Meal Planning with Connie

We made a quick trip out to the orchard for some fresh early peaches. They are $7.50 for a five pound flat. The cashier said they should have peaches every day for the rest of the season. They taste delicious! I kept three or four peaches for us, and Larry carried the rest across the street to our sweet neighbor, Mr. Ray, who came to Larry’s rescue last week. Larry was loading the lawnmower into the truck to take it down to Dude’s house, when he had a slight mishap. The mower flipped over, pinning him underneath. While he lay trapped beneath the mower in our drive, with gasoline spilling all over him, he yelled at the top of his voice for one of us inside to come and help him. Unfortunately, we were all oblivious to his peril. Fortunately, Mr. Ray was more alert than us and came to Larry’s aid. Praise the Lord for Mr. Ray’s assistance and that, other than some bad bruises and scrapes, Larry is fine. A basket of fresh fruit makes a lovely gift. I picked up a cute metal and wic...

Sour Cream Pound Cake with Fresh Peaches Sour Cream Pound Cake 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter 3 cups sugar 1 cup sour cream 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 3 cups all-purpose flour 6 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Sift the baking soda and flour together; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and sour cream alternately - one-third at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Spoon into greased and floured (I use sugar for dusting the pan) Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert on to wire rack or cake plate. Top with fresh fruit or powdered sugar. I always cover my cakes with a clean, cotton kitchen cloth while they cool .

These muffins are a favorite of our Sunday School Class. I've tweaked the recipe a bit, and this is the way I think they taste best. I almost always have a coupon for these, and they are often on sale, as well. Cinnamon Pecan Muffins Pre-heat oven to 350. Spray muffin pans with cooking spray. Melt ½ stick butter, and let it cool a bit. (I cut the butter into about 4 pats and zap it for about a minute in the microwave, before I combine the batter ingredients. The butter will be cool enough to use when it’s called for. The reason it needs to cool is so that it doesn’t “cook” the eggs when you add them. The directions on the box call for oil. You may want to use it instead of butter. I just like the taste and texture the butter gives the muffins.) 1 Box Betty Crocker Cinnabon Cinnamon Streusel Premium Muffin and Quick Bread Mix 1 cup chopped pecans 2 eggs ¾ cup milk Pour muffin mix in mixing bowl. Add pecans, stirring well to coat nuts. (This keeps all the nuts f...