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Friday, March 5, 2021

Easy Apple Cobbler Recipe & Review

One of my favorite desserts is a fresh baked cobbler. Fortunately for me, my mother taught me how to make a very easy cobbler when I was a child.

Over the years, I have made several types of fruit cobbler. Peach cobbler is my personal favorite (you will find my peach cobbler recipe by clicking here), but my husband's favorite is an apple cobbler.

When my mother-in-law sent us a huge box of apples for Christmas, one of the first things I made was an apple cobbler. Between my husband and son, that apple cobbler disappeared almost before I remembered to take pictures.

This is a very easy and delicious cobbler recipe. You can use just about any fruit with the basic batter recipe.

Apple Cobbler Recipe

Prep Time	Cook Time	Ready In	Yields
20 min.	55 min.	75 min.	12-16 servings

Ingredients

2 cups of sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups self-rising flour
8 Tablespoons butter, melted
5 or 6 Honeycrisp Apples - pealed & sliced (each apple should be sliced into 16 pieces)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°
Melt butter in an 9" x 13" baking pan
In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, milk, and flour. Stir to batter consistency
Pour batter mixture over the melted butter (do not stir)
Add Apples in a single layer, spread evenly in the batter (do not stir - push apples slices down to make sure they get covered with batter. They will pop back up, but they need batter on top)
Bake for 55 - 65 min. until golden brown (varies due to pan & oven)

Note: You can half this recipe and cook it in an 8" pan for 45 min. This is a great way to use only 3 apples!

Or, Try a Different Fruit Cobbler!

Easy Blackberry Cobbler Recipe Quick and Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe

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Easy Apple Cobbler Recipe Written by:

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Thursday, March 4, 2021

The Moonlight Child - Book Review

Things just aren't adding up. Late one night, while out on her patio watching a lunar eclipse, Sharon spies what appears to be a very small child washing dishes in the kitchen of the house across her back yard fence. How can that be? The neighbors don't have a child that young. And even if they did, why would she be doing dishes hours past her bedtime?

Perhaps it is nothing, but what if it isn't? Sharon Lemke finds herself wondering if her imagination is merely running wild. Soon, though, when Niki, an eighteen-year-old who has recently aged out of the foster care system comes to live with her, Sharon's concerns become shared.

As it has been said, it takes one to know one, and Niki knows plenty about what it means to be endangered. The clues are pinging Niki's internal radar system. She isn't willing to leave things to chance if there is a child who may be at risk.

Though Sharon has followed proper channels (notifying the appropriate social services authorities about the unusual circumstance next door), bureaucratic wheels often turn much too slowly for those fearing the worst.

Niki and Sharon decide to take matters into their own hands. Can they pull off a clandestine investigation without endangering themselves or others? Is there something sinister at play here? What will happen if they are caught in the act of spying on neighbors who may not be what they outwardly appear to be?

For me, an exceptional book is one that makes me care. I was all in shortly after being introduced to Sharon, Niki, Mia, Jacob, and Griswold. There was so much to love about the redemptive moments. Of course, there are individuals you will likely despise. Every powerful story needs that counterbalance.

I came away from this read thinking about the people who pay attention when they feel something isn't right. Not only that, I reflected on the difference between those who act on their intuition and those who do not. This story drove home for me the necessity of being a noticer who actually does something for the lost and the unseen individuals of the world.

I highly recommend The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion.

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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Too Early to Plant, So Take a Trip Through a Garden Instead!

March has arrived! It's too early to plant, so take a nice trip through the outback of Australia with this memorable book reviewed here!

