Garden Fresh!

This is the time of year when my fridge is full of things from the garden. I love cucumbers but I can only eat so many before I am done. So I went looking for something super simple to make and I found this Alton Brown's Bread & Butter Pickles you make them in the refrigerator and they are wonderful! Let me share with you!

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon pickling spice

Directions

Combine onion and cucumber slices in a clean spring-top jar.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 4 full minutes to wake up the flavors of the spices.
Slowly pour the hot pickling liquid over the onion and cucumber slice, completely filling the jar. Allow the pickles to cool to room temperature before topping off with any remaining pickling liquid. Refrigerate.
Refrigerate the pickles for a week to ripen. They will keep for about 2 months in the refrigerator.

 

These are just wonderful you will have to give them a try! Thanks again to Food Network for always finding me the perfect recipe. I hope you enjoyed it I know we are!

 

 

Eclair Cake

I love summer parties and this recipe reminds me of my dear friend Vickie! We lost her this past year and this is a treat she always made for a summer picnic. She is missed but this reciepe is my favoirte and I make it often and think of her!

 

Eclair cake is not really a cake but a wonderful pudding dessert that tastes just like an eclair donut! This is one dessert you should make the day before it is better if it sits overnight and blends!

What you need:

2 boxes of instant french vanilla pudding

8 oz. container of cool whip

1 box of graham crackers

1 container of chocolate icing

 

 

 

 

 

I also use a throw away foil pan for this dessert because someone always wants to take the left overs home and then I don't have to worry about getting my pan back.

 

First you need to mix your instant pudding and let it firm up in the fridge. I like to let it sit for at least an hour.

 

 

 

Once the pudding is set you need to take it and mix it with an 8 oz. container of cool whip. Beat this until fluffy and just mixed. If you over beat this it will get runny!

 

 

I always use three layers of graham crackers for this recipe. I layer the bottom of the pan covering all the nooks. You may have to break up the crackers to get them to fit. I doesn't have to be pretty just covered.

 

 

Then you cover with half the pudding cool whip mixture and the then layer with another round of graham crackers.

 

 

Add another layer of pudding cool whip mixture and cover again with graham crackers. Making a nice layered pan of pudding and graham crackers.

 

 

 

Finally take the icing remove the foil seal and pop in the microwave for 15-45 seconds until the icing is melted and lump free. Pour the melted icing over the whole pudding mixture. I use a knife to spread an even layer of the whole thing. Then put in the fridge overnight this hardens the icing and makes the graham crackers soft!

 

 

I promise this will be a HIT! If you love eclair donuts this is the dessert for you!

 

Strawberry Sauce

 

As most of you know strawberries are one of my favorite fruits. I use them on everything in the summer from ice cream to cheese pie to pancakes. I love them! So I thought I might share my super simple strawberry sauce recipe!

 

What you need:

 

1 container of strawberries

3/4 cup sugar or sweetener of your choice

2 tablespoons of corn starch

 

First off you need to wash and cut up all the strawberries into small bite size piece. Then add to a sauce pan the strawberries, sweetener, and corn starch. On a medium low heat continuously stir ingredients until sauce thickens and the smell of cornstarch is gone! You can eat this warm or cool. Make sure to refrigerate it is good for about a week!

 There are so many things you can use this sauce on. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does.

 

Let me know what you think and what you tried my Strawberry Sauce on!

Vanilla Fruit Salad

When summer rolls around and the picnics start I can't wait to make fruit salad. Fruit Salad is my go to bring along for any and all parties we are invited to!

 

 I thought I would share my Vanilla Fruit Salad with you!

 

What you need:

4-6 Fruits that you love

1 packet of Instant Vanilla Pudding

 

I used:

Grapes, Kiwi, Pineapple, Cantaloupe, Strawberries, Blueberries

Bananas ( I add them the day of they get a little mushy!)

 

To start please wash all your fruit! Nice and clean fruit is the best fruit of all! Next peel and cut all fruit into bite size uniform pieces no large chunks! Next mix all fruit together into the bowl stir gently to mix. Once mixed add 3-4 tablespoons of dried instant french vanilla pudding mix and stir gently until all fruit is coated it will look a little funny that is ok!

 

 

 

Put into serving bowl and refrigerate overnight. The pudding mixes with the juice from the fruit and creates a sweet sauce. So no need to add any sugar to sweeten!

This flies so fast at all the picnics we go to and everyone wants to know what I did to the fruit. So this is our little secret! Enjoy!

Cheese Pie!

 

 

When we moved from Maryland to West Virginia in 1998, I had never heard of this recipe! It has since become a go to for my family. We love Cheese Pie! So I figured I would share this one!

 

 

What you need:

1 package of room temperature cream cheese

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tsp. pure vanilla

1 can Bordens Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 tub of Cool Whip

1 Graham Cracker Crust or Oreo Crust

 

Take the room temperature cream cheese (the temperature is important if not room temperature it will be lumpy and have a gross texture!) and add to the mixer.

 

 

Add the Sweetened Condensed Milk and mix until creamy.

 

 

Add the vanilla and then the lemon juice (add the lemon juice last because it can make the cream cheese lumpy also!)

 

 

Once the mixture is well mixed and creamy add a half a tub of Cool Whip and lightly whip until mixed! You can serve this without the Cool Whip but it makes it lighter for summer.

 

 

Add the whipped mixture to the crust of your choice! Refrigerate for at least 4 hours so it sets.

 

 

Strawberry Pie

I love this time of year when you can find strawberries in every store and they are almost to the point of perfection. This pie is one that I found on Pinterest when I first starting pinning and I have made it a few times and it is always a hit for the strawberry lovers out there.

 

All you need is:

3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar 

1 1/2 cups water
3 oz box strawberry Jell-O
2 cups sliced strawberries

Pre-bake a 10" pie shell.

Remove the stems and any bad spots from the strawberries and slice neatly. Line bottom with the sliced strawberries.

 

If your strawberries are a little hard you can cook them for just a few minutes until soft and tender. If yours are ok them just line your pie shell with them neatly!

 

 

Combine cornstarch, sugar and water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened.

 

Add the Jell-O and stir until dissolved. Pour over the strawberries and refrigerate until set.

 

 

Serve with whipped cream or powdered sugar! Hope you love this as much as we do, remember to have a Faith Filled Footstep Kind of day!

Corn the Lazy Way!

My family loves corn on the cob but in the summer time I hate to use my stove. If I can I cook it on the grill I do. Including my corn.

 

 

A few years ago I decided to make corn on the grill. Now on the web you can find a million ways to cook corn but I have found the easiest way ever. All you do is preheat the grill on high to clean all the old gunk off! Once it is clean and hot turn the grill down the medium and add your corn. Don't shuck it don't bother to soak it literally just drop it on the grill! It will start to char on the outside!

 

 

 Once it starts getting dark just remember to turn it. Once it has cooked on medium for 25-30 minutes and is good and charred on the outside remove it.

 

 

 

Now its gonna be hot but now is the time to shuck it! I take a super sharp knife and cut about a 1/2 inch above the part that was connected to the plant. Then squeeze the top and the corn will start to come out. Sometimes you will get one that won't squeeze you then just peel all the skin off!

 

 

This makes the corn super yummy, the silks come right off and you didn't have to wait for a pot of water to boil!