Cranberry Orange Bars

I am a made-from-scratch kinda girl. I may have lived on boxed muffin mixes for a few months while pregnant, I may love a good cup-o-noodles or bowl of Ramen from time to time, and boxed brownies really are pretty darn good, but that's not the stuff I blog. I'm never going to tell you twenty things to do with a box of cake mix or a can of Pillsbury crescents. Nothing wrong with updating a cake mix, that's just not what I do! So when I saw these delicious cranberry orange bars floating around the internet, and discovered they were mostly cake mix, well, challenge accepted! They're probably yummy just the way they are, but that's just not as much fun as creating a whole new recipe! And if I want to write a cookbook someday, far, far off in the misty uncertain future, I certainly can't do it with other people's recipes, can I?

Twix Cookies

I owe my little blogging community an apology. Here I am, writing away, expecting bushels of comments, when I have been absolutely lousy at replying to the ones I do get, as well as visiting and commenting on the blogs of my blogging friends! Bad me. I will do better! I hereby solemnly swear that I will reply to every comment I get. Through email, mostly, or right on here if you are a no-reply person. Because I love the friends I have made through blogging, I love how we support each other and cheer each other on. What would be the point of this blog if no one read it? I never expect to have thousands of readers, but I am so grateful to those of you who do read my ramblings! Thank you everybody :)

Oven BBQ Pulled Pork

I just successfully brought a goldfish back to life!! Stephen got a goldfish for his birthday this year. It's an odd little thing, all patchy, with one giant eye and one small one. His name is "GoogleEye". We've slowly realized we may have jumped the gun on the whole "pet responsibility" thing. Stephen's a little absent-minded. He likes his goldfish, but forgets about it for days. I check on the poor fishy once in a while, and remind him to feed it. Today I found it floating nose down at the top of the tank... when I tapped the tank it kinda spazzed around, but definitely didn't look happy. I fed it, LOTS, and cleaned it's tank... kept checking on it, and feeding it more when it finished off it's food... I could have sworn he was a goner at one point, he kept floating back up to the top of the tank, belly-up... So I would tap the tank to wake it up again... But now he's fine!!

I am a goldfish doctor. That's me! Savior of goldfishes. Hey, we all have undiscovered talents, right?

Classic Buttermilk Coffee Cake

A day of random facts! I wish I was a redhead. I hate heat, and tend to get cranky past 80 degrees. The volume in my car must be set at an even number. I'm more than a little emotionally attached to my car stereo.  I can remember movie quotes and song lyrics like you would not believe, but forget doctor's appointments all the time. The furthest out of the country I've been is a few hours past the border into Mexico, with my best friend and her family when I was eight. All I remember is cold fish tacos *shudder* and olive trees. I will never speak in hashtags. If presented with all the clothing colors of the rainbow, I will usually pick dark red, charcoal, or lavender. Occasionally forest green. I will never wear mint or coral. I could watch The Avengers over and over and over and over and over... Running horses make me cry. I used to always have my fingernails painted, often with awesome, intricate designs, but now I never do. It feels weird. I am really really lousy at ALL sports, except swimming. I occasionally (okay fine, often) act like a 4 year old. The cute kind, not the infuriating kind. AND! I love coffee cake. :)

Weekly Menu Aug 19

Source: oneenchantedelephant

This week we have...

Classic Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Oven Pulled BBQ Pork

Twix Cookies

Cranberry Orange Bars

For today, Aug 19 ...

Jam-Filled Donut Muffins

Grumble. I'm a little cranky today. I don't really know why. Perhaps it has to do with the boys constant bickering. Or lack of restful sleep. Maybe it's because there is just too much to do today, and I hate it when my Sundays are busy. Sundays are supposed to be calm and restful! The Geologist thinks we're "stress-dumping" from end of summer, homestudies, getting ready for school, etc... Who knows. All I know is, today I am not clever. I need a muffin. Then it will all be okay! :)

Spiced Plum Jam

The day has finally come. I have made JAM!! My first batch of cooked jam, canned and sealed and sterilized and shelf-stable and everything!! I've been talking about it since the beginning of summer, thinking about it nearly constantly, planning my farmer's market trips around it, and now I can finally share! Two completely awesome things about this batch of jam. First, no pectin! For those of you who can't get it where you are, or have reservations about using it, a perfectly set, pectin-free jam! Well, besides the pectin already in the fruit. Anyway. Second, it's a small batch! I didn't even know such a thing existed, honestly. I thought making jam automatically meant counters full of jars, hours over boiling fruit, stains and stickiness and exhaustion at the end. Not this recipe! It makes three or four small jars of jam, and you don't even have to have a whole canning set-up! In fact, you could even just keep them in your fridge, or freeze if you aren't going to use them up soon. And this particular jam would make fantastic gifts! Truly, this whole jam thing... I'm hooked.

Small & Wonderful Things 30

New Glasses! (They're dark red even! Eee!!)

