And the winner...

The only person that made a comment...Nancy my sister-in-law! We don't have a nepotism policy here so Nanc would you like Corn and Pineapple Salsa??? Let me know and I will send it your way, or maybe I will send it with my hubby to the game on the 20th...

Mmm...Amish Salsa from the Homestead Bakery!
In Arthur, IL!

CoNGraTs!

hALloWeEn is coming so watch for fun contests and prizes! I love Halloween and I love to bake during this time!

Hiatus

wElcOmE bAcK!!

We are back and better than ever. We return from our Spring and Summer hiatus with many happenings....and we return with....

• Award Winning Cooks!
  


• "Fresh" Ideas from the Garden! Yum! Eating from your garden!!
  


• Fun Give Aways (Halloween is coming and if any of you know me you know I LOVE Halloween)!


• Question and Answer Section! We want questions and we also want to know what you need help with! Start talking to us!!

CoNtEsT!!

So here is our first contest! Amish Salsa fresh from my latest travels your choice between corn or pineapple salsa. All you need to do is comment with a question or an area you need help in or maybe you are looking for a recipe...comment and we will put your names in a drawing as many times as you comment (you could be entered multiple times)! I will announce the winner next Thursday September 3rd!! (I promise I will work on my picture taking skills, I have already put on my wish list a new Nikon camera...keep your fingers crossed for me)!

GOoD lUck!!!

Ooey gooey Cinnamon Rolls

Yum, a girls best friend, well, next to chocolate right?! Who doesn't love cinnamon rolls? I'll admit, they are some work, but its so worth it! Don't fret if you are trying to eat better in 2009, you can give them to friends and neighbors, but if you sneak one - good for you! Lets indulge, shall we? Gramma Sander's youngest daughter Jayne is features in my photos, the best we can get next to master's hands herself! I never tasted anything of Jayne's that wasn't fabulous, and I hear she has filled her mothers shoes quite well. So here we go!

Mmmmm...tell me you don't want to make these! I dare you!

· 1-1/2 packages (about 3-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
· 1/4 cup warm water
· 1/2 cup shortening
· 1/3 cup sugar
· 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1 cup milk
· 1 egg
· 4 to 5 cups sifted flour
· melted butter
· brown sugar
· cinnamon
· raisins (optional)
· ---
· Vanilla Frosting
· 2 cups powdered sugar
· 1 tablespoon butter, melted
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
· milk (2 to 4 tablespoons)

Add the warm water to the yeast and soak 10 minutes.
Scald milk; pour over the shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool to tepid. Add the dissolved yeast and beaten egg. Add 4 cups flour adding one at a time beating after each addition.
Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle. Knead on floured board until elastic and smooth. Avoid too much flour. Turn dough into well oiled bowl. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.
Press dough down and divide into workable size. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Cover with melted butter. Layer with a generous thick layer of brown sugar. Sprinkle on cinnamon as desired. If you like raisins, layer on a layer of raisins. Roll up jellyroll fashion.
Using a scissors or a piece of string(see photo above), cut off slices about 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick. Place slices in an 9x13 greased cake pan. Let rise until rolls fill the pan generously...about another hour.
Bake at 350 oven about 15 - 20 minutes. If rolls get too brown, cover with a piece of tin foil until the end of baking. If they look almost too done when you take them out, remove them from the pan so they don't keep baking. I turn them out on a large plate, then onto another one so they are right side up.

For the Frosting:In a medium bowl, place sugar, butter and vanilla. Then stir in enough milk or to reach a thick, hardly-able to stir consistency. Spread over warm rolls as soon as they are placed on a plate (or you can leave them in the pan) to let the frosting melt and run into the rolls. Wow, I am really craving a cinnamon roll... anyone else?

Turkey Taco Salad

I found a great salad recipe the other day, and although I am not sure if Gramma Sanders even liked taco salad, I wanted to share it with you! OK, I'll admit... its not the most visually appealing salad, but its flavorful, low-cal, and delicious! You gotta try it, in fact, you can serve it with tortilla chips for dipping, instead of on lettuce, and your husband won't even know its healthy! Plus you could add gobbs of sour cream and cheese if you want a bit more fat in the dish. I had it at a luncheon (it was served with chips as a dip) and I pretty much stalked the host until she gave me the recipe, I had to have it! So here it is...


cooking spray or olive oil
1 lb ground turkey (or beef if you want)
1 pack of taco seasoning (optional)
1 15 oz can of pinto or black beans (if you wanna double the batch, I'd use one of each)
1 cup kernal corn
1 cup of bottled salsa

4-6 cups shredded lettuce (or whole leaves if you want lettuce wraps)

Topping suggestions:
*1/4 cup shredded cheese
*1 cup crushed tortilla chips
*sour cream
* tomatoes

Brown the turkey in some Pam spray or about 1 Tb of Olive Oil, then add the taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water. Let simmer about 5 minutes, then just dump everything else in. Turn down heat let simmer another 5 minutes. Remember it can be a salad, a taco, a lettuce wrap, or a nacho dip, use your imagination. Let us know if you try it!

Winter Blues...Cheer up with this Happy Salad...

It is definitely January...one of the most depressing months of the year for me. (Besides Peyton's birthday). It is a time of evaluating eating too much Christmas candy, it is cold, all of the great things of summer and fall that you grew and ate fresh are now very expensive in a grocery store and if you are like most people (besides me...) you started a diet in January. Well I have a salad you can make that will jazz up your winter blues. This salad I kind of created based upon a salad dressing I found.
This is a really sweet vineagrette that has become my and my husband's favorite new salad dressing. So after I purchased the dressing I decided it needed some of the same components in the salad. Take one whole pomegranate and get all of the seeds out. I learned on the cooking network that score it down the sides, twist it and then you break out all of the seeds under water. The white pethy stuff will rise and the seeds will sink. I prefer to use green leaf lettuce and this last time I made it I used a spring mix of greens from a bag with the green leaf lettuce to add more color. So get your lettuce in the bowl, then you add the following ingredients. All of the pomegranate seeds, shredded carrots, fresh blueberries (I have some I froze from the summer and just defrost them...they work well), minced red onion (I use about 1/2 of the onion), slivered almonds, cut up olives. I just kind of drop all of this on top before I serve and then toss when ready to serve. I would not put the whole vineagrette on the salad...just let people use what they want. This salad will keep for about 1 week after it is made. This is definitely a way to feel a little bit of summer. It will make January blahs go away and if you did start a diet in January, this is something that will liven that up also. The dressing is only 20 calories. It is definitely not fattening...but it is great and very filling.

Don't Miss Your Chance! This is my favorite contest!

This is not a contest I am doing for this blog but this is a contest done by HGTV. They actually give a home a way and all you have to do is go to their site and enter each day....
Good Luck!!

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!