A.J. and the Creamsicles

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I got a phone call from my granddaughter yesterday . . . She was following my recipe for making Creamsicles and was having trouble "waiting" for the ice cream to harden around the sticks so they could eat them!

Healthy Summer Salads Should be Beautiful and Tasty!

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I have been enjoying all the beautiful summer fruits available this time of year! They are the perfect addition to healthy summer salads, and the perfect enticement to get your kids to enjoy eating salads!

Fruit Pizzas for Matt's Birthday Party

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It doesn't get better than this! For this "pizza" . . . I start with a crunchy sugar cookie crust . . . next a sweet layer of vanilla sugar cream cheese . . . add an artistic array of beautiful seasonal fruit, ripened to perfection . . . and finally, a sweet, tart orange glaze . . . and you've got Fruit Pizza!

Golden Pumpkin Bread ~ made . . . not baked . . . in the bread machine

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I absolutely love my bread machine! And while I don't actually bake my breads in it, it saves me a ton of time mixing, kneading, rising without having to attend to it, and without a ton of messy cleanup! I can put my ingredients in the bread machine pan, turn it on Dough Cycle, and I have 1 1/2 hours to shop, garden, nap, whatever!

There's a New Pancake in Town!

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This weekend we enjoyed the company of A.J. and Hannah, two of our Grands! Breakfast is A.J's favorite meal of the day, so I decided to make pancakes using some of our late peaches . . . We all loved them!

Small Batch ~ Pumpkin Butter

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Where you live it's probably not time to harvest pumpkins . . . but harvsting, we are! I'm relieved this is our harvest time, today was 110F/44C! Will just picked all of our late peaches, and we picked 3 Sugar Pie Pumpkins. We'll start a fall garden when it gets below 100F.

48 Little Pumpkin Pies Using Will's Homegrown Pumpkins!

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Our family loves getting together to for the 4th of July, America's Independence Day celebration! Our children, their children (the Grands) and of course, Will and I gather at Jason and Annie's for food, fun, swimming and end our evening by watching local fireworks! This year our friends Tino and Elsa joined us!

DIY ~ Nilla (Real Vanilla) Wafers

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Writing this blog brings me great joy, but there is also a more serious side . . .

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

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Hummus is one of those pricey dips found in the deli section. Health foodies have a deep appreciation for chick peas, aka garbanzo beans.

Rhubarb Pastry

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Our youngest son, Matthew L~O~V~E~S rhubarb! Matt volunteered to drive up last weekend with his family to help his Papa put a new starter In our pickup. I had 2 pounds of "fresh picked rhubarb, and wanted to bake up something special to show my appreciation.

Update on our Three Sisters Gardens

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This year was our first attempt at companion gardening with corn, beans and pumpkins . . .

DIY ~ Remineralizing Toothpaste

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I finally took the plunge . . . and made my own Remineralizing Toothpaste!

Irish Soda Bread . . . Dutchy Style!

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I like to know the rules, and follow them, except when it comes to cooking and baking . . . Then I always leave room for my creative juices to flow! While there is probably a wee mite of Irish in me, I believe it's the Dutchy side that's the creative cook and baker! That said, "Let's talk Soda Bread"!

Tomatoes and Canned Homemade Ketchup with a Kick!

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I was looking for a creative way to use my first batch of homegrown San Marzano and Early Girl tomatoes and decided . . . KETCHUP!!!

Berry Pie with Easy Food Processor Butter Crust

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We've been doing well with our low-carb lifestyle, eating berries by the handful, no fruit crisps, no pies, or tarts . . . for 2 whole weeks! . . . until we needed a "welcome home" pie!