Out Galavantin' Again...

Kitchen Tip Tuesday will return next week.  

Today ya'll will find me over at Raising Homemakers.  

See you there!

Motivation Reminder!

I started out the day a little unmotivated. I decided to look at my Motivated Mom's list for the day and it gave me the boost to get started on my chores today.

Since it helped me I thought it might help you today, too!
The perfect system...for me, anyway. Unless your name starts with 'M' and ends in 'artha' you probably need a little help staying organized and motivated. Motivated Moms has come up with close to the perfect solution! And they are on SALE for only $4!  

What you do is click on the red button down there on the right side of my blog and it'll take you to their page. Or click on this LINK.  

You pay for the planner, download it, save it to your computer and print it out at your leisure. I use the top one, the 8.5" x 11" regular planner. I print out one month at a time and put it on my clipboard. I can NOT live without my clipboard!

They also have other types which include appointment sections, Bible reading plans, etc. I got the same version last year and loved it! It's not just a place to write things you have to do, but it keeps you motivated with certain house chores for each day so that you don't have to spend the whole day cleaning and so that you don't have to remember to do things like check the furnace filter, refill the toilet paper in the bathroom, clean a certain room's windows, send cards and gifts, etc. They remind you! Wonderful!!! I love it! Now go on and click on that link and take a peek!

Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls

 

I love my KitchenAid stand mixer!  What I love even more is that with it's help I can create wonderful dinner rolls in less than an hour!  (And the mixer came with a great cookbooklet with this recipe in it!!)

Homemade Dinner Rolls
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 packets of active dry yeast (6 3/4  teaspoons)
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour

Place milk, sugar, salt, and butter in small saucepan.  Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves.  Cool to lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl.  Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 1/2 cups flour.  Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer.  Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.
Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes.  Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer, or until dough is smooth and elastic.  Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch.
Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover.  Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 15 minutes.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. I either shape them into balls or you can make cloverleafs.  Divide dough into 24 equal pieces.  Form each piece into a ball and place in greased muffin pans.  With scissors, cut each ball in half, then quarters. 
Cover.  Let rise in slightly warm oven (90 degrees) about 15 minutes.  Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. 
 

Queen of the Castle Week: 34

For those of you playing along...(if you've just joined us you can get caught up a bit here) we are on week 34 of the book Queen of the Castle: 52 weeks of encouragement for the uninspired, domestically challenged or just plain tired homemaker. 

This week's chapter is "The Job of Queen:  Homemaking As a Profession, Part 1".  Lynne says "Sometimes it feels as though we homemakers are dismissed by the rest of the world.  They don't seem to comprehend that we actually have a job."  This job requires skills and talents!  In 2001, author Ann Crittenden estimated the value of a mother's work at an annual $100,000!!  The work we perform each day in our homes is incredibly valuable."  

I really needed to hear this today.  It was a rough one.  We've all had them, though, and the following excerpt helps us get back on track.

"From the raw material of four walls and a roof, a shelter over our heads, we will have made a home by force of our own personalities.  We will have warmed, cheered, and sustained the head of that house, turned progeny into a family.  We will have learned a dozen skills and enjoyed the fruits of such skills.  For us the baby will have taken his first step, repeated his first word.  We will have heard the schoolchild call "Mommy" as soon as he puts a foot inside the door, not so much to have a reply as to be assured that he is safe, life is ordinary, and that We are there...

Free choice, importance, the prizes as well as the perils of a career -- they are all ours.  What more can one ask of a profession?"

-- Phyllis McGinley,  Sixpence in Her Shoe

"Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised."  Hebrews 10:35-36



 

Kitchen Tip Tuesday: Preserving the Harvest!

I just finished blanching and freezing a few quarts of green beans from our garden.  Man, does it feel nice to have your own food!  Not something someone else grew and sprayed with who-knows-what chemical...just sayin'.  : )

Here are a few tips from my kitchen to yours...

*Make sure you have a good rolling boil in your pan.

*Use a strainer to hold the green beans in...that way they won't float all over the place and you can just lift them up, and put them in cold water.  (Put them in the boiling water for about 1 minute.)

*Have a nice big bowl full of half water and half ice ready and waiting right next to the stove.  Put the strainer in the ice water and let it sit for a few minutes.  Drain and place in freezer bags.

