No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 C warm water (110-115 degrees)
3 C all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy cast iron pot in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Mommy has made this several times before I found the Artisan Bread recipe.  This is a good recipe as well.  It's not hard.  Just start it in the morning (or the night before) and it will be ready for dinner!

Love Always,

Mommy

Strawberry Milkshakes

Modified from a recipe from Heavenly Homemakers

1 C. milk
1 C. heavy whipping cream
2 C. frozen strawberries
2 TB maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pour milk and cream into blender.  Add frozen strawberries, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Blend until desired consistency is reached.

What a fun breakfast!  We need to make these more often.  What a wonderful summertime treat.
Love Always,
Mommy

Grandmommie's Skillet

Linda Diane Southerland- Daddy's Mom

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 C. chopped onion
2 C. cooked macaroni
2- 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce
2- 12 oz can whole kernel corn
4 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 C. shredded cheese

Brown hamburger and the onion.  Pour off fat and stir in remanning ingredients except for cheese.  Simmer, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes.  Stir in cheese and serve immediately.
Serves  8

Grandmommie made this for Hannah the day that Grandpaw took Hannah to Six Flags (June 5, 2012).  Hannah loved this dish and asked Grandmommie for the recipe.  Mommy can't wait to try it!  :)
Love Always,
Mommy

Raspberry Vinaigrette

3/4 C. olive oil
1/4 C. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt
2 TB raw honey
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 C. fresh or frozen red raspberries
1/4 C. water

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend to desired consistency is reached.  Store remaining dressing in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

We tried this dressing a couple weeks ago for the first time.  It is amazing!  Wow!  It goes very well on a spinach salad.  Yippee!
Love Always,
Mommy

Chicken Noodle Soup

Mommy made recipe from several different ones

Soup
2 TB dried minced onion, rejuvenated
1 tsp. dried minced garlic, rejuvenated
4 C. Chicken broth
1/2-1 C. chicken, cooked & cubed
2 carrots, sliced
1 tsp lemon juice
1 bay leaf
Dash of ground cloves
Pepper to taste
1 tsp. salt

Saute garlic and onion in some butter in a stockpot.  Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.    Cover with a lid while making noodles.

Noodles
2 eggs
4 TB milk
2 C. flour

Combine ingredients well and roll out thinly on the counter.  Cut 1/4" stripes in the rolled out dough and then cut of lengths of noodles.  Dip both sides of noodles into flour and drop them in the boiling soup.

This is the best soup and Hannah is a pro at making the noodles to go in it.  We all love this one.  Boo Boo isn't a huge fan of soup but she likes this one a lot.  I am so glad we found the different recipes so we can make this.  It is a wonderful meal on a chilly afternoon.  Yum!  If someone is feeling a little sick, this is a great meal.  Mommy will add extra garlic if we are fighting colds.
Love Always,
Mommy

Freezer Jam

Jevonne Humphrey


3 lbs. strawberries
2 C. sugar
7 TB Instant pectin


Puree strawberries in the blender.  Combine pectin and sugar in a bowl.  Pour in 4 3/4 C. strawberry puree and mix for 3 minutes.  Pour into desired containers and let stand for 30 minutes.  Store in fridge for 3-4 weeks or freezer for a very long time!


Hannah and Mommy made this last fall and it was so yummy!  We put it on toast, stir it into yogurt, or eat it on bagels with cream cheese.  So delicious!  I bet it would be awesome on pancakes too.
Jevonne is a gal Mommy went to elementary school with.  Mommy and Jevonne got reacquainted on Facebook in 2011 and she shared this recipe with us.
Love Always,
Mommy

Apple Butter

http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/10/homemade-apple-butter-recipe-plus-free-printable-labels.html

• 6 pounds medium apples 
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups raw or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3-4 teaspoons cinnamon

Peel, core, and slice apples in fourths. Put them in the crockpot with the vanilla and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir every few hours. Once apples are very, very tender, mash with a potato masher and stir in sugar and spices. Cook on low for another 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally.

Cool and pour into jars or an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for several weeks or freezer for a long time.

