Centennial Farmhouse Kitchen

UNStuffed Cabbage

2011-12-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't need time-savers at Christmastime?

One pan dinners are the best this time of year, for their warmth, their filling satisfaction, and for the ease of preparation and cleanup!

We've got better things to do like string lights and decorate the house, wrap gifts, and make sugar cookies, right?

So....cold outside. Warm yourself up!

My husband loves this. My boys? Not so much, just because they don't care for cabbage. I have to admit that when I was young, cabbage cooking always smelled like old people to me. I guess we are officially old now. Heh. I guess a time or two a year won't hurt to be old.

**Please note: Although the recipe says to assemble it all and bake it in the oven for almost an hour, instead to speed it up, I mix mine on the stove and cook it most of the way and then add the cheese and only bake until the cheese is browned.

UNSTUFFED CABBAGE

6 c. chopped cabbage
1/2 lb. ground beef (or venison)
1 small onion
1 c. uncooked instant rice
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 can tomato soup, undiluted
1 c. water
1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

**Instead of canned tomato soup, I use my home-canned tomatoes and leave out the water or just add a little.

Place the cabbage in a greased 2.5 quart baking dish. In a skillet cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain. Stir in the rice, salt if desired, and spoon over cabbage. Combine soup and water, pour over beef mixture.

Cover and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes until rice and cabbage and tender. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, bake and 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

**PLEASE NOTE: A reader said that UNStuffed peppers are achieved in the same way, just substitute green peppers diced.

Easy, peasy! Serve with a salad or a nice bread and enjoy the taste of cabbage rolls without taking all the time to roll them!

Leftovers are awesome to send the next day for lunch, it actually improves the flavors!

Hope all is well with you and your Christmas preparations!

(And don't tell anyone I'm old, okay?!)

CHILI! (Wendy's Style, Without the BURPS)

2011-11-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

Please pass the milk!

Put on your apron, get out your soup pot.

It's time to make some soul-warmin' chili!

One time, I decided to go to Wendy's and analyze why I sometimes craved their chili. I always regretted actually eating it because it is GREASY! I can't stand greasy chili. I don't want to see grease floating on the top, and I don't want to see grease on the bowl when I'm done! YUCK! Makes me feel a little queasy.

Well, anyway, I went and looked into my tiny yellow bowl of chili with the grinning

pig-tailed girl on it--and said, "OH! I get it! It's CHUNKY!"

It had onions, celery, little bits of chili peppers, and it was SPICY! I could see the black pepper, taste the chili powder...so I came home and got online and hunted up the recipe that seemed like it would most closely resemble Wendy's...and I knew I could make it MINUS those burps, but retain the zing and the warmth.

I hope this works for you, too. Not to take away from Wendy's but it really is BETTER.

Perfectly chunky!

WENDY-ISH Chili

(minus the burps)

2 lb. ground beef, or ground venison,

or a combination of both, browned, drained, rinsed if you prefer

1-29 oz. can tomato sauce

1-29 oz. can kidney beans with liquid

1-29 oz. can pinto beans

1 c. diced onion

1/4 c. diced celery

1/2 c. diced green chilis

3 medium tomatoes chopped, if you have them

**If you don't have fresh, don't worry about it, it's just nice if you do have a little fresh, but this is where I use a jar of home-canned, a pint will work.

2-3 t. cumin

3 T. chili powder

1-1/2 t. black pepper, I use coarsely ground

2 t. salt

2 c. water

Simmer to heat through, stirring occasionally.

Serve with some oyster crackers and enjoy!

Oh, and I really do need milk with my chili.

YOU?

What do you drink with your chili?

Pork Loin Ready for the Freezer!

2011-09-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

Posts about meat are ugly.

I've never yet seen a nice photo of uncooked meat that took my breath away. (Have you? :-)

SO, I stuck some more palatable pictures into the post for today, to make it bearable.

Every time I go to Jamie's house, I try to leave her freezer a little bit fuller than I found it. I look for meat that is on sale and buy some to freeze to make life a little easier for them after I'm gone.

I lucked out last visit. Great pork tenderloins were on sale for $2.59 a pound, a full $1.30 less per pound than the same thing at home. I bought a nice big one. FRUGAL.

This one weighed almost nine pounds (like my first baby!) and at 2.59 per pound was $22.35.

I knew there would be several good meals out of it. In fact, we had one right away. What was left was 3/4 of this bad boy.

I got out the cutting board and the knife and within just a few minutes was all done with a good number of packages of meat for meals for them waiting in the freezer.

If you wanted a nice roast from this cut, you could cut one off, and freeze it for later. This section above is just about the right size for a small family. (We didn't save a roast this time.)

Next, I got out jelly roll pans and lined them with waxed paper. Then cut off consistent sized boneless chops. YUM. (If you choose to pan-fry, do so with half olive oil and half butter for best results.)

I lined them up without them touching each other...(be good now, and don't slide!)

Topped each pan with waxed paper, and ...

Set them in a level spot in the freezer, the pans stacked on top of each other because the waxed paper on top of them wouldn't allow them to stick to each other.

I let them stay in there long enough to freeze solid, then removed them and took the waxed paper away, and bagged them up in gallon Ziploc freezer bags.

This will allow her to get as many out individually as she needs for a meal. Convenient.

Labeled them and all done! The loin was $22.35 and I estimated eight meals in all from that one purchase. That comes down to $2.79 PER MEAL--not per helping! I was wishing I'd bought more than one of them when I figured the result!

***This method of freezing portions individually is what I use to freeze chicken when I find it's on sale, and burgers after I form them into patties, and for almost anything that's more convenient to pull from a bag in the right number of portions instead of having it all frozen together in a lump.

Now, wasn't that easy?

And aren't vintage trucks in these colors much more attractive than cold pork?!

Pork Ribs: My Method

2011-09-19T06:17:00.001-07:00

It's jean jacket season again! Have you got your brooch(es) ready?

(I posted this picture because it's something pretty to look at

because any post about cooking meat is just darn UGLY.)

Good MONDAY morning to ya! I hope you all had a nice weekend. I did, and that means it was a normal, relaxing weekend. You see, my husband doesn't have every Saturday off, he works every other.

So on the Saturday/Sunday he's home, it's a celebration of being NORMAL. I love it. For most of our marriage, he has worked Saturdays, and believe me, sleeping in together on a Saturday morning is not taken for granted by me--it feels special and wonderful.

We attended the football game at my son's school on Friday night to kick things off, that's always fun--and the bonus was they won; the downside the score was in the high sixties to ZERO, so not a lot of excitement. Luke went to an "Overtime" youth group activity afterwards that lasted until midnight. We stayed up so we could go pick him up. Of course, we got to bed really late.

We slept in on Saturday morning, I love that feeling of knowing when you go to bed on Friday night that you don't need to get up and rush away for anything in the morning. We shocked ourselves by sleeping until 11:30! I can't even tell you the last time that happened, but the cooler fall weather probably had that effect, it just feels so good to sleep! :0)

Saturday, with what we had left of the day, we worked around here getting normal chores done, taking the pool down, and a few extra things around the house and yard, the dogs played outside, and I hung laundry out in the sunshine and crispy wind and made a good dinner.

I got venison steaks out to marinate for Sunday dinner and after church we came home to grill them on a smoky mesquite on our old-fashioned Weber charcoal grill. YUM! Then the rest of Sunday was spent relaxing and I actually got to watch a movie Sunday night.

The weather for the whole weekend was soft, golden and absolutely beautiful for early fall, the air wasn't too cold, but the nights were crisp and the corn all around us is starting to dry out and turn brown. It's almost time to pick the pumpkins and decorate for fall!

Now onto the "not pretty" part of this post...

Pork ribs. The elusive tender but delicious ribs had stymied me for years, I tried everything. A par boil. A slow boil. A slow boil in coke. A slow boil in anything at all, the crock pot, the pressure cooker, all the way from start to finish on the grill...everything I tried ended with frustrating results--and a less than pleasing rib...

Until the last few years. I decided to bake those suckers slow in the oven. It works to tenderize almost every other cut of meat that needs to come out tender.

Since it will be a long, slow bake, put foil onto a jelly roll pan. Spray with PAM.

Take your country ribs and smear them with seasonings, anything you like--a BBQ rub would be fine. Pepper, Kosher salt, seasoned salt, garlic salt, onion salt, and whatever else you normally like to smear on, and rub that stuff right into the ribs with your fingers.

Be generous with the seasonings. Pour it ON. If a little is good, more is better.

It ain't no time to get skimpy.
("Skimpy" is another funny word that my mom says all the time--meaning stingy.)

Put water into the pan to come at least halfway up the ribs or so. You might want to do this after you've already set your pan into the oven rack, so you don't spill.

In the morning, this is how these came out. I had to get up a time or two in the night to make sure of the liquid not drying out.

Now, since these are usually for a holiday, I like to bake them all night so they'll be ready for lunch on the holiday. If you were to have these for dinner, you could bake from early morning until supper time and you'd be good, but let's just say these babies need to bake slowly, uncovered in a 250 degree oven for at least four hours but for me six is the minimum.

You do want the tops of the ribs to be a bit dry and crusty on top for a finish. You want them to be really done, perhaps even to be a little bit blackened, on the corners on top... the only thing you might need to do is check to make sure the liquid hasn't dried up a couple of times during the baking time.

Now remove these beauties from the pan with a stiff pancake turner...so they don't fall off the bone. Get rid of all the yucky stuff with the foil to the garbage and drain the ribs on paper toweling.

Then apply the barbecue sauce to the top surface and grill them for a short time to get the sauce to stick to them-- on your gas grill or your hot charcoal grill and maybe even smoke them a bit with wet mesquite or any other kind of wood chips.

The finished product: Lick your fingers, smack your lips yummy, and tender yet not dry, and perfectly ready to serve with the rest of your meal, and nothing to be ashamed of. I think you'll be quite pleased with this method, with the result of fall-off-the-bone goodness.

Have you got a favorite way to make great ribs? I would love to hear your method.

(I LOVE Blue Jean Jacket season...otherwise known as FALL.)

Wild Wings

2011-08-03T19:27:00.001-07:00

One night we got a hankerin' for Buffalo Wild Wings, but didn't want to spend the money. I think they are way overpriced. But that's just me.

I found a way to make wild wings without having a buffalo! Hahaha!!

Sift:
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1-1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. cayenne

Whisk:
2 eggs
1 c. milk

Whisk the eggs and the milk. Cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into wing-sized chunks. Dip the pieces into the egg mixture and then the flour mixture Deep fry pieces in hot oil at least six minutes and then remove and drain on paper towel.

For dipping purposes:

HOT SAUCE:
(IF you can HANDLE it!!)
1/2 c. hot sauce
1 T. margarine, melted

HONEY BBQ
2. c. ketchup
1/2 c. honey
1/4 Worcestershire sauce

Bleu Cheese dressing from store

Also, if you want the true wild wings experience, cut up some celery into sticks.

Use plastic containers with lids to put six or so "wings" to coat at a time while the wings are still hot. These can be popped into a hot oven for a few minutes to bind the sauces to them.

The ultimate compliment came from my boys when they said these were "almost as good as Buffalo Wild Wings!" I just about fell off my chair.

Success!

Creamsicle Cake

2011-08-02T19:59:00.001-07:00

Such a simple treat. So cool and refreshing. I like mine with orange Jello. You?

You may have forgotten about this old stand-by, but I'm here to remind you.

It's chilly and it's good.

It uses J. E. L. L. O.! (Click link.)
Remember that commercial?
"Thank you mother, dear!"

It couldn't be simpler and little kids love to help make it.

I only had a pound cake mix in the cupboard, and this was perfect, in fact, I think the texture was even better than a plain white cake.

All you do is mix up a white cake and bake it according to package directions in a 9x13 pan. I used a glass pan.

Cool slightly.

Take a fork or a straw (I prefer the straw) to poke holes all over the surface of the cake.

While the cake is baking, boil some water and mix two cups of water with one large or two small packages of one flavor of Jello. (The possibilities of flavors are endless!) This mixture can cool slightly while the cake is baking and cooling.

When your cake has cooled down, pour the Jello all over it. Chill. Cut cake and when you serve it, plop some whipped cream on top, and ENJOY! Store in the refrigerator.

Some people call it Poke Cake.

Some call it Jello Cake.

I call it Gooood!

What do YOU call it?

Farmhouse Diner: Epic Pork BBQ Sandwiches!

2011-05-03T09:55:00.001-07:00

I hear bellies growlin',

Angels singing,

Bells ringing....

It's PORK BBQ!

Let's get busy, shall we?

It's not easy to make good BBQ--from scratch!

It's work, but the flavor? It's worth it...so tie on that apron and let's get to it!

Up north, we put our sauce into the meat. I know there are different strokes for all different folks, some places have NO sauce on theirs, and heck, some pork BBQ has a white mayo-based sauce!

All depends on where you're at, geographically, in this big old wonderful country.

I've had it many places in the south, and some states serve it sans sauce, and have five on the table for me to choose from.

Some sauces are heavy on the sweet.

Some are heavy on the hot.

Some are heavy on the vinegar.

I like a red sauce, and I like it to have a little kapow from the vinegar, but not TOO; I don't want that nose tingle.

