Erin and Rebecca here is your prize...

Sorry it is late and all they had left was the smaller one!

Since the nature of the contest was to share you wish list your prize is a Santa's bag

to put your wishes in!

Enjoy and thanks for the participation!!

All of you who have won during our Christmas Season Congrats....

Please watch the blog for some exciting changes and

a new look hopefully if I figure out photoshop! Please watch the blog

because our contests and giving will not cease! We love our fellow supporters!

May you have a wonderful, happy and healthy new year with many

fun filled family traditions and yummy recipes!

Keep Cookin!

Our Next Winners....

Sorry I wanted to post this last night but Erin and Rebecca for you wish list and for your participation you win! Thanks ladies for those fabulous wish lists! I love them!! I hope you get your wishes one day and I hope all are seeing some of theirs fulfilled today! Merry Christmas! Love to all!
**Rebecca, I have your address but Erin please e-mail me yours!

New Contest!

I want the winner circle to get bigger...it has some room for more of you! So here is another little contest.... I love lists...I make lists for everything. This contest is about a "list", your list, your wish list for Christmas. I know you all have them! Start thinking if money were no object, or as funny or serious or sad or happy or frivolous as they may seem what is your (yes, not your kids, spouse, dog cat, cousin, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc.) wish or wishes. If it be world peace, great more power to you but I want to know your wishes for this Holiday and why you want it. Make a comment on this section and you will be entered for a very very cute prize. ALL you have to do is comment your wish or wishes and the whys...if you have 20+ great, I will love them. You are not exempt if you have already won...I recommend that you spread the word...it always makes the judges sit up and take notice if you bring in new readers. Also I am going to be doing some Christmas baking this weekend so watch for new posts on fun recipes. Comment as many times as you want all day long....
Have fun!

Winners Circle

Grandma's Honey Taffy

It seems like it was just yesterday Gram was in her brilliant Orange kitchen cooking up yummy candies, pies, and cookies for the Christmas Season. Each family member had their favorites, mine was honey taffy. To this day it causes my mouth to water with just the very thought of it. Gram had beautiful long slender fingers, and can remember how her hands, those beautiful hands, would work and pull the taffy to a tasters perfection. It was like an artist with their sweeping strokes creating a master piece, with every pull of the hot taffy Gram was making a mouth watering delight and a dentists' nightmare! Gram had candy thermometers but she relied on the good ole' water test too. I think back and I feel she just knew by sight when the taffy had cooked to perfection.

So all last week I got a hankering for the melt in your watering mouth Christmas goody and finally Friday I had to succumb to my cravings: I made it! Since Gram was a master cook it always intimidated me to try something as hard as candies, not only are they hard but if you mess up and fail the ingredients can become quite costly with mistakes. Despite my misgivings I pushed on and by 10:00 p.m. that evening I had over 100 pieces of this yummy treat...no mistakes...perfect just as if Grandma had guided every stretch and pull; as if she stood next to me as I stirred the pot and whispered it is ready. I did this all without a candy thermometer, using strictly the water test.

I am sure you can imagine how proud I am to have had success on the first try! So here is my Grandma's Honey Taffy recipe. Enjoy and don't be intimidated, if I can do it you can too!

Stir Together:

2 cups sugar

2 cups honey

2 cups cream

Cook on medium heat. Stir occasionally. Boil to soft crack. Cool mixture in a separate buttered pan (We use a cookie sheet that has edges). Butter hands and stretch until mixture becomes stiff to pull. Stretch into a long rope and cut as desired. Wrap in wax paper.

Bran Muffins

Ok, now don't panic, these are very yummy. These are not those huge, dry, heavy, bland bran muffins you see at whole foods stores. These are moist and delicious, and great way to sneak some fiber in your diet! My picky husband loves these and if he likes them, anyone will! If you need to, give them a new name like Magic Million Dollar Muffins or Super Hero doughnuts. Whatever works. Let us know if you liked them and if you came up with a fancy new name to appeal to your family!

