Scandinavian Almond Bars

My sweet little niece, Katrina, brought these Scandinavian Almond Bars to the cabin for munching on. This is one of those recipes that you start out eating one and then break off a piece of another and before you know it, you have eaten way too many. These are absolutely yummy!

Thanks Katrina for a great new recipe.

*

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes- This recipe just needs the butter flavor)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. almond extract

*

Milk

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Almond icing

*

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixer bowl beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg and almond extract and beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until well mixed.

*

Divide dough into fourths. Form each into a 12-inch roll (like a snake). Place roll 4-5 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (I do two rolls per cookie sheet). Flatten until 3 inches wide. Repeat with remaining rolls.

*

Brush flattened rolls with milk and sprinkle with almonds. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. While cookies are still warm, cut them crosswise on a diagonal into 1 inch strips. Cool. Drizzle with almond icing. Makes 48.

*

Almond Icing: Stir together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. almond extract and enough milk (3-4 teaspoons) to make an icing of drizzling consistency.

*

These are so good with a cup of hot chocolate! So kick back, sip your chocolate and munch on these delicate little pastries.

*

-Debbie-

"Top of the Day" Asparasgus Soup

Thanks again to my friend Deb Black for this great "green" recipe to share. I love asparagus and treasure those childhood days of following the irrigation ditches with my family looking for those green spears. Way back then, I had eagle eyes and could spot a patch even driving down the road. Mom made a great soup and Deb's recipe is much like it. So forget the cabbage and corn beef this year and try something new, "Top of the Day Asparagus Soup".

Deb said that this is a recipe from her friend back in New York who was a friend to her husband, Gary's Mom when she was growing up there.

About 2 lbs. of fresh, tender asparagus Note: Bend spear and it will break where it is tender/ tuff

Cut off tips and set aside

Cut the remaining spears into 1/2 " pieces

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add tips only- cook about 5 minutes-set aside

Add the remaining asparagus into the boiling water and cook about 10 minutes

While this is boiling- in a separate pan- melt 1/4 cup of butter, then add 1/4 cup of flour to make a white sauce. Add about 3 cups of the boiling asparagus water. Stir until smooth. Add the 1/2 inch pieces of cooked asparagus to the white sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Scoop the soup into a bowl and top with your favorite grated cheese, croutons and a few asparagus tips. Serve with you favorite bread, rolls or crackers.

(You can make this into creamed asparagus by not making so much of the white sauce and just top with grated cheese.)

May the wind be always at your back!

-Debbie-

Cabin Puff Pancakes

Sunny and Bright

A Breakfast Delight!

Ok, to begin with, I have a confession to make this year. I'm not a great cook! Oh, I'm not terrible but I'm not great. I'm just a cook who likes to try new things and I'll keep working on something until I at least get it edible. Oh, I feel so much better that you know the truth so that I can share things that were good and things that were just downright awful. So, on with today's recipe. We were at our cabin a few weeks ago and I tried a new recipe for puff pancakes. It looks a little funny but really it tasted yummy. I made it for my nephew and nieces this week and we were all like mother hens watching through the window of the oven hoping that our little creation would do its "puff up" thing. Just as I was losing hope that it would, it began to rise. Whew, breakfast was saved and I had some creditably as a cook. So give it a try and invite someone over for breakfast. Food is so much more fun when it is share!

1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

6 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt butter in oven in 9x13 inch pan until bubbling. (watch butter so it doesn't burn-good advice since I burned my first cube) Mix all ingredients together and pour into hot butter. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with jam, syrup, powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice, etc.

This recipe is so fast to make and there just isn't a lot of fuss. It serves 4 to 6 people and is a lot easier than making pancakes. It tastes a lot like crepes.

After Breakfast Visitors!

We all enjoyed watching about 6 turkeys meander their way across our backyard. Breakfast was pretty slim pickins for them with all of the snow. It appeared that they were eating something off of the lower branches of the oaks. Perhaps acorns but I didn't know turkeys ate acorns.

Good day my friends!
Debbie

Broccoli Salad

Where have I been?