And I like a little sweet in the background, just a little. And a little smokiness if I can get it, too. And, I don't want it hot as in hot sauce.

(You can tell me about your kind from your region, what you prefer, I'd LOVE to hear it!)

This is a recipe for a four pound shoulder roast, but since it's so involved, I usually do more than one. This time I did three. Then I freeze the extra for easy meals later.

This freezes well and it is wonderful to have on hand.

For leftovers? Use it in my Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe. Sounds weird, but it's good! MmMmmmMmmm!!

(Just walk eight extra miles the next day!)

Posting pictures of bone-in roast pork shoulder is NOT beautiful, but I wanted to show you that I rubbed each roast with coarsely ground black pepper and kosher salt.

You can sear the roast if you like, but it's not necessary. I like to sear it to give the outside of the roast texture and to hold in the juices, you do not want the meat to have a dry finish.

Because we don't want a dry roast, the bone and fat gives the meat flavor, and, like it or not, and you get rid of the bone and fat once the meat is roasted, so tell yourself it's OKAY.

The roast can be done in the crock pot, on the grill, slowly, or in the oven, or in a smoker.

It doesn't matter how you get the meat ready--just so it's tender when done.

I think the sauce is pretty important, although I will admit, I would LOVE a smoker just to try this recipe! I love hickory-infused/smoked pork.

My stand-by method of roasting most times of the year is in an enamelware roaster, covered, on low oven (250) all night long, at least for six hours.

This recipe starts once you've roasted the meat and shredded and/or cut it up into chunks.

Once the meat is roasted, I pull it out of the oven and let the steam roll off, let it sit for a bit until I can handle it.

Then I "clean it up". That means getting rid of bones, fat, sinew, all the yucky stuff and moving the good part of the roast to a separate pan.

Then I get out a cutting board and shred some with two forks, and then some I cut up with a knife. I like my pork BBQ to have the texture of both, not all of one kind.

You may prefer yours all shredded, or you may prefer yours all chunked. Do whatever you like, and make yourself all happy!

Once the meat is all ready it's time to make the sauce.

And, like Sipsey said in "FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

..."Secret's in the sauce."

This sauce has a lot of ingredients but is OH SO GOOD. Now you may tweak yours a little after you've had it the first time, but for now go with this recipe and see what you think. Just cook the sauce long enough to get the celery softened up. (You could leave the celery out if you detest celery.)

(Click on this photo to print this recipe.)

Make the sauce in a pan large enough to hold the meat and the sauce. Make the sauce, once the sauce is done and heated through, add the meat a little at a time to soak up the sauce, stir, and heat the meat and the sauce thoroughly on low, stirring often; making sure not to burn.

But wait, that's not all!

You still have some work to do to get these ready to serve.

You might like your sandwich with pickles inside it, and slaw on the side.

You might like yours with pickles side and slaw on the side.

You might like yours with slaw on the sandwich, and pickles on the side.

Or...slathered with white sauce all over the top.

Or....

Venison or Beef Marinade

2011-01-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

Originally posted March 10, 2010

Yum....perfectly grilled venison steaks ready for cutting into.

I cook by the seat of my pants, so I can't give you exact measurements for this marinate.

My daughter and I combined our ideas for marinating steaks and came up with this one. These ingredients make a great marinate for venison or beef. The reason I like it for venison (which, by the way is the healthiest and most perfect red meat there is!) is because it takes the gamey taste away but leaves the meat still tasting like venison!

In the fall, we put up our own venison, Mr. Farmhouse is really good at this, was taught by someone who really knew what they were doing. It makes a big difference if your meat is butchered correctly; if it isn't you're not going to want to use it. Our venison is trimmed, cut and frozen on trays, then placed into bags and vacuum sealed to put back into the freezer...

You can clearly see why this is a very healthy red meat...

Get out a bowl and start dumping in the ingredients...

If you use it for roasts, it's excellent but you'll have to bake it in some beef broth or consomme' for the moisture needed in the pan. I've never actually roasted the beef or venison IN the marinate, instead I used consomme and basted often. This is my FAVORITE marinate for venison, hands down.

Right now I have about fifteen small steaks chillin' in this bath and they are going on the charcoal grill at dinner time. I will serve it with baked potatoes and some of the green beans from our garden and it's going to be better than any restaurant meal!

Marinate for beef or venison:

Lemon juice steak sauce

Worcestershire sauce soy sauce (in a small amount, comparatively)

Red cooking wine (if you have it, if not it's good without it, too)

or Beer

or white grape juice

crushed garlic cloves

barbecue rub

seasoned salt such as Lowery's

pepper

All of these ingredients need to be mixed in a bowl and stirred, then poured into a gallon Ziploc that holds your venison or beef.

Massage the marinate into the meat and turn often as it sits in the fridge.

When it's time for cooking, I do nothing else to the meat, just pour off the marinate and sear on a hot grill. If using for roast, remember what I wrote above.

Your meat should be given this flavorful bath for at least a couple hours for fuller flavor, the longer the better. Overnight is best!)

Ready for the grill!

Enjoy! And let me know your adventures with this marinate if you can!

Cinnamon Rolls! (The Easy Way!)

2010-11-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

Originally posted December 2008 on OLD CENTENNIAL FARMHOUSE)

No need to envy....you can make them, too. And without tons of time invested! There's a shortcut you should know about!

Our Christmas morning tradition is Cinnamon Rolls. They're actually fast and easy: something you can get prepared the evening that Santa comes down the chimney and put in them in the fridge.

Pull the unbaked rolls out in the morning and let them rise a bit and throw them in the oven. Go to the tree and open gifts, throw some wrapping paper around awhile and they'll be done fast. As they bake they'll make the whole house smell delicious! Here are some FBTSOYP quick instructions.

Your secret shortcut is frozen bread dough loaves from the grocer's freezer! Not all stores carry this, I find mine at Kroger, and one package contains five loaves. Some for these yummy rolls, and another loaf or two for homemade pizza!

USE:

>Frozen bread dough loaves, thaw well ahead of time, spraying the pan and the tops of the loaves with Pam. It takes about two loaves to fill a 9 x 13 baking dish. If you find it necessary to finish thawing the loaves in the microwave, cover them loosely, and thaw at a very low setting -- 2 or 3 --and put a separate cup of water in the microwave so they won't dry out. I do 8-9 minutes at a time at cooking level three until they're squishy all the way through.

>A stick or more of real butter, softened but not melted. Margarine works too, but know it's second best.

>Brown sugar, light or dark

>Cinnamon

>Pecans, chopped (optional)

>Raisins plumped up in boiling water (optional)

Cover a countertop or a large cutting board with some flour, and stretch/roll the dough so it's a long rectanglar shape. Get it as thin as you can without it having holes or air bubbles.

Now, smear butter all over the surface of the bread dough. Oh what fun! Now lick your fingers, but don't wash your hands....don't worry, mama really didn't know what she was talkin' 'bout.

Next, sprinkle generous amounts of brown sugar and cinnamon on top of the butter.

If you like the nuts and raisins, add them next. If you like nutmeg, a smidgen of that is good in with the cinammon. (No nuts or raisins for my bunch, we're already nuts enough.)

Roll up the rectangle of bread dough from bottom to top, to make a long roll. Admire your work. Splash a bit of the flour on your face. It's fun!

Cut the dough into sections about two inches or so, the longer you cut each section, the larger your finished cinnamon roll will be. You can cut with a sharp knife, or use the dental floss you used last night to cut them cleanly in sections. (Just kiddin' on that floss!)

Put the cut cinnamon rolls into a pan that was sprayed with Pam, and on the bottom of the pan spread out some of the softened butter and sprinkle some brown sugar and cinnamon. It would be good to throw in some of the chopped nuts to this goo if you go for the nuts. This will give the bottoms of the rolls that exta caramel-y goo that is so coveted. The more butter/ brown sugar/cinnamon combo that you use, the more caramel you'll have. Use another stick of butter if you want to!

Lay your cinnamon rolls in the pan, not too close, give them a little room to rise and spread. I usually use a glass or ceramic pan. A regular 9 x 13 cake pan is fine, too.

You can let them rise before placing them in the fridge overnight, covered in Saran wrap. Or you can let them rise in the morning while the oven preheats. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes in the middle rack of the oven, watching not to let them get too brown. Put the coffee pot on now....got an old stovetop percolator?

When done, drizzle with a very thin confectioner's sugar frosting, or not. (If you don't use the frosting, then brush the tops with butter to keep the tops from becoming too hard.) They're great either way.

Serve upsidedown if you like with the gooey caramel on top! Enjoy the resulting love handles and extremely attractive, squishy, below-the-bra-bulges you always wondered about when you were a kid as you hugged your grandma.

Merry Christmas! I hope Santa was kind enough to bring you all you wanted.

FBTSOYP=Fly By The Seat Of Your Pants

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup!

2010-11-26T11:31:00.001-08:00

Originally posted December 2, 2009 on my OLD CENTENNIAL FARMHOUSE BLOG.

Girlies, it doesn't get any easier than THIS....a nice bowl of (almost homemade!) HOT soup on a winter's day, a busy one, too. ( I'm rather partial to a chowdery soup on a really cold day.)

I'm loving the old-fashioned Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling and the flag hanging on the wall.

Since we're all so busy with Christmas preparations, we need quick meals this time of year, right? You can make this in less than a half hour, especially if you have leftover turkey (gobble gobble!) or chicken: this is a quick and yummy soup. I had it at a restaurant once, came home and tried to duplicate it, and I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.

Oohh...la la! Vintage ornaments!

Serve it with biscuits or with discs of baked pie crust placed around the perimeter of the bowl, it's kinda cute and is extra yummy that way. Cornbread would be great with it, too!

Lovin' that blue gingham couch and the dishtowel stockings!

CHICKEN POT PIE SOUP
Use:
Leftover chicken or turkey, at least a cup diced, more is always better or in a pinch use the canned chicken breast

2 cans of cream of chicken soup
or
1 can of cream of chicken and 1 can of cream of celery
or
1 can cream of chicken and 1 can of cream of potato

Frozen mixed vegetables, cooked and drained (I use Spartan brand!) at least two cups, I like more. (Or if you have leftover veggies in your fridge, throw them in!)

2% Milk to dilute, at least two cups, or more so the consistency is to your liking, I use closer to four cups.

Nature's Seasons by Morton's, to taste

Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

(If you prefer, you can also saute or soften in water in a frying pan: celery, onion, and diced potato. Drain them then add to the pot, this will add to the body of the soup. I usually keep a leftover baked potato to dice up in the fridge for soups like this and that's what I add.)

WHISK THE SOUPS AND MILK TOGETHER TO HEAT over low to medium heat, THEN ADD THE OTHER INGREDIENTS INCLUDING SPICES, TO FINISH HEATING THROUGH. SERVE!

***This recipe is easily adaptable....want more soup? Use more cans of Cream of Chicken soup to start with and just add more milk!

I hope you like it! My husband is especially happy to eat this soup and what's leftover gets put into pint canning jars for him to take to work for lunch and warm up in the microwave! It's a "free" lunch!

Have a cozy day!

The cozy images in this post are taken from a 1998 Christmas copy of a coffee table-style Country Living book.

No snow here yet....but Texas and California are seeing snow these days, what's up with that?

Hey, how's the weather where you're at?!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

2010-10-27T20:27:00.001-07:00

Weekend before last, I was out in the garden, and I picked a peck of peppers...

And, I got busy with my daughter and grandon's visit, and promptly forgot about them.

And then today dawned blustery, stormy, cloudy. And it dawned on me then that it was a perfectly perfect pepper soup day.

Stuffed pepper soup, to be exact, especially since I was passing those peppers each time I left the house and came back in...they were really starting to bug me!

But there were plenty! I could make a batch of soup and MORE could be chopped and kept for the freezer. They can be used in the soup this winter! So, measured out in two cup batches, I can pull a bag out and pop them in the soup pot.

The soup is done, and I buttered a piece of brown bread and ate a bowl that was steaming hot for lunch.

YUM!

And after lunch, I got busy and chopped those peppers for the freezer with my trusty little friend, the "Vidalia CHOP WIZARD".

This one is from Bed, Bath and Beyond, and I paid around $20 and used my coupon, but you can get a knock-off brand from Wal-Mart for right around $10.

It has been a huge help to me in my chopping for canning and freezing from the garden. It's an invaluable tool on those long salsa-making days in late summer. There is a small and a large chop, I use the larger one the most. All your peppers and onions and everything for the soup (or salsa or whatever) come out perfectly uniform. (And cleanup is easy!)

And....would you like the recipe for "STUFFED PEPPER SOUP"?

It's so full of vegetables and all good things, and I used my canned tomatoes, but if you don't have those, don't worry.

Here you go...

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1 c. chopped onions

1/4 c. chopped celery (or more if you'd like)

1 clove garlic, minced

2 c. chopped green bell pepper

(I used my reds, too)

2 T. Vegetable oil

1/2 lb. browned lean ground beef or ground venison (even better!)

One sixteen ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/2 c. tomato juice

1/4 c. uncooked long grain rice

3 c. water

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

2 t. sugar

1 t. salt

1 t. black pepper

1\4 t. ground cinnamon (optional)

Saute vegetables in oil just until tender, do not brown them -- just cook until tender. Just under about ten minutes.

