A Cookbook Review And Giveaway! ~GBP Fresh From the Farmstand

The folks at Gooseberry Patch has again asked me to review a new cookbook, Fresh From the Farmstand !(click on "Fresh From the Farmstand" to view more) This is a wonderful cookbook! The recipes are full of yummy fresh veggies and fruit! The hard part was choosing recipes to share with you!

Here in Ohio our weather has been so cloudy and rainy, and of course for me that is PERFECT soup weather! The first recipe I chose to review was Miss Mary's Potato Soup. Such a comfort food! I love soup and I love comfort food!

Miss Mary's Potato Soup

1/2 lb. bacon diced

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

8 c. water

1/4 c. chicken soup base

4 c. milk

6 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 t. pepper

1/2 t. dill weed

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook bacon and onion until bacon is crisp. Add celery and cook for about 10 minutes over medium-low heat; drain. Stir in water and soup base; bring to a low boil. Add milk, potatoes, pepper and dill weed; cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. To thicken, blend butter and flour in a bowl ; add one cup fo hot soup broth and mix well. Add to soup and stir well; cook and stir until thickened. Serves 8.

I'm always looking for recipes for lunch. That is our break time in between chores. So, I like to find something that is easy and quick. Mom's Meat Rice was perfect!

Mom's Meat Rice

1 lb. ground beef

3 green, red and/or yellow peppers, chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 T. canola oil

3 c. cooked rice

salt and pepper to taste

Brown beef in a skillet over medium heat; drain and remove to a bowl. In same skillet, cook peppers and onion in oil; drain. Add beef and cooked rice to vegetables; season with salt and pepper. Warm together over low heat until hot and bubbly. Serves 4-6.

And of course, that brings us to my favorite thing...dessert! We LOVE carrot cake at our house. It has carrots in it, so that means it's healthy. That's what I'm sticking with anyway...as I have a second helping!

Made-From-Scratch Carrot Cake

4 eggs, beaten

3/4 c. canola oil

1/2 c. applesauce

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1 T. vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 T. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

3 c. carrots, peeled and grated

Optional: 1-1/2 c. chopped pecans, divided

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, applesauce, sugars and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients except carrots and pecans, mix well. Stir in carrots; fold in one cup pecans, if desired. Pour into a greased 13x9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes; turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Frost; sprinkle with remaining pecans, if desired. Serves 12-18.

Frosting

1/2 c. butter, softened

8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

4 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy.

Gooseberry patch has sent me an extra copy of this book to give away! I'm so excited to find someone to give Fresh From the Farmstand to!

You have two chances to win!

1. Comment on this blog post about how you would like this book! Don't forget to include your email address so that I am able to contact you.

2. Like our Down on the Farm facebook page and leave a comment there. (click on "Down on the Farm" to go to the facebook page).



Deadline will be December 18, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. and the winner will be announced on December 19.

Good Luck!

Decking the Halls Today!

We decided this year, since moving into my in-laws log house, and we have more room (and it's just really cozy!), we wanted to have a tree upstairs and a tree downstairs in the dining room. We decorated our artificial tree upstairs. We wanted a live tree downstairs. We talked about buying one at our local grocery store...but, we really wanted to do something as a family and make it more traditional. So, we packed our saws in our pick-up truck and drove around to our back hayfield.

Now, with us, we don't do things just the simple easy way. We almost got the truck stuck in the mud. And almost slid it into the woods and over a hill. That was with our 4-wheel drive locked in. But, after a few minutes of sliding, Emily going into panic, and me trying to tell my husband how to drive...we managed to get going again on solid ground.

We found a tree right away that we thought would do just fine for us. But, figured we should walk the woods to look around, just in case.

We made sure we wore some hunting orange, it was the last day in Ohio for gun season. We didn't want anyone to think we were a bunch of deer running around. 

We ended up going back to the first tree we found. Which worked out good because it was close to our truck. We measured it. It was almost 10 feet tall. No problem! We used the bottom branches to make some decorations for around the house and I'm still working on more of those.

The tree is not what you will find at a tree farm or a tree lot. Our trees in our woods have not been pruned and shaped. But, I actually like that. It's so simple and primitive. It gives our dining room a cozy feel. And I used a lot of handmade ornaments on it, and that really adds to it.

I made several decorations to hang above the doorways. I think they turned out nice, and they make the house smell amazing! I love the pine smell at Christmas! 

We had a lot of fun doing this and I think Emily is excited to have a live tree this year! Even if it is a "Charlie Brown" tree. :)

Hope everyone is having a lot of fun this Christmas season!

Enjoy the simple things!

Savory Salisbury Steak

Today I made a Salisbury Steak recipe that is so much like my Grandma's! It turned out very yummy and I made sure I jotted the cookbook and page number in my "Good Recipes" notebook. I have to keep track of what I cook and what I like so I know where to find it next time.  That's a good sign that I have too many cookbooks...is that even possible??

