Y'all know that when we travel

 we enjoy seeking out local 

[preferably farm-to-table] 

places to enjoy a nice meal...

And Acre - in Auburn, Alabama - did not disappoint. 

We recently had a little camping gathering down that way [more on that soon!]

and had to make time for lunch --

Thought I'd just go ahead and share our meal with you - 

We started with the fried green tomatoes -

I love seeing how everyone puts their spin on this southern favorite - 

Mine anyway - lol - 

AND THIS WAS DELICIOUS.

Fried green tomatoes stacked on pimento cheese with crab...

Dressed with a bit of arugula and remoulade - YES, PLEASE.

Somehow we both ordered the same entree -

Boneless chicken with wonderful potatoes 

and perfectly seasoned green beans.

I couldn't eat it all and had the leftovers boxed up...

 

Thought I was stuffed 

until I saw the ladies next to us get the dessert sampler.

Oh. My.

Every one in the dining room had their cameras out - ha.

So. We settled on the peanut butter pie

with chocolate ganache,

a peanut butter cookie

and banana meringue - 

[Toasted at the table -]

Now, I love a good peanut butter pie...

The meringue? With banana flavoring?

I wasn't so sure about that. 

But - 

Let me tell you --

THAT WAS SOME OF THE BEST STUFF I'VE

EVER PUT IN MY MOUTH.

Not even kidding...

Think FLUFFY banana taffy and 

IT WAS DELISH.

So of course I had to go home and try to replicate this.

I used my fluffy meringue recipe 

and added JUST BIT of banana flavoring to it. 

[Of course you can add as much as you think is needed.] 

And I have to fight myself [ha] so that I don't make it every day.

Recipe linked above - 

Enjoy.

And --- you're welcome.

[Also - I just realized this is the first recipe share

I've posted since June of last year - I must do better about this - ]

I know... I KNOW...

 I'm falling short of the weekly posts I did pre-retirement...

And I keep saying I'll do better...

[I really want my blog to focus on Faith Journaling, Book Reviews, and camping...

and maybe a few other things from time to time...]

As I was going through some photos this week I found photos of a [new] recipe I tried on our Blackstone Griddle while camping - 

 

 I really {{REALLY}} enjoy cooking on the blackstone!

Especially in cooler weather [ha] - 

So much so that we have one at home now too.

[This is a 17 inch with it's own backpack that stays in the camper...]

We had THE PERFECT camping weekend in early June as we spent time with my brother and family... and son and daughter-in-love... and then later in the weekend good friends came over to share hobo meals and a domino game or two with us.

 

So- y'all know I love to try my hand at baking on the blackstone, right?

This is my take on a dump cake or cobbler, maybe?-
Notice it's a smaller pan...

I lined it with foil and sprayed it well with spray oil...

Then I put a can of peaches [light syrup] in the bottom...

Next I sprinkled a jiffy cake mix over that -

[YES they still make that!]

Half of a regular cake mix would work too -

Then I sliced a half - 3/4 stick of butter over that...

Note that when I bake on the blackstone I turn a pan upside down and set my baking pan on top of that - giving it a raised surface off the direct heat -- then I cover it all to keep the heat in...

After about 25-30 minutes - 

waLAA -

A delicious warm cobbler to eat by the fire!

We all agree... it could have cooked a minute or five longer - 

BUT IT WAS DEELISH.

[and none was left... so there's that...]

Give it a try - and ENJOY!!

I'm sure I'm not the only one

 who has a had a tried and true recipe FLOP.

Am I?

Okaaaaaay...

 I made a lemon pie for Christmas - 

and I'm just not really sure what I did wrong...

But, hmmm - no thanks.

It just wasn't right.

It even had the meringue on it and everything... 

[Side Note: I wasn't feeling my best around Christmas... 

so it could've just been me...]

 

And I dreamed of making another one that tasted just like the ones I used to make with my mama when she would juice fresh lemons with some gadget that attached to the top of her sears mixer....

A pre-curser to the kitchen ade, perhaps?

But things got busy... then we had our Florida camping trip... 

but still - I WANTED THAT LEMON PIE. 

ha

 Enter a new camping buddy who gave many of us fresh lemons

OFF A TREE IN HIS YARD.

