Sour Dough - Update

I mentioned to you all a few weeks back that we began a sour dough starter

As a reminder we are following the instructions from Farmhouse on Boone.  We fed ours for 7 days.  So far we've made ourselves some super good pancakes

The batter is a little looser than normal batter so I found it challenging to get a perfectly round pancake.  But I have no problem at all with eating an odd shaped pancake.

We also made some nice rolls for Easter

She also has instructions for how you keep it going if you are not going to bake with it every day.  So ours has taken up residence in the fridge and we just feed it once a week.

I have not been to the grocery store but a couple of times.  I have not found yeast on either of those visits.  So this has been a nice way to allow us to do some baking.

I hope you are hanging in there and finding some joyful ways to pass the time.

Wishing you a wonderful week.

I will be back on Wednesday with the monthly gift guide!

Sour Dough....why not

So many people on social media have started a Sour Dough Starter while at home.  It only takes flour and water so I thought - Why not!

We are following the process detailed by Farmhouse on Boone.  If you want to get one started just click here for the instructions.

Here's all you need to get stated

After mixing a cup of flour with a cup of water, we covered it with a tea towl.....and crossed our fingers the magic would begin

You have to "feed" it every day....all those details are in the link above.

Hoping this works out......not that I needed anything else to feed while we are closed up in this house, but at least it doesn't ask for snacks :)

She also has great recipes.....as soon as our starter matures we are going to give a few of those a try.

We will keep you posted.

Hang in there everyone.....make it a great week!

Common Substitutions

If you are like me your creativity in the kitchen has gotten ramped up a few notches out of neccessity.  I keep pulling out recipes and having everything but one ingredient.  So I spent some time on line researching common substitutions and thought I would share them here.....just in case it may help you too.

Saturday, I made poppy seed chicken.  I had every cracker EXCEPT Ritz crackers.  I substituted panko bread crumbs and it was just as good. The recipe linked here calls for cheese.  I don't use cheese in mine but maybe it is a good addition.  My family loves this served over rice and with any green vegetable on the side.

Sunday, I decided to make crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast.  I had everything except Lipton Onion Soup mix.....so I substituted a beef boullion cube, some onion powder, a pinch of celery seed and a pinch of pepper

If you want the whole list of substitions listed on the All Recipes site, click here.  I pulled out some of the more common ones for you below:

Brown sugar

1 cup, packed

1 cup white sugar plus 1/4 cup molasses and decrease the liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup OR 1 cup white sugar OR 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (10.75-ounce) can

1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of celery, cream of chicken, or golden mushroom soup

Cream (heavy)

1 cup

1 cup evaporated milk OR 3/4 cup milk plus 1/3 cup butter

Egg

1 whole (3 tablespoons or 1.7 oz)

1/4 cup liquid egg substitute OR 13 tablespoons mayonnaise OR half a banana mashed with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Flour--Self-Rising

1 cup

7/8 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Honey

1 cup

1 1/4 cup white sugar plus 1/3 cup water OR 1 cup corn syrup OR 1 cup light treacle syrup

Ketchup

1 cup

1 cup tomato sauce plus 1 teaspoon vinegar plus 1 tablespoon sugar

Lemon juice

1 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon vinegar OR 1 teaspoon white wine OR 1 teaspoon lime juice

Sour cream

1 cup

1 cup plain yogurt OR 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough cream to make 1 cup OR 3/4 cup buttermilk mixed with 1/3 cup butter

My palate is not developed enough to realize if an ingredient is slightly off so most of these substitions work out well for us.

Hopefully, it will be a help to you too.

The First Day of Fall - Recipe

Welcome to Fall.....woo hoo.....I am so happy to see it finally get here.  I don't care what the temps say.  The calendar says it is fall now and I am a rule follower so.....welcome in Fall, my friend....welcome in!