Many of us are getting very itchy fingers! We all want to start digging in the dirt! That's not a bad thing, but here in my neck of the woods, it is far to early to even think about starting all those seeds! So what's a bonafide gardener to do? My suggestion, is read a book!
By accident, I came across this book, "The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart" by Holly Ringland. I was itching to get my hands dirty, I knew it was too early, yet I needed something to take that itch away. Talking about flowers seemed to be a good idea. I must confess that I got this book from the library (thank you Libby app.). To say that it piqued my interest is putting it mildly. Alice Hart's life is a story that has been lived by many people in some form or other. Using her love of flowers, helps her to grow, learn, heal and above all live her life! The flowers just help her with their stories and meanings. They help her to express what she sometimes doesn't understand or can't put words to.
I have always wanted to travel to Australia, but I'm pretty sure that I will only be doing that virtually, especially in these times. So, I was getting rid of two itches at once (gardening and travelling) while delving into the pages of this book.
Trying to get rid of the itch to garden too early can be difficult, but this book took me away to places I have only dreamed of. That helped me a lot. Alice Hart (the main character in the book) grabs you right away. You want to hold her hand as she traverses a new normal amid family secrets and stories that make life "Okay" again.
So many things are not spoken, and through the language of flowers, Alice finds a way to embrace what is going on in her life.
Do Flowers have a language? Oh yes indeed they do! The first book I read about the Language of Flowers was a book reviewed right here by our own writer, Renaissance Woman! I was so taken with this book that when I found The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, I knew I had to read this book too!
While enjoying the story, I also learnt of trees and flowers that require a "burn" in order to spread their seeds, birds of the Australian landscapes and flowers that we will never be able to grow here in the north. In addition, the need to keep our hands off of flowers that will die when we pick them.
I'm sure that you will enjoy this book as much as I did and it just might help you get through that itch, that for us is starting far too early.
Waiting till April will make our efforts of digging in the ground much more fruitful and successful too.
You can learn a lot by reading and hearing the stories set in far away places. When they are a novel that is fictional, but interspersed with truths of gardening and the habits of flora and fauna of distant places, you know you will be changed.
Here's hoping that spring will come along in due time and our itches to get our hands in the ground will be fruitful and result in beautiful gardens for the year to come.

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Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Mantis Tiller Review

Springtime and the warmer weather will be here soon. The warm weather will finally bring us outside to start cleaning up the yard. It's a time to get the deck or patio in shape, clean up the lawn furniture and get ready for a beautiful summer.

Once the yard is cleaned up, you’ll want to get the flower beds and garden ready to plant.

This usually requires a lot of digging, bending, and raking. I can’t think of a better tool than the Mantis Tiller/Cultivator to help you with all of this work. Well, you’re still going to have to do some work, but this tool makes it so much easier.

I’ve had my Mantis Tiller for more than 10 years now, and it still runs like it’s brand new. I’ve used it year after year to till my garden, flower beds, and around shrubs.

We planted a brand new garden for my daughter, and it easily tilled through the untouched sod. The handles just fold down and the Mantis fits in the trunk of my car or stores easily in my garage.

Mantis Tiller Features:

Easy fast start technology.

Comes with a handy carrying handle.

Weighs only 21 pounds so it's easy to move around.

A 9-inch wide pattern for digging and weeding.

Tines dig down 10-inches for cultivating.

Reverse the tines for weeding and only dig down 2-3-inches

What I like the best is that the tines pull off of the shaft with a simple pull of a cotter pin, and can be reversed for two different jobs. One position is for cultivating and will dig about 10 inches deep for planting your flowers or plants in your vegetable garden. The other position will only dig 3 to 4 inches deep, this is really handy for easy weeding around plants and shrubs.

My Tiller also has the border edger attachment with a wheel; this makes short work of edging around walkways and the driveway for that nice clean look.

A few years ago my outside drains were clogged with mud, and not draining, causing the rainwater to just settle around the foundation of my house. I decided to abandon the old drain on the side of the house that was clogged and replace it with a new PVC pipe to the street. This required me to dig a trench from the edge of the house to the street a total of about 30 feet.

So, short of digging this trench with a shovel and pick, I used my Mantis Tiller to do the digging for me. I set the tines in cultivate position and shoveled the dirt out as I went along, this made the job so much easier.

You can also buy these attachments for the Mantis Tiller for complete lawn care:

Aerator - Will cut tiny slits in your lawn to allow nutrients and water to reach roots.

Border Edger - Make nice clean edges around sidewalks and driveways.

Dethatcher - Will remove dead grass early in the spring to promote growth.

If you have a garden, and flower beds and like to keep a neat lawn, I highly recommend The Mantis Tiller Cultivator.