Yes, please. 

So here we go -

 Gather up a graham cracker crust, a couple of cans of sweetened condensed milk, and some lemons and let's do this!

It's easy peasy [no gadgets needed -]

RELAX - you've got this -

Just juice your lemons and stir 3/4 cups juice 

into two cans of sweetened condensed milk.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 

a little lemon zest [yum!]

Then pour into the crust

and refrigerate until firm.

You can see that I couldn't wait...

DELISH.

You could add a meringue on top and stick in the oven to brown for a bit before refrigerating... or I've added cool whip on top before [not a favorite.] 

[Here's a hard-to-see photo of one I made LAST YEAR 

with the preferred meringue topping.]

Honestly, I'd been craving this so much since Christmas that 

I really didn't even need the crust. 

Ha. 

And the fresh lemons made it WONDERFUL!

Enjoy!

Tried something new a week or so ago -

 And it was GOOD!

 

Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes!

And, okay - they're a little too done - but still, oh, so yummy!

Here's what I did - I beat two egg whites until stiff - 

Also beat a half can of pumpkin with 2 egg yolks and a cup of bisquick, 

plus some pumpkin spice...

I added about 1/4 cup of cream...

Then I gently folded in the egg whites...

I wanted my mixture to be fluffy, 

but also firm enough to stack up a bit while cooking...

Next I put it in a zip lock bag so I could 'pipe' it on the griddle...

And, let's just be honest...

The batter didn't layer as high as I'd hoped for...

 

Still - they were fluffier than a regular pancake.

And it was delish - 

I love a little REAL pumpkin* when I have pumpkin spice. HA.

So seriously - this is what I was going for, but I didn't use their recipe [ha] 

Feel free to do that and let me know if YOURS turn out this fluffy!!

Because - wow!!

Enjoy!

*And yes - I know the canned stuffed 

is not honest-to-goodness pumpkin - but I love it.

Annie Lee the Argosy Update: No. 039

This is the first thing

 I cooked on our new blackstone griddle...

And omgoodness... y'all.

 

Smash Burgers.

SO DELISH.

A few weeks ago we were headed to a camping event in South Carolina 

[more on that soon -] 

and stopped at a little campground 

outside of Atlanta due to working half a day... 

This is Old Highway 41 #3 Campground -

A Corp of of Engineer Campground RIGHT OFF the I-75

Seriously - we could SEE the cars racing by on the bridge just across the way. 

[And HEAR it too - but honestly, once inside our camper it was all blocked out...]

Soooo - this is how I cooked up the smash burgers when some friends who live nearby graciously said I could 'practice' my cooking skills on them...

I actually put some butter on the blackstone and grilled the hamburger buns to a toasty finish before I put oil on it...

Then I started with a little oil to cook an onion that was sliced thin...

  

After moving the onions to the side, I put down little balls of meat [1/8 of a pound each] and smashed them down flat with the spatula... 

After they were turned I put half a slice of cheese on half...

In retrospect, I should have put half a slice on each burger... 

but I'm not a cheese lover... still, others would have enjoyed it...

 

To serve, I layered 2 patties of meat with onions on the toasty buns - 

so 1/4 pound burgers when finished. We had chips with them 

[I wasn't brave enough to try FRIES on the griddle...]

There was also mustard, ketchup, and mayo.

 Altho, honestly? 

I didn't add anything to the onion cheese deliciousness. 

This is definitely a meal we will repeat.

The next morning we cooked breakfast on the blackstone too - 

And, YES - I 'baked' biscuits!

These were cooked on LOW, with a cover, and flipped halfway through... 

One of my favorite things about blackstone cooking

is the fast cleanup - LOVE IT.

Old Highway 41 #3 Campground

Our take on the campground: 

An easy stop off the interstate.

Gated campground...

Beautiful wooded area with water views.

Clean bath facilities.

Good internet connection.

Noisy due to interstate traffic - 

but did not affect our sleep since we had the air on...

Sites are not well-marked, but we figured it out...lol...

We'd stay again if we're ever in the area...