Then stir in rice, tomatoes, juice, water, parsley, sugar, salt, and pepper and browned meat.

Cover and simmer approximately 45 minutes and adjust liquid if necessary, until rice is fully cooked.

It's a great sense of accomplishment when you can put away items from your garden to use in the wintertime...on blustery snowy days.

ENJOY!!

(And I'll try not to let those red and green peppers remind me that Christmas is only two months away!)

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

2010-09-12T20:30:00.001-07:00

These muffins are like having a nice bowl of Raisin Bran.

Only better.

(They don't get soggy!)

It's fall and our thoughts turn to 'comfort food' and baking more often.

Here's a recipe for muffins that are just good food, and a quick breakfast on the way to school in the car, or a great snack when you get home from running errands or the kids when they get in from school.

This recipe can be mixed up and used for a huge batch to bake all at once, (it makes four dozen!) and then freeze individually, or they can be mixed up and the batter can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

(I think I need to go put the coffee pot on!)

Raisin Bran Muffins

Batter can be kept in fridge for up to four weeks

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Bake for 15-20 minutes

First, boil water and mix 2 c. raisin bran with 2 c. water, let cool.

then, mix

1 c. oil

3 c. sugar

5 t. soda

1 t. salt

mix the above with your cooled, soft bran mixture

Then, add four eggs, one at a time, mixing after each.

Add one quart of buttermilk (you can make your own by adding lemon juice to just under 4 c. milk.)

Beat well, then add 4 more cups of raisin bran.

Next add 5 cups of flour and beat well.

*I have successfully substituted half the flour for whole wheat flour and it actually makes a darker, more pleasing muffin.*

Grease muffin tins and fill 3/4 full; these don't rise much.

If you refrigerate the batter, it does not need to be stirred before using.

The water-soaked raisin bran.

The sugar and oil.

Bubbly buttermilk.

Dry raisin bran.

Soda/salt.

plop. plop. plop. plop.

Mixing in the dry bran.

The finished batter.

I put the finished batter into a pitcher, cover the top with Cling Wrap, and am storing it in the fridge. I use an old pitcher so I can see the mix, and will then tend NOT to forget about it.

How do you like your coffee?

Summer in a Jar: Can Your Own Salsa!

2010-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Monday I worked on a huge batch of salsa...and whooooeee!!

What a HOT batch that one was!!

(I have another big batch to do tomorrow.)

21 quarts and 2 pints were my reward for a whole afternoon's work,

and my husband's fine gardening skills

and of course, God sending along all the right weather to harvest it all.

My salsa's been too mild in the last few years, so I warmed it up a bit and threw a WHOLE LOTTA PEPPERS into this batch!

So...are you ready to put on your apron,

start chopping your veggies and washing and sterilizing your jars, lids and rings?
The jars can be put through the sterilizing cycle on your dishwasher, and kept hot on the drying cycle. Lids and rings should be boiled on the stove, after they've been washed.

Making salsa is not for the feint of heart,

it's for someone willing to work hard,

grow their tomato and pepper and onion crop,

it's rewarding for someone who craves it in winter...

enough to make a huge mess to get it into the jars,

and then...

loves to see it lining the shelves of the pantry.

(Not to mention the health benefits of tomatoes in your diet!)

I used all roma tomatoes for this batch, and it was heavenly to not have to worry about the water content in the salsa kettle.

So...here's my trick for scalding and peeling roma tomatoes:

Wash tomatoes in lukewarm, soapy water.

Rinse well.

Just barely slice the top off the roma.

Drop a batch of topped romas into the large kettle of boiling water for a moment,

Remove from water,

Place hot tomatoes into a colander

(that sits atop a bowl to catch the water from the ice that you top to cool scalded tomatoes).

The roma tomato will then magically pop right out of the skin if you turn it upside down and squeeze.

Here's my recipe.

Salsa

This recipe is zippy--if you want less zip remove seeds from peppers, remove ribs also.

Medium hot you would leave half the ribs and half the ribs.

Mild flavor you leave very few seeds and ribs.

When working with hot peppers, wear gloves and watch what you touch with the oils from the pepper on your gloves. When all the peppers have been chopped, wash the surfaces you've touched with the peppers and then your hands with hot soapy water. You don't want to burn your eyes, nose, lips or your kids with the hot pepper oils!

You can make this salsa without hot peppers, the dried red pepper.

You can multiply this recipe into a large single batch, my last batch was

54 cups of tomatoes to start before I added all the onions and peppers.

10 c. chopped tomatoes

8 jalapenos

3 c. chopped onions

1 c. chopped green peppers

(*I added banana peppers, too.)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

1-1/3 c. red wine vinegar

1 small can tomato paste*

(*or more to your desired consistency)

1 t. cumin

1 T. red pepper flakes*

(*optional; I only use if I don't have hot peppers.)

3 T. pickling salt

3 T. brown sugar

Simmer all ingredients for one hour or more on med-low until thickened to your liking,

stirring often to prevent scalding, if you scald a batch it ruins your hard work.

(I've been known to spray the bottom of the big kettle I cook salsa in with PAM to insure that I don't scald.)

*Stir in 1/3 c. cornstarch diluted in cold water and simmer.

Ladle into hot jars and seal (without processing in canner).

I set mine on a cookie sheet which sits on top of a folded beach towel.

Then I top the batch of jars with folded quilts to hold in the heat.

It's rare that a jar won't seal this way.

I uncover the next day and label the jars and put away.

(*I don't like cornstarch in my salsa....so I NEVER add it.

I thicken with tomato paste until satisfied with the consistency.)

**TIP**

To make salsa-making go quickly,

peppers and onions can be diced or chopped ahead of time

and frozen to throw into the pot.

Since they're cooked anyway,

there's no reason they must be fresh off the vine for salsa.

This will serve our family all winter, as well as become Christmas gifts for friends and relatives, a favorite of the recipients year after year!

You CAN Do It!!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

2010-07-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

You know who you are.

You're the overzealous gardener

who planted way more of the "z"

than you needed to.

And now,

they're coming in like crazy

and you can't keep up.

You're the one

trying to pawn it off on

everyone you know.

Have no fear.

I am here to help you.

If you make these chunky, moist

and

delicious muffins,

wrap them individually

and give JUST ONE to a friend

along with a big fat zucchini,

instead of resenting you and the "z",

they will love you instead.

Chunk-ety + Chocolate-y!

I can't say it's exactly healthy,

but OH!

These muffins are good, girlfriend!

Everyone needs at least one batch a summer,

or they haven't really lived!

So, do you want the recipe?

CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI BREAD OR MUFFINS

Sift dry ingredients

Blend wet ingredients.

Combine.

Spray pan with Pam.

Bake at 350 degrees, one hour for bread,

20-30 minutes for muffins, watching to make sure they don't over bake.

3 eggs

1-1/2 c. sugar

3 t. vanilla

1 c. oil

2 c. or slightly more zucchini

(this is about one medium)

I do not peel or seed it, just wash and grate

1 t. cinnamon

3 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1 small package instant chocolate pudding

After the wet and the dry have been combined stir in:

1/2 c. coconut

1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 c. chocolate chips

Enjoy...

I have been known to freeze grated zucchini in packages with 2 c. shredded,

just to make this bread to give away at Christmastime.

I have also wanted to try it in sheet cake form,

it would go great at summer picnics and potlucks.

Shrimp Fry! Bubba Gump Style...

2010-06-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

"Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."
--Bubba Blue
in
"Forrest Gump"

A couple times a year I get a hankerin' for some shrimp: deep fried.

I DO like sauteed shrimp, it's my favorite way. It's the way I normally fix it.
But sometimes ya just gotta go whole hog!

A friend of mine (thanks, Robyn!) told me her way of making breaded shrimp and I just had to try it. I had a package of raw shrimp in the freezer that I had bought on sale at Kroger.
I thawed it in ice water, drained it, cleaned it, cut the tails off and got it ready for the dippin'.

Now what do you need to make this delectable treat?

Pancake mix.....yes, that's what I said!

You can season it with paprika, OR you can use the seasonings shown above, which is what I did.

Thin the pancake batter out with some water after you add your seasonings. Get your oil hot.

Hmm....said Goldilocks. How is my shrimp right now? Is it JUST RIGHT?

NO! This shrimp is TOO PUFFY! Goldilocks wanted her shrimp JUST RIGHT!

Your batter is thin enough when it looks like this while it's on the seafood....you should still be able to see the shrimp THROUGH the batter.

Is this okay Goldilocks?

Goldilocks? Goldilocks? Hello?

Well...Goldilocks is sitting down, rollin' up her sleeves, eatin as fast as she can, I suspect!

But my family said it was THE BEST shrimp they'd ever had, bar none. Better than a restaurant, and that's always a high compliment to a cook.

It's simple and delicious, so give it a try!

Oooey Goooey Chocolate-Caramel Cake

2010-05-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

It's getting to be summertime, when hot weather changes our eating habits up a little bit;

We look for lighter, cooler, refreshing dinners and desserts...
And because we want to spend more time outside, doing other things, we don't like to have to spend too much time in the kitchen.

So...may I suggest an oooey goooey chocolate caramel cake?
A frozen oooey goooey chocolate caramel cake?
It's cold, refreshing, not exactly light...but just right.
And simple...very, very simple.

See the dark areas on this piece? That's all the caramel...!

All you do is:

Mix a chocolate cake according to package directions
Bake it in a 9 x 13 pan
When it comes out of the oven, poke it all over with a straw
while it's still pipin' hot, pour the jar of caramel ice-cream topping all over it
so that the caramel seeps into the little holes you've made.

When the cake is completely cool, "frost" it with a thawed container of Cool Whip's EXTRA CREAMY as deep as you can stand it or until the Cool Whip runs out...cover with Cling Wrap and chill.

or
if
you're
like
me,
cut
it
up
and
then
FREEZE IT
for
a
chilly
treat.

If you are having company and you want to dress up this cake, all you do is drizzle the top with some Hershey's chocolate syrup and crush some pecans or even some peanuts and sprinkle them on top for a delightful addition to something that's already very good and make it decadent!

Biting into the cake and tasting that caramel is mmmmm GOOD!
SIMPLE, too!

(It reminds me of ice cream cake when it's frozen.)

Stuffed Shells: Simple, Easy, Meatless Italian Supper

2010-05-13T04:55:00.000-07:00

ORIGINALLY POSTED IN MAY, 2010 on the OLD CENTENNIAL FARMHOUSE blog.

Don't know about where you're at, but here in Michigan, we've been having NOVEMBER weather. We had a dry March and April for the most part, and May brought with it dark, cloudy, cold and damp days. On days like that, having the oven on for a bit helps warm things up, and it's even better if what's in the oven smells and tastes good when it's taken out for supper.

So, today, I'm sharing a good recipe with those of you plagued with cold and dreariness. I love the grill and picnic-like suppers, but on days when the rain's pouring and the wind cuts right through, it ain't gonna happen! ; - 0

I've had this blog for almost three years now,
and I can't believe I've never shared this recipe with you...
it's one of my favorite meatless suppers, and it's good, too!

So many times we think of meatless as boring, and men especially think so, too.
But I never hear one complaint when this one's put on the table.
It's YUMMY!

(Some people include meat in their stuffed shells, that's fine, but for us, this is how we love it!)

All you need is a salad and maybe some garlic bread and it's meal fit for a king!

You will need:
Jar of spaghetti sauce
cottage or ricotta cheese or both (at least 16 oz.)
2 eggs, beaten
16 oz. Mozzarella
Parmesan cheese, dried or fresh (a half cup or more)
Lawry's garlic salt with parsley
Preheat oven to 375

This recipe serves four, with a few leftover.
If you want to make a bigger batch, they serve well leftover.

Start with some Jumbo Shells, four to five per adult, a couple extra thrown in for good measure, cooked al dente'.

I cook in water with a bit of sea salt, and a plop of oil so they won't stick to each other or the pan. Then when done, I drain and rinse in cold water while they sit in the colander; in order to make them a better temp to handle. When they've cooled down, I shake the colander well to get rid of the extra water.

To insure an easy clean-up, spray your casserole dish with some Pam on the sides and the bottom, and spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce.

In a mixing bowl, use a half large container (24 oz.) of large curd cottage cheese (ricotta can also be used or ricotta and cottage cheese together) , two eggs, Parmesan (canned or fresh, or both if you have it) and some shredded mozzarella (start with a little over half a sixteen ounce package). I also season with Lawry's coarsely ground garlic salt and parsley, but it's not a necessity.

The measurements I don't have, I just make it so that it the consistency of the filling can be put easily with a spoon into the shells. You can see here that I have a bit of seeping but you don't want the mixture too dry, either. If you think it's too runny, the best policy is to add more mozzarella. Just be sure to save a little to sprinkle on the top of the completed dish.

Stuff all the shells and lay them open side down in a casserole dish.
Do you see the beauty here?

Now it's lookin' even better!

Squeeze them all in, there will be some shrinkage so don't worry if they're crowded...(they're just one big, happy Italian family!). Cover the top by spooning more spaghetti sauce over the top.

Sprinkle the leftover mozzarella on top of spaghetti sauce, cover the pan with foil and put into a pre-heated 375-degree oven. Cook in the top third of the oven for around a 30-40 minutes, or perhaps a little longer, removing the foil for at least ten minutes to brown the top and edges.

