My Cowboy made me come up with this recipe because he likes tater salad, but he's picky about what goes in it. So this is just a very plain, but very good, potato salad recipe that's real easy to fix and goes great with burgers on the grill, one of My Cowboy's favorite meals!
Hoss's Tater Salad
8-10 red-skinned potatoes
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
2 tbsps. sugar
2 tbsps. yellow mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
Peel the potatoes, cut into chunks, and boil them in a pot of water until they're fork tender, but not too done. (You don't want them turning to mush.) Drain them in a colander and rinse under cold water to halt the cooking process and help them cool down. Let them cool.
Mix together the remaining ingredients, then stir in the cooled potato chunks. Mix well and refrigerate. Make this early in the day for supper, or make it the night before. It's better when it's good and cold, and the flavors have been given time to blend. It's easily doubled if you have a big crowd to feed, too.
June 2010
Unbaked Cookies
Combine in a saucepan:
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat, and add:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix well, and stir in:
3 cups quick-cooking oats
Mix quickly and drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let cool and enjoy!
May 2010
Prairie Moon Ranch Chops 'n' Taters
6-8 pork chops (I use the ones without bone that have been tenderized, but the regular ones work fine as well)
1-2 tbsp. vegetable oil
flour
seasoned salt
2-lb. frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar and jack cheese
Sprinkle the chops with seasoned salt. Put some flour in a large Ziplock bag, and drop the chops in one at a time and shake them till they're coated. (Farm Girl's Shake 'n' Bake!)
Heat the oil in a skillet, and brown the chops on both sides. You can sprinkle on some more seasoned salt, if you want.
Mix the melted butter, onion powder, salt, pepper, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and 1/2 cup of the cheese together in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in the hash browns. Put this mixture out into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish.
Lay the browned pork chops on top. Cover with foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven, sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top, and return it to the oven until the cheese is melted. All that's left is to dig in and enjoy! Try not to founder . . .
April 2010
Easy Carrot Cake
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 4.5-oz. containers of baby food carrots
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
Combine sugar and oil; beat well. Add eggs, carrots, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Combine the next 6 ingredients. Add to the creamed mixture and beat well.
Pour batter into a greased 9" x 13" pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
When it's cooled, frost it with this:
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (nuts are optional)
Combine cream cheese and butter and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat till smooth. Stir in the nuts, and frost your cooled cake. Mmmmm . . .
March 2010
Porcupine Meatball Supper
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 tbsps. butter
2 cups tomato juice
4-5 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
4-5 carrots, peeled and chunked up
February 2010
Banana Oat Bread
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup milk
1 cup quick oats, uncooked
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs.
Mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Mix the milk into the mashed bananas.
To the creamed mixture alternately add some of the flour mixture and some of the banana mixture, until all three mixtures are added together.
Stir in the oats and nuts. Pour into a greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until tested done. Cool 10 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool completely.
January 2010
Coconut Shortbread
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup coconut
Beat butter until creamy.
Beat in sugar until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla.
Gradually add flour.
Stir in coconut.
Shape dough into a 12 x 3 x 1 brick, wrap in waxed paper and freeze for 2 hours or refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Slice dough 1/4-inch thick and arrange slices 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 27-30 minutes until edges begin to turn golden.
The dough can be made ahead. Just wrap it up good and freeze it for up to 2 weeks. Slice off what you want as you want it! This makes about 40 cookies.
December 2009
Southern Pralines
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups half and half
3 Tbsp. butter
2 cups pecan halves
In a heavy 2-quart saucepan stir together the sugar, brown sugar, and half and half. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
Cook over medium-low heat to the soft ball stage, about 16-18 minutes, stirring only as necessary to prevent sticking.
Remove from heat, add the butter, but DO NOT STIR.
Cool WITHOUT STIRRING to 150 degrees, about 30 minutes. Quickly stir in pecans.
Beat candy for 2-3 minutes or till candy is just beginning to thicken but is still glossy.
Drop candy from a tablespoon onto waxed paper. If the candy becomes too stiff to drop, add a few drops of hot water and stir. (Kate says you'll need to add the hot water every time!)
This makes about 30 pralines . . . and no, you can't have any of mine!
November 2009
Apple Crisp
5-6 cups peeled & chunked apples
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter, cooled
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
Place peeled and chunked apples in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and egg till crumbly. Sprinkle over the apples. Drizzle the butter over the top.
Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together and sprinkle over the entire thing. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
October 2009
Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 small pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 12-oz. package chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Mix flour with baking soda.
Combine butter, the sugars, pudding mix, and vanilla in a large mixer bowl; beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs.
Gradually add flour mixture; then stir in chips and nuts. (Batter will be stiff.) Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2" apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
This recipe is easily doubled, which I usually do, but I don't double the amount of chocolate chips, and it seems to be enough. If you like lots of chocolate chips in your chocolate chip cookies, though, go ahead and throw more in! These cookies freeze well, too. I think the secret is in the pudding . . .
September 2009
Baked Oatmeal
This was probably the favorite of my kids. It didn't matter if I put the fruit in or left it out. You could also add some chopped walnuts, if you like. It's almost like cake, but you can add milk for a rich stick-to-your-ribs breakfast.
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 to 1 cup raisins or blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir wet and dry together, and add the raisins or berries (or nuts, if you prefer).
Spread in a greased 9" x 9" pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Serve warm, either as it is, or topped with milk.
This one is even more like a dessert, and my kids liked it, too. We alternated recipes so they could have each of them regularly. The raisins and nuts are optional, but you could add a few extra apples if you leave them out. My kids liked adding just a bit of milk.
4 cups milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsps. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups chopped apples
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring milk, sugar, butter, salt, and cinnamon to a boil in a heavy pot. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a buttered casserole dish and bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes.
I have a lot of Amish friends, and I've never seen them eating this, but that doesn't mean they don't. All I know is my kids liked it.
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine all the ingredients, and mix well.
Spread evenly in a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are browned. Serve warm with milk, and topped with brown sugar, fruit, or nuts, if you like.
