Grandma's Quilts, Afghans & Molasses Cookies

Last week I came across a recipe for molasses cookies and it reminded me of the hubby's paternal grandmother, Verna. Whenever you visited Verna, she had a molasses cookie and glass of iced tea ready for you. Those visits are the only times I can recall that I had molasses cookies, but then again, my memory is not the greatest!

I never thought of Verna as being particularly 'crafty' but for our wedding she gifted us a double-knit hand-tied patchwork quilt that she had made us. As young newlyweds saving up for our first house, that patchwork quilt graced our water bed for the first year or so (wow, that's a flashback to the 70s!). Verna rocked the double knits, wearing a housecoat-style dress made of double knits everyday. Hmmm, I seem to remember a dress she wore made of that green hounds tooth fabric, I wondered if she made her own dresses too?

At one point before I met her, she also made more traditional quilts and this Hexagon Diamonds quilt that she hand pieced (and had someone machine quilt) was handed down to me.


Look at that tiny binding!


In later years, she mostly crocheted afghans. This one, which we've had since the early 80s, has seen many years of use snuggled up on the couch watching TV, hence all the pilling of the yarn. I know nothing about crochet so I don't know the pattern of this, but every afghan that I saw that Verna made was this pattern. She also gifted an afghan to each of my kids when they were young. I stored them away and gave the afghans to them once they graduated college and were out on their own.


So for nostalgia, I made molasses cookies last week with the recipe I found and they were so good! Nice and soft, just like I like my cookies. So I thought I'd share the recipe here. It may not be the exact recipe that Verna made, but they are pretty darn close to what I remember. 

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Old Fashion Molasses Cookies

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• Sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter and molasses together. Beat in egg until light and fluffy. Mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, clovers and nutmeg until well combined. Cover dough and refrigerate for one hour. Roll dough into 1" balls (I use a small ice cream scoop). Roll each ball in sugar to coat. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies. Note: Recipe adapted from Great Grub, Delicious Treats.

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I posted a photo of my cookies on Instagram and was surprised at how many people had never tasted molasses cookies. Of course, there were lots who loved them too. Hope you enjoy the recipe and my little walk down memory lane!

~Sharla

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Sew Day: Vintage Planter Pincushions + A Yummy Recipe

Saturday was a Sew Day with a few of my quilty peeps - also known as the Dine 'n Dash Quilters - to make vintage planter pincushions. It was a day my mom and I had planned for more than 2 years. In other words, we picked up vintage planters here and there over the past two years saying 'one of these days, we're going to have everyone over and make them into pincushions". Well, we finally did it!

To say we went a little overboard on the vintage planters is an understatement! When we pulled out our boxes, we ended up with 45 planters for our guests to choose from. Unfortunately only a handful of our group was able to spend the afternoon with us, but we had lots of fun anyway. Sorry, the rest of you girls missed out!

I cut kits for each of the planters last week. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. Kits consisted of two pieces of fabric for the petals and center of a grandmothers garden hexie flower, seven 1/2" fusible hexagon EPP papers, and a wonder clip. For the circle of fabric to create the pincushion, each person chose a background fabric from my stash after they made their hexie flower.

I showed the group the basics of English paper piecing but since everyone has been a long-time sewist, it didn't take them long to catch on. Then it was an afternoon of chit-chattin' and whip-stitchin'.

Dianne was the first to finish her pincushion - a chicken pulling a cart.  It will be perfect for her sewing room on the farm.

Of course, I had a couple of finished samples for them to look at.

I made this one for my mom - who collects pigs, among many other things - for Christmas a couple of years ago.

And I finished this one at our sew day which I used to demo with.

As you can tell by our group's name, we don't get together unless there's food involved! Since we met for the afternoon, we ended the day at our locally famous Mexican restaurant that has been open for 56 years. But an afternoon of sewing can make a quilter hungry, so I made a new-to-me dessert recipe that was oh-so-yummy called Peanut Butter Lasagna. I have no idea what the name has to do with this dessert, but I thought I'd share the recipe with ya'll.

Peanut Butter Lasagna

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 36 Oreo Cookies
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

For Peanut Butter Layer:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups cool whip

For Chocolate Layer:

• 2 boxes instant chocolate pudding
• 2 3/4 cups milk

For Topping:

• whipped topping
• 1 bag Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups
• peanut butter chips
• chocolate syrup

Directions

For the Crust:

• In a food processor, finely crush Oreo cookies. Stir in melted butter. Press into a 9" bx13" baking dish. Place in the freezer while preparing the next layer.