So, y'all know

 I'm loving our little blackstone griddle, 

so I'm sure I'll be sharing recipes / meals / treats I've cooked on it with you during the next few weeks - 

If you've ever looked at some of the favorite things to cook with it, then I'm sure you've seen the pineapple chicken with fried rice and grilled veggies.

It's DELISH! 

We sure enjoyed it while the youngest and his gal were home!

My 'recipe' is very loosey-goosey, as are most of the things I cook these days...

So - I marinated chicken breasts in a teriyaki marinade from a bottle...

[Actually poured it into a bag and let them thaw out in it before cutting in cubes... put it back in the bag in the fridge to marinate a bit more...] 

I cooked that on the griddle a few minutes and added in some pineapple chunks just as it was getting done.

Then I added the chopped veggies to the griddle with a bit of oil.

[Mushrooms, peppers and onion, I think... - you can add whatever you like best.]

I have the 17" blackstone so the surface has only one controller 

[everything cooks at the same temp.

And honestly - I'm still learning how to best control the heat..]

After these were done and off the griddle we cooked the fried rice... rice I had cooked earlier and put in the fridge to cool. 

It took up the entire griddle and we were so busy cooking it we failed to get a photo... Everyone pitched in to say how to make it just right...and basically it's rice, oil [of course] a bit of carrots from the garden, and fried eggs... we finished it off with a bit of sesame oil... SO GOOD.

AND

Because I wanted it pinterest perfect [ha] and had seen it served up in the pineapple boats we did that too! But you can see we had PLENTY left for seconds, and even lunch for the next few days...

Honestly, it could be served mixed all together and spooned into bowls... but we all have differing ideas about our rice to vegetable to chicken ratio so we served in separate bowls...

It was so, so good...

The easier way to make this would be to just use pineapple chunks from a can and serve it from bowls... but the pineapple boat does make it pretty... 

Dontcha think?

It could definitely be made on the stove top as well.

Enjoy!

so, so good

Here's a new recipe

 

I tried this month –

Grilled Peach Caprese’ 

Based on a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, I think...

 

Slice and grill three peaches, set aside...

Whisk together 1 and a half tablespoons of lemon juice with 1 teaspoon of honey... 

Add salt and pepper and about 1/4 cup chopped almonds 

plus basil [chopped] and --- my addition -- fresh mint [chopped]...

 

Arrange peaches with sliced mozzarella and spoon mixture over...

 top with more mint and basil...

And, well....

If I'm giving an honest review... I didn't love it.

I like all of the ingredients separately...

But together?

This just didn't work for me... something about the lemon and honey...

But if you love that flavor combo, then you go for it!

So, a few days ago

 my friend Rosemary over at My Home and Travels mentioned having had

Tomato Jam while in Austin recently.

And I was completely intrigued, as I've never [ever] heard of this,

and y'all know I do love tomatoes!

So I started doing some research and tweaking of recipes... 

and this is what I came up with:

 

2 pounds of ripe tomatoes

[I used 4 BIG ones, dropped them in boiling water for about 30 seconds, 

peeled, cored, and chopped them] 

3/4 cup of a mixture of brown and white sugar

[3/4 cup total]

2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon course salt

Put all of this in a pot on medium high heat and

boil until reduced by half.

I stirred it frequently to prevent sticking... 

and continuously mashed the tomatoes against the side of the pan 

 to break the chunkiness of it down... 

This is what mine looked like after cooking for 30 minutes...

[pay no attention to the jar of bacon grease on the counter - ha]

Cool and store it in the fridge - 

Some recipes say you can water-bath it in canning jars to keep long-term...

 But I'm pretty sure this will all be gone within a week anyway...

This morning I had it on toast with a 

sunny-side-up egg...

I think it would be delicious on a hot biscuit too!

I'm not sure if matches the goodness Rosemary had while traveling...

but I loved it!

This recipe is sweet and tomato-y 

with a kick of heat at the end...

It's really creamy and almost buttery, even though there is absolutely no butter in it... 

Odd, but GOOD. 

 

It makes about a pint - keep in the fridge for a week - 10 days...

It's definitely something I will make again whenever I have

extra tomatoes!