Carnival #124

Rina is our hostess today for edition #124 of the Make it from Scratch carnival. Find it at Gotta Little Space. As always she has given as a fabulous carnival. Some of my favorites this week:

Saucy Summer Squash Skillet

Yes, my garden is still producing A LOT of squash. Yes, I'm still loving it! Yes, I'm still looking for different ways to prepare it!

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

These look sooooo good!

Grasshopper Pie

Haven't had this in so long. I had forgotten about it. Yummy!

Hope you enjoy the carnival this week!

Campfire Delight

We've had several bonfires this summer to entertain the kids and enjoy the peaceful evenings. While roasting marshmallows and making s'mores is a great campfire treat, it doesn't take long to get burned out on them. I came up with this idea in a desperate attempt to fulfill the kid's fascination of cooking in the fire and my need to eat something besides an oversized toasted marshmallow.

Don't have any campfire plans this summer? You can still make these in your oven at home. They take very little time to prepare and are just as tasty as if there were made on the open fire.

Items Needed

aluminum foil or foil cupcake tins
assorted berries (rasberries, strawberries, blueberries, etc)
oats
puffed rice cereal
chocolate chips
marshmallows
grill grate or baking pan (optional)

Here's how to make it!
I use more berries, oats, and rice cereal than chocolate chips and marshmallows to make it slightly healthier. Layer berries, chocolate chips, oats, rice cereal, and marshmallows on top of a piece of foil large enough to wrap into a packet. Carefully place foil packets on a skillet, grill grate, etc and put onto your fire. (The skillet or grill grate isn't necessary but makes it easier to remove from the fire.) Cook for 5 minutes and allow to cool slightly before opening berry packets. Everything should be melted and bubbly good and better for you than those tasty s'mores!

What other campfire treats will you make this summer?

Find other recipe and craft ideas at Frugal Front Porch.

Hillbilly Lemonade

~Heather also blogs at HEATHER LESSITER/It's All for the Best and The Fat Bottomed Girl.~

One of the simplest pleasures of summer is a tall glass of cold, sweet lemonade. If you enjoy the taste of homemade lemonade, but don't have the time to make it, here is a great recipe we got in West Virginia last year. I guess it's more of a tip than a recipe, but you can make that call.

Begin by mixing up a gallon of lemonade with powdered lemonade mix. Country Time is what was recommended, but I've made it with the Aldi's brand and with the brand I got at Save A Lot; all of them worked equally well for me.

Next, slice up an orange and add it to the lemonade. I squeeze my orange slices a bit when I add them and I let it marinate overnight. That's it! The result is a more flavorful and tasty lemonade than you'll get from the package with minimal effort.

Stuffed Zucchini

My zucchini plants are fulfilling their stereotypical role, and producing like crazy. I'm not complaining. After a couple of years of almost no harvest, thanks to garden pests, I am saying "Bring it on." The plants seem to be up for the challenge.

Eventually I will freeze some, but for now we are enjoying the fresh veggies in a variety of ways. My favorite way to eat zucchini (or other summer squash) is to slice it in thick strips lengthwise, marinate in Italian dressing and then cook on the grill. Of course, zucchini is also great deep fried. And there is always zucchini bread. This week we tried something new, stuffed zucchini.

It turned out wonderfully! I found the best way to scrape out the zucchini was with a melon baller. Worked like a charm.

If you would happen to have a few zucchini that hide from you until they are enormous, like the one pictured below, the absolute best way to use them is to make Zucchini Strudel. I will be making some very soon.

We will be enjoying the zucchini harvest while we can. Any other suggestions for new ways to fix this prolific vegetable?

Carnival #123

This morning the carnival is at Kitchen Stewardship. There are some truly beautiful things included in this week's carnival. Some of them are edible, and some are not. Be sure to see them all at Kitchen Stewardship, but here are a few of my favorites from this week's carnival.

Bacon Recipe

Just had to included this one for my husband. We raise our own pork, and he really wants to build a smoker to cure our bacon and hams. Here is a recipe for you honey! ;)

Secret Ingredient Cinnamon Bread

Her "secret" ingredient is growing like crazy in my garden. I made something fabulous with them last night. I'll be sharing that recipe here on Thursday, but I could always use more ideas.

Walnut-Oat Pie Crust

I simply adore cheesecake, and the graham cracker crust it is most often served on. Katie offers a an alternative that sounds delicious, and is healthier. I'll be trying this with my next cheesecake.

Enjoy the carnival this week!

Pretty, Simple, and Economical

If you're looking for something pretty, simple, and economical to serve to you friends the next time they visit, or to take to the next potluck, the answer may be found in your flower bed. Stuffed daylily flowers are beautiful alternatives to sandwiches.

Almost all parts of daylilies (but not tiger lilies) are edible, but I like the flowers the best for the color and beauty that they add to a dish. They also add a nice crunch and flavor. They can be added to salads or stuffed as shown in this picture.

To Make Stuffed Daylily

Pick as many flowers as you'd like to serve. They are best picked in the morning. If you pick stems, the unopened buds will open if the stem is kept in water. Gently wash the flowers and remove the center parts of the flower. They usually come out easily with a gentle twist and pull.

Make your favorite sandwich salad. Pictured is a very simple salmon and tuna salad. Making your sandwich mix a little on the dry side will help your stuffed flowers to stay looking pretty.

Use a melon baller to scoop your sandwich mix into the center of the flower. Serve or chill covered.

More on eating daylily.

Firsts on the First - Cooking Lobster Tails

Some time back a friend gave us two frozen lobster tails. We love seafood, but rarely indulge in it. We were thrilled to get these lobster tails. I promptly put them in the freezer, and there they sat.

I could offer the excuse that six people and two lobster tails just doesn't add up, but the truth of it is I really didn't know what to do with them. I've boiled whole live lobsters before, but was at a loss for how to prepare these frozen appendages of the lobster. This week I decided to figure it out.

With three children visiting grandparents for the week, I figured it was the perfect time for my husband and I (and our youngest) to indulge in our free crustacean parts. And what to do when your at a loss for how to do something? Well, Google it of course. I found lots of different ideas. Most were very simple.

I already planned to grill some fresh veggies from the garden, so I decided to grill the lobster tails too. First, I thawed them. Then brushed them with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Then I placed them on a preheated grill at medium heat. Turning occasionally, I let them cook until they were a nice red color, about ten minutes.

They were a tad more chewy than I normally expect from lobster, but from what I had read in the recipes I found, that is normal for frozen lobster. They still tasted wonderful, and were so very easy to make. I'll be watching for sales on lobster tails!

Did you try something new? Share your post with us by clicking on the Mr. Linky image below, or by leaving a link in the comments!