Tasty Tuesday – Fall Giveaway

Hard to believe it is the last Tuesday of November…

For this week’s Tasty Tuesday post, I’m giving away a Fall bundle of kitchen goodies including a homemade pumpkin potholder that I purchased at September Farm in Honey Brook, PA, a set of kitchen towels, and a Gooseberry Patch Harvest cookbook.

For your chance to win, just leave me a comment with the one dish you are looking forward to on your Thanksgiving table.  Mine would be sweet potato casserole.  Seems like the only time I fix it is for Thanksgiving.

What about you?  I’ll post the winner next Tuesday.

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings…

Tasty Tuesday – Pumpkin Pancakes

Happy Tasty Tuesday!  Here’s a recipe perfect for this time of year…Pumpkin Pancakes; however, I used this recipe to make waffles.  And it’s perfect for a large family too, since this recipe makes a lot of batter.  This recipe comes from the “Recipes of the Hearts and Homes from the Amish and Mennonites of Wisconsin”.  These waffles were very flavorful and just made you think of fall in each bite.  Do you need an idea for breakfast this morning?  If so, try out this recipe.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Pumpkin Pancakes, Mary Ella Martin, Stanley, page 91, “Recipes of the Hearts and Homes from the Amish and Mennonites of Wisconsin”

2 c. all-purpose flour

4 t. baking powder

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. ground allspice

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. solid pumpkin

3 eggs

1 c. milk

1/4 c. oil

1 t. vanilla

4 oz. chopped pecans

Sift dry ingredients and set aside.  Using a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and stir until blended.  Stir in pecans just before ready to cook.  A hot, greased griddle is best for cooking pancakes.  Pour 1/4 cup batter onto griddle and cook until bubbles form and bottom is brown.  Turn and brown other side.  Serve with warm pure maple syrup.  If preferred, omit the pecans from the batter and add to the syrup.

I knew this recipe would bake a lot of batter, and with just two of us, we’d be eating pancakes or waffles for quite a while, so I cut the recipe in half the best I could.  I didn’t use pecans in either the batter or syrup.  These waffles turned out fantastic and hubby said the recipe is a keeper, so that’s always a plus.  He fixed eggs while I did the waffles,  and that was all we needed for a perfect breakfast for dinner.

Hope you have a wonderful first week of November.

Blessings…

 

 

Tasty Tuesday – Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Tasty Tuesday!  This week’s recipe is for Chocolate Chip Cookies and comes from the cookbook, “The Best of Amish & Mennonite Cooking”, recipes complied by the patrons of Fairhaven Christian School in Gap, PA.

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tim Beiler, page 355, “The Best of Amish & Mennonite Cooking”

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

1 1/2 c. oil

4 eggs

4 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. salt

2-3 c. chocolate chips

Beat sugars, oil and eggs together.  Add remaining ingredients.  Bake at 350 degrees.  Variation:  Add M&M’s for some of the chocolate chips.

I added in some M&M’s to give them some color.  I wish I would have had the Halloween colored M&M’s when I made these – the purple, orange, and lime green colors would have been perfect for the season.  The cookies turned out soft and chewy, and they were enjoyed by the guys at work.  Perfect with a glass of milk too.  Since no time was given to bake them, I started out with 7 minutes and wound up baking them for 9 minutes.

I really wasn’t sure how they would taste, since the recipe didn’t call for butter.  And we all know that butter makes everything better.  I don’t think the butter was missed by the guys though, since they got eaten.

Hope you all have a great day.

Blessings…

 

 

Tasty Tuesday -Baked Meatballs

Happy Tasty Tuesday!  This week’s recipe is for Baked Meatballs and comes from the “Mounds of Home Country Cooking by the Amish of the Truman & Platteville Districts of Wisconsin”.  These were really good and got a thumbs up from hubby for another keeper recipe.  He even smuggled a few in for his buddy in the hospital as well as a loaf of zucchini bread.  I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend baking 16 loaves of zucchini bread, making these meatballs, and planning out Halloween treats for friends and co-workers.  It was a very productive weekend.

Here is the recipe if you’d like to make a batch of meatballs to enjoy this week…

Baked Meatballs, Ben (Barbie) Stoltzfus, page 157, “Mounds of Home Country Cooking by the Amish of the Truman & Platteville Districts of Wisconsin”

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 c. milk

1 c. oatmeal

1 egg, beaten

1 onion, diced

1 t. salt

1 t. pepper

Sauce:

1/2 c. ketchup

1 c. water

1 T. Liquid Smoke

Shape into balls.  Place in a cake pan.  Top with sauce.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  These can also be made on top of stove.

These were easy to make and delicious to eat.  I couldn’t find Liquid Smoke in the store, so I added a little bit of yellow mustard and brown sugar to the sauce mixture.  Just enough tang and sweetness for the taste buds.  I know I can get Liquid Smoke up at one of the Amish bulk food stores, so it’s on my never ending list of things to pick up from up there.  They have the best selection and prices for spices too, so when I get low, I add it to the list.

I was going to fix a vegetable to serve with the meatballs, but hubby said you have zucchini in the bread, so that counts as our vegetable.  He’s a nut!

Hope you have a great week.

Blessings…

 

Tasty Tuesday – Scalloped Potatoes with Carrots & Ham

Happy Tasty Tuesday!  This week’s recipe is for a casserole that fills the gut on a chilly day.  I got the recipe for the Scalloped Potatoes with Carrots & Ham out of the “Mounds of Home Country Cooking by the Amish of the Truman & Platteville Districts of Wisconsin” cookbook.  I believe it’s the first time I’ve used this cookbook.  I picked up my copy at Springville Foods in Lancaster County – an Amish owned bulk food/grocery store.