I love fresh green beans!!  Mmm mm yummy!

Fruit Crisp

This recipe is a long time family favorite.  It is from my very first cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens, a wedding present from Grandma Frays.  I've tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes. Hope you enjoy!

Fruit Crisp

5 cups sliced, peeled apples, pears, or peaches
4 T sugar
1 cup regular rolled oats
1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup all -purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter


Place fruit in a round casserole dish.  Stir in sugar.  For topping, in a mixing bowl combine oats, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.   Sprinkle topping over filling.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping is golden.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!  Yum!

Blueberry Crisp:  Prepare as above, except, for the filling, combine 5 cups blueberries with 4 tablespoons sugar and add 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour.  

Cherry Crisp:  Prepare as above, except, for the filling, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour.  Toss with 5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened pitted tart red cherries.

Note: If using frozen fruit, thaw, but do not drain.

Life's Seasons

Dear Readers,

I have come to a season in my life when I need to whittle down my busy schedule to make room for other things.  My main goal in starting this blog was to share my favorite recipes while also earning a little extra income.  I've accomplished the sharing part, but the earning extra money part...not so much.  I have since started my new Old House Mercantile site to sell crafts and foods.  That will be up and running in September (Lord willing).  I only have so much extra time in my day that I feel I need to focus more on the Old House Mercantile site. I need to use my time wisely....to the best advantage to our family.  My plan is to post a kitchen tip on Tuesdays, Queen of the Castle post on Thursdays, a recipe on Saturdays, with an occasional picture post.  If free time allows I may post more often, but I wanted to explain why there will not be a post every day like clockwork.  As usual I welcome your questions and comments! 

Blessings to you and yours,
Carmen

Queen of the Castle: Week 33

For those of you playing along...(if you've just joined us you can get caught up a bit here) we are on week 28 of the book Queen of the Castle: 52 weeks of encouragement for the uninspired, domestically challenged or just plain tired homemaker.


This weeks chapter is titled "Too Hot to Cook:  Summer Food Ideas".  The author offers suggestions from cold meat sandwiches (including seafood, too!), to crock pot cooking, to grilling to ease the pain of a hot day and the "I don't know what to fix" problem!  She reminds us that crock pot cooking is a think-ahead type of meal.  She shares a funny story about a whole cooked chicken she thought would be delicious turned out to look like a small helpless dinner because she hadn't planned ahead.  She also shares a few recipes for grilling.  Here's one of them...

Jeremy's Chicken Burgers
In large bowl:
Combine: a couple cups of soy sauce
about half cup honey
Whisk well.  Add:
8 chicken thighs, skin and bones removed (most grocery stores carry those already skinned and boned, fresh or frozen)
Cover with plastic wrap and marinate int he refrigerator until time to barbecue -- anywhere from thirty minutes to overnight.  Cook until done.  (Slice one in the center and make sure the center is no longer pink.)
Serve in: 8 hamburger buns, with lettuce or tomato slices if desired.  Add a hunk of watermelon to each plate. 

Giveaways!

Linda is having a lovely crafty giveaway...go check it out! 

Best of Old House Kitchen: Strawberry Pretzel Salad

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.

I got this recipe from a good friend back in Maryland. It's one of my favorite fruity desserts. If we call it a salad it's automatically healthy, right? ; )

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Crust:
2 cup crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted margarine
3 T. sugar

Mix and spread in a 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Cream layer:
8 oz. cream cheese -- softened
8-10 oz. Cool Whip
1 cup sugar

Mix together in a stand mixer until smooth. Spread over (cooled) crust and place dish in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes or until chilled.

Strawberry layer:
2 cup boiling water
2 small boxes strawberry jello
2 10 oz. boxes of frozen strawberries (thawed). (I usually used sliced strawberries that we picked in the summer and froze in syrup -- about 2 1/2 cups.)

Boil the water, add jello and stir until dissolved. Add the strawberries and stir. DO NOT add cold water like the jello directions instruct. Carefully pour over the cream cheese and place in the fridge to chill. (About 3-4 hours.)

Enjoy! 

Kitchen Tip Tuesday: More Tips From Gooseberry Patch

Honey butter is scrumptious on fresh-baked biscuits and bread.  Simply blend 1/2 cup each of honey and softened butter and spoon into a small crock.

