When the weather is cooperating, the kids love to be in the backyard.

On one pretty sunny day, I decided to clean up the old grill, and give grilling a try.

Grilling/smoking/ BBQ-ing is one skill that I would like to master. I watched a few videos online for tips to get started grilling.

I started some coals on one side of the grill, and left half of the grill empty for carry-over cooking. I also scrubbed the grill with a brush, and it cleaned up well.

The grill was clean, and the coals were ready.

I made burgers for the big kid, James, and me. Dylan and Agnes wanted hot dogs.

I got them a little bit done, but not too bad for my first try.

The grilled burgers and hot dogs were fantastic! I’m not a big burger fan, but the flavor of the grill made them so tasty. I will be giving grilling another try. Maybe I’ll work my way up to smoking some Ribs.

August was one of those months that flew by way too fast. I didn’t spend too much time cooking in the kitchen, and then by the end of the month my oven wonked out… I do have a few photos to share. Some of the goodies I made, and a few I didn’t.

Lately I have been on a Fried Pickle kick. I love them, and they are easy to make too. I pared these fried pickles with BBQ Chicken Sliders. The homemade butter rolls make fantastic slider buns.

My hubby’s co-worker called up and made me an offer. She said I’ll provide the fresh peaches, if you do the baking. It sounded like a great deal to me. I made one batch of Peach Duff to split between us.

She also wanted a Peach Pie. I love making peach pies, they are one of my very favorites.

My mid-afternoon pick me up has been homemade Iced Coffee. I save my coffee from the morning, add a little milk, ice, sugar, and flavored coffee creamer, and it is delicious. It is nice and cool during the hot Summer afternoons.

I had flour tortillas hanging out in the fridge, so I made up a big batch of Sopapillas for the kiddos. I called them Cinnamon Sugar Nachos, and served them with Apple Slices, and Chocolate Sauce.

My oldest kiddo loves homemade Breadsticks. I think he could eat them for every meal.

My favorite late night treat is Tea, Earl Grey, Hot… With sugar please. I’m hooked!

We have new neighbors that have recently moved in next door. They are fantastic, and so kind too. I made them a big batch of Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies to say welcome to the neighborhood.

The next day I was baking a Pumpkin Pie, and my oven started beeping, buzzing, and flashing error codes. It was toast, and the pie didn’t turn out… Ugh, I didn’t fret though, I re-worked my menu, and dug out some of my favorite no-bake recipes to make.

My little gal could eat broccoli with every meal, and so could I. She loved the homemade Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli for lunch. I made a big batch and had lunch for a few days.

One of my favorite no bake treats to make are S’mores Bars. Golden Grahams, Mini Chocolate Chips, Marshmallows, a bit of Butter, and more Marshmallows, and yum. Dylan loved them, he even requested them for his lunch-box dessert.

When we visited my brother in Kansas City, he introduced us to some of his favorite places. Not too far from his house was Lamar’s Donuts. Oh my goodness, these donuts were amazing! I need at least a dozen right now! Time to make another road trip to the North.

I made a batch of Scotcheroos too. They are my favorite no-bake treat.

I hope to get a new oven soon, but the little break has been nice. My hubby sure is missing Chocolate Bundt Cake though. We’ll see what tasty treats September brings our way.

Yesterday’s Spring Break activity was dusting off the ice cream maker, and making homemade ice cream. Thade found a recipe that he wanted to try, and Dylan and Agnes were on board too. We went to the store and got all of our supplies.

My littlest helpers were ready too.

Thade popped in to help a bit later.

We mixed in all of the ingredients, and all of the kids took turns stirring. We split the mixture into two batches.

We loaded up the ice cream maker,  and set the timer on the oven.

We couldn’t wait, we had to try just a little bit.

Once the two batches were mixed, I put them both in a large plastic bowl in the freezer. I checked on the ice cream about every thirty minutes, and gave it a good stir to distribute the chocolate chips. I think it took almost two hours before the ice cream was at soft serve stage. We couldn’t wait though, we had to try it.

The kiddos loved it! Agnes said it was yummy.

Dylan really loved it! He wanted seconds.

Thade loved it too! He also wanted seconds.

I also really really really liked it. It was crazy tasty! I am going to have to make this again. Dylan has already requested another batch for his birthday party.

I’ve had lots of tasty Summer fruits and veggies hanging out in the kitchen.

I had a few peaches, and I didn’t know what to do with them. I looked over a cookbook that my grandmother gave me when I was a little kid.

I found the perfect recipe to make.

I halved the recipe though, since I didn’t have three pounds of peaches.

The Sugar Crusted Peach Cobbler was delicious,

and it was a great way to use Summer peaches.

Yum!