If you are looking for a quick, flavorful chicken recipe this is a great recipe to put into your dinner rotation. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but it is wonderful with any pieces you have and love. It is also very forgiving so don’t worry about perfection — just toss it together and relax. I use a cast-iron pan to brown on top of the stove and finish in the oven, however, it can… Read More
America’s Test Kitchen Rustic Almost No-Knead Bread
I’ve been making a lot of bread lately, stress baking, but also learning how to make different kinds of bread. As a teacher in a past life, one of my goals with trying a variety of recipes is so that I can help others trying to stay at home not to need to make extra trips to the store for a loaf of bread. I have been looking for recipes that work well for beginners,… Read More
I Just Need a Cracker….
I am fortunate, I have plenty of good food in my fridge, pantry, and freezer. Living on the farm and just coming out of winter, you are used to stocking up in case you get stranded for days. However, I have run low on one of my favorite snacks — CRACKERS. I love all kinds of crackers, straight up, with cheese, peanut butter, bacon jam — whatever! So the search was on to find some… Read More
Got 4 apples? You Can Make Apple Hand Pies…
Do you know those 4 apples that have been rolling around in your fruit drawer in the fridge? Yes, I’m sure you do. They have been there for a while and no one seems to be interested in eating them fresh — they are still good, but maybe not as pretty as they were the day you brought them home. Here is a great way to use them for a delicious treat while you are… Read More
Breads You Can Make Without Yeast or Kneading
Many areas are finding grocery store shelves bare of bread and other items and many are homebound right now. If you have a few common ingredients in your pantry you can easily make your own bread without yeast or kneading. If you have self-rising flour great, but if you don’t King Arthur has this simple recipe to make your own using All-Purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Homemade Self-Rising Flour. These breads are not only… Read More
Veggie Soup
Are you and your family trying to stay healthy by doing some social distancing? Maybe even struggling to find foods in your local grocery store. You can make the most of what you have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry by making as much as possible from scratch. New to some of you and old school to lots of others. It’s hard to know where to start, but my suggestion is to start with the… Read More
No-Knead Rosemary Focaccia Bread from America’s Test Kitchen
This is my all-time favorite recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. This Italian bread is so delicious you will have to hide it from your brother who will eat an entire loaf before your guests arrive! It is crunchy, salty, herby, and soft in the middle. You can just eat it plain or it is really wonderful with goat cheese and bacon jam. (recipe for another time). I make it up in advance and freeze in… Read More
Fresh Eggs and a Five Hundred Dollar Quiche
A few springs ago, my husband, Eric, after much thought and planning, decided we were ready to start our chicken adventure. Our local farm/hardware store has live chicks in the spring. You just reach into the cow tank and try to grab the ones you like the best — a little like carnival night in grade school, and put them in the cardboard box you have to put together yourself. Ironically, the same shape as… Read More
The Great British Bake Off Inspired Me to Bake a Cake…
I have been binge watching The Great British Baking Show this winter — all seasons and the Christmas shows and it made me think I wanted to be a better baker. It has inspired me to start a cake project and to begin with recipes in my grandmother’s handwritten cookbook. One of the cakes they talk about all the time on The Great British Bake Off is a sponge. While digging through those old family recipes… Read More
I Was Shocked to Find This Hidden Art Treasure in North Iowa…
This winter I when was doing a cooking class for a travel blogger group in Charles City, Iowa. The first night we were staying at the lovely Red Cedar Lodge, getting to know each other, eating treats that would make any foodie jealous, laughing A LOT and having a little too much wine when one of the bloggers, Theresa Goodrich, author of of “Two Lane Gems, Vols 1 & 2” asked if I was interested… Read More
One Rotisserie Chicken, One Afternoon and Four Healthy Recipes
When I was a young bride, my mother gave me a lesson on how to buy a week’s groceries on twenty dollars (not including paper & cleaning products). OK, yes, that was a long time ago, but I’ve never forgotten how to be frugal when necessary and with a little planning create healthy, filling and enjoyable meals for my family. Since I am doing the 10 Week Wellness Challenge with the Iowa Food and Family… Read More
Musings of My Inner Erma Bombeck: An Irish Blessing
“CLEARLY, MARY, WE ARE NOT LUCKY!”, wailed my sister Sue in her best Dirty Harry voice, whipping around to grab my shirt collar and give me stink eye. After a second, and getting over the shock of the statement, we fell into a heap of laughter. Nonetheless, as I think back, perhaps she may have had a point. We were after all, trudging down an Iowa country road away from my stalled 1982 Plymouth Horizon… Read More
Winter Blahs? 6 Ideas To Get Your Spring Mojo…
The end of winter can really bring me down…the snow is often dirty and the days grey, this year the winter blahs have hit me far earlier than usual– we are barely into January. I need spring, I need sun, and I need flowers. However, I have found there are a few things I can do that help my mood and get me ready to hit the ground running. Here are 6 easy things you can… Read More
Woot, Woot – I Made French Baguettes..Thanks, King Arthur Flour!
