Mississippi Pot Roast

I am not sure why this is called “Mississippi” pot roast, but it is very good. A friend from work told Allan about it and we decided to try it. We are glad that we did, it is an easy dinner idea for after church or company

Our roast was not completely defrosted, so we turned the crock pot on high for a few hours and then reduced the heat to low for the rest of the time. It still came out wonderfully.

While this would be good with rice or potatoes, we served it with farro and cauliflower rice and sugar snap peas. For those who like mushrooms, they are a great addition also.

Saffron Bread

Saffron bread is one of my favorite holiday breads. I think it is best warm with Thimbleberry jam, but raspberry is a good second choice.

This recipe calls for mixing the dough then letting it rise before kneading. We were not sure why, so we did an experiment. We made both dough “exactly” the same (used weights and did at same time) and we kneaded before rising on the one, and after kneading on the other. There is a difference in taste, but it was minimal. However, most everyone voted that kneading after the dough rose tasted better.

This bread drys out quickly. Be sure to cool it and wrap in an airtight bag or tin foil. It freezes well and tastes great toasted.

Aunt Debbie’s Buckeyes

Dad called Aunt Debbie on Christmas while at our house. It was so nice to “talk” to her for a few minutes. While talking, she mentioned that she was making some candy with a granddaughter. Aunt Debbie gave us her recipe to make the candy also.

Use gluten free Crispy Rice and be sure all your ingredients are gluten free if you want to make them just like Aunt Debbie does.

We have made buckeyes before, but we really like this version with the Crispy Rice. I think it may be our new favorite way to make these treats.

Red River Date Muffins

Mom really likes Red River Cereal and wanted me to try it. I agree. It is very good! However, it takes awhile to cook, so we decided to look for muffin recipes that use it. After cooling the muffins, we freeze them for an easy breakfast. Just remember to pull early so they can thaw out.

Baked Beignets

This is one of the recipes Andrea made in Culinary Class this week. I think we all agree it may be our very favorite recipe so far this year. (Ummm, schoool year 🙂 )

Grandma Mabel’s Fruit Cake

This is Grandma Mable’s recipe that she sent to Uncle Tim with some modifications and comments that he and Oma made. While the recipe calls for an angel food cake pan, Uncle Tim only remembers Grandma making in loaf pans. So, that is the way I will make it too 🙂

Instead of using candy fruitcake mix, mix and match your favorite combination of dried fruits; such as apricots, cranberries, currants, golden raisins, candied ginger, orange peel and a few candied cherries.

Cinnamon Rolls (with Caramel Option)

This recipe is one we often use for Christmas or for the children’s breakfasts as they head to summer camp. They are easy to turn into caramel rolls by a simple step that I included.

If you prefer to make the dough early, you can form the rolls, place in pan and then cover with heavy aluminum foil. Place in the refrigerator at least 12 hours, but not longer than 24. Then, when ready to bake, place unwrapped pan in cold oven and bake until golden brown (35-40 min).

Caramel

This is our favorite caramel recipe. We have tried a few other ones, but always come back to this.

Pumpkin Seeds

When ever we buy a pumpkin, we always save the seeds to roast. We also roast the seeds to butternut squash and spaghetti squash. The seeds may be different sizes, so be sure to watch so they do not over cook.

There are so many different ways to make pumpkin seeds. We did an experiment many years ago where we compared boiling the seeds first and with different oven temperatures. They were all so similar tasting, that we kept with this simple recipe from our friend Miss Krista.

Wishing Cookies

Aunt Bonnie made us these cookies for the first time nine years ago. She told us that “if you break them into three pieces without talking, your wish comes true”. It has never been proven, since my kids can’t stop talking long enough to break a cookie into three pieces 🙂