Herta's Fruit Cobbler

Looking for Sweet & Simple Sunday? Click here and link up your favorites, sweets, treats, and anything neat!! 

Isn't it crazy how things change as we get older?

I was reading this post at Paint Speckled Pawprints earlier this week that immediatly took me back to 1998. Although my experience at The University of Toledo was nothing like that, I still have thousands of vivid memories of it.

I was in my Sophmore year at The University of Toledo.

I was majoring in Administrative Office Assisting, I was Public Relations V.P. of my Sororotiy, Alpha Xi Delta, I was dating my high school sweetheart, and my roommate had access to Malley's Chocolates. One of the best chocolatiers on the entire planet (well, of the one's I've tried).

Everything was great, except for one thing.

I was 2 hours away from my entire family, including my future hubby.

I was homesick.

I loved being in college, but I wanted to be home.

I made a decision to change my life path, and to come home and finish my degree at Wright State University. I'm so glad I did. Sure, there are those days that I wish I would have finished there, but I'm so grateful for all of the experiences I had, and the people I met, both at UT and at WSU that I would't change it for the world.

My days slowly changed after graduating. I went from being a carefree college student, to being a full-time employee, a wife, and eventually a mom.

Before we had kids though, my hubby and I had some friends that we would spend almost every weekend with.  Typically we'd be hanging around a campfire, filling up on snacks and adult beverages. Myself, I've never been much of a drinker, but there's just something about sitting around a fire enjoying a nice wine cooler or Zima (how's that for a flashback!)

We've all grown up a little since then.

There have been marriages, divorces, babies, new homes, sickness, surgeries, deaths.

But one thing has stayed constant.

The knowledge that if any of us need anything, the others will be there to help.

This recipe was always a favorite of  ours around those campfires.

In fact, everytime that we take our family camping now this is the first thing that goes in the camp box to make for dessert.

Herta's Fruit Cobbler

Herta is like a second mom to all of us.

She's one of the strongest women I know.

An amazing mom & grandma.

She's had a tough life, but with the help of her family and friends she greets each day with a smile, no matter what it may bring.

I remember so many times Herta hanging out with us, laughing, smiling, and just being one of us.

I miss her. I know I should just pick up the phone, or just stop by, but some how, life always seems to get in the way.

I make this cobbler as my own personal tribute to her. I helps me remember the good 'ole days.

When we make this, we typically use cherry pie filling, but it is great with any other filling you can find. Canned or homemade, both work just great. This recipe is so easy to make. Like I said I make this both at home and around the campfire. I'll give you both ways.

First, here's what you need:

1 can cherry pie filling (or whatever flavor you'd like)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk

This is what you do:

First-the oven version:

1. In a large glass or ceramic bowl melt butter in microwave, set aside.

2. In a seperate bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk. Stir until combined well.

3. Pour sugar mixture on top of melted butter, DO NOT STIR.

4. Open pie filling and pour on top of butter & batter, again, DO NOT STIR.

5. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and, if you can wait, allow it to cool before serving.

Next-the campfire version:

1. In a dutch oven, melt butter over medium fire (make sure you don't scorch it).

2. In a large ziploc bag combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk. Squish it around until it's all mixed up really well (no clumps).

3. Snip corner of bag and pour it into dutch oven, on top of butter, DO NOT STIR.

4. Pour in pie filling on top of batter, again, DO NOT STIR.

5. Place lid on dutch oven, lower closer to fire, place coals on top of lid, and allow to bake over the fire for 30 minutes.

6. Remove coals from top, open lid, and check top for doneness (it should be golden brown)

7. Remove from fire and serve.

I'm telling you, this cobbler is so good and so easy!

We enjoy it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or personally, I enjoy  it right out of the bowl!

I'm not picky!

Mix some up, bake it up, and invite over those friends that you swear you're going to call next weekend! Make the call now! Life doesn't last forever!

Pomegranates, Pomellos, & Persnickity Kids

As I was walking through the grocery store the other day I was trying to look at everything around me. Trying to take in all of the things that I had never tried. Why? I really don't know. I'm trying to become more inspired. I'm trying to try new things. I've seen so many amazing cupcake ideas lately, all of which I have in my mind too, but just haven't acted on them as quickly as everyone else. Sometimes I over think things, I know that I should just go with my gut feeling, but it's taking that step and failing that I'm afraid of. I'm trying to get better at it. I take it one day at a time.

So anyways, as I was walking through the produce section, something caught my eye. What is this? a big, round, green, unripened grapefruit? After closer inspection of the sticker I realized it was a Pomello. Hum? I was intrigued. I had no idea what it was. I had no idea what it tasted like. I had no idea how to peel the thing. All I knew was that this beautiful $1.49 fruit was going into a nice little bag and coming home with me.

As I was choosing my pomello, I looked slightly left and noticed a fruit that I had seen quite a few times but had never actually purchased, a pomegranate. I always see these fruits online being dissected and cleaned in bowls of water and I always thought to myself, "well that looks pretty easy, I wonder what they taste like?" So along side my giant green pomello I placed a beautiful red pomegranate.

So after checking out with my two new treasures I couldn't wait any longer, I had to get home and open them up to see just what the insides looked like. (Random fact #11 Secret obsession with dissecting fruits and veggies)

I broke out the cutting board, knife, and a big bowl of water. Now as I've mentioned before, I am a mother of 2. Aiden who is 6 1/2 and Sophie who is 19 months (Random fact #12, my kids share a birthday exactly 5 years apart). Both of them enjoy being in the kitchen with me and I'm trying to work on being more patient with them while I'm diving into these adventures. So as I was cutting into the first fruit, the pomello, both kids were perched on the chair and table (Sophie enjoys climbing on furniture like a chimpanzee) waiting ever so patient to see what was hiding inside. The pomello kind of surprised me. I had looked online as to the best way to cut into it and found that you can cut it pretty much like a grapefruit. The pomello was very spongy, and there wasn't as much flesh on the inside as I had expected. The pomello tasted very similar to a grapefruit.

I finished cutting it and offered it up to the kids. I could tell by the look on Aiden's face, he wasn't enjoying this experiment as much as I was. Sophie on the other hand was bound and determined to eat her way through the entire green "ball".

Now it was pomegranates turn. I took the knife to the pomegranate as I had been instructed to do so online by scoring it into five sections and peeling them apart. I also was warned online about the juice that comes from the pomegranate and how much it could stain. No fear here, onward! I peeled one of the sections from the fruit and placed it in the big bowl of water and started gently plucking the seeds from the inside of the fruit.

This is one thing people often don't realize about the pomegranate. You eat the seeds of the fruit, the outside is just the capsule. I also read somewhere that pomegranates are great for the female reproductive system. That I have no idea if it's true or not, just thought I'd throw that out there. Back to the dark red juice staining my cutting board. I removed all of the seeds from the sections of the pomegranate, tossed the carcase in the trash and offered up the tasty morsels to the kids once again.

This time, exact opposite reaction. Aiden had a huge grin on his face and insisted that I save some of those "seeds" for him to eat after school. Sophie. Well she just shook her head and down off the table she went.

I've learned in the 19 months of being a mother of 2 that this is typical. Everything in their worlds are opposite. Opposite sleeping habits, eating habits, personalities, likes, dislikes. It truly is amazing that two kids who are raised in the same exact house can be so different. I guess that's God's way of keeping it interesting in the Campbell house.

We finished off the pomello but we still have some of the pomegranate seeds left and have been trying to figure out what to do with them. I think I've got it. In fact I know I've got it. You'll have to check back to see what I've done with them!!