Just Peachy!

One of my favorite fruits is peaches, and with the bountiful supply this year I thought I would share this wonderful Peach Cobbler recipe that I got from one of my favorite Food Network Stars Paula Dean. This cobbler is so simple to make, and is delicious with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. The one pictured above was eaten in no time!

You will need:

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches 2 cups sugar, divided 1/2 cup water 8 tablespoons butter 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour 1 1/2 cups milk Ground cinnamon, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Recipe courtesy Food Network, Paula Dean

Civil War Adventures

My daddy has been planning trips to Civil War sites for the grandchildren for quite some time. We took our first trip Saturday. We had planned to visit Fort Henry first.

We searched and searched, drove around, turned around and repeated that for quite some time until we discovered that Fort Henry is now under water. They flooded it years ago with no mention of this in any of my daddy's online research. Once we found this out from a helpful park ranger, and since we didn't bring any scuba gear along we headed over for our next planned stop at Fort Donelson which was just up the road in Dover, Tennessee. The kids were very excited to get there, and I must admit that the grownups were very glad to finally say, " Yes" to the question we had been hearing for quite sometime. " Are we there yet?"

We all enjoyed our visit, and the boys are already asking when we can go back. They especially enjoyed the battle area on the river, and with the sound of distant thunder it was easy for us to imagine the sounds of cannons being fired. I would recommend this trip for anyone wanting to learn more about the Civil War.

There is also an eagle nesting area on the grounds, and we were excited to see Bald Eagles soaring above the Cumberland River. Click on the links below to learn more about these two very important battles in the Civil War . Hope you enjoy our pictures!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Henry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Donelson

Papaw With the Grandkids That Came Along

The boys posing with a confederate soldier reenactor who had just finished a musket firing demonstration.

Trying on the hats I bought them. My oldest and his cousin chose the gray, but my youngest went with the blue.


My Little Billy Yank



Johnny Rebs

My boys with their cousin.

Cousins posing in front of small shelter.

My sister's son with a frog we found. He must be a Union frog!

My husband and me.

I love this picture of our oldest.

Cannons that sit on hillside above the Cumberland River

Ready to Fire

Just Checking

Notice the Buckner quote that is given on the sign.

Dover Hotel

Imaginations ran wild.

My son taking in views of the Cumberland River from the second story porch of the Dover Hotel.

On the way home.

Blueberry Hill Coffee Cake

After our trip to Golden Bell's Blueberry Farm I put our delicious blueberries to good use and baked this yummy coffee cake for my family. It was eaten up in no time. I used fresh blueberries, but frozen works just as well. Give it a try !

You will need:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 5/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans (Optional)
Confectioners' sugar for dusting


DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in blueberries.
Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the batter in the pan. Spoon remaining batter over the top, and then sprinkle the remaining pecan mixture over. Use a knife or thin spatula to swirl the sugar layer into the cake.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate, and tap firmly to remove from the pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

I Found My Thrill On Blueberry Hill

What a fun time we had picking blueberries at Golden Bell Farm in Franklin, Tennessee. My sister and her two children joined us on our first visit to this lovely farm. I must admit most of our children had a blast for about the first fifteen minutes, but were over it long before my sister and I were ready to leave. The girls enjoyed it more than the boys, and my little girl was determined to pick more blueberries then her papaw has ever picked. That really kept her motivated!

Basket Full Of Sweetness!
Entrance to Golden Bell's

Ready To Pick.



She Had To Try Just 1,2,3.........


My Sister Giving Her Daughter A Boost.

Hmmm... is this one ripe enough?

Me

My Nephew

Blueberry Buds

My Oldest

It's a blueberry!

Filling Her Bucket

Beautiful Blueberry Buddies

Tired Of Blueberries

6 and a 1/4 pounds!

Freak of Nature

On a recent walk my daddy came across this amazing Black Eyed Susan growing in a field. He first thought there was a caterpillar resting on the flower until he inspected it more closely. It is quite unique as you can see. We were all amazed by it, and plan on checking to see if there are more of these unusual flowers growing in the same area.

Update: After some research I have discovered that this is what's known as a fasciated flower. They are indeed freaks of nature, but do occur more often in some plants than others. Check ot the following links to learn more: http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/feb/03/planting-time-fasciated-plants-result-nat-20080203/
http://chatham.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms/rudbeckiaproblem06.html

Fun On the Fourth

What a fun day we had on the Fourth! We spent the day at my sister's place with her family and my parents. We had a great time together. Hope you made as many fun memories as we did! My favorite picture of the day!

We enjoyed quite a feast!

BBQ Chicken & Ribs

German Potato Salad, Brocolli Salad, Slaw, Deviled Eggs,

Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob,

Green Beans, Squash,

Rolls

Cherry Delight, Blueberry Cheesecake, Triple Chocolate Brownies &

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Cousins always save a place for each other.



Mamaw preparing ice cream. YUM!



Standing still for a picture.



Flag relay fun!

They loved this game.

Getting ready to run.

Susie dancing.

Big Buddies

Big Jon

Horse Shoes anyone?

My nephew trying to be as good as his uncle at horse shoes.

My other nephew giving it a try.

My man showing them how it is done.

That's what I'm talking about!

My neice in-law and Duke decked out for the Fourth!

Lovin' the rope swing!

My oldest had a blast!

My sweet girl all dressed up for the fourth.

Check out those adorable flip-flops!

So happy together.