Easy Fruit Cobbler

We were recently given some yummy, handpicked, fresh blackberries at their peak of sweet, ripe, juicyness. The dilemma: to eat or freeze? I chose to bake.

Creeping Crust Cobbler

1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fruit (blackberries, rasberries, apricots, peaches, etc...)
1 cup or less sugar

Melt butter in 10 inch baking dish. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder; add milk and mix. Spoon over melted butter. (You can melt the butter in the baking dish while the oven is heating.) Heat fresh or canned fruit with sugar, adjusting less sugar or more to your likness. Pour over dough. Bake in 350 degree oven about 30 minutes until crust is golden brown. Crust will rise to the top. Serve warm or cold.

My notes:
The cobbler part is like a cakey, gooey, sweet biscuit (which I prefer rather than a thin pie crust when it comes to cobbler). I doubled this recipe for a 9x13 dish, but I kept just 1 cup of sugar with the 4 cups of fruit since the blackberries were so ripe and sweet already. Also, I didn't bother heating the fruit and sugar first. I used this sugar. This cobbler was super easy and quick to make - I put it together while my husband cleaned up dinner (!) We very much enjoyed it.

Thanks Morgan for the blackberries, and thanks to my mother-in-law for the recipe!

A Nighttime Diaper for Toddlers

Problem:
Over the past two months, I have had issues with my daughter leaking at night. The triple stuffed Happy Heiny's and Mommy's Touch just don't fit her right anymore, and she leaks out the legholes. I've tried less stuffage, but she needs the absorbency. (We still love BumGenius for daytime, but they've unfortunately never cut it at night for us.)

Solution?:
I am not for sure what is going to work best yet, but my friend Morgan is letting us try out one of her FuzziBunz One Size diapers. (I read Nicki's advice which promted me to ask Morgan how she liked her FuzziBunz and she offered to let us test one out...) So far, after 2 nights, no leaks! We've been using 2 FuzziBunz inserts inside. I can definitely tell it fits my daughter better around the legs. That might be due to the fact that the elastic around the legholes is adjustable. Brilliant! If the FuzziBunz continues to do the trick after a few more nights of testing it out (*crossing our fingers*), I will be investing in at least 3 for ourselves.

I always shied away from FuzziBunz because they were pricier than the alternatives. But if I had to do it all over again, now that they have the One Size adjustable diaper, I might've gone for a complete set of those. Just my thoughts - for if you are just getting started into cloth diapering.

Recent Meals

...or what we've eaten the last few weeks, once we were home from the hospital.

By the way, am I the ONLY one who likes hospital food? You get to order what you want with the TV remote! :) Come on, people, it's fun! And they give you so many little plates, and you don't have to wash any! I am easy to please, I guess.

Anyways, this is to help me remember some dinners that are good for delivering/freezing. These are nothing fancy, but they all tasted good!

Blessings from others:
Pasta with meat and sauce, salad, cheesy bread, cookies
Southwest casserole with cornbread biscuits, salad
Chicken enchiladas, rice, brownies
Deli sandwiches, chips, watermelon, oatmeal brownies
Pizza
Burritos

Made ourselves: (some fresh, some frozen previously)
Tater-tot casserole, corn
Chicken pasta primavera with sauce, bread
Taco salad
Chicken Pot Pie (I love this recipe. I left out the celery seed from the crust because I didn't have it.)
Baked Chicken, sweet corn, salad, bread, brownies

Freezer inventory:
2 Chicken Casseroles
Burritos
Meats
Beans
Veggies
Breads
Juices
Cookies

We have had a lot of brownies, but they are all SO good, I don't mind. Sometime, I will have to share my mother-in-law's oatmeal brownie recipe. Sounds healthy, but I guarantee, they are not. They are a chocolate lovers dream. I've had the recipe for several years and I can't believe I've never made them. She brought some to our house last week, and now I am going to have to find an excuse to make them myself in the near future. The recipe is forthcoming!

Menu Plan 8/31/09

Without a menu plan, I waste time... and I don't have time to waste!

Actually, we've been quite blessed with the majority of dinners brought to use these past few weeks... and we've got quite a bit in the freezer, thanks to my mother and mother-in-law. I think our freezer is as full as it can be! I bet it will go quick, though. I'm ALWAYS hungry!

I'm not going to assign any particular day to the dinners this week, just post a list.

Breakfasts:

Frosted Mini-Wheats with milk (a sweet treat, on sale with Costco coupon)

Bananas, Cantelope

Orange Juice ($.99/half gallon)

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches or Crackers and Cheese

Carrots

Fruit (apples, peaches, nectarines)

For hubby on the go: Lunchable and Fruit

(The lunchables were on sale last week for $.79. Not healthy, but no worse than what he'd pick up running around town.)

Dinners:

1. Provided!

2. Leftovers, Sweet Corn

3. Crustless Spinach Quiche*, Ranch Potatoes

4. Baked spaghetti (provided!), Zucchini, Garlic Toast

5. Leftovers

6. Homemade Burritos (from the freezer), Salad

7. ??