Bran Muffins

2 1/2 Cups Bran Flakes Cereal
1 1/4 Cup Milk
1 1/4 Cup Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/3 Cup Oil



Combine the bran flakes with the milk and let it sit for abut 20 minutes so it can get nice and mooshy. I mix it with a fork after about 10 minutes to help break up the bran. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350, combine your dry ingredients, and spray your muffin tin with Pam. Add the egg and oil to the bran/milk mixture and then add the dry ingredients. Mix with whisk or fork. Fill each muffin cup about half full then bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

My family likes these best with honey and butter, and I love them with jam. Try whatever strikes your fancy!

*Low cal version. You can swap the oil for 1/3 C applesauce which ends up saving like 400 calories. They taste exactly the same, but the texture is altered slightly. My kids didn't notice, and my picky husband simply said they seemed "bouncy". It makes them a bit more chewy. So if you are entering a baking contest, stick to the oil, but otherwise the applesauce is a nice way to save a few calories.

Trust me, would I share a recipe that wasn't any good? Have a Bran-tastic breakfast!

And the Winners are...

You guys totally made it easy on my judges! I didn't even have to use them. I know there are more fun stories, traditions/memories, and recipes out there BUT you didn't enter, so you don't win. So for taking a chance and getting it done I am not extending the contest for more entries, I am rewarding those that entered, 1 in each category, and giving them their much deserved prize! They submitted great entries that would have been great competition for anyone and I REALLY appreciate their support! So without further suspense....I know it is the only reason you are reading this post ; )..........AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Amy for her 2 yum-yummy recipes!

Her Entries are:

Egg- Sausage Casserole
Start this in the evening before going to bed and then bake in the morning.
Line a 9x13 pan with bread crusts trimmed off.

9 eggs
2 c. milk
2 tsp. dry onion
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
Beat all of the above.

Cook 1 lb. of sausage and drain. Pour eggs over bread and sausage- let it set in fridge all day. Bake @ 350 for 45 min.

Christmas Tree Cookies
1 c. shortening
3/4 sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract
2 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Green food coloring

Mix all ingredients and form into a ball and then roll out and cut with Christmas tree cookie cutter.

Bake 10 min. @ 375

I think I will be adding the casserole one to my Christmas morning feast!!

Candee for her "HOT" Christmas story!

Here is her entry:

"Weston is from Rexburg, and it being a college town, has a LOT of Christmas trees that are discarded just before the holiday. Students throw away these trees just before leaving for home. So, Weston's brothers get the driest looking tree and steal it from the garbage pile and take it home. They continually do things to dry it out until Christmas Eve. Then we have a 'tree lighting' ceremony, where all the neighbors are invited for hot chocolate and homemade doughnuts. Then the tree is lit on fire. A couple of years the tree has not burned well (because of fire retardant)and we have had to add things like cotton balls with vaseline to aid in the burning process. It is really scary to see how fast the tree goes up in smoke!"

Love it!

Last but not least, Shannon for your sweet memory/tradition!

Here is her entry:

"I have a little tradition that we just started last year. My husbands very dear grandma (she raised him) just passed away last year. We called her Nini. Well, Nini just loved jammies. She had dozens of really cute festive jammies. Everytime we would go over at night she would have on some really cute seasonal jammies on and I just loved them. So when she passed away we decided to give everyone jammies for a christmas eve present every year. We have a huge pajama party on Christmas eve and bake yummy treats. (Nini also loved to bake.) So that is my small little christmas tradition that we have started in memorie of Dougies Nini."

Thank you to each of you for supporting this blog! I hope you feel your hard work has paid off! Shannon, I sort of know your address but I need your address to get you your organizer. Ladies all I ask in return is for you to take a pic and share it with us when you get your goodies! Rosie posted her win on her blog and I absolutely loved it! I have yet to see Mandy's pic! I hope she got her book!

Watch for the next CONTEST! Ti's the Season to have fun and enjoy one another!

Contest Prizes!

Sorry, I have been working hard to "Deck my Halls" the past few days and I know I have promised to post the prizes for this first contest....I love these! I hope you are as excited about them as I am!

Best Christmas Recipe 1st Prize:

This is a family fun book! I love getting my kids involved in the kitchen, I learned from the best, kids were number one at my Grandma's House and even at my Mom's house. These kind of memories help to build a strong family! Nothing like licking the spatula memories!

