Apple Fluffs
Grandma’s Apple Fluffs
Nothing beats good-old fashioned recipes.
There are some recipes that will take you right back to your grandmother’s kitchen table, and this is one of them.
Apple fluffs is a great dessert you make in a casserole dish and can serve a crowd. It’s great with either frozen apples or cut up fresh!
Either way, it’s a must serve with icecream hot out of the dish. Or, cold for breakfast. There is no judgement here!
- 2 C flour
- 4 Tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp shortening
- 1 C milk
- Sliced apples
- Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon
- 2 C water
- 1 C brown sugar
- Mix the dough like a biscuit, chopping in the shortening.
- Roll into a long rectangle.
- Cover the dough with sliced apples.
- Sprinkle the apples with brown sugar and cinnamon to taste.
- Roll the dough like a jelly roll and slice.
- Place the slices side-by-side in the casserole dish.
- Cover with a syrup made from 2 C water and 1 C brown sugar.
- Put a few pats of butter on top.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes in a 350 oven.
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Kentville Gorge Trails
Kentville Gorge Trails
The Kentville Gorge is a great place to discover right in the heart of Kentville!
Here’s what the Kentville website says:
The Gorge is located on 64.5 acres of natural woodland.
It was developed in 1930 and is still maintained today.
The Gorge has awesome trails for mountain biking and great trails for walking and hiking in the summer.
The Trails
The main walking trail is a figure 8 loop.
When you first enter the park, have a look at the map.
Besides the main walking trail there are many mountain bike trails and paths that lead off the main loop.
Stick to the main loop if you are walking. There are maps as you go along, so it’s easy to stay on the main path.
When we went, the adults stuck to the main loop path, but the kids had a great time looking at the map, and running along some of the bike trails in the ravine.
They LOVED doing this, and it was a definite highlight for them. In fact, they keep asking to go back so they can do it again!
Sticking to the main loop, the trail was less than 30 minutes, and less than 2km.
The main loop is also stroller friendly.
All Seasons
The Kentville Gorge trails are great in all seasons. I have chaperoned a school snowshoe trip there, too!
I highly recommend doing this trail without snow before you try it in the winter!
We did this trail a few times in the winter, but couldn’t tell the difference between the main loop and the biking paths, and ended up very turned around.
However, now that there is signage, this shouldn’t be a problem.
How to Get There
There are two entrances to the Park:
1) Gladys Porter Drive; this entrance includes parking. This road is across from the Kentville ball park off Park Street and will take you up to the site of the old BFM hospital.
Watch for the sign at the side of the road.
2) Grant Street entrance; this entrance is a foot path. Both of these entrances have interpretive signage. This is in the subdivision beside the gorge.
Looking for a quick, easy and family-friendly walk in the woods, try the Kentville Gorge! You will be surprised at this natural wonder right in Kentville!
Best Burgers in Halifax
Best Burger Joints in Halifax
I know a thing or two about burgers!
This past April, Campaign for Kids, for which I am the communications coordinator, ran a fundraiser called Burger Wars.
We sold 5502 burgers from 23 restaurants, and I took one for the team and ate just about every one of them!
So, I know a thing or two about good burgers!
This summer, we started exploring some burger joints in Halifax and found 2 that we love!
Boom Burger
BOOMburger keeps it simple by offering Burgers and PEI Fries – made FRESH!
“We are a local burger concept restaurant that is dedicated to freshness, local quality ingredients and friendly service. Every burger is made to order with 100% fresh Island beef and served on a bun grilled with COWS CREAMERY butter. Cheeseburgers are topped with award winning COWS CREAMERY Extra Old Cheddar and fresh cut PEI fries are made using only Prince Edward Island potatoes. Come taste the difference that fresh, local quality ingredients make”
Doesn’t that make your mouth water?
When you go, order one less fries than people.
Your food comes in a paper bag and they always dump more fries in the bag!
You get to order exactly what you want on your burger from a long list of toppings, and they are so good!
Boomburger is found in Halifax off Larry Uteck, and also in Charlottetown on Capital Drive on the “causeway” into Charlottetown.
And, if you have gluten allergies, are on the Keto diet, or trying to cut down a bit, you can have a lettuce bun!
Krave Burger
“Got a Kraving? We source ingredients locally and prepare them carefully, so your food is as fresh and tasty as possible. All Beef, No Fillers. We source ingredients locally and prepare them carefully, so your food is as fresh and tasty as possible.”
We discovered Krave Burger quite by chance, and we’ll definitely be back!
When you enter, there are so many interesting and fun burgers to try. You’ll have to go more than once so you can try them all!
All sorts of different toppings are available, including eggs!
Krave Burger sells more than just burgers, so there is something for everyone’s tastes.
Krave Burger is located at 5680 Spring Garden Road in Halifax.
We are really excited to find this place, as it was always hard to find a nice place to eat in downtown Halifax that was affordable and where we could take the kids! This beats all!
Next time you are in Halifax, get your Burger On and try one of our favourite burger joints!
Sweet Squares
Sweet Squares
When my friend got married for the take home gift, she made recipe books. When you sent in your confirmation of attendance card you also submitted a recipe. These recipes were then combined into a cookbook and sent home with each guest!
