Soda Cracker Pie

I do believe this recipe is an "Heirloom" recipe.  You know how there's Heirloom Tomatoes.  I think they get that distinction by being consistently used for over 100 years.  At least that's what my local garden expert Mark Anderson said the other day:)  So therefore this recipe falls within that 100 year old category.  But I will confess to never having it until just this last year.  My granny is famous, actually I will call it infamous, for bring all sort of crazy concoctions to Sunday Dinner or some other family gathering.  Deserts are usually something fluffy, and creamy, and delightful, and sometimes my dad doesn't like them, but this pie I thought was delicious!   The crust IS the pie, but I topped it with a little cream filling.  In retrospect I will do it differently next time around.  Many of the recipes I found for this pie called for merely a generous dollop of fresh whipped cream, but the one that really caught my eye was the fresh, lightly sweetened cream with frozen or fresh raspberries folded in.  Yup!  That's the one for me!

My pictured pie included a lovely lemon cream filling, but truly, it was over the top sweet.  We liked it in very small portions:)  I actually made 2 pies, and the second was filled with the same cream, but instead of lemon curd I added Nutella.  That pie was actually not as sweet as the lemon version.  Quite interesting.  So I'll list a few suggestions for filling, but truly the crust is the star.  It kind of has a Macaron texture and feel to it.  Light and Springy!  A perfect dessert for Easter this Sunday.  Enjoy!!

Soda Cracker Pie

recipe courtesy of my granny Navine:) 

3 egg whites

1 c. sugar

12 sm. soda crackers, crushed

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. chopped nuts  (I actually ground them up.)

Beat egg whites until stiff, gradually beat in sugar and add crackers immediately. Add in remaining ingredients. Pour into pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Once cool top with filling of choice.  

Lemon Cream Filling

1- 8oz pkg. cream cheese 

1 c. lemon curd (I had a jar from Trader Joes, but you can make your own.  Recipe here.)

1- 8oz carton coolwhip or fresh whipped cream

In mixer beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add lemon curd, and continue beating until smooth and creamy.  Fold in Coolwhip or cream.  Spoon into cooled Soda Cracker Pie crust.  

Nutella Cream Filling

1- 8oz pkg. cream cheese 

1 c. Nutella

1- 8oz carton coolwhip or fresh whipped cream

In mixer beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add Nutella, and continue beating until smooth and creamy.  Fold in Coolwhip or cream.  Spoon into cooled Soda Cracker Pie crust.  

Berries and Cream Filling 

*my filling choice from now on!

1 1/4 c. cream whipped and lightly sweetened

1-2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries or any other berry of choice

Whip cream and add a little vanilla or almond extract and lightly sweeten.  Fold in fresh or frozen berries.  Pour into prepared Soda Cracker Pie crust, and top with more fresh berries.  Serve immediately.

Berry Watermelon Spinach Salad

Last week I spent a lovely couple of hours with my grandma.  She's always been one of my favorite people.  As a kid almost every Sunday of my life, a certain gentleman would tell me how I looked just like my grandma.  Every week.  He must have really liked her.  But who doesn't?  She's that kind of gal.   To tell you the truth though,  I just didn't get it.   She was old.  I was young.  To me we looked nothing alike, but in all reality I probably did.  My grandma has always been a great cook.  She could be Paula Dean's twin sister.  They both LOVE to use butter, cream, and all sorts of goodness in their cooking.  I only remember ever eating one thing that I hated of hers.  It was a French Onion Soup she made when I was about 5.  So I can't really judge her by that.  What 5 year old likes soggy bread and onions together?  I love it now, but I just didn't appreciate it then:)  Everything else...........I love.  She has a cookbook that she wrote with one of her sisters quite a few years ago, and it is still my go to cookbook.  There is always something good in it.

Last week when I was with her, I did a little gardening while she took Jane for a little walk and then we had the best lunch ever!!  She tossed a salad and threw in a few extra things, and then we sat down to a cute little place setting to eat our lunch.  It was a beautiful salad that we each ate in a refined manner, until I was ready for seconds.  It was good!  Finally after I finished my second serving I apologized and just pulled the salad over and finished off the rest of the salad right out of the bowl.  No more lady like manners.  I was a hungry girl!  The salad was an unlikely combination I thought.  I would have never added watermelon to it, but that's what made it so stinking good!  It would be great for a shower, or just on a Sat. afternoon when you've been doing yard work all morning, and need some sustenance.  Thanks Grams for the recipe, and I had a wonderful time with you:)  Love ya!

Berry Watermelon Spinach Salad

Courtesy of my Grandma Navine!