Best Christmas Story 1st Prize:

A cute story! I just love heart warming Christmas stories, my aunt was always on the ball and would get us a stack of 25 new Christmas Stories each year, one for each day of the Christmas Season! This book is not only heart warming but one that you can wrap up with the kiddies on the couch and read aloud...make a memory!

Best Christmas Memory/Tradition 1st Prize:

This is a fun little holiday organizer! I just love being organized and I don't know what I would do without my holiday planner that I have had for years. This is a very simple friendly one, where you can slip in coupons, recipes etc.... It helps to be organized to be sure you get all those fun memories and traditions in!

New Contest!!!

I am home from the "Land of Milk and Honey!" (That is my hubby's name for my home town). I have been shopping and I have SOOO many fun things to give away!! Well you all have failed on the first contest : ( I was going to give each person who commented below on their Thanksgiving stories something fun for the Holidays! No one commented so there goes that fabulous idea....so now that I have all my goodies we are going to have a fabulous favorite Christmas tradition, story, or even recipe contest. Each story will be judged against stories, and likewise with the recipes and traditions. E-mail them to holly2300@yahoo.com. Judges, other than myself will decide the winner(s). All entries must be received by next Tuesday at 12:00 a.m. (Midnight, December 9th, 2008). Since we just got home today I still need to look through all my fun stuff and decide what to give so I will post the prize(s) tomorrow. Please note that what you send us may or may not be used on our blog. We reserve the right to be able to use what you send with appropriate credit given to you!

I just love contests so get us your entries!!! Have fun and remember this is all free without any strings attached!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let us know how your Thanksgiving cooking went! We want to hear your stories, nightmares, fun and traditions! Who knows it might get you a prize!! ; )

And the winner is.....

With the help of both my husband and my little son (who can't read). We drew the winner of our first blog contest! And the winner of the drawing is...Rosie! Congrats, Rosie!!!!! This is such a fun Cooky Book and a fond memory to many of my Grandma's Grandkids. Thank you to all who entered and all who were faithfuls. I do have another winner to announce though....the purpose of the contest was to extend our "readership" and so a second winner with bringing in the most new readers to the blog is Mandy!

Rosie and Mandy Congrats!!! I just love love love contests and yes I am already planning my Christmas Season! I am going shopping with the sisters and I will return with many goodies... I am going to devise many fun giveaways including giving away prizes to those that continue to comment on the below recipes and future recipe posts. Ladies and Gens this was so much fun I am going to get wild and crazy for the Christmas Season and give, give, give. So keep up the comments and you might just be a winner, bring in someone new and you could be like Mandy and be rewarded for all your hard work!

Mandy and Rosie, please e-mail me your addresses to: holly2300@yahoo.com. I will then get these fun cooky books off to you.. all I ask in return is keep commenting and spreading the word AND take a picture of you and your new cooky book and e-mail it to me so that I can post them on this blog!

Please keep up the responses and remember to comment, especially on the newly posted recipes tonight! My fellow authors are amazing cooks and I love their recipes too. Let us know if you have any special requests! Many thanks to all and hold on tight for a fun filled December, you may be our next winner!

Get Cookin'!

All Things Pumpkin, For That I am Thankful!

So, lately, I've had a pumpkin addiction and I'm addicted to trying and improving pumpkin recipes that I find. I'm going to publish two of my all-time, re-used recipes and also one new one that I just barely tried. All of them are fantastic! I hope you enjoy. I thought the fall time was a great time to publish these kinds of recipes. If anyone has a great pumpkin recipe, I'd love to try it!

Probably my favorite pumpkin recipe that I use all of the time is Pumpkin Ribbon Bread. This is one of my favorite things to grab for breakfast when I'm in a hurry. I'm sure something that tastes this good cannot be that healthy, but I justify and say that because it has pumpkin and applesauce in it, is totally acceptable as a "healthy" food!

Start out by doing the cheesecake filling first:

6 oz. cream cheese ( I use the whole pack..8oz.)