**This dish is an excellent candidate for baking in individual-size casserole dishes. If you do this, reduce the cooking time and perhaps the temp to 350. This is also an excellent dish to bake in your iron fry pan, which would also decrease baking time slightly.

Looks good....just how we like it!
(See how they shrunk up a little to fit the filling inside?)

Oooh....gooey, and chewy. Now, you can check for doneness by removing a single shell from near the center, setting it on a plate and letting it sit to cool for a minute. Cut with a fork, if the inside is NOT runny, it's ready to eat! The cheese should bake into a chewy solid center.

Cool slightly and serve.

DEELISH!!!

Simple & Easy: Baked Steak Fries

2010-02-22T19:53:00.001-08:00

Thanks to my friend, Linda, I've found that there's an easy and painless way to make your own restaurant-quality steak fries at home without frying them!

These go very well with grilled steak, burgers or chicken, even fish. They are simple to make and are done faster than you might think!

You will need:

Baking potatoes, washed and drained or dried off (1.5 potatoes per serving)

Olive oil
(several tablespoons to 1/4 cup depending on how many potatoes)

Lowery's seasoned salt OR your favorite seasoning
(I enjoy a Cajun blend spice along with a very light sprinkling of the seasoned salt.)

a gallon-sized Ziploc bag

Preheat oven to 450

On a cutting board, slice the baking potatoes the long way, and slice them again, then again into pieces as shown above. I usually get at least eight good sized fries from one regular baking potato.

Place the potato slices into a Ziploc bag, then add enough olive oil to coat lightly but don't drown them. Work the potatoes around in the closed bag until they've all had a light coating of the olive oil. It will depend on how many potatoes you use, just hazard a guess on the olive oil.

Once the potatoes have been coated, put them in a hot oven (450) on a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan that has been sprayed with PAM and put them in the center top of the oven.

Bake for as long as necessary (anywhere from 15-30 minutes or so) to get the desired crispness; the first time you do these, you'll need to be keeping an eye on them .

You can flip each one individually half way through baking if you want them all done evenly on both sides. Or not. I usually let mine go longer because my guys prefer them to be dark or well done and very crisp.

Once they are done, shut oven down and remove the fries, season them lightly while still hot on the cookie sheet.

Remove the fries to a platter that has been lined with paper towel.

Break out the ketchup and serve!

This is a healthy side dish and not too heavy on the calories!

YUM!

Garden note:
We are JUST NOW running out of the potatoes we grew in our own gardens last summer! We are going to plant potatoes every year from now on and add even more rows this spring. We may be able to get two harvests of potatoes if we can stagger the plantings, we're excited to see how it works out. We loved having our own home-grown potatoes all winter!

This is one of a batch we had of super-duper sized potatoes...It's pictured next to the big sized soup can and WOW!

This is our potato harvest when they were fresh out of the ground and ready to wait a week to wash. Potatoes prefer to grow in cool weather and last summer was very cool so that might explain why we had such a good harvest.

Do you grow your own potatoes?

They're actually a lot of fun to grow, except for the part that requires one to mound dirt up around the plant. GOOD GRIEF! We ran out of dirt! The more dirt, though, the better the potatoes turn out, as the dirt denies the sunlight a chance to turn the skin of the potatoes a green color which is a mildly toxic substance called solanine.

If you plan to grow a garden this year and are looking for a good all-around gardening book this one is it:
Go to this link to see a copy and read the reviews:

READER'S DIGEST
1001 HINTS & TIPS
FOR YOUR GARDEN

It's arranged A-Z. Want to know how to grow your own potatoes?
Go to P for potatoes. Simple! Is your lawn giving you fits? L for lawn!

This book is chock full of easy to read information and just enough illustrations and diagrams to not be dry and boring. I find it to be a great gift for a gardener, first time or not! I am constantly referring to this book.

I buy mine that I give to my friends used off AMAZON.COM and usually get it for under $2 plus shipping. Right now there's a copy for 39 cents plus shipping! Amazing!

I've given many away because interest in gardening is way up and no wonder! Saving money on food is a smart move, and if you've got the room for growing your own food, it's a relaxing and rewarding way to feed your family! Growing and preserving food for your family is a double blessing.

I have a copy sitting on my table right now that I ordered for my friend Shelley, who is going to plant a basic kitchen vegetable garden this spring. I can't wait to give it to her as I find great pleasure in helping others learn to do what our parents and their parents did: make your ground work for you and earn its keep!

Cozy @ Home: Easy Berry Cobbler

2010-02-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

I made a terrible supper last night for my family. It was memorably bad.
If I were to describe it to you, I'm sure you would have a stomach ache just from hearing about it.

Ever have one of THOSE nights?

I had one last week and one again this week.

Tonight I tried to make it up to them and made baked beef stew, homemade rolls and this cobbler. It's warm and yummy to the tummy.

This recipe comes from my sweet, southern friend Pam, who loves food as much as I do. I will always be glad that she shared the recipe with me...she's always been generous that way.

Any recipe from a southern friend is well worth having!

Easy Berry Cobbler

or
Triple Berry Cobbler

2/3 c. each flour, sugar
1 - 1/2 tsp/ baking powder
2/3 c. milk
2-3 c. berries
6 T. margarine
(I use my frozen strawberries and raspberries from the garden and blueberries.)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk in a bowl.
Melt margarine in baking dish.
Pour batter over melted margarine.
Spoon berries over top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
Batter will rise to the top.

Cozy @ Home: Stuffed Pepper Soup

2010-02-03T04:49:00.000-08:00

There's something about the perfect combination of a snowy, blowy day and soup. There is a satisfying contentment in chopping and stirring, the aroma and the steam rising from the pot of pure goodness simmering for the afternoon on the stove.

It speaks of love and caring and memories and HOME....and being cozy!

There is pride in knowing that the peppers, the tomatoes, venison, and onions are all from our own freezer, food harvested and prepared to store by us; this pot of soup turns into something of a family project.

This particular soup is hearty and filling and I thought you might enjoy trying it, too.
Cheddar cheese on top is the little bonus you can leave off if you like but me? I'm all for it.

So, would you like the recipe?

STUFFED PEPPER SOUP

1 c. onion, chopped
1/4 c. chopped celery
1 clove garlic
2 c. chopped green peppers
2 T. vegetable oil
(I didn't use this, I pre-cook the vegetables in simmering water)
1/2 lb. ground beef or venison
1 16-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. tomato juice
1/2 c. uncooked white rice
or add 1 whole c. rice and an additional cup or so of chicken broth
3 c. water
1 T. soy sauce
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (optional)
2 t. white sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper

Cook vegetables until soft. Add other ingredients to the soup pot and simmer over low-medium heat, stirring often to make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

When at the desired consistency, serve with a bit of cheddar cheese over the top and serve with a crusty bread or cornbread or muffins.

Yurtles (Fake Turtles!)

2009-12-21T13:06:00.001-08:00

Ever wanna turtle but you're too busy to make da real ting? Well...ya can make da YURTLES! Easy 'n good is da best, eh?

(Yoopers talk like dis. Whatsa YOOPER? Well, it's da name for da people who live in and speak a dialect of da English language in da upper peninsula of Michigan, and northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota.

You can go here and read about da Yooper. I have lotsa Yooper relation. Dat will be yer geography lesson today. And, fer more fun, read about dese people dat make a livin singin' da yooper songs! Dey're a HOOOOOT!!

Back to da YURTLES.

HERE'S WHATYA DO:

Ya need dem ROLOS, unwrap em.

Ya need pecan halves.

Ya need some foil on a cookie sheet.

Ya need dem round pretzels set in rows on da foil.

Ya need da oven at 250.

So put da Rollos in da middle of da pretzels, smallest end down.

Put em in da oven for FOUR MINUTES ONLY.

When dey come out of da oven, squish dose pecan halves down into da melty Rollos.

Lettem cool.

Eat dem suckers!

Perfect Apple Crisp

2009-12-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

They say that a big old snowstorm is headed our way. I sure hope so. I so love a good snowstorm. I don't know why, maybe it's because as long as it's cold, the earth surely looks better in a blanket of pure white, plus it gives us all who are normally cooped up, something to do.

We can shovel or snow blow it, ski, skate, sled, snowmobile, all kinds of S activities are associated with the S word....SNOW!

Besides that, big old Dixie, our 1999 Suburban, loves to come out and play in 4WD in the snow....sometimes we have to have an adventure and the tow strap is always under the front passenger seat.

Another thing that snow is good for is snugglin' up in the evenin' for good, hot food: comfort food. And I have a good recipe for that kind of night that will not only taste good, it will make your house smell wonderful and with a nice, hot cup of coffee, you'll enjoy watching the wind and the snow come down outside those steamed-up windows.

APPLE CRISP!

This apple crisp recipe has dried cranberries in it, which makes for a tart, tangy surprise in the sweetness of the apples. For this recipe, I used my canned apple pie filling and it worked out perfectly....

AUTUMN APPLE CRISP
(It's still Autumn until December 21st!)

3/4 c + 1/2 T all purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 stick cold butter, in chunks
1/2 c. chopped pecans, chopped
2-1/2 lb. apples, peeled and
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/4 maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. For the topping, put 3/4 c. flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and butter in a food processor and pulse to form moist clusters. Mix in pecans.

2. Cut the apples into 1/2" chunks and put them into a buttered 9-1/2", 2 qt. pie pan (or use an 8 x 8" pan, I used glass). Add cranberries, maple syrup, and 1/2 T. flour; mix. Scatter on the topping.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until bubbly and top is crisp along the edges. Serve warm, at room temp, or chilled. Can be reheated in the microwave and served with a petite scoop of vanilla ice cream, as shown.

Serves 10

This apple crisp is delicious and I think it's important to use the old-fashioned oats, and the chopped pecans are PERFECT in a crisp topping, making it more crisp than usual! I ripped the recipe from a recent copy of the PARADE magazine that comes in Sunday's newspaper.

Since I have canned my apple pie filling, I am able to skip the peeling and chopping of apples in this recipe, and just mix the topping, and I did not use the maple syrup.

One Pan Each for Dinner & Desert

2009-11-24T15:31:00.001-08:00

Bloggers are such helpful people....they're the virtual friend over the back fence....just miles and miles away in....say, TEXAS! I got this delicious recipe from Tina at Cherry Hill Cottage and I knew I had to try it. It just so happens I have a friend who is pretty much taking care of her elderly mom full time after a fall broke her pelvis.

So, knowing that I wanted to make this recipe, I offered to take dinner one night for her own family as well as her mom and step dad. I just couldn't wait to see if they all liked it. They did! So, it's a keeper, and here's the link to "Shirley's Chicken Pot Pie"....thanks TINA! (I'm smiling at you and waving wildly over the back fence...!)

And, another blog-wonder, whose blog I've read since its inception, is Ree, over at Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. I've long ago lost count of the awesome recipes of hers that I've tried, and this one is just the best for this time of year. I happened to have plenty of apples on hand the day I took the Chicken Pot Pie over so I tried her Apple Cake in an Iron Skillet and HOLY COW WOW!

I wasn't able to invert it on a plate like she recommends because I was carrying the meal to the family, but it smelled absolutely HEAVENLY and looked gorgeous and was even easy to assemble. I'm always up for an iron skillet recipe! This "neighbor" happens to be talented in many areas, especially in photography, has multiple blogs and is a ranching wife way over in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. She home schools all her punks and even managed to find time to write a cookbook!

With recipes like this one, she will be a top seller in no time because all her readers have pre-ordered and we're for sure going to tell our friends about it and give it for Christmas gifts!

A BIG WAVE TO MY "OVER THE FENCE" NEIGHBOR IN OKLAHOMA!

I LOVE LIVING IN BLOG-LAND!!

Home-Canned Salsa Recipe

2009-11-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

Saturday, I was thankful to get 24 quarts and 14 pints of salsa put up !

Here's the recipe for those of you who requested it, it's a lot of work, but tastes so good, you'll never want the salsa off the grocery store shelves, ever again! I make a batch of zippy salsa, and a batch of mild each year just so everyone's happy.

If you want more zip, leave the ribs and the seeds or half the seeds in the hot peppers, if you want mild, remove them all. If you want to spice a mild salsa up once it's canned, just get out the hot pepper flakes and sprinkle them over your bowl of salsa!

Here's the ingredients, I don't worry about yields or specific amounts necessarily, I just keep washing jars if I need to. I taste as I go and add what I think it needs, I'm weird like that....I also put any and all kinds of peppers (red and yellow look really great in the salsa) into this and TONS of onions, all chunky...take all the amounts in the recipe below for a GUIDE.

Also, one more thing to make your job easier: a Vidalia chopper (found at Bed, Bath & Beyond) with the wider cut chopping insert makes this job a whole lot easier! The onions and peppers come out in perfect squares and your salsa looks like a pro made it, but either way, it's gonna be good!

HOMEMADE CANNED SALSA
First, core, scald, peel and quarter and/or chop your tomatoes. Get the jars and rings ready and all your other canning stuff, like your big pots, the funnel, lid lifter, etc.

