Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Easy Summer Delights - YUM

 Thereare many yummy goodies that we can make at home, that taste so much better than any of the jink we can purchase ready-made!  We like using what we have, and we like simple and tasty.  I know I have probably shown these before - but a quick reminder never hurts.

YUM - homemade ice cream sandwiches with homemade or store bought cookies.  I live using graham crackers as well - super yummy if you can find chocolate grahams!  Any cookie will work!

                                                              Banana Apple Bread
Super tasty and easy.  Just know you can switch up fruit and use what you have.  Peaches, apples, banana, shredded zucchini, applesauce, pears, etc.  Have fun with it.  Great way to use lder fruit that needs used and not wasted!

Make up these baggies of dry goods and always be ready for making a batch of brownies.  Great to keep several bags made up (store in a glass jar).  Make great gifts as well.  Just add the wet ingredients when ready and bake.

This was sure a favorite of mine when I was a kid.  I made them often.  It was also a nice treat to come home to after school.  Super easy and yummy.  Get the young-ins involved!

Make your own microwave popcorn.  No chemicals or add ins of junk.  Just tasty and quick popcorn.  This does work.  Use those lunch bags you can get cheaply!

Super inexpensive lunch or dinner.  Can use meat or just veggies - use some cream cheese.  Season the way you like.  I did this for dinner one day this week.  Used softened cream cheese, garlic powder, thin sliced meat and loads of sliced veggies  SOOOOOOOO good.  You can slice up like shown above, or leave like a burrito.  There is no limit to what you can add.

Super tasty treat.  Big cookie, cream cheese mixed with a little sweetener and lots of fruit!  Num-num!
You can make veggie ones as well.  Pizza base or naan bread or tortillas or Italian bread slices - cream cheese and seasoning and top with loads of sliced fresh veggies.  There is no limit to what can be enjoyed.


So there is my weekly treat suggestions!  I hope that maybe these give someone a new and fun idea.  They are all tasty and I have tried them all.  ENJOY and happy eating!

KEEP IT SIMPLE - KEEP IT HOMEMADE - KEEP IT YUMMY

24 comments:

  1. I have seen the 30-Cent brownie mix all over the internet, so I did a little analysis to see what the price would be now. Using WM store brand flour, sugar and cocoa, those three ingredients come to $.69. (salt and baking powder costs are negligible) WM has my favorite Duncan Hines brownie mix for $1.38, twice as much. I just may give this $.69 recipe a try.
    I've been making the meat/veggie/cream cheese burritos for lunch (and sometimes supper) this summer. Very tasty, especially with onion & chive cream cheese.

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    1. Yeah, it has been around a while - so I can well imagine the price is higher. Still a good deal and no extra garbage or preservatives.
      I love the roll-ups/burritos - they are so tasty and just so versatile! I really do love them!

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  2. Stocking a new pantry (as you know) so thanks! All of it looks yummy!

    It's been more than 37 years since I was a newlywed, when I'd already been cooking for a family for 10 years. It's now another adjustment to scaling back cooking/baking for just the two of us. And since we're older, we eat less. Go figure. Just like all those years ago, we've been eating spaghetti and meatballs for days. If I bake a cake, we can't finish it.

    Any tips for smaller batch goodies? --Elise

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    1. Debby in Kansas USAJuly 27, 2022 at 12:05 PM

      Elise, my mom used to make a full batch and freeze it in a paper towel tube. I think she just used plastic wrap and rolled until it fit! When she wanted some, she'd cut the dough off and cook them in her toaster oven!

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    2. Elise, I don't think I ever got used to cooking for 2 - Glen loved leftovers, so making a bigger batch of anything was cool!
      AAs for just me, now I eat for a couple days, re-invent, or freeze for another time.

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    3. Debby, I do that sometimes. I make a batch of rolled cookie dough, then wrap tightly and freeze. Or I make drop cookie dough and flash freeze, then bag - and I can take out 4 or 5 or slice off a bit anytime I want. No need to bake a big batch.

