Gravatt Bars... YUM!

This week has been rather quiet at Casa Bevy. S was on a mission trip and came home Tuesday afternoon. (Pics to come later!) J is at camp all week. It's the Episcopal Diocesan camp, and guess what? It's only 30 minutes from our house! How's that for convenience?

Of course in this day and age, I have been hooked to the internet all week looking for posted photos on the camps website. What is wrong with us? Why can't we let our kids go for ONE WEEK without the need?


Anyway, you can see he is doing great...


Of course I do miss him. I asked S if he did, and you can guess what he said. Ah, brotherly love. So when J comes home on Sunday, I plan to have a taste of camp waiting for him: Gravatt Bars! Camp Gravatt has been making these ever since I was a camper in the late 70s and a Junior Counselor in the 80s. They are incredibly easy to make and melt in your mouth. I swear!

Here is the recipe. You won't be disappointed!

Gravatt Bars

Ingredients
2 sticks butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions
Mix first three ingredients.
Fold into a 9 x 13 glass pan.  (If you want them thicker, then go for a 9 x 9!)
Melt chocolate chips and pour over mixture.
Refrigerate for about three hours or until it "sets".
Take out and let it "thaw" for about thirty minutes so that it is easy to cut into squares.

Enjoy! I know J will... Oh who am I kidding?  I definitely will!

Recipes Our Mothers Love

This is the week I dread: the week before standardized testing. It's the week we cram and review all we have taught the past year. In a word: stress. But this year I decided that we needed a little diversion, and being the week before Mother's Day, we had a wonderful opportunity to work on our gift.

The past few years, I have culminated a poetry unit with the children writing a multi-stanza poem honoring their mother. It always gets rave reviews, but this year I was inspired by Lindsey at All Things Bright and Beautiful. Lindsey is a first year teacher and blogged about her students creating a class recipe book. I told her I loved the idea and that I was going to "steal" it... And so I did! For Mother's Day!

The children all brought recipes from home, telling their moms that they needed one for a math project on measurement. (Well, they were telling the truth in a round-about way!) They loved the secret and the surprise they had in store for their moms. The day the recipes were due, they literally stormed my desk with "Look! Look! Look at my recipe!" They later rewrote the directions in paragraph form, using sequencing and transition words (i.e. first, next, then, meanwhile, last, etc.) so as to cover state Language arts standards. We also discussed units of measurement - Go math standards! (And don't you know I used the paragraph as a writing grade?!)

They had such fun typing their recipes out, illustrating the pages, and sharing them with the class. And what great recipes! After making 25 copies (You know I had to have one!), I passed them out to the kids. I think they turned out too cute!


Of course I had to add my own recipe Golden Day Banana Bread...

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

Shrimp Scampi a la Bevy

I've never been known as a "foodie", nor have I ever had people rave about my cooking. Oh, I'm pretty decent in the kitchen, but I'm no Martha, Paula, or Julia. (Maybe it has to do with that "a" at the end of their names...) So imagine my surprise when my picky eater boys complimented me on my version of an online recipe. Of course I didn't have all the right ingredients, so I improvised. Which is what I do with most recipes!

So here's Shrimp Scampi a la Bevy


* 1 1/2 pounds of medium or large shrimp, peeled, deveined, etc.
* Spaghetti (or angel hair pasta)
* Coat the pan with extra virgin olive oil. (They said 8 tsp of butter, but I love extra virgin)
* Heat on medium high
* Toss in:
3 cloves of diced garlic
Numerous shakes of Old Town Geek seasoning
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup (?) of lemon juice
Fresh parsley
Salt
* Stir until bubbly
* Toss in shrimp and cook until white
* Pour shrimp over cooked pasta
* Pour glass of white wine for you and the hubby and lemonade for the kiddos...

Yummalicious!

Steeplechase Preparations

Oh, what a Golden Day Saturday is sure to be!  We are looking at partly sunny skies and a lovely 75 degrees for the Aiken Steeplechase.  I went to the grocery store yesterday to get supplies for my part of the spread:  brownies, homemade oatmeal raisin  and chocolate chip cookies, and the "Now Famous Cheese Ring".

