Joy in the Kitchen!

When I was growing up, most of the time Mom fixed meals using foods we grew in the garden and meat we had raised.  Most meals were meat and potato meals.  Usually four items on our plates at dinner:  Meat, potatoes, vegetable, and some sort of salad. Most always a dessert accompanied that, often though it was a bowl of home canned fruit.  Once in a great while, Mom would make a casserole or dinner using ingredients we had to buy such as cheese, pasta, or rice.  It was such a treat to have a meal out of the norm.  One of the dishes Mom would occasionally make for Sunday dinner was Chicken and Rice.  So easy to put together and throw in the oven to cook while you do other things.  This dish is such a comfort food for me!  Creamy, warm, delicious!  I'm not sure where she got the recipe, but the original name was Busy Day Chicken.   I buy whole chickens and cut them up into 10 pieces for this, or sometimes I buy chicken l...

This fun little dessert is so simple, easy, and tasty we should have it more often!  Mom always bought bushels of fresh peaches and canned them in quarts at home and they were in the most beautiful little halves.  Just lovely!  They were good all by themselves, but once in a while, especially if the milk cow was giving a lot of cream that needed used, Mom would make these for dessert. I just had cool whip when I made these this time, but to do it justice, you should have freshly whipped, sweetened cream that smothers the whole thing.  YUM!   Easy Peach Dessert Per person: 1 full graham cracker broken in half so you have 2 squares 1 peach half syrup from canned peaches whipped cream In each individual bowl place one graham cracker half, then the peach half with the cut side down, then top with the second graham cracker half.  Spoon a few spoonfuls of the peach syrup (from the can/bottle of peaches) over the top and then generously top with ...

Dinner meals when I was a child most often consisted of four items on the dinner plate; meat, potato, vegetable, and a salad.  Very seldom did we have casseroles or dishes like spaghetti or rice.  (My Dad ate a LOT of rice while he was in the Navy during WWII and Mom rarely cooked it because of that.)  Mom made meals from things we had on hand, meat that we raised or vegetables that we grew. Sometimes cream, butter, and eggs that were produced at home were available to use as well. This vegetable dish, Green Bean Spanish, was a fun accompaniment for the meat, potato and salad that was so common. I was going through my recipe cupboard a few weeks ago and came across a newspaper article I had saved that featured my Aunt Lois's "best recipes".   She had included this recipe of Green Bean Spanish with those.  Though she called it String Bean Spanish. Rumor has it, that this recipe was handed down from my great-grandfather who lived in Mexico for a while as...

The holiday's are upon us!  Even though it is a week before Thanksgiving, we are making fudge and caramels and other treats to send in a Christmas package to our missionary son who is in Canada.  We need to ship early to be sure it arrives to him in time. Dave's Grandpa made caramels pretty much every year.  I'd bet that he learned to make them from Grandma, but he was the one who taught me how to make them.  He had acquired a tall , 6 quart pot, a marble slab and made 4 iron bars to form sides on the marble to pour the caramel into.  We were lucky enough to inherit those tools when Grandma and Grandpa weren't able to use them anymore.  Most years we make caramels and though it is at least an hour long process of stirring and watching, the outcome is so creamy and delicious it is worth the time! Grandma often dipped these caramels in chocolate.  She also used the warm caramel to dip a candy nougat to make pecan rolls.  I never saw these, ...

If you like German Chocolate Cake topping, you will like the topping for this delicious oatmeal cake!   My Dad joins us for dinner every Sunday and I've enjoyed making some dinners and desserts that my Mom used to make.  This Oatmeal Cake is one of those desserts that I remember Mom making on special occasions as I was growing  up.  We often had it in addition to pies at Thanksgiving dinner, and it was a cake she took to pot luck dinners.   The topping for this is carmeley and full of nuts and coconut.  The cake is a bit heavier and moist.   Personally I count this cake as a health food considering the oats, cream, and eggs that are involved here. :) Total mixing and baking time, including the topping that you put back in the oven, is around one hour.  Time well spent! Mom's Oatmeal Cake 1 1/2 C. boiling water 1/2 C. butter 1 C. uncooked quick oats Mix together, cover pan and set aside for 10 minutes. Mix together the followin...