 

Make a trivet to protect the tabletop from hot dishes in a jiffy.  Simply attach a cork or felt square to the bottom of a large ceramic tile with craft glue. 

Best of Old House Kitchen: Creamy Chicken and Stuffing

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.

This dish is super easy and great for the crock pot. It's wonderful paired with smashed potatoes. The cream can be used as a thick gravy for the potatoes.

Creamy Chicken and Stuffing

8 boneless, skinless chicken breast (halves)
2 10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 can of milk (use one of the soup cans)
1/4 tsp. onion powder
2 packages Stove Top stuffing mix
3/4 cup water

Place chicken in the crock pot. Combine soup, milk, and onion powder; pour over the chicken. Combine stuffing and water in the same bowl (remember...no use dirtying lots of dishes!). It will seem a little dry but it will moisten up while cooking. Spoon over the chicken. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Enjoy!

Double Digits!!

I cannot believe I have three children that have now hit double digits.  I have a teenager, an 11 1/2 year old and now a 10 year old!!  After a week of camping in southern Indiana we came back and had a nice birthday celebration for Hannah with Grandma, Papa, and the rest of us! 

Five years old...on a hike in Michigan.

Hannah at Mackinac Island

Out in our yard a few years ago.  Her big brother took this pic.!

Happy Birthday Hannah! 

We love you!!

Best of Old House Kitchen: Zippy Steak Fries

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.

We love going to a certain restaurant where they serve these wonderful steak fries with cheese and a zesty dipping sauce. I've created my own version. Hope you enjoy!

Steak Fries
6-8 medium potatoes (russet work well)
3 T oil (olive oil or veg. oil...take your pick)

1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
3/4 cup colby-jack cheese


Zesty Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
2 tsp. chili powder

Wash, half and then slice potatoes into thin wedges. Place potatoes in a bowl and fill with cold water. Let sit for a few minutes to get some of the starch out. Drain, rinse and then towel dry. (Yes, I said towel dry. The oil needs to stick and if you've covered oil and water in science class...) Sprinkle oil and then seasonings over potatoes and toss together. Spread around on a large, greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 450 oven for about 10 minutes. Flip the fries over and then bake at 400 for about 30-40 more minutes. Sprinkle cheeses on top of the fries and bake until cheese is melted to your liking (about 5 minutes for us).

While the fries are baking mix together the ranch dressing and chili powder and let it chill in the fridge. Serve as a side to the fries.

Enjoy!

Best of Old House Kitchen: Ceaser Chicken Pizza

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite. 
A friend of mine shared this recipe with me years ago and our family loves it! She used 2 Pillsbury pizza crusts or you can use my recipe.

This recipe is for one large rectangular pizza. 

Ceasar Chicken Pizza

1 lb. chicken
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
Parmesan cheese (1 fresh wedge (shredded) is best but I use the canned Kraft kind and eye-ball it)
2 tsp. minced Garlic (or 4 cloves or 1 tsp. garlic powder) -- divided
Creamy Ceasar Salad Dressing (Kraft makes a nice one!)
Romaine lettuce
Roma tomatoes
Black olives
Green onion if you like (us...not so much!)

Cut chicken into strips. Put 2 T. salad dressing and 1 tsp. garlic into a large skillet. Add the chicken and cook thoroughly. Place the pizza crust on a pan. Spread 2 T dressing and 1 tsp. garlic onto the crust. Sprinkle 1/2 the wedge of Parm. cheese (or 1/2 cup-ish of canned) plus 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese over the crust. Put the cooked chicken on top of the cheese then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for approx. 25 minutes (or until cheese is melted and crust is done).

The topping for this is basically a salad on top. Chop up your lettuce, dice the tomatoes, black olives and onion. Toss it with some of the dressing and place on top of the baked pizza. Slice and enjoy!

Queen of the Castle: Week 32

For those of you playing along...(if you've just joined us you can get caught up a bit here) we are on week 32 of the book Queen of the Castle: 52 weeks of encouragement for the uninspired, domestically challenged or just plain tired homemaker.