Spinach

 Fresh Strawberries

Fresh Blueberries

Fresh Raspberries

Fresh Blackberries

(Or any combination of fresh berries you have. Just use what you have or what's on sale.)

Watermelon chunks 

(I cut up a mini seedless watermelon and used a few cups.)

Chopped Pecans or Walnuts

A Sprinkle of Parmesan or Blue Cheese

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 T. Honey or Agave

Poppy seed Dressing

(I used the Lighthouse brand.  It was low fat too, and delicious!)

Just use your judgement on proportions.  If you're feeding many use a lot, but if your feeding a few just cut back a bit.  I probably used the equivalent of one raspberry container for all my berries.  It served 4.

Dump everything in a big bowl and toss with the dressing, honey and lemon juice.  You could eat this with some grilled chicken on top for a heartier meal, or just as is.  I think it's absolutely perfect.

Winter Citrus Salad

Tis the time of year for citrus.  We're working on our 7th case of oranges since Christmas.  Did you get that?  7- 40 lb. cases.  That's a ton of oranges, and we have loved every single one.  Most have been eaten in the form of a carrot-orange-apple-spinach juice most days, but there have been a lot of salads topped with oranges as well.  Last weekend my granny brought this Winter Citrus salad to a family gathering and I was smitten.  So simple and delicious, and it boasted the flavor of another favorite ingredient.  Honey!  I call it liquid gold.  That's what it looks like and it's just so tasty.  So now when you have that over abundance of oranges in your fruit basket you can make this beautiful salad.  My kids all liked it as well.  Really, isn't it perty:)  I actually think this is one of the loveliest pictures I've taken.  The colors are so stinking perfect for a winter day.  I'm going to frame it in my living room.  Maybe even in my bedroom!

Winter Citrus Salad

4 oranges with the peel cut off and cut into wedges and then cubed

1/2 lb. strawberries

any other fruit of choice-here are some suggestions:

grapefruit

tangelos

blueberries

raspberries

blackberries

melons (you get the picture)

4 T. honey

1 T. fresh mint chopped

Easy as can be.  Just combine all ingredients together and drizzle the honey over the top.   Stir together and serve. Love on wheels!!

Zucchinni

Carving of zucchini for the annual Zucchini Regatta

Have I ever told you about my grandpa's garden?  I lived next door to my grandma and grandpa all my growing up years, and we were the recipients of many, many, MANY pounds of produce from their garden every summer.  In fact we never grew a garden in my family until my grandpa stopped gardening as he got older.  Until that point I would spend all day at my grandparent's house with all the cousins running around the fields and gardens.  Thinking about it now, I was an exceedingly lucky kid.  We had oodles of cousins to play with every day, and I only had to do my hair one day a week in the summer.   Sundays.

My sister and I worked one summer in my grandpa's garden weeding, but we always helped with something or other with the garden.  I remember sitting for hours as my mom and grandma would shell peas, or the times my grandpa would get pitchfork loads of pea vines and throw them on the back of a trailer and haul us around as we ate peas, by the load.  I also remember the trunk loads of zucchini my grandpa would pick and then drop off to practically everyone in Pleasant View.

Happy kids ready to float their boats.

One day he unloaded a huge trailer load of zucchini  on his front lawn and told me and Hollie, and a few other cousins that we could sell the zucchini to all the passer-byers and keep all the money we made.  We had visions of polo ponies, and fancy clothes.........actually we just wanted enough to buy some penny candy at the little store.  There were stayed for 6 hours that day.  2 cars stopped, but they only wanted tomatoes and we weren't selling tomatoes.  Only zucchini.  Nobody wanted the amounts of zucchini we had. We didn't even want the zucchini!

I've found the best use of zucchini now is for the annual Zucchini Regatta, and now this Chocolate Zucchini Cake.  Truth be told, the cake is fantastic!!  We loved it.  I stumbled across the recipe here on the internet, and the recipe will be a staple.  So I'm sure you have loads of zucchini, so make some cake right before you use them all for the zucchini regatta:)

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

3 cups grated zucchini

1 c chocolate chips

1 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts and zucchini until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.  With the second cup of chips add the brown sugar and sprinkle on top of the cake.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Bananas Foster In Paradise

Bananas Foster in Paradise

As I write this post I am sitting out on the back lanai watching the palm trees sway gently in the Kohala Coast breeze.  It is beautiful.  We've already had our morning jog, Emma and I, and I only think we got a few funny looks.  Have you ever seen a 7 month pregnant woman jogging.  Just looking at my shadow I want to bust up laughing.  But I am slow and there is more walking in my morning routine, but at least I'm still going.  Chubby and slow, but moving.  I am actually spending the week here in Kona with my Grandma and her two cute as heck little 83 year old friends.  Technically I'm not a baby sitter, but in all reality I had to know where the hospital was and what to do in case of an emergency before Jimmy would let me come.  I brought Emma along for the ride so can you imagine this visual.  Three little 83 year old women, one 7 month pregnant mother to be, and a 14 year old girl.  Quite the motley crew!

