Grandma's refrigerator pickles

I've been holding out on you guys. I've been meaning to share my grandma's refrigerator pickle recipe, but kept putting it off.

This is my go-to recipe when the cucumbers are plentiful in my garden. My grandma shared it with me after I just graduated from college and was learning to cook on my own. She used the giant cucumbers that my grandpa grew from an old hog lot he turned into a garden. Old hog manure turned out to be excellent fertilizer!

Here's the recipe, if you want to give it a try. Enjoy!

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Grandma's refrigerator pickles

4 cups sugar

4 cups vinegar

1/2 cups salt

1-1/3 tsp. mustard seed

3 onions, sliced

Cucumbers to fill a gallon jar

Mix all ingredients together. This syrup is cold. Keep in refrigerator for five days, then they are ready to eat.

Iowa recipes: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

So this is probably my third or fourth attempt at trying to find the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.  But I think I've finally found my favorite.  I found this recipe after digging through my old Iowa State Fair blue-ribbon cookbooks.  I love everything about this cookie: the cinnamon flavor, the plump raisins, the chewy texture.

Here's the recipe, if you want to give it a try at home.  Enjoy!

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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• Hot water
• 1-1/2 C. raisins
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 C. brown sugar
• 1 C. butter or margarine
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1-1/2 C. quick cooking rolled oats

Pour just enough hot water over raisins to cover; set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream sugars and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Add flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon; mix well. Stir in oats and drained raisins by hand. Drop by teaspoonsful onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Iowa recipes: Rhubarb swirl pie

OK. So I've posted this recipe on the blog before, but I wanted to give it a try again with an easier ready-made graham cracker pie crust.  I've actually seen this recipe more often with the ready-made crust than with the homemade version.  Not only is it convenient, but it also sets up much better.  On my previous attempt, the dessert just looked like pink fluff!  Rhubarb season is pretty much finished here in central Iowa.  I froze the last of my garden rhubarb last weekend.  But I'll be making this rhubarb swirl pie again next spring.  It's very easy and very good! 

Here's my original post with the homemade graham cracker crust, if you prefer.  If you use the store-bought crust, then you probably won't have enough space inside the crust for all the filling, because I didn't.  Maybe you could use the rest to fill up one of those mini-graham cracker pie crusts.  Enjoy!

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Rhubarb Swirl
From the Deer Creek Lutheran Church Cookbook (from Carpenter, Iowa -- my grandmother's home town)

• 1 (3 oz.) box strawberry Jello
• 3 C. diced rhubarb
• 3/4 C. sugar
• 1 (3.4 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding
• 1-1/2 C. milk
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 8 oz. Cool Whip topping 

Graham cracker crust:

• 2 C. graham crackers, crushed
• 1/3 C. powdered sugar
• 1/2 C. melted margarine (I use butter)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

Pour sugar over rhubarb and set 1 hour. Put in saucepan and simmer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour in Jello and mix until dissolved. Set aside and cool until syrupy.  Prepare pudding with milk and vanilla. Then add topping and mix well. Pour rhubarb mix into pudding and gently swirl. Put into prepared graham cracker crust and chill overnight.

Crust:  Mix together ingredients. Press all but 1/4 C. (for topping) in a 9x13-inch pan. Chill 1 hour before pouring rhubarb filling on.  Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top.

Iowa recipe: Rhubarb Dream Bars

 

Wish I would have taken a better photo of these rhubarb dream bars.  But I barely remembered to take the photo before we gobbled them all up!

One of my Facebook friends, who is a farmer, posted this recipe for rhubarb dream bars. She said that she brought these bars to her husband and the guys out in the field this spring, while they were planting corn, and they ended up eating the whole pan.  With that rave review, I had to try them myself!

What's great about these bars is I had all the ingredients on hand.  I grow quite a bit of rhubarb in my backyard, so I'm always looking for new recipes to use it up. Seriously, one of the reasons we bought our house is because of the rhubarb plants growing by the garage!  I love rhubarb that much. And these bars are like a rhubarb version of lemon bars, which are my husband's favorite.

