Easy as Pi

Happy Pi Day! 

Time to make something in a pie pan to celebrate Circumference divided by Diameter Day. And I now have a go-to recipe for such an occasion. 

History:  This recipe was inspired by a dish served at my women's church group in February. I promptly lost the recipe from the lady who made it but then on a search through my collection of cookbooks, I found one similar. It comes from the 1999 Quick Cooking Annual published by AAL (now Thrivent). In the cookbook, it is called Fast Fruit Cocktail Cake but the lady in my women's group had used a can of Red Tart Cherries, so I suppose you could use any canned fruit. I chose to add dark chocolate chips because... obviously cherries and chocolate go together. 

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg, beaten

1 can red tart cherries

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients until well mixed. Pour into greased 9-inch round pie dish. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. 

Banana Pumpkin Muffins

Hello! It is your friendly sporadic blogger here to share a little about our day. 

 Today was a snowy day at home, so we decided to make some effortless Banana Pumpkin Muffins. I have made them before but as a chocolate version. Since the recipe simply requires a box of cake mix and a can of pumpkin (secret revealed!), there are actually endless possibilities. 

Here's how we whipped them up today:

1 box Duncan Hines Banana Supreme Cake Mix

15 oz canned pumpkin

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup crushed pecans

1/2 mashed banana

1 egg 

(Note: I mix in the egg for added fluffiness at the last minute 

because my little helper likes to get her hands on the yummy pre-egg batter.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. 

Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Enjoy!

Setting up the ingredients.

Little helper/ Little eater. 

Delish!

Goodie Shop

We made a stop at the Goodie Shop. I had never been to this Upper Arlington bakery but am now trying to figure out ways to calculate it into my routes.

We were searching for a place to pick up a birthday treat for my mom (Happy 60th!!) on our way home from the doctor's office last week. Lo and behold, this little gem popped up. Tucked in the Tremont Center plaza, it is an old school bakery with decorated cookies, donuts, brownies, fruit cakes, and even chicken pot pies.

Eva enjoyed the free sample tray and is eager to revisit when there is less snow covering the kid-sized table on the patio area. I'll go back to try out the chicken pot pies (grab-and-go style in the freezer case) and I will make a mental note that this place has fruit cakes since I was recently discussing that I knew of no place that had fruit cakes any more. Noted.

Birthday joys

Hello, Birthday girl. 

Yesterday was my birthday. This was the first birthday with two little girls at home. It was also a Saturday, so I asked Keith if he would take me to breakfast.  We went to HangOverEasy on OSU's campus. I got the Corned Beef Hash which was perfect because it was definitely made from scratch and not from a can. I also had a mimosa because ... well, this place serves drinks. It wasn't really a mimosa. It was orange juice and hard cider. Delightful.

We then went to Mission Coffee to finish my coffee tour. The latte was oh-so-good and by finishing my coffee tour I was able to get my coffee tour shirt from the Experience Columbus visitor's center. Nice. 

Later, we ordered dinner from Carsonie's. My parents and brother joined us for dinner. 

This was a great day from start to finish. One that this birthday girl is thankful for. 

Caramel Apple Grape Slab Pie

Fall brings yummy apple recipes. I felt like making an apple pie but I wanted something to be a little different. I found an apple slab pie recipe at pillsbury.com but decided to add grapes and caramel. Super yummy on a super great fall afternoon.

5 medium apples and about a cup of grapes. Add caramels.

Covered in flour, sugar, and cinnamon.
Spread onto pie dough in a jelly roll pan. 

Streusel made with flour, sugar, oats and cold butter.
I should have cut in more butter and mixed it better.

Top with streusel. Put into 425 degree oven for 38 minutes. 

We did all the prep outside since it was so nice out.  Yay for apples.

Top with whipped cream. Delish.

Pioneer Woman Meatloaf

I caught the first five minutes of a Pioneer Woman episode the other day. She was making an Italian version of her Favorite Meatloaf. I didn't even know she had a favorite meatloaf but that makes sense.

I was inspired. I had extra bread, eggs, parmesan cheese and bacon (yes, she wraps her meatloaf in bacon). So all I needed was meat. I will encourage you to look at her favorite meatloaf recipe because I didn't want to take photos of raw meat for you. I did cook it about 30 minutes longer than she did because I really didn't want the meat to be pink.

Ingredients:

Meatloaf:
1 cup Whole Milk
6 slices White Bread
2 pounds Ground Beef (I used ground beef and ground turkey)
1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
3/4 teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
4 whole Eggs, Beaten
10 slices Thin/regular Bacon

Sauce:
1-1/2 cup Ketchup
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Tabasco To Taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes. Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.
With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form loaf. Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.
Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Keith liked this recipe. I love Ree the Pioneer Woman but had a hard time falling in love with this meatloaf. So take it or leave it is my verdict.

Pi Day is Coming

Pi Day is coming and it is special this year because 31415 are the first five digits of pi. Cool? Super cool.
I am rarely inspired to make a pie for Pi Day but this weekend I did make a pie. Let's celebrate early!
I am not sure what to call this pie . It is half Brownie Pie, half Derby Pie (shout out to my YT lovers), 100% ooey-gooey deliciousness.