Every day is spent at the pool for the little ladies, while Emma and I hit a different beach.  Lunch is out somewhere, but dinner is at home, usually with a lovely salad, and fresh pineapple and some crust bread and butter.  Last nights dessert was Emma's idea.  We make it every time we're in Hawaii, and I think it is one of my dad's favorite things to eat.  None of the ladies had ever had it before, but I think they liked it.  I liked it and so did my granny and Emma.  Who wouldn't love hot, wonderfully caramelly, sticky stuff over vanilla ice cream.  It is easy and quick, and only requires you to have to repent a little.  Actually you can make the whole dessert without the use of the booze required in the recipe and it will still be wonderful!

When I was younger my family would spend every Spring Break down in St. George.  For days Hollie and I would lay out at the pool, body to body with every other Spring Breaker, and bake our guts out.  We'd usually spend a day in Zion's National Park, and enjoy the gawking at the polygamist at we drove through Colorado City on the way.  The best part of the trip though was the yearly Easter tradition.  We'd wake up early Sunday morning and get all gussied up in our new Easter dresses and ties and head to the local chapel for Sacrament Meeting.  The place was always jam packed, and there were always a few young men who showed up in the swimming suits since they conveniently left their Sunday clothes home:)  Straight after the meeting was over we were off.  We'd all jump in the big old custom van and head down to Las Vegas.  We'd head right to Caesar's Palace for their Easter Brunch.  It always seemed so strange to be in our Sunday clothes, coming right from church and then standing in the midst of Babylon.  If the end of the world was coming we were for sure goners, but the brunch was always worth it.

They had everything your little heart could desire.  Prime Rib, shrimp, the best Almond Poppy Seed muffins in the world and every other imaginable dish.  But the most important part of the meal was the Bananas Foster that my dad would bring back to the table first thing.  This Bananas Foster was flaming too.  A sight to behold for this little girl from a small Utah town.  But my dad loved it.  He'd lick his bowl I'm sure, and we'd all go back for more and more.

So now every time we're in Hawaii we make this treat.  I'm going to make it at home from now on too.  It's really simple, and it tastes soooooo good.  Give it a try.  It's a good dessert for company, and it's good for breakfast:)  (Emma and I had to eat it this morning since the lighting was so bad last night, and I had to make a second batch for photos sake.  What we won't do for the sake of this blog!)  You'll impress your husband and your in laws, and probably your kids too.  You can totally substitute some rum extract in place of the real rum and you'll have the same thing.  Give it a try!  You'll love it!

Bananas Foster

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons rum (or 2 t. rum extract)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise and crosswise

1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (totally optional and I never use them)

1 pint vanilla ice cream

Directions

(I usually double the whole recipe and it will serve 6)

In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. When mixture begins to bubble, place bananas and walnuts in pan. Cook until bananas are hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve at once over vanilla ice cream.

You have to be a quick mover.  An extra helper right at serving time is quite helpful.  Since the dessert is hot it will melt the ice cream quick so have all the ice cream dished and then pour the hot bananas on top and have someone run them to whoever is lucky enough to eat them with you fast.

Navine Pie Oh My

I am posting this recipe for my granny. Not that she's computer savvy or anything. In fact most of the time she's not quite sure to do with "that big machine in the den." But at least the recipe will be documented so she can have me print it off for her. I want to note here today that I wrote down every single ingredient and step I used and did in the making of this pie. That never ever happens. I have a cute little friend that whenever she calls for a recipe she makes sure she asks if I am telling the recipe to her as written or as I made it. Most times there is a stark difference between the two. My granny always says that's a sign of a good cook if you can just add a little extra this and some of that, but I'm afraid it doesn't foster sisterly or friendly affection in the recipe sharing division. So I wrote this recipe down as I was doctoring it. I was impressed and amazed and thoroughly shocked. It was sooooo un-Lisa like, so don't get used to it!