This chapter is titled "The Bountiful Garden".  Lynne makes her case for zucchini being the most bountiful and hardiest plant on God's green earth.  I'd have to agree.  We didn't grow zucchini this year.  I still have bags of it in the freezer!  She shares this quote "There're only two things money can't buy, and that's true love and homegrown tomatoes!".  Well that's something that's going well in our garden. Other than the weeds, that is.  


Lynne shares a few tips for using all those tomatoes:
*Make tomato juice and can it.
*Whip up tomato soup, some to eat and some to share.
*Dry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise almost all the way through, in your oven at low heat (200 degrees for nine to twelve hours) and store covered with olive oil in jars.
*Bless others who don't or can't have gardens with extra tomatoes! 
*If you want to keep tomatoes but don't have the time right then to do anything with them then freeze them whole in a zipbloc bad.  Later on throw them in a stew and the skins will float to the top.
*If you  have a bit of time you can core and chop up the tomatoes and bag them in 2 cup increments to use later in the tomato sauce recipe below.


Out of This World Fresh Tomato Sauce
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 bunch arugula, stemmed and roughly chopped (about 1 cup) -- or 1 cup romaine lettuce
1 tsp. coarse kosher salt
(Process all that in a food processor until lettuce is very finely chopped)
Add:
1/4 cup olive oil
Several large tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped (about 2 cups)

Process to a "chunky puree".  Refrigerate and use over pasta within a few days.

- - -

"Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.  The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses up.  God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him."  (Psalm 67: 5-7)

Best of Old House Kitchen: Peanut Butter Pie

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite. 
Peanut Butter Pie

1 chocolate cookie pie crust
1 cup peanut butter
8 oz. cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup sugar
12 oz. Cool Whip
1- 11.75 oz. jar Smucker's Hot Fudge Ice Cream Topping, divided (see below)

Drizzle:
2 T Hot fudge
2 T peanut butter

In a medium-ish bowl, beat together the peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar. Gently fold in 3 cups of Cool Whip. Spoon the mixture into the pie shell. Smooth mixture to edges of the pie.

Set aside 2 T hot fudge from the jar (put it in a baggie). Microwave the jar of hot fudge for 1 minute. Stir. Spread it over the pie to cover the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until serving time.

Just before serving, spread the remaining Cool Whip over the hot fudge layer. Be careful not to mix the layers! Remember you want it to look pretty and all!

Place the 2 T hot fudge in a small baggie and knead it for a few seconds. Cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle over the pie. I do it in lines about an inch apart. Do the same thing with 2 T of peanut butter going in the opposite direction of the hot fudge stripes.

Enjoy! Someone pass me a fork!!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday: More Tips From Gooseberry Patch

Don't toss the wrapper after you've used a stick of butter.  Instead, fold it up, place it in a plastic zipping bag and store it in the freezer.  When it's time to butter a casserole dish, just take out the wrapper, let it soften slightly and use.

Pork chops, chicken breasts and cubed stew beef will brown better if patted dry first with a paper towel.

Best of Old House Kitchen: Easy Cheesy Bean Dip

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.
Easy Cheesy Bean Dip

1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 can bean dip
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 package taco seasoning mix
1/2 lb. shredded colby-jack cheese

Mix all ingredients except the cheese. Layer in a crock pot or a casserole dish 1/2 the mixture and 1/2 the cheese; repeat. Cook on low for 4 hours or so or bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with nacho chips, chopped tomatoes, black olives, guacamole, etc.!

Notes: Sometimes I add 1/2 pound browned, ground beef to the mixture to give it a little more protein. A lot of times when we go camping I'll take a crock pot with us and the ingredients. I'll pop it all in the crock pot after breakfast and it's ready by lunchtime!

16 Years!!

Friday my wonderful husband and I celebrated 16 wonderful years of marriage by going to Shipshewana for the day.  It was a fun day and a great time away to spend time together...just the two of us. 

I love you, honey.  Here's to 16 more wonderful years!! 

Best of Old House Kitchen: Ham and Popeye

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.

- - -

No, not ham potpie...ham and popeye! My husband's Grandma used to make this every Easter. It is wonderful comfort food!! I know...they're just homemade noodles, you say. Not to me! They're popeye!! : )

I'm typing this out like it is on my recipe card. There's no ingredient list, really. That's how grandma's cook, you know?! I'll do my best to guide you along.

