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!

​It looks like we have another week of cool weather so a soup recipe will still hit the spot!  Even though it has been cool and cloudy the birds in our neighborhood have been very vocal in the morning, singing their little hearts out! We have a chickadee busy building a nest in our out door old fashioned water pump. they have done this other years and then fuss at us when we sit outdoors, too close for their comfort!
Asparagus says spring to me, I had some last week that tasted so good, my favorite way to fix it is to roast it but we like this soup too!
 
Cream of Asparagus Soup
 
2 # asparagus
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
6 Tablespoons flour
2 cans chicken broth
2 cups half and half
1 Tablespoon dill weed
salt and pepper
 
Break off asparagus bottoms and discard, cut off tips into 2 inch pieces. Melt butter , add cut up asparagus and onion . Cook 8-10 minutes, reserve tips of asparagus. Add flour. blend and cook 1 minute, add broth, cook 10 minutes. Puree in small batches in blender , return to pan add half and half, dill week, salt and pepper, reheat gently then add the asparagus tips. Serve hot or cold.
 
Have a great week and stay safe!

The robins are bathing in our bird bath, it seems a little chilly for that but they seem to be enjoying it! My tulips, poppies, daffodils, crocus and lilies are up, even my chives are tall enough to use, I hope that Mother nature doesn’t throw us a curve!  My daughter Mary and her family are coming for Easter, our son John and his family the weekend after Easter we are starting slow, so we still can practice social distancing, it has been a long year and I truly don’t think there will be a big change for most of the summer. We have both gotten both our vaccines so are feeling a little safer. Now on to the recipe, I always think strawberries feel like spring, hope you enjoy this one!
 
Strawberry Spinach Pasta Salad
 
8 oz. of penne noodles, or your pasta of choice, cooked according to package directions
2 cups packed fresh baby spinach leaves
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup dried cranberries, or dried blue berries
1/2 cup salted cashews
 
Orange poppy seed Dressing:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon
3 Tablespoons honey
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tsp. poppy seeds
optional: pinch of salt and pepper
 
Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar, cover, shake well, set aside
Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the prepared dressing.
Serve immediately or cover and chill for 1 hour before serving!
 
Have a great week, Happy Easter and stay safe!