Here's the recipe if you want to give these a try at home.  As my friend said: "I'll bet you can't eat just one!"

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Rhubarb Dream Bars

• 2 C. flour
• 3/4 C. powdered sugar
• 1 C. butter

Mix together and press in jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

• 4 eggs
• 2 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. flour
• 4 C. diced rhubarb

Beat together eggs, sugar and flour. Stir in rhubarb. Pour over baked crust. Bake an additional 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool and cut into bars. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Iowa recipes: Egg salad

Just for fun over Easter weekend, I played around with food coloring and dyed Easter eggs.  I haven't done that since I was a kid, and it was just as much fun as I remembered!  Nothing fancy, just pretty pastel eggs.

I promptly refrigerated these hard-boiled eggs after I dyed them. Then, on Easter Sunday, I peeled the eggs and mixed up an egg salad recipe I found in an Iowa cookbook.  The recipe was a little different than the standard egg salad; it includes cream cheese in the mix, along with mayo.  The recipe also calls for smoky mustard, but I just used classic mustard and it turned out pretty darn tasty.  We ate the egg salad on leftover white rolls, and my husband kept coming back for more, so I'll take that as a good sign!

Sorry for the terrible photo.  I was too hungry to take a decent photo, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like.

Here's the recipe, if you want to give it a try.

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Egg salad

• 1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 C. mayo
• 1-1/2 tsp. smoky mustard
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 C. celery, finely chopped
• 2 T. chopped chives (I used chopped green onion)

Peel and chop hard-boiled eggs. Combine cream cheese, mayo, smokey mustard and sugar until smooth. Add the chives, celery and eggs. Toss together. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Iowa recipes: Lemon salmon

After indulging in bacon and desserts over the past few weekends, I've been wanting to eat a little healthier at home.  I picked up a copy of the Centsable Health magazine at my local Fareway store, and I decided to give one of the salmon recipes a try.

This recipe for lemon salmon looked the easiest for a beginner like me. My hubby and I decided to play around with the seasonings. He cut the salmon fillets in half, then he added steak seasoning to a few pieces.  I added dill and rosemary to the others.  Then I topped them with sliced lemon. 

Everything turned out perfect, but my husband still isn't sold on salmon.  He doesn't like the taste for some reason, but he did like the salmon served cold, flaked into smaller pieces and then mixed into a romaine lettuce salad with the salad dressing of his choosing. He told me he would like to eat salmon that way again sometime, so I'll take that as a victory in trying to get him to eat healthier!

Iowa recipe: Healthier Meatloaf

I'm embarrassed that this is the best photo I got of the meatloaf recipe I recently tried.  The meatloaf didn't stick together that well because I added more ground beef than was called for from the recipe.  So it's my fault; I don't blame the recipe.

One of my favorite blogs is Iowa State University Extension's "Spend Smart. Eat Smart." I've learned a ton about meal planning from this blog and the website that goes with it.  The big take-away that I've learned from this website is that when it comes to meal planning, less is more.  Healthy meals at home don't have to be complicated or expensive.  Just keep your pantry stocked with ingredients for easy meals that your family enjoys. 

I used to buy groceries whenever our cupboards were bare, and then I'd go on a huge shopping trip and fill my cart until it was overflowing. But after following the advice from ISU Extension, now I go shopping once a week, and I'm more careful to plan my meals around what is on sale. It's made my trips to the grocery store a lot less stressful and helps me manage my food budget better.

In February, the "Spend Smart. Eat Smart" website featured this recipe for Mouthwatering Meatloaf. I loved the healthy ingredients: shredded carrots, oats and skim milk.  So I gave it a try and was very happy with the results.  It's a pretty basic recipe, but you can play around with the spices if you want.  My husband added a little mustard in the ketchup topping before we placed it back in the oven to finish cooking.  We also liked that the recipe says to cook the meatloaf on a broiler pan so the fat drips away.

Oh, and if you're wondering, you can't taste the carrots in the finished dish, so I'm sure kids will like this meatloaf, too!  Please let me know what you think if you give it a try.