Old-Fashioned Pull-Apart Rolls

Three days until school starts!! It finally feels like it is almost here for real, because we went school shopping yesterday! Bought bushels of school supplies, a few school clothes for Joe, school shoes for both boys (and me, I couldn't resist!!) then searched around for the school supplies Walmart was out of (#2 pencils?? Seriously??) Still can't find 2 red correcting pencils, I think I'll have to go to an actual office supplies store for those. Grr. Joe is so excited he can't contain himself, he keeps carrying his new pencil case around. It's empty, but it doesn't matter. I'm also learning that my boys have two very distinct styles. Stephen loves color. The more colors he can cram into his clothes, the better! Brighter is better too. Brown and grey are unacceptable, especially grey. Joe, on the other hand, would have an entire wardrobe of black and green if I let him. He goes for simpler clothes, and may I say, has a pretty cool sense of style already. He looks so grown up in his school clothes!! He's also getting awfully long feet... it's looking more and more like he's going to be tall!! I would love to have two six-foot-tall boys... with lots of six-foot-tall friends to feed... Fingers crossed!

Oven BBQ Ribs

This weather is playing with my mind. I refuse to give in! It's so heavenly and cool in the mornings and evenings... It warms up through the middle of the day, but when the breeze blows, (and in the shade!) it has that tiny hint of coolness, the kind that tells you Fall is just around the corner... I'm not imagining it! But it's too early!! Not too early for me, of course, but according to the calendar, I am not allowed to get my hopes up! But oh, it feels so blissful... Could it be...??

Well, either way, it's still summer. And I still have some classic summer recipes to share! Although you can make this one anytime of the year, really!

Weekly Menu Aug 13

This week we have:

Oven BBQ Ribs
Old-Fashioned Pull-Apart Rolls
Spiced Plum Jam

Jam Donut Muffins

For today, Aug 13 ...

Blueberry Fool

Gah, sorry this is late!! Yesterday was supposed to be picture-taking day, but I took a nap... and slept for three hours!! By the time I woke up, our evening thunderstorm had rolled in and the light was gone. Sigh. My blog is truly at the mercy of the weather! Without good light, I have no pictures. Anyway. Better late than never!

Blueberry Pie Bars

Ah, today was spent the way a Saturday should be spent. With my family! Helped some new neighbors move in, again (seriously, isn't our building full yet??), then took our funny little grill and some burger fixin's, along with a neighbor's dog, up the canyon for a picnic. Grilled up some scrumptious burgers, played in the river, came home for naps. Oh, and coincidentally, found the house I want to buy. Love at first sight. It better be on the market still this spring!! Then I took a nap while all the boys went swimming. Hooray for Saturdays!!

These, my dear readers, are my showstoppers for the week. These are what I was picturing making all the way home from the cabin, whisking my apron on, and getting to work! The summer slump was over and it was time to get back to work in style. I've been eyeing these babies for months, and finally had the oomph to get it done!

Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake

Ohhh, my friends... I may have wimped out, slept in, and missed my lovely tranquil morning hours... But I am currently blogging with the patio door open and a thunderstorm blowing in. I am in Heaven!!! Bracken, not so much. She's a bit anxious, and at the first grumble from those iron-grey clouds she will be hiding behind the toilet in our bathroom. After a while, if the thunder doesn't stop, she'll slink (very quickly) across the apartment to the boys' bathroom and try their toilet. It isn't a whole lot more secure, so she spends the next while rotating between bathrooms, unless the thunder is especially loud, then she just won't move. Poor girl.

It's truly getting to be the end of summer vacation. All Stephen wants to do is read (or watch movies) and he's dying to go back to school. Joe just wants to play his own games without dictation from his older brother. The draw of the pool has diminished, it's only fun to play outside in the evening (except the past three days), and they're just a little tired of each other's constant companionship. Summer vacation has served it's purpose! One more week and they're off to school. I hope to have my morning habits well established enough to wake up before the boys and make yummier breakfasts this year, something other than cereal and microwave oatmeal. Something like this!

Blueberry Goat Cheese Salad

Wishes DO come true!! I woke up to a suspiciously chilly house and a cloudy sky... turned the air conditioner off and it still wouldn't warm up... Checked the weather: The high today is only in the 70's! And it's supposed to be rainy and cooler all week!! *Happy Dance* A rainy week, hooray!! Oh my goodness, I'm so excited!! It's about time.

Now, when I started planning Blueberry Week, I felt a little guilty for giving you a whole week of sweet treats... it's been a while since I've done that... Luckily, I had this amazing salad at a friend's house way back at Easter, and have been looking for an excuse to make it ever since. Oh, and it just happened to have blueberries in it! Score!!

Weekly Menu Aug 5

Source: Pinterest

This week we have:

Blueberry Goat Cheese Salad

Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake

Blueberry Pie Bars

Blueberry Fool

For today, Aug 5 ...