To Eat Or Not To Eat Sweets

Girls camp is over and done. I am still recovering from not only camp itself, but also the process to get ready for camp. I don't think I slept for 3 days before camp and then up at camp itself. It was worth it though. Our camp theme was a Standard to the Nations, and our camp was Holland. We were spoiled by our camp chef. We had some traditional food from Holland. My favorite was the boterkuek, the dutch butter cake. It was delicious!
Camp is a time when most of us way overeat sweets. I did work to drink enough water. I still had a headache on Thursday morning, not sure if it was from being dehydrated or overtired. I tried to keep from eating too many sweets at camp. I actually came home with several sweets I had taken up unopened. :) I can't say the same for the girls!
This week I finally have a little time to enjoy some of my summer. I have a couple of big projects to do for school, but I am also going to take it easy! Sleep in, read just because, and watch Anne of Green Gables. I also hope to spend a little bit of time in the kitchen, and maybe I will pick up my guitar again. I really should spend the time cleaning....Mom and I did go through the record cupboard today!
Speaking of summer and summer reading, I have a new favorite author at the moment. I was introduced to Shannon Hale's books, and I have read several this summer. Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets, and Princess Academy. I have Austenland to read as well, but right now I am working on Throstleford by Susan Evans McCloud, and then, Saboteur by Dean Hughes. If you get a chance, I recommend Shannon Hale. I also read a funny book I highly recommend- How to Stuff a Wild Zucchini. (Sorry I don't remember the author.) Some of the rest of my summer reading includes Stone Tables by Orson Scott Card (his version of the story of Moses), Fablehaven 4 and Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull, and Look at the Sky by George D. Durrant.
Well, I guess that is all for tonight, with the exception of my recipe. What else would I include, but a recipe for something sweet? Maybe one day I will have the recipe for boterkuek. Until then, this will have to do.

Maple-Glazed Sweet Potatoes
1 can sweet potatoes
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup maple-flavored syrup
1/2 cup apple cider or juice
In a large saucepan, heat sweet potatoes and sauce ingredients over medium heat. Stir regularly. I put a lid on to help in the glazing process. I cooked mine for 20 minutes or so. I wouldn't have minded letting it go another 10 or so minutes.
These sweet potatoes had a nice autumnal flavor. Not my very most favorite way to make them, but it worked for tonight. The original recipe was for baking them, but since it is summer, I didn't want to heat up the oven. So, I took the flavors and created my own version. Mom is tired of the same ol' same ol' recipes. So I am trying some new recipes out. I like sweet potatoes.

I've been a "trifle" busy lately so this will be a "Quickie" post

Hi there! It's Saturday night and I decided it is time to post again. We have company tonight. Janette, Dan, Robyn, and Tory are here. Roger and Heather brought Robyn down and her parents came to pick her up. We had a BBQ at lunch time, then we played a game together. Tonight when it was time to make supper, I almost made a rice pudding. I have a top of the stove version that is quick and easy. I love it. Then, the thought occurred to me to make a Strawberry Banana Trifle, as we have people here to help us eat it!

Janette, Tory, and Robyn helped me make the trifle. We started by cleaning a package of strawberries, cutting up two bananas and dipping them in lemon juice, mixing up a small box of vanilla pudding (banana would have been fine as well), and cutting an angel food loaf into cubes. We layered the trifle in my beautiful trifle bowl in the following order. A layer of cake, followed by strawberries and bananas. I then took a jar of strawberry jam and spooned 1/4th of it into a small bowl and stirred it, then spread it on top of the fruit. We then put a layer of pudding (1/2 of the pudding) followed by 1/2 container (8oz) Cool Whip. Then we repeated each layer in order. We reserved a small amount of fruit for the top. We also sprinkled almond slices on top. Then we refrigerated it for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to combine. Then, we spooned some of the trifle into individual bowls and YUM! It was delicious. After, I thought maybe I could have splashed some of the Strawberry Orange Banana juice I have in the fridge over the cake cubes, but it wasn't necessary. You can play with the trifle idea, using different fruits, yogurt, soft jello, or basically whatever you are in the mood for. We called it Tory's Trifle, but Strawberry Banana Trifle would work as well.

Earlier this week, I made Quickies while David and his family were here. Quickies are just fun and easy to make. Ephiny helped me by measuring the peanut butter and cheerios. It is fun cooking in the kitchen with my family. Here is the Quickies recipe:

In a med-large saucepan combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Do not overcook! When syrup boils, remove from heat and stir in 1 cup peanut butter. When melted, stir in 2 cups Cheerios and mix till cereal is coated. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper quickly before mixture cools and sets. I have stirred chocolate chips in with the cereal before. It makes a fun variation. You could also try different cereal, but I like Cheerios. I have used Multigrain Cheerios with great results. Very kid friendly recipe. Adults generally like them, too!

Well, it is hot here, still up above 80 degrees at 10:30. I think I might go sit on the porch for a moment before heading to bed. Hope all is well with you and yours. Love you tons! Keep posting!

Summer is time for....frozen watermelon?!

Finally! I am home from all my summer conferences...and now I have a couple of weeks before I have another major commitment for my time. YAY! I am so excited to have a little bit of down time. I apologize for my lack of blogging. I thought I would do such a good job this summer. Sorry everyone. I have seen several family members the past month or so, which has been nice. Kathy's family did an amazing job of helping us turn the den into a guest room. Thanks guys! We are still working on decorating and organizing. I'll try to post some pictures when it is finished. We did not have a regular 4th of July, but we did end the day with a BBQ and the fireworks display. Manti did a great job this year with the fireworks. The temple in the background was stunning!
One fun item we had for our dinner (and I also made one down in Cedar with Janette's family) was a frozen treat...a watermelon! I got the idea from a Celebrations cookbook. All it is is that you take lime sherbert, pineapple sherbert, and raspberry sherbert and a few mini chocolate chips and mold them into a watermelon half. I changed the recipe slightly. It was super fun to make and it was fun to serve to my family. Here is what I did when I made it the first time:
Soften 1 pint of Key Lime Pie ice cream (Ben and Jerry's). This is not green however, so once softened, add several drops of green food coloring and stir. Line a medium-sized metal bowl with plastic wrap. Spread a layer of ice cream inside the bowl on the plastic wrap. (This will be the outer layer, the rind). Refreeze for a couple of hours until hard. Soften 1 pint vanilla frozen yogurt (Haagen Daz has a delicious fat free variety). Spread a layer on top of the green layer to form the white part of the rind. Refreeze for a couple of hours. Soften 2 pints of raspberry sorbet or sherbert. Stir in mini chocolate chips for seeds. Spoon into the center of the bowl, filling it completely. Smooth top and add a layer of plastic wrap. Refreeze for several hours or overnight. About 5 minutes before serving remove from bowl onto serving plate. (A kitchen towel run through hot water rubbed over metal bowl works wonders!) Cut into wedges using knives that have been in a glass of hot water. Serve immediately.
This is fun for family reunions and any special occasion. My niece, Tory helped me make the one for her family. I did not get any pictures, but if I make it again this summer, I will take pictures and post them.
Well, it is getting late. It is still hot. I miss the rain and cool weather!
Goodnight everyone! Keep posting and I will as well.