something or not...
sometimes the journey of searching, 
especially with someone you love
is just as special.  Maybe finding our
"something" is more about
 the adventure of searching.

Speaking of a special something...
I have some recipes for you!!

No chores...just hugs in the form 
of delicious summertime recipes!!

And if you were searching for a 
delicious bakery style yellow cake...??
Your search is over...
and the secret ingredient: pineapple juice!!

Buttery...Check
Moist...Check
Vanilla-y and balanced...Check
a perfect crumb...Check...

Check out the Strawberry 
Shortcake Cake recipe below for all the details...