Taco Soup

This recipe is wiggling its way into my family memories enough to consider it a family recipe.  A few thoughts about this recipe:

• Courtney thinks this is a Halloween recipe.  Mom often made this for us before we went trick-or-treating.  I remember her making stew but hey, to each his own memory.
• This recipe also reminds me of Danny because the man inhales this soup.  It takes a lot to fill him up and this is hearty enough to do the trick- most of the time.  
• Ok, not family-related, but this reminds me of scout camp stories- is it true they really all bring a can of food and they mix it together into a pot and dig in?  Well this recipe is basically all cans so yes, I feel like a boy scout when I make this.

 The recipe:

• One large can of tomatoes
• 2 cans corn with liquid
• 2 cans kidney beans with liquid
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 packet Hidden Valley ranch mix
• 1 lb. hamburger

1. Brown hamburger and set aside (try to pat most the grease off).
2. Puree the tomatoes in the blender.
3. In a large pot mix tomatoes, corn, beans, seasoning, ranch mix, and hamburger.Don't drain the corn and beans- dump everything in!
4. Heat on stovetop or in crockpot
5. Top with sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips or Fritos

Meatloaf

Well, Dad likes it.

That's what Mom always told us when we'd complain about eating meatloaf for dinner.  I think we can all agree it's more of the reputation of meatloaf than the actual taste of it that we complained about.  So I made meatloaf and cornbread for dinner on Sunday.  It went well until I realized I don't own a loaf pan.  What's meatloaf without the loaf?  Well we cooked them in pyrex bowls and had personal pan-style meatloaf.  The mini-loaf. 

 

The recipe:

• 1 lb. hamburger
• 1 egg
• 1 can tomato sauce
• onion
• salt & pepper
• handful of crushed saltines

1.  Mix all ingredients together
2. Smash into a loaf pan
3. Bake at 350 for at least one hour
4. Here is the gross part ***do not let your children or husband see you do this or you'll be dining alone!** When you get it out of the oven, you have to use a paper towel to soak up the grease. I like to think of it as healthifying the meatloaf- hey, I'm just getting rid of the grease here.  It's a healthy effort.  
5. You can either squirt ketchup on top or just dip it, but you must use ketchup.  

And if you try a bite and don't like it, give it to Dad- he likes it.  

Really though, you'll like it.  Especially if you serve it with corn bread and honey butter!

Noodles

Making noodles has been a tradition in our family for who knows how long. It's quite a process cranking all the dough through....seems like my arm always gets tired so fast and my mom always has to say "keep going, we have to go fast so the dough doesn't dry out!" Great arm workout. And it's a good thing it is because the final product is simply carbs slathered in butter. But really, so so good. I love butter noodles with barbecued chicken. mmmm mmmm mmmm.

On that note, WELCOME, MELANI!

I really appreciate that Mel chose this recipe because we can't have a family cookbook without talking about butter noodles. She's done it with plenty of pictures which will be so helpful. I'll let her take it from here.....

The recipe:

• 6 eggs (jumbo size works best)
  
• 4 Cups flour
  

Mix 6 eggs with a fork in a mixing bowl. (just to break them up) Then add the 4 cups of flour and mix until dough is stiff.

This is what the dough looks like after mixing. If it seems too dry and the flour won't mix in all the way, you can add a tiny bit of water at a time until it is the right texture. I am not an expert at this point, but the dough has turned out a little different every time I have made it. It always tastes the same in the end. :)

Take the dough out of the mixer and form it into a log. I rub a bit of olive oil on my hands before doing this so it doesn't stick.

Cut the log into equal sized slices. I usually get about 16.

Take each slice and put it through the roller. The first time through should be on a lower setting (2) so the dough comes out thick. Take these to dry for just a few minutes on the back of a chair.

I just use a white sheet that I cut up into pieces and lay these on the chair backs. Flip each one over to dry a bit more and then take them back to the noodle maker to roll out thinner.

Move the setting on the noodle maker to a higher number (6) and put the dough back through the roller. They will come out long and thin.

Drape these over the back of the chairs again and let dry. Flip over so both sides can dry evenly. Drying time depends on your house, humidity outside, fans going, etc. You just have to guess the first few times and feel for the dryness. You don't want them too wet, or the noodles will stick together and won't dry well after cutting them.