1/4 cup of sugar

1 TBSP of all-purpose flour

2 egg whites

Combine all together and mix. Then set aside.In another bowl beat 1 cup of pumpkin, 1/2 cup of applesauce, 1 egg, 2 egg whites, and 1 TBSP of oil. Combine 1 2/3 cup of flour, 1 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves. Add this to pumpkin mixture. Then stir together. After it is all mixed, stir in 1/3 cups of walnuts. Spray to 8X4X2 loaf pans with Pam. Then put down enough in each pan to just cover the bottom. The recipe says half, but I've found if you can cover the bottom with just enough, it is harder to cover the top when the filling is down. The picture below show you how much I actually put into it.

Then spread it over the bottom. After this you will get your cream cheese layer and spread it over the bottom layer. I divide this into half and spread with a spatula. I try to get it as close to the edge as I can.

After that, spread the reamaining batter over the top of the cream cheese filling. Put in the over and back at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing. It says to refridgerate the bread, but I've never done it and it seems to be fine. We eat it quick enough that it doesn't have time to go bad.

You will see when it is done that it is actually very normal looking and you can't tell that you have added anything, until....

You cut into it and there you have...the ribbon in the middle. Not to mention how utterly yummy this bread really is!

Pumpkin Pancakes-used IHOP secret recipe and then modified it quite a bit. I like my version the best!

Mix together these five ingredients-

15 oz pumpkin

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cube of butter melted

1/4-1/2 cups of sugar -I just kind of pour about that much!

Batter will look like below

Then you will begin to add the dry ingredients:

1/4 cups of flour

1-3 TBSP of cinnamon (I like a lot of spice...you don't have to put that much!)

Grated nutmeg-about 1 TBSP

Sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. saltMix this together and your batter will look like this. My goes kind of a light brown, because I like a lot of spices. If you don't, you can not put in as much.Put the batter on a heated gridle. I turn it between 300 degrees and 350 degrees. Because there is so much pumpkin in them, you have to let them cook on each side for quite a bit. They are very moist pancakes. As you can see, flipping them is a little difficult. I also have a hard time making them small. It doesn't matter how little I put on the gridle, they always blow up into these huge things! The cook time is about fifteen minutes...My husband doesn't like them as moist inside as I do, so you can cook them for a while longer than fifteen minutes! It does take some time, but it is well worth it! My husband likes to put butter spray on his pancakes, and instead of syrup, which I think drowns out the taste of how good these are, we use fat-free cool whip. And yes, you do have to use a lot, but it is still lower in calories than using normal syrup. The reason why I say you have to use a lot is because it melts rather quickly. Andy and I share one container because I like a lot of whipped cream on it. This has become our Saturday breakfast tradition! They are so good and so filling.

The last item, I copied from a Taste of Home magazine, however, being the weirdo that I am, I always try to figure out ways to make it better. I changed the filling and the frosting and added some spice.

Pretty Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns/Rolls

(I'll type the ingredients and then the directions. I didn't take too many pictures of this process....it takes some time! )

For the dough:

2 TBSP active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

4 eggs

1 cup of shortening

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)-I heated it in the microwave

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix

1/3 cup butterscotch pudding mix

1 tsp salt

7-8 cups of flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add the eggs, shortening, pumpkin, milk, sugars, pudding mixes, salt, and 6 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. (I had to use my hands at one point because it was attempting to go up inside of my mixer!) Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky!)

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled-about 1 hour.

While it is raising make the filling: ( I actually doubled this because it said it was enough dough for 2 roll outs. 1 cube of butter-melted and set aside. Then combine 2 cups of packed brown sugar, 1 TBSP of cinnamon, 1 tsp cloves, grated nutmeg(or as many spices as you can handle...I like a lot and usually just eye ball how much to use...so I'm not sure how much I used) Mix together. Then after dough has had enough time to raise, punch it down, and divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12X8 rectangle; brush with butter. Then use sugar mixture and sprinkle over the top of this. I also added in dried craisins because I like raisins in normal cinnamon rolls, but I thought the craisins would add a good taste. I made one pan without and one with. We all preferred the craisin pan and so when I make the again, I will always add the craisins. It added a little bit of a tart taste to the rolls.

