I think the very day they moved in, they spoke to us. And then the next day they did it again. And the next, and the next. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I mean, we're kind of hard to find, since we're only actually HERE like two hours a day, and those are pretty much after dark.
Here we are a year later, and we've already co-hosted a garage sale with them, and I join Dacy and several other neighborhood girls at her house once a month for "cooking club." That's a fancy way of saying that Dacy picks a theme, we all cook a dish suited for the theme, and then we get together to stuff our faces and swap the recipes.
IT'S A GREAT HANG.
We've done Italian, Caribbean, Blueberry and Tailgating recipes, that I can recall -- although we've met twice that many times. So just make up some other themes in your head.
I only took pictures at two of them: Blueberry and Tailgating. So today I thought I'd share the blueberry recipes with you, because they were great!
Hostess Extraordinaire Dacy made Chicken with Blueberry Sauce. Let me just tell you, I didn't know what to expect, but it was DELICIOUS. She's one of those really creative types who said, "I'm gonna try to do something non-carby!" (Sidebar: she keeps cumin in her kitchen, y'all. I don't even know what COLOR cumin is. I say if you keep cumin around, you're a real cook.)
Rachel made Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad, and it might have been my favorite surprise of the night. I mean, it was FAB.U.LOUS. I could've eaten four bowls of it.
Keri made Blueberry Crunch, which is similar to the Blueberry Dump Cake that I made (see below), but not quite as sweet and with the added bonus of pineapple. I'd never had it before, but it was delicious!
Blueberry Crunch
1 lg can crushed pineapple, do not drain
3 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
1 cup pecans, chopped (can't remember if I left these out or not)
Spray
9x13 inch baking dish. Coat blueberries with 3/4 sugar and set aside.
Pour pineapple into dish, then blueberries. Sprinkle with dry cake mix
over fruit. Melt butter and drizzle over mix. Sprinkle with chopped
nuts on top - do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
(may not need a full box of cake mix--freeze what is not used).
Funny story about Keri ... she's a longtime Grass Stains reader! She grew up in our neighborhood and ended up reading my blog several years ago coincidentally, I think. And then she moved back to our neighborhood and, as it turns out, knows someone in my cooking club group. So now we see each other once a month. Small world!
Okay, back to the recipes ... Maredith made Blueberry Buckle. Internet. It looked PROFESSIONAL.
I mean, for real, when we cut into it to put slices onto plates, it looked like something you'd see in Southern Living or something. So Martha Stewart!
I, of course, had gone straight to my friend Stephanie's website, Plain Chicken, to pull a blueberry recipe. She had more than one, but I went for the one that had the highest sugar content. Duh. Blueberry Dump Cake for the win!
Ima let you finish, but if you want to die happy, eat this with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream on top.
Blueberry Night was a smaller night for our group ... here are (from left) Keri, Rachel, hostess Dacy, and Maredith. We typically have maybe twice this many women. You think people were afraid of coming up with a blueberry recipe? MAYBE.
Anyway, aren't they adorable? I love making new friends even though I'm old and decrepit. KEEP 'EM COMING.
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