Doughnuts, Dognuts, Dohnuts, Donuts. Go nuts?

 I got a wild hair the other day and decided that I wanted to try making doughnuts. I think it may have come from watching the Food Network.
 The show was on everything fried.
Fried okra to fried bacon. Yes, fried bacon. Batter dipped and deep fried.
 As if bacon needed help have more fat.

 Grama Ethel use to make home made donuts and I remember them being absolutely wonderful. Fried in a cast iron skillet and the oil she used I am sure was good old Crisco. Giving them the best flavor ever. The same frying pan she would use to fry fishcakes and walleye.

I know I do not have a donut recipe so I call my mom who is in the middle of dealing with a flooded basement and deconstruction.

ME:   Mom, do you have Grams recipe for donuts?

MOM: Oh, I am sure it is here somewhere. What do you think it is under? Cakes, Breads, Desserts, Misc.

Me: Look under cakes.

She then starts reciting all the recipes in the box. Mind you my mom has a lot of recipes and where they are in the box only makes sense to her.

MOM:  I know it is in here I just saw it the other day. (this could mean 5 years ago) banana bread, blueberry muffins. oh, blueberry muffins I have so many blueberries I need to make muffins. when Dennis (her brother) and I went picking last summer we picked so many blueberries we were eating them by the handful..

Me:  MOM! Donuts. We are looking for donuts.

MOM:  Well I wonder why I have Sauerkraut salad under desserts. Wonder how that got there.

Me: I can only imagine....Donuts mom.

MOM: Well maybe it is in the other box..wait here it is...Grams Donuts.  2 eggs, 1 tsp Cardomin,

Me:  MOM. MOM. Slow down I have to right this down.

she proceeds to give me the recipe slower so that I can write everything down, ingredients that is.

Me;  MOM, this cannot be right. there is nothing holding it together. Isn't there flour in the recipe.

MOM:  Well it is not written on this paper. Maybe it is on the other recipe in Grams box. It's a good thing I didn't throw that box out, let me look. Oh, for Christ sake where is it?

While this goes on and she is digging for the recipe she proceeds to tell me who made donuts last and who had the deep frier and who loaned it the this person and that and didn't bring it back and she has it and that it was a good thing she didn't give this recipe to so and so because they would have had a mess.blah. blah. blah.

So after much digging she finds the original recipe that gram used. If your grandma is anything like my grandma she NEVER wrote any directions down. Ever!

So I ask mom  "How do you make then"

MOM: I don't know, I have never made them. Gram always had them made when we came home from school.

Me:   OK, then let the experimenting begin.

 I don't like to fry food in the house. In fact I went and bought this fry daddy just for the donuts. The one thing mom did say is ... she always opened up brown paper bags to let the grease soak it up.


Brown paper bag ....Check!

 I mixed the batter, patted it out and cut the donuts.

 These are a little too dark.

 Long tongs are a must.

 A determined pierced looking mouth is required.  Good Lord what a face.

 I determined several things with this first batch of donuts...
HOT GREASE is a must.
Letting the dough rest after you cut them out makes lighter donuts.
"Dirty" grease is best.

And next time we dip them in chocolate frosting!

Shucking Corn, Clean Ears Everytime

So I have been a slacker lately as far as posting.

Boo Hiss...I know. Things have been happening but I have just not had the time to sit and type. The big part is the sit portion. My sciatic is DRIVING ME CRAZY AND IT HURTS LIKE HELL to sit for any length of  time. Generally making things pretty difficult.

Anyhoo, my dear Mother-in-Law sent me this video and I gotta say I cannot wait to try it.

Check it out, Ken is a pretty smart guy.

Chocolate BonBons

Pasta with Fresh Veggies

This is an incredibly easy dinner that is so healthy for you and tastes amazing. Love it.

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Cut slices in  your French Bread and butter. Wrap in tin foil and heat in a 350 oven for about 10-15 minutes. Make sure it is wrapped tight so it does not dry out.

Slice grape tomatoes in half and set aside.

Cook a box of bow tie pasta until tender.

This is the pasta I use.

Brown two chicken breasts in olive oil until cooked through. When cooked set chicken aside...we will get back to it.

This is an important step. Step back, lean against the counter and take a big drink of this AWESOME beer!  I love that I can drink and stay awake at the same time....Beer & Coffee, WHAT A CONCEPT, pure genius.

Time to add the Pesto to the cooked pasta. Classico had 2 different pesto's one is a red pepper and the other is basil. Both are REALLY good. I like the red pepper best but that is a personal preference.

Drain the water off of the pasta and same about a 1/2 of a cup of the pasta water. Drain the excess olive oil off of the pesto. Stir in the pesto and 1/2 cup pasta water, cover and  set aside.

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Add 2 table spoons olive oil to pan and heat. Add Asparagus and cook for 3 minutes. Add spinach, tomatoes and chicken, sea salt and pepper to taste. Use tongs to stir until the spinach is just wilted.