10 lb. picnic ham in a large roasting pan, covered mostly with water. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 5 hours or so.

Take the ham out to rest. It's so exhausting, you know?! ; )

Bring the juices from the ham to a boil (after skimming out the fat pieces). You may need to add a bit more water.

Put popeye (see below) in gently one at a time...or they'll stick together. (It's tedious but well worth it!! Cook them for about 15 minutes. And no, the popeye that you put in first won't be "overcooked" by the time the last popeye are done.)

**Here's me flipping over my recipe card**
Popeye
Beat 6 or 7 eggs in a large mixing bowl (with a fork, no mixer allowed!)

Mix in pepper (how much isn't written down but I would do no more than a 1/2 teaspoon)
DO NOT ADD SALT!!

Stir in about 3 cups SELF-RISING flour until the dough can be rolled (1/4 inch thick). (It'll be really sticky-goey but then you'll plop it out on a floured counter and knead in a little bit of flour so you can roll it. Real precise, I know. Again...that's the charm of grandma's cooking!)
Cut the dough into squares about 2"x2" or smaller. (I use a dull pizza cutter and cut it right on the counter.)

Well there ya have it! Ham and Popeye! It goes great with mashed potatoes and Grandma's Mac-n-Cheese along with some biscuits! Yum!
 

Best of Old House Kitchen: Easy Peasy Chops

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.

- - - 

This recipe is so simple it's crazy! I got this from a friend years ago. In my opinion besides Lemony Pork Piccata, it's the only way to cook pork chops. They are nice and tender and if you trim most of the fat off of the pork chops you can use the left over juices (after cooking) for gravy!

Easy Peasy Chops

2-3 lbs. of boneless pork chops (I buy pork loin and have the meat counter slice it about 1/2 in. thick)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cans water (No need to dirty a measuring cup, right?)
6 T. worchestershire sauce
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. black pepper (depends on how much you like pepper)
a few dashes of salt

Place your chops in a 4-ish qt. crock pot. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl or mixer then pour over the chops. If there are some parts of the chops exposed just pour a bit more water over it or half way through the cooking turn them over so they don't dry out.

Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Remove the chops to a dish and cover so they can rest (that cooking process is tiring, you know?). Strain the bits out of the remaining juices and if you feel it's a bit too runny add 1 T flour to take 1/2 cup of cold water in a small bowl or tea cup. Then when it's no longer runny add it to the juices and mix in a saucepan over medium heat until it's thicker. (I usually do this a bit at a time so it's just the right thickness.)

I serve this with mashed potatoes or rice. With a side veggie dish and rolls. Mmm mmm good, and easy peasy! 

Queen of the Castle: Week 31

For those of you playing along...(if you've just joined us you can get caught up a bit here) we are on week 27 of the book Queen of the Castle: 52 weeks of encouragement for the uninspired, domestically challenged or just plain tired homemaker.

This week's chapter is titled "God's Recipe for Wives". Lynne shares a piece of advice that a friend shared with her after she had just gotten married..."Your desire may be to have a happy marriage.  But you can't control that; that takes two people.  The only thing you can control," she said, "is you.  So even though your desire is to have a happy marriage, you have to make it your goal to be a good wife."  Don't worry about whether your husband is doing a good job, ladies, the only job description we should be worried about is our own.  Are we being good wives?


"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." (I Corinthians 13:1).


Loving our husbands, with God's love, is assignment enough for the rest of our days together.  "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones." (Proverbs 12:4).  Love your husbands good parts but the bad parts, also!


Admire your husbands!  "This admiration is a source of great happiness, and the lack of it one of his most distressing miseries." (Fascinating Womanhood, Helen B. Andelin)  Do we remember to tell him that we admire him?  Even though you may have the manliest man on the face of the planet, ladies, he still seeks your admiration.  "Our words can have a tremendous impact on our husbands, for good or for ill."  Lynne goes on to remind us of Proverbs 12:18, "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."


Phyllis McGinley writes in her 1965 book Sixpence in Her Shoe:  "Praise is better than wheat germ for even the least vain of men, and every wife ought to keep a supply in her pocket ready to scatter like manna."

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"Your adornment must not be merely external -- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."  (1 Peter 3:3-4)

Best of Old House Kitchen: Cinnamon Chicken

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.

