Homemade Peach Cobbler

So Ol' Mr. Devilish Dish, he's a pretty good cook.  Well he should be, I taught him everything he knows.  Just kidding.  I think that's one of the things that attracted us to each other a long time ago:  Cooking.  When we were in high school, his parents went out of town.  He invited me over.  (SCANDALOUS I KNOW!) Don't tell either of our parents, but it was to make homemade mayonnaise.  You see, those fancy immersion blenders had just come out on the infomercials on television and they demonstrated making mayonnaise.  His mother had ordered one, and it had just arrived in the mail.  While other kids were running wild in sex, drugs and rock-n-roll we were trying to create an aioli using raw egg yolks.  We've shared a love for cooking for many years now, so when I had my car accident and couldn't walk, I wasn't too worried about starving because he knows his way around a kitchen.  However, I'm the one that likes to make dessert.  And that was the one thing he was missing was his favorite homemade sweets.  It was summertime and the peaches were in season and he was craving peach cobbler.  I wasn't about to walk him through homemade pastry crust from my spot on the couch, so he tried this version.  And LOVED it.  He made this cobbler many times when he was craving dessert and I couldn't yet get in the kitchen to make one.  If you've never attempted to make a cobbler because you were intimidated by pie crust, OR you just don't have the time to roll and cut out pastry strips and weave them decoratively across the top of some peaches, then this recipe is for you!  It goes together quickly, without a lot of fuss or mess and tastes outstanding with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I'm walking again, and have made many desserts and meals since my accident, but this remains one of our favorites! 

So easy a husband can make it!

The Line-Up.  Don't fret my pretties,
this goes together like a dump cake.

Combine flour, salt and cinnamon.

Add sugars.

Stir in milk to create a batter.

Toss sliced peaches in 1/2 cup granulated sugar.

Melt butter in baking dish.

Pour batter over melted butter.
DON'T STIR!

Pour peach mixture over batter.
DON'T STIR!

Bake for 1 hour.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party

We have some dear friends with the cutest lil' guy you've ever seen.  He can shoot baskets and throw a football or baseball better than I can.  And I'm no slouch.  When his second birthday rolled around, his Mama asked me if I would help her with his party.  It was a no brainer because I love her little guy and I pretty much love Mickey Mouse more than Mr. Devilish Dish.  (I should do a blog post sometime on my kitchen and how it is decorated with Mickey Mouse memorabilia--say that five times fast.)  Between the two of us, we had enough fun serving platters to make it a fabulous day.  The party was at the local YMCA and all of the attendees got to swim for a bit before we enjoyed lunch, cake and presents.  As they say on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, "We've got ears; say Cheers!"

Instead of cake,
we had cupcakes.  I made
a simple vanilla cake with
a white buttercream frosting.
Decorated with 1 large OREO
and 2 small OREOS
to represent Mickey Ears!

The birthday boy's mom purchased
a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse-themed
package of printables from
Amanda's Parties To Go. 
I helped her by cutting and assembling everything.

Here's the spread,
all ready for the hungry swimmers!

The Mickey Mouse bowl made a
perfect container for the chips...
And by the way, Skittles make a colorful
and tasty filler for vases and
centerpieces.

"CLUB" sandwiches for
Mickey Mouse's Club house
of course!

When I heard the theme was Mickey Mouse, I
said, "Perfect.  I have lots of Mickey dishes."
My friend replied, "I knew you would."

Hot Diggity Dogs
A.K.A. Pigs in a Blanket!

Fruit with a simple fruit dip. Seriously
you don't need a recipe.  It's a
7-ounce jar of marshmallow
creme combined with an
8-ounce package of cream cheese.

Veggies with Beau Monde Dip.
Recipe HERE.

The polka-dots remind me of
Minnie's dress!

The birthday boy's dad requested
chocolate dipped pretzels.
I happened to have some awesome
Mickey Mouse sprinkles!

No party is complete
without a big bowl of Crack Corn.
Recipe HERE.

Party favors included:
mini buckets with crayons,
play-doh, coloring sheets
and Mickey or Minnie ears.

Happy Birthday Cash!
Thanks so much for letting me be part
of your special day!

Mid-Summer Italian Bread

Call me June Cleaver. For some reason I feel like every meal should be accompanied by two vegetables and some kind of bread.  I don't always do that for obvious reasons (laziness) but I'm always on the look out for nifty bread dishes I can serve with dinner.  Most of the time it's bread served with roasted garlic.  NO COMPLAINTS there, but sometimes I just need new material.  This bread is a great accompaniment to any meal, especially something Italian.  I used canned tomatoes, but definitely take advantage of summer's bounty of fresh tomatoes if you can.  It's delish!

Hello Summer!

The Mid-Summer Italian Bread Line-Up
only 4 ingredients.

Slice bread loaf in half
horizontally and brush with olive oil.
Bake until almost crisp.

Top with tomatoes and basil.
Bake 1-2 minutes more.

Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Slice and serve warm.

Homemade Frosty Paws-"Pawsicles" for Dogs!

