The old Gary Cooper movie, Sgt. York, is a family favorite with our entire team. In one scene Ma asks the blessing and says, "Lord bless these vittles we done got...". Hence, the name of our recipe collection.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Tator Tot Casserole (or Hash brown casserole)

Mommy modified recipe


1 lb. hamburger
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 batches of homemade cream soup recipe with 1 1/2 C. cheddar cheese added
tator tots or homemade hashbrowns

Brown the hamburger in an oven safe skillet (I love my cast iron one).  Add the cheesy cream soup and garlic salt and stir well.  Top with frozen tator tots or homemade hashbrowns.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and potatoes are browned.  Sprinkle with additional cheddar cheese and cook 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Very easy and yummy!


Homemade Cream Soup (2 cans)
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. flour
2 C. water
2/3 C. milk
4 tsp. chicken bouillon
1 1/2 C. cheddar cheese


Melt butter.  Whisk in flour and chicken bouillon until smooth.  Add water and milk.  Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  Stir in cheese.  


We have been ordering from Azure Standard and we just ordered 100 lbs. of organic potatoes.  We are making french fries, hash browns, and cubed potatoes for the freezer.  We have about 65 lbs. completed.  :)  I have been making my hash browns the way Laura at Heavenly Homemakers makes them here:http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/make-your-own-frozen-hashbrowns.  I guess I probably need to change this recipe name to hashbrown casserole as I haven't been buying tator tots lately.  I looked at the ingredient list!  :)

Love Always,
Mommy

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Homemade Deodorant

Homemade deodorant tutorial by Donielle at Naturally Knocked Up

1/4 cup aluminum free baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
5 TB coconut oil
5 drops tea tree oil
3 drops lavendar essential oil

Mix all ingredients together and press into an old deodorant container. To use, let it rest against your skin for a couple seconds to soften the coconut oil, do one slow swipe under each arm and use the palm of your hand to spread it around.

Okay, so I know this is kind of a personal item to have Mommy write about- but I think it's important so here goes!  :)  I LOVE this deodorant!  I have put it to the "mucking the chicken coop in the Texas heat" test and it hasn't failed me!  It is not good to use antiperspirants but I do not like stinking!!!  A good deodorant will allow you to sweat but keep the smell at bay.  It will not contain aluminum or parabens which are bad for you.  This is a wonderful deodorant and I am so glad I found this recipe.

Love Always,
Mommy

Joshua Bar

A fellow MOMYS, Ebbye Faust, gave us the original recipe for this lotion bar and helped us modify it to meet Joshua's needs. 

1 1/3 C. grated beeswax
2/3 C. palm shortening
1/3 C. shea butter
¼ C. apricot kernel oil
2 tsp. Vitamin E oil

Melt beeswax and palm shortening in a double broiler or in a sauce pan over low heat while mixing. Add shea butter; stirring until melted. Remove from heat immediately. Add apricot kernel oil and Vitamin E oil mixing well to combine. Dry off the bottom of the pan so water does not drop into the lotion bar and pour mixture into molds. After the bars cool at room temperature, put molds inside the freezer for 10 minutes to easily pop lotion bar out of mold.  Hold in hands to soften the bar to apply more easily.

Mommy is so happy to have finally found a recipe that will help moisturize Joshua's skin.  He is allergic to so many ingredients in store bought lotions and creams.  It is a blessing to be able to have a moisturizer that will not hurt Joshua and that actually works.  Joshua likes that they are messy!  :)  It isn't messy to pick up but the heat from your hands melts it, it can get a little "messy".  That's when it spreads on the best.

Love Always,
Mommy

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Vegetable Seasoning Mix

Source: Quick Cooking Magazine.  July/August 2000 pg. 19

2 TB garlic salt
2 TB garlic powder
2 TB dried minced onion
2 TB onion powder
2 TB sea salt

Combine ingredients and store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to one year.

Additional ingredients:
2 C. green beans or vegetable of choice
1 TB butter

To Use:
Cook and drain vegetables. Add butter and ½ - 1 tsp. seasoning mix. Toss until butter is melted.

Mommy saw this in her Quick Cooking magazine one day and decided to give it a try.  Our entire family likes it on green beans.  Grandmommie likes it too and puts it on all kinds of vegetables.  This is also a great one to sprinkle on fried cucumber, squash, and tomatoes.  Grandmommie makes that for us sometimes and it is so yummy!

Love Always,
Mommy

Coban Salata

Salad:
3 large tomatoes
2 cucumbers

Dice the vegetables and place them in a bowl.

Lemon & Oil Dressing:
¼ C. olive oil
¼ C. lemon juice
½ tsp sea salt
1-2 TB dill weed

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Whip with a fork until the dressing is a creamy white with green flakes.  :)  Pour Lemon & Oil dressing over vegetables and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes. This tastes better if it is refrigerated and marinated for several hours.

Mommy first tried this when she and Daddy lived in Turkey.  This is a Hannah, Daniel, and Mommy favorite!  This can also be made with zucchini or yellow squash or a combination of squash, zucchini, and cucumber.  We usually put a lot of dill weed in it.  Maybe one day our garden will have both cucumbers and tomatoes at the same time and we can make this!  :)

Love Always,
Mommy

Lemon Garlic Dressing

¾ C. lemon juice (app. 4 lemons)
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ C. olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

Combine lemon juice and garlic cloves. Allow the garlic to soak in the lemon juice for at least 10 minutes. Strain out garlic and add olive oil and sea salt to garlic lemon juice. Shake well to combine before serving.

This is yummy salad dressing.  One day when we went to Mrs. Munzo's house for lunch Mommy brought this.  I got a little carried away and used 6 or 7 cloves of garlic.  Whew!  It was so garlic-ly.  I don't think you children enjoyed it as much as when I make it the normal way.  :)

Love Always,
Mommy

Jason's Salsa

2 cans (28 oz. total) diced tomatoes, drained well
½ onion
1 clove garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cilantro leaves
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp parsley
2 jalapeno peppers, stems removed
1 TB lemon juice
1 TB lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend to desired consistency.

Note to Team Southerland- Do not allow a person with a cold to make this with free access to several jalapeno's.  Daddy did that to us in Virginia once.  Mommy did a "modified stationary panic" until my thoughts returned to my mind and I ran to get something to drink.  It was the hottest thing I have ever tasted!  Daddy took it to church and there was a couple in attendance who lived in Guatemala.  They tasted Daddy's salsa and said, "The flavor is really good but it is too spicy!"  :)  We laughed and laughed.  Someone even drew a little picture of a man with tears running down his face and set it up against the serving container of salsa.  (It might have been Daddy who did that!)  :)  I think the 2 jalapenos are about the max that Mommy can take in this but it sure does have a fantastic flavor!  By the way, Daddy's salsa has nothing on Uncle Michael's salsa.  His is so hot that the guys sweat when they eat it.  Now that is some serious "clearing your sinuses" food!  :)

Love Always,
Mommy