Storm Clouds and a surprise

Beautiful storm clouds rolling in over the marina tonight.  The kids had just enough time to enjoy the surprise of our new boat, “Chasin’ Chances” before the storm hit.

Even Grandma had time to look it over

It was a race against clouds to get back home, close all the windows and tuck the animals in before the rain…and we won 🙂

2 Ingredient Lemon Bars

I know this sounds too crazy to be true but it is!  These lemon bars are FABULOUS!!  And you don’t have to share your easy recipe with friends letting them think you slaved over a long recipe to make them something special!

These bars are a perfect light dessert and sure to be a hit anytime they are served.

1 box angel food cake mix

1 22 oz can Lemon Pie Filling

Gently fold all together in a bowl and pour into a greased cake pan (9×13)

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until the top is perfectly browned as in the picture.

NOTE:  this batter “puffs” up as it bakes.  As it cools it will fall down which gives the bars their moist/delicious texture.  You can see in the pictures the “puffy” version right out of the oven and after about 8 minutes of cooling it has dropped.

Once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Cut into bars and ENJOY 🙂

DIRECTIONS:

1 box angel food cake mix

1 22 oz can Lemon Pie filling

Powdered sugar for dusting

Gently fold the cake mix/lemon filling together until all blended

Spread in a greased cake pan (9×13)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (or top is evenly browned and batter is puffed up)

Remove and let the cake settle

After cool dust with powdered sugar

Greek Yogurt Apple Pie Bread

This is truly one of the easiest breads to make.  I have shared a few other recipes (under Breads category) using greek yogurt.  I made this one yesterday and it was gone in less than 10 minutes.  It may look similar to a cinnamon roll but this is a bread so a bit less sweet and more dense.

You can see how I made it on my Facebook page here:  Greek Yogurt Apple Pie Bread

Can’t you just smell them???

So pretty, delicate and full of scent.  I wish they could bloom all summer

Meatball Burgers

This is a great make ahead burger as it is just as delicious reheated!  You can see how I make our Meatball Burgers on my Facebook page here:  Meatball Burgers

Busy time of year

Between school, sports, farm work, gardening, and work, the days are shorter and shorter it seems. I’ve neglected my blog these past few days for sure!

Here is an update on what’s been happening in our world.

The plants we started in the greenhouse in March are all nicely tucked into the ground! Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Zucchini, Summer and Butternut Squash, Celery, lettuce, Sweet Corn, Gem Corn, Pumpkins, Gourds, Cucumbers, Peppers, Carrots, Potatoes, and sweet Onions to name a few.

The chickens are busy at work and we are keeping our customers stocked on their farm fresh eggs.

An elderly gentlemen who has come to get manure for his gardens from us for the past few years brought some apples as a gift for the man of the house helping him load his buckets and get them in his garden.  He is too weak now but finds the strength to garden!  These apples are a true gift especially to the boy of the house who informed me a few weeks ago we only had 2 containers of our homemade applesauce left.  I told him it was not apple season yet and I would pick up a jar at the store if we needed it.  His response was priceless “you can BUY that??”.

A game of “Goat Army” was played.  Hard to get those goats to fall in line!

This is the last time the “tween queen” will cut the grass as a “tween”.  She will celebrate her 13th birthday on Monday.

A beautiful walk around the Buffalo, NY waterfront while the boy was at his hockey practice.  It was great to sneak out for a 45 minute walk!  I’ll post more about that at another time with a few more pictures to share!

And tonight we ended the long work day with a great bonfire!

Back to work tomorrow making crockpot applesauce, seeding some pastures, a memorial service for a friend’s father, and a soccer game for the boy!

How do your gardens grow….

I had quite a few plants getting to big for the greenhouse and ready to plant.  I started with the gem corn and pumpkins in the ground in the first picture as well as a row of marigolds right along the fence line. **If you don’t know what Gem Corn is, you can read about how I received mine here:  Gem Corn.

The containers are holding peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and the yellow bin has our carrots.  I like using a longer, tall bin as I mix sand in with the soil which produces longer carrots.  This is how they looked last year:

I then put in the peppers, cabbage and brussel sprouts and the sweet corn in the distance.  In between the corn plants are green beans as they are a good companion plant to grow with the corn.

And in the second garden bed the lettuce is well underway along with kale, radish seeds and the second planting of romaine seeds.  The grape vines are starting to grow in the background.

Staggering your plantings will keep your plates plentiful with fresh veggies all season long and also into the winter months if you store them correctly.  You will not have all your lettuce ready to harvest at once as well as beans, peas, tomatoes, celery, etc.  It’s a little more work but worth it!!

Let the busy season begin 🙂

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day to all the children, fur baby, and animal moms today!  I hope you all have a great day!!

Beauty

Beautiful sunset over Navy Island and Canada

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there!  I hope it’s a special, relaxing day for all

Beau

Painted Clouds

Yesterday evening the clouds with the sun behind them were so beautiful it looked like they were painted in a perfect sky.  Sitting on our back deck chatting with my mother and watching the kids jump on the trampoline after a very long day of housework, barn chores, and gardening, it was the perfect scene to relax with especially with one of my favorite beautiful trees coming back to life after the winter.  I love that weeping willow tree!