Ingredients:
Pie Crust
Pecans
Dark Chocolate Chips
Brownie Mix  - 2 eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil
Chocolate Chip Cookie Batter - 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup chocolate chips

I prepared the brownie batter and the chocolate chip cookie batter separately. Then I poured them into the pie crust. I gently swirled them. Sprinkled the top with dark chocolate chips and pecans. Baked at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

"I'm gonna get that camera!"

Snuggling Banana Oat Muffins

Huh?

Well, little Miss Eva has been sick this week. Extra snuggles were in order. In fact, she really didn't want me to put her down at all. What is a mom to do? How 'bout this:

Once both mom and baby were content with the new set up, I could attempt to make the banana muffin recipe that my sister-in-law passed along. I was excited to try it because 

a) I had "all" the ingredients on hand,

b) It looks healthy enough to share with baby. 

Click on the recipe for full directions.    

Banana Oat Yogurt Muffin Recipe

The ingredients were:

1 cup Greek yogurt (I had 1/2  a cup and used another 1/2 cup of sour cream)

2 ripe bananas (I used three)

2 eggs

2 cups rolled oats

brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips (yup!)

Oh, and I had cupcake liners!

It took me a little longer to make the muffins than the recipe says, probably because I had a baby strapped to me, but they were fairly simple to make. I also yielded 15 muffins perhaps because I put an extra banana in there. 

I love anything I can put butter on, so this was definitely a win in my book. Maybe you'll try the recipe and enjoy them, too. 

Tom + Chee

We have been wanting to try out this little grilled cheese restaurant but thought the only locations were in Hilliard or Pickerington. BUT today we were driving around campus and saw a TOM+CHEE location on High Street. And... it was almost lunch time! Perfect-o. 

If all you make is grilled cheese and tomato soup, it better be good. It was. Keith got the Crunchy Garlic Chicken grilled cheese and I got the Pesto Turkey grilled cheese. The sandwiches could be ordered as halves which was nice for lunch. We each got a version of the tomato soup... Creamy Basil was the winner. 

They are also the Home of Grilled Cheese Donuts. I couldn't put any more in my belly but it might be worth a foodie adventure someday. Fancy Grilled Cheese Donuts

Here, Daddy, you should have some crackers. 

Oatmeal Muffin Apple Cobbler

I adapted a recipe I found while searching Apple Recipes on Southern Living. I had all the ingredients on hand, so this was an easy choice. With the abundance of delicious apples in the fall, I can't help that I love baking with apples.

Ingredients
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced (about 1 1/2 pounds)* I used Gala apples. 
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
3 large pears, peeled and sliced (about 1 1/2 pounds) I used a different variety of apples... Honeycrisp. 
Oatmeal Muffin Batter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup uncooked regular oats
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Prepare the Oatmeal Muffin batter as follows. Combine the ¾ cup flour, the oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Stir together milk, melted butter, and lightly beaten egg; add to dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened. Set aside.

Combine apples, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of  in a large bowl, stirring to coat apples.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple mixture; bring to a boil, and cook, stirring often, 10 minutes. Add pears to skillet, and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Spoon hot fruit mixture into a lightly greased 10-inch (8-cup) deep-dish pie plate or shallow 2-quart baking dish. Spoon Oatmeal Muffin Batter evenly over fruit mixture.

Bake at 425° for 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Garnish with pecans, if desired.

Look at this little sous chef.
She fell asleep on the job. 

*2 (21-ounce) cans apple pie filling can be substituted for apples and pears. Omit brown sugar and flour. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pie filling, and bring to a boil; remove from heat. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Yum! Enjoy!
(I wish I had had whipped cream on hand, too).

Blog Browsing

Ah, the interweb. Such a source of endless information and know-how. What would we do without it? After browsing this week/month, I thought I would share with you what has piqued my interest. I hope you enjoy some of the stuff that is out there as much as I did.

God is with us. We are NEVER alone... SheReadsTruth

Birth Stories that make you cry - in a "Praise God" kind of way... Hannah's Joyful Life

In a small house, there is just not a lot of room. Non-toy gift ideas for kids... Nourishing Minimalism

Math as an international symbol of unity. Thank you, Fields Medal... NYTimes

Editing photos online. For free.... PicMonkey

Because our tent will be getting some use this weekend. And I love s'mores... Say Yes

This should be tried: Roasted Tomato Feta Guac... Joy the Baker

Our current household issue: ants. Buying the Borax... WikiHow

German Village Adventure

Last week, we finally made it Katzinger's Deli in German Village for the first time... ever. This is a pretty famous eatery in Columbus. And as locals who love to eat, it is a little surprising to us that we have never been there. 

Very unassuming location but we made sure we were there BEFORE the lunch rush since it is close to downtown. I tried some samples of bread and cheese from the deli while Keith ordered a "Neal, Let's make a Deal" sandwich for us to share (sandwiches were pricey but worth it). While we waited for the food, we noshed on garlic and dill pickles from the pickles barrels teeming with free pickles. 

After the yummy sandwich in the relaxed atmosphere, we walked down to Kittie's Cakes bakery. I got a Mick-O -- their take on the oatmeal pie sandwich.  Delightful.

So much on the menu, even Eva can't decide... guess she'll just have milk.

Pickles!!!

Corner of 3rd and 23/E. Livington.

"Neal, Let's make a Deal"- Roast Beef, Coleslaw & Cheddar on Rye.

So cute for dessert...

...and so delicious!