I think all of you have heard me brag sufficiently on Baby Ruth.  She is the highlight of my every day.  Especially after my car wreck, when I couldn't walk for months and months, she was my constant companion.  Sometimes I call Mr. Devilish Dish at work, and he gives me the brush-off saying, "I can't talk, I have a meeting with a client."  And I usually reply, "Oh yeah?  Well I have a meeting with a client too."  And by meeting I mean laying on the couch.  And by client I mean Baby Ruth.  She's my 70-pound princess, and the source of my daily entertainment, especially now that Little Devil is away at college.  One of the funny things about Baby Ruth is even though she's a BIG DOG, she likes the dog food with "little bites."  It's one of the things that leads me to believe she's a little tiny lap dog on the inside.  Anyway, the last time she was out of dog food, her dad accidentally bought a new variety of her food.  The package read, "Specially formulated for big dogs that prefer small bites."  In other words missy, you weren't fooling anybody by eating more with your three cups of small bites versus three cups of large bites.  Hill's Science Diet is onto you.  And so we fed the princess the new special formula.  And you know what?  An hour after dinner she went and sat by her empty bowl and stared at us with the most pitiful, sad hound-dog eyes you've ever seen.  Basically, "specially formulated for big dogs that prefer small bites" is a kind of way of saying, "your dog is a fatty boom batty and this is diet dog food."  And Baby Ruth wasn't having any of it.  AND SO, to make a LONG story SHORT, I whipped up some Homemade Frosty Paws.  That way she can have a little dessert after her small-bite dinner fiasco.  And maybe she won't go to bed hungry!    

Because sometimes our furry friends
need dessert too!

Forgot the honey. 
But only 4 ingredients!

Blend everything together in a bowl.

Place into paper cups, ice cube trays
or cupcake liners.

The silicone cupcake liners that stand alone
are perfect for this!

Freeze until solid.

Remove from freezer.
Remove cupcake liner.

100% Baby Ruth Approved!

Curried Chicken Salad

So Mr. Devilish Dish is a golfer.  Big golfer.  When we were first married it took me awhile to realize that just because golf was the original lady in his life, didn't mean he didn't love me.  All these years later my philosophy is, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."  I'm not much of a golfer myself.  But I don't mind watching him play.  And by watching him play I mean ride in the golf cart, drink beer and read a book.  It's a great way to get a tan.  This past weekend, his golf course had their annual Club Championship.  Two years ago, he won it.  Last year he got Second Place.  It's definitely a tournament I like to watch him play in, because it's fun to watch when he wins.  That being said, I knew we would be spending a good portion of the day at the golf course in the heat.  And frankly after spending the day in the Oklahoma in July Heat, nobody wants to eat a huge, hot, hearty meal.  I figured something cool like BLT's or Chicken Salad would hit the spot.  And it did.  Curried Chicken Salad is my new favorite chicken salad.  It's an international twist on an old favorite. I hope you'll enjoy it as a great summertime meal.

A cool meal after a hot day!
PS:  He won second place this year too!
Not too shabby!

Baseball Bracelet How-To

Last baseball season, Little Devil and I made ourselves some bracelets out of authentic, University of Oklahoma foul balls.  Yes, the same ones she caught over the years of faithful baseball game attendance.  They were quite a hit, and we wound up making extras for our Baseball Mom-Friends.  I've made so many this season, that I thought I'd may as well post the tutorial in case any of you would like a baseball bracelet for yourselves.  It's actually pretty easy when you break down the steps, and it's guaranteed to get complements!  After all, we need to look cute while we sweat away on the bleachers!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...
In my cute lil' Baseball Bracelet!

Here's what you'll need for this project:
A baseball
red embroidery floss
Exacto Knife
elastic cord
big needle
felt in a color you like
cute button (with a shank, not a flat button)
clear fabric glue

Begin by carefully cutting along the baseball seams.
You can see where the leather is sewn together. 
Try to cut right down the center.

Now that the seams are cut, start peeling away
the baseball.  You'll have two figure-8 shaped pieces.
Enough for two bracelets.
Pick away all the thread from the holes
so you have a clean, neat baseball piece
to start stitching on...

Thread your needle with all 6-strands of
the embroidery floss.  Just tie a knot in the end.
Make sure the knot is on the back of the baseball.
(You won't see it in the end.)
Now just whip stitch around the edges of
the baseball using the holes that are already there.

Continue whip-stitching until the entire baseball
piece has new red stitches around the edge.

Lay the baseball flat onto a piece of felt.  Trace around the shape
with a pen.  This will make the lining of the bracelet.
Not only does it look better, making a finished product, it hides
the knots and fasteners.  AND, you'll notice the backside of the
baseball is sticky.  You don't want that stuck to your arm
on a hot, sweaty Saturday!

Now cut out your piece of felt.  You'll probably wind up
cutting it just a little smaller.  You want it to lay flat
and fit nicely on the backside of the bracelet, but you want it to
hide the knots from your whip stitching.
DON'T glue it down yet.  You're almost finished...

Sew your button on one end of the bracelet.
Just use a couple of holes at the end.  Come up
through one hole, thread your button on, and go
down through the next hole.  Now
tie a knot on the back so the button
is tight and secure.

See?  Like this.  Now your pretty button
is on top of the baseball, and ready to create
the fastener.

On the opposite end of the bracelet, attach
a small piece of the elastic cord to create a
loop.  This is what fastens on to your button
to close the bracelet.  I like for it to have just a little
bit of stretch to fit over the button.  That way
your bracelet will fit snugly and not come off.

Now you are ready for the glue.  You just need a little.
It helps that the back of the baseball is already sticky.
Make a small, thin layer on the back of the baseball
and place your felt backing on...

See how that hides all of the knots from your sewing?
And the ugly knots from the elastic?

Let the glue dry and you are all set.
Put your bracelet on and wow everyone at the game!

You can wear it either way.  With the button
at the top or the bottom!