GBP Best-Ever Cookies Cookbook Review & Giveaway!

I was asked by Gooseberry Patch to do a review on a cookbook, and the title won me over right away! Best-Ever Cookies!! Who doesn't like cookies?!

The hard part, choosing which yummy recipes to make. I could make them all!

Since the weather was sunny and warm, more like spring than winter, I went with a more spring/summer recipe. 

Pineapple Cheesecake Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup butter, softened

1-1/4 cup sugar, divided

2-8oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

20-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

Combine flour, butter and one cup sugar; mix until just blended. Press dough into the bottom and sides of a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min. or until golden. While crust is baking, combine remaining sugar, cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla in a seperate bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and blended. Fold in pineapple and pour over baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes, or until a knife tip inserted into the center tests clean.  Cool; cut into bars. Makes 2 dozen.

The second recipe I chose was Peanut Butter-Oat Bars. This went together so fast, and they were gone within minutes!

Peanut Butter-Oat Bars

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

6 cups multi-grain doughnut shaped oat cereal

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine corn syrup and sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until mixture begins to bubble; do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter; mix well. Place cereal in large bowl; add syrup mixture and stir until blended. Press into a buttered 13x9 inch baking pan. Melt chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. Spread chocolate evenly to coat cereal. Cool until firm; cut into bars. Makes about 1 dozen.

Enter to Win!!!!!

Now, for the giveaway! I have an extra copy of this book, and I want to give it to someone! Just like with the last giveaway, just leave a comment on this post! If you are on Facebook, let your friends know! We had almost 100 entered last time, and it was so much fun to have so many stop by for a visit! And if you have a blog, I'd love to visit yours! 

Giveaway starts right now, Monday February 28, and will end Friday evening, March 4, at 8:00 p.m. I'll draw a name around 9:00 p.m. Winner will be announced that evening, or the next morning, depending on how on the ball I am after working until 8:30! ;o) Just please make sure I have a way to contact you so I know where to send the cookbook! 

Good Luck!!!  :o)



We Have a Winner!!

Congratulations to Grammy and Papi's Attic!
They left a comment to our giveaway post, and were chosen randomly by random.org as the winner!
I've already sent them an email, and soon they will be receiving the cookbook Mom's Very Best Recipes plus 1 lb. of our Summer Swiss cheese!

Make sure you stop by their blog and visit!

Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment and visited our blog! Stop by often! I add recipes and photos often, and we'll be doing another giveaway next weekend!

Have a great week! :o)

Gooseberry Patch Recipe Review....and a giveaway!!!

I am having so much fun doing the Early Bird Reviews! Gooseberry Patch cookbooks are wonderful and it's so easy to review their recipes!

The cookbook I'm doing a review from this week is Mom's Very Best Recipes. It was so hard to pick just 2 recipes to review, but I can guarantee I'll be making more from this book soon! I've found that the recipes are so easy, and I seem to have the ingredients on hand. Just looking through this cookbook reminds me of the food my Grandma fixed for me. How wonderful to go back to being a kid and coming home to comfort food!

The first recipe I made was with my daughter in mind. She loves mac and cheese and hot dogs, so this was perfect!

Cowboy Macaroni and Cheese

3 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked

10-3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

pepper to taste

3 cups Cheddar cheese, divided

Optional: 4 hot dogs, diced

2 cups French fried onions, divided

Cook macaroni, according to package directions; drain and set aside. Blend soup, milk, mustard and pepper; stir in cooked macaroni, hot dogs if using and 2 cups of cheese. Sprinkle with half the onions and mix well. Transfer to a 13x9 inch baking pan sprayed with non-stick vegetable spray. Cover; bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; top with remaining cheese and onions. Serves 6-8.

The second recipe I made today for our dinner, and it's gone...already! It was yummy! And so easy!

Creamy Wild Rice Soup

6-oz. pkg. long grain and wild rice mix, uncooked

1 lb. ground beef

14-1/2 oz. can chicken broth

10-3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup

2 c. milk

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1/3 c. carrot, peeled and shredded

1-oz. pkg. ranch salad dressing mix

Garnish: chopped green onions*

Prepare rice mix as package directs. Measure out 1-1/2 cups cooked rice and set aside, reserving the remainder for another use. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven over medium heat, brown beef. Drain; stir in cooked rice and remaining ingredients, except garnish. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle servings with green onions. Serves 6-8.

