Waffles

Finally, after weeks of promising the best waffle recipe, its finally here! We found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website, but unfortunately they took it off, therefore I cannot link the original one. We also double the recipe for our family of seven.
     Without further ado, the waffles. 

 

     First things first. You are going to combine one and a half cups of flower with two teaspoons baking powder, half teaspoon salt, and two tablespoons sugar. 

 

     After all your dry ingredients are combined, start adding your wet.

 

     Stir in one fourth cup melted butter (I forgot to take a picture of the butter), one and a half cups milk, and one egg. 

 

     Once you have your batter, you are ready to cook some waffles. 

 

     We like to use a round waffle iron, but you can use whatever kind you have. 

 

     For this size we cook about three minutes. For smaller square waffles I would do about two minutes, but it all depends on if you like crunchy or soft waffles.

 

     Top it with butter and maple syrup and you are good to go! Seriously, the best waffles ever.

Waffles

Servings: 4 

1 1/2 c flour 

2 t baking powder 

1/2 t salt

2 T sugar 

1 egg

1 1/2 c milk

1/4 c melted butter

 

Waffles & Laundry

     Recently our dryer for our clothes broke down. Laundry is one of my chores so it really stinks.

     But, we were able to purchase some clothesline and clothespins, hanging it in the back yard. I think it's old fashioned, but in a good way. Nostalgic I guess. Lately though, it's been raining really hard, which counteracts the drying of the clothes.

      Several weeks ago we went to visit some family in Louisiana, and my aunt had an extra Japan plum sapling. I showed an interest in the tree, so she gave me the little tree. It's so cute, and really sturdy. I can't wait till it's big enough to plant.

     The other day we had waffles for dinner. I can never eat things normal like most people. I went ahead and decked it out with peanut butter, banana, a dusting of coco powder, and some syrup. It was so good. I'll have to share the full recipe with you really soon.

    

Tomato Basil Soup

I don't know why, but I've always linked soups with lunch. Sometimes, on a cold winter day, it's nice to cuddle on your couch with a bowl of soup in your lap (or t.v tray if you don't like the hot liquid to spill all over you). My favorite way to eat it, is for lunch. Depending on the soup it can be a nice light lunch, and heavier soups can be for supper. Either way this tomato soup recipe I found on All Recipes is AMAZING!
     So lets get started.

     So, first, you are going to need 2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes. Any kind of crushed tomatoes is fine. Mix that with 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring that up to a nice boil, turn the heat down, and let it simmer for about ten minutes.

     In this bowl I have mixed 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried basil. The original recipe called for fresh basil, but the dried worked just fine. 

          After the tomato broth has finished simmering, add the sugar and basil.

     Go ahead and give it a quick stir.

     Next, measure 1 cup of whipping cream. 

     Add the cream and stir.

     The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup butter, but we felt like that was too much, so I added 5 tablespoons. You can actually add 1/2 a stick of butter, but this was sitting in the fridge, and I didn't want to cut off the extra tablespoon. It came out great anyway.

     Add the butter to the pot.

     Stir the pot, and turn the pot down to low. Let the butter melt slowly, giving it a stir now and then, and when the butter is melted you are done.

     You can eat the soup as is, or you can serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches. When we ate it today, I made homemade bread to go along with the soup. You can serve it with a salad as well.

Tomato Basil Soup

Servings: 9

2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons dried basil

1 cup whipping cream

5 Tablespoons butter

Pickles

So, we harvested some of our cucumbers, and let me tell you that they are good!

They are a little sweet and the skin is so thin, you don't even have to peel them. We haven't picked all of them, since some are still growing. 

You can't grow cucumbers without making pickles. That's my thinking anyway. So, that is exactly what we did.

We made two kinds of pickles, a few small jars of bread and butter, and one of dill. The bread and butter pickles were made last week,m and the dill were just made today. Really canning is quite easy, and you should not be intimidated by it. So, be adventurous and go make some pickles.