I love these kinds of cookbooks because you know everyone puts in their favourite or best recipe, so they are all good!
One example from the wedding cookbook is the Sweet Squares!
As the title suggests, these squares are ooey-gooey yummy and sweet. Great for an afternoon coffee party or to take to an event!
- 1 1/2 C white sugar, diided
- 1 1/2 C flour
- 2 C butter, divided
- 1 Can sweetened condensed milk
- 4 Squares semi-sweet chocolate
- Cream together 1/2 C sugar, flour and 1C butter.
- Press into a greased 9x9 pan.
- Bake 350 for 20 minutes. Prick with a fork before baking.
- In a saucepan add: 1 C margarine, 1 C sugar and 1 Can condensed milk.
- Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring for 4 minutes until custard thick.
- Stir constantly so as not to burn.
- Cool.
- Melt 4 squares of semi-sweet chocolate and spread on top of cooled squares.
- You can freeze the squares to solidify them faster.
These squares are so easy to make and finger licking, ooey-gooey good!
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Coin Hockey
Coin Hockey
Sometimes you need a quick and easy way to keep the kids entertained. This is especially true if you are waiting in a restaurant and you are trying to keep the kids off electronics.
Have a few minutes? Have a table? Have 3 coins? Then you have everything you need to play coin hockey!
This is a game we played when we were kids, and now I am teaching it to mine.
Start with 2 people sitting at a table across from each other. Clear everything from the table to make a clear path.
One person is the “net” and places one hand on the edge of the table.
The other person is the player. Line up the coins in a triangle.
PING the front coin, so the coins spread out.
You now have to try to get one of the coins in the net. To do this, you need to “ping” or “push” one of the coins. After each move, the coin that you are “pinging” has to go between the other two coins.
Keep doing this until you have a shot at the net.
If the coin you are “pinging” doesn’t go between 2 coins, your turn is up, and you now become the net.
Hope this makes sense!
This is a great game that goes quickly and kids love!
Sail with Disney Magic
Come Cruise with Disney Magic
Disclosure: When Disney Magic and CAA asked for people who might be interested in coming for lunch and a tour of the Disney Magic cruise ship when she was docked in Halifax, I jumped at the chance. Do you blame me? All opinions are my own.
Confessions: I had never been on a cruise ship before. I love Disney, but was in Disney World in Florida when I was 14 years old, and when I lived in Japan, I went to Tokyo Disney.
When I stepped onto the Disney Magic, I had no idea what to expect, and was completely blown away.
Below are some of my pictures from the day and some random things I learned while on the Disney Magic Cruise ship.
On this cruise ship there are 10 floors! 2800 passengers can sail, and just about as many crew members. This is a HUGE ship!
We had an incredible meal in Lumiere’s Restaurant!
These food costs are included in your ticket price. When you go on the first day, your family is assigned a server. Every meal, this server will be working with your family. This way, you can really develop a relationship, and they can learn your preferences!
The level of attention to detail is out of this world! Look how they serve ketchup!
After an incredible meal, we toured the ship, starting on the upper deck. There are several pool areas, with some being for toddlers and small children, one for older children, and a quiet pool area for adults.
Waterslides, hot tubs, pool side restaurants, you name it. It’s there.
And, speaking of children, there are so many areas where the kids can go and be supervised. There is a nursery for 0-3years, a 3-12 play area and one only for 13-18 year olds! There is something for everyone, no matter your age. And, if you go to retrieve your kids (perhaps after eating in the adult-only restaurant), they can track your child through a GPS system and you will know exactly where on the ship your child is!
There is live entertainment every night, and regular showing of movies in a separate theatre.
“Isn’t it a great ship. I never get complaints when I book my clients on a Disney cruise!” ~Deborah, Travel Agent with Flight Centre
When you look at the floor, look at the design in the rugs. When the ships are upright, you know you are facing the front of the boat!
The doors on the port side have a fish (both have 4 letters). And, apparently, it’s a THING to decorate your door of your cabin and there are Pinterest boards devoted to this. Look it up before you go, because you don’t want to be left out!
“We took a 4-day cruise when the kids were little. Best family vacation we ever had. Do everything and make sure you put the kids in the camps. They will get to do so many interesting things (our son produced a movie and learned animation). At the end, the kids put on a production!” ~ Happy customer
There are theme nights for everything from Star Wars to pirates! You can even go to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and be transformed into a pirate (on theme night) or a prince/princess on regular nights.
Staff are hired from all over the world. Just look at the name tags and they will tell you where everyone is from!
There is so much more to mention, with everything being organized down to the minute detail. As one of my companions said on the tour,
I love the…. Everything!
Some people were asking if their kids were too old to go on the Disney Magic Cruise, and the answer is never. Apparently, many people go who don’t even have children!
There are so many things to do on board the ship for every age group that everyone is included and will have fun. You are never too old for a Disney cruise!
The final piece of advice is that it’s best to go on a cruise for more than 3-4 days. In this short period, you are just starting to get orientated on the ship, so you really need time to enjoy your vacation. Every details is looked after, so you can just sit back and relax!
If you are thinking of a family vacation, consider a trip with Disney Magic!
You will be blown away and make so many memories with your family!