When dough is ready, stack a few together and cut into chunks. The length of the chunks will be the length of the noodles. I usually cut mine about 3 - 4 inches long.

Attach the noodle cutter and put each chunk in to cut into noodles. Set a sheetcake pan under to catch them. I fill up the pan and take them to dry. Then come back and finish off the rest of the dough.

This is another white sheet that I lay on the bed to let the noodles dry on. Just sprinkle the noodles around and separate the clumps so they can dry.  I have learned to lock my door when they are drying or all your hard work may be almost gone when you go in to see if they are dry. (My kids love them!!! And they love to help make them!!!)


The finished German Buttered Noodles! These are so yummy as a side, with sauce on them, or in soups. They can be used for anything you would use pasta for. Put dry noodles (wet works too, if you want them right away) into boiling water and cook until soft. Just melt some butter and dump it on the cooked noodles. The whole process takes about 1 1/2 hours, depending on drying time. It gets easier the more you make it. And some of these steps might not be absolutely necessary, but that is how I was taught by my mom and grandma. (Kelsey's grandma and great grandma) And sometimes you just do things because that's how you are "supposed" to do them.

This could possibly be the longest blog entry ever, but I wanted to throw in a little history. Kelsey had mentioned using the hand cranking method, which is what we did until just a few years ago. KitchenAid has made our lives much easier and our arms much flabbier! The noodle making attachments to the mixer are wonderful and cut the process time down a bit.

 Old

Older

Before the hand cranking method, Kelsey's great great grandma used a noodle cutting board. Her name is Amalie Mai. She would roll the dough out in a circle, roll the circle up (like a fruit roll-up), place it on the board and slice it into tiny, perfect noodles. That would be fun to try sometime, but I'll stick to the KitchenAid for now.

I love making these because they seem so rustic and historic to me. These noodles really are a part of our heritage and I hope I did this recipe justice. Thanks for letting me be a part of the Family TREEts!

Microwave Peanut Brittle

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present a very special guest poster....

Grandma Joan Allen!

I know, you're all as excited as I am that Grandma is posting on the blog today.

So, with no further ado, let's talk about peanut brittle.

I remembered a recipe I always made at Christmas that Grampa Joe loved and could not leave alone either. I haven't made it since he left- but I have definitely made many many platefuls for the holidays over the years.

Grandma's story behind this: About 28 years ago I began demonstrating this recipe in different wards' homemaking meetings (Aunt Karen Cook Anderson also demonstrated this so it's actually connected to both sides of the family!). One night I was doing it at the old white church building on 4th Ave when someone ran in and said my daughter had been hit by a car and was at the hospital. Needless to say I did not finish the demo. I felt so guilty as Grampa was Home Teaching and I was teaching RS and a neighbor had to come to the church to let me know. And so you know that was your Mom, although at the time I thought it was Melani riding her bike. Truly, recipes do bring back memories.

The recipe:

• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. raw peanuts
• 1/2 c. white corn syrup
• 2 T butter
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanila

1. Into a 4 cup measuring cup (Grama uses a pyrex quart cup) place sugar, peanuts, and corn syrup.
2. Put in microwave and boil 4 minutes- stirring at 2 minutes.
3. Add 2 T butter
4. Cook 5-6 minutes stirring half way through
5. Remove from oven
6. Add soda and vanilla and stir.
7. Pour onto greased cookie sheet
8. Cool and break into pieces

This is delicious and not too expensive and makes a lot. If it is overcooked even a tad it is too brown and burned. It depends on your microwave. They all heat differently.

Have a great Christmas. I love you.

-Grandma

Kelsey again. I thought I should take a moment to note the "daughter got run over by a car" part of that story. I always had a sense of pride in my elementary years that I could say "oh yeah? Well my mom got run over by a car!" I don't know, things like that just give you standing on the playground. Grama sent me an email telling me about it all....

