Fried Green Tomaters

The weather in Utah has been beautiful. Warm and in the 70's for the most part. Yet, last week we had a cold front come in. It KILLED the garden.

While this totally bummed me out. There were still a lot of Green Tomatoes left on the vines. So, I picked them . 

Sliced them.

Breaded them.

Spilled some oil

And fried those babies up.

 I added some Remoulade Sauce. 

And called it dinner. 

Except all the Mountain Males added some Mac N Cheese to their plates!!

Ingredients

• 
  2 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn mesa flour (this is my secret)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices
• Vegetable oil 
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine egg and milk; set aside.
2. Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, corn flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.
3. Dredge tomato slices in the flour mixture; dip in egg mixture, and dredge it back in the flour mixture.
4. Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a large skillet; heat to 375°. Drop tomatoes, in batches of 3-5, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt.

I wish I had a great recipe for the Remloulade. I just throw the following in a food processor and blend it up. 

large scoop of Mayo

squirt of yellow mustard

squirt of ketchup

squirt of brown mustard

two cloves of garlic

a teaspoon of horseradish

a sprinkle of lemon juice

chopped onion

blend it up and dip away

Caramel Coconut Pie

This is my FAVORITE Coconut recipe. It is a family secret, so hush don't tell.

Actually, my mother in law made this for me when I was pregnant with the first punk. Ever since, she has made it for me on my birthday. Last weekend she FINALLY gave me the recipe. I have her permission to share.

Caramel Coconut Pie

Time: 30 Minutes + 12 hours freezing time

Yield: 16 servings, 8 slices per pie. 

Recipe adapted from the much loved Mother In Law

Pie Crust:

I use the ones in the refrigerated section in the grocery store. BUT if you are like the MIL you will make yours from scratch. Sorry,no recipe for that.

• 2 Pie Crusts

Coconut Filling:

• 20 oz of sweetened coconut
• 1/4 C. chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 -8oz Cream Cheese
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 16 oz Cool Whip
• 12 oz caramel topping (I like to use the kind in a squeeshy bottle. It's easier to poor out)

1. Bake your pie crusts, in two of your favorite pie dishes, according to directions. Let cool while you make the filling.

2. Toast your coconut. 

• Mix coconut and nuts
• Lay the coconut/nut mixture out on a large jelly roll pan
• Toast in your oven at 350 for 10 minutes or until golden and little crunchy.
• Make sure you stir it around a couple of times while toasting.
• Once it's done pull it out and let it cool

3. Combine cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Beat until smooth.

4. Fold in Cool Whip carefully. You want this mixture to be fluffy.

5. Layer Cream Cheese mixture. Caramel. Then the coconut. Do this in 3 layers. Ending with coconut and caramel.

6. Place your pies in the freezer for 12 hours. You want to serve this frozen. 

 Slice it and serve it up!!

2 pies!! Yes, you may want to share. We didn't Punk 2 ate a whole pie to himself!! Don't judge. I made it up by feeding him some vegetables with his dinner.

Divine Pumpkin Soup

This is a Halloween Night tradition. L.O.V.E. this soup. I could eat my weight in this soup. It is Divine.

 

Divine Pumpkin Soup
Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4-8 Servings (I mean how big of bowls are you serving?)

Recipe adapted from Stacey Brown (thanks friend)

1 1/3 C. Cooked Wild Rice
1 C Chopped Onion
2 Tbl. Butter
4 C Chicken Broth
1 (16oz) Can of Pumpkin (see note)
1/8 tsp White Pepper
1 C Heavy Cream
Snipped Fresh Chives or Parsley

I cook two boxes of Rice a Roni Wild Rice before hand.

Saute the onion in butter in a large saucepan for 5 minutes. Stir in the broth and the pumpkin. Heat, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Stir in the cream and rice. Heat thoroughly; do not boil. Garnish with chives or parsley and serve immediately.

NOTE: Two cups of buttercup or butternut squash can be substituted for the pumpkin

Fall Zucchini Cupcakes (with Beater lick'n good frosting)

Today I am going to share with you my MOST favorite fall cupcake. I usually have zucchini coming out my ears. A girl can only have so much zucchini bread, baked zucchini, fried zucchini, zucchini in pasta, zucchini... well you get the picture. Anyway, I am a sucker for a good cupcake. This has it all. Vegetables, so its good for you. Its moist. and the frosting is worth the 5lbs I add to my thighs. Seriously, I lick the beaters when I am all done. Don't worry I don't put them back in the bowl.

Zucchini Cupcakes (with beater lick'n good) Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe adapted from tasteofhome
24 Servings(yes,you have to share)
Prep: 30 minutes. Bake: 20 min.+cooling
Ingredients

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) spice cake mix
• 1-1/3 cups water
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 
  CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 8oz block of cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 to 2 tablespoons 2% milk (Sometimes I use 1/2 and 1/2. I know so naughty!!)

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, oil and eggs; beat on
• low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in
• zucchini. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. (if it seems a little runny, its okay)

• Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near
• the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to
• wire racks to cool completely.

