Category: lifestyle

Jim Brown’s Peach Cobbler

Jim Brown’s Peach Cobbler is the best! Check out the recipe.

I am going to share with you one of my easiest, favorite desserts to make. Recently, I took this to an event, and everyone raved over it. One of the men from our church, Jim Brown, used to make this. Hence…the name, “Jim Brown’s Peach Cobbler”. Probably not officially a cobbler, but not a pie, and not a cake. Just yummy!

Here are the ingredients for the recipe.

  • 2 cans of peach pie filling
  • 1/4 c. of Amaretto or enough Almond extract to spread over filling
  • 17 oz Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
  • 1 c. sliced almonds
  • 1 stick butter.

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray.

Spread peach filling in bottom of pan. Pour amaretto or almond extract over filling. Spread sugar cookie mix over top. Sprinkle almonds over mixture. Top with 1 stick of butter that has been sliced and dot over cookie mix. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. It is best to take it out of the oven while the dough is still soft and doughy. Top with whipped cream, ice cream, or eat plain.

Cookies…A Win and a Fail

Last night, my husband was going to go to a United Methodist Men’s cookout, at one of the members’ home. According to my hubby, there was going to be a cookout, and they were probably going to play dominoes. They could bring either an appetizer or dessert. One guy said he’d bring a bag of chips. I decided to make cookies to send with my hubby.

I made my chocolate no-bake cookies, and they turned out really yummy. Sometimes they work for me, and sometimes they don’t.

Then I decided to try a different recipe. I have my favorite recipe for peanut butter blossoms. I decided to make it into a bar cookie, and put either chocolate chips or hershey kisses on them, to look like dominoes. Clever idea, huh?

Unfortunately, those were kind of dry. I didn’t taste them at the time, because I was hurrying to get ready to go to Mexican Bingo. I was assembling a charcuterie board , to take to that group. Anyway, I found a nice tray, and put a selection of the no-bake cookies on it, and some of the “dominoes”.

My husband said the no-bake cookies were a big hit. The “dominoes” were kind of dry and he had to explain them to the men. The host had no plans to play dominoes! Where did my hubby get that idea???

You win some, you lose some. I tend to try new recipes on friends. This one didn’t work. Tell me….how could I have changed the cookie recipe into a bar cookie recipe? Should I have added another egg? Give me your suggestions. Of course, one of your suggestions might be to only send tried and true recipes off to a party.

What has been some of your wins and losses? I have mainly wins, but this time I threw away all of the rest of the cookie bars. My recipes are kind of like a game of dominoes…you win some, you lose some.

Hugs,

Grandma Ruddell

Mexican Bingo Charcuterie Board #2

Charcuterie Boards are the best! Check out my blog, to see my board to take to Mexican Bingo!

This afternoon, I made a Charcuterie Board. It was for a family dinner, and was a trial run for when I go to tomorrow night’s Mexican Bingo. My family was my guinea pig. Here’s what I did and I’m putting it here so you can do it too!

I have several sizes of boards. This time , I used the larger one. One of my recent purchases was the bag of little toothpick flags. So I used two of those and wrote Mexican Bingo on them. I pulled out several sizes of small ramekins and containers, and my kabob sticks. I didn’t use all of them, but it’s good to have them out to set up my station.

I decided to have a concentration of reds and greens, to represent Mexico. At one end of the board, I put a bunch of grapes. Next to it, I placed cut up sweet peppers. I spread a bunch of chips, added cheese cubes. At the other end, I added sliced strawberries, kiwi, and some fruit flavored jelly candy. The flags went on the cheese cubes.

Next, I added a container of Salsa and slices of Summer Sausage. I filled the rest in with green olives, pepperoni and some scattered Nutella biscuits…which are adorable little cookies with Nutella inside. Lastly, I put a daisy in the middle. And then…..my piano student arrived, and I made her come in , look at it, and ooh and ahh. LOL

My family enjoyed it, which was a good thing. My main dish was a little late getting done, so they snarfed from the board. Tomorrow night, I will make a few changes. I will add some wheat thins or crackers to go with the cheese. Also, I have a layered Mexican dip that I will add, and will make some taquitos to put in the french fry holder. And I will top it off with a Sunflower.