Once upon a time, a man was drunk. he left the Kimberly police station (still drunk) and headed home because the police said they wouldn't cite him if he drove straight home. My mom and her friend Melanie happened to be walking on the road he chose to drive home on. Mom was 16 and got hit by the rear view mirror and was thrown into the borrow pit and shattered her elbow. A neighbor friend, Jon Wagstaff, put her in his truck and drove her straight to the hospital.
Grandma said she freaked out when she got to the hospital, but all Mom wanted was a blessing, which Grandpa gave her. She was in surgery for 3 hours because they had to pick out all the shattered bone. She couldn't use her left arm for a while and says it's still not the same.
Want to know what happened to the truck driver? He was cited for hit and run, no insurance, no driver's license, running a stop sign, and drunk driving, and was fined a whopping $14.50 in court fees. I don't think it would have gone over the same now.
I had to literally beg for this picture. But here's the scar down her arm where they had to put a plate in for a while. I'm telling you, this story is the stuff of celebrities at school.

Sugar Cookies

Another guest post! I'm thrilled. I have been meaning to make these sugar cookies to put on this blog because they really are part of our family. We make them in heart shapes for Valentines day, pumpkins and headstones and ghosts on Halloween, and ornaments and snowmen for Christmas. Since we're getting to the end of the year I figured Christmas was the last shot I got, but with the move it just hasn't happened! (I had to be banned from cooking the past few weeks so I could actually get something done).

So, I'm just so excited that Aunt Kim made these for the blog. Take it away, Kim!

Hi! This is Kelsey's favorite aunt, Kim. I have a picky husband and three year old, so if a recipe gets their approval, it must be good. This is a perfect cookie for any time of the year.

The recipe:

Cookies:

1 c. sugar + 2 Tablespoons

3/4 cup shortening 2 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla 3 3/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp salt 3 tsp baking

powder Cream sugar and shortening, beat in eggs; add milk and vanilla. Add flour, salt and baking powder, mix well. Chill in fridge (for about an hour). Roll out using as little flour as possible. Cut out, bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 for about 10 minutes (mine take 11.5). Remove from the cookie sheet after a few minutes.

Frosting:

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1 cup powder sugar

1 Tablespoon

milk (I usually double or triple the milk)

1 tsp vanilla

Frosting is best when it is slightly runny, but not too runny that it will run right off the cookies. I add the food coloring when I put a portion in zip lock bags. I cutoff a tiny bit of the corner so I can do designs. Remember a little goes a long way (except when you re-frost your three year olds cookie, then you just need a lot). The frosting will setup in about an hour, so you can s

tore them easier. If you want to eat them immediately, just use less milk. Enjoy!!

Sorry that picture's so small, Kim, I couldn't get it to go any bigger!

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Great News! Even though nobody responded to the "group effort" idea, Katelin has volunteered to go first. (My profound apologies for not including her in the initial guilt list from last post.) This is proof that family recipes follow you no matter where you go. Even to the ends of the happiest place on earth. So take it away, Kate.

Hi there. Katelin here.

I don't have much to contribute, because I'm very lazy when it comes to cooking. But, today I busted out chicken broccoli casserole. It's not much, but it's something I learned from mom. So, here we go. (even though you all already know how to make this, let me feel like I'm helping.)

I like to have my chicken already cooked, it's fastest to poach it. aka boil it in some water while you watch Lost. So, after your chicken is done, let it cool down!

Get your pan out, line it with foil to make for easier clean up. (I'm all about saving time and energy) Throw in some broccoli. Frozen, fresh, whole, cut, whatever. It's casserole, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Then cut up your chicken and throw that in too.

Then whip out a can of cream of chicken soup. Throw that on there. Stir it if you want, but it'll probably end up the same if you don't. Then slap some cheese on top and bam! You got yourself a casserole! Almost!

Cover with foil and stick in the oven on like 350º then get your rice going, however you make your rice. I had to make it on the stove so it took a while. The casserole needs 20-30 minutes, so figure out the timing :)

Then whip em both out, throw onto a plate, throw the leftovers into some tupperware and take that to work with you. Eat while watching Lost. The end.

Group Effort

I haven't really cooked much lately. I don't know if I should try to give an excuse for that (finals, work, the holidays, moving), or just admit I've been slacking. Anyway, I have an idea. How about we make this more of a GROUP EFFORT?

We could do it "guest blogger" style or you can email me your pictures of the family recipes you make- Mom, I'm pretty much talking to you. I figure you, Mel, Courtney, Kim, Grama, Jen and Emily, especially Katelin - everybody makes the recipes we think of as "family recipes" so how about you just take a picture of your family eating the meal, or just the food itself and send it my way with the recipe? I realize only a few people will read this but we can still accumulate a few.

OK? Ok.