The Mitchell Kids
This Weeks Menu
Crockpot chicken and gravy
Amish Whoopie Pies!
We were first introduced to Whoopie Pies when we moved here to Missouri. I had never heard of them before. A local Amish bakery was selling some and we were "smitten" with this "sandwich" style mini cake/cookie with filling in the middle.
I am not sure "how" these came to be called "whoopie pies" but I figured some Amish mom had some leftover cake batter and decided to make something with it.......adding some leftover icing in the middle and perhaps one of her kids tried it and exlaimed " whoopie!!" ....
Just kidding, I really have NO idea how these came to be called Whoppie Pies, but they are fantastic. I bring these to potlucks for the kids and they are always a bit hit, and of course my kids at home love them too! They are fabulous with a big glass of milk!
This recipe makes about 4 dozen large sized pies.
Chocolate Whoopie Pies:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup water
1 cup cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour milk or buttermilk
Cream shortening, butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Grease baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min. Do not overbake. Cool
Filling:
3/4 shortening or butter softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
water
Cream butter, add sugar one cup at a time... add vanilla and add as much water as desired.
Yields: about 48
You can wrap these individually in plastic wrap and they will keep overnight.
Enjoy!!
~ gloria ~
My weekend "finds"...
I have been busy this weekend sanding down the top of our old oak pedestal table..... it is in desperate need of refinishing! After 15 yrs of much use, it is due for a new coat of finish! It "had" a light colored honey oak finish on it, and the chairs were very light wood and an arrowback design. I have decided to stain the table a colonial walnut color, and I have been looking for pressed back victorian styled chairs to go with it. I kind of want a "mish mash " of various chairs to go around the table... it may take me a while to find 12 chairs, but I did get a start this weekend when I stopped at a local anitque store and found 2 chairs for a good price! ( $25 each!) I have a love for old things....
This one even has a cane seat and it's in good condition considering how old it is!
This one needs a a few dowels replaced in the back of the chair..... otherwise it's in good condition...
I also was able to find an old globe that will come in handy for our schoolroom and a lovely old victorian frame that I hope to display a photo of my parent's wedding in.
I love to find good bargains!
~ gloria ~
A Too Large Pot Roast...
Houston, we have a problem.My 4 inch by, oh, maybe 14 inch, chuck roast won't fit in my roaster :o(
Well, let me rephrase myself. It fits...with some tucking in along the sides, and I do have a bit of space on the ends. But overall, my cast iron roaster is simply too small. My mother said cut it in half and use 2 pans. Oh, the indignity of whacking this wonderful, marbled roast in half! Isn't it a beauty?
No, I don't usually covet meat like this, but this is special :o) I'm used to rolled roasts, or rump roasts...something more akin to the size of a regulation football. In our area here, pork is the meat of choice it seems. Boston Butts, Loins, etc. They are more readily available in the stores. Beef roasts, even a simple chuck roast, just aren't what I think of as a roast. Most around here are what I'd consider more of a thick steak than anything of a roast.
But I got this at the butcher yesterday when I ordered my bulk meats. The owner was cutting up a half a steer and his wife brought out some small cuts to cut them down more. I saw this one on the table and asked about it. She was going to cut it at least in half, if not thirds. No way -- it was just perfect, I thought. So I bought it.
Me.
Home alone here with no husband, no eldest son and fiance, no eldest daughter. Just me and 7 children. Seven younger children.
This roast could last us most of the week if I play it right.
I managed to get about 4 potatoes cut in half alongside the roast on the ends, and maybe 3 or 4 carrots cut into lengths as well. But my usual broth/gravy concoction doesn't stand a chance of being in there. Not without a serious drip shield along that pan! I simply mixed a bit of stock with a touch of flour to thicken slightly and poured it over. It will be covered and cook all day now. Around 5 or 6 pm we'll eat dinner :o)
Can you imagine how tender this baby will be? I probably shouldn't have bought it, being here with just the children, but I lack self-restraint. It just looked too good to pass up.
I imagine when Dewey reads this his mouth will be watering all over the computer :o) I could FedEx a plate overnight to you honey....
