Fried Potatoes and stuff

The following recipe is one of those that are so easy and easily adjusted to fit your likings (and lets be honest whatever you have in the house).  We had this a few times at Steve and Jeni's house as well as during church camping with them.  It's nice because very little has to be refrigerated if you're camping and almost all the ingredients can be bought at farmer's markets during the summer.

At the bare minimum:
1-2 Onions
1 Potato per person
1 Sausage per person (we like Johnsonville or Elkhart)
Salt and pepper (or season salt) to taste

Other options:
Carrots
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Mushrooms
Corn

Slice up the vegis you have. 
Saute the onions in some olive oil and add the "hard" vegetables so they have time to cook.
Cook about 30 min on medium high heat stirring often.
Cut up the sausages and put a little bit of water in the bottom of a pan with them cook for a few minutes. Drain and add to the potatoes along with the softer vegetables (like corn and mushrooms).  Turn heat down.
Mix it all up and let the flavors get nice and combined. Cover and keep warm til you're ready to eat.

Note: some of my teens in Lake City enjoyed putting barbeque sauce on this dish.

Raspberries, cream cheese frosting, brownies and a piece of heaven!

Sometimes things I've planned take me by surprise.  Does anyone ever have that?  Ya know I invited people over for games and yet I realize two hours before they get there that I haven't made a snack yet!  This happened tonight . . . and a boxed brownie mix and can of frosting came to the rescue. 

Gerard and Bev Winkle and Rick and Ellie Poll were friends who would host Sunday lunch together once a month.  They would invite a bunch of people to eat together yet the group was different every time. One month it might be all the singles, another it might be the church staff or some new visitors.  We were blessed a few times by these two couples and they were a blessing to us during our time in Lake City.  Good food and great company always made for a fun time.  I had these brownie bites with cream cheese frosting and topped with a  raspberry while at one of the get togethers.

I don't have a tart pan so I just made it into a 9x13 size, the little tarts would be great for showers or parties as they look much more elegant!

Make the brownies and cool completely (or you'll get brownie flecks in your frosting like I did- remember I was in a hurry:).
Frost with a can of cream cheese frosting (there may be some left).
Sprinkle with raspberries.

Spinach Tortellini Soup

I got this recipe from my sister and it was really good.  It makes a lot so it's good for a big crowd.  Here it is:

-3/4 c. onion, chopped

-1 tsp. garlic

-1 tbsp. olive oil

-8 c. chicken broth

-2 c. water

-1 tsp. sugar

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1/4 tsp. pepper

-1 pkg. cheese tortellini (frozen or dry)

-1 28  oz can diced or crushed tomatoes

-1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed, drained, chopped and dried.

-parmesan cheese

1. In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil.

2. Add broth, water, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

3. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions (usually 8-14 minutes). Reduce heat.

4. Stir in tomatoes and spinach. Heat through (don't boil).

5. Serve with parmesan cheese.

You can make this in less than 30 minutes and it's incredibly filling. Enjoy!

Snow days, Sick days and Silliness

Students love to get together when school is canceled (because of bad weather or too many sick people)!  You'd think they should stay off the roads and not get together if the danger of spreading germs is high. . .but no they decide to get together and windsurf on the lake, make or watch movies, play video games for hours and eat lots of snacks!

So because Unity Christian was canceled due to illness some youth got together for brunch, a tour of our soon to be house and a movie.   Below is the recipe for the cupcakes I made.  It was on the box of chocolate cake mix from Pillsbury. . .it's called "Hidden Treasures Cupcakes" I might have to make these for our Pirates day!

Make cupcakes according to package (I made chocolate).
Place a funsize candy bar on top of each cupcake (I used Reeses pb cups).
Bake then cool.
Mix one 16 oz container of frosting (I used chocolate) and one 8oz container of cool whip together (folding so you don't over mix).  Spread on cupcakes. . .there will be extra*. 
You can top each cupcake with chopped candy bars (I didn't).

Cover loosely and refrigerate until you serve them!

* Use the extra as an amazing dip for fruit or topper for pancakes.  It is light and sweet with just enough of a chocolate taste but it is not overwhelming, heavy or too rich. 
*You could also double the batch of cup cakes and not double the batch of icing.

Joanna approves of the icing!

Lydia provides the entertainment for Joanna. . .peek a boo!

I like to carry, then serve cupcakes in a cheesecake pan.  You unsnap the sides and lift it up and off so you don't get icing on your fingers.

Butterscotch Cake

I have fond memories of this cake.  When Lydia was born my mother-in-law came and stayed with us for close to two weeks.  She did alot of the cleaning, baking, laundry, and took shifts with Lydia so I could get some rest.  This cake was one that she made while she was with us.  I'm normally a huge chocolate fan but will pass it up for this cake! 

We're having Marc and Ruthie over to play Bridge tonight and I'm using their visit as an excuse to bake this rich yet somewhat light and fluffy dessert.  I appreciate how few ingredients there are!

Butterscotch Cake
1 Yellow Cake mix
1 can (15-16 oz) Butterscotch pudding
2 eggs
6 oz Butterscotch chips
1/4 cup sugar
2-3 oz slivered almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Beat together cake mix putting and eggs.
Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. 
Sprinkle with chips, sugar and if desired almonds.
Bake according to directions on the cake mix box.

Note: You can also make it Triple Chocolate! Just use chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding and chocolate chips.

Cool experation date

I took this picture of the date off a bag of sugar in December.  This was the bag that I went through in a week with all the Christmas baking:).

Saving a seat for Elijah (again)!

Ahh the life of a youth director's wife, always interesting and never according to plan!

One of our youth volunteers has a son in the military who was home for Christmas.  We had a great time playing games with them Sunday night and Fig suggested inviting them over again last night.  So Lydia and I got to work making a snack. . .we decided to make Reformation Day Bars (they used to be called Halloween Bars but Halloween doesn't exist in the Glenn Palmer Household).  Well, around four pm Fig called and said that there was a rivalry game at the local high school and that we should all go to that instead.  We ate early and took off for the basketball game.  We watched the JV game and then half of the Varsity game but ended up leaving at half-time because of the little girls. . . At the game we had randomly gotten a call from my cousin (who lives in Iowa).  We didn't check the message until we got home and found out he was at Calvin and wondered if he could stop by with his fiance to say hi!  We said sure and around ten they showed up.  The night turned out differently then we originally thought it would but we had fun and shared a yummy snack with them! 
Here's the recipe:

Place a stick of butter in a 9x13 pan and turn the oven on to 350.  While the butter is melting, crush one package of graham crackers.  Once the butter is melted, sprinkle crumbs into the pan to form the crust.  Then add 12 oz of choc chips (one bag) and 6 oz of peanut butter chips into the pan.  Pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the pan.

Bake at 350 for 17-20 min.  Let sit for about 45 min (if you can:).  Good warm or cold.

Joanna was a huge help. . . she entertained herself by taking a sock and shoe off, emptying the Tupperware cupboard and gnawed on kitchen utensils Lydia threw to her!