Then after this, you will roll up the dough jelly-roll style starting with a long side (however I did it from the top and rolled down and it makes the rolls nice and big...so I would say it is your choice on this!) Pinch seams to seal. Cut each into 12 slices. (I didn't quite get 12, but my toddler was helping me to cut...I also just use thread and cross it...it really cuts the rolls clean and doesn't squish them down!). Place cut sides down on two grease 9X13X2 inch baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 3o minutes.

Bake at 350 for 22-28 minutes (mine were done at 22 minutes) or until golden brown.

I forgot to take pictures of when they were done...so you get to see the only finished one I have in picture with my lunch at school. To make the icing for this, I kind of jazzed it up, so if you don't want more spice, just add first ingredients....

3 TBSP water

2 TBSP butter

1 tsp (I used more!) ground cinnamon

2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

**I added more cinnamon and some cloves! I thought it was great. You also need to double the recipe to actually have enough for both pans!
The finished roll is to the right! Eat warm and reheat...for best results! :-)

These rolls were lots of work, but well worth it!

Kristie

"Real" Carmel Apples

Okay, so I know that most of us have made carmel apples before of some sort. I really wanted to do it this year, so I went and bought the Kraft caramels. Most of us have done this, right! Then the caramel is too runny and it doesn't stick and it just isn't that great. So the other day at work our principal made caramel apples and they were to die for. When I asked her how come her caramel was so good, she proceeded to tell me that it was because she made the caramel...just like when making it for candy making. You cook it a little higher in temperature than what your recipe calls for, let it cool a little then dip the apples. Any caramel recipe that you make for candy making will work. I was amazed at the difference between just using the normal Kraft caramels and making your own batch of caramel. I know that this is simple and that some of you have probably already thought that, but by making your caramel, the caramel apple is just a lot more sinfully good! Enjoy.

I like to use a variety of apples when I try this, but Granny Smith and Honeycrisp and Jonagolds are my favorites because they are a tart apple. One of the hardest times I had was getting the caramel to stick to the apple. You will notice the consistency is a little runny. My principal said you have to let the caramel cool, and I did that and had a hard time getting the caramel to stick at all. She also mentioned that you have to twirl and wave them around. I tried to dunk one into ice water, but that didn't work so well. I also left one in the hot caramel too long and it kind of made the apple go weird (I was experimenting on the best ways to get it to stick), but all in all, a little patience and some twirling, and my first batch of caramel apples was actually the best batch I've ever experimented with!

These are the final, upclose results!

What a sticky, gooey mess! Yum!

(Should probably only make once a year! :-))

Chocolate Drop Cookies

Hey friends! Its Nancy again with a fabulous recipe. Ok, if you like chocolate (who doesn't?) then you have got to try these. Norma's chocolate drop cookies are one of Jake's favorites. I made them this year on Valentine's day and they were a big hit. Ok, here's what ya need:

1/2 C butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 1/4 C flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C chopped nuts

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

Here's what ya do: cream butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs. Add the vanilla and melted chocolate (I prefer to melt chocolate in a double boiler, but a microwave is fine, just keep an eye on it...don't melt it until you are ready to add it because it will re-harden) Sift your dry ingredients together and add to the creamy chocolate mixture. Stir in the nuts then drop by table spoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Now, the chocolate cookie alone is not very sweet, which is where the frosting comes in. Yes, a creamy and delicious frosting to finalize this treat! Here we go:

2 tbs butter

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup light cream

2 - 3 C powdered sugar

Melt the butter and chocolate then stir in the cream, add the powdered sugar slowly until a spreadable consistency.

Holiday Twist: sick of rolling out sugar cookie dough at the holidays? Make these chocolate drops with some holiday flare! Try placing a candy corn on top the frosting for Halloween. Sprinkle on some crushed candy cane at Christmas time (mmm... mint and chocolate - what a combo!) Oh, and a candy heart for Valentine's day or an anniversary is cute. Sky's the limit, get creative!

Don't be intimidated by having to melt chocolate squares and make frosting. These cookies are quick, easy, soft, and delicious! Let us know if you tried them! Happy baking!

Here is Norma with her amazing cookies!

