Homemade Ranch Revised

Lately I have been making ranch a lot! but I have found a much better way to make it. It is just so much better than my other recipe, with the fresh garlic, and not the sour cream. I love it

2 C Real mayo
1/2 - 2/3 C milk (depending of how thick you like it)
1 T minced garlic
1 t Sweet Basil
1 t Oregano
1 t Parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix well and enjoy!!

Homemade Mayonayse

You all have herd me talk about homemade mayo, Right? Well if you haven't just go and look at my recipes for chocolate mayo cake, and/or Homemade Ranch!    Now that you have seen my link It is time to talk about mayonnaise!!!

• 2 egg yolks
• 2T of apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 c of oil (sometimes we need 2c of oil)

Beat egg yolks, add vinegar, slowly add oil adding more if the mayo is not thick enough.


My Experience with this...

 In this recipe I am going to use a little of Julia child's method! Julia child's method is warming the bowl  you use to make the mayo (that is of course if you don't use a blender or a food processor!).
I have tried all three of the ways to make mayo useing: the blender, the food processor, and in the bowl.
I prefer making mayo in the bowl, because it is not loud, and it works my arms!

Pie crust

Never Fail Pie crust!

1 c. shortening (I like to use Butter Flavored Crisco)

2 c. flour

1 t salt

1 T vinegar (I like Apple Cider vinegar)

 1/3 c. milk

Combine flour and salt, then cut in shortening. Add vinegar to milk then combine at once with flour mixture. Knead gently adding flour if necessary. Divide into two balls and roll out into desired size for pie.  You can also use real butter, but make sure to keep it chilled until ready to use, then put your dough in the fridge to re-chill if it becomes too soft.

My Experience with this...
I have tried many different recipes of pie crust and so far this one is the Bestest!
It is so Delicious, and flakey.  My brother even likes it!! You know it is good when your brother likes it!  My mom did NOT like pie until I started making strawberry rhubarb pie!!

I started making pies because my grandpa LOVES rhubarb.  Three years ago when we bought our farm, my family and I were looking at our beautiful flowers and not so beautiful weeds when my grandpa pointed and said, "It's rhubarb! Look, you've got rhubarb! Where is my pie, Biscuit?!?!?!"  Uh-Oh!  I don't know HOW to make pie, YET.....  Sooooo..., I looked up recipes on  cooks.com  to make Strawberry Rhubarb pie, and how to make a pie crust. 

I entered my pie into a fair last year (September of 2010) it won 3rd place!
I harvest as much as possible without hurting the plant by cutting stalks carefully all around the plant so that more stalks will shoot up during the spring and summer!
It's so easy... even my brother could do it!

Chocolate Mayonnaise cake

Mayonnaise is a very interesting condiment. It is made with eggs, oil, and a little bit of vinegar. It can be used to make salad dressings, as a sandwich spread, in a variety of dips, and as baking ingredients! To home-make mayonnaise, I blend egg yolks with some apple cider vinegar in a blender. Then VERY slowly, I add olive oil, drop by drop at first, then slowly increase to a small stream after emulsification begins. It keeps in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
This month I included a recipe that uses mayonnaise in an unusual way!

You may think, “Eww, gross! I don’t want to eat that!” but the mayonnaise in this cake is for moisture and to make it rich.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

4 T cocoa powder

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup cold water

1 t vanilla

Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder. Add mayonnaise, cold water, and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured pan 11x7 or two 9-inch layer pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Frost with chocolate frosting, if desired. Enjoy!!! (Bay Leaves Cook-book, page 244)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Best cookies Ever!! When I make chocolate chip cookies this is the only recipe I use. I use it because it is so sweet, and so Chocolateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!!!

This is a family recipe.

2 1/4 c bread flour

1t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 c crisco sticks
2/3 c white sugar
2/3 c packed light brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 farm fresh eggs
1 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift flour, soda, and salt together in seperate bowl. Beat crisco, sugars, and vanilla on #2 until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. gradually add flour mixture until well mixed. turn to "stir". Then add chips/nuts. Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreaced cookie sheet. bake 8-10 mins.