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In season 6 of Little House on the Prairie there's an episode where Laura makes a meal for Almonzo but Nellie is pretending that she made it. Laura is upset with Nellie so she puts cayenne pepper in the mix instead of cinnamon. It's one of my favorite episodes. Hilarious to say the least!

Every time I make this the kids chatter on and on about that episode. But then of course we have to a-hem and remind them that it wasn't very nice of Laura. (But it sure was funny!)

Cinnamon Chicken
2 whole chickens (see note below)
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup honey
2 T. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic salt

Blend together broth, cinnamon, honey, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, and garlic salt. Place chicken in a large ungreased roasting pan (I use my roaster); pour mixture over chicken. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 and 1/2 hours. (Make sure that you have plenty of room between the chickens to let air circulate.) Let them rest for about 20 minutes to retain moisture.

Note: You can use chicken pieces such as breast on the bone with skin. Cooking time will be less (about an hour) and you'll want to lower the temperature to about 375 degrees. 

Best of Old House Kitchen: Lemony Pork Piccata

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.

Lemony Pork Piccata

2 lb. pork tenderloin, sliced into 16 portions

4 t. lemon-pepper seasoning

6 T. all-purpose flour

4T. butter

1/2 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. lemon juice (I use the bottled kind)

Pound pork into slices to 1/8 inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Lightly sprinkle pork with lemon-pepper seasoning and flour. Melt 2 T. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of pork and saute 2-3 minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and pork. Remove pork to a serving plate; set aside.

Add chicken broth and lemon juice to skillet. Cook 2 minutes until slightly thickened, scraping up browned bits. Add pork and heat thoroughly.

Serve over quick-cooking angel hair pasta or brown rice to enjoy every drop of the lemony goodness!

Best of Old House Kitchen: Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

The next few weeks our family is going to be very busy!  We have two more camping trips, 4-H week, Vacation Bible School (my hubby's in charge of this so of course I'm helping, too!), our 16th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration, and we have overnight guests coming to visit on two separate occasions!  Crazy busy!  So ya'll will forgive me if I re-post a few things here and there, right?  Good.  I knew you were nice like that!  : )  Monday menu plans will be new each week because, after all, we have to eat and I need a menu.  Tuesday's kitchen tips will be new and we'll keep following the Queen of the Castle series, but the recipes that I post will be our family's favorite ones.  I've taken a poll during one of our latest Dinner Time Quiz Shows so here is a family's favorite.

Even though my family is large --huge by some standards-- we're still not Amish "size". Our Amish neighbors have 11 children! I thought I worked hard cooking for our crowd! They have 11 and some of them are big, strappin' boys! I have a few Amish Country cookbooks that I just love. Flipping through them gives me a glimpse into her life and an appreciation for cooking for a large crowd. From a few of these books I've found (and scaled down, believe it or not!) a great recipe for sausage gravy and homemade biscuits. Hubby loves these biscuits! He's a biscuit snob, so they must be good!
Sausage Gravy
1 lb. sausage
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 1/2 cups milk
Brown and crumble sausage (don't drain it). Add flour, salt and pepper and stir. If the sausage is dry, you may need to add a bit of shortening when adding flour. Add milk while stirring. Heat until it starts to boil and reduce heat and continue to stir until thickened. Makes about 5 cups of gravy.
Homemade Biscuits
4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt
8 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cream of tartar
4 tsp. sugar
1 cup shortening
1 1/3 cup milk
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs. Add milk all at once and stir until dough follows fork around bowl. Roll 1/2 thick.* Use a large glass or a canning jar to cut biscuits. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 30 biscuits.
*Note: The key to light and fluffy biscuits is not to work the dough too much.

Freeze Wrestle?

We have some dear friends who make a yearly pilgrimage from Michigan to northern Indiana for a weekend visit.  We always enjoy our visit.  We pick up right where we left off.  We visit like we see each other every day.  Our children get along very well.  We joke that their three boys are going to marry out three oldest daughters so we can have a great set of in-laws.  : )

Our family does something called "Freeze Dance".  We play music (today it was Paul Simon's "Graceland" cd) and the kids dance like crazy until the music stops.  If they move, they are out.  It goes on and on until we have a winner.  Well the boys decided to make it into "Freeze Wrestle".  Very funny.  Here's a pic!