Mary's Green Beans, Bacon and Leeks

My husband and I meet up with my husband's sister Mary and her husband Ed every September for a camping trip to Pennsylvania. We have our breakfast and dinners pre-planned and we eat at our campsites, one day Mary cooks, and the next I cook. 

And usually, we throw in a night of eating out. 

Mary served us these amazing green beans with dinner one year, yum-yum! So of course I just had to have her recipe. 

The Mercantile

A few years back I received The Pioneer Woman's first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, as a gift for Christmas. 

I love it and have since bought for myself or received as gifts all her other cookbooks!

The Pioneer Woman or Ree Drummond also has her own blog and recently opened a shop called The Mercantile in her hometown of Pawhuska, Oklahoma.

Ree and her husband Ladd purchased an old red brick building in downtown Pawhuska and had it completely remodeled.  

And the results are stunning. 

I just love old red brick buildings and am always so happy to see them rescued from demolition.

Hearty Beer Bread

A rich thick hearty easy bread to make, this is I think the best beer bread I have made so far.  

There is no kneading or rising needed so it’s super easy to make. 

Beer adds its own unique flavor and because it's a product of fermentation, it also adds its own leavening agent.

The bread will take on what ever character or flavor of beer you use, so the bread can and will taste a little different each time you make it.

I like using Imports, stouts or stronger flavors of beer.  

But a domestic beer will work just fine too.

And in case putting beer in bread is of concern for you, a great percentage of the alcohol evaporates during the baking process.

There are many debates as to whether beer or bread came first in early civilization. But one thing is certain; both have been in the human diet for thousands of years.

Coconut Macaroons

Here's another of our favorite Christmas cookies: Coconut Macaroons.

These are easy cookies to make, have just a few ingredients, but pack a big punch of flavor.

Adding a little almond extract gives the cookie just enough extra flavor, but not enough to over shadow the coconut.  
If almond is the flavor you wish to dominate add a little more extract.

These store well in a sealed air tight container.

These can be made Gluten Free, just use GF flour.

Lemon Bars

I usually bake cookies to give out as gifts during the Holidays.  Some years I have made as many as 50 to 60 dozen cookies!
Each year I get the most requests for this cookie recipe.  And I have to say it is one of my favorite cookies too.

Many Lemon Bar or Lemon Cookie recipes call for lemon zest or grated lemon rind added to the cookie.  I have found that the zest or rind added makes the cookie slightly tarter.  Without it, the cookie is a perfect delicate lemon flavor with a delicious crust.

These cookies are best kept in the refrigerator but after tasting them they may not last long enough to worry about it.  If giving as gifts, I suggest you wrap each individual cookie bar in Sarah Wrap so they store better, do not stick together and do not absorb the odor or flavors from other cookies.

Easy Banana Cream Pie

I usually keep bananas on hand just to snack on and as one of my staple food items.  Besides just eating them, bananas can also be added to fresh fruit salad, cereal, yogurt, on a sandwich with peanut butter and added to ice cream.  

When they start getting a little too ripe I use them in homemade Banana Nut Bread or Banana Cream Pie.  

Click here for the best Banana Nut Bread recipe ever!

I love easy recipes that taste fabulous and look as if you spent a lot of time on preparation! And this is one of those recipes. It also comes in handy for last minute company or if you need to take a dessert to a dinner party, book club or church pot luck.

How To Make Grape Juice

Ripe grapes in Michigan

Homemade Grape Juice

A few years ago my daughter's mother-in-law Julie gave us 2 cases of grapes.  I decided to come up with something to do with all those grapes besides just eating them and making grape jelly, so I made grape juice.

Recently I have been getting grapes from our neighbor’s vines for free but I noticed this spring they removed all their vines and the trellis they were hanging on.  My heart sank. 

To have our own supply I have planted 5 grape vines in the last 3 years. Three are doing very well; two are struggling, but hopefully we will have our own grape harvest.

Irish Colcannon

My Twist On An Old Favorite

It’s March and nearly St. Patrick’s Day.  For our March book club we're reading Angela’s Ashes, which discusses food a lot, including cabbage and potatoes.  (Or more, the lack of them).

Although my family enjoys this dish throughout the year, its most commonly associated with St. Patrick’s Day.  Colcannon is a unique and simple potato dish and is unmistakably an Irish comfort food.
It traditionally includes green cabbage mixed with hot, floury mashed potatoes and butter. Let’s not forget the butter.  Potatoes came to Ireland from South America, and by 1688, they had become a staple of the Irish diet.

Chicken Stock

Easy to Make Homemade Chicken Stock.
At the heart of every great soup is a stock base. Broth is really the same as stock, just with salt added. Commercially made stock is called broth, (salt added) and is convenient, I know. There are now even a few brands that are natural and organic.  But the flavor is lacking, there is just no comparison to homemade stock, and many commercial brands are high in sodium.  And bland tasting, did I mention that?

Chicken stock is a must have pantry stocking item because it can be used in soup, sauces, gravies, used for simmering meats, added to casseroles and flavors endless recipes.  

Have you tried it in mashed potatoes? Yum!

And making the stock at home is actually pretty easy.

Anytime you bake a whole chicken, fry a cut up chicken or have leftovers,

Johnny Marzetti Recipe and History

I have been making Johnny Marzetti for years and years.  Recently my son asked if I have all my recipes in our family cookbook. 