To celebrate the first day of fall I am sharing one of my favorite soup recipes with you. I shared this with you over a year ago, but I figure you guys don't commit too much of what I say to memory so it will be like the first time all over again :)

This in one of my FAVORITE recipes, primarily because my Grandma Gracie gave it to me when I was in college.  I love that it reminds me of her.  I love that my family has grown up with it.  And we love how it tastes.


Italian Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
2 cans Italian Style Stewed Tomatoes
1 large can Veg-All drained
2 cans Beef Broth
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup egg noodles
1/2 tsp. oregano

Brown ground beef with onion and drain.  Dump everything (except egg noodles) into a pot or a crockpot.  If cooking stovetop, allow all ingredients to come to a boil, add egg noodles and then simmer 10 minutes.  If cooking in crockpot, allow all ingredients (except egg noodles) to cook on low 6 hours, add egg noodles 30 minutes prior to serving.

This freezes well.  Also, there are several variations you can do
1) If you occasionally want a vegetarian meal, just leave out the ground beef
2) If you don't like Veg-All, just add canned veggies of your choice
3) If you don't like using canned veggies, frozen ones work just as well

Over the course of time, I have used all of these variations and never been disappointed.

Because of the oregano this soup smells so good cooking when you come home from work.  That is why I like and use the crock pot method most of the time.

I hope you and your crew enjoy a good bowl of Grandma Gracie's soup.  She'd absolutely be thrilled to know we are all still enjoying it.  She left us a legacy of good food and lots of love.

Have the best week!

Favorite Cookbooks

It may come as no surprise to you that I love to read cookbooks.  Yes, I can literally curl up on the sofa and read through an entire cookbook.   Sometimes it is what I carry with me if I know I am going to have some wait time some place.  My absolute favorite cookbooks are those where just regular old people have compiled their recipes.

These books tend to be some really tried and true recipes.  The kind of recipes that have been passed on from generation to generation.  The kind of recipes that people always cook and carry to function after function.  Those are the absolute best to me.

Here is the cookbook I probably cook out of the most



Calling All Cooks two -  It is often affectionately referred to as the "red version".  It is a collection of recipes from the BellSouth telephone pioneers.  Listen, there are some great recipes in this one.  It covers everything........main dishes, soups, desserts.....you name it.  If you have ever had the Five Flavor Pound cake I often bake and carry to functions, it is from this book.  If you have never had it, invite me over and I will make it for us.  This is a great book for new and experienced cooks.  I have had it as long as I have been married and refer to it often.

Now the reason the one above is often referred to as the " red version" is because there is also a "yellow version"



It came out in 1994 and is by the same collection of telephone pioneers.  I have them both and they are both dog eared and highlighted and perhaps a bit spotted and splashed.  After all, that is the marking of a good used cookbook, right?  If it has some kitchen scars, you know you are using it.

Sticking with this same theme


2017 Church Suppers

The Paella on page 107 is worth the purchase of this cookbook alone.  But I have made several things from this book and we have been pleased with them all.  I will caution you to pay attention to how many servings is in each recipe.  Some of them make really big quantities because they are designed to take to Church suppers.  So occasionally I have to cut the recipe in half.

This is another Taste of Home Church Supper Book

2015 Church Suppers

I have cooked and cooked from it.  The recipes are short, simple to put together and turn out absolutely delicious. I probably cooked about 10 things from this one and stocked our freezer with all kinds of goodness to pull out and enjoy.  You cannot go wrong with this one.



Another favorite of mine is this



Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader -  I probably love this one for a couple of reasons.  1) it has some good simple recipes, 2) I am reminded of sweet Mitford and its cast of characters.
Now if you haven't read the Mitford series of books, you should get on them right away, like now.  Those are still some of my favorite books of all time.  The recipes are mentioned throughout the whole book series.  This is a collection of them all in one place.