For the love of old things...My kitchen renovation, part 5
The final part of my renovation I am going to share is another piece of furniture that we also designed our kitchen around... it's a lovely old oak hoosier cabinet.
This piece may be old, but it is truly a work horse! Years and years ago, homemakers did not have "kitcen cabinets" and they did not have the amount of kitchen tools and gadgets that we do today.
The hoosier was used to store their "tools" and also a place that would house flour and sugar....and other dry goods. There was also a "ledge" or "counter" for homemakers to prepare their meals.
Since my kitchen is somewhat compact, I really do make good use of my hoosier!
The counter/ledge on it is stainless and it can be pulled out to reveal a large counterspace to use for making things.... the stainless surface makes it really nice for rolling out dough and baking. It can then be tucked in to conserve space. Very handy!!
There is also a space behind the roller that reveals a place that hides all my cookbooks. Notice the sugar bowl ring? Sadly the sugar bowl that had come with this hoosier had been stolen at the antique store while I had it on layaway. :( I hope to find a replacement some day.
The drawer below used to hold flour. It's slightly slanted at the bottom. It now holds my mixing bowls!
There's also a place to hide all my cookie and grilling pans...
The top of the hoosier has some spots to display some collectables and some smaller drawers.
As you can tell this piece really is so functional! I know now why the were so indespansable in the old days.
Well, I sure hope you enjoyed the tour of our renovated kitchen. We are still not done.. we have some trim to put up between the kitchen and laundry & bath..... I really do LOVE having my laundry right off my kitchen. It has been such a huge blessing as I can stay right on top of my laundry!
I spend a great deal of time in my kitchen, and although the renovation process was challenging ( it took about 7 weeks from start to finish) I am so grateful for the finished project!
Thanks for taking the tour!!
~ gloria~
For the love of old things... My kitchen restoration project, part 4
Thanks ladies for your kind remarks about our kitchen renovations. Some of you asked "how" it can be so clean, and I just wanted to tell you that is it doesn't "look" so spotless normally.... we had just cleaned the kitchen before we took these snapshots, so don't get the idea I don't cook, because I do!! I also have an abhorhance for clutter, so that is why you see very little "stuff" on countertops. I just don't like clutter and "stuff" ... I try to keep things to a minimal. It means less to dust! :)
I also wanted to answer the ladies who wondered if I did all my cooking on our reproduction stove, or if we had another stove we used. The answer is " yes " we have a another newer stove we use for most of our cooking. It has a self cleaning oven, and the reproduction one doesn't ... so I use the newer stove for most things. We did pick up a "black and white" model, to match the "black and white" of the reproduction stove.
This is a view of the more "modern" part of our kitchen. We had to put the stove and fridge somewhere! :)
Here's another shot of the kitchen taken from the stove area .....looking towards the sink area.
Please check back tomorrow, as I will finish up the kitchen restoration "tour" with some photos of another piece of old fashioned charm that we planned our kitchen around..... it's a lovely antique Hoosier cabinet that we really do use and has become an indespensable part of my kitchen!
Until then,
~ gloria ~
Oops!
The link I had placed for the Above Rubies study group was incorrect! Sorry about that!
The Family Meal Table & Hospitatlity Study group is thru yahoo and the link is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMTSTUDY/
I tried it and it works this time!
Sorry about the inconvience!
~ gloria ~
Updates from the Homestead
This year I am determined to get things done ahead of time. I want to make sure I get my packages out in the mail on time. I am so excited too because my son’s deployment will be ending next month! Hard to believe 15 months has gone by.. hard for me to believe but not for him. I can see first hand how hard these deployments are for our military men. He is more than ready to come home. He will be able to be here for Christmas and our family is so excited to see him!! I guess that has been another motivation for me to get things done early! I want to enjoy my family time and not be rushing around doing lots of last minute things. To Do vs. To Done
There are many days that my To Do list never gets To Done.Recently I noticed a trend and I see a need to add another category to my To Do List- Things I Hadn’t Planned On Doing.
The trend is that my to do’s don’t get done because I’m off doing other needed and necessary things. So I want to add this category to my list so that I can cross off those things I did and feel a greater sense of accomplishment. Excuse me while I giggle and snort uncontrollably for a moment.