On further inspection of my cookbook, (a Scrapbook Cookbook I made), I realized that I have not added recipes I use often and know from memory.  For instance my deviled eggs recipe is missing, simply because I just whip them up.   So for the last couple of weeks I have been trying to add recipes that I know the kids love, but I have neglected to write down. 
One of those happens to be the Johnny Marzetti.  I decided to find out a little history on the creation of such an easy, delicious and well known recipe and was surprised to find out it was created right here in Ohio. 

Easy To Make Doughnuts

Homemade Doughnuts

Cutting out doughnuts with my old cutter

I have been researching flour and trying to find a better quality and healthier brand to use.
I came across an article in the Mother Earth News magazine my husband recently picked up for me. It’s about bread making and using a more natural flour.  One of the flour brands recommended was King Authur.

There is nothing better than homemade-fresh-from-the-oven bread topped with real butter.  When growing up my mother made us loaves of bread, and I have yet to taste better.

Cranberry Nut Granola

Homemade Granola

Last year at Christmas I received a jar of homemade granola. It was a basic granola, great for putting on cereal and yogurt and eating right out of the jar as a snack. It didn’t last long!

That gift got me thinking all year about making my own granola, and now that Christmas is right around the corner, it’s a perfect time to try it.

What is granola?  Granola is a breakfast or snack food consisting of oats, nuts and honey. Raisins, dried fruits and dates are sometimes added. Some even have puffed rice. The granola is baked until crisp.

Besides serving as a breakfast and snack food, granola is often eaten while hiking, camping or backpacking because it is lightweight, high in calories and easy to store.

Flaky Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits

My biscuits, fresh out of the oven

I found this recipe in a Fine Cooking magazine in 2007.

These are one of the best biscuits I have tasted and are easy to make. 
I love that the butter doesn't need to be chopped on crumbled into the flour. This is so much easier and creates a stronger butter flavored biscuit!

Tips and Suggestions:
I use a Buttermilk Powder from SACO and follow the directions on the container to make the buttermilk.   SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend can be used in nearly any recipe that calls for liquid buttermilk or soured milk. 

I also use a smaller, round baking dish instead of a sheet, and have the sides of my biscuits touching. 

Cooking the biscuits in a dish lined with parchment paper just makes for a much easier clean-up.

I also use King Arthur Flour and Land of Lakes Butter.  The better the quality of ingredients the better the end product.

Choosing a Farm Market and Making Jam

I have been going to the same farm for strawberries for years, but the last couple of years, the farm was unkempt, strawberries were bad, little or non-existent, and the people running the farm store were not very helpful and a little unfriendly.

I decided this was the year to find a new farm! so started to look for a "Pick Your Own" type farm.
   

My son Daniel and my mid 1990's cow motif kitchen

I started canning (or preserving food) when my son Daniel was little,in the early 1990's.  The photo above shows him at about 2 1/2 years old. And yea, I had a "cow" decorated kitchen, yikes!

Mini Pecan Pies

One of our favorite Holiday desserts, either for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner is pecan pie! About 3 years ago I decided to use the same pecan pie recipe I always use, but with a twist: as mini or individual pies! Most years I use a ready made pie crust, (I’m all for ease and time saving methods), but this year I decided to make the crust from scratch.

Either way, these are delicious and much easier to wrap, store and freeze after all the guest have headed home. And the best part? I can just reheat one and add my favorite topping!

I like the Karo Syrup Classic Pecan Pie Recipe, but you can use your favorite recipe with similar results.

Tasty Cranberry Sauce

Well it's that time of year to dig though all my recipes, try to find the best ones to make for Thanksgiving Dinner!

I keep notes each year of recipes used and food prepared in the past.  I also pencil in tips to myself such as "fantastic" or "this was really yummy" or "not so good".

We have all the traditional food: Turkey, dressing, yams, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, etc. And I always have cranberries. But each year it seems many dinner guests do not like cranberries, and won't even try them!  So in recent years I have been experimenting with different Cranberry Sauce recipes and came across this one in 2007. It was a big hit that Thanksgiving and all the years to follow. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanksgiving On Friday?

Table set for Thanksgiving dinner

Thinking of the Holidays coming up, Thanksgiving in particular, and I am quite excited.

I love this time of year! We don't always, but often, share our Thanksgiving Dinner on a day other than the actual Thursday.

Why, you ask?

I am selfish!

We don’t like to share our family and friends with their other friends and relatives! Seems if I have our dinner on the actual day that has been set aside, I must share my guests, them staying only an hour or two, then off they run to visit someone else on their list.

If I have our dinner on the weekend before or even the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my guests can come early, help with the cooking or just sit and enjoy the aromas and conversations before dinner. There is also no need to run off so quickly after eating, and many times we have had our guests spend the entire evening with us or stay the night.

All of which I think is the real meaning of Holidays, spending time with our loved ones!

Day Of The Dead Bread

Day of the Dead Bread

So I get an email from my nephew-in-law Ben, saying he made "Day of the Dead" bread and had an extra loaf and would I like one.
Well as some of you may know, bread is my friend. I was super excited but hadn't opened the email until late in the day so had to wait an entire (eternity) day to pick it up.

Let me give you a little info on Ben: He is a wonderful cook, has his own cooking website and is a great photographer. I had, up until trying his home baked bread, only salivated over his dishes via his website.Anyway, I arrived at his and Jon's house to pick up the bread yesterday and upon entering his house immediately became brain dead.Yes that's right.
Upon viewing the wonderful little loaves of bread my hands began to shake and my mouth watered against my will.  Heaven!