For Peanut Butter Layer:

• With mixer on medium, mix cream cheese, milk and peanut butter until fluffy. Gradually add in powdered sugar. Fold in whipped topping.
• Spread the peanut butter layer on the Oreo crust. Place in the freezer while preparing the next layer.

For Chocolate Layer:

• In a bowl, mix all the pudding mix and milk. Spread the pudding onto the peanut butter layer. Place in the fridge and allow to set for about 5 minutes.
• Top with remaining whipped topping, Reese's Mini Pieces, peanut butter chips and chocolate sauce. Refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Enjoy!!!

~Sharla

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TBT: Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries

It's not Christmas at our house until the Chocolate Covered Cherries are made (which I did on Tuesday), so I thought I'd share our family recipe for them for Throw Back Thursday, just in time for you to make some too!

I shared the recipe a couple of years ago on the blog, so I'm sending you back to that post. Just click on this Chocolate Covered Cherries recipe link. Enjoy!

~Sharla

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What's Up Down On The Farm

Summer is in full swing on the farm and that means less time for sewing and blogging. I thought I'd share what's up down on the farm before I get busy with wheat harvest.

With all the rain we have been having, my days seem to be filled with mowing and yard work. This morning while mowing, I found two birds nests that had been blown out of the trees and were laying in the grass. I love the texture and tucked both nests into my back door patio décor.

I'm just hoping the field mice don't decide to make them their new homes! To hinder any house squatting from happening, I nestled a couple of metal birds and stars in them.

I don't mind mowing if its not too hot and the insects aren't biting. It gives me time to enjoy the flowers and shrubs in my yard.

The daylilies are just beginning to bloom. They look so pretty next to the wild gaillardias or what we call Indian Blanket. These lilies are loving all the rain and I should have quite the show when all those buds bloom!

Once it starts getting hot, I retreat to the house to do the usual household chores. Right now, that includes cooking casseroles to freeze for harvest - which is just around the corner. Since I'm chief combine driver and the hubby is head honcho of everything else, there's no one to cook during harvest. By making freezer meals ahead, I can pop them in the oven at the end of the day and have a hot meal (even if its quite late in the evening) when the day is done. One of my go-to recipes is Porcupine Meatballs. They're quick to make and freeze well, so I thought I'd share. (Sorry, I don't have a yummy photo to share along with the recipe.)

Porcupine Meatballs

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup saltine cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup raw rice (Minute Rice)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 large can tomato soup
• 1/2 soup can water
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix first five ingredients; make into balls. Place in casserole dish. Mix tomato soup and water together and pour over meatballs. Season. Cover casserole with foil. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 4-6.

I have been able to sneak a little quilting into my day as well. I've been working on my quilt guild medallion challenge quilt the last few days as I am a couple of months behind now. Round 3 is flying geese. To challenge myself, I decided to set my center on point and then add the flying geese. The math took a little time - and all the paper pieced flying geese - but I'm liking the results so far. Only one more corner to go!

And I've been doing some secret sewing for a surprise that Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet has planned for Friday. Hint - its Farm Girl Friday again!

So be sure to stop back by on Friday for the reveal!

~Sharla

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Christmas Isn't Christmas Without Cherry Chocolates!

I'm back! Did ya miss me? I'm finally home after a five week vacation with the hubby to visit our kids and spoil the grandkids. I managed to squeeze in a fast visit to International Quilt Festival and the new Magnolia Silos (new home for Fixer Upper's Chip and Joanna Gaines store front); stopped at a few quilt shops, antique stores and flea markets; took in the sights at Branson, and even learned how to blow glass! Can't wait to share with you some of the goodies I came home with over the next few weeks, but today was filled with laundry, unpacking, and making food for a ladies luncheon I'm helping with tomorrow.

Tomorrow is National Giving Day and with the Christmas season upon us, the theme for this luncheon is gifts and giving. One of the things I made is homemade chocolate covered cherries nestled in little gift boxes that will be placed at each table setting.

For our family, it's not Christmas until the cherry chocolates are made. I'm not sure how this tradition started in our family, but I remember my mom making cherry chocolates every year. Somewhere along the line, I took over the cherry chocolate making and now my mom makes all kinds of brittle - peanut, cashew, almond. Mmmmm!

