The Satisfaction of a Great Sandwich

Disclosure: I am partnering with Kauffman’s Fruit Farm as a blog ambassador. I have received these Kauffman’s Fruit Farm products for free; however, all opinions remain my own.

There are somethings in life that are just satisfying: sunshine on your shoulders, a day just like today, a tale sure to make you smile...Wait...That's a John Denver song. I got distracted for a minute there. Sorry.

Back to things that are satisfying: sunshine, reading a good book, a sandwich with all your favorite fixings. Even better when those things all happen together! Reading a good book in the sunshine while eating an epic sandwich. Wait! What if someone else makes the sandwich to your exact specifications and brings it to you?? Totally a win, right?

Well Frances got the mustard in the wrong place, but seeing as how she was distracted by making a smiley face with it, I'll forgive her!

I've long joked that all it takes to make me happy is the right sandwich. In fact, it was the focus of my submission for The Mother of all Meltdowns: being in a place to get all the fixings I love on a sandwich. I'm really not much more complicated than that.

I've been blogging for Kauffman's Fruit Farm for almost a year and this is my last submission. I've enjoyed sampling their great products, trying out new recipes, and helping them get the word out about their products. But for my finale, I want to keep it simple. I think that's really in line with their company beliefs too. They are a family owned and operated business and have been for 100 years!

Here's to a great sandwich with amazing pickles! What's on your perfect sandwich?

I received compensation (free items and/or cash) in exchange for writing this review. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you choose to click through and purchase something. Your purchase price is not affected.
Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Peach Roll-Ups

Disclosure: I am partnering with Kauffman’s Fruit Farm as a blog ambassador. I have received these Kauffman’s Fruit Farm products for free; however, all opinions remain my own.

I am ready for winter to be done. Truth be told, I was ready right after it got cold the first time. But to me this winter has been odd from the beginning. We keep having spurts of warm weather and then huge dumps of snow. Winter is such a tease.

I find myself longing for spring and summer, warm temperatures, time outside, and fresh fruits. It's hard to be a produce blogger in the middle of winter, you know!This month I had a choice of various fruit butters. I'd already tried apple butter (with chicken dinner). This time I went with peach butter. Their website says anything you can do with apple butter, you can do with peach butter, so I set out to try something new.

If it has to be cold, and I have to be stuck inside, I might as well do a little baking, right? I found a recipe for apple butter roll-ups and I decided to switch it up a bit. These peach butter roll-ups are light and flaky and delicious. Sweet enough for dessert and delicious with a cup of tea and a good book. I may have accidentally forgotten to tell kids about them. Oops! They only lasted two days.

You'll need:

• 3 tbsp of powdered sugar
• 2 ounces of whipped cream cheese
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 can of crescent rolls
• 4 teaspoons of peach butter

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. On a cookie sheet, unroll the crescent rolls. Mix together 2 tbsp powdered sugar with the cream cheese and cinnamon.  Add 1 tsp of this mixture to the short side of each triangle and then top with a 1/2 teaspoon of the apple butter. Roll up loosely and place point down on the cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let them cool briefly and then sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of powdered sugar.

Hold out as long as your will power will allow and then snuggle in with a good book, a warm pastry (or two) and a hot cup of tea!

Family Traditions and a Chicken Dinner

Disclosure: I am partnering with Kauffman’s Fruit Farm as a blog ambassador. I have received these Kauffman’s Fruit Farm products for free; however, all opinions remain my own.

December is a time for friends, family, and traditions. For a family owned business that's no different. This year Kauffman's Fruit Farm is celebrating 100 years in business and as a blog ambassador I was honored to receive a copy of their newly published Faith, Family & Fruit anniversary book.

This book is full of the history of the Kauffman family and their fruit business as well as recipes that have been handed down for generations. With 144 pages of full color pictures, you'll see how running a family business has changed through the third, fourth and even fifth generations!

Other things get passed down through the generations as well. In my family there's the love of cooking fresh meals and sitting around the table together. There are some nights when we can't all make it to the table at the same time, and some nights where take out pizza makes an appearance, but my goal is that a majority of our evenings find us gathered around the dining room table sharing a meal together.

This past week was a busy one for us. Ken recently went back to work after a shoulder injury. I'm very thankful he has been able to return to work, but I'll admit that it was very nice having him home every evening with us. It was also easy to get used to him doing the majority of the cooking!

When I got home Wednesday night, it was to an empty house. Nothing was baking in the over or cooking on the stove. I was followed into the house by three hungry bellies and I didn't have a lot of time to get something together. I took a chance on an ingredient combination that popped into my head, and despite Frances' initial misgivings, we all agreed that it turned out quite well.

