I haven’t shared a recipe in a long time. Last weekend, I made this and my son and I enjoyed it…a lot! My hubby only had a few sips since he doesn’t care for milkshakes…much! He might drink a little bit, but not too much. He prefers straight-up ice cream!

2 cups of Breyers vanilla ice cream (you could use any brand, but I’m partial to Breyer’s)
1 cup of cold whole milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Serves 2.

When we drank this last weekend, I took one sip and thought it tasted heavenly! It’s such a simple recipe, but it tastes so good!

My son loved it! He drank all of his and half of mine! Also, if you want to cut calories, you can use non-fat/low-fat/sugar-free ice cream and skim or low-fat milk. However, I’m sure it will affect the taste.

If you want to do this, and get optimal taste, use the Breyer’s ice cream! It’s a simple ice cream with only a few ingredients, but it has a nice, natural flavor, and it just tastes so good in this recipe.

If you try this recipe, email me or leave a comment on the blog and let me know if you enjoyed it! This will be a cool summertime treat to enjoy in the coming months!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

A few people have emailed me privately, wondering how the booksigning went yesterday. I enjoyed meeting the other authors, however, I didn’t sell as many books as I would have liked. I thought since the price was $3.00 and it was Christmas, that I’d get rid of lots of books. However, the mall was not as crowded as I thought it would be.

Last week I made Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Brownies. I’ve altered this recipe, and they turned out so good! Here is the version that I used:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup salted butter, softened ***I used the imported Irish Kerry Gold butter. It’s got a smoother texture than regular butter and it has a natural yellow color.
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
One 10.5 oz package of milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease an 8X8 inch baking pan.
Combine first two ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
In a large bowl use an electric mixer to blend the sugar and butter. Add egg and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until light and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture and chips. Blend at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
Transfer batter into the prepared pan, and level top with a rubber spatula. Bake in center of oven for 35-45 minutes (NOTE, I BAKED MINE FOR 55 MINUTES) or until toothpick comes out clean but center is still soft. Cool on rack to room temperature. Cut with sharp knife 1-by-2-inch bars.

Enjoy!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Ingredients:
One lemon
Water
Sugar

One tall glass
Juicer

For our barbeque this weekend, I made a couple of tall glasses of lemonade for my husband and I. To make the lemonade, simply split one lemon in half. Remove the seeds. Press lemon on juicer, turning clockwise,(I don’t have an electric juicer, I use one of those cheap plastic contraptions with a cone-shaped center and holes at the bottom that allows the juice to flow out.) allowing juice to drain into a bowl. Place juice and pulp into a tall glass. Fill glass with water and add sugar to taste. Place several ice cubes into glass.

Recipe can be adjusted accordingly, depends on how much lemonade you want to make. I noticed that one lemon mades a good-sized glass.

Enjoy!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Tuesday Night At The Blue Moon by Debbie Fuller Thomas
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Moody Publishers (June 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802487335
ISBN-13: 978-0802487339
From Amazon.com:
When Marty Winslow’s daughter dies of a devastating genetic disease, she discovers the truth- her child had been switched at birth. Her actual biological daughter was recently orphaned and is being raised by grandparents in a retirement community. Marty is awarded custody, but Andie refuses to fit into the family, adding one more challenge for this grieving single mom that pushes her toward the edge, and into the arms of a loving God. For Andie, being forced to live with strangers is just one more reason not to trust God. Her soul is as tattered as the rundown Blue Moon movie drive-in the family owns. But Tuesday night is Family Night at the Blue Moon, and as her hopes grow dim, healing comes from an unexpected source- the hurting family and nurturing birth mom she fights so hard to resist.
===
This is the first time that I’ve read a novel using such an unusual conflict due to circumstance. The first time I heard about a baby being switched at birth was back in the eighties. I recall it was on the news when this couple had a girl who died when she was a child, and the doctor confirmed that the child was not their biological child. There was a huge court case and I believe there was a made-for-TV movie about the incident.

The book was an unusual read, but unusual in a good way. The circumstances of the story made it unusual. It was hard for Andie to leave her grandparents, to live with a family that she’s never known. She now has two female siblings who resemble her. Plus Andie’s biological mother, Marty, is also struggling to raise three children alone, with no husband for support. Ginger, Marty’s “daughter” was mistakenly given to Marty at the hospital, (hence the baby switch). When Ginger gets ill and then dies when she’s a pre-teen, it’s discovered that Ginger is not Marty’s biological daughter. The baby-switch is discovered, and Marty finds out that Andie, her biological daughter, is alive and well and living with her elderly grandparents. These facts cause Marty great emotional turmoil. When Ginger originally got ill, Marty’s husband left her, not being able to take the pressure of caring for a dying child.

Andie’s life is full of turmoil, also. She’s recently lost her “parents” in a plane crash. So she’s living with her elderly grandparents when the case goes to court about her living arrangements. The judge decides it’s best if Andie lives with her birth family. Problems arise in Marty’s household when Andie moves in. Winnie, the youngest child, initially accepts Andie into her life, however, Deja, an older teen, has several emotional outbursts because she’s forced to live with her new biological sister.

