Strawberry Cobbler with a Newf and a Chessie

I know, I know. This is a very out-of-character post for this blog but I could not resist.

Three bags of frozen strawberries dusted in sugar and baking mix. Miss Stella heard the freezer door open along with the sound of the bags and came running thinking we were going to have some frozen raspberries. Miss Sadie knew better and continued napping knowing that if I had frozen raspberries, I would bring them right to her. Smart girl.

Miss Stella had no interest in the melted butter mixed with the sugar and baking mix. No peanut butter or yogurt, no Miss Stella. She opted to lay on my feet while I poured and stirred. Yes, I go for ease. Life is too crazy for me to even think about sifting flour and such. Way way back in the day, I did indeed sift and made quite a few goodies from scratch. Post twins, a cat, three dogs, a husband, work, and all that they include I am now more about quick and easy.

The milk just looked cool blending with the melted butter. Plus it started to have that sweet bakery smell. The fur ball on my feet is starting to stir just a bit.

Very tempting to start munching on the topping before it even began baking!

The sweet sugary sprinkle for the very last step. Reminds me of cinnamon toast on cold winter mornings when my big ol’ black lab, Miss Maggie Mae would shnoz for the toast corners. She loved it and would try to sneak and drink out of my coffee mug. Miss that sweet girl.

All is ready to start baking. This will be interesting as I have never used my crock-pot for dessert. We shall see how this works. Miss Stella finished napping on my feet and is clanking her door ringer. I believe she wants something.

Baking, baking, baking. Time to take Miss Stella for a walk. She has literally been on my feet or smack in the middle of the kitchen floor while I was putting this together. We hope to try a new park with great walking paths and have her nice and tired when we return to sample this dessert.

Eating, eating, eating.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this cobbler. I have never had strawberry cobbler nor have I cooked cobbler in a crock-pot. The smell walking in the door after taking Miss Stella for a walk was very welcoming and the treat itself quite good. It was sweet with a touch of tart that smoothed out with the frozen vanilla yogurt (my attempt to make it a tad healthier). This is a repeat and I will most likely have to try it in an apple cobbler as well.

Filling:

• 3 bags of frozen fruit (10-ounce)
• 1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar depending on how sweet you like your cobbler (I added a touch of brown sugar and used the 1/3 portion.)
• 1/2 cup baking mix

Topping:

• 2 and 1/4 cups baking mix
• 1/4 cup sugar and an extra 1/4 for the sprinkle topping
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used part of this in the filling)

1.  Mix the frozen fruit, sugar (whichever you chose 1/3 up to 2/3 cup) and 1/2 cup baking mix then put into the crock-pot. (I chose to coat mine with non-stick spray. Choose to do so if you need or wish.)

2. Mix together 2 and 1/4 baking mix, 1/4 cup sugar, milk, and melted butter. Using a spoon, drop small dollops of the dough on top of the fruit in the slow cooker.

3. Stir together the last 1/4 cup of sugar and ground cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of the dough, put the lid on the crock-pot, cook on high and slow cook until the topping has puffed up and the fruit is bubbling which is about 3 to 4 hours.

4. Dish into bowl with favorite topping and grab a spoon. Make sure all surrounding pups are napping otherwise you most likely will have a nose in your dish. Enjoy.

Again, I know this is not my typical post but it just looked too delicious not to share. I have to admit I am now a bit curious about desserts in the crock-pot. Have you cooked sweet treats in your slow cooking crock-pot?

Just Ramblin’

Great Food and Inspiration…A Blog To Visit

“TRY  OUT  TUESDAY”

Welcome to “Try Out Tuesday.” Sadie Lou, Miss Stella, and I have met some pretty incredible bloggers so far on this journey of ours. We have broadened our own little “blogosphere” and made some very cool discoveries.  We would like to share some of these with you.  It is our hope to introduce various blogs for you to “Try Out” and discover as well.  I am thinking of making this an occasional ‘item’ here. If you want to provide any feedback about this idea of ‘spotlighting’ various blogs, I would appreciate your input.                                

This “Tuesday’s Try Out” blog spotlight is Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide~ “A how to for everyone and anyone” . This blog has many wonderful posts about food, cooking, and ‘how tos’ and the photography that goes along with the posts is stunning.

This blog has several categories to explore one of which is titled ”How To”.  I had been reading this blog for some time, pulled in by the amazing photos and food when I came across one of my favorite posts of the blog. Have you ever wondered how to braid garlic? Did you know that you could braid garlic. This post intrigued me as it was something I did not know and found fascinating. Another interesting “How To” is about the proper way to filet a fish. I am a visual learner and the photos that are paired with this post definitely show clearly how to take care of this task. I was basically traumatized when younger as I met my husband’s extended family all because of filleting fish. We had been on a fishing trip and were staying in a great little cabin on a lake with several of his aunts, uncles, and yes…The Grandmother. Known for her fish cleaning skills (although you would never know it from the demure size of her and how very proper of a southern woman she was), this tiny woman had scales flying, fish parts dropping, and gore up to her elbows. She was like a speed demon with the fillet knife. I was terrified! I still do not know if it was all for show to scare the girlfriend but I do not clean fish for this reason, and I just never really knew how to do so in a way that would not cause me grief. However, Rufus’ does so elegantly.

If you are not a fish person, not to worry. Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide has you covered. Here you can start your day with a phenomenal breakfast of  Apple Cinnamon Pancakes.  These look so delicious and he makes it seem almost simple to create something so beautiful and appetizing. Me? Frozen waffles, but here I get inspired to cook. Really cook.

Of course you have to have some lunch. And not just a boring little sandwich, but a Pastrami sandwich. Looks like a nice way to break up the day to me.  I usually would make a turkey sandwich or worse, grab something awful from the vending machine. This post however, makes me want to give up deli lunch meats altogether!

Ah…dinner. Who does not enjoy a great meal for dinner? Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide makes some of the most enticing dinners and even makes cooking their feature items something that seems possible.  Whether your a fancy pasta person, or love a good burger (his wife’s amazing burgers!)  with some grilled corn there is so much variety to be found here. 

I cannot leave out dessert. I sometimes actually like to start with dessert. Life is too short not to go for it.  You can go for something light and refreshing such as a strawberry treat or find a good ol’ have to have a glass of cold milk with it dessert like the brownie post his wife provided. Yum!

Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide has several other categories to search through for some terrific ideas such as Garden, Restaurants, Spirits, and even Rants. I could spend hours trying to tell you how enjoyable this blog truly is, but I should probably leave some for you to discover! So please take some time to hang out over at Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide. I am sure you will find great food, tons of inspiration, and good company while there. It is a blog worth stretching your blogosphere for!

Thank you Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide for letting me share my thoughts about your very cool blog!

Just Ramblin’