Cobbler ♥ ♥

It’s summer and that means longer days, grilling out, fresh produce, and COBBLER! I ♥  Cobbler! I ♥  it particularly during the summer when you can get fresh berries and fruits. That said I never turn it down any other time made with frozen or canned berries and fruit. Over the last month or so Nick and I have been attempting to eat a little better in an effort to lose a little weight. So cobblers have been explicitly banned from being made; however, I broke that rule yesterday.

Thursday during a moment of weakness I decided watch Paula Deen on the Food Network, never a good idea if you are trying to diet. Amongst other tasty and fattening things Paula was making a Peach and Blueberry Cobbler and it looked FABULOUS! So I decided to break the Cobbler ban and try the Peach and Blueberry combination.

I did not make Paula Deen’s exact cobbler recipe since it required a dutch oven AND I have a full proof cobbler recipe of my own given to me by . . .you guessed it . . .my Mom.  Our cobbler recipe is very easy and allows you to substitute any kind of fruit and berry you want. I  have used this recipe many times in a pinch if I need to take something somewhere or we have someone coming over. So without further ado here it is . . . .

 

CRAZY CRUST COBBLER

1 stick butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. self-rising flour
1/2 c. milk
1 to 2 cups of milk
Melt butter in oblong pane (about 8X12X2). Make batter of sugar, flour, and milk. Place fruit in pan on top of butter. Pour batter over fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until brown.
**Note: You may use any kind of fruit.

 

By the way, one of my favorite fruit combinations on this cobbler is blueberry and pineapple. I know it may sound a little crazy but trust me it is FABULOUS!

Here are some pics of my Blueberry and Peach Cobbler, I got it a little too juicy but it was still really good.

 

May the rest of your summer be filled with yummy cobblers! As for us it is back on the good eating train, but it sure was nice while it lasted!

Happy Baking!!

Our Favorites from CHARLESTON

Last week Nick and I took a wonderful and much needed mini-vacation to Charleston, SC. We had visited Charleston a couple of years ago for a day while we were vacationing in Myrtle Beach. This time we stayed for 3 nights and enjoyed every minute of it! When we decided to head to Charleston for our trip we had a lot of friends who made recommendations for things for us to do and places to eat. Sadly, we were not able to take in everything that was recommended to us, but everything we did do (which was quite a bit) was FABULOUS! So with that in mind I present to you our FAVORITES from this Charleston trip.

Side note: We really enjoyed taking pictures on this trip so bare with me if this blog has one pic to many. It is all in the name of getting used to my camera.

FOLLY BEACH

My parents vacation in Folly Beach just about every year and they absolutely love it. So we knew when we were heading for Charleston that we had to make sure to visit. Folly Beach was actually the 1st place we went before we even checked into our hotel. We drove straight to the Folly Beach Pier from our house in under 5 hours (no we did not even make a pit stop on the way down!) So needless to say when we arrived we were ready for some food and a restroom. Luckily, they had all of that at the pier. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the pier and then walked around for a bit taking in the beach and the down town Folly area. Boy was it HOT (102F to be exact).  Despite the heat which stayed with us for the remainder of the trip we had a great time exploring and have decided that we will be hitting Folly Beach the next time we take a beach vacation!

 

 

 

FORT SUMTER

Nick and I also had the opportunity to visit Fort Sumter,the site where the Civil War began. We took a 3o minute ferry ride out to the Fort where we got to see some of the beautiful Charleston Harbor views and some DOLPHINS (sorry I do not have any pics, it happened too fast). We had an hour to tour Fort Sumter, which really given the size is plenty of time. I am kind of into Civil War History so Fort Sumter was a really neat experience for me, but even if you are not so into the Civil War I would still recommend visiting Fort Sumter. It was truly a neat experience!

Fort Sumter

 

The cannons

 

 

 

 

Nick at Fort Sumter

POOGAN’S PORCH

One place I was determined to eat at in Charleston was Poogan’s Porch.  My dear brother in-law and sister in-law, John & Nicole, actually ate there before they got engaged. So sweet! Anyway, I made a reservation for us at Poogan’s and was so EXCITED! The restaurant is located in an old house in Downtown Charleston, and is very charming. Not to mention that the food was FABULOUS! The jumbo scallops were to die for!  Now we did have one small issue at Poogan’s Porch. While we were eating the ceiling started leaking. Yeah, it was not great but our waiter was mortified and very apologetic AND we got free dessert (BONUS!) So in spite of the leaky ceiling incident I would eat at Poogan’s Porch again!

 

 

Help us Droid, we are lost in Downtown Charleston!

 

 

 

Me in front of the restaurant.