Roast Chicken

     I have got to tell you that homemade roast chicken is WAY better than any rotisserie chicken from a grocery store. I have made this chicken several times, and each time it came out amazing. 
     This recipe is Ina Garten's recipe and you can find it in her cookbook.
     So, let's get started.
     

     First, you are going to need a 5-6 lb. chicken. You can use a smaller chicken if you'd rather, but the original recipe calls for a large roasting chicken. Then, preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit (177 degrees celsius). 

     You're going to need an onion and five to six red potatoes. Really, any potato will do. Cut them up into quarters and throw them into a baking pan. Top them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and set aside. 

     Now, it's always good to wash your chicken before you cook it. After its washed, pat it dry with a paper towel.

     It's time to stuff the chicken, but not with bread stuffing. For some odd reason, it helps to stuff the opening with flavorful herbs, making it taste really good. So go ahead and stuff it with half a lemon (or a whole lemon depending on the size of your chicken), fresh thyme, a couple of whole garlic cloves, 1 T butter, salt and pepper. I squeeze out all the lemon juice, then pop it in the cavity. Note: I have also tried this recipe with fresh basil, and it also came out really good.

     Next, you are going to give it a butter massage. You heard me right, a butter massage. Once you have spread the whole chicken with about 2 to 3 T butter, sprinkle salt and pepper on to it.

     Tie it up with trussing thread and set it on top of your onions and potatoes.

     Cook it for one to one and a half hours depending on the size of your chicken. Note: A good way to tell if your chicken is done, is after its been cooking for maybe an hour or so, cut a slit in the chicken. The juices that run out of should be clear if it's done. If the juices are red, cook it for a little bit longer.

I added carrots later because I forgot them. You can add carrots when you cut your potatoes and onions.

     Carve your chicken, and you are done! 

Roast Chicken

Serves 6

1 five to six lb. chicken

5 to 6 red potatoes

1 onion

1/2 package of baby carrots (optional)

Sprig of fresh thyme 

1/2 to 1 lemon

2 to 3 garlic cloves

3 to 4 T of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

     

Meatloaf

Meatloaf, it's so old fashioned and comforting. It's sounds like it would be something a housewife would make. It also sounds like something that June Cleaver would take out of the oven (for some of you younger ones that don't know who that is, I am not going to sit down and explain) that and a good pot roast with potatoes and carrots.
     Today we are not going to talk about pot roast. We are going to talk about meat loaf. I have "invented" my own meatloaf recipe. Basically, what I did was take my mom's and my mamaw's recipe and put what I wanted in it. Your probably thinking "What! A fifteen year old girl making up her own recipe!!!" to me, meatloaf is foolproof.
     Let's get started.

     First, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius). Then, cut up 1/4 of an onion, 1/4 of a bell pepper, and one clove of garlic. I sautéed them in a little bit of olive oil. They don't need to get brown. About five minutes is probably good enough.

     Once the vegetables were done, I added them to about 1 & 1/2 lbs. of ground beef. I just stirred it up with a fork, but you can use your hands if you prefer to get your hands dirty.

     After that was all mixed up, I went ahead and added 1 egg, 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 T worcestershire, and salt and pepper. I just sprinkled in the salt and pepper.

   Put it in a pie pan and stick it in the oven for one hour. When it's got about ten minutes left mix 1/2 cup ketchup with 1 T of brown sugar; pour it on top of the meatloaf. That should be enough but if you think you need more, then make more. Simple as that. 
     Note: I usually don't measure a lot of the ingredients, so if you feel like your meatloaf needs anything, add it.
     Serve it with any side dishes you like and you are done!

Meatloaf  
Serves 8

1 & 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 of an onion
1/4 of a bell pepper
1 clove of garlic
1 egg
1 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 T worcestershire 
dash of salt
pinch of pepper

Topping  
1/2 cup ketchup
1 T brown sugar
You can always make more topping if you feel like your meatloaf needs it.