This was the pie I made for my granny on Easter. I made it for Easter last year too, but it wasn't so pretty therefore I didn't share. Sunday I made it perfect. It tasted good and it looked good as well. When I told my grandma what we were having for dessert she squealed with delight. We both squealed with delight. I love it when someone will squeal with me. She made me promise that I would serve this at her funeral. I promised I would. No funeral potatoes. Just Creme Brulee Pie. Actually I think we'll name it Navine Pie in her honor. At least then something if not someone will be named after her. That's a real sore spot around these parts. But please, I tried to name my girl child Navine, but there's something wrong about a cute little baby named Navine. Navine like ravine. Not grapevine. Sorry Grams. Don't take it personal. I still love your guts!!

That leads me to a very funny story about my dear old grams. I have tons, and I'm going to have to start writing them down, but this one is all about the name. When we had our red headed child he was named after my dad, brother and grandpa Garner. My grandpa died when I was 5 so I don't remember him well, but I figured since my dad and brother Josh were both named after him, that I would name the redheaded child after all three of the men. The name in question is Grant and I thought it was a great middle name. James agreed. So Jacob Grant was to be the name. I remember telling my granny what we were going to name Jake and I was quite taken back by her response. Navine is the best grandma in all respects. She never says anything bad. She always just tells you how beautiful you are, how wonderful you are, and how perfect you are..............you get the idea. So when the next words came out of her mouth I was stunned. She heard me say, "We're going to name him Jacob Grant Clawson." Big smile on my face, thinking she'd love the name since it was my dad's middle name and all, but no. Her response was, "That dirty rotten son of a B! (But she said the real word! That big old B word that sometimes just must be said. Obviously this was one of those occasions.) I haven't had a single grandchild named after me, let alone a dog, and he's had plenty. And I'm the good grandma!" She then proceeded to name off all the men children who were named Grant, and there were quite a few. You see, my grandma and grandpa were divorced while my dad was on his mission. Way before my time, but some things just run deep. She had held her tongue long enough. I don't blame her. I would have voiced my mind long before the 12th great grand child. Grams you're a gem!

Well I think it's now time that something is named after Navine, so here it is. Navine Pie!!! In all it's cream and calorie glory. It suits her. It's the best dessert for the best granny. Simple yet elegant, and something to be proud of. Love ya Grams!!

Navine Creme Brulee Pie

2 single pie crusts blind baked (I'll post my favorite crust recipe.)

(Blind baking is just baking the shells and then adding the innards after. I usually bake the shells with another pie pan on top of the crust. That way the crust doesn't slip down while it's baking.)

Custard:

2 T. flour

3 T. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 egg + 2 yolks

4 c. cream of half and half

1 t. vanilla

In a medium sauce pan add all the ingredients together except for the vanilla and whisk until smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it boil for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens a bit. Take off the stove and whisk in 4 oz. of Marscapone Cheese or Cream Cheese. Marscapone is best, but it's kind of pricey. Do what you gotta do. I had to blend the cream mixture up with an immersion blender to get it real smooth. Pour the custard into the two cooled pie shells. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

To serve top with sugar and torch the top until it melts and turns brown. I have a kitchen torch, but if you don't you can always put it under the broiler. I doesn't work as well, but it will do the trick. Slice the pie and top with fresh berries, and whipped cream. It's good!!

Chinese Pork Roast

Part 2 of Sunday's birthday celebration. This fantastic recipe comes from my Granny's "Sister's Favorites" cookbook. I have found over the years that the best cookbooks are those made by people you know and love. I have a handful of these well worn cookbooks that when ever I'm in doubt, they always pull through. I love my sis-in-law Kristy, granny's cookbooks. She makes the best candy, and bread sticks. I love my neighbor Colette's family cookbook. It's huge and seriously 2/3 maybe even 3/4 of the book is sweets and treats. You'd think they'd be ziggy piggy's, but alas they are all thin little girls who are fantastic cooks. My ward put out a cookbook a few years ago, and it is amazing. I wish I would have bought tons of them. Oh ya! I did, but I gave them all away. Secretly I have 2 stashed away, and you can not get me to part with them. They are that good. And how about the new one I got from a friend for my birthday. It's from a girl at the bank who's mother wrote it. It has an amazing Banana Bread. And I can't forget about the Herff Jones employee cookbook. It's wonderful! These are all my favorite books. I take them to bed with me sometimes! There's nothing like getting your taste buds going at 9:45 pm.

The Chinese Pork Roast recipe is one of those great recipes. It is definitely James' favorite meal. It is quite easy and just requires a little preparation ahead of time. I love to make gravy with the pan drippings when the roast is done. It has a very sweet and sour flavor. I serve with boiled potatoes and veggies. My favorite thing to do with this roast though is the leftovers. I really hate leftovers unless you can change their identity. If you turn it into something completely different then I love them. The leftover roast makes perfect Sweet and Sour Pork a few nights later. I just chunk up the roast and throw it into the wok with the veggies and pineapple and saute away. Served over rice and it is one of my favorite meals. So James likes the roast and potatoes, and I like the Sweet and Sour. It's a win-win.

