Sunday, July 23, 2006 - Harvesting the Squash

 

While the zukes have been attacked with blossom end rot and masses of squash bugs, the yellow squash has been pretty prolific. Here is one of my families favorite squash recipes:

 

Yellow Squash Casserole

 

Boil for 5 minutes:

            6 cups of yellow squash, partially peeled (striped) and chopped

            ¼ cup onion, chopped

Save one cup of juice and drain rest.

Combine in separate bowl:

            1 can cream of celery soup

            2 chicken or veggie bouillon cubes

            1 cup of sour cream

            1 cup of shredded carrot

            1 cup of juice saved from cooked veggies

            cooked vegetables

Mix (2) 8oz boxes of seasoned stuffing mix with ½ cup of melted butter. Layer half of stuffing mix in bottom of 13x9 dish. Spoon vegetable mixture over stuffing, and top with rest of stuffing. Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes.

 

*Note* - this is also good with leftover, cooked and chopped up chicken mixed in, for those with hubbies who need meat with their meals *waving hand high in air* J

 

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Saturday, July 8, 2006 - Cool as a Cucumber

                             

                  Some Cuke Recipes for Ya

 

Bread and Butter Pickles

 

1 gallon medium cucumbers, sliced, unpeeled

2 cups onions, chopped

2 green or red peppers, chopped

 

cover all with ice and ½ cup of salt. Let sit for 3 hours. Drain and rinse.

 

Combine in large pot:

2 cups water

2 cups white vinegar

5 cups sugar

½ t ground cloves

1 ½ t tumeric

2 t mustard seed

2 t celery seed

 

Bring to rolling boil. Add vegetables. Return to boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Pack into hot, sterilized jars and seal.

 

Refrigerator Pickles

 

Prepare:

7 cups sliced cucumbers

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup green pepper, chopped

 

Mix together in another bowl:

2 cups sugar

1 cup white vinegar

1 t salt

1 t celery seed

 

Refrigerate 48 hours before eating. Keeps in fridge for weeks.

 

Creamed Cucumbers (this is an old Pennsylvania Dutch recipe from my FIL’s mother)

 

Peel and slice 2-3 cucumbers and 1 small onion. Put in dish and top with 1 t salt and ice. Let stand at least 1 hour. This makes the cucumbers crisp. Remove ice and drain water. (Do not rinse).

In separate bowl mix:

1 cup water

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup sugar

½ can evaporated milk

little salt and pepper

 

Pour over cucumbers and refrigerate. Let sit at least 6 hours before eating. This is great to make ahead to take to picnics.

 

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Thursday, July 6, 2006 - Zucchini Overcometh!

                                       

 

Mix together in large bowl:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

½ cup butter

½ cup oil

 

Add and mix well:

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup buttermilk

 

Combined into sifter, then sift into bowl:

2 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/3 cup of cocoa

 

Stir into mixture:

2 cups shredded zucchini

½ cup chocolate chips

 

Pour into greased and floured tube pan, and bake at 325° for approx. 45 minutes. Frost with coconut-pecan frosting, or peanut butter frosting.

 

Zucchini Relish

Combine in large bowl, cover with ice, and let sit three hours. Drain and rinse:

10 cups grated zucchini

4 cups finely chopped onion

2 cups finely chopped red and green peppers

1 finely chopped jalapeno

¼ cup of salt

Bring to a boil in large pot:

2 cups cider vinegar

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons celery seed

½ teaspoon mustard seed

½ teaspoon ground mustard

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon turmeric

 

Add vegetables and return to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes over high heat, stirring constantly. Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and seal. Makes 12 pints.

 

 

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Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - Too Cool!

Looky, ladies, who commented about my Texas Ranch House post!

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SunnyFlowers/129433/#c284726

 

And he's humble too! :-)

 

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Friday, May 5, 2006 - Texas Ranch House

 

The girls got a late bedtime all this week as we all stayed up to watch Texas Ranch House on PBS. They just loved it! It was so fun, watching them catch things we read about over the last month or so of our Westward Expansion studies. And they also caught a lot of the inaccuracies of the show too - "Mom, I don't think they made pizza in the 1800's, did they?" It got a lot of conversations going too, how we would have done things differently, how some of the participants were more interested in history revision, and how disgusting the flies were! There are games, tidbits about the series, and lots of links to related info here: Texas Ranch House . Another very interesting tidbit - the one "cowboy", 19 year old Shaun, in real life was homeschooled along with his 7 younger siblings. His Mom and Dad should be very proud! He was a terrific witness, in his respect to the ranch family, in his responsibility as a cowboy and later a cook, and his overall demeanor and commitment to the project. I don't know if PBS will be re-running this series, but it is definitely worth the 8 hours of TV time to watch. :-) My girls are excited to watch about Annie Oakley next week. :-)

