Triple Berry Crumble

I am always making goodies that my boys will love and I think Hubby has been feeling left out.  With some of my Costco fruit I decided to make him a Triple Berry Crumble.  This was right up his alley, he loves things made with fruit.  It was also super easy and delicious, even the little guys liked it.

Triple Berry Crumble

1 large cup blackberries

1 large cup blueberries

1 large cup raspberries

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 large cup oats

1/2 large cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mash slightly the blackberries, blueberries and raspberries add the sugar and vanilla. Allow to macerate while you prepare the crumble topping.

In the bowl of a food processor (you can also do by hand), add oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add 3/4 stick of butter cut into chunks and pulse food processor until small pea size crumbles form.

Butter a shallow baking dish. Add berries to the bottom and top with crumble topping. Add the remaining butter to the top cut into small chunks.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!!

YUMMY!!!

Renee

Strawberry Iced Tea

 Strawberry Iced tea is a great drink for those long hot summer days.  Just about every week it seems like I am in Costco buying fruit for my guys and strawberries are always on the list.   

My hubby loves drinks that have chunks of real fruit in them so my Strawberry Iced tea was great for him.  I also served this at a recent get together and all my guests loved it.  

The tea is easy to prepare.  Here are the directions and ingredients to make about 2 quarts.

Ingredients:

2 & 1/2 - 3 cups strawberries (I've used both fresh and frozen)

4 tea bags - I used regular iced tea, but I'm sure which ever flavor you like would be great

1 cup of sugar - add more or less depending on your desired sweetness

Juice of one whole lemon

Directions:

Bring about 1 & 1/2 quarts of water to a boil.  

After water has come to a boil, pour it into container and steep tea bags for about 5-7 minutes.  

While tea bags are steeping blend strawberries in blender until smooth.  If you use frozen strawberries, pour in some of the hot tea to help the strawberries defrost.  

Dissolve the sugar in the hot tea.  Then add lemon juice and strawberries to container, stir well and refrigerate.  

The tea is on the thicker side (not as thick as a smoothie) but I like it that way.  It reminds me of an Orange Julius.  If you prefer it more like traditional tea, then you can strain the strawberry mixture before you add it to the tea.  

This will definitely be a drink we make all summer.  Hubby liked it so much he has learned how to make it himself!!!!

Renee

Sweet and sour chicken

As you all know I love Asian food.  I am especially happy when I can find a quick and delicious recipe that I can make at home.  I found a wonderful recipe for sweet and sour chicken and fried rice on Life as a Lofthouse.  
This is a super delicious recipe and it is very easy to prepare.  My guys love it and I've made it several times already.

Start by cutting the boneless chicken breasts into chunks. 

Season with salt and pepper.

Dip the chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in oil until brown but not thoroughly cooked. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. 

Mix the sauce ingredients together then pour over chicken.

Bake for about one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok.  Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender.

 

Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled.

Add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. 

*Serves 4-6

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:

¾ cup sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

½ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Fried Rice:                                                                                            

3 cups cooked rice (I've used both white and brown rice)

3 tbs sesame oil

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

YUMMY!!!!

Square Foot Garden

I've been having a lot of fun with my garden.  Initially, I was having a great deal of success with the lettuce, it was growing by leaps and bounds.  As you can see by the following pictures I was able to get quite a few harvests and made several sandwiches and a couple of nice salads.

By the way, this was a great salad!!

I was so happy, everything was growing wonderfully.  

UNTIL some little critters decided to have a feast!!!

To say the least, I was VERY upset when I woke up and saw my lettuce was full of holes.  I looked all through the garden and discovered two problem critters, caterpillars and snails.  I tried removing the caterpillars and putting salt around the perimeter of the garden, but to no avail.  After a few days my lettuce was pretty much all gone :-(

After some online searching I decided to purchase Natria (from Lowe's) and Thuricide (from a local nursery).  These two pesticides are supposedly good for getting rid of all little garden critters (especially mine) and safe to use in a vegetable garden.  I had to try something to get these pests under control before I lost my entire garden.  

Since 2 squares of lettuce were ruined I decided to dig them up and replaced them with mint and basil.  After planting the basil and mint I used the Natria pellets and the liquid Thuricide and I crossed my fingers.   

It has been about 3 days since I used the pesticides and the critter activity seems to have slowed down. 

I did see some new damage on the broccoli and beans the day after using the pesticides.  So, in order to be proactive, I sprayed a little more Thuricide on all the plants and sprinkled more Natria in all the squares and around the perimeter of the garden. 

During the last few days I've been spending a lot of time checking on the garden.  

It looks like the pesticides may be keeping the critters under control.   I have not seen any additional holes in the veggies.

I wouldn't say that I am free of my little pests permanently, but I with continuous use of the Thuracide and Natria I should be able to keep them under control and away from most of my veggies.  

Renee