• For frosting, in a small bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and
• enough milk (I used 1/2 & 1/2 today) to achieve a spreading consistency. Frost cupcakes.

• 
  
• Yield: 2 dozen.

Please don't ask the Nutrition Facts. I have not personally counted and truly I don't want to know. I mean that would take all of the fun out eating this delicious fall delight

Back to School Cookie Recipe

It's already Wednesday, half way  through the first week of  Back To School. Where did the time go? I mean seriously, I have a Jr Higher.

He Use To Look Like This

And Now He Looks Like This

We can't for get Punk #2. His first day at a new school!! I am not worried. He makes friends VERY easily. Check this kids shoes out.... he is a definite "I". Don't know what I am talking about? Stick around, I am sure at one point I will tell you my secret weapon... personality profiling.... yeah I am stealth like that :)

Incredible how time flies.

Well for the first time in about 5 years I had some down time on the first day of school. So, I thought I would be a good mom and make THE best Back To School Cookies known on the face of the planet.  Don't worry I will share this coveted recipe with you, only if you promise to share, because this recipe makes 70 cookies!!

I mixed a few recipes together and came out with these.

I started HERE and HERE. Then I mixed it up. Omitted a few things and added something that you NEVER would have guessed. It gave it a different flavor. 

The BEST Back To School Cookie:

Time: 1 1/2 hours Yeild: 70 cookies!! give or take (depends on if you are like me and you eat the cookie dough)

1 C butter softened

1 C shortening

1 1/2 C brown sugar

1 1/2 C white sugar

4 eggs (go ask your neighbor. because if you are like me, everyone has chickens in the neighborhood!! except of course for me and My Favorite Neighbor. but they do have a chicken coop they periodically sleep in)

2 t vanilla

1 t water

3 C flour

2 t baking soda

2 t salt

2 t baking powder

1/2 nutmeg

1/2 cinnamon

3 C oatmeal (not steel cut!! this will make your cookie crunchy)

2-3 packets of Maple Brown Sugar INSTANT oatmeal!!! ( i know right? THIS is the secret ingredient)

4 C milk chocolate chips

1. Cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar and white sugar. Make sure it is creamed so well that it is so fluffy your gonna die. (Just because I have a Jr Higher doesn't mean I can't enjoy a kids movie every once in a while.)

2. Add your eggs one at a time until incorporated

3. Add your vanilla and water. Mix just until it is combined. (Don't over mix)

4. In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients together. Use a mixing spoon.

5. Add the dry to the creamed mixture. Stir until it is all mixed up. Add your chocolate chips. Stir.

6. Roll into 1 1/2 inch ball, or in my case I used my cookie scoop. Place on a sprayed or greased cookie sheet.

7. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Never over bake an oatmeal cookie,it will be crunchy!! When your cookies are lightly browned take them out and let them finish cooking on the pan for 3-5 minutes.

(if you want you could make the delicious brown butter drizzle in Miss Paula Deen's recipe for an extra scrumptious treat. I omitted it this time)

Well, here's to a new school year. Now go share some cookies!! We did!

(BTW the playlist... yeah some of my favorite songs when I was in Jr. High.)

"Confidence is contagious; so is lack of confidence" -Vince Lombardi

Deep stuff.... view at your own risk

Deep Stuff

So here I am, blogging again. As I mentioned in my post on STUFF I have some STUFF I am trying to sort out. Just as any good Real Estate Junkie would, I am using some tried and true HGTV stuff... You know. Sorting it out, like "here is the Give Away/ Donate Box (hereinafter referred to as the GAB, just a little contract law for you) and here is the Keep Box and here is the Throw Away Box." That's all good  and working out fine for the clothes and all of the decorative garb I have stuffed in the basement. 


You see it's not so easy with the mental STUFF. I mean who really wants to pick through my leftovers in the GAB? 


Then I got to thinking. Well this blog is kind of my GAB. Its a plat form of sorts. That also got me thinking. Just what kind of blog am I running here? I have said in the past that I heart blogs. I read all sorts of blogs. Decorating Blogs, Cooking Blogs, Local Mission Blogs, International Mission Blogs, Fashion Blogs, you name it... I have seen it. So who. am. I? I am just a small fish in a very large ocean of blogs, or some call it blogland. So... I am going to be all of the above. Yep, I am going to educate you on this crazy AWESOME Real Estate market we are experiencing. You do realize you are living in history and you are going to be able to share this with your grand kids, in the home you share, because you bought at a time when real estate was cheap, and rates were at an all time low. Now the countries debt is sooooooo bad your grand kids can't afford jack!! Is that positive enough for ya.....? Just kidding I won't be that negative, but I will educate you. I will share some great recipes, some trendy fashion tips, of course some wonderful DIY projects and I am going to ask you to stretch outside yourself to make this world a better place. I hope to make some memories with you and I hope you stick around for the deep stuff.


Praying that when it is all said and done I have glorified God.  
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.1 Corinthians 10:31