Blueberry Cobbler

Our neighbors went blueberry picking last weekend and brought us over a few pints of blueberries afterwards (Thanks-we loved them!). I've been eating them most of the week-adding them to my cereal or yogurt, etc. Last night Gabe finally dug into them and was raving how good they were. (And they are the hugest berries I've ever seen) He suggested that I make a blueberry cobbler. So, I began the search online-yes a royal pain! I only had one pint left and most recipes called either for pie filling or for a huge amount of berries. I gave up looking last night and tried again this morning. I found 2 recipes that were very similar so I combined the two to create my own.
(Side note-it's been FOREVER since I tried a new recipe or baked anything!!)

Blueberry Cobbler
4 tbsp butter, creamed
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2-3 cups berries (I'm sure any fruit would work-I used a pint which was a little over 2 cups)
Another 1/2 cup sugar (the others called for a full cup which I thought was way too much so I cut it down a bit)
3/4 cup hot water (one said 1 cup, one said 1/2 cup so I went halfway)

Mix together butter, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Grease or spray a baking dish (I used a 1-1/2 qt casserole dish) with nonstick spray. Pour berries into dish.

Top berries with batter and spread out evenly. Pour 1/2 cup sugar over the batter. Pour hot water on top-do not mix! (Yes it'll look bizarre-don't worry!)

Bake at 350 for an hour or until top gets browned. (one recipe said 375-I baked it at 350 for about 40min then bumped it up to 375 for the last 20min)


The verdict? The batter/cake part tasted really good-just what I was looking for. The disappointing part was that the blueberry part came out like soup! I have no idea why or how, but they were so liquidy! So you basically had a cake on top with blueberry liquid underneath. It tasted fine, but I wish it would have been a little thicker.

Anyone have any suggestions or another cobbler recipe I could try?

A Piece of Me is Gone

You may remember this post about my belly button ring. Well that was 2 months ago...since Avery arrived, I've been debating if I should put the ring back in or not. I was still undecided but decided to see if the hole was still open last night. I figured it would be since I got it pierced 11 years ago. I mean my earring holes stay open so why wouldn't this?! It's the same thing, just a different body part. So before I went to bed last night, I grabbed the ring and went to put it in....only....it.didn't.go.in. WHAT?! Yeah, you heard me, it did NOT go in! Somehow the hole closed up! I can't believe it! So, it looks like my decision was made for me. There's no way I'd go get it pierced again and I highly doubt I could push it through (and the pain-oh the pain that would cause!). So, looks like I have to say goodbye to that chapter of my life.

(Sigh)

I Found....

my thumb!

One Month Old!

My baby girl is one month old today-I can't believe it! She's already getting so big-out of her newborn clothes and growing like a weed! Her eyes are starting to change color already too. They're getting lighter and one of her eyes I think is starting to get some brown/green in it. It's fun to see her growing, but sad to see the baby leaving her already!

Open House For Avery

Since this was our first trip to Buffalo since Avery has arrived (we haven't been in 2 months), my Mom decided to hold an open house so that people could come and meet the little peanut. Of course my Mom and Aunt Pat made wonderful food and we had a lot of people come and visit which was very nice. It was great seeing so many people...most of whom I haven't seen since my baby shower a few months ago. We had a wonderful time and I think everyone was happy they got to meet our new addition! Here are a few photos from the day:

Avery in her cute dress and sunhat:

My cousin Cayden sporting a new mohawk:

Gabe, Avery and I:

My friend Kristin and her daugher Phoebe (8mos), Megan and Noah (3mos), Avery (1mo) and I:

Jessica's son Connor:

Connor laughing at Gabe:

Jessica and Connor (5mos), Avery and I:


Thanks everyone for coming to see us-it was great to see you all!

Erin and Paul

Today we drove into Buffalo for our first trip since having Avery. My friend Erin was having her wedding reception so we were attending for our first big night out. We've gone out twice for dinner without Avery, but this was a big night since we would be gone several hours without her. (All went well by the way!)

Erin and I met in high school while working at Putt-Putt. When I transferred to Buffalo State, we were both going for a Biology degree so we ended up taking a lot of science classes together and being lab partners. We had some good times. While at Putt-Putt, she was dating a guy named Paul, who I went to middle school with-yeah, small world. Anyways, her and Paul are still together-yes, 13 years later and they finally tied the knot!

They officially got married on July 17th down in the Bahamas so this was their at home wedding reception. It was held at Banchetti's banquet hall in their outdoor grove. I had been there before because I used to work at Rizzo's but I had never been for a wedding. It was very nice. Erin and Paul had everything island themed-they had blender drinks, tiki torches, etc. It was very nice! Gabe and I had a good time and it was nice having a night out as well!

Here are a few photos from the reception...
Erin and Paul before getting announced:



Cutting their cake-I was in a really bad spot:

First dance:

Congratulations Erin and Paul! May you have many years of happiness!

I Caught A Smile

I was out and about with Avery today and when I got home I had her in her car seat on the dining room table. I went up to her and said "Hi Avery!" and she put her hand up like she was waving and got a HUGE smile on her face! I ran to get my camera and tried to get her to do it again...and this is what I got! Too precious!