Makes about 3 dz.

My Experince with this.....

I make these cookies about every week, My family loves them, my mom will just start eating the dough by the spoonfull!!!!! I have also entered these cookies in our county fair!

No Bake Cookies

No bake Chocolate/ Peanut Butter cookies

2c. Sugar
1/2c. Cocoa
1/2c. Milk
1 stick of Butter
3c. Oatmeal
1/2c. Peanut Butter

Mix sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter in large saucepan and heat to boiling. Boil for 1 minute. Stir in oatmeal and peanut butter. Drop by spoonful on wax paper. Let cool. These will harden as they cool!
These are so good we could have eaten them all in one day!!

Death By Chocolate!!!!!

Death By chocolate!

1 1/4 (19.8 ounces)packages brownie mix
2 1/2 (3.9 ounces) packages instant chocolate pudding mix
1 1/4 (16 ounces) packages frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 3/4 (1.4 ounces) bars chocolate covered english toffee

Prepare brownies according to package directions. Let cool.
Mix pudding according to package directions.
In glass punch bowl, layer in the following order: 1/2 of the brownie, crumbled; 1/2 of the pudding; 1 toffee bar, crushed; 1/2 of the whipped topping.
Repeat layers in the same order. Save the last toffee bar to crumble and sprinkle on top before serving.
Refrigerate. Best if made the day before you serve it!

Note.
We used heath crumbles.

Accident Soup!

Accident soup

Ingredients …

1 bag of green beans
1 bag of sweet corn
½ bag of black eyed peas
1 quart size freezer bag of squash puree
32 oz of pepper broth
½ gallon skim milk
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Directions…

Dump first5 ingredients in 6 quart pot. Put on a wood stove (or on your stove top on med lo) let stand 2 and ½ hours (or until dried out).

While your soup is cooking place the milk in a crock-pot on hi (let stand 2 and ½ hours or until scalded).

After your milk is scalded and your soup is burned say”Oh no my soup is burned and my milk (1/2 gallon) is scalded.” After you finish with your melt down, blend your soup and some of your milk together with a stick blender. Now it is time to add your salt and pepper (the happy part of the evening)!!! After you’ve added your salt and pepper, place your pot on your stove top, and let stand until warmed thru.

(Tip, we baked some pizza crusts with cheese and spices and served that with our soup.)

My Homemade Ranch!

My mom always says ranch is NOT a side dish, it is a condiment!... But, I beg to differ!
I like to put ranch on EVERYTHING: on pizza (YUM), on sandwiches, on my spaghetti (don't knock it until you've tried it!).  Once I put ranch on my cereal - that was NOT good!

I made ranch about 25 or so times - we didn't really like any of those recipes.  My Grammie says, "You've got to use your kidneys!" (she was pointing to her head like she was thinking :)  )  After using my, um kidneys........ here it is......

My Homemade Ranch Recipe Revealed!

After years of trying to perfect my ranch recipe I have finally got it right!!!  At least, it's a hit with our family anyway!

• 1t thyme
• 1t basil
• salt & pepper to your liking
• 1t garlic
• 1/8c buttermilk (I use homemade cultured buttermilk)
• 1/2c homemade mayo
• 1c sour cream

Mix all ingredients well, cool and enjoy!

My Experience with this...
I love ranch so much! When I finally figured out the magic recipe I did the happy dance!!!
My whole family loves ranch (I think a little bit too much)!

The first time I perfected my ranch recipe I still had some store-bought ranch and I made my family taste test them, and my 7yo sister (who DOES NOT like my homemade ranch) says "what is the difference?"

Peanut butter Fudge

1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c Sugar
3/4 c Peanut butter
 1 t Vanilla


Mix milk and sugar in a sauce pan over medium-lo heat, bring to a boil. Boil for 2 and a half minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Cool, cut, and enjoy!!!