 

Poogan- The dog the restaurant was named for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boone Hall Plantation

Nick and I really enjoyed Boone Hall Plantation, and we took a ton of pics of it. It is the most photographed plantation after all! I think this mostly due to the BEAUTIFUL live oaks that line the drive up to the house (see pics below). There are several different Plantations you can visit in SC and I feel like this one is a pretty good value. Your admission got you access to pretty much everything, house tour, ground tour, Gullah Culture presentation, etc. Some of the other plantations are on more of an a la carte system, which can get kind of pricey. One drawback to Boone Hall is that although the house on the property is really nice, it is not original. On the other hand the plantation is still a working farm, which I think is pretty cool.

 

  

ANGEL OAK

Ohh the Angel Oak, if you ever get anywhere near Charleston you have to go. Simply AMAZING! It is a little bit off the beaten path but so worth it. The Angel Oak is considered to be one of the oldest trees east of the Mississippi River and it is HUGE. I am not really sure if my words can do it justice, so, you guessed it, we’ve got PICTURES!

 

 

 

 

Well, as you can see we covered a lot of ground in Charleston and had a FABULOUS time! It was an A+ mini-vacation. I will leave you now with one last picture . . .

That’s right the GREEN SHIRT made it to Charleston. Gotta love it!

4th of July Fun!!!- Part 2

As promised here is Part 2 of our fun filled 4th of July weekend. I am only about week late getting the post up due to frantic packing for our Charleston trip.

The fun continued on July 5th with a cookout/carport party at my parents house. We had a great time at this cookout visiting with family and also some good friends of the family Barbara and Russell. As expected our 4th of July eating continued and we had some more FABULOUS food! Along with the expected burgers which were wonderful, we also had some bacon wrapped chicken breast which were particularly yummy! My Mom also fixed a scrumptious fruit bowl, which counted as our healthy eating for the entire weekend.

Here are some pics of the Callahan Cookout:

My Mom and Nick checking out the Ipad

 

My Mom and me

 

My Parents- aren’t they cute!?

 

With my Dad

Jennifer

Barbara & Russell

 

Along with the great cookout fun I also got in some photography practice at my parent’s house. Here are some of the good ones:

A great picture of my parents cat Bob.

 

Sparrow on my Mom’s bird feeder.

 

Redbirds in the tree

The 5:30 bee swarm at my parent’s hive.

 

And of course some pictures of the bees . . .

 

 

 

 

Kinda looked like she was looking at me.

One last solo bee shoot . . .

 

All in all, a fun time was had by all and we can’t wait to do it again next year!!

Be on the lookout for the Charleston Trip blog coming later this week (hopefully).

4th of July Fun!!!

Well, Nick and I have had a wonderful 4th of July Weekend and there is more to come this evening! The main event for us on the 4th was a big cookout at our friend Rock’s house followed by watching the Jonesborough  Fireworks.

The cookout was FABULOUS and we had so much FUN! First off we got to see our good friends Clint and Sara, who we literally have not seen in probably a year and a half. Clint & Sara were part of our core group of friend’s when we were in the College & Career Sunday School class at Cherry Grove Baptist. Most of our friends from that class have scattered to other places and we do not get to see each other as often as we would like. SO that is why it was such a huge treat to get to see them, and seriously we have got to figure out a way to get together more often! Also a big Congratulations to Clint and Sara to there 2nd bundle of joy coming in December!  So happy for you all!

Now one thing that I got to do at Rock’s house that I literally have not done in years was play in the POOL and we had a BLAST! The highlight of the pool was the slightly rickety slide that the brave crazy guys took turns going down. Nicole and I wisely just floated around and watched all the madness.

On a side note this was one of the first outings for my new Land’s End tankini, and it went really well. A few good friends of mine had recommended Land’s End to me for bathing suits so I ordered one. I was a little apprehensive when I first got it, I thought it looked a bit icky. But after wearing in the water, I am very happy with it. If you need a new swim suit I highly recommend them, it is well worth the price!

Now back to the cookout action!

If you swim in Rock’s pool you gotta follow the rules!

Nicole and I just floating!

John sliding head first! I would like to report that no one was injured but John did say, “It was better than any amusement park ride.”

Rock hitting the water

John the dare devil going again . . .

He made it out alive!

Finally, the epic John slide picture! Yes, this is live action people!

Nick went down to, we just failed to capture the moment!

Jacob our trusty lifeguard checking out the slide conditions.

Good food + good friends+ pool time+ rickety slide+ fireworks= A GOOD TIME! And we certainly had one!

Now on to our next engagement, a cookout at my parents tonight. Let the eating continue! Check the blog tomorrow for pics and a full rundown!

I would be remiss if I let Independence Day get by without honoring those that have fought and are fighting now so we can enjoy all our freedoms. My sister-in law, Megan posted a note on Facebook about how Freedom isn’t Free! I totally agree with this. Many have paid with there lives and their time so that we can enjoy our Freedom.  Thank you to all that have! From our house to yours Happy Independence Day!