Yum.

My pops picked some peaches from his tree for me, so I made some cobbler. I think it's one of my favorite desserts....Mmmmmm....


I am not a fan of the crafty blog that turns foodie, so I apologize for this sudden onslaught of all things food-like. BUT, when I find a simple recipe I SO desperately want to share it because I SO desperately hate cooking--& I want to help other cooker haters. I know, not a good thing to proclaim when it's one of my job requirements. Actually, I don't think I hate cooking, but everything that leads up to -& follows- it.

OK, here's the simple recipe I'm excited to share...It doesn't involve sweets or desserts. (Bummer, I know.)
I found out about the KRAFT Food & Family magazine through a friend & just recently ordered it---it's FREE!! It has some great & simple food ideas. I had to make dinner for a couple families tonight (mine was one of them!) & I chose to make these little muffin tin meat loafs. (The recipe is on the very last page of that link.) Sorry for the fuzzy photo. (*Darn!*)It's really cool because this is how simple it is...
Mix together:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 6oz. package of stuffing
1 CUP water

THEN, you get to decide, by the chart below, what flavor of meatloaf you want. American-style? Italian-style? Mexican-style? I chose American. So, to my meaty mix, I added 1 tsp garlic powder.



Add that mixture to some oiled muffin tins.


Make a small indent into each mini loaf with the back of a spoon...

...and fill it with the sauce that corresponds with your "flavor" choice.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top & bake for 5 more minutes. DONE!

OK--now here's one last little foodie story.....
I walked into the kitchen last night & LOOK what I found...
These are the leftover cupcakes I made from my recent visit with my Etsy BFF Beck. Those are little finger marks dug right through the icing. All 6 cupcakes on the plate had these exact marks. After some quick cupcake detective work I found a wee girl with colored frosting on her face & fingers. (And she had JUST brushed her teeth & was ready for nighty-night time!)

More crafty & silly goodness soon---I promise!

A Meatloaf & A Tart

We had our first dinner guests over to the new house last week. I don't entertain as much as I'd like, but when I get to--it makes me so happy! I made a new meatloaf recipe, which was scrumptious! The homemade bbq sauce-which accompanied the loaf- had an interesting mix of spices such as cumin, allspice, cinnamon, chili powder, garlic powder & cayenne pepper. The recipe is from a book by Sara Perry called "Weekends With the Kids". It's full of activities, crafts & recipes--all sorts of ideas for family fun!


But the exciting part of the meal was dessert! Isn't it always the best part? Here's the recipe. The strawberry & cream cheese tart looked so beautiful in the picture. How could I ever duplicate THAT? Well, in no time I was dancing a happy hostess jig when MINE came out looking rather dandy too!



Iwas so proud that I took TOO many foodie photos I'm afraid. Look at that pretty baked round of goodness!


There was enough excess dough to make a tiny-sized tart too. Look at the little finger marks left from a wee one that helped me. Oh, so cute!


I prepared the ingredients--except for the strawberries, the night before. I love "do-ahead" recipes. Saves so much time! The creamy spread was a mixture of cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar & crystallized ginger. One note about crystallized ginger: Holy spices & herbs Batman! That stuff is super expensive! A little regular spice bottle full of crystallized ginger was about 13 bucks. I cringed. SO, I rolled my squeaky-wheeled grocery cart on over to the bulk spice area & there was my crystallized ginger---for 12 bucks LESS! Yes people. I paid a dollar for the same amount as was in the pre-packaged spice jars!






The mixture spread so smoothly on top of the giant cookie-like round. And the strawberries topped it off perfectly!



My wrinkly table cloth totally kills the mood here.



Here's the tiny one that got eaten by tiny teeth the next day.