10 c. chopped tomatoes

3 c. chopped onions

1 c. chopped green peppers

3 cloves garlic, minced (I used the jar of minced garlic)

1/2 c. chopped cilantro (found this time of year near the fresh parsley in the produce department, you can of course, leave this out but I love it!)

1-1/3 c. red wine vinegar

1 can tomato paste, or more, if you want your salsa thicker

1 t. cumin (optional)

1 T. red pepper flakes

3 T. pickling salt

3 T. brown sugar

Simmer all ingredients for one hour or more, and stir in 1/3 c. cornstarch diluted in cold water if more thickening is needed.

(I don't do the cornstarch, I don't like the taste, so I just add more tomato paste.) Ladle into hot jars and seal. If you have a little leftover, or a bit more salsa than jars, it refrigerates well. ENJOY!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Homemade Chicken Soup Cures All!

2009-11-23T19:19:00.002-08:00

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE

I just don't know what it is about fall, but it seems like a special kind of satisfaction sets in once I get all my corn shocks tied together, the pumpkins taken from their vines in the garden and get them all set out, the colorful fall grapevine wreaths hung on the porch, and a pretty fall tablecloth on the dining room table with a special centerpiece. I got all that done yesterday afternoon on a beautiful lazy Sunday afternoon. Lem and Mark went out hunting, so I got busy.

Getting all that done makes me feel like fall is really here, and so I want to get a pot of soup going, and bake a loaf of egg bread, the recipe my dear friend Pat shared with me years and years ago when we were country neighbors! (Pat's bread is the best and sweetest, most lightly delicate bread you've ever had the privelege of melting a pat of butter on! And Pat was one of the most giving and sharing friends I have ever had the privelege to know!)

Anyway, there's a certain sense of well-being and caring for your family when you have a pot of soup on the stove, a loaf of bread going and the laundry hung on the line on a beautiful and crisp autumn afternoon. (It makes me want to put on an apron and ring a dinner bell!)

Chopping the onions, carrots and the celery is a therapy in itself. It speaks of care and love. As the afternoon wears on and you stop what you're doing to take a sniff, the aroma of the bread baking and the soup simmering is a reminder of what's to come: everyone sitting down together at the dinner table with your family slurping good old chicken noodle soup and cutting big hunks of bread off to butter! For me, showing my love is cooking for my family and fall brings out the best!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

The Best Homemade Hashbrowns!

2009-11-23T19:19:00.001-08:00

Want to make your family drool when it's time for breakfast, or time for breakfast for supper? Here's what you do, make your own hashbrowns! Don't groan, you CAN do this. You can look like a gourmet cook even if you're not (and for sure, I am not!)

What you'll need:

***

Baked potatoes that are leftover (I never bake potatoes without throwing a few extra in, they come in handy for so many dishes! More on that later....)

An old fashioned grater, and please DO pardon my bent and nasty looking grater, it has survived years of me slamming these old farmhouse drawers on it and smashing the handle!

Some canola oil for frying

Sea salt & Coarsely ground pepper

***

You can probaby guess what you'll be doing. You take the cold, sad-looking wrinkled and saggin' baked potatoes, (and tell yourself you will look the same way soon when you get old and your kids are having kids) and don't even think of removing the skins, the skin is where the FLAVOR'S at, man! Leave the skin on and grate them on the side of the grater with the largest holes. Easy, peasy, right?

***

Get your oil hot and fry those babies up, in clumps...do NOT spread them all over the pan. They brown best when they have some breathing room between piles. Don't flip them until they are GOOD AND BROWN, as shown above, and try to flip them in nice clumps, too. When done, sprinkle generously with coarsely ground black pepper and sea salt. YUM! Serve with eggs cooked your favotite way (sunny side up!) and some nice wheat toast with homemade raspberry jam. Your husband will worship you!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Hot and Creamy Baked Potato Soup

2009-11-23T19:17:00.001-08:00

Baked Potato Soup with melted cheddar and bacon bits and green onions on top. Tastes just like a creamy baked potato!

What a nice day! The weather really stinks but it's a nice day anyway. It's gray, cloudy, dreary and a cold rain is falling. It's the kind of cold rain that if the temperature dropped a couple degrees it would be SNOW. (How I wish it were! The guys were watching the UM game this afternoon while I made the soup and it's snowing big flakes there! I'm actually jealous!)

For the guys it was nice because it's opening day of deer season, and for me because it's the annual craft show at Flushing High. I met a friend and her daughter there and it was really nice to be able to be with a friend, get into the Christmas spirit looking at all the gifts and Christmas decorations. I bought a few things and as we walked out into the cold and windy rain I thought, baked potato soup sounded so good for today. So, I came home and got busy, and it really isn't that long from start to finish for this rich and hearty soup. I thought you might like to have the recipe to try, so here it is!

BAKED POTATO SOUP

(Garnish with green onion or chives, and shredded cheese and real bacon bits if you have them, if you don't it's still darn good!)

4-6 large potatoes, peeled and diced

6-8 c. water

1-12 ounce can of evaporated milk

16 oz. heavy cream

1/2 c. sour cream

3 T. butter (optional, it tastes just as good without it!)

1/2 t. onion salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

salt to taste

coarsely ground or freshly ground pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the potatoes and water in a large saucepan. Bring water to a boil and reduce heat and simmer just until potatoes become tender...bring some out and test with a fork

2. Mix together the evaporated milk, heavy cream, sour cream, butter and onion salt, garlic powder and salt and pepper with the potatoes. Simmer stirring often to keep from scorching until the soup is creamy and not watery. If you can't wait for this, I have found that adding instant potato flakes to the soup can easily speed up the process.

3. When the soup is the right consistency, scoop out into another bowl and mash just SOME of the potatoes (unless you added the instant flakes) and return to mixture.

4. Serve with shredded cheddar on top, and a few real bacon bits, and if you like some chopped chives or green onion...enjoy! It's even better leftover tomorrow. Very filling and warms you right up!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Hearty Ham Casserole

2009-11-23T19:16:00.001-08:00

Try not to drool at these crispy bits....

Oh, and the reason the picture isn't nicer is because I forgot to take the picture for you BEFORE we ate dinner! I am a bad, bad, blogger.

Okay, it seems fall has truly set in, they cut the corn, so our house seems naked and exposed, the days are cold and gray (does anybody but me think it seems like January weather already???) the grass is almost dead and everything outside looks like crap because there's not a foot of snow yet to cover up all the ugly and comfort foods are callin' my name.

So to remedy this recent malady, today I got out my trusty Vidalia food chopper (a gift I bought myself, I really love it, thanks!) and my favorite LeCrueset barn red oval casserole dish (Love that more! So thanks, Mary!) and I got to work on this ham casserole. Good food fixes everything, right? Yes and the best thing is that it makes my house smell GOOD.

We had ham Sunday so I needed to use up the leftovers. Mark and Lem are particularly fond of this dish, Luke will not eat it. Ever. But. Never fear, you can make this dish even if your little sister has never bought you a LeCrueset casserole dish in barn red. Any dish will do. But nothing cleans up quite like my dish. Just sayin'!

So did you want the recipe so that you, too can scrape the crusty goodness off the edge of the dish to nosh on while you dish the leftovers up to a Gladware container for your husband to take to work with him for lunch tomorrow? Okey dokey. Go forth and make sinfully delicious and cheesy casseroles! And don't worry about the resulting love handles. After all, we are goin' for the HEARTY look. Not the waifish look.

HEARTY HAM CASSEROLE

First...swear off your diet for this meal. It's over until tomorrow.

2. c. cooked cubed potatoes (this is where the chopper comes in so handy, did you see my perfect little diced potatoes in the picture?!)

2 c. cooked cubed ham

1 fifteen ounce can of whole kernel golden corn, drained

1/4 c. fresh parsley (optional)

1/4 c. butter (optional, I never put this in)

1 T. chopped onion or green onion or leeks (or none!)

**************

SAUCE

1/3 c. all purpose flour

1-3/4 c. milk

1/8 t. black pepper (coarsely ground is best)

4 oz. shredded cheese, preferably yellow

A little cubed Velveeta (if you have it, if not then stomp your feet and growl because you truly need the creaminess...it's really good for the heart.)

Boil your potatoes until they are ALMOST done, you want them al dente', so to speak. Drain off the water and mix with your other ingredients. Then mix your flour with almost boiling milk, whisk until thickened, add to the potato mixture, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until done, then remove the foil and bake 15-20 minutes or more until you have the top browned to your liking.

TASTES EVEN BETTER THE SECOND DAY.

And...don't blame me when you develop love handles.

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Best Baked Mac & Cheese

2009-11-23T19:12:00.002-08:00

Ready for the oven

Time to DIG IN!

It's a cold winter's night, walking quickly to the front door your feet crunch on the sparkling snow, the door creaks as you step over the threshold to get in the house and out of the bitter wind. Frost covers the windows of the old farmhouse, double thermal insulated panes don't stop Jack Frost. It's dinner time, what should we make tonight?

Comfort food is a must on an evening like this, and something that smells delicious. I'm going to share a simple, but delicious, recipe with you that my friend, Kathy B., shared with me! I've given this recipe to a lot of people, because when they taste it, they just have to know what's in it....and no one that tries it is ever disappointed, that is unless they use skim or lowfat milk, it makes this too watery! So remember, to use whole or two percent and you'll be okay!

BAKED MAC AND CHEESE
**Spray your 2.5 -QUART baking dish with Pam so clean-up will be easier

**YOU MAY WANT TO SET THIS BAKING DISH ON AN OLD COOKIE SHEET WITH SIDES IN CASE OF A SPILLOVER.

**Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2 c. macaroni, uncooked

3 T. butter or margarine, melted (can be done in the baking dish you're going to use while the oven preheats)

8-16 oz. grated cheese (I use closer to 8 oz. than 16,and I like cheddar and/or taco blend with a touch of cubed Velveeta, but any cheese or combination is fine!)

1 t. salt

4 c. milk (whole or two percent, not skim or lowfat)

Melt the butter or margarine in a 2 quart casserole, and then add dry macaroni and stir it to coat with the melted butter.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to mix. Don't forget the salt, or your dish will, for the most part, be flavorless!

Bake, covered, at 350 for 1 to 1-1/4 hours then for at least fifteen minutes uncovered until it's browned to your liking!

There is NEVER any of this left at a church potluck or picnic (I always double or triple it!). You'll love it just as much when you make a batch for your family and there's some leftover, it tastes even better reheated! Enjoy and keep warm, wherever you may be on this cold winter's night!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

How To Make a Hearty Stew

2009-11-23T19:12:00.001-08:00

Hearty baked venison stew with cornbread baked in a pan. Click on any photo to enlarge.

I just talked to my sister up north and she said they're expecting 10-18" of snow tonight and tomorrow, that they'd already gotten a couple of inches this afternoon. They had over a foot on the ground to start with. Somebody call Al Gore, we want him to know that global warming has missed us here in Michigan!

On a night like this, a good stew and some cornbread sticks to the ribs, as the old saying goes. In under an hour, you should be able to get a stew in the oven, get the cornbread mixed and bake it when your stew is almost done.

This really isn't a recipe, but it's a guide to making a good stew. And as for the cornbread, stay away from the mixes and go get some good yellow cornmeal in the round box, and treat yourself to a small cast iron frying pan, and make it by a recipe, then bake it the way good southern cooks have been doing for a couple hundred years: there's nothing like the crust of cornbread when it's made in a frying pan....mmmmm! It's crunchy on the outside and PERFECT on the inside!!

Okay, so here's what you do before you begin to cook:

Gather your stuff
*potatoes chopped into medium chunks, peeled or just washed and chunked, your choice!
*onions
*celery (if you like it, if not leave it out!)
*carrots
*venison or beef stew meat
*flour
*seasoned salt
*vegetable, corn or canola oil
*gravy mix or beef boullion cubes

First, brown the beef in oil once you've coated each piece in flour that has been mixed with a teaspoon or more of seasoned salt (to taste). Brown each piece on its own, and get it nice and brown, no mamby pamby lightly browned stew meat will do. You want those crispy bits that come from a nicely browned piece of beef. So brown it past the "normal" brown.

Next, peel and chunk up your onion, throw that in the pan.

Brown the meat and onion chunks together....then drain them all on paper towel while you brown the next vegetables.

Next, chunk up your carrots and celery, (it's not necessary to peel the carrots if you scrub them and dry them....chop them chunky and irregular, we want the rugged look). Brown the celery and carrots thoroughly.

***NOTE: I burnt my face once throwing carrots that had been washed into the pan, the water hit the hot oil and flew up and hit me near the eye...if you wash the carrots, please dry them BEFORE you throw them in the pan!

Once the celery and carrots have browned, remove them to the paper towel and drain the oil from the pan, leaving the crispy bits in there. Deglaze the pan, and stir in the gravy mix and water, or the boullion and water. I use a couple boullion because the potatoes will need it while they cook. Thicken gravy with flour if you did not use gravy mix, and make sure that you have extra liquid as the potatoes will soak up some liquid while they cook.

Once the gravy is made, then put all the meat, vegetables and gravy into an enamel roaster to put into the oven. You could use a crock pot, too but it will need longer to cook, and the stew makes better gravy in a roaster pan. Before you put the lid on, add some coarsely ground pepper and a little seasoned salt or any other favorite seasoning you like (I like Morton's Nature's Seasons!).