Granny's Chinese Pork Roast

1 3-4 lb. Pork Loin Roast

4 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 1/2 T. honey

1 T. soy sauce (AKA Bug Juice)

1 c. chicken broth

3 T. vinegar

1/4 c. water

Combine sugar, salt, honey, soy sauce broth and vinegar. Place roast in a large Ziploc bag and pour sauce over meat and let marinate for at least 1 hour. (I've done it overnight too.) Pace in a roasting pan. Bake in a 350' F. oven for 2 1/2 -3 hours. Baste sauce if you have time. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. The roast will be a darker brown than you're accustomed to. Take roast out and allow to rest for a few minutes. Cut and serve. I save the dripping and thicken to make a gravy. Serve with boiled red potatoes. YUMMY!

Great Granny's Noodles

Again, another post from last year, but I couldn't resist with my new found scanning capabilities and my mom giving me a picture of my Grandma Great making my favorite food in the whole entire world. I know I say something is my favorite a lot, but this is the one. Ask my mom. She knows me well and could testify to this noodle soup being my all time love.

Look hard at the black and white photo. The woman in the forefront is my great grandma. She is at Como Hot Springs in Morgan I believe and they are rolling out homemade noodles. So I think I'd call this a time honored tradition. My Grandma Great was born on April 15, 1891 so I believe this photo dates back to the early 1920's. My red headed child shares this birthday with this great great grandma as well as his Grandma Clawson. The red headed child is lucky to share a birthday with two wonderful women.

(Last years post)

Now these noodles are truly tradition. The first gal I know who made them was my great granny on my moms side. Her name was Viola Telford, but we always just called her Grandma Great. My mom has an old photo of her and her sisters up somewhere near Morgan making these noodles al fresco (outside). It is a great pic. They're all in there dresses and aprons rolling and cutting noodles for another great family meal together. Grandma Great then passed this tradition onto my grandma Barker and what a treat that has been. (black and white photo above.)

My grandma Barker lived next door to me my whole life, and I realize now that I took that for granted. She was a quiet lady, who was always home. Every once in awhile she wasn't so quiet though. I remember swimming in our pool one lazy summer evening and we heard the loudest sneeze ever. It was grandma Barker out on her swing in her yard two houses away. We kids yelled back, "Bless you grandma!" and in response she yelled back, "Thank you kids!" We still get the giggles thinking about that night. How could you not love this woman. With the few choice swear words she taught us, and the noodle making tradition to pass on, she is a gem!

I would catch the school bus at her house when I was in elementary. The cousins and I would leave our homes early enough so that we could play outside together until the bus came. If it was a cold morning we would go inside my grandmas home while my grandpa would keep a lookout for the bus. Grandma always had a box of Twigs to share, and plenty of popsicles in the summertime. We lived at her house most of our childhood. We played in her trees, peed peas with her, (shelled peas) and loved to eat her noodles. I don't remember her cooking anything else really, but her chicken noodle soup was amazing. I remember going over to grandmas house to do her hair with my mom and there would be noodle sheets all over the kitchen. She'd roll out the dough balls super thin and then let them dry everywhere. Every surface was covered in newspaper with the noodle sheets on top drying. After the noodle sheets were almost dry she would cut them into strips and then cut super duper extra thin noodles out of the strips. Almost shavings. The noodles were then put in a huge pot of chicken broth and served piping hot. On the table, was placed big bowls of chopped up green onions, shredded chicken, and bug juice. That is what we call Soy Sauce. You know when you squish a bug. The guts are the same color as Soy Sauce therefore its nickname. It sound a bit gross, but you know you've ripped off your fair share of grasshopper legs! Don't deny it:). You would then place your own toppings in your bowl of noodles and slurp in up like a ziggy piggy. It was divine!

Grandma Barker wasn't the warm fuzzy kind of granny who would squeal and hug the guts out of you, but she loved you in her own way. She never gave big gifts for birthdays or Christmas, but she never forgot your birthday either. I think I was her favorite (OK so Hollie really was but that's ok) because every birthday she would call me and tell me to come over for a little something. At her house sitting on the counter would be big brown grocery bag filled with noodle especially for me!! I know it took her hours to make those noodles, but Grandma knew they were my favorite thing in the world. Just shows she really did love me best! I would take them home and my mom would fix a big pot of Chicken Noodle soup for me. I loved it. I loved Grandma Barker.

