Sunday, November 9, 2008

Potato Soup and Rubber Bread



What is better and easier than a pot of potato soup?? There are many versions, some call for milk or cream to be added at the end and some are just a water base soup. I love either one. My husband likes fresh onions chopped and put on top of his bowl of soup. Raven and Ransome like a little bit of crisp bacon crumbled over the top of theirs. Potato soup is comfort food for me no matter how you fix it. I am also including a recipe for Rubber Bread. The recipe comes from my husband’s Grandmother Minnie. Hope you will give these two recipes a try. It is going to be a cool week around Beaty’s Creek, a good time for soup.

Potato Soup
5 pounds of potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, cut into ¼ chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼ thick disks
1 stick of butter
Just enough water to cover potatoes, carrots, celery and onions
Milk to color broth once everything is done
Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt butter into a large soup pot. Place onions, celery, and carrots into butter. Cook until slightly softened, 5-8 minutes. Add potatoes, salt, pepper and cover with water. Cook on medium heat until veggies are fork tender, 20 minutes. Add your milk. Make slurry of 1 cup of broth from soup and 2 T cornstarch. Pour into soup and stir very well. This will make a more creamy soup. If you want a thin broth don’t add the slurry.

Serve with chopped onions and crisp bacon.


Rubber Bread

5 cups of all-purpose flour
3 cups of water
Oil to coat skillet

Pour flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour water in the well. Mix with hands until it has the feel of biscuit dough. You may need a little more water or flour. Depends on your location. Humidity is a big factor here. Form into flat rounds about 3 inches big. Brown on each side in a cast iron skillet. Serve hot with potato soup or pinto beans.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Apple Butter


Oh how I love apple butter. I love it on toast or some good homemade biscuits. I love it in a spoon too. I have made apple butter for many of my 38 years. My grandmother started me on the path. She always made it for me when I was little. I can still smell the cinnamon in the air. Oh, wait...there is cinnamon in the air because I am making apple butter in my crock pot!! You will be shocked at just how easy it really is. Some people put vinegar in their apple butter. How gross is that?? Sorry but the truth hurts sometimes. I can always taste the vinegar. I think people do it so the the acid level will be high enough so that the butter will not ruin. I have never had that problem in my life. You just need to make sure that you watch the time when canning in a hot water bath. You can even store this in the fridge for 2 weeks with no problem. This year I am making the apple butter with organic jonagold apples from Iowa. They are so good. I have used all kinds of apples so just use what you have on hand and adjust the sugar to the particular apple you are using.

Apple Butter
25 apples peeled, quartered, and cored
1/4 cup of water
Sugar to taste
2 T cinnamon (I use more but we really like cinnamon)
Time...

Place apples into crockpot with water. Cook on high all day. That is at least 8 hours. Add sugar and cinnamon. Continue to cook overnight. Stir in the morning and see if it is thickness of warm pudding. If not continue to cook on high until this is reached. This is usually done when butter cooks overnight.
Ladle into hot canning jars. Seal with canning lids. Place jars into a deep enough pan that you can place water 1 inch over jars. Process for 12 minutes. remove from pan and cool. Jars will be sealed when cooled. If not place into fridge and use within 2 weeks.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Baklava




I just love baklava. I have always bought pieces and have been quite happy with my occasional fix. That is until this recipe. This is the easiest and the BEST baklava I have ever eaten and I hope you agree. Try it and you will be pleasantly surprised!


What you will need
1 ½ cups butter, melted
3-½ cups sugar
3 cups English walnuts or pecans
2 t cinnamon
1 store bought package of phyllo dough, thawed in fridge

Preheat oven to 375’. Heat 3 cups of sugar and 1-½ cups of water in saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. It will be syrupy now.