Bake at 350-375 for 1-1/2-2 hours, watching to make sure you don't lose too much of the liquid, if you do think it looks dry add some water and stir.

Assemble and then bake your cornbread after the first hour and have a great supper!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Simply Delicious Chicken Fingers!

2009-11-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

Once in a while you want fried chicken, right? Well this fried chicken is different, delicious, and delightfully easy! It would be great paired with mashed potatoes, salad and biscuits for a Sunday dinner, or it easily goes casual and is great paired with marinara and/or ranch dressing for a casual supper Sunday night in front of the game! I'm sorry I don't have exact amounts or measurements, I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of cook!

The ingredients are few, you will need:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

milk (not lowfat)

Italian bread crumbs

Grated Parmesan cheese fresh or the kind in a can (actually the dry stuff in the can has better results but the fresh has more zip)

canola oil

1. Cut the chicken into thin strips, not too thin, but about 1/2" thick.

2. Pour the Italian bread crumbs and the parmesan cheese into a low bowl or pan suitable for breading the strips of chicken, ratio about 1 to 1-1/2 cups bread cups to about a half cup parmesan cheese.

3. Pour your milk into one bowl or pan that's flatter and suitable for soaking the chicken strips in before dipping them into the crumb mixture. If you have time, it's nice to soak the strips in the bowl of milk for a awhile before dipping, this helps tenderize the chicken.

I use an electric frypan to make this, it just makes it easier to regulate the heat and doesn't mess up the stove with splatters....you can use a frypan on the stove, I prefer a teflon coated one.

Here's what you do until the chicken strips are all gone:

1. Drain the milk from each strip.

2. Roll each strip in the bread crumb mixture, if I run out of the mixture I throw a little more of each into the bowl and toss with a fork and get right back to dipping!

3. Fry them in the hot oil (my family loves extra crispy and dark like the picture above) turning when you're happy with the doneness.

4. Drain each batch on fresh paper towels.

Enjoy the resulting love handles!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Do You Covet my Warm Cinnamon Rolls?

2009-11-23T19:09:00.001-08:00

No need to envy....you can make them, too. And without tons of time invested! There's a shortcut you should know about!

Our Christmas morning tradition is Cinnamon Rolls. They're actually fast and easy: something you can get prepared the evening that Santa comes down the chimney and put in them in the fridge.

USE:

>A stick or more of real butter, softened but not melted. Margarine works too, but know it's second best.

>Brown sugar, light or dark

>Cinnamon

>Pecans, chopped (optional)

>Raisins plumped up in boiling water (optional)

Cover a countertop or a large cutting board with some flour, and stretch/roll the dough so it's a long rectanglar shape. Get it as thin as you can without it having holes or air bubbles.

Now, smear butter all over the surface of the bread dough. Oh what fun! Now lick your fingers, but don't wash your hands....don't worry, mama really didn't know what she was talkin' 'bout.

Next, sprinkle generous amounts of brown sugar and cinnamon on top of the butter.

If you like the nuts and raisins, add them next. If you like nutmeg, a smidgen of that is good in with the cinammon. (No nuts or raisins for my bunch, we're already nuts enough.)

Roll up the rectangle of bread dough from bottom to top, to make a long roll. Admire your work. Splash a bit of the flour on your face. It's fun!

Lay your cinnamon rolls in the pan, not too close, give them a little room to rise and spread. I usually use a glass or ceramic pan. A regular 9 x 13 cake pan is fine, too.

Merry Christmas! I hope Santa was kind enough to bring you all you wanted.

FBTSOYP=Fly By The Seat Of Your Pants

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Incredible Edible Caramel Corn!

2009-11-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

Must have.....

Peanuts optional

Turn the above ingredients.....into something wonderful! A simple, old-fashioned treat! Keep this recipe, you'll want to use it next Christmas, but it really is so good all year long. Uncommonly good.

Oh, Honey.....you just try to resist this. It won't happen. You can't. I know it. This is what I made multiple batches of this Christmas: for neighbors and the nieces and nephews. I also took some to Jamie and Thad, and made another batch while I was down there. It's that good.

I'm not lyin'.

It's delicious, it doesn't have to be the right size, it works for a boy or a girl, and it will not need to be returned, and it really isn't inappropriate for any age except the littlest ones! As the family expands, all you do is make more of it! All you need are some cute tins (or hey, even a heavy ZIPLOC freezer bag will work!) to put it into, and lots of the right ingredients to make every member of your neighborhood or your family happy, happy, happy!

Do you want the recipe?

Are the pictures making your mouth water?

It's better than Cracker Jacks and HERE GOES! And before I forget, I credit my dear friend Pam for the recipe, she's the ultimate cook, and moreover, she's the ultimate southern cook....oh let me tell ya! She and I love, love, love to talk and look at pictures of FOOD. And we do. Every time we get together, we eventually get around to food. And we share recipes, and we share our food with each other. In fact, for Christmas, she sent over the NICEST present: a big gift bag of good food, all of it she made herself, it included among other goodies, this delightfully delicious caramel corn! Needless to say, it didn't last long. And, those are the very best kinds of gifts, from the heart, and homemade.

The rich toffee flavor is highly addictive...so watch out!

BETTER THAN CRACKER JACKS CARAMEL CORN

12 c. popped fresh, unsalted popcorn or...make it a batch at a time by putting

1/2 c. - 2/3 c. unpopped popcorn in 2 T. canola oil in a heavy kettle-type pan.

1-1/2 c. nuts (optional) use dry roasted peanuts, or cashew or pecan halves
1 c. dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 c. real butter
1/2 c. dark corn syrup
1/2 t. baking soda

Spray a large roasting pan or 2 each 17 x 12 x 2 baking pans with PAM, remove the unpopped popcorn kernals from the popcorn; place the popcorn and nuts into the pan and keep the popcorn/nut mixture warm in a 300 degree oven while you make the caramel mixture.

To make the delicious caramel:

In a heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup, bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly (may take up to twelve minutes). Cook and stir the caramel mix for five more minutes over medium heat after it comes to a boil. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the soda. (The mixture will foam.)

Being very careful, drizzle/pour this hot mixture over the popcorn/peanut mixture in the roasting pan. Stir very gently to coat the popcorn. Bake in the center of the 300 degree oven for 15 mintes, remove from oven and stir the popcorn mixture and return to the oven to bake for five more minutes. Remove and spread on foil to cool. Let dry completely before putting into tins.

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Cupcake Kiss, Brownie Delish!

2009-11-23T19:07:00.001-08:00

Pardon me, I had to make one of these twice today, simply because I had to share it with you, after I ate the first one, it dawned on me I should tell all of you about it! I love the corners of brownies, so I solved that dilemma by baking my brownies in a cupcake pan. This is what you'll do:

Mix your brownies according to package directions, but just add an extra egg. This allows the brownie to become more cake-like and rise a little more.

Take the foil off abuot 21 or so Hershey's Kisses (plain chocolate or any of the flavors of Kisses; mint ones work especially well!) Don't walk by those clearance/seasonal flavors of Hershey Kisses again without looking, I found chocolate/cherry ones right after Valentine's Day and those taste super in these brownies.

So, spray your cupcake pans with Pam, and put approximately 1/3 cup of batter into each cupcake hole. Bake about 20-25 minutes at 350 or until the tops of the brownie cupcakes are firm to the touch, but watch them so they don't get too done. You want the perimeter of the brownie to be nice and crusty but not burnt.

When they come out of the oven, give the brownies a minute to set up and then remove them from the pan to a cooling rack. (A regular boxed brownie mix should make approximately 21 brownie cupcakes.)

After five minutes or so, press a Hershey's Kiss into the center of each brownie. They will partially melt, but you don't want to do this step when they're so hot they'll melt completely.

You can eat these as they are....they're delicious all on their own: moist, chewy, just right on the outside with melty chocolate in the center.

BUT.... they're really good warm with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream on top. Of course, you can imagine the melted chocolate of the Kiss, and the moist chewiness/crusty edge of the brownie, and that cold ice cream melting into the whole mix....mmmmm! Help me, Rhonda!

And, don't worry if you don't get the whole batch eaten at the first sitting. Put the remaining cooled brownies into a ziploc bag for snacking on later, or to make this same dessert. All you do is pop the brownie into the microwave for about twenty seconds and it's good to scoop the ice cream onto again for a wonderful puddle of yumminess! Delectable, delightful, and most of all SIMPLE! Now I have to go finish eating my puddle before it runs right off that plate!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Homemade Garlic Breadsticks!

2009-11-23T19:06:00.001-08:00

GARLIC BREADSTICKS: light or dark

Remember back when I made and gave you the recipe for those yummy cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning? I promised you then another recipe for the frozen bread dough loaves. These are easy and a real crowd pleaser, so I'll give you the instructions here. They're delicious served with a nice salad for a great dinner. You'll be glad you tried them! (I will say that it's hard to make more than two to three pans of these and all sit down to eat at the same time. If these are to be made for a crowd, they will not all be able to be done around the same time unless you have two ovens or access to a big old pizza oven!)

YOU WILL NEED

FROZEN BREAD DOUGH LOAVES
SHREDDED MOZZARELLA
MELTED BUTTER
LAWREY'S COARSELY GROUND GARLIC WITH PARSLEY

A PASTRY BRUSH

MARINARA OR RANCH FOR DIPPING

*Please note, the second photo is darker than I like my breadsticks, but I custom make these for my boys who love them dark on the bottom and on the top.

First, allow a loaf of bread for each two people. I get my loaves in the freezer section at Kroger and they have a pack with five loaves. Never hurts to have a few spare.

Next thaw the dough in a glass dish that's been sprayed with Pam. I leave these on the counter in the morning if I want to make these in the afternoon. Spray the tops of the loaves with Pam also. Cover with Cling wrap until thawed and you can easily poke your finger down into the loaf.

If speedy thawing is needed, place the covered glass pan with the loaves in the microwave and place a large glass measuring cup about half full of water in there also. Thaw or defrost around ten minutes on power level two or three. If more time is needed, only go in rounds of five minutes at a time, checking after two or three minutes at a time. Watch the loaves so one or more parts of them do NOT start to cook and harden up or swell up more than others. You want the loaves to thaw uniformly and only thaw to softness, not to doneness. IN OTHER WORDS...watch them when thawing in the microwave! The cup of water allows moisture in the oven while these thaw so they don't dry out. Be careful when removing it from the microwave.

You'll need large jelly roll pans (cookie sheets with sides) or you can use your ceramic pizza stones from Pampered Chef.

The cookie sheets/jelly roll pans will need to be lined with foil. Spray the foil with Pam. Roll out or press out each roll of the dough with your hands in their own pans. These will end up in a long regtangular shape and should be as wide and as flat as you can make it. Cover it with a clean cotton lint-free dishtowel and let rise to about twice the height. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425.

Once the dough has doubled *or almost* in height, place shredded mozzarella on the surface of the dough. Place the pans (one at a time) in the oven on the center rack, watching closely for 8-10 minutes, making sure not to burn the bottoms or the tops. If you'd like your top more brown like my boys do, move to the top shelf for the last few minutes of baking. I've found that cooking more than one pan at a time will cause the pans to cook unevenly.

When they're to your desired doneness, and the cheese is browned and bubbly, remove from the oven and brush the tops with melted butter. Sprinkle generously with the coarsely ground garlic with parsley. Cut into strips with a pizza cutter and enjoy the resulting finger-lickin' goodness!

The secret to the taste? This seasoning. They're just not the same with any old garlic salt...believe me!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Blueberry Cream Muffins

2009-11-23T19:05:00.001-08:00

Have a BLUEBERRY CREAM MUFFIN with your coffee this mornin'! I had never found a bluberry muffin recipe before this one that would "hold up" the blueberries. Before, all my muffins would be fine, but the blueberries always sunk to the bottom of the muffin. This one is wonderful, and the secret to holding those berries up is the sour cream in the recipe! It's such a creamy taste, one I think you'll love. I make these in the jumbo muffin tins and cool them, wrap individually in Cling Wrap and either freeze or refrigerate to keep them fresh for longer. I've also been known to drop them off at a friends house, or send them to work with my husband to share with his co-workers! The recipe isn't complicated, and it makes a nice big batch to share! Enjoy this simple treat!

Blueberry Cream Muffins

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

4 eggs

2 c. white sugar

1 c. vegetable oil

1 t. vanilla extract

4 c. all purpose flour

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 c. sour cream

2 c. bluberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, gradually add sugar while beating. Continue beating slowly, while pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla. In a seperate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter in to prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or til done. Cool on wire rack.

Have a great Sunday!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Coconut Cake with cooked Buttercream Frosting

2009-11-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

Pull out the apron, ladies! It's time to bake a special cake!

Make him this tall, airy cake, with a dreamy, creamy rich flavored frosting, just sweet enough, but not TOO, and a just-right velvety smooth texture, combined with a hint of raspberry between the layers....it's all the Valentine you'll ever need!

Pull out your pedestal cake plate and give this beauty the royal treatment it deserves! Fit for your most special ocassion!

Take any white cake mix and add an extra egg in addition to the ingredients already on the box. Mix it according to package directions ONLY mix it longer and longer...maybe 8-10 minutes? (The result of mixing so long allows more and more height to your layers, and they'll be nice and tall when they bake!)