You'll need:

• 3-4 pounds of chicken thighs
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• cooking oil
• 1 cup Kauffman's apple butter
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp ginger

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the garlic. Once the garlic smells good, add your chicken thighs and turn to cook on both sides. Mix the apple butter, soy sauce, and ginger well. Once the chicken is cooked through add the apple butter/soy sauce mixture and turn the chicken to coat it. Let the mixture cook down. Remove chicken from pan and pour sauce over it to serve.

We had ours with rice, peas, and Mandarin oranges. Yum!

Apple Spice Cake {Recipe}

Disclosure: I am partnering with Kauffman’s Fruit Farm as a blog ambassador. I have received these Kauffman’s Fruit Farm products for free; however, all opinions remain my own.

I try not to keep too many desserts on hand at home. I have crappy will power and if it's there, I'll eat it. I had to tell Ken a few weeks ago to stop buying me Klondike bars! However, if a dessert has fruit in it, that's a whole different thing. Fruity cakes are healthy! Right?!?! Work with me here!

Recently, I got some Kauffman's Cider Spice Bags for making hot mulled cider. I love hot apple cider, especially as the night's get colder and I can curl up on the couch with a fleece blanket and a hot drink. However, I didn't think you all would enjoy a post about me drinking hot cider, so I went the extra mile. Just. For. YOU!

Apple Spice Cake

Ingredients

• 3 medium apples, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 cup of raisins
• 4 Kauffman's Apple Cider Spice packs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup water, apple juice, or milk

Directions

Mix apples, raisins, and spices. Set aside. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In third bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, to butter and sugar mixture. Alternate incorporating chosen liquid and butter mixture into flour. Mix well after each addition. Add apples and raisins and mix well.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes. Eat and enjoy!

I received compensation (free items and/or cash) in exchange for writing this review.
Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you choose to click through and purchase something. Your purchase price is not affected.
Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

http://www.thelieberfamily.com/p/contest-terms-and-conditions.html

Making Pretzels with Kauffman's Fruit Farm

Disclosure: I am partnering with Kauffman’s Fruit Farm as a blog ambassador. I have received these Kauffman’s Fruit Farm products for free; however, all opinions remain my own.

"Mommy! Your apples are here!" That's a great way to be greeted when you get home from work, right? I love that my kids are so excited to get a box of fruit in the mail. My kids actually got mad at me because I made them eat the grocery store apples before we dove into the Kauffman's box, because I try to stick with a "first in, first out" plan for food management in our house.

I've been partnered with Kauffman's Fruit Farm in Pennsylvania to help them celebrate their 100th anniversary and get the word out about their awesome offerings. And this month I learned that not only do they have amazing fruit, but they have a lot of other great offerings too!

This month's box (similar to this one) contained 8 Gorgeous Gala apples,  an 8 oz bag of apple schnitz, Shoofly pie mix and a soft pretzel mix. I was super excited about the pretzels because we love pretzels, and I've always wanted to make my own.

The package contains the pretzel mix, yeast packet, and salt. All you need to provide is warm water and baking soda (for better browning).

Pour the mix into a bowl then add the yeast packet and warm water. Mix until everything is wet and then knead it for about 3-4 minutes. Place the prepared dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it in a warm location for about an hour to let it rise.

After the dough has risen, turn it out on a greased counter top and divide it into 8-10 pieces. Roll each piece into a 24" cord. Flippity do dah it into a pretzel shape and then dip it in a mixture of 3TBSP baking soda and 2 cups of warm water. This will help it to brown nicely when it bakes. Place it on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 500 degrees for 8 minutes. Try not to eat them all as soon as they come out of the oven!

I made the dough before dinner and let it rise while we ate. After dinner, while the kids were getting on pajamas, I rolled the dough out into long snakes (all those years of Play-doh playing have finally come in useful!) and formed the pretzels. I wanted to make a special surprise for the kids, so I made each of their initials out of pretzels dough. They were done getting ready for bed around the time I pulled them out of the oven.

They LOVED their initial pretzels! And they were so delicious. I may have eaten more than one after they went to bed. This is definitely something I will be purchasing again, and next time I'll let them be more involved since I know what I'm doing now!

If you're looking for fresh fruit, fruit products, or Dutch Country treats, you can't go wrong with Kauffman's Fruit Farm!

I received compensation (free items and/or cash) in exchange for writing this review.
Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you choose to click through and purchase something. Your purchase price is not affected.
Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

http://www.thelieberfamily.com/p/contest-terms-and-conditions.html