In a Baking Kind of Mood

I think if I lived in a simpler time, I'd be a canner of all things preservable. Baker of golden-brown pies and cobblers. I'd stuff my visitors' hands with baked goodies. Everyday would be a day that my home would smell like my granny's. Scrumptlicious.

However, 2010 time corners me and forces me to schlop the ingredient heavy applesauce off the shelves at Walmart, and anonymous cans of soup line my pantry.

Lately, though, I really have been in a baking kind of mood. I think I started making Pumpkin Bread the very weekend the pureed pumpkin hit the supermarket - seasonal item, you know. And even before granny's fall, I was simmering up pots of brown beans and muffin cups of cornbread. Just tastes like granny, you know? This weekend, I cooked up a big batch of homemade noodle soup... and yummy, we ate every last tidbit.

I don't want to forget granny's favorite dishes, so I decided to post the recipes right here, right now. There's no sugar-free or fat-free claims on any of these, but hey, she's been eating this stuff for years on end, and she's 99. Just saying!

Here are a few of our favorites:

Brown Beans and Ham
Soak brown beans overnight. In the morning, drain beans, rinse and cover again with water a few inches above the bean line. Add hamhock, salt pork or other source of flavoring (ham cubes and crumbled bacon are other possibilities.) Bring to a rapid boil and then turn down heat to simmer. In there somewhere, you will need to add salt and sugar to taste. Granny guesstimates that she starts with about 3 tsp. salt and 2 tsp. sugar, but she really has no idea. Simmer down for about 4-5 hours. A family favorite.


Old Fashioned Applesauce
Peel apples, as many as you want. Cut into pieces. Add H20, but not completely covering the apples. Just so you can see it through the apple pieces. Cook down til done, or soft and mushy. Mash up as you cook if you want. Add sugar and cinnamon to taste. That could be 1-2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 C sugar for starters.


Mashed Potatoes
Peel 5-6 potatoes, if that sounds good to you. Dice into chunks. Cook down til soft. Real soft. Pour most water out, but leave a small amount. Add 1-2 sticks butter. Add milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix with mixer. This is potato heaven or as Ellie calls it "creamy goodness."

Pops!

Stop #2 on our trip to OKC....
Pops, near Edmond, Oklahoma

My friend Jessie introduced us to this in-the-middle-of-nowhere spot, so we wanted to introduce everyone else to the fun of Pop's!

Pops lives up to it's name by stocking over 500 different varieties of pop! Pick up an empty six pack box and fill it up with whatever tickles your tongue.
I felt like strangling Luke right before this picture was taken. Ok, not REALLY, but he was getting a kick out of pretending to knock down the thousands of bottles that line the shelves of the store. Yes, the bottles are glued down, but I don't think that small detail would stop him from ruining the display. Aargh!!

Once we got outside, the kids (my 3 plus 6 cousins) ran off some steam while we waited for dinner. The menu was pretty much what you'd expect at a truck stop, but yummy burgers and fries and onion rings, and of course, POP!

Looking at all the different kinds of pop was fun; Luke discovered a bottle of pop called Ramune' that has a marble in it. Not sure if he likes the taste of the pop or the marble. Ellie likes that kind and the classic Coke in a glass bottle. Me, of course, Pepsi, and Kami found a gourmet cream soda called "Hank's!"

At night, the 66 foot neon pop bottle glows for all to see, and this is another MUST see near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma!

Cookin Up Some Fun

One of the "out of the box" things I do as a mom is let my kids go wild in my kitchen by making their "own recipes." Once in awhile, I pull out our expired ingredients of our pantry and frig and let them go a little cooking crazy.

I remember doing this as a kid at a friend's house, and absolutely loving to experiment with combinations of liquids and dry ingredients, mixing them up into my own special cake or something somewhat resembling a cake.

So, when my kids were younger, I allowed them to try this, and we haven't looked back. They haven't quit asking, so I usually(but NOT always) take a big breath and let them do it.