The tradition continues. I only remember my mom making noodles from scratch once or twice because it took so much time, but really it was because my mom's wrists were never the same after all that cutting. It's a wrist wrecker that's for sure. But my mom found a great replacement. Kluski Noodle at the grocery store are a great substitute for homemade when you just don't have the time or wrist power. My mom would add her special twist to the mix. She would make the soup and then we'd bake homemade blueberry muffins to go along side of the soup. That's my mom's addition to the tradition. She would always serve the soup in her best china bowls, and everyone loved that meal. You could ask any one of my siblings today and I'll bet Chicken Noodle Soup was one of their favorite meals too.

A few years after I got married I called Grandma Barker and she passed the recipe down to me.

Now Hollie was lucky. She actually got the demonstration from Grandma. Therefore she should be the master noodle maker now. I've made these noodles a few times since then, and each time it brings back floods of memories. I spent all morning Tues. making the noodles (it burned a lot of calories as an added benefit!) and we finally had them for dinner tonight. This isn't a meal you want to rush, therefore that is why it was served on Sunday not Tues. The rest of the week was just too crazy, or someone was coming for dinner and there is NO WAY I was going to share these noodles with anyone. It has to be those who know the time and tradition that goes into this meal and someone you truly love. My kids and James are those lucky eaters today. We made huckleberry muffins to go along with the soup tonight and might I say it was all I expected it to be. It brings a smile to my heart and happy thoughts in my head, and yummy sounds from my mouth. That's what food can do to us! So thanks to Great Grandma, Grandma Barker, Mom and now me. I'll teach Emma one of these days so she can pass it on to her family. What a traditions to have. The best kind I might add.

Grandmas Noodles

3 c. flour

7 eggs

2 t. salt

Mix all the ingredients together and form into 5 balls. Let the dough rest a few minutes. Roll each ball into a thin sheet. Let sit until almost dry. When dry cut into 2 1/2 in. strips and then cut into super thin noodles. Let dry. When ready to cook, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook 5 mins. Drain noodles and add to chicken broth. Serve with shredded chicken, green onions, and bug juice. (soy sauce) Serve with blueberry muffins.

Dilly Rolls

It doesn't matter how long I've cooked or how many different things I try, there are a few things my mom makes that I think are the most amazing recipes in the world.  I have tried many different recipes for some of the items, but I still come back to my dear old mummy's way.  In my opinion there is no better recipe than my mom's for Chocolate Chip cookies, Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with it's touch of cinnamon, Lasagna, gravy, and most importantly Dilly Rolls!  

Whenever I saw these lovely rolls being made, I knew it must be a special occasion.  They aren't made everyday.  Not even every Sunday.  Only special Sunday's when a grandma and grandpa were coming over, or an old lady Christmas dinner, or one special Christmas I remember when both my Grandma Roberts, and my Grandpa Garner were there.  They were divorced before I ever came along, but I remember thinking they might get married again if they could be nice to each other at Christmas:)  The fact that my grandpa's "other" wife was there too wasn't going to burst my bubble.  It was actually the last time I saw my grandpa before he died, and lets just say, that Christmas was wonderful.  My mom has a picture of the Christmas dinner table set with favorite cousins from Twin Falls there, my aunt Jill, my grandma and grandpa and Dilly Rolls!  It really was a special occasion.

My mom gets requests for these rolls from all of her siblings every Christmas.  She's the Dilly Roll queen.  I made them one Sunday years ago when I invited J's mom and dad, and his grandma and grandpa Bingham over.  I remember Grandma Bingham loved them and had to take one home in a napkin.  That is the ultimate compliment.   When someone stuffs their purse with a little treasure in a napkin:)

Since it was conference this weekend and J didn't have to go to church all day, I decided to cook all weekend long.  It got old, all that cooking by Sunday night, but I was so happy when I took a lovely roast beast sandwich on a Dilly Roll with mustard and salt and pepper to bed with me.  I giggled the whole time I ate it.  I always double the recipe because to me the leftover's are what is really important.  I need a sandwich for breakfast the next day as well as a late night snack.   I hope you like them as much as I do, and hopefully they'll appear on you next special dinner table.  

My Muther's Best Dang Dilly Rolls

1 c. cottage cheese

1 egg

1 T. butter

1/4 t. baking soda

Place these ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it is the temp. of formula.  In another bowl add:

1 T. yeast

1/2 c. warm water

1 T. sugar

Add the cottage cheese mixture to the yeast and then add:

1 T. dried minced onion

2 t. dill seed (not weed)

1 t. salt 

2 1/4- 2 1/2 c. of flour

Mix until combined.  It is a sticky batter.  Grease 12 muffin tins and spoon the batter in.  Let rise until their a good size.  Bake in a 350' F oven for 12- 15 mins.  When the rolls come out of the oven, brush the tops with melted butter with a little bit of salt added.  These make the best leftover roast beef sandwiches.