You ask, where have I been the last few months and why haven't I been doing the blog. My answer: running, running, running. Oh, I've been doing important things but I have left things that really are important undone. I was reminded of that as I looked at a new January calendar I just received. The picture is of a young man sitting by a stream and waterfall with his winter coat on just thinking. His small orange tent is positioned nearby and glows with a warm, orange hue against his icy blue surroundings. The quote underneath the picture says, "There is more to life than increasing its speed." -Mahatma Ghandi

I complain at work because my computer has been running slow, and I run hither and thither doing things but at the end of the day how important were the things I was doing. This year, I'm going to take a breather each day and sit down on the floor, close my eyes and picture this beautiful stream with the orange glow of the tent and thank God for the blessing of life, no matter how stressful it gets or the challenges I face. This will be my little orange tent time and I'm going to think about what and who really are important and adjust my time and possibly slow down just a bit.

Thanks for listening my friends and especially sharing your thoughts and recipes. Many thanks to Debby Black for her gentle encouragement and continual sharing of her cooking discoveries. You are a treasure Debby!

Debby shared how she came by this recipe:

"Deb's Valentine Broccoli Salad"

"For Valentine's, Gary and I went up to Provo to do some shopping and we decided to go to dinner at Chuck-A-Rama Buffet. They had a great broccoli salad, so I decided to look on the internet for a recipe. I found three that were close-so I combined all three and the salad was great!

1 large head of broccoli, chopped

1 cup chopped red onion, sweet onion or green onion (we like sweet onion)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup cranraisins or raisins

1/2 cup cubed fried crispy bacon

Mix all together in a large bowl. Add dressing:

1 cup salad dressing - Miracle Whip is best - more tan!

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. vinegar

Mix atogether and then mix into salad. (A little dry- depends on how much broccoli you use -I would next time increase the recipe by half 1 1/2 cup salad dressing, 3 Tbsp. vinegar, 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar)

A trick I used for the bacon - I used frozen bacon -cut the pound pkg. in half, then sliced and chopped into cubes- fried up great in the pan.

Gary said it was better than the restaurant!! (the restaurant also had pasta but no cheese)

See you later my friends and happy "tent thinkin"

Debbie

Minestrone Soup

Deb Black shared this fantastic soup recipe with me. It will really hit the spot on cold, wintry days. Make a snowman with the kids and then have a hot bowl of soup!

3 Tbsp. of bacon grease (or cook 3 slices of chopped bacon)

1 clove of garlic minced

1 medium onion chopped

1/4 cup fresh minced parsley or 2 Tbsp. dried parsley

2 stalks celery chopped

2 carrots, diced or chopped

1 large potato diced

1/2 medium cabbage, finely chopped or coarsely grated in food processor

Saute all of these in a large pot about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often until vegetables are tender.

Add the following to the vegetables:

1 28 oz can of tomatoes-slightly blended if desired

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. salt

1 15 oz. can of kidney, white pinto or northern beans

2 qts. of soup stock - chicken or beef (2 qts. of water with 2 Tbsp. of beef or chicken bouillon)

Simmer for 45 minutes - add noodles and cook for another 10 to 12 minutes.

Thanks Deb for sharing.

-Debbie -

Kentucky Rice Casserole

A New Festive Side Dish!

My friend just gave me this recipe and suggested we use it as a side dish for a Christmas Dinner we are planning. When she told me the ingredients, I was a little skeptical but I made it today and it was delicious. A very unusual combining of rice, mushroom soup, onion and of all things, pecans.
However, both my husband and I loved the flavor and it was moist and fluffy.

1 cup uncooked rice (do not use quick-cooking rice)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 10 0z. can beef broth (I used a 14 oz can of Swansons beef broth and it worked fine)
1 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour into an ungreased 6 x 10 baking dish. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the center is just set. Do not overcook.

Serves 8.

Note: Can be prepared early in the day and baked when ready to serve. Cream of chicken soup may be substituted for the cream of mushroom.

Happy Cooking!

-Debbie-

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins, the perfect Thanksgiving Breakfast while you wait for the Thanksgiving Feast!

Many thanks to my friend, Deb Black for this recipe! She said she wanted to get a picture of the muffins out of the pan but her family gobbled them up before she could snap a picture! What better recommendation for a recipe could there be than that.

1 cup flour (white or wheat)
1 cup oats (uncooked)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans

(I also added 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/4 cup coconut) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.Mix all together.
Coat muffin tin with non-stick spray or muffin papers. Spoon into muffin tin- will fill the tins
but the muffins don't rise much.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

A great muffin to eat for breakfast- very filling.

Thanks again for sharing Deb.

-Debbie-