Most recently I acquired this one



Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines.  Oh Jo Jo.....of course the book is beautiful.  We have cooked so many things from this book and they have all been good.....ALL!!! Now fair warning if you make the chicken pot pie, I personally think the amount of chicken broth has to be a misprint.  Either that or I am just an idiot.....which is totally possible.  But we had to scale back the amount to almost a third of what it calls for.  But you can tell when you are putting together.  I would say just use your judgment.  The recipes are simple and so very good.  This is another one that I think is worth owning.

I know you can look up just about every recipe in the world on line....but there is just something about having a book on the counter, making notes in the margins and passing them on from generation to generation.  Grab yourself a good cookbook, cook lots of things from it and make some great memories for you and your family.

Have a great Monday!

Halloween....the best I can do

This may come as a surprise to you because I truly embrace celebrating just about anything.....but Halloween is not my jam.  I don't begrudge anyone who loves it but I just don't get that into it.  Now I do enjoy seeing the little kids dressed up in fun costumes.  Note: little kids, not people who are larger than me and say trick or treat in a baritone that rivals Barry White.  Anyway, I try to make the most of it and by that I mean make a crockpot of something good.

If you actually take kids around, you definitely need to have the crockpot working for you so you can enjoy something warm and comforting when you come in.  Even though we are just home handing out candy, it is still nice to be able to do so knowing dinner is cooking on its own.  If it is not too cold and we have a steady stream of kids, we will often sit on the porch and hand out the goodies.  So when we open that door to some simmering deliciousness, it is all good.

Here are a few recipes that might interest you:

Trisha Yearwood's Chicken Tortilla Soup

Here's how I modified it for the crockpot.  Use already cooked rotisserie chicken shredded, dump all the ingredients in the crockpot except the flour, the tortilla chips, the cheese and the sour cream.  Since you are most likely putting this on after work, put it on high for about 3-4 hours.  Everything is essentially cooked already so you just need to heat it.  About an hour before you are going to eat it scoop about a cup of liquid from the pot and stir in a couple of tablespoons of flour, then add the mixture back to the crockpot to help thicken the soup.

Pioneer Woman's Spaghetti Sauce

Again, the earlier you put all this in the crockpot the better but if you only have a few hours just crank it up on high so everything can heat through.  Make sure you are paying attention to the note at the bottom of the recipe because this will make a ton of sauce.  You might want to cut it in half if you are feeding a normal number of people and not everyone on the ranch. And be mindful, Ree lives on a ranch with another whole building just to cook in, so I use this to get the basic ingredients and adapt it to us.....I don't have a whole Parmesan rind....so I just skip that step and there is super good chance that I am sprinkling in a little dried spices instead of all the fresh.

Family Favorite Chili from Betty Crocker

And you know what is good to add to chili.....little smokies.  Just cut them up and let them heat in the crockpot with everything else.

Whatever you do today I hope you enjoy to the fullest.....even if it is just a warm bowl of something in front of the tv.

Talk to you on Friday!

One Last Summer Treat

Sunday is the first day of fall.  Who's excited???? Me!!! Me!!! Me!!!! This is my favorite season.  I love the colors, the comfort, the apple goodies, the decor, the need for a sweater and a throw.  But before we jump headlong into the next season here is the perfect treat to say goodbye to summer and say "thanks for coming, we enjoyed you."

This is another recipe my Grandma Gracie shared with me.  I think you will love it.  A little warning - it needs time in the fridge so make it early in the day so you can enjoy it that night.  I used to make this before I went to my 8:00 college class so my roomies and I could enjoy it that evening.

Banana Split Pie

Here is what you will need

3-4 medium bananas
1 Graham cracker pie crust
3 oz. of cream cheese, softened
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained but reserve juice
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
3 T. milk
1 cup Powdered sugar
12 oz. cool whip
maraschino cherries (optional)
chopped nuts (optional)
chocolate syrup (optional)

Mix milk, cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar.  Pour into pie crust.

Drain pineapple and reserve the juice, slice bananas and allow them to soak in pineapple juice to prevent browning.

Sprinkle crushed pineapple over filling.