In a food processor combine walnuts or pecans, cinnamon and ½ cup of sugar. Pulse until ground finely.
Butter a 13x9 pan. You will have to cut your phyllo sheets to fit your pan. Layer 1 sheet of phyllo at a time. Butter each layer. Once you have 3 sheets place 1/3 of nut mixture. Then 6 sheets of phyllo (butter between each sheet), nut mixture, 6 sheets phyllo (butter between each sheet), nut mixture and then the final 3 sheets of phyllo (remember to butter between each sheet). Cut baklava into 24 squares BEFORE baking!! Bake at 375’ for 30 minutes. It will be golden when you take it out. Pour syrup over baklava. Let syrup completely soak in before cutting. This is soo good!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween 2008

What a Party it was!! The kids loved it and so did the adults. There were hotdogs roasted and marshmallows browned!! I just love marshmallows over a fire. What is any better I ask???? Here are a couple of recipes you might fix for your spooks next Halloween…...

Bloody Punch
1- 2 liter bottle of RC cola
1- 2 liter bottle of Hawaiian Punch
1- Quart of orange sherbet

Pour cola and punch into punch bowl and mix well. Add sherbet then serve. It is sooo good! It is best to have the cola and punch cool but not cold. This way the sherbet melts better.




The Best Sugar Cookies You Have Ever Had!!!


I love iced sugar cookies. I repeat, I love iced sugar cookies. That is if they are iced with butter cream icing. I am not crazy about royal icing, it can make cookies look cool but I am not sure they taste that good???? I forgot to take pictures of these so you will have to wait for that. I make them quite often so it will not be long.

The Best Sugar Cookies you will ever eat!!!!

4 cup all purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 cup butter or 2 sticks
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla


Sift dry ingredients together. Cream room temperature butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla to creamed butter and sugar. Add flour a cup at a time. Once all flour is mixed in divide dough into 2 balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least 1 hour. Roll out to 1/2 thickness and cut into shapes. Bake at 325' until golden brown. Ice with butter cream or royal icing. I prefer butter cream...


Now get your spooks off the walls and have a good night. Our son is playing guitar like a wild man...sugar rush I assume....

Monday, October 20, 2008

Native Soup




We eat this soup with fry bread anytime the weather cools off, like now. The whole family loves this soup and it is odd because usually each kiddo likes what they like and that’s that. Nice to have something the whole family agrees on. Try this one...

Here is the recipe, hope you like it...

Native Soup
Beef rump roast chunked up
5 pounds of potatoes peeled and chunked up
4 onions peeled and quartered
Place all of the above ingredients, except for the potatoes; you will add these the last 30 minutes of cooking, into a soup pot and cover with water. Salt and pepper to your taste. We like it pretty peppery. But it is completely up to your tastes how you season it. Once the meat is tender and the broth look rich add your potatoes. This should be the last 30 minutes of cooking. Serve with fry bread and your meal is complete. I will post my fry bread recipe another time. What are you waiting for, get cooking!!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Pumpkin Tart


Well the tart was finally made. It was more cheesecake than tart, in my humble opinion. Raven liked it, she is our cheesecake expert. It looks very pretty and would be great for Thanksgiving or Halloween. Speaking of Halloween, we are having a huge party this year. Stay tuned for those recipes. First here is the Pumpkin Tart recipe.

Pumpkin Tart
1-cup walnuts
1-sleeve graham crackers
1 t cinnamon
½ cup melted butter

Filling
3, 8-ounce cream cheese packages
1-cup sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1 t cinnamon

Put walnuts and cracker crumbs into food processor and spin until finely chopped and smooth, add melted butter and sugar stir until well blended. Press into tart pan.

Mix cream cheese, sugar, eggs, pumpkin and cinnamon. Blend until smooth. Pour into tart pan.
Bake at 350’ for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool for 1 hour. Best if chilled overnight.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Ransome Picks!!


Our daughter Raven is visiting her grandparents for a few days so Ransome is the man. Well, he always thinks he is the man but tonight he is. We told him while driving home last night that he would pick what we were having for dinner. Scary.... I was not sure what he would pick... Homemade veggie burgers, one of his favorites... Steak, baked potatoes and salad of baby greens, another of his favorites.... Nope. He wants mac and cheese, broccoli and hold your breath......Little bitty hotdogs in BBQ sauce. We live in a small town and I am now on the search for the dogs. You know sweet cornbread sounds really good with this meal. Check later and I will attempt to post pictures of this meal. Oh, I am making a pumpkin cheesecake tart for dessert. I have to eat something don't I??

Didn't get time for the tart today, of course not... The journey for the dogs took too long... There is always tomorrow. Til then...