Helen's Brownies

Lovely crusty, crackle-ish top.  Yum!

Yum is the word.  These brownies are the best I've yet to find, and they come from one of my cousin's, grandma dearest on the other side of the family.  Helen was her name and I remember visiting her raspberry patch when I was a little girl.   Helen made all sorts of good things, but these brownies are my fave.  

When James and I got married I remember Helen and Clyde coming to our reception.  She was such a pretty lady, and her gift to us was a cookie jar full of these homemade brownies.  What a treat!  James and I loved them and I love the recipe now too since Helen has passed.  My mom made a discovery a few years back about these brownies though.  When you make them don't mix the batter in a mixer or use a handheld mixer.  That makes the brownies more cake like and less fudgy.  My mother found that mixing by hand as little as possible produces a  fudgy wonderful brownie.  I love the addition of chocolate chips and a teaspoon of cinnamon.  Can't have enough Mexican influence in our lives now can we!   (Mexican chocolate has a hint of cinnamon to it if you're wondering where that last comment came from.) So Olson cousins, and anyone else who loved Helen,  let's all make these brownies this weekend for all of our different Labor Day activities and think of Helen :) You won't be sorry you did it!

Helen's Brownies

 (AKA Lovely Lisa Brownies for those of you who I have claimed these as my own:) So sorry, but I knew you didn't know Helen.  Now you do!)

I double the recipe and put it in a big silver cookies sheet.  It sometimes overflows, so now I have the perfect brownie pan.  It is 11x15x2 and it is wonderful.  It produces the best brownies yet.  A little thicker than the silver cookie sheet produces, but oh so perfect!

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. Crisco or shortening

2 c. sugar

Cream together.  Add:

4 eggs

1/2 c. cocoa

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon (optional)

1 c. chocolate chips

Mix together until barely combined.  Pour in a greased and floured 9x13 inch pan.  I like to top the brownies with more chocolate chips and chopped pecans now.  I like the nuts and chips inside the brownie, but they look so much prettier in the top.   Bake for 30 mins. in a 350'F preheated oven.  The center should slightly wobble, and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out pretty clean with maybe a few clumps on it.  When I doubled the recipe and made it in the larger pan it actually baked for 50 mins. They are great as brownie sundaes, or a great breakfast for your 1st  and 4th graders!

The One Eyed 80 Year Old

Yesterday was a lovely day for us.  We had a baby blessing in Ogden for my brother's new son Andrew.  The meeting was good, I got to sit with James actually, and of course the food was delish after.  The funny thing was my granny.  I have more funny stories to tell about her than anyone else in the whole world combined (actually Hollie comes in at a close second).  While we were eating lunch grams asked if her eye was leaking.  Grams had cateract surgery last week in her right eye and now has a slight infection in it.  It was leaking a bit, but I didn't realize she couldn't see out of it at all.  My granny is a very mobile 80 year old and a very good driver I might add, but I was a bit nervous about her driving yesterday.  We had the rainstorm of all rainstorms.  I'm talking buckets of water in a very short amount of time.  I told her I didn't think her driving was a good idea under the circumstances.  She laughed and said, "Well at least one eye works!"  So how about that.   A one eyed 80 year old woman driving home at dusk in a downpour.  I hope she's still alive.........I better call.   I love you Grams!

Noodles and Traditions

We had the best Sunday dinner ever today. The whole family has been dreaming about it all week ever since the thought of making it went into effect. Now Chicken Noodle Soup may not sound very fantastic and amazing, but in my book it is. This is tradition folks! I love that word. Whenever it is said I can see my dad doing his Tevia impression, and belting out that song from Fiddler On the Roof. It is his all time favorite movie. In his minds eye he is Tevia. He only had 2 daughters, but he had a rough time letting us leave his nest just like Tevia did. I know you can all see Rod belting out that song. He should have starred in Fiddler:) He would have been a star!

Now these noodles are truly tradition. The first gal I know who made them was my great granny on my moms side. Her name was Viola Telford, but we always just called her Grandma Great. My mom has an old photo of her and her sisters up somewhere near Morgan making these noodles al fresco (outside). It is a great pic. They're all in there dresses and aprons rolling and cutting noodles for another great family meal together. Grandma Great then passed this tradition onto my grandma Barker and what a treat that has been.