Food Contest Cook-off Recipes

Best Clam Chowder Ever!!!-

Created by Kristie Scott...but stolen and pieced from various recipes and tastings! Inspired by Frank Bunce! This is what he brings every year for our school Christmas sign-up and I've been trying to imitate it for years. I don't think I have it quite like his, but it is a good recipe!

Ingredients:
½ gallon of water
4-6 potatoes (diced)
2-3 packets dehydrated butter flavored mashed potatoes (this helps thicken the soup…another person I know actually take the potato water and some of the potatoes and blends them up. Then he adds this to the soup. I like what the butter flavored potatoes add to the soup)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
parsley flakes to taste
minced onion what you like!
6 strips bacon (more if you like)
celery about 3-4 ribs cut up
mushrooms from can 1-2 cans
3 cans of clams (reserve some of juice)
corn –I use the fresh corn that I freeze, but any can will do
onion –one whole onion
1-2 cups cream or to taste
1-2 cups buttermilk or to taste
1 cup canned milk


Boil potatoes and celery in salty water. Meanwhile in a frying pan fry bacon and onion together until crisp. Reserve this until very end as soup thickens. Let potatoes boil for about 20 minutes…drain off some of the juice. Then begin to other ingredients: mushrooms, corn, clams, clam juice, and minced onions and add the cream, buttermilk and canned milk. To thicken soup add the dehydrated potatoes and get to thick consistency that you like. Add more salt if desired, pepper, and parsley flakes. Then the final step is to add in the bacon and onion mixture. I like to put it on a paper towel first to get off oil. Let simmer for a 20 minutes stirring constantly. Yum!


Approximate Prep Time: 20-30 Approximate Cook Time: 1 hour




Deluxe Holiday Fudge by Norma Sanders
This is a really good fudge because it is not sugary! It is very creamy and chocolately. Look for variation to this recipe to be posted soon!
Ingredients:
2 giant chocolate bars
1 -12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
1 jar marshmallow cream
1 tbsp butter
1 lb walnuts or pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
4 ½ cups sugar
1 tall can evaporated milk

Mix chocolate, vanilla, marshmallow cream, and butter in big dish. Mix sugar and milk in a 4-6 qt. saucepan. Bring sugar and milk to a boil and cook for six minutes. Pour mixture over first ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. After mixture is completely blended, fold in chopped nuts. Pour into greased pan and let stand 4-6 hours in refrig or until completely chilled. Makes 6 pounds.


Approximate Prep Time: 15-20 Approximate Cook Time: 5 min

CONTEST!!

First of all, a big thanks to my sister-in-law, Nancy, who has my brother begging her to make some of Grandma's favorite recipes and meatballs were her specialty and Nancy has picked up on the talent as well! You will see more of Nancy's Talents on this blog in the future!

Hopefully we will see a post from my sister Kristie on Grams delicious fudge and Christmas Candies!

OK so I absolutely love love love contests and I am going to do these periodically...so to kick off Christmas Cookie Baking time I am going to give a way to one of you a Betty Crocker's "Cooky Book." My grandma had one just like this book and they are reprinting these books just like Grams' and I received one for Christmas from my very thoughtful mother-in-law, thanks Grammy Pilgrim! This "Cooky Book" takes me back to my childhood, looking through Gram's book and dreaming of all the cookies she would make from them...the pictures make you want to bake the cookies right away! YUM!!

(This is a picture of my book, a new one will be shipped directly to your house in time for holiday baking)

So here is how to win this fun book! **The purpose of this contest is to first see who is looking at our blog so we can select recipes that suit you, secondly it is too get people commenting and interacting with our recipe blog and third expand our readers. All you need to do is comment on this blog. Each time you comment on the blog your name will be placed in a draw, one entry per comment **(one entry per post so that we can see your thoughts and comments on recipes or format...we want to start some interaction we love feedback and requests....which a few of you have already been doing and we have loved it!) You can get additional entries, one additional entry for adding your name to our list of followers. You can get additional entries one for each new person you bring to the blog. When you bring a new reader, they need to comment and mention your name in the comment so I know who sent them... I will then add one more entry for you and add them to the list of entries and so on....Depending on the response to this contest I may get crazy and draw out multiple winners, each getting their own "Cooky Book." Since the nature of this contest is to help share Grandma's Recipe blog with others, this contest will run starting October 28th, 2008 until Midnight November 15th, 2008. On the morning of the 16th I will do the drawing(s) and winner(s) will be posted by that evening with instructions for me to privately receive your shipping address!