This most recent time, when they each had a friend over, I actually let them try to create something edible, so I allowed them to use an egg, some oil, flour, and sugar and baking powder. Other interesting ingredients in these recipes were dry strawberry jello, peanut butter, cheese crackers, honey, and applesauce.
It's funny how seriously they took their cooking assignment, working for over an hour to get their recipes mixed to perfection. We even baked them, and then took (teeny tiny) bites.

As an aside, one of my WORST memories as a child was BEING MADE or BULLIED into eating one of my creations (it was a green rubbery thing). I threw up for two days.

Sometimes, I ask the little chefs to take note of the exact measurements of their recipes (thus learning tsp, TBSP, cup, etc.) and then we always do a big cleanup - required if you are gonna cook in Mama's kitchen!)

Take a look at cook Kami and Jenna's creation....and here is Ellie and Brooke's!

I Am a Messy Cook

I don't know that I'd call myself a cook.

But when I do cook, I'm definitely a messy cook.

I like to move fast. My sister teases me because I don't mess around. I get 'r done, as they say, and am kinda rough doing it. So when it comes to cooking 12 pumpkin rolls, the quicker the better.

But....

I forget that it's hard to be fast when I am cooking.

I just end up slinging pumpkin all over the cabinets...
and the counters and floors have a nice coating of powdered sugar everywhere...
And I ruined a whole sheet of pumpkin bread (tried to peel it off the pan too quickly).
Last year, when I was making pumpkin rolls, I was being quick and careless and was scraping the side of the mixing bowl with one hand while SIMULTANEOUSLY mixing with a beater in the other hand. Left hand slips down into the beater and I honestly thought I had cut off my thumb. The pumpkin rolls had a little red hue to them last year. Just thought it was food coloring, huh?

They are delicious though and messing up my whole Body for Life diet something awful.

Here is the recipe, in case you'd like to try them.

Yummy Pumpkin Rolls
Ingredients:

• CAKE
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup Pumpkin Pie Filling
  
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• FILLING
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions:
FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Allow to cool. Carefully remove cake from pan using wax paper underneath cake. Then, carefully peel off paper and lay cake on fresh piece of wax paper sprinkled with powdered sugar.

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Spread thin layer of cream cheese mixture over cake. Cut cake into thirds, widthwise. Roll up carefully and roll in powdered sugar if necessary. Wrap in wax paper and then plastic wrap; refrigerate at least one hour. I like to freeze mine. I take them out and cut off the ends to make the ends looks crisper. I then put back in freezer and hand out when needed, making sure to tie up with a bow!

Also, I had some request for Thanksgiving Day recipes, so here they are!

Carolyn's Salad
Lettuce of Choice, cut into 1/2 inch shreds. (she used romaine)
Craisins
Bleu Cheese
Toasted Walnuts
Pre-made Raspberry Vinegarette Dressing

Easy and DELICIOUS! I want it right now!!

Finally, here is the corn recipe:

Judy's Corn

Cook 2 lb. bag of frozen corn according to instructions. Drain off most of the water.

Add:
1/4 C. butter
8 oz of cream cheese with chives
1 tsp. onion salt

Stir on top of stove until blended.

I never said I loved healthy recipes, now did I???

Thank-FULL

Thanksgiving Dinner was as usual, fabulous! My top 3 favorite items on my plate? *Granny's Mashed Potatoes *Mom's Cream Cheese Corn *Carolyn's Salad w/ Bleu Cheese and Cranberries -The ham and turkey was very, very delicious too. I also had my first pop in 10 days, which fizzled fabulously as it slid down my throat. Here are some pics of our day at cousin Ronda's house: We played our annual game of spoons, of which I believe I am the defending champ. It is cut throat (especially right beside Kim R. and her nails.) We had a BLAST playing and I am proud to say that I defended my title well.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

I live for the days I get to have....

Granny's brown beans (simmered all day)
her cornbread muffins (great with butter)
pan fried potatoes
and time with this lady (wearing Ellie's Limited TOO hat). At 97, she still serves us. There really are no words. It's astounding.