Blueberry Picking 2014

The kids and I went with my mom to do our annual blueberry picking back at the end of July.  (Turns out I found a pile of blueberries in my freezer when it died this summer, so didn't really need any...but it's fun!) 

 

This year the tractor and wagon was back!  Blake really missed it last year and kept asking when it was coming even though we were right by the front.  I think Morgan was happy to have a ride too...look at that smile! :-)

 Sweater is on inside-out, but at least the blueberries won't be staining the 'right' side! ;-)

 It was warm enough that the sweater came off anyway.  Look at all those blueberries!

 They love sticking their little faces in these. This year they're both tall enough that it actually worked! :-)

 And since we didn't fill ourselves up on the berries, we went out to eat afterwards.  The kids were spoiled with their own bottles of pop.  It made them feel pretty special!

Blueberry Picking 2013 & Recipes!

She looks like she likes them! :-)  (She won't eat them, but she'll pick them.)

This guy really likes them!

This one doesn't look so good.



All our blueberries...about 9 pounds.  Apparently is was really bright. ;-)

 

 These are some of the recipes we've enjoyed with our blueberries:

 Blueberry Zucchini Bread

 Blueberry Boy Bait

Homemade Bo-Berry Biscuits from Go Graham Go.

Blueberry Boy Bait

This is probably more commonly known as 'Blueberry Buckle', but since Rich's grandma told me what they used to call it, I've enjoyed using the name 'Blueberry Boy Bait'.  I have to say it would work quite well as 'bait' too...well, maybe more of a 'bribe'.  Being it is one of Blake's favorite foods, I'm pretty sure I can get him to do pretty much anything for this blueberry treat!  Maybe I should call is 'Blueberry Boy Bribe'? ;-)

 

Blueberry Boy Bait (Blueberry Buckle)
*3/4 cup sugar
*1/4 cup shortening
*1 egg
*1/2 cup milk
*2 cups sifted flour
*2 tsp baking powder
*1/2 tsp salt
*2 cups blueberries

Crumb topping:
*1/2 cup sugar
*1/3 cup sifted flour
*1/2 tsp cinnamon
*1/4 cup soft butter

1.) Thoroughly mix together the sugar, shortening and egg.
2.) Stir in egg.
3.) Sift the flour baking powder and salt together and stir into shortening mixture.
4.) Spread batter in greased and floured 9" square pan.  (We use 8") Sprinkle with Crumb topping (Just mix the ingredients mixed together in a separate bowl.)
5.) Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until wooden toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.

Makes 9 servings.

This is a classic blueberry treat that I used to enjoy growing up.  It comes from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.

I linked up at Delicious Dish Tuesday and What's Cooking Wednesday:

Blueberry Picking 2011

My mom and I had planned to take the kids blueberry picking and had a morning that would work all figured out. When we left home, it was sunny, yet cool, and it felt like it was going to be perfect....until we were a couple miles from the berry farm and the dark clouds rolled in. It rained on and off for a while. We had other things to do planned, so we did those first and ended with blueberry picking. Thankfully we only got rained on a little bit while picking and the rest of the time we had fun....especially the kids!

Blake enjoying the ride out to the berries.

Morgan with her Oma. Look at ALL the blueberry bushes behind them...and the dark cloud!

Blake wasn't off the wagon for 5 seconds before going to work picking every berry in sight...including the green ones and reddish ones. (When I told him to only pick the blue ones, it wasn't as exciting anymore...lol!)

Morgan did an awesome job! She picked quite a few and kept running back to me to show me her bucket.

Eventually they got tired of it and we headed back to pay for what we picked. The kids and I ended up with 4 lbs of blueberries in probably 45 minutes of picking.

Then we had to get some pictures in the cutouts.

Morgan and Blake make some cute blueberries, don't they!?

Now I have some work freezing some berries and maybe doing some baking...Blueberry Buckle (aka: Blueberry Boy Bait) is sounding really yummy! ;-)

Make Something Monday: Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Each year I freeze several different fruits and vegetables, so that I can bake with them at other times of the year. This year I froze blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, zucchini, pumpkin and corn (which I don't usually bake with, but will warm up to go with a meal.) The thing is, I haven't been baking much, summer will be here before I know it and I still have a TON of fruits and veggies in the freezer. So when I found this recipe at allrecipes.com that used both blueberries and zucchini, I was excited to be able to clean out a couple things from the freezer! Plus it had awesome reviews, so I knew it was a must to try! :-) By the way-the reviews were right on! This bread is DELICIOUS! :-)
Blueberry Zucchini Bread

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 pint fresh blueberries (I used frozen and it still turned out great!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans. (I used two 9x5 loaf pans and baked them about 15 minutes longer.)

2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.

3. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.