My grandma Barker lived next door to me my whole life, and I realize now that I took that for granted. She was a quiet lady, who was always home. Every once in awhile she wasn't so quiet though. I remember swimming in our pool one lazy summer evening and we heard the loudest sneeze ever. It was grandma Barker out on her swing in her yard two houses away. We kids yelled back, "Bless you grandma!" and in response she yelled back, "Thank you kids!" We still get the giggles thinking about that night. How could you not love this woman. With the few choice swear words she taught us, and the noodle making tradition to pass on, she is a gem!

I would catch the school bus at her house when I was in elementary. The cousins and I would leave our homes early enough so that we could play outside together until the bus came. If it was a cold morning we would go inside my grandmas home while my grandpa would keep a lookout for the bus. Grandma always had a box of Twigs to share, and plenty of popsicles in the summertime. We lived at her house most of our childhood. We played in her trees, peed peas with her, (shelled peas) and loved to eat her noodles. I don't remember her cooking anything else really, but her chicken noodle soup was amazing. I remember going over to grandmas house to do her hair with my mom and there would be noodle sheets all over the kitchen. She'd roll out the dough balls super thin and then let them dry everywhere. Every surface was covered in newspaper with the noodle sheets on top drying. After the noodle sheets were almost dry she would cut them into strips and then cut super duper extra thin noodles out of the strips. Almost shavings. The noodles were then put in a huge pot of chicken broth and served piping hot. On the table, was placed big bowls of chopped up green onions, shredded chicken, and bug juice. That is what we call Soy Sauce. You know when you squish a bug. The guts are the same color as Soy Sauce therefore its nickname. It sound a bit gross, but you know you've ripped off your fair share of grasshopper legs! Don't deny it:). You would then place your own toppings in your bowl of noodles and slurp in up like a ziggy piggy. It was divine!

Grandma Barker wasn't the warm fuzzy kind of granny who would squeal and hug the guts out of you, but she loved you in her own way. She never gave big gifts for birthdays or Christmas, but she never forgot your birthday either. I think I was her favorite (OK so Hollie really was but that's ok) because every birthday she would call me and tell me to come over for a little something. At her house sitting on the counter would be big brown grocery bag filled with noodle especially for me!! I know it took her hours to make those noodles, but Grandma knew they were my favorite thing in the world. Just shows she really did love me best! I would take them home and my mom would fix a big pot of Chicken Noodle soup for me. I loved it. I loved Grandma Barker.

The tradition continues. I only remember my mom making noodles from scratch once or twice because it took so much time, but really it was because my mom's wrists were never the same after all that cutting. It's a wrist wrecker that's for sure. But my mom found a great replacement. Kluski Noodle at the grocery store are a great substitute for homemade when you just don't have the time or wrist power. My mom would add her special twist to the mix. She would make the soup and then we'd bake homemade blueberry muffins to go along side of the soup. That's my mom's addition to the tradition. She would always serve the soup in her best china bowls, and everyone loved that meal. You could ask any one of my siblings today and I'll bet Chicken Noodle Soup was one of their favorite meals too.

A few years after I got married I called Grandma Barker and she passed the recipe down to me.

Now Hollie was lucky. She actually got the demonstration from Grandma. Therefore she should be the master noodle maker now. I've made these noodles a few times since then, and each time it brings back floods of memories. I spent all morning Tues. making the noodles (it burned a lot of calories as an added benefit!) and we finally had them for dinner tonight. This isn't a meal you want to rush, therefore that is why it was served on Sunday not Tues. The rest of the week was just too crazy, or someone was coming for dinner and there is NO WAY I was going to share these noodles with anyone. It has to be those who know the time and tradition that goes into this meal and someone you truly love. My kids and James are those lucky eaters today. We made huckleberry muffins to go along with the soup tonight and might I say it was all I expected it to be. It brings a smile to my heart and happy thoughts in my head, and yummy sounds from my mouth. That's what food can do to us! So thanks to Great Grandma, Grandma Barker, Mom and now me. I'll teach Emma one of these days so she can pass it on to her family. What a traditions to have. The best kind I might add.

Grandmas Noodles

3 c. flour

7 eggs

2 t. salt

Mix all the ingredients together and form into 5 balls. Let the dough rest a few minutes. Roll each ball into a thin sheet. Let sit until almost dry. When dry cut into 2 1/2 in. strips and then cut into super thin noodles. Let dry. When ready to cook, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook 5 mins. Drain noodles and add to chicken broth. Serve with shredded chicken, green onions, and bug juice. (soy sauce) Serve with blueberry muffins.