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    4. Elise, I even go a step further than having the dough made up. I have great success with cookies & brownies to go ahead and bake them, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, (or a couple cookies together), then put them in a freezer bag. When needed, pull out and microwave for 25-30 seconds. It’s like having fresh hot cookies and brownies. Also cakes, I do kind of the same. If it’s a sheet cake, I put pieces in a freezer proof storage pan, leaving a gap between pieces so they don’t stick together, then pull out and let thaw on the counter. If it’s a layer cake, I put pieces on small paper plates and slide inside a quart size freezer bag, & again let thaw on the counter. It works great for us. Hope that helps. Vicky in Ky

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    5. I'm a single-person household (widow) and simply do my best to cut a recipe that serves 4 in half. That gives me dinner + leftovers to either have for lunch the next day or to repurpose into something else. For something like meatloaf, I'll cook one in a mini loaf pan and put the rest in the freezer.
      Cookies and such, I just have to seal half in a ziplock and get them out of sight, LOL!!!! If I'm using premaid mixes for cakes, brownies, etc., I tend to go with the Jiffy mixes, simply due to the smaller quantity they make.

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  3. Debby in Kansas USAJuly 27, 2022 at 12:11 PM

    I love those pinwheel sandwiches. So good and simple. A tasty seasoning on the cream cheese is that Everything but the Bagel. If you keep frozen chicken breast, it's even easier. Cooked.

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    1. I have heard of that seasoning, but have never had it. I keep hearing how tasty it is. May have to give it a try. I just use my standard tried and trues!!

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  4. Hi - I want to make those pinwheel sandwiches - Good for these 'Too hot to cook days' - What kind of bread do you use? (Been buying them in Publix Deli case @ $3.98 for 4 - way too expensive !!) Thanks for all the great tips-I read them everyday.

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    1. I use tortillas. You can get various sizes. You can also make tortillas - super easy to make. Depends on how hungry or how many I want to make. I may use burrito size or I may use next size down. Super easy to use and roll. Lay them out and put your ingredients on them and roll - that is it!
      I love these things - they make a great meal

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    2. I was lazy one day when I needed an appetizer for a meeting. I took three tortillas. I spread the roll up filling on one, topped with another, then another layer of filling then the third tortilla. I then used my pizza cutter to cut into eighths. Seemed easier to me. Granted not as pretty but everyone thought I did something

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    3. I hit something and cut sent early. Boo! Anyway, everyone seemed to think I did something pretty neat. As I said, I was lazy but rushed for time.
      I like making a knock off sorta caprese salad when we have fresh tomatoes. Slice tomatoes, top with a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers. Then top with a dressing made with a bit if sugar, pepper, salt, olive oil, flavored vinegar and Dijon mustard whisked together. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella and snipped basil. A very refreshing and pretty salad. Really a welcome dish at summer potlucks as most welcome fresh veggies in the summer.

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    4. Sounds like a perfect way to do the tortillas to me. Easy-peasy. There are so many things you can use tortillas with - they have very little taste, so they are a great accessory for other items.
      The salad sounds divine. I just love this time of year with so many fresh veggies - there is no limit to what you can do. It is ALL good!!!!

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  5. I would love all those! Tommy says he hates cream cheese. But, when I cook things he does "not like," he eats them and declares them delicious. He even ate pimientos. However, he still balks at mushrooms. But, that is okay because he picks them out and gives them to me.

    Cooking for a crowd works for us because we eat until it is gone. Sometimes, when we cook three or five meats in one day, we do freeze immediately.

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    1. Bulk cooking is a great way to things. I usually just make more of one thing, then eat and freeze. I have never purposely done bulk cooking. I am not that disciplined!

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  6. Tortillas, especially homemade, are a vehicle for all sorts of goodies! Making up cookie dough and freezing it would be an excellent idea for us. Too many desserts we make are too large and we are eating on till we are sick of it.

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    1. I love using tortillas. They are great as you say.
      Yes, freezing dough allows one t have treats but not too many!

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  7. Elise,
    The English Kitchen does a lot of recipes for 1 or 2 servings. And she has other recipes, too. The ones I've tried are VERY good!!!
    Nana Kay

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    1. Thanks - will check that out!!!! Always like a new idea! There you go Elise!!!!

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  8. I planned on making unbaked cookies yesterday, but time got away from me. I hope to get them made today.

    God bless.

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    1. YUM - eat one for me. I haven't made those in ages!

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  9. When I was a kid, my mom sometimes used the hard dry Chinese noodles in place of oatmeal in the no-bake cookies. I also seem to remember her using coconut as a substitute, too, or maybe that was just for part of the oatmeal???? Think I'm going to need to experiment.

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