Okay- I’ve settled down.
Let’s take a look at this morning: The plan was to have devotions, get dressed, start breakfast, eat breakfast and then start school.
Here’s what really happened:
Get up and have devotions.
Realize that I am leaving for the women’s conference tomorrow and I have no idea what I’m going to pack or what Maiden’s going to pack.
Grab laundry out of bathroom hamper and throw it down the stairs.
Kick laundry rest of the way down the stairs as I carry a lethargic Mr. Conductor down and plop him on the couch.
Head to kitchen for coffee- it is imperative that I have a cuppa.
As I’m drinking that first cup I get breakfast on the table- during this time Maiden stops her sister from using the downstairs bathroom.
I find out that the toilet is clogged- has been since the night before (I asked her why she didn’t tell her dad or I about that LAST night). Do I need to tell you what a toilet that has been clogged all night looks and smells like? I didn’t think so.
So I get the superdooper plunger out and strategically place the trash can just in case my empty-but-for-coffee stomach can’t take the intensity of the situation.
Approximately 10 minutes later the toilet is back to normal performance and thankfully the trash can does not need to be emptied. However- I now spend another 12 minutes re-cleaning the bathroom (it had already had it’s weekly spic-n-span scrub down on Monday!).
During this time, Maiden graciously took the lump of laundry and transferred from the bottom of the stairs to the laundry room.
As I go into the laundry room, I realize I have not watered the plants in our light hut as I get water for that I realize I did not feed the friendship bread starter yesterday (mostly because I didn’t put it on my list) and must do it before I forget.
A few minutes later the kids are eating breakfast and I am wondering why I am holding a pitcher of water- Oh, yeah, the plants.
I water the plants and then remember that I never started the washer.
Do you have days like this?
So in adding the Things I Hadn’t Planned On Doing to my daily list I no longer feel like some days are wasted because the only thing I crossed out on my To Do List was the day of the week.
Homespun to homemade- foodie gift
Homespun Holidays---- Homemade foodie giftsFriendship Bread
Recently my sister shared a friendship bread starter with me and I’ve quickly gotten to the point where there is no one left to share starter with. Friends don’t make eye contact when they see those baggies . . . . . .
So when it was baking day I decided to make a double batch of bread. I measured and calculated and found that after I divided the starter into the four bags I needed two of the bags for the double batch. So that only left me with two bags of starter (one I was able to give away- doubt I’ll be so lucky next time). We had some small sized aluminum bread pans from a previous project so the kids and I made three regular sized loaves and four mini loaves. Since it is friendship bread we gave away two mini-loaves and one regular loaf. We froze the rest.
We plan on doing the same thing when it’s baking day again (and then I believe I will freeze the starter and give myself a break for awhile . . . .). These little loaves will then be dressed up with ribbons and tags and given away at Christmas.
I believe the trick to making this a one-of-a-kind gift is the little additions you make to the friendship bread.
Here’s some that we’ve tried:
dried cherries
dried cranberries
raisins
chocolate chips
butterscotch chips
Chocolate and peanut butter chips.
We find the bread to be very delicious- it doesn’t last long around here.
So what does it come out to in cost? Calculating is a bit difficult since what you pour in also makes the starters (that you are suppose to give away) but by my calculations it costs $4.16 to make a double batch which will yield 2 regular sized loaves and six mini-loaves. This comes out to just over $1.00 for each regular loaf and 50 cents for each mini-loaf.
We’ll wrap the bread good and tight and store it in the freezer until closer to Christmas.
Dressing it up with ribbon from our ribbon stash and tags made from scrapbooking scraps . . . . . voila!
Who will we give these gifts to?
The Neighbors
Sunday School Teachers (along with small packages of trail mix)
Extended Family
And who knows?
By my calculations I’ll need 7 to 8 mini-loaves and 3-4 regular loaves. So if I make 2 double batches between now and Christmas that will yield a dozen mini-loaves and four regular loaves. That is a little bit more than I need but I’m sure I could find someone else to give to . . . . .
So- calculating some more- two more double batches will cost me $8.32.
I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.
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