​1 # lean ground beef
1 ( 16 Oz. ) velveeta cheese, cubed
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
4 small potatoes, peeled and diced
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
optional toppings: grated cheddar cheese and bacon bits
 
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks until browned. season generously with salt and pepper and garlic powder.
Drain fat, then wipe out skillet with a paper towel, melt butter in the skillet, then whisk in flour, cook roux for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, then whisk in whole milk, season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and refrigerate until ready to use.
Place beef, along with onion, carrot, celery and potatoes in slow cooker and cover with chicken broth, season with basil and parsley, cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until potatoes are tender. Stir the refrigerated roux mixture add to crock pot along with cheese. Cover again and cook for another 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and soup is thick and smooth. Serve hot topped with grated cheese and bacon bits.
 
Have a great week and stay safe and warm!

​3 sweet onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne, optional
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spread onion rings out in a 9x13-inch baking dish, keeping rings and layers intact, then drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
Place baking dish in oven and roast for 15 minutes, or until softened
Remove onions from oven and raise temperature to 450 degrees.
Combine heavy cream, wine, butter, garlic powder and cayenne in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until butter is melted and bubbles form on the outside edge of cream.
Remove mixture from heat, then pour over pre-roasted onions, sprinkling parmesan cheese over all the onions. Top baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until onions are caramelized  and cheese is golden brown.  Remove dish from oven and serve hot. Enjoy!  Serves 6-8
 
Happy Thanksgiving, stay safe and warm!

1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1/4 cup melted butter
 
Combine and press firmly in the bottom of a 8 inch spring form pan, bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes, cool.
 
14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons orange juice
10 oz. pkg. frozen raspberries with syrup
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
In large bowl combine milk, lemon juice and orange juice beat until smooth add raspberries beat on low until well blended, Fold in whipped cream, pour over crust, freeze until firm, Let set at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
 
This recipe was shared with me by Sue Barnes, I have one in my freezer right now waiting for company! It’s a light, refreshing tasting dessert!
 
Have a great week and stay safe!

Ingredients:
3/4-1 # thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 1/2 # Medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 cloves minced garlic
3 tsp. paprika
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
freshly ground black pepper to taste
 
Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoon lime juice
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes ( optional)
 
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. ( you can warm this if you wish but it does warm when mixed with the pasta)
In a large pot of salted boiling water cook the pasta and drain well.
Place the uncooked shrimp in a medium sized bowl and add the paprika, 3 cloves garlic and pepper.
Heat the coconut oil on medium high heat add the coated uncooked shrimp. Stir constantly while cooking until pink for approx. 6-8+minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp.
Remove from heat and set aside if pasta not ready. In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta, shrimp and sauce mixture and toss. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

​I am recovering from a total Right shoulder replacement, I am so right handed so pretty put a halt to most of my activities! Now at last I am going to PT not in a sling and although slow I feel hope, Pa Lloyd stepped up to the plate big time for which I am very grateful.
 
I think my favorite berry is raspberries, as luck would have it our next door neighbors have raspberry bushes and have shared some with us. The recipe I am sharing with you today can be doubled to use a 9x13 pan but we like the small size that is a better fit for the two of us!
 
Raspberry Almond  Coffee Cake

1 cup fresh raspberries
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup all purpose four
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tablespoons butter. melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup almonds
 
Icing:
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tsp. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
 
In a small bowl, combine raspberries and brown sugar, set aside.
 
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. In a small bowl whisk the egg, sour cream, butter and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon half of the batter into a greased 8 inch round baking pan. Top with raspberry mixture, spoon the remaining batter over raspberries; then sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted  near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. In a small bowl, combine the icing ingredients, drizzle over coffee cake. Serve warm.
 
Have a great week and stay safe!

​We are having typical Minnesota weather, chilly one day and steamy hot the next!  It seemed like it was too warm for the birds, there weren’t as many at our feeders yesterday! I don’t blame them I would stay in the shade of trees too if I were them. Todays recipe comes from my friend Helga Anderson everyone who tries them give them rave reviews. I am writing the recipe as it was written but Helga uses 3/4 cup butter in the glaze and says they freeze well.
 