(This isn't mine... you'll see my creation next week
with picture from the races!)

 

You've never heard of the "Now Famous Cheese Ring"???  Heavens!!!  It is divine, scrumptious, and a hit every year.  I have been making it as long as I have been entertaining.  The recipe comes from the fabulous cookbook Tea Time at the Masters  (Augusta, Georgia JL cookbook from years past).  And I thought I would share this delicious hors d'oeurve with you.

"Now Famous" Cheese Ring
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup onions, grated or finely chopped
6 twists (of the pepper mill) of freshly ground pepper
1 dash cayenne pepper
12 ounces strawberry preserves

• Mix all ingredients except strawberry preserves and shape into a ring. 
• However, I usually "pour" into a bowl and scoop out the middle after it is chilled.
• Chill
• Spoon preserves into the hollow before serving. 
• Serve with Ritz or wheat crackers.

Oh, so delish!

Comfort Food

I've been catching up and reading blog posts this evening.  I have a Crystal Lite Cosmo in Waterford crystal by my side.  (Tastes better that way I think!)  Oldest son is sleeping over at a friend's.  Youngest son is playing with his Tek Deck miniature skateboards and motorcycles on the oriental rug.  Husband is watching Fox News.  I love a Friday night like this because, as my Great Aunt Katherine would say, "I am worn to a frazzle."  (Must be said with true southern lady drawl.)  And based on what I have read from lots of you, so are you!

Tonight is the perfect night for Jackson's favorite meal:  homemade chicken pot pie.  I can smell it in the oven,  pure comfort food.  Ahhh, here it is...

Here's the recipe for the easiest chicken pot pie ever - and yummiest!

frozen rolled up pie crusts
3-4 boiled chicken breasts
1 small bag of frozen veggies OR 1 can of veggies
1 can 98% fat-free cream of whatever soup
1/4 cup of milk
thyme (this is the KEY ingredient!!!)
salt and pepper to taste.

mix all ingredients and let sit about 15-20 minutes to let the flavors "marry"
pour in pie pan lined with bottom crust
top with other crust (duh!)
bake at 350 degrees for almost an hour.

Pure comfort!

My Banana Bread Beats Your Banana Bread

I admit it, I bake fabulous banana bread.  And everyone in my neighborhood knows it.  Whenever a new family moves in, I am right there, welcoming them with a loaf in hand, tied with a grosgrain ribbon.  Although this photo is stock, you get the idea.  (My loaves are richer in color however!)

My recipe was passed down to me from my mother who received it from her great aunt.  The original is written in Aunt Lucy's hand on a yellowed piece of paper my mother keeps in her recipe file.  (Now that I think of it, I would like to have it.  I think I'll call Mama today and tell her I want "dibs" on it!) The key is ripe bananas that are so ripe you may be tempted to think they are beyond the point of no return.  But oh, how yummy they make the bread!

The other thing that makes any baking better is this:  a Kitchen Aid Mixer.   I adore my mixer.  I must use it at least once a week.  (Sometimes I even mix the boys' pancakes with it!)   Before I had mine, I never understood what the big deal was.  Now I do.  Batter is creamier.  Confections are lighter.  Eggs are fluffier.  'Nuf said.

But how can you make banana bread like mine?  I'll let you in on a little secret.  See the cookbook in the above picture?  The same recipe my Great, Great Aunt Lucy used has been published in noted cookbook,  Blessed Isle:  Recipes from Pawley's Island compiled by the Episcopal Church Women of All Saints.  I don't know how they got it, except that my mother has perhaps given the recipe out to friends who live or vacation at the Blessed Isle!  My mother tends to make it for a quick beach breakfast, toasted with a little butter spread on the top.  Yum!

Here's the recipe for one loaf:

3 large very ripe bananas
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup of butter, melted
1 1/2 cups of flour
3/4 tsp soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 small package of chopped pecans or walnuts (not in the cookbook, but

• Mash bananas with a fork.  Blend in sugar, egg, and butter.
• Add flour, soda, and salt.  Mix well (with your Kitchen Aid!).
• Add nuts.  Mix well again!
  
• Pour batter into greased and foured 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 50 minutes.

Enjoy...