Good Luck! Let me know if you have any questions!!!

**The asterisk signifies clarifications I made on 10/29/08 per questions on the comments. If you want addition entries start spreading the news of our blog and tell people to leave a comment with your name....those are unlimited entries! I am so excited with your responses so far and we do want more readers so "start spreading the news" and make sure they let us know who told them so you get more entries!!

Norma's Meatballs!

Hello, Nancy here with a Norma Sanders recipe! I'll admit it, I do not really enjoy baking. I suppose I am just lazy and the thought of getting all the baking items, measuring utensils, mixing bowls, and having to wait for things to rise, rolling dough, kneading dough, cleaning all the dishes while it bakes, just to have dirty serving dishes makes me cringe. I do bake, but not often. However, I do enjoy cooking, especially easy recipe's with a grand result making it seem as if you slaved away all day. Which brings me to Norma's meatball recipe. I made them last year for Valentine's Day since it is one of Jake's favorite dishes from his Grandmother, and it was a hit and quick family favorite.

These meatballs are very simple, but you do cook them long and slow so you have to be sure to start them an hour or 2 before dinner time. Here is what you need:

1 lb Ground Beef (I suppose you could use turkey if your a health nut)
1/2 lb Ground Pork. (I like to use Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage, gives them a little kick!)
1/2 cup Uncooked Rice (I've used brown rice, no one will notice and its super healthy)
Salt and Pepper to taste ( I also add a dash or 2 of Italian seasoning.)
Can of tomato soup

So you basically just dump the meat, rice, and seasonings in a bowl and mush it together until mixed. Make sure your meat is thawed, but chilled. If its room temperature, the balls kind of fall apart. Here is a picture before I mixed the ingredients, I recommend using your hands. Its kinda icky, but its a lot quicker than a spoon.

When its nice and mixed, form into balls and brown in a frying pan on medium heat. While they are browning, dump the tomato soup in a large pot and fill it about 2/3 full with water. Whisk it up and heat to boiling. Once you have browned both sides, place the meatballs in the tomato soup bath, reduce heat, cover and let them simmer for a couple hours.

Yum! Gramma Sanders liked to serve hers over mashed potatoes, Jake thinks because Grampa Sanders preferred potatoes to pasta, but my family prefers spaghetti (or in this picture's case, Rotini) I just drain the soup then add my tomato sauce directly to the meatballs and heat for a few minutes more until the sauce it hot.

Add a quick salad and a bread stick and Ta-Da! Eat your heart out Olive Garden! Its nice to keep the memories of passed friends and family alive by passing on their favorite dishes and recipes. Good luck and enjoy these yummy (and easy!) meatballs! Thanks Norma!

Gluten or Dough Enhancer...

This post was prompted by a question from my friend Candee:

"Okay, so I have been trying to master whole wheat bread and I am so inconsistent. Do you add gluten to your dough or dough enhancer? My recipe is almost the same, minus the gluten, and I always seem to make BRICKS!!! So please, fill me in on the intricacies of whole wheat bread."

So my mom and I have been researching this topic for the last couple of days to help you to overcome your bread brick issue and help you with your bread inconsistencies. This is what my mom has found; wheat bread is naturally a heavier bread and sometimes some recipes can turn out like "bricks." The recipe listed below in the Pull Aparts Post is strictly a food storage recipe. The bread made from this recipe will be heavy. However after many years of researching and practice, my mom has found a recipe that calls for a dough enhancer and she thinks you can purchase dough enhancer in your area, maybe google it. (My mom uses Kitchen Kneads recipe and dough enhancer: http://www.kitchenkneads.com ). Gluten is suppose to aid the yeast but with such a heavier flour the dough enhancer working in conjunction with the gluten and yeast aids to make a lighter fluffier bread.