Evenly spread sliced bananas over pineapple.

  Cover entire pie with whipped topping

Top with cherries, nuts and chocolate syrup

At my house some don't like nuts and others don't like chocolate syrup so we stop with the cherries.  But go for it all if you like it.

Chill this pie in the fridge 8 hours or overnight to allow the filling to set......then enjoy it as you say goodbye to summer and hello to fall.

Have a great weekend!

Back to School Meal - Part 2

I shared one of my favorite, go to recipes with you last Monday.  If you missed it, click here.

Today, I am sharing another one of our favorites.  I think everyone I know makes this one.  Anytime I mention it people usually say "oh yes, we make that too but I had forgotten all about it".  Well for some of you perhaps an introduction to others of you just a reminder

Poppy seed Chicken

Here's how I do it

I cook 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast in a crock pot for 6-7 hours.  Once the chicken is cooked, I shred it or chop it.....just depends on the mood I am in. The goal is to have approximately 2 cups of cooked chicken.

Mix sour cream, cream of chicken, add cooked chicken and place in a casserole dish.  Crunch up Ritz crackers on top and drizzle with butter, sprinkle on poppy seeds.  Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.  Serve over warm rice.

If you want to prepare for the freezer, do all the above steps except don't bake it.  Just freeze it after you assemble it.  When you are ready to cook it, allow it to thaw in refrigerator and then bake.

To send to college I bundle it with a pouch of microwave rice.  I write the preparation directions directly on the pan so she never has to wonder about how to make it work.

Here's the full recipe
Poppy seed Chicken
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. poppy seeds

Cook chicken (either in crock pot on low for 6-7 hours or boil in a pot with water for 20-30 minutes until done)
Shred or chop cooked chicken
Mix sour cream, cream of chicken and cooked chicken.
Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray
Spread mixture in casserole dish
Crush the Ritz crackers and sprinkle on top
Drizzle with melted butter
sprinkle with poppy seeds

Freeze at this step for a later meal or bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes until bubbly for a right now meal.  Serve over warm rice.

This goes together so quickly and is absolutely delicious. If you have never tried it....you should.  If you have tried it....go for it again!

Oh and don't forget we are in our last week of August so don't forget to complete your Great Things in '18 challenge for the month.....read the details by clicking here.

I hope you have the best week!!!!

See you back here on Wednesday.

Back to School Meals

If you have kids of any age who have started back to school, I am pretty sure you are trying to figure out ways to make the evenings run smoother.  If you don't have kids headed back to school, I am pretty sure you are trying to figure out a way for evenings to run smoother.  Aren't we all just trying to simplify our days no matter what stage we are in?

So I am going to share a couple of go to recipes with you today and next Monday.  Both of these are good crock pot meals AND good freezer meals.  I gotta tell you, sometimes I have 3 or 4 crock pots going at one time.  I sometimes get in the mood to do cooking in bulk, stash some meals in the freezer and know I am ahead of the game.

First up, this in one of my FAVORITE recipes, primarily because my Grandma Gracie gave it to me when I was in college.  I remember talking to her on the phone and her reading me each of the ingredients and giving me all the directions as I took notes.  Well I knew mine would never turn out as great as hers because some people can just cook, she was one of those people.  But I have cooked this recipe for the last 30 years and we never tire of it.

Italian Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
2 cans Itailian Style Stewed Tomatoes
1 large can Veg-All drained
2 cans Beef Broth
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cups egg noodles
1/2 tsp. oregano

Brown ground beef with onion and drain.  Dump everything (except egg noodles) into a pot or a crockpot.  If cooking stovetop, allow all ingredients to come to a boil, add egg noodles and then simmer 10 minutes.  If cooking in crockpot, allow all ingredients (exept egg noodles) to cook on low 6 hours, add egg noodles 30 minutes prior to serving.