If your weather has turned chilly and you want an easy way to heat up the kitchen, give this recipe a try…

Scalloped Potatoes with Carrots & Ham, Jacob (Sadie) Beiler, Platteville, page 179, “Mounds of Home Country Cooking by the Amish of the Truman & Platteville Districts of Wisconsin”

1/2 c, diced, cooked lean smoked ham

1/2 c. chopped onions

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c. milk

2 T. snipped, fresh parsley

5 lg. potatoes, peeled, cooked, grated or sliced

1 1/2 c. cooked, sliced carrots

Saute ham and onions in 1/2 lb. butter over medium heat till onions are tender.  Remove and stir in soup, milk, and parsley.  Arrange half of potatoes in baking dish, half of carrots, and half of soup mixture, evenly.  Repeat layers.  Cover and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees then uncover and bake 10 more minutes.

First thing – I did not saute my ham and onions in 1/2 lb. of butter.  To me, that seemed crazy.  I used a very little bit of butter to saute them – a pat of butter if that.  Also, I used red skin potatoes and left the skin on them…figured they didn’t need to be peeled.  I then wedged them and cut them into small pieces.

This casserole was really good and filling.  Another one hubby just kept on eating…always a sign that it’s either really good or he is just starving.  Ha!

This would be perfect for a crisp fall or cold winter night’s meal.  And with the carrots in the recipe, you really don’t need to fix another vegetable.

Hope you have a great day.  We are finally having fall weather, and I love it.

Blessings…

Tasty Tuesday – Chicken and Broccoli Bake

Happy Tasty Tuesday!  This week’s recipe is a yummy casserole for the fall season.  This Chicken and Broccoli Bake comes again from the “Harmony Hollow Recipes” cookbook.  I made this for our dinner last night, and it was delicious.  I cut hubby off after three helpings, so he didn’t get a tummy ache.

Chicken and Broccoli Bake, Fannie Stoltzfus, page 93, “Harmony Hollow Recipes”

8 oz. stuffing mix

3 c.  cooked, cubed chicken

3 c. steamed broccoli

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 c. mayonnaise

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a baking pan layer in order stuffing, chicken and broccoli.  Mix together cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise and lemon juice.  Spread evenly over broccoli.  Top with shredded mozzarella.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.

It didn’t say to cook the stuffing first, so I did not.  When I served this up, the stuffing mix had not cooked fully and some parts were still crunchy.  I think that’s what hubby loved the most…that little bit of crunch with the chicken and broccoli mixture.  This dish was really good, and he told me it’s definitely a keeper recipe.

Since I’ve used this cookbook for a few blog posts recently, I’ll try and pick another book to use next week.  I just really love the recipes in this one, and we are enjoying trying out new ones.  I love a cookbook with a vast variety of recipes.

Have a great day, and if you are lucky enough to have fall weather, enjoy it for me.  We are to be in the 80’s and 90’s again today and tomorrow.

Blessings…

 

An Interview with Amy Clipston About Christmas Traditions & “Cookies and Cheer”

Happy Friday!  So glad the weekend is almost here.  Being part of Amy Clipston’s Bakery Bunch gives me some fun things to participate in, and this is where today’s blog post comes from.  Each member could ask Amy a couple questions regarding her Christmas traditions and about her upcoming novella in “An Amish Christmas Bakery”.   This new book will debut on October 1 – just in time for Christmas reading.  It includes novellas also from Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, and Kelly Irvin.

I just finished reading Amy’s novella, “Cookies and Cheer”, last night, and it’s right up my alley – lots of cookie baking, decorating, and ham loaf at the Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant.  I loved her story, and I’m sure you will too.

Now onto the interview questions to find out a little more about Amy and her Christmas traditions…

Since this novella is one that Alyssa works in a bakery, what is a baked good that just has to be in the Clipston house or it isn’t Christmas?

My mom and I like to make cookies and cheesecake. I also love her lemon pound cake. Yum!

Do you have a favorite Christmas movie that you make sure to watch every year?

Yes! We always watch “Die Hard” (the first one, of course). It’s been a tradition for many years. It was one of my father’s favorite movies, and it always brings back happy memories. In fact, my son Matt and I pretty much know the lines by heart, and we like to quote them during the movie. (I’m sure that’s annoying to the other watchers!)

Have you ever seen a sugar cookie nativity scene like Alyssa wants to make in “Cookies and Cheer?” What are some other creative, yet simple, ways the Amish might use to celebrate the Christmas season?

No, I have never seen a display like it; however, when I was little, we had cookie cutters. I remember having a star, a camel, a tree, and an angel, which were part of my inspiration. The Amish don’t decorate like we do. They may have a poinsettia and then decorate with some evergreen branches. They do send out Christmas cards, and they buy practical gifts. My Amish friend talked about decorating the kitchen table with gifts for her children and giving gifts such as ice skates.

 

For more more information from Amy Clipston on upcoming books, events, etc., please make sure to sign up at her website to keep up-to-date on any happenings.

https://amyclipston.com/email/

Also on October 1, please join us for a Facebook Chat Party to celebrate the release of this brand new book, “Am Amish Christmas Bakery”, on the Amish Life Facebook page.  We’ll be chatting with the authors during this time.

Hope to see you at the chat party.  You can pre-order your book now at various online retailers and have it downloaded on October 1, or you’ll be able to find it at various retailers on that date too.

Hope you’ll pick up a copy to get you in the Christmas baking spirit.  My absolute favorite time of baking – I reserve a weekend just for cookie baking.

Have a great Friday and weekend.  Hope you are doing something fun.

Blessings…