Summer Recap

The summer has gone by pretty fast and I feel I hardly did anything. I guess that's how summer break suppose to be, yeh?

I'm so glad Fall is in the air and slowly creeping in. I can't think of anything I don't like about this time of year but I do have some favorite things about summer too. I thought I'd recap some of my favorites this time around.

Cousins came to town. My brother's girls are close to my boys age and not too far away so we had them up for a week early in the summer. We had a blast! We ate lots of goodies, watched movies, played some serious rounds of Duck-Duck-Goose, and had some ultimate water balloon fights.

Grilling and eating out...side. I love food off a grill especially smothered in Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Mmmmm. I'm getting hungry thinking about it. I will seriously try to grill just about anything once. This would include Sister Schubert rolls and DiGiorno's pizza. It's ALL good.

My garden. This year I've really tried to learn about the plants landscaped in our yard and caring for them. I find working in my yard has become quite therapeutic. Then enjoying the taste of my home grown veggies is rewarding. I don't have room for much of a vegetable garden but I love working with what I've got.

This year I'm especially grateful for the rain. In June it rained almost everyday with super thunderstorms. Thunderstorms that shake your house are just cool. The heat wasn't so bad because of it and I was able to spend a lot of time in my rocking chairs on the porch. Ahhhh.

My favorite thing about summer is my birthday! I know, pretty selfish but you would be too if Jarom made you your favorite dessert every year. Cream Cheese Pie. There's nothing better. My mom use to make it for each family member for their birthdays. One for you and one for the family. Pure bliss. It's easy and super cheap to make.

1 graham cracker crust

1 8 oz package of cream cheese, slightly softened

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup of lemon juice (Jarom rarely uses that much but I love that tart taste)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix it all together minus the crust. Pour into the crust. Chill in fridge for a few hours (best if made the night before). Serve with your favorite fruit. I love the can cherry pie filling.

Two more of my favorite summer dishes (neither managed to be an entree).

Sherbet Cake

1 regular sized tub of sherbet (I prefer orange)

1 8oz tub of cool whip

1 package of macaroon cookies, crumbled (I've had to buy coconut cookies and they work just the same)

Let the sherbet get a little soft first then blend everything together. Put in a 9x13 pan. Cover and freeze. It usually freezes in a couple of hours. Perfect for a hot summer day.

Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich

2 slices of bread (I do not suggest plain white bread it just doesn't taste as good)

dried oregano

mayo

sliced tomato

sliced Colby-Monterrey jack cheese

Warm skillet/pan. Place 2 slices of cheese then two tomato slices on one of the bread slices. But the other bread slice on top. Spread the may on the bread and sprinkle desired amount of oregano. Place on the skillet the put the mayo and oregano on the other side before time to flip. Once the cheese is melted and bread is lightly browned serve and EAT!