This freezes well.  Also, there are several variations you can do
1) If you occassionally want a vegetarian meal, just leave out the ground beef
2) If you don't like Veg-All, just add canned veggies of your choice
3) If you don't like using canned veggies, frozen ones work just as well

Over the course of time, I have used all these variations and never been disappointed.

I now have a couple of quarts of this soup in my freezer and also ready to head back to college for my daughter's freezer.  She likes being able to have a meal from home sometimes and I am super happy to provide it.

Have a wonderful week.  I will talk to you on Wednesday.

Freezer Jam

I decided to give making freezer jam a spin over the weekend.  It is a much simpler and faster process than traditional jam making.  My very first Magnolia Journal issue featured Joanna sharing some freezer jam recipes.  That was about 8 months ago but it was still on my mind.  I tried out one of her recipes from the magazine but also tried out the one that comes on the pectin label.......Pectin is the secret sauce in jam making.  You buy it on the same aisle that you buy the jars.  If you peel back the label you will find all kinds of freezer jam recipes.

 It essentially involves you choosing a fruit, mashing it and mixing it with the pectin and some liquid.......simple

First up I choose strawberries

Which I mashed and mixed with lemon juice, pectin and water

Next up, I went with mango and pineapple

And I ended up with 6 pints of each

You leave them on the counter for 24 hours and then transfer them to the fridge if you are going to use them within 3 months, or the freezer where they will stay fresh for a year. If you are going with the freezer option make sure you get the jars designed for the freezer.  You fill the jars leaving about a 1/2 inch at the top to allow for expanding in the freezer.

Quite fun and very delicious.  I definitely plan on trying out some new flavors and combinations.  

Welome to Monday

Oh, Monday, you have to be the speediest of days.  I mean you come faster than any other day of the week.  I had a fun, eventful weekend....... a high school graduation, a beautiful wedding and I met up with a new friend and got to spend a couple of hours learning about her and chatting.  And best of all our summer officially begins because both of my girls are officially done with their school years!!!  But I did also do a few intentional things this week.  Here is what I managed to get done.

I hope you are making some progress.  Only another week and a half.  Don't worry if you didn't hit every day, I think you can still maximize what's left and call it a success

Today I wanted to share the new recipe I tried.  It was actually one of my emeals recipes but I changed it up a bit.  If you missed the post on emeals, you can read it here.  Their recipe called for shrimp cooked in cumin.  Well only half of us like shrimp so I knew we would need a little change.  When I read the recipe it had the feeling of something you would get at Moe's Southwestern or Chipotle....so i took it that route.  The key to the recipe was this guy.

Birds Eye Protein Blend Southwest Style.  I found it at Kroger in the freezer section.

A delicious blend of whole grains, black beans, corn, lentils, red bell peppers, and sauce. Perfectly cooks in the bag!

So I took 3 large, boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut them into 2 inch pieces.  I then sprinkled them generously with a package of taco seasoning.  I heated olive oil in a skillet and cooked the chicken breast until done.

Then I microwaved the Birds Eye packages according to the directions.  It took 3 packages for our family of 6.

I then spooned the Birds Eye protein blend into 6 bowls and topped with the cooked chicken.  Each person then topped their bowl to their pleasing with Mexican cheese, sour cream, and salsa..  I am sure you could make them more elaborate by adding diced avocado or green onions.

These bowls were absolutely delicious.....so much so that I didn't snap a picture.

Chips and salsa would also make a great side with this.

Short simple, quick recipe that turned out great......you might want to give it a try.

Summary of all  you need to put this together:
3 chicken breasts
3 bags of Birds Eye Southwest Style Protein Blend
Taco Seasoning
Mexican Cheese
Sour Cream
Salsa
Any other desired toppings
Chips on the side if desired

Have a great week girls, don't forget we are back on Wednesday with the 40's representative in our Through the generations series.


Oh and  in the mean time check out LOFT.  They are having 40% off regular price and 50% off sale with FREE SHIPPING no minimum.  Sale ends Tuesday so don't delay!