I have always wanted to make French Baguettes. For me nothing is as delicious as a slice of a baguette, crusty on the outside, soft and flavorful on the inside, slathered with butter or a sumptuous French cheese. Baking bread was not something we did in our household. With nine brothers and two sisters, you couldn’t make enough bread in a day to feed or keep them happy! So taking on a baguette was kind… Read More
Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken for a Dinner for Two
Last night my husband wanted Mexican for supper, but I was getting tired of the same old beef tacos and burritos — I wanted chicken and I wanted it grilled. So we compromised — a grilled chicken taco salad. I didn’t have a recipe and really wasn’t in the mood to search through my cookbooks and online sites — so I punted. A few weeks ago I made a Mexican Street Corn Salad that had… Read More
Stories of My Mother…Episode #623: The Great Escape
A few weeks ago my sisters and I flew out to Washington for a visit with two of my older brothers and hang out at the lake with them. We spent a lot of time laughing at family stories over delicious meals with lots glasses of wine and beer. We grew up in a crazy, big farm family in Iowa — our parents had twelve kids (9 boys and 3 girls) over seventeen years. A… Read More
Vintage Betty Recipe: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
After starting my Church Cookbook Series recently, my husband asked me to make what he said was his favorite cake — a Pineapple Upside-Down cake. I thought for sure I would find the recipe in one of my church cookbooks, but I came up empty handed. I was kind of surprised, but decided maybe it was either a little old fashion or too fussy for the Church Ladies. My vintage 1961 Betty Crocker Cookbook came… Read More
Church Cookbook Classics: Mary’s Swiss Steak
It is a snowy Sunday afternoon in mid-March, my husband is asleep on the couch pretending to watch an old movie on TCM and I am having a glass of red wine and savoring the smell of Swiss Steak roasting in the oven. (It IS after 5:00!) Winter has reminded us that March in Iowa is a big tease. One minute it is 60 degrees and you are itching to get in the garden and… Read More
Church Cookbook Classics: Ice Pick Lemon Cake
Do you have recipes from your youth that conjure up mouth-watering memories? This cake is one of those for me. Mom would make this one in the summer and I just couldn’t keep my hands off of it. I just took teeny, tiny pieces every time I walked by it — they don’t count right? Cake Mixes with Jello and/or Jello Pudding became very popular in the 60’s, although cake mixes were invented in the… Read More
Church Cookbook Classics: Oyster Snack Crackers
The other day, my adult daughter called to ask me if I had the recipe grandpa used to may those oyster cracker things. My dad has been gone for 27 years so, this was really reaching back to a childhood memory. Something had made her think of them and she wanted me to make her some. Fortunately I knew exactly where to find the recipe — the Church Cookbook! This is a super easy snack… Read More
Blackberry Balsamic Vinegar Chicken Salad Recipe
Hot Damn Sam!!! I lost weight this week and it feels great. Granted it was only a pound and that may not seem like much, but getting the first one is huge for me. I don’t have those water weight issues so when I lose a pound I know it’s real — it can change everything for me – having some success gives me lots of new energy to continue and do the next thing! Another… Read More
Cheats Puff Pastry Recipe from The Great British Baking Show
The Farm Girl Attempts Cheats Rough Puff Pastry Recipe from The Great British Baking Show and It Works! I don’t know about you, but I adore The Great British Baking Show. It is my favorite baking show of all time — the tent is gorgeous, the decor is totally charming, the contestants real and diverse, and the food looks to die for! Everyone is nice to each other and helpful, unlike some of the other… Read More
It’s Chili Time
You’d think all chili would taste alike. All the traditional red chilies have tomatoes, some kind of chili powder and beef. Chili aficionados are appalled if you mention beans in the chili, but I personally like my chili with beans. Black beans, kidney beans and red beans — all of them…. So why do some chili’s taste like dishwater and some you want to lick the bowl? It’s the spices– they are not all created… Read More
In an emergency, boil eggs
In any emergency, my mother boiled eggs. She boiled eggs anytime she thought there might be visitors — for any reason, weddings, funerals, someone is in the hospital, or someone having a baby. In fact, that was the 1st thing she did, even before calling people. Put the eggs on to boil. My mom was used to feeding a crowd with very little notice. I grew up in a family of 12 children, 8 older… Read More
Church Cookbook Classics: Purple Ribbon Cinnamon Bread
In a desperate search for a 4-H food project for our county fair, my mother suggested I make my grandmother’s Cinnamon Bread recipe. As a lazy teen, this seemed like a great idea — no trip to the store for special ingredients and it was easy to make. Snap! One less project to worry about for the fair. No one was more surprised than me when the judges gave me a “Purple Grand Champion” ribbon!… Read More
State Fair Blue Ribbon Bread and Butter Pickles
State Fair Blue Ribbon Bread and Butter Pickles Several years ago I had a bumper crop of cucumbers. I decided I needed to find a pickle recipe I liked since Mom’s didn’t really bring back images of pickle love. I started Googling recipes that had won at a state fair. If I am going to spend the time, money, and effort to make something, I want to make sure I have the best… Read More
Social Distancing Recipe: Just In Time 10 Minute Jam
For the last few days — especially after I made biscuits, I’ve been wanting some jam. I had used up all of the jam I made last summer from my raspberries. After making my own lower-sugar jams even if I wanted to order it from the store — I’m spoiled and really don’t care for them anymore. One of the things about growing up in a family of 12 children is that you learn to… Read More
Quick and Easy Corn Chowder
Originally I posted this Corn Chowder recipe as a way to use fresh corn which is so plentiful here in Iowa at the end of the summer. However, the other day as I was thinking about recipes that would be easy to make from pantry and freezer items I realized this would be an easy and delicious choice. This recipe has been adapted from several church cookbooks in my vintage cookbook collection. Because I like… Read More
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