Savory Salisbury Steak

10 3/4 oz. can golden mushroom soup, divided

1/3 cup water

1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 onion finely chopped

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

In a small bowl, mix 3/4 cup soup and water; set aside. In a seperate bowl, mix remaining soup and other ingredients. Form into small patties; arrange in a single layer in a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Drain; spoon reserved soup mixture over patties. Bake, uncovered, an additional 10-12 minutes. Serves 4-6.

This recipe is from GBP Sunday Dinner at Grandma's. 

This coming week I will be posting a Gooseberry Patch Early Bird Review (3 wonderful, yummy recipes!) and of course that means there will be a cookbook giveaway! More details coming... :o)

The cookbook being reviewed is Fresh From the Farmstand.

Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We did, and we ate way too much turkey...and all the sides too!

I tried a new recipe for our dressing/stuffing, I'll be sharing it later today. 

We decided this year to put our tree up on Thanksgiving and start decorating. Well, I was motivated by the fact that my dear child was decorating my cobweb duster. She had it propped up and was hanging a couple of her ornaments on it. I got the hint.

We're also planning on going out in our woods, and find a live tree. It may not be perfectly shaped, considering it's not a tree that is raised for a Christmas tree, but that is what I like about the idea. And since we've had one of those years, we figure we may as well go all out with decorating, and really enjoy the holiday season.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season! We're looking forward to so many things this year, the holiday program at the school, driving around the area and looking at Christmas lights with some hot cocoa, baking cookies and making candy, our favorite Christmas movies (we've already started with the Grinch), family, turning on the Christmas music in our barn (our girls love the music, and it makes the chores a lot more enjoyable!).

Apple Cake with Butter Sauce

I made this for my family last night, and it was gone fast! It turned out so rich and yummy, I will be making this one again soon!

Apple Cake with Butter Sauce

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 tart apples, cored, peeled and grated

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in egg and vanilla and set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture.

Fold in apples. Pour into a greased 8"x8" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Serve with warm butter sauce. Makes 12 servings.

Butter Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup half-and-half

Melt butter in a saucepan; stir in sugar, brown sugar and half-and-half. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This cake recipe is from Gooseberry Patch Taste of Autumn cookbook.  

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful fall so far. I'm so excited to start putting some recipes together for Thanksgiving. I can't believe it is getting so close. We'll most likely be staying home for the holiday. It's almost impossible for dairy farmers to go anywhere far, at least all together. :)

Happy Fall!

Snappy Apple-Cinnamon Pizza= Sweet, Rich Comfort Food!!!

Today was one of those yucky, rainy days. The kind of day where napping all day seems like the only thing to do.

I also like to make comfort foods on rainy days.

I came across a recipe the other day. I was making my grocery list, and I usually pull out one cookbook and pick out a few new recipes to make.

The perfect comfort food stood out.

Apples and cinnamon. Perfect Fall Comfort Dessert! YUM!

And how cool, you use refrigerated cinnamon rolls for the crust! Easy and yummy!

Snappy Apple-Cinnamon Pizza

GBP Homestyle in a Hurry cookbook

12.4 oz. tube refrigerated cinnamon rolls

21 oz. can apple pie filling

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 Tbsp. butter, melted

Seperate cinnamon rolls, setting aside the frosting from tube. Flatten each roll into a 4-inch circle. Arrange rolls on a greased 12" round pizza pan, overlapping edges to form a crust. (I used a pie dish, it was what I had ready). Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.  Spoon pie filling over crust within 1/2 inch of edge. Combine brown sugar and butter; sprinkle over pie filling. Bake an additional 6-8 minutes, or until crust is golden. Cool. Warm reserved frosting slightly and drizzle over pizza; cut into wedges. Makes 10-12 servings.

Have a great weekend!

We Welcome Mocha To Our Family!

We've added another 4 legged "kid" to our family two weeks ago! Her name is Mocha, she's a 7 year old Chocolate Lab. I just love her! She's so sweet!

Emily has declared Mocha her best friend.

We wasn't planning on adding another dog to our family, yet. Annie (our beagle) is getting older, so we have talked about another dog, someday. We're glad Mocha is here, though.

She was my Dad's dog. He raised her from a puppy, and trained her.

In mid-September he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. It started in his lungs, spread through his lymph nodes and into his brain. Unfortunately, at this stage, they don't give too much hope with treatment. :(
It's been so hard to accept this diagnosis. Thankfully, my Dad is accepting it, is faithful and is feeling blessed, even with such a difficult illness.

We don't know how long we'll have my Dad around, the drs. have said he may have a month, but they never really know for sure.  I'm just thankful we have been able to relieve his worry of where Mocha would go. And I think she'll be good for me, in the coming weeks.

My Dad with Emily, Christmas 2010. :)