God's Blessings and Blueberries

I always find myself in awe when I see God's answer to specific prayers. Even the simple ones where we just call out and acknowledge His control over all circumstances. Like blueberry picking in July…July…in Tennessee.

As the little ones and I headed to the next county over for a day of blueberry picking, the rain beat against the windshield. I shout back to the kids, “We’re just gonna have to pray to God that He’ll stop this rain!” And He gave us even better. He gave us 66-degree temperatures and an occasional sprinkling shower to make it an experience we can treasure. And this momma made sure to praise God for such a perfect day under His sun...or clouds!

Sweet Aunt Vicky lending Momma help!

We enjoyed those blueberries this morning with some blueberry jam topping.

Blueberry Jam Topping

4 cups of blueberries

2 tbs of cornstarch

1 cup of water

½ cup of sugar

 

Mix water, cornstarch, and sugar in saucepan and stir until smooth. Pour in blueberries and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until mixture thickens.

You can “can” the topping by processing the mixture in and with the proper canning equipment in a hot water bath for ten minutes.

A Guest in Becky's Kitchen

Want a yummy breakfast idea? I received this one from my dear friend, Lesli, and I've made at least one batch each week since she shared it with me. Becky is featuring the recipe at her beautiful blog today! Enjoy!

Breakfast Muffins featured at

Perfect No Bake Cookies

I have loved cow patties for as long as I can remember. What I found to be the greatest difficulty is getting them to just the right consistency. A few months back I realized cow patties, a.k.a., No Bake Cookies, were my gift to the world. I finally found the perfect recipe that didn’t end with me eating them with a spoon. These are perfect for a quick treat or a special little gift. I’ve shared them with neighbors. I even paired some with my father-in-law’s favorite coffee for a Father’s Day gift. Here is the recipe for a batch of 12.

Boil in a pot on medium heat:

1 cup of sugar

½ stick or 4 Tbs of butter/margarine

¼ cup of evaporated milk

2 Tbs of cocoa

Once the above comes to a boil allow it to boil for 2 minutes: NO LESS, NO MORE…this completely affects the consistency.

Once you take it off the stove, add in:

½ cup of OFF-BRAND peanut butter (name brand peanut butter is too smooth.)

¾ cup of whole oats

½ tsp of vanilla

And that my dear…is the secret to Perfect No Bake Cookies. (Oh…and let them sit for a few minutes so they can settle.)

Shelly Frank's Cheesy Red Potato Salad

Watch out Paula Deen!

I just had the best potato salad of my life…and it was MY recipe! Here is the deal. I can cook good foods, but I’m not a good cook. If that doesn’t make sense let me put it this way… I’m food ignorant. You give me a good recipe, and it will taste as if the chef made it his or her self. (Well, maybe not that good.) But to handle things on my own, that’s unheard of.

Today I had some red potatoes I wanted to roast and well… I’m baking a bone in chicken in the oven and cooking time would really confuse me if I threw in some potatoes, too. (Like I said, cooks good food, not a good cook.)

I went on a recipe search for cooking the potatoes on the grill and nothing really sounded good so I went with winging a Tater Salad recipe on my own. I figured surely I had enough ingredients in there to get something going…so here goes. The best tater salad EVER.

Shelly Frank’s Cheesy Red Potato Salad

Stuff you need:
(This is my quantity for my 2 adults, a 2 year old that eats like a bird, and a 1 year old that eats like a bear ready to hibernate.)

6-8 Red Potatoes
3 Eggs
2 chopped dill pickles
½ a large sweet onion NOTE: Green onion would probably be better, I didn’t have it on hand.
Black peppercorn crushed (aka, pepper)
Salt (I just dump it in, I don’t know how much? Same with the crushed pepper)
2-3 globs Tbs of mayo
Sargento Bistro Blends® Sharp Wisconsin & Vermont Cheddar with Real Bacon

Boil your red potatoes whole for about 25-30 minutes. You should be able to pierce them with a fork.
Boil your eggs.
Chop your pickles and onion.
Go ahead and dump in the salt and pepper and mix it up.
Chop your eggs and mix in.
Cut your potatoes into wedges trying to keep the pieces about 1 inch to keep it chunky.
Add mayo.
Add cheese according to your own taste. I probably used about ½ cup.

Enjoy! Good stuff!

(I got Sargento shredded cheese on sale last week at Food City. The blend is sharp and mild cheddar with bacon if you want to make your own.)