Dessert:

Haagen-daaz bars (a treat, also on sale with Costco coupon)

Drinks:

Milk

LOTS of water :)

*We keep getting spinach each week with our produce order. I know I could sub something in it's place, but we like it and it is good for you! I've frozen some and used lots fresh in salad. This quiche is just an easy recipe to use it up, too.

The Plan

I will obviously be taking some time off from blogging, but will ease back into it as the schedule permits.

If you don't want to keep checking in endlessly to find out if there's a new post, just use a blog reader like Google reader (so helpful) or sign up on my sidebar to receive an email notification for whenever there is a new post. I truly enjoy being in touch with you all, and hope you stick around!

I can't believe autumn is right around the corner...

So for now - here's wishing you a happy August. Let's try to enjoy some lazy, hazy, end-of-summer days.

He's Here!

Our little boy arrived last Monday! After a 3 day stint in the NICU, we are all home and happy. Can I tell you how much I love our hospital? I may not feel like saying that when I have to deal with the bill and insurance. But anyways. The nurses there are especially great. Birthing is one of those things I am not "all natural" on, by the way, because of my history. But to each her own.

We are very blessed!!!!

Menu Plan 8/10/09

Breakfasts:

Cheerios with Bananas and Milk

Baked Oatmeal (with less sugar) and Milk

Oatmeal Buttermilk Muffins

Orange-Strawberry-Mango Smoothies

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Chips and Salsa

Fruit

Dinners:

Monday - leftovers

Tuesday - Hamburger Stromboli or Pizza (dough), Salad

Wednesday - leftovers

Thursday - Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce, Romano Beans

Friday - Chicken Pasta Primavera with Sauce (with Zucchini and Spinach)

Saturday - leftovers

Sunday - Waffles with Homemade Syrup, Fruit

Find more menu plans here...

Whole Foods Meat Sale

I went to Whole Foods today to get some of their 85% lean organic grass fed ground beef (normally $4.99/lb., on sale for $2.99/lb. through August 11 at our store). You really can tell a difference in the meat over the regular store's, by the way. Anyways, I got 5 lbs., wrapped in 1 lb. packages for easy freezing. The butcher only charged me $2.49/lb. I don't know if that was just him being nice to a hugely pregnant mom with a cranky toddler, or if it is because I bought more than 3 lbs. They've done that before - knocked 50 cents/lb. off - when you buy a "family pack" amount or more. I just didn't expect it because it was already on sale! So that made my day a little cheerier! $2.49 for GREAT meat is a GREAT price. Kind of makes me wish I would have bought more, but we don't really have room since I am trying to store up on several items ahead of the baby's birth and leave room for some frozen dishes.

I also bought some aluminum-free baking powder (store brand) for $1.49... Has anyone tried this kind? I'm just wondering if it works as well as the $2.49 can.

A Good Reminder

"Noise"
Takes about 10 minutes, but worth watching.
Thanks, Steph.

Menu Plan 8/3/09

August, whoo-hoo! My due date is only 12 days away. I went to Price Chopper, Aldi, and Costco over the weekend to stock up on stuff. Saturday + new month/payday + back-to-school shoppers = I anticipated craziness at the stores. But we went early and were finished by 10:30 so it wasn't bad at all. We were too early for the samples at Costco, though :(

Ok, one thing I am not happy about, and I have to rant for a sec. I was checking for my prenatal vitamins at Costco. They used to carry a 300 count (almost a years worth) for like $14 or so, which was an awesome price. Now, they changed the kind (same brand) to softgels with added DHA and it is only a 90 count for like $19!!!! Ugh! I liked them how they were just fine! Anyways. Guess I'll be getting them elsewhere.

Breakfasts:
Cheerios with Bananas and Milk
Smoothies

Lunches:
PB&J Sandwiches

Cheese Sticks
Fruit

Dinners:
Monday - Chicken Pot Pie (make 2, freeze 1)
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - BLT's, Zucchini

Thursday - Crustless Spinach Quiche

Friday - Chili and Golden Sweet Cornbread
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Tater-tot Casserole (divide in 2, freeze 1)

Desserts:
Key Lime Pie
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

More Menu Plans...

Diaper Good Buy

Just a simple bargain tip I came across while looking at store ads online. I am just sharing this because it is pertinent to me and perhaps a handful of you.

If you live in the Midwest and have a HyVee close by (love that store) AND could use some disposable diapers... Their store brand diapers should be on sale through Tuesday for $6 a regular sized package. That's like 15 cents a diaper. And no messing with any coupons, ECB's, or other reward programs. As far as disposables go, I like HyVee's brand very much (better than Target's, Walgreen's, and Walmart's).

This is listed in their online exclusive ad (p. 11), not in the flyer I received in the mail. Check the ad for your specific store to be sure.

And the Pamper's wipes are $1.99. I wish I had some coupons to make them a real steal. (I don't get the Sunday paper, but if you do, check it!)

I am contemplating getting some diapers for gifts or for travels this fall... I don't know if I will want to pack cloth diapers for 2...