What kind of charcuterie boards have you made lately? Is that one of your staple recipes? I enjoy making them. Come back next week, when I present Charcuterie Board #3. Yes, I have more company coming! Woohoo!

If you enjoyed this post, please press LIKE, and leave a comment.

Hugs,

Grandma Sherry

Ten Things I Love About February

Here are Ten Things I love about February. Enjoy!

February is such a fun month for kids and adults, alike. Here are 10 things I love about February.

  1. The weather changes a lot. We almost always get snow or ice around Valentine’s Day. Snow is unique in Texas. With 1/2 inch of snow, you will see school’s out, and lots of snowmen.
  2. I love Valentine’s Day!! It’s a day of love and showing someone else how much you like/love them. I like to put up my decorations and have fun with it.
    • Valentine’s Day is also my Anniversary. I married my sweetie 47 years ago. Sometimes though, he thinks I only need one gift, to serve both occasions.
    • Helping my Grandkids make and decorate Valentine’s cookies. Love those kids!
    • Giving lessons to my piano students. I had three new students this month…all brothers. They are so fun!
    • Planting pansies and preparing to plant other plants.
    • Planning my garden for Spring.
    • Going to Bunko, Ladies’ Poker and Mexican Bingo
    • Having a Super Bowl Party
    • Singing in my church choir, being a liturgist and teaching children’s church…things that make me happy.
        Anniversary bouquet
        Isaac frosting sugar cookies

        What are your favorite things about February? Leave me a comment . That section is either on the side with the #words, or at the bottom , under the Other things you might like. If you liked this post, press Like. That helps me!

        Love,

        Grandma Ruddell

        TEXAS WEATHER IS CRAAAAZZZYY!

        The Sleet Storm

        There’s nothing like Texas weather in February!!! Is it winter? Is it Spring? Is it Summer? Sheesh! Today, it feels like early Spring. The rest of the week is going to be in the 70’s.

        If we ever get snow, it’s usually around Valentine’s Day. This year, the bad weather arrived two weeks early. It came in the form of a sleet storm, in Ft. Worth, with very frigid weather. My son, and sister-in-law , live in the Austin area. They had a severe ice storm that brought down trees and wires, all over Austin. My sister-in-law and hubby just had their electricity turned back on, this past week. They were without electricity for about 10 days, and ended up being at a hotel for five or six of those days. They are still cleaning up debris. All of the streets in their area are lined with piles of tree branches. Austin and Ft. Worth, and surrounding areas had multiple wrecks. It was all quite the mess.

        And then……we had a beautiful sunset ! Don’t like the weather in Texas? Stick around!

        A beautiful sunset.

        Two years ago, we rented a condo for Valentine’s week. We were at a lake, southwest of Austin. Our anniversary is on Valentine’s Day, so we like to celebrate in some fashion. As were at the condo unit, we had a major ice storm. We were iced in, and there was hardly anyone at the resort. During the week, two gentlemen had had their unit flood from burst pipes. They asked if they could come in and get warm. They ended up staying with us for that week. It was an interesting experience, with no water, and roving electricity. We played a lot of cards.

        Before
        Old door mat
        Pansies in the flower pots, and new door mat. My dad made the head.

        So here we are in the middle of February. It’s starting to feel Springy. I decided to rip out the dead plants from my front porch planters…it’s about time!….and plant some pansies. I also bought a new door mat for the porch. So far, that’s all I have done, but oh, I feel so much better! Now, I need to get my back flower pots done, and get the garden areas cleaned out. Truthfully, I love Spring! That is one reason I’m glad we moved to Texas. Spring comes earlier here.

        How is the weather in your part of the world? Are you still having winter, or is it Spring weather? Leave me a comment .

        Hugs,

        Grandma Ruddell