Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream

Last night the hubby and I decided it would be a great night to BBQ! We have to take advantage of this Oregon sunshine while we have it!

We had some very yummy lime marinaded chicken with lime chips and mango/peach salsa. It was perfect. So I decided grilled peaches would be a great finish to our meal.

I cut a few peaches in half and pitted them. Then I put some butter on both sides of the peach and sprinkled it with brown sugar. Then we put them on the BBQ. They needed to be cooked about 5 minutes on each side. Just enough to get them soft!

We immediately added a scoop (or two)of vanilla ice cream. It melted all over the peaches! They were amazing! The husband decided to add some strawberries to his creation, but I opted out. The peaches were perfect for me. We will be having this again!

Chai Spiced Cookies

Today is my best friends birthday. I wanted to make her something yummy. I was going to make some Chai flavored cupcakes, but I was missing some of the ingredients. So I went to Betty Crocker..I love the recipes there. And I found this one for Chai Spiced Cookies. I couldn't resist. I got right to it. Then I realized that I didn't have Cardamom. So I ended up at the store anyways (and paid a lot for that one little bottle...). But let me tell you, these babies are totally worth it. Not to mention they are so simple. Really. If you like Chai, these are the cookies for you! I saved me a few and plan on having them with a nice hot chai tea. Maybe that will help with the chill (we have been having rain and more rain lately).

The best friend LOVED them and said she was going to stop at Starbucks on her way home!

Here is the recipe:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg yolks
Coating
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Stir in remaining cookie ingredients.
2. Shape dough by tablespoonfuls into balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 1 1/2 inches apart.
3. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until very lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack; cool 5 minutes.
4. In medium bowl, mix coating ingredients. Working in batches, gently roll warm cookies in coating mixture. Cool on cooling rack 5 minutes. Roll in mixture again.

* The picture is borrowed from Betty Crocker. See, I took pictures..but I haven't uploaded them yet and I just had to share this recipe. And it's better with a photo. My cookies look like these...just not as good of a photograph! I will post my own pictures soon! I promise. Thanks Betty.

A Little Laughter

My Mother in Law sent this to me today in an email. It made me laugh. Cheesy or not. I thought it was cute.


Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but, his later life was filled with turnovers. He was considered a very smart cookie, but, wasted much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he was still a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children, John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus, they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.