So today, I thought I'd share my mom's recipe for cherry chocolates. Maybe it will become one of your Christmas traditions too.

Chocolate Covered Cherries

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 - 2 lb. bag powdered sugar
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 large jar maraschino cherries
• 1 - 14 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cake paraffin wax

Combine melted butter, sugar and condensed milk in a large bowl. Stir and knead fondant mixture until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 1-2 hours.

Drain cherries and pat dry with paper towels.

Pinch a 1/2" - 1" ball of fondant, flatten and gently wrap around cherry.

Place on waxed paper covered cookie sheet. Freeze fondant covered cherries until solid.

Melt chocolate chips and wax in a double boiler. Poke a toothpick into a fondant covered cherry and dip in chocolate to cover. Place in miniature paper cupcake liners. Store in air tight container.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!

~Sharla

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Grandma's French Pastry

Recently, I spent the day with my quilty friends. We get together to sew, share our latest projects, laugh, and eat. We have a carry-in luncheon and the food is always delish. At our last sew day, I made a homemade peach pie, using my Grandma's pie crust recipe. I even decorated the top with buttons made from pie dough. Sew cute!

My Grandma was an awesome cook. Her homemade pies were to die for. And her homemade egg noodles. And her fried chicken. And her dill pickles. Mmmmm, I'm making myself hungry! I love this picture of my grandma in her younger days cooking at this old stove. It's how I remember her, always in the kitchen cooking.

Today, I'm sharing my Grandma's French Pastry recipe just in time for your holiday baking. I hope you enjoy it as much as I always do.

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Grandma's French Pastry

 

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup lard ( or 1 1/4 cups shortening)

1 egg

4-5 tablespoons cold water

1 teaspoon vinegar

 

Stir flour and salt together. Cut in lard/shortening. Mix egg, water and vinegar together and add to dry mixture. Knead. Let stand for 10 minutes. Roll out. Makes 2 double crust pies.

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Just an FYI: I think today's pie pans are larger than my grandmother used, so I can never get two double crusted pies from this recipe.

~Sharla

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Fall Favorite - Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

I love when fall arrives and the temps cool down. It makes me want to curl up with a quilt and have a hot bowl of soup in the evenings. One of my favorite go-to soups is Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Its so rich and creamy. I love it and I think you will too, so I thought I'd share!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 - 4.5 oz. package of quick cooking long grain and wild rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream

In a large pot, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring to a boil, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Add mushrooms if desired.

In saucepan, melt butter. Stir in seasoning packet, Cook until bubbly, Reduce heat, stir in flour, salt and pepper to form roux. Whisk in cream, cook until thickened. Stir cream mixture into broth. Cook 10 minutes.

Happy eating!

~Sharla

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Rainy Day Baking

I love to bake when it's rainy out! We haven't had a lot of rainy days in recent years, so these rainy days are so appreciated. So, with a bunch of bananas that were way past eating prime for me (I like my bananas almost green), I decided to make my favorite Banana Nut Bread. It's yummy and moist, and so good warmed with butter on it.

Banana Sour Cream Bread
 

1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 1 hour until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

I didn't have any sour cream or walnuts and living on a farm in the country means you make due with what you have (especially when its raining because you don't want to tear up the muddy roads). So, I substituted strawberry yogurt for the sour cream and pecans for the walnuts. Mmmmmm, it turned out even yummier!

While the bread was baking, I put chicken tortilla soup in the crock pot for supper. Now I have the whole afternoon to sew.....after I do the dishes!

~Sharla

Almond Joy Cookies

As the weather turns cooler, and fall turns into winter, there are two things I love to do - quilt and bake. There's nothing better than a day of quilting with an occasional hot chocolate and cookie break. So I'm always on the search for yummy cookie recipes. One of the latest that's been showing up on my Facebook feed is "Almond Joy Cookies". I thought I'd share my version of the recipe - and yup, I've taste tested them and they have my 'sew good' stamp of approval!

Almond Joy Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 - 11 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup sweetened coconut
• 1 cup chopped  or sliced almonds

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F Lightly grease cookie sheets.
2. Combine dry ingredients, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stir in the vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients until well mixed then stir in the chocolate chips, coconut and almonds. Drop by rounded tablespoon-full onto the prepared cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: http://www.piarecipes.com/2013/09/almond-joy-cookies.html

 

 

Enjoy!

 

~Sharla