It’s the first long weekend of the summer here, and definitely time do some barbequing. We made these yummy and easy cheese and bacon sliders, and corn on the cob. It doesn’t get much better than that. I’ve kind of fallen in love with these mini burgers, especially now that the mini buns are available everywhere. Everything seems to taste better when it’s mini, and you can have a few.

I made easy mini burgers with a pound of lean beef and one envelope of onion soup mix -that’s it, so simple.

We grilled them up and served them with cheese and a slice of bacon -cause every things better with bacon. Yum. Let the summer barbequing officially begin!

Happy Friday!

This year for Mother’s Day I decided to put together a little brunch, and invite my Mom and my BFF. We had a lovely time, and my husband did most of the cooking so I could enjoy it too.

I was inspired by the beautiful spring weather to use yellow as the colour scheme for the party. I don’t own a lot of yellow, but since I used yellow with white, I didn’t really need too much. A few strategic hits of yellow had a big impact. I started out wanting to do a grouping of pom poms and paper lanterns over my kitchen table, that incorporated my fun light. I made paper doily pom poms, and used some yellow paper lanterns for big impact.

For the table I used a simple white linen runner, and layered on some simple sweet yellow candles with some garden bouquets in mason jars. I don’t have many yellow flowers, so I used white, added some yellow spray roses that I bought, and tied the jars with different yellow ribbons. I love how it turned out.

I wanted to eat outside in the sun, so we set up the table buffet style. I found pretty polka dot napkins, and these sweet yellow striped paper straws.

For drinks we served Irish tea, along with lemonade for the little girls, and mimosas for the grown ups. I found this bottle with the fun stopper at the dollar store. The colour didn’t match our decor, so I wrapped it in a paper doily and ribbon. I love how it turned out.

I decided to serve granola with yogurt, honey and berries, so we could make our own parfaits. I made homemade granola for the first time, and it was a hit. I found the recipe here at “theKitchn“. My guests loved it so much that I sent them all home with a little for their breakfast the next day!

We also served a hash brown casserole, bacon, sausage, and quiche. I used this recipe for the quiche, and made one with broccoli and cheddar and the other with Swiss cheese and spinach. I made them the day before and just re-heated for the brunch. Worked like a charm.

The whole brunch idea came about because my husband makes the best buttermilk pancakes. He made plain, blueberry and chocolate chip.

We served them with vanilla whipped cream, warm maple syrup, and blueberry syrup, which I made by cooking blueberries in maple syrup. Yum.

For dessert we had some donuts, and I made the chocolate chip oatmeal muffins again, see the recipe here -one of my new favs.

Some little people really enjoyed the donuts.

I wanted us all to enjoy the warm weather so I set up the outside table with our yellow theme too. I hung my regular white candle lanterns with some pretty yellow ribbon and I made a yellow and white planter for the table.

I wanted to add a little more yellow, and thought the garden gnomes were a really fun addition.

I got some $2 garden gnomes at the dollar store, and a ceramic mushroom and gave them a few coats of glossy yellow paint. I love the bit of whimsy they add to the table. I will probably re-spray paint them pink later -my favourite colour these days, and add them to the garden border.

The brunch was so yummy, we all enjoyed the sun, eating and drinking and making our way back to the buffet for seconds and thirds, while the kids played tag and enjoyed the swing and sandbox together. It was a very happy Mother’s Day!

With a brunch like this…life really is a party!

This post is linked up at Between Naps on the Porch, and Whipperberry.

I got together with some girl friends this morning for tea, and thought I would make these yummy muffins. I found the recipe at Girls to Grow. They are really delicious.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup oats
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

1. Combine oats and milk and let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Stir egg, oil, brown sugar, vanilla and chocolate chips into oat mixture.
3. Combine three dry ingredients and add to the liquid mixture. Stir until moistened.
4. Use paper liners or cooking spray in a 12-cup muffin pan. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake in a 4oo degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.

These are delicious for breakfast or a snack. The kids loved them since they include chocolate chips, and I liked that they had oatmeal in them too. They’d be great as part of a Mother’s Day brunch this weekend. Enjoy!

Fall is here, and apples are in season. My husband and daughter, Paige, love apple anything. So the other day I thought they like might to try some apple butter. I went to my favourite recipe website, www.allrecipes.com, and found a recipe that sounded good -and that I had all the ingredients for.

This is a slow cooker version of apple butter, you can find the original recipe here. I made a smaller batch, and ended up with two small jars of apple butter. Here’s my slightly modified version:

Apple Butter

Ingredients:

5 apples – peeled, cored and chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt

Directions:

Fill a slow cooker with diced apples, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Cover, and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 6 hours, or until thick and dark golden in colour.

The original recipe calls for 12 hours in the slow cooker, but I thought it looked nice and thick after 6, especially since it thickens more as it cools. My family loved it, and tried it on toast, and zucchini muffins. The best part of this recipe though, is how great your house smells afterward. If you have some apples around, this is a great and very easy recipe. Enjoy!

Yes, that’s right my friends, you can make funnel cakes at home! You don’t have to wait until the next fair, you can make it yourself and impress all your friends and family -and let me tell you, they will be impressed.

My funnel cake adventure started when I spotted this amazing contraption at Bulk Barn one day. It’s a funnel specifically made for making funnel cakes, although you can also make it with a squeeze bottle.

And here’s the inside view. This funnel is designed with a stopper, so you can add your batter, and when you’re ready, remove the stopper and let the desired amount of batter flow out, then replace the stopper to stop the flow.

I found a great recipe here, and modified it a tiny bit. Here’s my version.

Homemade Funnel Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• icing sugar

Directions:

1. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk.
2. In another large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs and the milk.
3. Add flour mixture to the egg mixture, and beat until smooth. The consistency should be thin enough to run through a small kitchen funnel.
4. In a deep fryer, heat the oil to 360 degrees F (182 degrees C).
5. Using the funnel, or even a squeeze bottle release 1/2 cup of the batter into the oil while making a circular motion. Fry until golden brown. Use tongs and wide spatula to turn the cake over carefully. Fry the second side one minute. Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with sifted confectioners’ sugar.

These are best served nice and hot. Top them with a combination of ice cream, fresh fruit, maple syrup, and whip cream, or whatever your favourite is.

With homemade funnel cakes on the menu, life really is a party! Enjoy!

I shared this post at Blue Cricket Design’s link party, This Chick Cooks, WhipperBerry, Fingerprints on the Fridge, and Tatertots and Jello.