 

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Thursday, April 13, 2006 - Wagon Wheel Stew

In shallow dish, combine flour, salt and pepper; mix well. Coat beef cubes in flour mixture. In large saucepan, brown meat and garlic in oil. Stir in water, tomatoes, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, onions, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 ½ hours, or until meat is tender. Remove bay leaf. Add carrots, celery, and pasta. Cover; simmer an additional 30 – 40 minutes until vegetables are tender. Makes 4 (1 ¼ cup) servings.

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Thursday, April 6, 2006 - April's Month of Menus

As the weather gets warmer, I want to spend more time outside and less time planning meals. So here's the plan for this month:

 

**eek, can't seem to fit it on the template. Well..Saturday is Pizza Night, and Sunday is "free", so now you can see the rest. :-)

 

A Month of Menus (April)

MONDAY (Beef/ Pork)	TUESDAY (Pasta)	WED (Casserole/ Crock)	THURS (Chicken)	FRI (Soup)	SAT (Pizza)
3	4	5	6 Lemon Pepper Chicken, steamed broccoli, Confetti Rice	7 15 Bean Soup	8 Pizza Night
10 Beef w/ Broccoli on rice	11 Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Stewed tomatoes, green beans	12 Wagon Wheel Stew	13             Chicken/Veggie Stir Fry on rice	14 Minestrone Soup	15 Pizza Night
17 BBQ Ribs, Corn Bread Casserole, Mashed potatoes, green beans	18 Baked Ziti, salad, fresh bread	19 Chili	20 Chicken Fingers dipped in honey, baked potato wedges, green veg	21 Steak Soup	22 Pizza Night     **take turkey out of freezer
24 Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and carrots	25 Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, green salad, fresh bread	26 Turkey with all the fixens	27 Turkey A La King on Egg Noodles	28 Turkey Soup	29 Pizza Night
31 Tacos (seasoned beef, refried beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, black olives)

 

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 - Family Game and Movie Night!

Every Saturday night we have a family game or movie night, or sometimes even both. J It’s cheap entertainment, and always a good time. We’ll usually bake up some treats or make some popcorn (chocolate chip cookies this time around!) Last night we played Apples to Apples Junior for the first time. What a blast!        

 

There is a stack of “red apple” cards that mostly list nouns, with each player getting to hold five red apple cards. And then there is a stack of “green apple” cards. Every player takes turn being the “judge”, picking a green apple card, usually an adjective, and seeing which player has the best match. For instance, the green apple card might say “Smelly”, and each player will have to put his or her smelliest card forward. So the judge has to choose between cards like school bus, dirty socks, the circus, or Mom (yes my dear daughter thought that was the best match!!), and the person with the best matching card gets to keep the green apple card. Winner is first one to collect four green apple cards. This was just a terrific learning game! And nobody could get enough of it.  Six year old did need a bit of help reading some of the cards, but it was still loads of fun for all!

 

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Thursday, January 19, 2006 - Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

 

Run through dough cycle in machine.

Grease 9x9x2 pan. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 2 t cinnamon. Roll dough into 18x9” rectangle. Spread with 2T softened butter, and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Roll up tightly, beginning at 9” side. Cut roll into 1” slices and place in pan, cut sides up. Cover and let rise in warm place for about an hour. Bake at 375* for about 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan and drizzle with glaze if desired.

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Friday, December 23, 2005 - M&M Brownie Cookies

These cookies are super rich, and just the thing when you need a chocolate fix. :-)

 

M&M Brownie Cookies

 

Heat oven to 325°

 

In a large glass bowl, microwave together on high for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through:

            1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

            4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate

            6 tablespoons butter

 

Mix in, one at a time, until blended:

            1 ¼ cups sugar

            3 eggs

            2 teaspoons vanilla

            1 cup flour

            1 teaspoon baking powder

            ¼ teaspoon salt

 

Stir in:

            1 cup of M&M’s

                     or

            1 cup of chopped walnuts

 

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, 1 ½ inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes or until set. Don’t overbake! Cool 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Makes approx. 3 dozen

 

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