Zucchini Fruit Bars
 
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini ( do not press liquid out)
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, do not drain
1 tsp. vanilla
 
Glaze:
1 cup butter ( Helga uses 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp. vanilla
chopped nuts
 
Topping:
coconut
 
Combine bar ingredients in a large bowl; beat. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan. Sprinkle with coconut. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-27 minutes.
 
While bars are baking prepare glaze by mixing all ingredients in a sauce pan, except for the nuts. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly spoon hot glaze over hot bars. It will seem like a lot of glaze but the bars will absorb the glaze. Sprinkle nuts on top!
 
Have a great week!

​The rain we received was enough to revive my flowers and rhubarb! We only got 1/2 inch so hope we get more this week. My foxglove are in full bloom I love them, and the birds are keeping us busy refilling the feeders. Love the sunshine mornings and all of the activity in our back yard!  I often make a coconut impossible pie so I was anxious to try todays recipe, I liked it, hope you do too.
 
Impossible Rhubarb Pie
 
2 1/2 cups rhubarb, cut up
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
 
Streusel topping:
2 Tablespoons firm butter
1/2 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts
 
Arrange rhubarb in a greased 9-inch pit plate. Mix remaining ingredients in a blender and blend for 2 minutes. Pour over rhubarb, let set for 5 minutes. Combine streusel ingredients and sprinkle over top. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Serve warm or cool.
 
Have a great week!

​Such a welcome Mother’s day gift yesterday, when I observed three male Orioles at my ready and waiting grape jelly, oranges and nectar Oriole feeders! I have had them ready since May 1st, so far only Robins and finches had been visiting! A sure sign that spring is here, now if it would just warm up some! My Grandson Nik spent the afternoon with us yesterday, this week he leaves for a summer job in central North Dakota at a fish hatchery , one of his duties will to inspect boats that are entering or leaving the lake. He will be 8 hours from home so I doubt if he will be home much. I was grateful for his help in mulching my flowers. Pa Lloyd had shoulder surgery last week so has an arm in a sling for 6 weeks, I think he just wants to get out of doing dishes!! Anyway  it was a treat to have Nik with us, a real Mother’s day gift!
 
I love cooked onions so I get excited when I spot Vidalia onions in the grocery store. Today I am sharing a favorite recipe for cooked onions which by the way is a great topping for baked potatoes.
 
Roasted Parmesan creamed onions
 
3 sweet onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne, optional
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spread onion rings out in a 9x13- inch baking dish, keeping rings and layers intact, then drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 15 minutes or until softened. Remove onions from oven and raise temperature to 450 degrees. Combine heavy cream, wine, butter, garlic butter and cayenne in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until butter is melted and bubbles form on the outside edge of cream. Pour over pre-roasted onions, sprinkling parmesan cheese over all the onions. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until onions are caramelized and cheese is golden brown. Serve hot.
 
Have a great week and stay safe!

It seems all we have been able to get is rain sprinkles, I do hope one of these days we get a good 1-2 inch rain shower! My flowers need rain desperately. At least it is supposed to warm up so perhaps I can get my window boxes planted. I want to have my four year old great granddaughter Lydia over to help me plant. That should prove interesting, she loves to be outdoors.


I don’t do as much baking as I used to but Pa Lloyd had a birthday and I had a supply of blueberries on hand so I made a blueberry coffee cake. It should have lasted the two of us much longer than it did. I am sharing the recipe with you, hope that you will like it too. It did not need any glaze or even a sprinkle of powdered sugar.


Blueberries and Cream coffee cake


1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup fresh blueberries


Streusel filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon  Mix together and set aside.


In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes, add eggs, one at a time beating well after each, beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Fold in blueberries.  Spoon half of batter into a prepared tubed (like a Bundt pan) , then sprinkle on half of the streusel mixture, then rest of cake batter, lastly the last half of the streusel mixture. Cut through the batter with a knife to swirl the brown sugar mixture. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. You can dust with powdered sugar before serving if you wish.


Have a great week and stay safe!