Dave's Grandma Evelyn was an amazing baker.  When Dave and I were first dating he took me by Grandma & Grandpa's to introduce me.  The first thing he did after a quick "hello" was take me to the kitchen to show me Grandma's cookie jar.  It wasn't a particularly fancy container, in fact, it was a large tin can that she had made a cover for with plastic canvas.  The special thing about Grandma's cookie jar though, was that it ALWAYS held cookies!  She was always ready for grandchildren to visit.  Most of the time she'd have bags of chocolate chip cookies in the freezer so if company came unexpectedly she could thaw them quickly and fill her cookie jar.  That first time we visited I was appalled to see my future husband take a large handful of cookies to eat as we left!  I came to find Grandma expected him to enjoy her cookies like that.  She made those cookies with love and they were eaten with love in return.   ...

I love doing home canning, preserving food we've grown or that's grown nearby and having it all available to use during the winter.  I remember canning after school in the fall with my Mom.  It was by her side that I learned how to slip the skin off of a peach, cut corn off the cob, and carefully put lids on jars.  Even as a small child I was allowed to assist by mixing the sugar syrup to pour over fruit, or washing the jars.  (I felt so important doing that as Mom told me my hands were just the right size to fit in the jar!)  My Mother learned her canning skills from my Grandma (my Dad's Mother)... and I'm sure she learned to can alongside her mother.   Often when I'm standing with my girls at the sink or stove during canning season, I feel a strong connection with my ancestors.... strong, good women who worked hard to preserve food for their families out of necessity.  No running to Walmart for pre-packaged food for them!  I am honored to carry ...

Just take a look at that beautiful sunshiny Plum Jelly!  I love the translucent plum color.  You wouldn't even have to eat this - just use it as decoration!  :o)  The flavor is fabulous too though, so it wouldn't last long as a decoration at our house... it would be slathered on toast and piled on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! This batch of jelly is nostalgic.  Dave's Grandpa and Grandma were always so resourceful and frugal.  They rarely let things go to waste.  Their yard, years ago, had a huge Damson plum tree .   In 1994 there was a bumper crop of plums!  I remember picking quite a few and making jelly.  Grandpa couldn't bear to see that fruit fall and go to waste so he spent hours juicing those plums.  I don't know for sure how many gallons of juice he got, but I would guess between 10-15 gallons.  They put the juice in containers in the freezer.  A year later, Grandpa passed away.  He was in the hos...

Home made Christmas goodies are half the fun of Christmas!  By the end of November I'm thinking about which candies and cookies I'll make THIS year.  Some tried before aren't favorites so we won't bother with them... some are so much tradition they're hard to get out of. :)   Like FUDGE!    My husband makes the best fudge!  I don't even attempt it... that's his territory & I just stay out of the way. LOL   Personally, one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3:1....   it says "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."   In my own twisted interpretation of that, I figure we are just heading into the Season for Chocolate.   :) The photo above is from goody trays made 2 years ago.  (last year I had a 6 month old who loved to be held so not as much time to cook!... this year he'll just hang on my leg while I cook. lol )   We have on that t...

When I was young, our Saturday or sometimes Sunday evening meal would be a bowl of bread and milk. If it was summertime and the garden was on, Mom usually served radishes and green onions with it. I loved hearing Dad talk about eating bread and milk when he was a boy. Ahhhhh.... a delicious connection with the past. We don't always use bread and milk for dinner. Most often for us it's a snack or for myself, a breakfast. I had to chuckle when we took our dd18 to college, she was a bit nervous about getting to know her roommates. I spoke with her on the phone the next day and she said "Mom, I think I'm going to like Ashlynn, I saw her eating bread and milk." :) If you've never treated yourself to this simple dish, here are the directions: Break a slice or two of bread (I prefer home made white, but any will do) into a nice, large cereal/soup bowl. Pour milk over the bread and then drizzle with honey. Enjoy a simple and satisfying meal or snack. Y...

These cookies are soft and chewey and delicious. Each time I bite into one I am taken back to my Great Grandma McKinnon's kitchen. One of the few memories I have of her. Cream Together : 1 Cup Margarine 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar 3/4 Cup Sugar Add 2 beaten eggs and beat well on high speed of mixer. Dissolve 1 tsp baking soda in 6 tsp very hot water; add to creamed mixture with 1 tsp vanilla. Add 3 Cups of flour mixed with 1/2 tsp salt and mix well on medium speed. Add: 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts (optional - I always opt not) 1 Cup Chocolate Chips (not optional to get chocolate chip cookies :P) Drop by heaped teaspoons on cookie sheet and bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let stand one minute then remove to cooling rack. Stand by to swat kids' hands as they try to sneak them while they're still hot.