Here are some helpful hints my mom also thought of:

• If your baking in colder weather typically your house will be cooler, double you rise time if that is the case. House temperature can very from time to time and that can cause inconsistencies.
• Do not add too much flour. Bread dough should be sticky and by adding too much flour you can make a very stiff dough. If you are having trouble handling the sticky bread be sure to keep the your favorite non-stick spray or oil close by. I prefer oil, my mom prefers Pam Spray.

Let me know if you need more info! Good luck with making "lighter loaves!"

Whole Wheat Bread Pull Aparts...

This recipe is from the kitchen of my Mom. Dad always requested homemade bread because his mother made it and those smells and tasted reminded him of her. Mom has an old wheat grinder and I remember grinding the wheat to make fresh whole wheat bread. Because Mom only made this on occasion this is such a treat for me! Like my Dad it reminds me of my mom, the lovely smells and the taste of the fresh warm bread smothered in honey out of the oven! YUM... My picky eaters just love the pull aparts and would not eat wheat bread otherwise. So the pull apart recipe is a great way to get the picky pants in your family to eat wheat!




Wheat Bread

2 T Yeast
½ cup warm water
1 T sugar

5 cups hot tap water
7 cups ground whole-wheat flour
Mix until blended.

Add:
2 T salt (I think this is too much- so I used 1 T).
2/3 cups oil
2/3 cups honey
1 more cup of flour

Add yeast mixture and blend thoroughly. Add 3-4 cups more of flour and then knead for 10 minutes. Oil hands and place into sprayed pans. Cover with damp cloth and let rise for 40 minutes.
Bake 350 for 40-45 minutes.


Pull Aparts

Mix 1 cup of sugar with 4 tsp of cinnamon and ½ cup melted butter. Roll 1 ½ inch balls in butter and the sugar mixture. Fill it until 2/3 full and let rise. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Donuts in the fall!

I don't know if it is because of the heat caused by the hot oil and fall temperatures in Hamer made it naturally colder or why but Grandma usually did these in the fall. I remember the smell! Hmmmm....Yumm..... So naturally every fall when it starts to get me craving those same smells and tastes. Just as I did, Jayson looks forward to our donut fest and just as I did, he can't wait to lip the frosting drippings. So here is one of my favorite donut recipes grandma used:

Glazed Donuts

Dough:

1 pkg dry yeast
¼ luke warm water for the yeast

• Use about a tablespoon of sugar with yeast mixture set aside (I usually set aside somewhere warm).

1 cup boiling water
¼ c butter
½ c sugar

• Pour boiling water over butter sugar salt and vanilla.

Mix in a separate bowl:

1 cup canned milk
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

• Add canned milk eggs yeast to sugar butter mixture and ½ of the flour.
• beat by hand not mixer until well mixed.

5 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

• Add rest of flour and mix well again. (just five cups that is it and remember you already added 1/2 cup)!
• Cover dough and let rise until double.
  

• Roll out ½ inch thick; cut with large doughnut cutter
• Mom and Gram used a clean large jar lid.
• Allow the cut out donuts to rise again.
• Heat oil. (I use a fry daddy and grandma used a pot on the stove. She would always test the oil with a donut hole.)
• Fry until golden on both sides.
• Let oil drain on a paper towel. (I usually place paper towels on a cookie sheet).
  
  
  

Glaze:
1pkg powder sugar
boiling water to desired
1tsp vanilla

Mix items together until you have a thin glaze mixture. Add water to desire. I prefer my donuts to have lite glaze so I water mine down pretty good. Also as you go the mixture will thicken so I always keep the water on the stove boiling while I glaze so I can add more boiling water to keep the same consistency. I dip fried donut in glaze and let the glaze roll off for a few seconds and usually I have a dowel that I purchase for cheap at WalMart that was really in expensive that I keep clean for this purpose. Place donuts on elevated dowel to let the glaze dry. *Note the pictures and the space in between each donut so they can all dry. (I had to get creative because my dowel got lost in our move so I used a tree stick with foil wrapped around it so it was clean in the picture below).

***These recipes are user friendly; however please do note that I do include Jayson (my 5 year old) in on the fun BUT only during the icing part due to HOT oil. Please be cautious and careful of the heated oil, it splashes and can burn anyone within reach! Remember always to be safe and cautious in the kitchen especially when children are involved!