Both Andie and Marty feel as if their lives are spinning out of control, and Marty bakes as a source of comfort. Her cookies, cakes, brownies and cinnamon rolls fill their kitchen with sweetness as she longs to make her dream come true: owning her own bakery. Andie continues to feel like an outcast in her new “home” as she refuses to unpack her clothing. She continues to leave her clothing in boxes and suitcases, refusing to use the dresser since she feels her stay will be temporary. Both Andie and Marty realize that their tumultuous lives can come under control as soon as they place their faith in Jesus.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

I made lemon pound cake yesterday! If you like pound cake, then you should really try this recipe! I can guarantee that you WON’T be disappointed. It’s one of my favorite cakes and I’ve been making it for years!

I’ve also copied and pasted the recipe below for those interested. The recipe is also in the link above!

OLD FASHIONED LEMON POUND CAKE

1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon

Grated rind of one lemon

6 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup evaporated milk

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Beat butter in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add sugar ½ cup at a time, creaming well after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lemon extract, juice and rind. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir thoroughly after each addition. Pour into prepared pans. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. If cake is not done after 50-60 minutes, bake longer, until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes; remove from pans.

GLAZE:

Sift one cup of confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Squeeze juice of one lemon into a separate bowl. Remove seeds from the lemon juice. Mix lemon juice with confectioners’ sugar and drizzle over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Sift one cup of confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Squeeze juice of one lemon into a separate bowl. Remove seeds from the lemon juice. Mix lemon juice with confectioners’ sugar and drizzle over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Okay, this is the best caramel popcorn I’ve ever had in my entire life! Really! It’s not like eating store-bought popcorn, like Cracker Jack, Fiddle Faddle, or Poppycock! This popcorn is homemade and when you eat this caramel corn, you can just taste the butter and sugar as it dances on your tongue. Yum! The first time I had this popcorn was when I was in Chicago several years ago! When I returned recently for my sister’s wedding, I tried it again and was hugely satisfied with my treat. Warning: the largest bag you can buy is kind of pricey, but since I hardly ever go to Chicago, the extra money you spend on it is well worth it!

So, the next time you’re in Chicago, you should give Garrett’s Popcorn a try!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

This recipe is really good! It’s easier than most lasagna recipes because YOU DON’T PRE-COOK THE NOODLES! This makes the recipe so much easier!

LASAGNA

One box of lasagna noodles (you might not use the whole box)
One 10-oz container of ricotta or creamed cottage cheese
One “regular”-sized container of Prego(or whatever brand you like) spaghetti sauce
1 – 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
2 cloves of garlic
One onion
One egg
Italian seasoning
One-pound bag of shredded mozzarella cheese OR shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese mixed
Water
Seasoned salt
Meat tenderizer

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chop the onion and garlic in a chopping machine or by hand. Place onion and garlic into skillet with ground beef. Cook the ground beef until it’s no longer pink. Drain off excess fat. Sprinkle some seasoned salt and meat tenderizer onto ground beef. Pour spaghetti sauce onto ground beef. KEEP THE SPAGHETTI SAUCE JAR. WE’LL NEED TO USE IT LATER. Mix spaghetti sauce and ground beef together and cook in skillet until it’s hot and bubbly.

Mix one egg and Italian seasoning into cottage/ricotta cheese. Spray lasagna pan (or rectangular-shaped pan) with non-stick spray. Place one layer of UNCOOKED NOODLES into the pan. Place a layer of sauce over the noodles. Place a layer of ricotta/cottage cheese over sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella/provolone cheese over ricotta cheese. Repeat this process once. After you’ve repeated it once, the last layer will be a layer of noodles, covered with sauce, covered with shredded mozzarella/provolone cheese.

Take spaghetti sauce jar and put some water into it. (I’m not sure how much since I’ve never measured it. You might want to fill the jar half way with water). Put the lid on the jar and shake it up to mix the excess sauce with the water. Take the lid off and pour this water into the corners of the pan. YOU WILL WANT TO FILL EACH CORNER WITH WATER. You might need to get more water in order to fill each corner. Once each corner is filled with water, cover the pan with foil and place into oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. (Cooking times may vary according to your oven.) Remove foil and bake an extra five minutes so that cheese can brown. Remove from oven and let it cool before serving. The water that was added before cooking makes this dish moist, plus it cooks those hard crunchy noodles, making them soft and well done.

Of course, the ingredient list can vary. I just made this for my family last night, so I used what I had on hand. However, sometimes when I brown the ground beef, I’ll add sliced mushrooms and chopped bell peppers to the mixture.

I usually get lots of compliments when I make this recipe. It’s great with garlic bread, however, we didn’t have any on hand, so we just ate it as is! When we do eat it with garlic bread, we usually use the frozen garlic bread you get from the freezer section of the grocery store! Also, we usually eat this with a green garden salad on the side!

Enjoy!

Cecelia Dowdy

Back in the day, before I had a child, I’d make big batches of cookies to share with my friends and family during the holidays. I’d make chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter. I haven’t done that for a few years now. I no longer have the energy to make so many cookies! I’d rather sit in my living room and read a good book! Maybe sometime after the holidays I’ll find the energy to make some cookies. My favorite cookie recipes are the ones featured in the Debbie Fields cookbook.

The cafeteria at my husband’s job sells pies and cookies during the holidays. My hubby opted to buy some Christmas cookies for us to enjoy this year. He purchased chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. They’ll be available for pick up next week.

Do any of you have a favorite Christmas cookie recipe? If so, what is it? Can you provide comments with links to your favorite recipes, or can you provide the recipe in your comment?

Happy Holidays!

Cecelia Dowdy