Mr. Bucky

You know you can only warn a guy so many times.  This buck has been "visiting" my garden all summer long.  I warned him time and time again that I had his number.  Well the day before Thanksgiving I was making my dressing and had to go out to dump my veggie remains into the compost and who was roaming my garden spot?  Yep, Mr. Bucky was there.  I told him he better scat and he just looked at me in my pink apron, "as if." Well, "I as if'd him alright."  Well looks like some yummy tenderloin in our future!

 Note: To all future smarty pants bucks this is a warning!

OMG!!! It has been a long time!!!!

I know it has been a while since I posted new recipes.  I have a ton waiting on being posted so be ready.  So many changes have happened in our lives.  First off Raven is now 21, Ransome is 14, and Raine is 8.  Where does the time go?  Sean and I are still going strong and will be married 24 years in February! We are still living our dream on Beaty's Creek.

Raven now has her own home very near and is quite happy with a very nice man.  He fits in our unique family really well.  I am sure we will scare him a bit as the holidays grow near. heehee

Ransome is very busy with the Civil Air Patrol and hunting.  He is our outdoors man.

Raine is busy with acting.  She is involved with our local theater group, and recently  filmed a movie.  She is a our pet whisperer for sure.  She has not met an animal she cannot soothe or mother.

We lost my father in in 2013 and that was an adjustment for all of us.  My mother has moved closer also.  Between her and Raven both moving we have been very busy.

As the Holidays grow near I promise I will post recipes and little updates on our family.  Thank-you for being such a great group and believing in my little ole blog on Beaty's Creek.

Banana Bread

This is Grandma Minnie's recipe that I changed a little here and there. My children really like this bread, I made it into small muffins this time. Here is the recipe, give it a try!

Needed:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs-beaten
2 cups ripe bananas-mashed
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 buttermilk
1 cup pecans-chopped (optional)

Mix both sugars, eggs, oil, bananas, vanilla, and buttermilk very well. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together. Add this mixture a cup at a time until all is added. Stir gently just until mixed. At this time add nuts if you wish. Pour into a well greased pan of your choice. Bake at 350' until a toothpick comes out clean. In loaf pans this will be 30-45 minutes. It just depends on what you are making. When I made the small muffins last night they cooked in 13 minutes.

Tie Dye Jello

This is a really cool kid dessert that my kiddos love. We all know we need some cool right now with these hot and steamy days . This is a super easy dessert too, only bad thing is you have to wait a little for it to gel. This is What’s Cookin on this beautiful summer’s day on Beaty’s Creek.

Needed:

2 boxes of blue-raspberry Jello
2 boxes of cherry Jello
2 containers Cool Whip-frozen

Make each Jello flavor separately using only 1-½ cups of water per box. When each flavor is made and is still hot add in 1 container of Cool Whip and stir until dissolved completely. Now pour 1 flavor into a pretty Jello mold and place in fridge until almost set. This usually happens in about 30 minutes. Now add your second flavor and swirl in the almost set flavor. Now place in fridge and let set up completely. This usually takes a couple of hours. We serve ours with more Cool Whip. Another really good combo is orange Jello and lemon Jello mixed together.

3 Berry Cobbler

Every berry in this cobbler was harvested locally! The blackberries were picked by my husband, dear friends and little ole' me. Not so little but you get what I mean. ;) The strawberries are Stilwell strawberries and the best strawberries that I have ever eaten. The blueberries are from Fisher's Blueberry Farm and picked by yours truly. It is like a vacation for me to get to pick blueberries all by myself. Does that sound terrible? Don't get me wrong as I love my kiddos and my husband but sometimes it is nice to have an hour to yourself. I always make various cobblers and thought why not add all three berries together and make a 3 berry cobbler. I am glad that I did because I think it is extra tasty and so did the family. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:
3 cups sliced strawberries
3 cups blueberries
3 cups blackberries
3 cups sugar
1/4 cup sugar for top crust
2 T cornstarch

Pie Crust
I double this recipe for a cobbler.

Place all of your berries in a large bowl. Pour sugar and cornstarch in and mix very well. Let sit on the counter while you roll out your crust. The juices from the berries will thicken a little while sitting there and that is fine. Place your bottom crust in a deep 9x13 pan. I used a lasagna pan for this cobbler. Pour in berries. Roll out top crust and place on top of berries. Seal top to bottom crust. Cut slits in top crust and sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar on top. Bake at 325' for 1 hour. Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream.

Potato Salad

It is a beautiful day on Beaty's Creek and what do we like to do on a day like this?? Grill of course and what goes with any grilled item? Potato Salad, this recipe is so good I can eat it alone by the bowl full. It is so good with bacon bits on top too. Try this recipe the next time you grill.

Needed:
5 lbs. of potatoes-peeled, boiled, and cut into 2 inch pieces
4 eggs-boiled and chopped
1 yellow onion-chopped
1/2 a green pepper-seeded and chopped into bite size pieces
2 celery stalks-stripped and cut into bite size pieces
1 small jar pimentos-drained
3 cups of mayo
2 T yellow mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Once your potatoes and eggs are cooled place into a large bowl and salt and pepper them really well. Now is the time to add the onion, green pepper, celery, and pimentos, mix all items very well. Now add your mayo and mustard and mix until potato salad is creamy but still has potato chunks.

Oatmeal Cake

My husband always wants this cake for his birthday and I am happy to make it . I think this is one of the most moist cakes I make. This recipe is an old family recipe and I am so glad I have it. Sean likes the topping a little crunchy and I like it a little chewy. This can be achieved by rotating the cake while broiling. I will explain in the recipe. Hope you give this one a try very soon!

Needed:
1 1/4 cup boiling water
1 cup oatmeal
Combine the water and oatmeal and let stand for 20 minutes.

Cream together:
1 stick softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
add 2 beaten eggs
Mix in oatmeal.

Add:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 t cinnamon
1 t soda
Beat slow.

Bake in a 9x13 pan at 325' for 30 minutes. Once cake has baked remove from oven and turn broiler on.

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cream
1 cup coconut


Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Immediately pour over cake and return to oven. Broil until light golden brown. We like ours a little darker so I broil a little longer. I rotate my pan so part of the cake has a crunchy topping and part has a chewy topping. Keep an eye on the cake or it will burn!!!!