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Mantis 7920 2-Cycle Plus Tiller/CultivatorChech the Price

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Monday, March 1, 2021

Phillips Frozen Crab Cakes Review and Recipe

I recently made a meal that was both decadent and almost too easy to believe. Phillips Maryland Style Crab Cakes are delicious and were the star of show. Because they were from the local grocery freezer section, I was eating like a queen in 20 minutes with no work beyond popping the crab cakes into the oven and frying an over easy egg. That's all.

look at that chunk of crab meat!

A Bit About Phillips Foods, Inc

Maryland is known for it's blue crabs. Fresh crabs and crab cakes are a favorite here. I am not a native Marylander so I did not begin to fully appreciate seafood until I moved here as an adult. However, even I immediately learned that a Phillips restaurant is an excellent place to grab a delicious crab cake.

The Phillips Family seafood story began 100 years ago on the Chesapeake Bay. In the community of Hooper's Island where most families made a living on the water. Mr. Phillips owned a seafood packing plant (wild crabs, fish, and oysters in season) and they shipped their fresh seafood by steamship to Baltimore. In 1956, Bryce and Shirley Phillips opened a small carryout in Ocean City, Maryland.

Crab Cakes and Eggs Over Easy

One day recently, my son messaged me. He said that my young grandson wanted crab cakes with over easy eggs. What?! First of all, I was surprised that my grandson would list crab crakes as a meal request, let alone with an egg on top. After all, I was in my 30's by the time I had a good understanding of the deliciousness of crab cakes. But then again, their family had lived in both Florida and on the Gulf coast of Texas. Of course my grandchild would know about crab cakes. But the over easy egg addition? Hmmm.

The more I thought about it, the more I craved crab cakes! And once I crave crabcakes, I must have them. I went straight to the grocery and bought a box of Phillips Crab Cakes from the freezer section.

This was the first time I've bought frozen crab cakes. Frankly, I thought they wouldn't be very good. But with all of the social distancing and such, I really wasn't up to picking up fresh crab cakes from one of the local restaurants.

The frozen Phillips Crab Cakes were easy and DELICIOUS! I was so pleasantly surprised.

My son and family ended up making a fancy version of the crab cakes and eggs. It included beef in a surf and turf version. My version was ridiculous simple.

My grandson's recipe: filet mignon, crabcake, egg, and bacon
(photo courtesy of my son)

My Crab Cakes with Over easy Eggs and Guacamole

Ingredients:

2 Phillips Maryland Style Crab Cakes (frozen)
2 large eggs
Premade Guacamole
Butter or cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare the two crab cakes following the directions on the box (I baked mine in the oven using a small bit of butter in the pan and baking at 425F for 12 minutes, turning once and baking for 4 more minutes - until browned on each side)

After flipping the crab cakes, fry two eggs to over-easy; salt and pepper to taste (remembering that crab cakes contain salt and spices).

Plating: place the crab cakes on a plate. Gently place the eggs on top of the crab cakes. Top with Guacamole to taste (I used just over a tablespoon).

Enjoy!

Imagine all of the variations on this meal - from super easy (crab cakes alone or on a simple bun) to more advanced as my son and grandson made (filet mignon, crab cake, egg, bacon, on a bed of spinach).

Related Links:

For more information about the Phillips family history or their foods (past and present) please visit their official website here.

My son enjoys cooking and making interesting and beautiful meals. Once, I stated that I was going to have fish sticks for dinner. My son immediately sent a recipe for avocado cream sauce and suggested that I make fish tacos. I followed his advice and had an easy and quick dinner of Fish Tacos.

Fish tacos with avocado cream sauce

I am not the only Review This! contributor who uses frozen fish or seafood for an easy and delicious meal. Our Wednesday Elf has reviewed Sea Pak's Budweiser Beer Battered Cod and Gorton's Roasted Garlic and Butter Grilled Tilapa. She recommends both and I am especially interested in her comment "It's like having your kitchen become your new favorite pub". It has been far too long since I've had good pub fish and chips. I've been watching for the Budweiser Beer Battered Cod and will snatch some up as soon as I am in a grocery store that stocks them.