Granny's Corn Bread

Oh man.  I made this last night, and it was delicious!  I can't wait to eat up all the leftovers :)

You will need:

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons melted shortening
• Equipment: Cast iron skillet

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Once the oven is hot, stick your skillet (empty) inside to heat up.

Sift together your dry ingredients.  Then gradually add the milk, beaten egg, and melted shortening.

Use an oven mitt and grab your skillet out of the oven.  Grease it up with either butter or a nonstick spray, then add the corn bread mixture.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

I served this with a delicious crock pot chicken recipe.  Enjoy!!

Saturday Snapshot: Best Of

Here's a look back at some of my top-viewed Saturday Snapshot posts along with my personal favorite :)

This was actually my very first Saturday Snapshot, and it's one of my most viewed!

Inside an Iris

Lilies

My personal favorite since it was such a lucky shot: Flight of the Bumblebee

May Book Club: Young Adult Lit.

Last month, I picked The Poisonwood Bible to read.  It was interesting and enjoyable- I really liked the shifting narrative perspectives throughout.  It was a great story with complicated and flawed characters.  I highly recommend it!

Until very recently, I avoided young adult literature... even as a young adult :)  But, we've picked up some books to do literature circles at my student teaching, and I figured I would read everything we got for the students to read.  So far, the list has included Veronica Roth's Divergent, John Green's Looking for Alaska, and Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue.

Since young adult lit. is a much quicker read than my usual picks, I'm going to share four picks with you for this month: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie.  I've got to say, I'm excited to read them all!

What are you reading this month?

Life Lately

Snuggles with Inga, Easter egg dying, and my new betta!

Mercifully, April was a far less eventful month than March.  No car accidents, no major turns of a decade... all in all a good month! ;)

We saw winter finally turn to spring here in Minnesota.  One fun thing that happens this time of the year is that loons stop by our lakes for a bit.  They are so neat!!  I hear them calling on my walks with Inga.  I also decided to start trying one new dinner recipe each week from one of our cookbooks.  So far, the results have been great.

Winter one day, spring the next!  So happy the snow is gone!

Walnut lentil burgers
Chicken roulades with glazed carrots
Pork tenderloin with lemon and shallot green beans
Chicken in mustard sauce with beets and goat cheese

What were you up to this month?  Anything new and exciting?

Saturday Snapshot: Barnacles!

Granny's Banana Bread

Yum!  I love banana bread.  Well, I love any bread to be honest :)  This is a pretty easy recipe, though I might recommend baking it at a lower temperature than recommended for a longer period of time.  I found the ends of my bread were a little dry while the center was just slightly under-baked.

You will need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup banana (I used 2 large bananas)
• Optional: 1/2 cup nuts (I used 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips instead!)

Combine everything except the flour and nuts (or chocolate chips) and beat well.  Add the flour and then the nuts or chocolate.

Put in a loaf pan and let it rest for 20 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes (again, I might suggest a lower temperature for a longer time).

Yum!!

Sharpie Easter Eggs

This Easter, like every year, we went to my parents' house to dye eggs the day before Easter.  Every year, I try and come up with a new way to decorate my eggs, and this year I decided to give Sharpie markers a try!

Super simple- just grab your favorite colors of Sharpie markers and go to town once your eggs are colored and dry.  I found that the silver and black worked best, but I did a few eggs with copper and gold metallic Sharpie as well.

Eggcellent.... ;)

Did you dye eggs this year?  What are your Easter traditions?  I hope you had a happy holiday!

Finally, I want to also announce my giveaway winners!  Congrats to Amy and Dani!  Amy, you will get to pick your package because your name was pulled first.  Dani, you will win the remaining kit!  :)