We made this in the Fall of 2011.  It was yummy.  We like to stir it into yogurt or put it on bagels with cream cheese.  The house smells so yummy while this is cooking!

Love Always,

Mommy 

Fruit Cocktail Salad

32 oz. fruit cocktail, undrained
20 oz. unsweetened pineapple tidbits, drained
11 oz. mandarin oranges, drained
1 TB lemon juice
1 package (1 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
2 firm bananas, sliced

In a bowl combine the fruit (except for the bananas) and the lemon juice.  Sprinkle with pudding mix.  Stir gently for 1 minute or until mixture is thickened.  Fold in bananas.  Refrigerate until serving.  Even better the next day!

Team Southerland really likes this fruit salad.  If made the day before serving, the pudding thickens up the juice and the flavors blend wonderfully.  Kim Truesdell in Germany at Eifel Baptist Church gave me this recipe before Hannah was born.  We just took this to Veritas Baptist Church for the Father's Day lunch.  I made a double batch and there was only a little bit left over.  
Love Always,
Mommy

Daniel's Birthday Cinnamon Rolls

http://amysfinerthings.com/moms-cinnamon-rolls


1/2 c. very warm water
1 T. sugar
2 T. yeast
1/2 c. melted butter
2 eggs
2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. warm milk
5 1/2 c. flour
butter
brown sugar
sugar
cinnamon

Icing

2 TB butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

2 TB milk

1 C. powdered sugar (use more to get desired consistency) 

1. Combine water, 1 T. sugar and yeast.  Set aside for 5 minutes to activate.
2. Mix 1/2 c. sugar, melted butter, eggs, and salt.  Add yeast mixture.
3. Stir in warm milk.
4. Add 5 cups flour, 1-2 cups at a time.  More flour may be necessary.
5. Knead dough on a well-floured surface, adding flour as necessary, until dough isn’t sticky.
6. Let rise until double (about a hour or so) in a clean, oiled bowl.
7. Punch down risen dough.  Separate into two pieces.
8. Roll out dough in a large rectangle.  Spread with softened butter.  Sprinkle liberally with brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon.
9. Roll dough into 13" log.  Ct dough with dental floss into about 12 (1-inch) rolls.  Place in 9×13 pan.  Let rise until double (about 1 hour or so).
10. Bake at 350° for 20-22 minutes.  Spread icing while hot.

For icing, melt butter.  Add vanilla and milk.  Sift powdered sugar into mixture and stir well.

These are the most amazing cinnamon rolls!  We made them for Daniel's 10th birthday and then we made them to take them to church the next weekend.  For church, we made 18 rolls per pan by rolling the dough into 19" logs.  (You always lose an inch somewhere along the way).  :)  These are definitely going to be made again.  I did sneak in 2 C. of freshly ground wheat and they were still wonderful; it didn't change the taste.  When we took them to church we make the dough, let it rise the first time, and assembled the rolls.  We put them in the refrigerator and the next morning we took them out to let them rise and bake.  Our house smelled incredible as these were cooking.  Oh yum!

Love Always,

Mommy

Raspberry Syrup

Mommy invention

12 oz. raspberries
1/4-1/2 C. sugar

Put the raspberries in a saucepan and sprinkle sugar on top.  Mash the fruit and cook over medium heat.  Serve over pancakes or stir into yogurt.

You can use any type of berries.

We had Breakfast for Dinner last week and we made up this syrup for our pancakes.  The children love it.  If the seeds are bothersome it could be strained through cheesecloth before serving.  We have been using the leftovers in our raw milk yogurt. Yum!
Love Always,
Mommy

Alfredo Sauce

Homestead Cooking cookbook

1/4 C. butter
2 C. raw cream
1 C. Romano or Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients.  HEat until steaming, stirring occasionally.  Don't let it boil or it will curdle.  Use immediately.

This sauce does not warm up well in the microwave.

This is Daddy's favorite Alfredo sauce.  In the spring and summer we can get the raw cream from Nors dairy and it makes the best Alfredo sauce.  The cream from the store just doesn't taste the same.  Mommy has tried several different Alfredo recipes but none of them have turned out well until we tried this one.  
Love Always,
Mommy