That's it, then bake the cake according to package directions in two round layer pans, I used two 8" round pans so the cake would fit on my pedestal plate.

NOTE: I don't leave the yolks out, because I don't care if my cake is white or yellow. This cake is so evil I only make it a few times a year.

Feel free to do what you want to do, for Easter, I do prefer the cake to be pure white for some reason and I'll leave the yolks out.

*While the layers cool, if you'd like, put raspberry jam on top of one of the layers so it can soak in a little bit, that way it won't mix with your frosting when you frost between the layers.

When the frosting is finished, stack your cakes flat side UP...then just frost generously, and sprinkle coconut on the middle layer over the frosting, and then the top surface of the cake, too! I lay it on pretty thick!

Here's the secret to a really good coconut cake! THE FROSTING! This is all you do!

CREAMY FROSTING

In a saucepan, use a whisk to blend 1 cup milk into 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat, and cook and stir two minutes more. Remove from heat. Cover the surface with plastic wrap. Cool to room twmperature (do not stir). In a medium mixing bowl, beat 1 c. softened butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add cooled milk mixture to butter mixture a quarter cup at a time, beating on low speed after each addition until smooth.

YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE NUTRITION FACTS ON THIS FROSTING!!! Enjoy the resulting love handles...

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Remedy for a Cold, WIndy Day! Chicken Pot Pie!

2009-11-23T19:03:00.001-08:00

Get out your favorite apron and a ceramic deep dish pie pan and let's get to work making those hard-workin' family members something they'll love for dinner when they come in from out of the cold tonight; it's easy, won't take long, and the leftovers are even better!

BETTER THAN BOB EVANS CHICKEN POT PIE

YOU'LL NEED:

two piecrusts ready to go at room temperature, note: best to make this heavy, full pie in a glass or ceramic pie pan...deep dish is best, do not use foil pans if you can avoid that. If you use foil, do not use all of this filling, you could probably get away with half.

This can also be baked in one 9 x 13 glass or ceramic baker with just the top crust....it's great either way!

a can of cream of chicken soup and one of cream of potato (or use two of the cream of chicken if you need to, or use one of cream of chicken, one of cream of celery. Got that?)

about three cups (more or less) of frozen mixed vegetables, cooked and drained. I use the ones that have diced carrot, peas, corn, and green beans.

diced leftover chicken, and men like this chock-ful of chicken so use as much as you can (In a pinch, you can use the canned chicken breast chunks.)

Morton's "Nature's Seasons" seasoning

coarsely ground pepper

coarse sea salt for the top of the pie

(If you have leftover potatoes: mashed or baked, those are great to throw into the pie for more body.)

Put your soups and about a half cup of milk (not skim) in a large saucepan over medium heat until bubbly, stirring frequently. Put in the meat and the mixed vegetables and the extra potaotes, and stir all until all is well-heated.

Pour the filling into a pan with one pie crust. Sprinkle with the Nature's Seasons and the coarsely ground black pepper. Place top crust over filling, and cut slits right away to let the steam escape; make sure your pie has vents or it could explode on you!

Flute edges, and sprinkle the top crust with the coarse sea salt.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes (lower temp if you're using a glass pie pan) in the center of the oven, watching to make sure that you aren't over-baking. This pie can be placed on top of a cookie sheet if you're worried about overflow from the pie filling getting onto the floor of your oven which can happen when it's bubbling and baking away in there making your whole house smell heavenly.

Serve with a nice green tossed salad and a big tall glass of milk. Enjoy! It's gonna stick to yer ribs!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

Time To Make Za RUNZA!!!

2009-11-23T19:02:00.001-08:00

I made a big batch of these and took a basketful of these to a dear neighbor and friend yesterday...she and her husband had to move out of their farmhouse into a travel trailer because while on vacation they had furnace trouble and their whole house was filled with soot and debris; they had to move out of their home. I hope they enjoyed these for their dinner. They're going to be living out of a fifth-wheel camper for a good three months so I plan to be a regular contributor to their suppertime until they're back in their own farmhouse.

The process starts with browing your ground beef just past the point of pink so it's not too dry (not shown here), setting it aside, and cooking your shredded or finely diced onions, cabbage (I use a coleslaw mix that is chopped or shredded) and chopped or shredded carrots in a large saucepan to the point of tenderness, and then mixing the meat and the vegetables and seasonings together for the filling and heating to hot without cooking to the point of mushiness.

With your thawed bread dough, take a piece and stretch it to the size of a dinner plate (or almost). The filling goes inside on one half, fold over the top, use a bit water to pinch the dough together and bake!

What is a Runza? In short, it's a meat pie but full of vegetable goodness. A meal in your hand, and it's one I think you'll love! There are many variations on this meal, but have fun with it and find your perfect combination for the filling. The filling, which you'll not be able to resist, even while you're preparing it, while tasting, check it to make sure it's seasoned properly. The filling is made of ground beef, and lots of cabbage, carrots, and onions. (My filling has a good deal of ground venison in with the ground beef.)

This filling is then put into a bread dough and baked, and from the time the filling starts to cook, your whole house will smell wonderful. These little pies are great served hot out of the oven, or, once they're cooled, wrapped or put into a ziploc, kept in the fridge to re-heat for a lunch or dinner, or even a supper or lunch on the go. (They make a great take-to-work lunch the next day. When reheating in the microwave, wrap completely in a paper towel.)

Here's the link to the ALLRECIPES.COM website...just type in "runza" and take a look around at all the runza recipes to see what would suit your taste. I saw one that looked interesting that had sausage and sauerkraut inside! YUM! I can picture putting lots of onion and maybe some pepper in with that variation.

My recipe is most like this one except that I take the shortcut of using loaves of frozen bread dough (you can get three to four runza per loaf) and I add Morton's "Nature's Seasons" and some coarsely ground black pepper to season my filling mixture. Once the hot pies come out of the oven, I brush the tops with melted butter to keep the tops soft and glossy. Enjoy!

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD

Spaghetti Pie in an Iron Frying Pan!

2009-11-23T19:00:00.001-08:00

Spaghetti Pie
(Even better in a black fryin' pan!)

I cook slightly more spaghetti than this recipe calls for when I make this in the old cast iron fryin' pan also add an extra egg and maybe one extra Tablespoon of butter, slightly more mozarella for the top.)

The recipe below has not been modified to show the changes for the black frying pan. The recipe below is for a glass or ceramic pie plate-sized recipe. But when you make it in your old fryin' pan, I don't think you'll go back!

6 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained

2 T. butter or margarine

2 well-beaten eggs

1/3 c. parmesan cheese (fresh or in the box)

1 c. cottage cheese (optional)

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained with onion (onion optional)

14 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese (I use more)

DIRECTIONS:

Brown the burger, with onion if preferred, drain, mix with spaghetti sauce, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray your black fryin' pan with PAM for easy cleanup

Place fryin' pan in oven to get nice and HOT!

Meanwhile,

Stir butter or margarine into the drained, hot spaghetti. Stir in parmesan cheese and the beaten eggs, stirring well. Get a potholder and remove fryin' pan from the oven and pour into pan:

first: the spaghetti/egg/parmesan cheese mixture.

Next, the cottage cheese, if you're using it, spread on top of spaghetti mixture

Then, add the spaghetti sauce mixture.

Now, put on the mozzarella, I like to lay it on pretty thick.

BAKE , uncovered, FOR 25+ minutes, until bubbly and the cheese is nicely browned on top.

Serve with a nice antipasto or garden salad, and a crispy garlic bread!

ENJOY!

**This pie is great to take to a shut-in or for a family for dinner while mom's in the hospital or just arriving home with baby, etc. It's a great looking and great-tasting filling and hot meal! Tastes even better reheated!

Grab Your Bottom & HOLD ON! Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake!

2009-11-23T18:59:00.001-08:00

Your bottom will be as big as Texas when you're done eating a few pieces of this delectable sheet cake. But, if you're nice and share a lot of it with friends or take it to a picnic or potluck...you should be okay. (I made it last week for a funeral dinner, at the church and like a fool, decided to make one for our family. NOT A SMART DECISION!)

One or two pieces is okay, but please DO NOT allow yourself to be left alone in the house with this whole cake. I'm warning you, it's REALLY DANGEROUS. If you're due for a yearly physical, please do not make this cake until you've already had all your blood tests, otherwise, you'll be getting a call from the doctor's office to please report and pick up your cholesterol prescription!

Only having access to a COUPLE pieces of this deadly sin should be plenty. SO USE THIS RECIPE WITH CAUTION. Please. Thank You.

ON THE SUNNY SIDE .... anyone you share this with will love it and it will remind them of a less-rich form of peanut butter fudge. It goes very well with a cold glass of milk, or a nice hot cup of coffee or tea!

(*Of course, it's always helpful if you have a spare pound of butter or margarine and a large supply of peanut butter in the house before you start this recipe.)

Texas Peanut Butter Cake: (preheat oven to 350 degrees)

CAKE:

First, boil these ingredients, stirring often to prevent sticking to pan:

1/2 c. peanut butter

1 c. water

2 sticks margarine

Meanwhile, sift these ingredients:

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 t. soda

1 t. salt

Have ready these items:

2 eggs

1/2 c. buttermilk or soured milk

Bring the first three ingredients to a rapid boil. The pour the hot mixture over your sifted ingredients. Stir well, then add eggs & milk and mix. Pour into a large, greased sheet cake pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

FROSTING:

Bring to a boil:

1 stick margarine

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 T. buttermilk our soured milk

1 t. vanilla

when it has boiled, remove it from heat, then add up to 3-4 cups of powdered sugar and mix well. Frost cake with warm frosting after cake is cool.

TOO GOOD FOR WORDS! SLICE THINLY...enjoy the resulting love handles!

Ve Vill Make Da Rhubarb Cake!

2009-11-23T18:54:00.001-08:00

Hello, beautiful! Here we go, ready to get muddy?

First, I need to cut the rhubarb! Out we go to the misty landscape. Sometimes, after a good soaking rain, the earth almost feels HAPPY. The seeds are in the ground, some sprouted already, some are softening and ready to show themselves. The earth is full of promise. Since it's been raining all night and part of the morning, I get the wellies out so I won't sink in the mud! They've never seen the mud before-- or --the garden, so they're pretty happy that they are finally useful to me.

Out to the garden, our hound, Duke races ahead, to look for bunnies in the peony bushes...while I'm hoping there's no garter snakes hiding in the rhubarb....that would mean an automatic heart attack, harmless or not I hate, hate, hate snakes!

There you are, you tart, sweet .... vegetable? Fruit? Neither? I don't know what you are but you're going into my cake!

A sharp knife is the key, rhubarb is tough and stubborn....

Back to the kitchen....now which apron shall I wear? Whose turn is it today?

Yes, I chose the one right in front and center; with the fruit and apple blossoms...and I'll use the bowl my sister gave me, for no reason, other than she knows I'd love it!

Apron strings are tied, ready to BAKE! Here's the recipe for all you who'd like it!

Rhubarb Dump Cake
1 pound (or 3-4 cups) rhubarb cut into 1/4" slices (I would use more rhubarb...perhaps a bit more sugar, too.)
1 c. white sugar
1-3 oz. package strawberry flavored Jello mix (powder only)
1 c. water
1-18.25 oz. package yellow cake mix
1/4 c. margarine, melted
(chopped pecans, optional)
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread the rhubarb that has been tossed with the jello and the sugar into the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the cake mix over the top of the rhubarb mixture, the pour the margarine and the water over top of the cake mix. DO NOT stir.
Bake for 45 minutes in preheated oven, or until the rhubarb is bubbling and tender.

NOW, my alter ego, the crazy baking lady is taking over....here goes...don't mind the accent!

Come, let's make a velly delicious cake. Da rhubarb is vashed....and chopped. Ve can get to vork. It veely is much ado about nutting....because zee cake is velly, velly EASY! Embawassingly easy!

It's done! It smells velly goot. I should have put da chopped pecans on top...oh vell. VAT? No vipped cream in da house! Vat vill ve do about dat?

Ve vill eat it anyvay!!

I must get a big, cold, glass of zee milk....farm girls like zee MILK! YUM! Vant coffee? Velly good. You like? Eh? Vat's dat? You vant more? Come, ve vill go out to da porch...and ve vill visit vile ve eat!

It's me, Joni. I can't believe it, but I FORGOT AN INGREDIENT in this simple cake recipe. I completely left out the water!! (And, my alter ego is "velly, velly disappointed in my poor cooking skills")! Your rhubarb cake will turn out much, much, better!

Strawberry Cream Puffs!

2009-11-23T18:51:00.000-08:00

I am convinced that strawberries are a delight no matter your status in life. Who can't agree on a perfect strawberry? Who can resist their red goodness, plucked straight off the plant? Their beauty adorns (and has for generations!) colorful kitchen linens and curtains, pillows and pictures, canisters and more. And why not? They're perfection.

a huge metal mixing bowl I picked up at a garage sale...

In addition to the the bliss of eating as much as you want of the plentiful strawberry harvest in any number of ways: just alone, crushed with a bit of sugar, over ice cream, over angel food cake...you can really impress with many desserts made with these tart berries, in particular you will please almost everyone with this dessert: CREAM PUFFS IN A PAN topped with your garden-fresh sliced strawberries.

