Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Staff of Life Bread

~the farmgirl story~
My mom makes amazing bread. Really, it's awfully good. She's been using the same recipe since forever. It's called Staff of Life Bread, and yes-it is. I could pretty much survive on this stuff. Wait, I already do.

Staff of Life Bread

2 quarts milk -scalded, cooled down and add...
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 cup oil
3 tbl. yeast dissolved in 2/3 cup warm water
18 cup flour

Mix all ingredients. Raise 1 hour -punch down- raise additional hour. Put in loaf pans and raise 30 minutes. Bake *400 for 30 minutes.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
*You may have noticed the gargantuan amount of ingredients....this makes a lot of bread. *When I lived in St. G before I could borrow my mom's mixer I would just cut the recipe way down. *Also, I think the altitude makes a difference, I have much better luck with this bread (well, all breads actually) here than I did down south.

see lots-O-bread

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Dressing

~the farmgirl story~
So, yet another family recipe...brace yourselves, there's a lot of them. This dressing recipe is from my great grandma, maybe it's even further back than that. Are you looking for the best dressing recipe ever? Look no further. You should make this. It is fantastic. It's a Thanksgiving staple.

Dressing

1 1/2 lbs. sausage browned
1 cup chopped onion
2 cup chopped celery
3-4 quarts seasoned stale bread (3 boxes Mrs. Cubbisons cube stuffing)
1 tbl. salt
2-3 tlb. parsley
1 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. sage
1 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

Cook sausage, onion and celery together until the celery is a bit soft. Mix bread and sausage, add seasonings and mix. Moisten with chicken broth until you grab a handful and it sticks together. Cover and heat through.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
*I took a picture of the stuffing you need to buy, sometimes it's hard to find. Be sure to get the cubed stuffing. *I always err on the side of 'it might be a little too moist'--not a fan of dry stuffing!

Applesauce Cookies

~the farmgirl story~
These cookies have been around as long as I can remember. I had to ask my mom where the recipe originated from. When she was Primary President (way back when she was pregnant with my little sis, some 28 years ago) all the primary teachers drew names for Christmas. The lady that had my mom brought her these cookies in a tin. She loved them, asked for the recipe and they've been around ever since. Mike and the kiddos love them too. Mike always tells me they would be delicious with boiled raisins...clearly he's crazy. Does he not know my feelings about fruit and dessert? How long have we been married??? Any-hoo, these cookies are mighty delightful. Enjoy.



Applesauce Cookies

1cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup applesauce
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves, cinnamon & nutmeg
1 tsp. soda
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips

Mix soda with applesauce. Mix together sugar, shortening and egg. Add applesauce to sugar mixture Sift together dry ingredients and stir into sugar applesauce mixture. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes or until light brown.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
*Don't mix the soda and applesauce in a metal bowl. Unless, of course, you like purple applesauce. *Again, I never measure the chocolate chips--just add until it seems like plenty. *I always use semi sweet chocolate chips.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Caramel Popcorn

~the farmgirl story~
This recipe has been around longer than I have. The story goes (as I remember it) that shortly after my parents were married my mom made some caramel popcorn for my dad. He thanked her, said it was good and that his mother had a recipe she might like to try. She did, and has never made anything different since. Neither will you. This is THEE best caramel popcorn recipe, ever. I have many happy memories watching my parents make this gooey caramel gold on Sunday evenings. My dad loves his caramel popcorn.


Caramel Popcorn

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup karo syrup
1 cube butter
2 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cook all ingredients, except vanilla, in sauce pan until it just starts to boil. Add vanilla, stir. Pour over popcorn.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
#1 This makes a lot, so don't skimp on the popcorn. #2 I don't actually have written instructions, basically you just want to cook it long enough for the sugar to dissolve, but not too long--nothing worse than hard popcorn.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

~the farmgirl story~
I don't remember where I got this recipe, but it's been with me a long, long time. It is tried and true, always a winner. When we lived in St. G the neighborhood kids dubbed these bad boys "Freezer Cookies" because I always had a bag of them in the freezer for after school snacks...or any time kids were at my house snacks. Friends were a common occurrence at our house and as the kids and their friends grew, the cookies disappeared faster and faster. The teenage boy bunch made short work of a bag. I've baked a lot of cookies.



Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
chocolate chips

Cream together shortening, sugar, brown sugar,and vanilla. Beat in egg. Mix in flour, soda, and salt. Add chocolate chips and mix. Bake *375 for 8-10 minutes.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
#1 DO NOT be scared off by the idea of "shortening cookies", these are delish--I promise. #2 I ALWAYS 4 times the recipe--it's just the way it should be done. #3 I put a bit more flour in than it calls for...maybe a couple tablespoons more ?-ish-? #4 I don't measure the chocolate chips--just pour them in until it feels right to ya. #5 I think they are best with both milk and semi sweet chips.