*We didn't use the green onions because of a food allergy that my husband has. But they do sound like they would be yummy!

Now, for the giveaway! Gooseberry Patch sent me an extra copy of Mom's Very Best Recipes, and I want to give it to someone!
Very easy to be entered, just leave a comment here on this blog, letting me know you would like to win this book. If you are on Facebook, please share with your friends so that they can have a chance too! When you leave a comment, make sure I have a way to get in touch with you if you are chosen! I'll be posting the winner on this blog and on Gooseberry Patch Facebook page and on my own FB page. And comments left between today, February 16 through Sunday, February 20, 8:00 p.m. will be entered. Drawing will be done randomly Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m.

In addition to the cookbook, we will also be including 1 lb. of our Farmstead-Artisan Raw Milk cheese. Summer Swiss will be the variety, it's been a favorite of mine! :)

Keep checking here also, there will be another giveaway and review next week! We'll be talking about cookies! And who doesn't love cookies?!

Good Luck! :o)

Perfect Attendance!

So far this school year, Miss Emily has had perfect attendance! We're really proud of her! She also received her report card, and in Kindergarten, the grade with 1, 2 or 3's. 1 being the best. She received mostly 1's! :)

I'm planning on taking a day with her, treat her to lunch and possibly a visit to Goodwill. I'm looking forward to this!

She will also have a pizza party with the principal and the other kids who haven't missed. She's really excited about the pizza!

Snow, Food, A Cookbook and a Baby Calf

That pretty much sums up our January so far. We've had snow. More snow. And more snow. I'm really starting to feel like a bear, and I would love to sleep this winter away. Emily has been happy about the snow. And I'm thankful that the snows seem to come around the time I have a few days off each week. So I don't really have to drive in the snow, unless I want to. Which I usually do not want to. What I do love about the snow, is when Emily has a snow day. I love it! She don't, but I do! I'm glad she loves school, but I do enjoy hanging out with her all day. Yesterday, she had a snow day, so what did we do? We sat in the kitchen and each had scissors and colored paper and we made paper snowflakes. I've put them in our windows and on our doors. It makes the house look so much more cheerful. We had fun!

Of course, being snowed in is a wonderful time to experiment in the kitchen. Well, I figured it's either dig out the cookbooks and cook, or organize the house. Cooking sounded a lot more fun...and I guess I did do a little bit of organizing too. My favorite recipe that I have made this past week comes from the Gooseberry Patch cookbook Speedy Suppers. We ended up having breakfast for lunch. It was yummy! Too bad Emily was in school and didn't get to enjoy it with us...yeah..too bad. More for Daddy and I! hehe...

Cheesey Sausage Bake

8-oz. tube refrigerated crescent rolls

1 lb. ground pork sausage, browned and drained

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

5 eggs

3/4 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Spread crescents in the bottom of a greased 13x9 inch baking pan; press together. Top with sausage. Sprinkle with cheeses; set aside. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together; pour over cheeses. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serves 6-8.

January is not my favorite month. I don't care for the cloudy gray days. But, I have to say that when I received my free copy of Gooseberry Patch Homestyle in a Hurry cookbook, I didn't really mind the weather being nasty. I love getting a cup of coffee and sitting back with a new book and looking through it. My recipe, Renae's Taco Casserole, was picked.

Our farm work is much more involved this time of year. Things seem to break a lot easier when the temperature drops. Last Friday night into Saturday we were at -18. Not the coldest our farm has seen, but cold enough! I had to work at the Diner that morning, so it was Al and Emily who made their way to the barn to do morning milking. Emily went into the milkhouse first,and then came back out to inform her dad that it was "raining in the milkhouse". Never something you want to hear! The cold temps caused a water line to bust overnight. That was actually an easy fix. Unfortunately, the water spraying all night drained our cistern dry. Our cistern is our water source for our cattle while they are in the barn, and the water we use to wash up the milk lines with. We contacted the fella who hauls our water for us, and he brought some in the next morning. Until then, we had to haul water from our house well to keep the barn going.

We also had our first baby calf born for 2011. It was a bull calf. And mama looks like she will milk well.

Since I had the camera at the barn, I couldn't resist snapping a few more shots! Cows are perfect, they are so curious about the camera. Or they wonder why I have something that flashes light at them.

Hope that everyone is keeping warm and safe with all the crazy winter weather! And have a great weekend!

I Just Love "Almost-Homemade" Recipes!