Garnished with strawberries, and drizzled with chocolate, on a base of the light cream puff pastry topped with a layer of vanilla pudding: it's heaven on earth. When you take a big pan of these to any potluck or picnic, you will not be embarrassed to be seen taking any of your dessert home: it will for sure be enjoyed and exclaimed over. Be aware that if you make these all alone at your house, the temptation will be way, way too much for you. You'll need help to resist the lure.

This dessert is best served fresh. KEEP COLD if not served immediately.

CREAM PUFFS IN A PAN
1 cup water
1 cup oleo
1 cup flour
4 eggs

3 c. milk
2 small boxes INSTANT vanilla pudding mix
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
Cool Whip
Chocolate syrup to drizzle

Boil water and oleo. Add flour after removing from heat. Beat in eggs, one at a time, with a fork and spread on a well-greased jelly roll pan or sheet cake pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let cool. Crust WILL BE UNEVEN.

While crust bakes, prepare filling. Beat together pudding, milk, and cream cheese. (Chill until crust is cool.) Spread over crust. Top that pudding layer with a layer of cool whip. Cut dessert into squares. Garnish every square with a strawberry half. Drizzle the whole dessert artfully with Hershey's chocolate syrup.

Grab a full cold glass of milk, or make a pot of coffee or tea and ENJOY!

The crust is bright yellow going into the oven...

It puffs up as it bakes and eventually looks like a freaky lunar surface...

The pudding mixture is DELISH and is a soft yellow...so creamy and dreamy...you'll have no trouble at all finding someone to lick the beaters!

It makes a WONDERFUL big jellyroll panful! THIS PAN IS MISSING THE DRIZZLED CHOCOLATE! I was out... a disaster! And you can be sure that's on my grocery list this week....gotta have the drizzled chocolate! It makes it so tasty with the strawberries, and of course, much prettier!

Invite in your friends and neighbors and even your great aunt Bessie, put the coffee pot on and GO TO TOWN on those babies!

He picked over a gallon today off our little strawberry patch. So those that didn't get used to garnish the dessert, or eaten in a bowl as a bedtime snack, were stemmed, washed, drained, and crushed or partially crushed, then a scant amount of sugar stirred in, then packaged in quart bags, labeled, then frozen laying flat in a 9 x 13 cake pan, so they can be stored in the freezer standing up in one of the freezer baskets to use this coming winter. To me, freezing them this way makes them the most useful to us. They can be made into pie, eaten on top of shortcake or biscuits, or over ice cream, or taken out to make a batch or two of jam at Christmastime for gift-giving. Nothing tastes better on a bitterly cold February evening than a bowl of "fresh" strawberries from our garden!

Refreshing Strawberry/Chicken Salad

2009-11-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

His....

And Mine....
click photos to enlarge and see more detail...

It's a hot and steamy day. You've worked outside and you're ready for supper. But you don't want anything too heavy. You have fresh strawberries. You have chicken you can grill (or even better, leftover grilled chicken!). You are ready for a REFRESHING SALAD that is
Chicken-Strawberry Salad!
(Now, ladies, even my husband, picky eater that he is liked this one!) It's sweet, fruity and meaty! What more could a person want. And it's strangely refreshing and not complicated but looks beautiful when you're done. Usually I get out the glass plates and fuss a little more but tonight we had too much going on for me to take a lot of time, and it all went together quickly!

Summertime Chicken-Strawberry Salad
You will need:
Romaine lettuce, torn
OR even better...
Combination of romaine and fresh spinach
Grilled chicken, chunked or sliced, your preference
Mandarin oranges, chilled then drained
Strawberries, sliced
Coconut to sprinkle on top of it all
Red onions, sliced, optional!
Honey Mustard salad dressing
Dried cherries or cranberries (the chewiness is so good in this salad!)
Pecans or walnuts, chopped

Use as much, or as little of your ingredients...experiment and add your own twist...it's fun!

Serve it up with some crackers and it's the perfect hot summer night supper! It looks so elegant, it would be great to serve to company! YUM...nothing like summertime and fresh strawberries and simple suppers!

One Pan Spanish Rice

2009-11-23T18:49:00.001-08:00

COMFORT FOOD. FALL.
Is it FALL?

Nope, the calendar says JULY.

Hmmm....

The other day it was cold, blustery and rainy and dark. I DO MEAN COLD. Fifties, needed a heavy jacket and wanted a blanket when I was sitting outside.

(It felt like fall. In fact, most of the summer here in Michigan has felt like fall, sorry to say. That pool out there? Swam in it once. Argh!)

This "SPANISH RICE" dish hit the spot on that damp, cold day: it's filling, hot and goes on the table quickly, especially if your burger or ground turkey or venison is pre-browned, and even faster if you've canned your own salsa and can spare a jar to throw in the pan, it will save you from chopping the garlic, onions and green peppers!

I serve it with bread and butter and a salad....but it would be a great side dish for taco or fajita night! (It's also one of those dishes that is even BETTER as a leftover for lunch the next day!)

Here's the recipe!

(Great to make in your large black cast iron fryin' pan or in your dutch oven!)

SPANISH RICE
1 lb. ground beef/turkey/venison
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. chili powder (or to taste)
1 bottle (32 oz.) tomato or V-8 juice (or use your own canned tomato juice, or salsa!)
1 c. uncooked long grain rice
1/2 t. salt (or to taste)
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste

In a skillet, brown ground beef; drain. Stir in the onion, green pepper, garlic and chili powder. Cook and stir until the vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients, bring to a boil. REDUCE HEAT; cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. (Watch closely, you may need to add a little extra water if you see it drying out.)

YIELD: SIX TO EIGHT SERVINGS

OFFICIAL FARMHOUSE FOOD!

From Scratch Buttermilk Brownies

2009-11-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

This is what I had for breakfast this morning with a big glass of milk. OH MY!
Last night we had some friends stopping in that were in Michigan from Georgia.
We had a good visit, I just love it when we get to have company. We had chef''s salad and pizza and for dessert I made homemade buttermilk brownies with easy homemade frosting. I thought I'd share the recipe with you because they were SO GOOD!

BUTTERMILK BROWNIES
1 c. butter or margarine
1/3 c. cocoa
2 c. sifted all purpose flour
2 c. sugar
1 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
2 slightly beaten eggs
(I used three eggs to make a higher brownie)
1/2 c. buttermilk
(make your own by adding a few tablespoons of lemon juice to almost a half cup of milk)
1-1/2 t. vanilla

In a saucepan, combine butter, cocoa, and one cup water. Bring to boil; stir constantly. Remove from heat. In large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, soda, and salt. Stir in eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add cocoa mixture; mix till blended. Pour into greased 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Cool slightly, frost, and cut into squares.

MY FAVORITE QUICK BROWNIE FROSTING
Mix 2/3 c. sugar
3 T. milk
3 T. butter

Bring to boil; boil 30 seconds. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted. Mixture will be thin. Spread over warm or cooled brownies.

Grilled Cheese McD's Way...

2009-11-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me the other day while I made my lunch on a chilly afternoon, that you may not be properly enlightened on your grilled cheese sandwiches.

I know. It's what you've been missing all your life, and I'm about to make it right. You'll thank me.

You might not remember the good old days when a Happy Meal choice was grilled cheese and milk (something halfway healthy!).

If one didn't know that, then one might not know that a person can get the best (non-soggy!) grilled cheese by using a hamburger bun like McD's did. I'm sure that their reason was that they could use up their day-old buns (smart idea!) that they purchased in bulk, and that it would give kids and parents another meal choice.

Well....I buy my buns at Sam's in sets of sixteen and those days long ago when we'd order a grilled cheese happy meal are all gone, for some unknown reason they dropped it, which makes no sense, because a bowl of their soup and a hot grilled cheese would be great on a winter day.

No worries. I can still make my own McD's grilled cheese. I've never forgotten how good they were and yes, you can make them too.

All you do is lightly butter the inside of the bun, lay on the cheese (whatever and however much you like!) and grill to perfection. NEVER will you have a soggy, sunken middle of your sandwich.

Your life will be complete as you eat it with your favorite mug of hot soup. YUM.

Oh, and you're welcome!

Venison Tenderloin Bites

2009-11-23T18:43:00.000-08:00

These Venison Tenderloin bites were DELICIOUS...and would be even better with pepper bacon. Go here for the link to the recipe, and if you have a lot of venison or wild game, ALLRECIPES.COM is a great resource for tried and reviewed recipes for that category, surprisingly!

I so much like reading what those who've tried the recipes have to say about the recipes, it doesn't get much better than that!

The only thing I might change is I would marinate the venison overnight, then I would marinate in the barbecue sauce all day and then would take their recommendation to grill it on the charcoal grill, that would be heavenly!

As it was, I grilled it on the gas grill but added some wet hickory wood chips to smoke it up a little bit in there and it was pretty darn good that way! It left everyone wanting more so I can't wait to make this again. I think venison steak would work for this recipe as well. The bacon does an excellent job of moisturizing the meat.

Venison, for those of you who don't know, is a dry meat because it's so low in fat content. Finding a way to cook it without it being tough (or gamey) is the challenge. But when you find a recipe that really works, you love to share it with other venison eaters!

Enjoy your Saturday!
XOXO
Joni

Morning Glory Muffins

2009-11-23T17:25:00.000-08:00

On a chilly fall or winter morning, these muffins just hit the spot for a light breakfast maybe with some fruit or yogurt on the side, and with a steaming cup of tea or a hot cup of coffee. Or, they'll gladly serve as a light dessert at the end of a meal of soup and salad. They're my kind of muffins, woman. You will soon see why. And if you make them, you will TASTE why!

They're cinnamon-y.

They're chunky.

They're full of crunch.

They're SUBSTANTIAL. (Like me. Heh!)

Check this recipe and see all the GOOD STUFF contained therein!

Morning Glory Muffins
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
(these muffins freeze well)
Yield 16 muffins

in one bowl, sift together:
1-1/4 c. sugar
2-1/4 c. flour
1 T. ground cinnamon
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

them get ready and set aside:
1/2 c. shredded, sweetened coconut
3/4 c. raisins
1 apple, peeled, cored, and grated
8 oz. pineapple shredded or tidbits, drained
2 c. grated carrots
1/2 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped

in another bowl, whisk together:
3 large eggs
1 c. veg. oil
(or substitute some of the oil with applesauce, that's what I do.)
1 t. vanilla

Mix the oil/egg mixture with the dry ingredients, then stir in your pineapple, raisins, etc.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake them for about 35 minutes, taking care not to burn. Remove from oven when the top springs back.

(I imagine you could substitute some of the carrots for zuchinni.)

Cool slightly and enjoy!

See how the muffins are nice and chunky?
Yummmmmy!

Sometimes I make these in my gigantic muffin tins, and wrap them individually when they're cooled. Then they can either be given away or frozen in a ziploc if you have them leftover.

This is the time of year that baking brings a cheerfulness to the home that we need on those dark, dreary, gray days. Share some with a neighbor or a friend or a teacher.

They'll be glad you did!

(Now, where'd I set my cup of coffee?)

Centennial Farmhouse Kitchen

UNStuffed Cabbage

CHILI! (Wendy's Style, Without the *BURPS*)

Pork Loin Ready for the Freezer!

Pork Ribs: My Method

Wild Wings

Creamsicle Cake

Farmhouse Diner: Epic Pork BBQ Sandwiches!

Venison or Beef Marinade

Cinnamon Rolls! (The Easy Way!)

Chicken Pot Pie Soup!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

Summer in a Jar: Can Your Own Salsa!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Shrimp Fry! Bubba Gump Style...

Oooey Goooey Chocolate-Caramel Cake

Stuffed Shells: Simple, Easy, Meatless Italian Supper

Simple & Easy: Baked Steak Fries

Cozy @ Home: Easy Berry Cobbler

Cozy @ Home: Stuffed Pepper Soup

Yurtles (Fake Turtles!)

Perfect Apple Crisp

One Pan Each for Dinner & Desert

Home-Canned Salsa Recipe

Homemade Chicken Soup Cures All!

The Best Homemade Hashbrowns!

Hot and Creamy Baked Potato Soup

Hearty Ham Casserole

Best Baked Mac & Cheese

How To Make a Hearty Stew

Simply Delicious Chicken Fingers!

Do You Covet my Warm Cinnamon Rolls?

Incredible Edible Caramel Corn!

Cupcake Kiss, Brownie Delish!

Homemade Garlic Breadsticks!

Blueberry Cream Muffins

Coconut Cake with cooked Buttercream Frosting

Remedy for a Cold, WIndy Day! Chicken Pot Pie!

Time To Make Za RUNZA!!!

Spaghetti Pie in an Iron Frying Pan!

Grab Your Bottom & HOLD ON! Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake!

Ve Vill Make Da Rhubarb Cake!

Strawberry Cream Puffs!

Refreshing Strawberry/Chicken Salad

One Pan Spanish Rice

From Scratch Buttermilk Brownies

Grilled Cheese McD's Way...

Venison Tenderloin Bites

Morning Glory Muffins

CHILI! (Wendy's Style, Without the BURPS)