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I cooked additional pasta  for the boys. They don't know what they are missing. Silly boys.

For some reason Carter thinks he is a rapper? Carter is so not a rapper.

Add a little fresh Parmesan and your ready to eat. I am telling you it is wonderful

 What you will need.....
1 bunch of fresh asparagus cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large bag of fresh spinach
1 package of grape tomatoes cut in half
1 box of bow tie pasta
1 jar of pesto
1 large chicken breast cut into bite size pieces.
Parmesan cheese
Sea salt
pepper
olive oil

I double the recipe because I like left overs.

Banana Bread

 I love banana bread, and it is just so darn easy to make. Plus I do not like ripe to over ripe bananas but that makes them perfect for banana bread.
Good stuff, give it a try.
 Banana Bread

1 cup   softened butter
2 cups  sugar
4 eggs

4 medium size brown/ripe bananas
6 TBSP milk
2 tsp salt
4 cups flour
1/2 cup HOT water with 2 tsp baking soda added to it. stir to dissolve 
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg

Mash bananas and set aside.
Mix butter, sugar, and eggs in a mixer.
Add flour, salt, milk and water with soda and mix well.
Add bananas, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Fold mixture until well incorporated.
Add to 2 well greased bread pans.


Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
It sometimes takes longer. Bake until firm on top of loaf.

Remove from bread pans to cool.

I am glad that you have visited and would love for you to become a follower, come back again soon. Hugs!

Wild Rice Cheese Soup

This picture has absolutely nothing to  do with this post. I just wanted a really cute kid to look at while I was typing! Just sweet isn't he? Could eat him up.

My girlfriend in Minni-sooo-tah  wanted a cheese soup recipe and this one is so good. There is nothing low cal about it and that is what makes it sooo good.

Wild Rice Cheese Soup

6 cans of potato soup (you can use generic)
6 pints half &half...(yes 6 pints, you can use half milk, half cream)
21 slices of American Cheese
6 slices of bacon
4 cups COOKED wild rice
1 medium onion


Cut bacon and onion into small pieces and brown until bacon  is crisp, drain grease. 
Add all ingredients into a large kettle.
Simmer slowly until cheese melts.
Add wild rice, low heat. 
Will burn easily if not watched

Oooey Gooey Coffee Cookie

 These are probably the best ooey, gooey, rich cookies you will ever eat. 

My daughter started making these about a year ago and we have been enjoying them ever since.

The original recipe is from Southern Living but we have made some changes to it. One of the changes is removing the nuts so that Sam can eat them. 


I hope you enjoy them!


Ooey Gooey Coffee Cookie
 
3/4    cup butter or margarine
2       tablespoons instant coffee granules
2       cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2    teaspoon baking soda
1/2    teaspoon salt
1/2    cup sugar
1        large egg
1        egg yolk
3/4     cup butterscotch chips
3/4     cup chocolate chips 


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.


Combine butter and coffee granules in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until butter melts and coffee dissolves. Let cool but don't let butter resolidify.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Combine butter mixture, sugars, egg, and yolk in a large bowl. Beat with mixer until well blended.

Gradually add flour mixture, mixing at low speed.

Add chocolate and butterscotch chips.


Bake at 325 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly on a baking sheet before removing...they are kinda gooey.

Brunswick Stew

I love soup, especially when I am not feeling well. And this one is REALLY easy.

I buy a roaster chicken from the grocery store. I love the already made chickens. They can make life pretty easy and at $4.50 ya can't beat it.  I pull off most of the meat off the the chicken and set aside.


The chicken carcass goes into the stock pot with water and simmer that little bugger for about 45minutes.

From December 14, 2011

I will also add some chicken bouillon. I use Better Than Bouillon. Just scoop it out with a spoon and add to the broth, easy peasy and tastes really good.

After I let the broth simmer for about 45 minutes I strain all the bones etc. out of the broth. You can pick any meat off if you like but I hate to pick chicken...yuck!   I throw it in the trash.

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I then add 3 large potatos. Peeled and sliced, and one largish onion. 

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Then I do the really hard part, opening cans.
Open and dump all of it in the pot. Juice and all.

2 cans of Sweet Corn
2 cans of Lima Beans
2 cans of Tomato Soup.

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Shred the chicken and add it to the pot. Add a little salt and pepper AND a Table spoon of sugar. Yup sugar.

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Kitty is waiting for his share.
Go away kitty, your not getting any.

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Let it cook until the potatos are tender.

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Good stuff! Serve it with biscuits and slices of cheddar cheese.

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What makes it even better is have Gertrude Armstrong Chocolate Cake for dessert.
Sophia took her first stab a the famous cake this weekend for my husbands 50th birthday.

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It was a struggle but we have eaten all of it.