I have to admit, I love recipes that are "almost-homemade". You can take a convenient, simple main ingredient, add more stuff to it, and it's so much yummier! I've got several cookbooks that are along those lines, and a cupboard full of cream soups to go with those recipes. 

Tonight I was looking through the GBP cookbook "Comfort Foods". It's a favorite this time of year especially. I ran across a Tomato Soup recipe. We love tomato soup, but I confess...I usually just add milk to the canned tomato soup.  Yum.... well...a little less than yum, but we eat it in a pinch. 

This recipe is called "Almost-Homemade Tomato Soup". Very fitting! Had it all ready in no time, and even Emily at her bowl clean, and she's picky about her tomato soup, since she's the one in the house that thinks the old way (soup and milk) is the best.

Almost-Homemade Tomato Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp. margarine

8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1-1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. paprika

1-1/4 cup milk

2 (10-3/4 oz. each) tomato soup

2 (16 oz. each) cans whole tomatoes

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onions and garlic in margarine for about 2 minutes. Stir in cream cheese, basil and paprika. Cook until creamy; gradually whisk in milk and soup. Stir in tomatoes. Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until heated through. Serves 4.

Hope everyone has been having a good year so far. We're not too far into the new year, but I'm already getting the hang of getting the right year on our checks. That's a huge accomplishment!

As far as other stuff going on here at our farm, it's busy as usual! We've had some snow the past few days, and today's "flurries" were actually pretty good snow showers that left us with a few inches of snow. The cows are happy to be in the barn, where it stays almost 60 degrees all the time. Makes for comfortable milking for us too. 

Our vet was in on Tuesday for our regular "herd check".  We check cows for pregnancy (palpation), and the last of our heifer calves were calfhood vaccinated.  It has to be done by a certain age. Out of 26 cows, all were confirmed bred except for 5. It's good to know, and the vet is usually able to tell when she will be due, based on the date(s) we have recorded in her file of where she would have been bred. Typically with our milk cows they are bred by AI, or artificially insemenated. We occasionally have a bull, but at 2 yrs. of age they get mean. 

Work has been going very well for me. Although it is still a challenge some days to get into the swing of working away from home.  At least I'm not feeling lost and confused at work. I've got the hang of it.  I'm now in the process of learning how to do pizza's and subs. Which makes me very hungry! So hungry in fact, on Tuesday night I brought home a pizza and cheesy bread to munch on while we watched the Sugar Bowl.

Emily has gone to the barn with daddy...so I think this is a wonderful time to get a few things done around the house. But, playing around on the computer is a lot more fun! :) 

Have a great weekend!



Saying Goodbye to 2010 and Hello to 2011!

I'm not sure where the year went, but I know it was a year of ups and downs for us.

I've had a few days off of work. And you would think that I would be busy around here, but I've been a little on the lazy side. Of course, this cold is hanging on, and makes me tired. 

I did make a nice dinner last night, and we've had leftovers today. I love leftovers! I had two turkey drumsticks leftover from Christmas and decided to boil them down and make some broth. I added the meat from the drumsticks to the broth, and then added celery, carrots, garlic powder and onion powder, salt and pepper. I let it simmer for about 20 min. or so, just until the carrots and celery was tender. I made up some instant rice (since that was what I had on hand) and added it to the soup. It was good!

Along with the soup I made Pull-Apart Garlic Buns, I found the recipe in the newest Taste of Home magazine (it's the small magazine that has the tear out recipe cards).

Pull-Apart Garlic Buns

2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 pkg. (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp. shortening

1 egg

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat the milk, water

and shortening to 120-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients; beat until just moistened. Add egg; beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic; about 6-8 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces. Shape each into a bun. Combine paprika and garlic powder. Dip each bun into melted butter, then in paprika mixture.

Place six buns in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan; sprinkle with half of the sesame seeds. Top with remaining buns and sesame seeds. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled; about 45 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

For Christmas, I received a new camera. I love it! It does so much better than my old one! :) So, I've been using it quite a bit.  With the weather being a little yucky, I haven't had too much to take pictures of. Annie, our dog was the first "volunteer". She's not to excited about having her picture taken.

Emily is always up for having her picture taken. The trick is being fast enough to get a good picture of her before she moves. Thank goodness for digital cameras!

Emily received a kids makeup kit for Christmas.

I think we need to talk about how "less is more". 

 Emily with Tiggy, our barn cat.

I've brought him in the house before, but he is just too ornery!

Emily with Annie in the barn.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!