Fresh from the garden inspiration

Betty Crocker Colada Cooler Punch

Betty Crocker Salmon Burgers with Dill Sauce.

I love to play the pantry game. Ya know, when  you don't have a plan for dinner and haven't been to the grocery store in awhile but you have to come up with something for dinner. Well, tonight, the pantry just happened to offer some ingredients for a Betty recipe. 

I give you- Betty Crocker Salmon Burgers, a.k.a salmon patties. We didn't have much money growing up and salmon wasn't as affordable back in the day so we bought mackerel- same principal, different fish. Also, it wasn't served with a fancy sauce to dip it in. 

Ok, enough of the history lesson, back to the recipe. These came out pretty good. The only alteration I made was that I baked them rather than pan fry them (I had a moment of 'ok let's watch our fried food intake'). If I had to say anything, maybe just that the recipe could of used a bit more salt, but overall a tasty dish, I'd definitely make them again.

Betty Crocker Basil Pesto

One of my favorite foods.

Pesto. What else is there to say? Pesto. A condiment? A sauce? A topping? Whatever you call it or however you use it, it's a culinary gift of nature. One tablespoon of it packs such a flavorful punch it just blesses anything it touches with yumminess. 

On top of being one of my top three favorite condiments, I love to make it myself. I live all year to pick the first bunch of fresh basil from garden just to make a jar of pesto. The way my kitchen becomes perfumed with the fragrance of basil is like herbal aromatherapy. Inhale slowly, now exhale, ahhh.

Betty Crocker Fajita Quesadillas

The Front Porch

     All my life I've wanted a front porch. Whenever I go anywhere I always notice a full length or wrap around porch and wish I had one to sit on, decorate, entertain in, etc.
     What's funny about this is I have a front porch now. It's not a wrap around or full length but it's enough for the two rickety white rocking chairs that I have there now and the old wicker table and probably some really pretty planters to dress it up. So why haven't I taken the time to dress her up? Probably because I don't get out here much as it is. I think I'm going to have to do something about that- stay tuned.
     Back to 'the front porch'- like the lilacs of the previous post, the front porch is more than an entrance to a  house, it's a feeling, it's memories, it's the sound of birds chirping, the wind blowing the leaves, seeing a rabbit run across the road (that literally just happened as I was typing this), the smell of fresh air and grass, moments of inner reflection or planning the next 'whatever'. You could quite possibly change your life just by sitting on the front porch. Okay, that's sounds a bit cliche but I'm okay with that.
     I love the time I spend here, it's more than just a porch, it's a 'place'.

Betty Crocker Silver White Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ok, so I have to disclose all the truths about this cake. I don't like white cake and I typically hate most frosting's and I especially don't like my cake cold which was the case here. The hubby loves white cake and white frosting- especially the gritty kind of frosting. I made this cake for his birthday, and conveniently for the blog too. He loves his cake cold, so I had put it in the frig, which to me makes it taste dry. I've left it out on the counter and will give it another try later today and hopefully the moisture will be there.  If it were up to me all cake would be DEVILS FOOD! (Excuse the pic, I didn't get a good one before we cut it and the frosting wasn't cooperating)