Flashback Friday ~Late Spring and a New Angel

I didn't mean to be gone for so long. Life gets in the way! For a Flashback I thought I would show whats been going on in my yard the past month I've been away. Spring was long, wet and chilly and due to some late frosts plenty of things were lost or set back. But time marches on and things begin to bloom to spite all of that ickiness!



The columbines are just about finished but they were beautiful!


And so were the Pacific Coast Iris


The Poppies were very bright....


My Lewisiia is still blooming by the bubbling rock


More irises..


The clematis is a favorite but I'm not sure of its name


The blue geranium mixed with the sweet woodruff was really pretty


And Blue Ravine clematis which is a similar color is growing nearby.


The blooms on the Lady's Mantle are unassuming, but I love how the raindrops hang on the edges of the leaves. Click the picture to get a closer view.


This Mountain Bluet is more of a purple color


The forget me nots are just about done now, but boy were they pretty this year - they are my spring weed of choice!


Another blue geranium


And Multiblue Clematis - lots of blue in the spring!


Big lollipop allium with California poppies in the rear


Here's an evening shot of some of the ginormous hostas


Its not all blue though...these pink columbine were extra sweet.



And the rhododendron bloomed with the bleeding hearts this year


Azaleas and more forget me nots


And this cute little saxifage


And finally one of the main things in my garden that I look forward to every year...The lilacs! Can you smell them??


Finally...a sadder Flashback and tribute to my sweet Mother in Law Darleen, who passed away June 1st. She was a beautiful person with a fun loving spirit and will be sorely missed. I'm sharing my favorite recipe of hers and possibly my very favorite cookie ever.



Darleen's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt

Beat shortening, then add sugar, then eggs. Add and stir in peanut butter. Mix in rest of ingredients. Rolls in balls and pressed with a fork. I bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. Let them cool for a couple of minutes on the pan the remove to a rack to cool. Makes 5 dozen very delicious cookies. To me they are the peanut butter equivalent to a Pecan Sandie which is a very high compliment in my book.

We Love and Miss you!

Flashback Friday ~Hiatus

Flashback Friday is on vacation today :-) If you have a little something to flash back to please put your link below!

Flashback Friday ~Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

It seems that just yesterday my nephew Alec was this cute little chubby cheeked baby boy

But yesterday he became a Daddy for the second time to his own little baby boy Kolbe!


I was so happy to meet him :-)


If you have a Flashback of any kind - favorite recipe, old photo, cherished memory please add your link below and link back to me on your blog.

The Great Cooking Magazine Challenge May 2011 Edition

So its that time again! I'm putting out the challenge to flip through those stacks of cooking magazines and clippings or printed out internet recipes and try something new :-) I do this challenge mostly for myself - to justify my many cooking magazine purchases and subscriptions. But I know many of you out there are just as guilty as me!

I have a linky below where you can come back and show us what you did for the challenge. I got a new Everyday with Rachel Ray in the mail this week and thought I would give a couple things that caught my eye a try today. First up is BLT Mac & Cheese


Randy and I both grew up eating "the blue box" as my friend Kathleen calls it. Kraft Dinner is how my Canadian husband refers to it. I still love it, but we have graduated to Velveeta Shells and Cheese. High Class I know! But I am always trying out mac & cheese when its offered on a menu. I've tried to recreate it at home a couple of times but haven't been that happy with the results. This recipe was actually pretty good, maybe because it comes somewhat close to looking and tasting like Kraft! lol

BLT Mac 'n' Cheese

4 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used the Hormel pieces in the bag..hey it saves time!)
12 oz pasta (elbows or rotini)
2 1/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp turmeric (gives it that nice orangey-yellow color)
6 oz cream cheese
2 cups finely shredded orange cheddar cheese. (About 8 oz)
6 oz cherry tomatoes quartered (I used two small chopped)
Salt, Pepper
Onion powder, garlic powder to taste (my addition)
Grated Parmesan cheese (my addition)

Preheat oven to 375°. Cook bacon until crisp if not taking the short cut that I did, then drain. Meanwhile in a large pot of salted water cook pasta until done & drain. In same pot bring milk to simmer over medium heat. Whisk in tumeric & cream cheese. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Add pasta, bacon and tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, tiny bit of onion & garlic powder. Transfer to 9x13 casserole and bake til heated through, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with grated parmesan before serving.


In the same June/July edition of Rachel Ray's mag there was an article about updated & homemade Popsicles. There were a few I'd like to try, but settled on the "Cappuccino" because the ingredients to me sounded more like Vietnamese Coffee which I love. Very simple to make and would be a good use of left over coffee.



Cappuccino Popsicles

3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (I ended up using a big more in the espresso part)
1/2 cups brewed espresso (I used prepared instant espresso powder I keep on hand for recipes like this)
2 tsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder, plus some for dusting (I only used 1)

Combine the cream and 1/4 cup condensed milk, stirring well. Divide mixture between your popsicle molds. Freeze until almost solid, about 1 hour. Meanwhile in a bowl whisk together espresso, cocoa and remaining condensed milk (I used more than 1/4 cup because I like sweet coffee!). Refrigerate until cold. Divide the espresso mixture between molds insert stick and freeze until solid - about 4 hours. Run warm water over molds to remove the pops. Dust cream layer with more cocoa powder. Yummy!

I hope I gave you a little inspiration. Go search your stacks, do some cooking and blogging and come back here to link up! Putting a link back to my blog in your post would be neighborly too :-)





Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there including my own! Love you Momma!


I'm joining for the following parties
Sweets for a Saturday
Weekend Cooking
So Sweet Sunday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
What's On Your Plate?
Meatless Mondays

Flashback Friday ~My Momma

How about a Mother's Day Flashback this week? This is my Mom looking very motherly with her 4 kids. I'm the baby!


It's a quickie, but I've had late days at work this week. If you have a flashback of any kind to share please add your link below. A Mother's Day related post is the perfect flashback!

Hope everyone has a great first weekend of May!