Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

Howdy friends! How is your Monday treating you?

I have been in a baking mood recently. Pinterest, cooking shows, magazines, almost everywhere I look I find inspiration to make something DELICIOUS. This is not very good when I also am trying to work out and get in shape! Counter productive much? 

This weekend we went out to hang out with my parents. My mom and I went to HEB to get some things for dinner, and I decided we needed something good for dessert. I usually go for anything chocolate, but my dad gets migraines and John and Taylor are not big chocolate fans either. 

So enter scene - Strawberry Shortcake . One of mom's favorites also. Win, win, win. :)

I googled some different recipes and took a variety of what I found to make my own. 

There are different variations of Strawberry Shortcake, some use a sponge cake, some use pound cake, and some use a biscuit type cake which is what we will be using today. My favorite! :)

What You Will Need:

For the biscuits:

-2 cups flour

- 1 tbsp baking powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt 

-3 tablespoons sugar

-1 stick butter (chilled)

-3/4 cup milk

For the strawberries:

-2 lb container strawberries
-1/4 cup sugar

-cool whip or whipped cream for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rinse, drain, and slice berries.

Sprinkle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sweet you want them to taste.
Mix well and refrigerate.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
*Tip - if you do not have a whisk you can use a fork*

Cut your stick of butter into about 8 or 9 pieces and add to the mixture.
Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the butter into the mixture.

Your mixture will be coarse, with small chunks of butter still remaining.
Next, make a well in the center and add your milk.

Slowly stir it together, until it is just mixed and the dough is moist. It will still be very crumbly and not hold together really well. Let the dough stand for a minute.

Next, turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead gently into a flat piece about 3/4 inches thick.
Remember at this point of mixing and kneading, the less you handle the dough, the better.

Take a round biscuit cutter and cut out your biscuits and transfer to a cookie sheet.

(It helps to have an adorable little helper ;))

Next, brush on a little milk on the tops and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with your strawberries and whip cream and ENJOY!

Grandma's Okra Recipe

We are finally having some cool weather here in Texas, and I am loving it! I am so welcoming the breezy evenings with my windows open, sweater weather, and my kid's long sleeve jammies. I just love those.
But, the one thing I know I will miss about the summer weather, is my garden.
 I come from a family of gardeners. My grandpa has always had a garden. I have many childhood memories of going and helping him pick carrots, tomatoes, and trying to pick the blackberries off the bush without getting stickers in my fingers. The gardening continued with my dad and mom, who built us a garden at their house, and we have kept one every year since middle school. Now that I am on my own, with my own family, I decided it was time to plant one for us, and to start teaching Taylor & Wyatt some gardening tips.

This spring we planted tomatoes, green beans, okra, squash, zuchinni, jalapenos, and cucumbers. Even in the extreme drought of summer, we managed to harvest quite a few vegetables that were so very tasty!

 My okra plants have done the best. They love the hot weather.

Today I am going to share with you a favorite recipe from my grandma. Okra & Tomatoes. What I love about this recipe is that it is a perfect fall meal! Almost like a soup, you can enjoy it to warm you up on a cool evening.  A perfect way to use up the last of those okra crops before they freeze!

What You'll Need:
Okra
Bacon (2-3 slices)
Small Onion
1 Can Petite Diced Tomatoes
Season Salt
Pepper
Tony's Creole Seasoning

First step, pick and wash your okra!
Then, cut up okra in small pieces.

While cutting up your okra, start browning some bacon in a pan. For this size recipe I used two slices.
Once  the bacon is partially browned, add some onion and simmer.
Once the onions are softened, then you add your okra! (Your kitchen should be smelling delicious by now.) Season with salt, pepper, and Tony's to taste. I love to cook with Tony's. It adds the perfect kick to any recipe. You can add as little or as much as you like depending on how spicy you want your okra...

Lastly, add your tomatoes and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until your okra is thoroughly cooked and tender.

Serve this hot recipe up with some cornbread and you have got yourself a yummy treat for a cold day.
Enjoy!