Iowa recipes: Cream Caramels

Are you all busy with holiday baking?  I still have lots to do this weekend, and my Christmas tree isn't up yet!  But we took advantage of a (light) snow day and made homemade caramels last weekend to give away to family and friends.

I've actually posted this caramel recipe on my blog before, but for some reason, it's gone mostly unnoticed. Maybe because I wasn't specific enough in the title?  But this is a terrific recipe that I found in an old Iowa church cookbook from back home, so I want to share it again.

My husband was thoughtful enough to whip out the camera and take some photos to document our caramel-making process.  I've been a little slack on the blog lately.  (Sorry about that.  I just haven't been spending as much time in front of a computer, which is probably a good thing!)

So the first step is getting the cream, corn syrup and butter to reach the boiling point.  It doesn't look like much yet.

But as the mixture starts to boil, it begins to "caramelize" and turn brown.  My husband used both the cheap-o candy thermometer we got at the neighborhood grocery store, and a digital thermometer just to double check the temperature.  You want the caramel to reach the "soft-ball stage," or 245 degrees.  If the temperature is any higher than that, the caramel will be too hard to cut and eat.  (We've learned this from experience, unfortunately.)

My handsome husband kept stirring the pot to keep the caramel from burning.  You can tell he's working in the kitchen, because the cupboard door is wide open. Ha!

When the caramel is finished, pour into pans and let it cool, then cut up in tiny pieces once it's firm.

Then we just cut up square pieces of wax paper to wrap the caramels up.  I was smiling at this point, but after wrapping caramels for an hour, I was pretty much sick of this chore!

It may look like a complicated recipe, but it really isn't, as long as you keep an eye the temperature.  And people are so impressed when you give them homemade caramels as gifts.  So it's worth the time and the little bit of mess.

Here's our homemade caramel recipe.  Enjoy!

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Cream Caramels

• 2 C. sugar
• 3/4 C. light corn syrup
• 1/2 C. butter
• 2 C. cream
• 1/2 C. finely chopped nuts (optional)

Butter 8 x 8 x 2-inch pan. Spread nuts in pan. Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and half the cream in large saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 245 degrees on candy thermometer (or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a firm ball). Immediately spread mixture evenly over nuts in pan. Cool. Cut into 1-inch squares. Wrap in squares of plastic wrap.

Iowa State Fair Blue-Ribbon Cinnamon Rolls

I don't know about you, but now that the seasons are changing (even though it's still 90 degrees outside!), I'm in the mood for fall baking.  I found this recipe for the 2012 Iowa State Fair Winning Cinnamon Rolls from Two Chicks from the Sticks, who happened to judge the Tone's Cinnamon Roll contest this year.  I actually baked these on a whim.  I woke up on Sunday morning and decided I wanted to knead some bread dough.  What better recipe to try than a blue-ribbon winner?

Oh, did my husband love me for baking up these rolls for him!  I rolled the dough loosely, so the caramel topping oozed into the middle of each roll.  And I noticed right away that the rolls have a healthy dose of cinnamon, which made them unique.  The caramel sauce also sits on the stove for a little bit longer than normal so it gets extra rich and gooey.  I'm sure I'll be baking these sticky rolls up again soon!

Salvation Army Breakfast Casserole

My workplace participates in a United Way fund-raising and volunteer drive every fall.  This year, volunteers baked breakfast casseroles for the Salvation Army's Mobile Canteen.  Everyone was asked to make the same standard recipe.  It isn't anything fancy -- just eggs, cheese and Bisquick.

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for the latest food trends by visiting blogs and reading magazines. And folks are always looking coming up with ever fancier recipes -- using truffle oil, exotic cheeses, produce that comes from another country.  But there are many needy families who are just happy to get a hardy egg-and-sausage breakfast, especially if it's their only decent meal of the day.

Here's what the Salvation Army says in its recipe pamphlet for the breakfast casseroles:

" Each Tuesday and Friday morning, the Salvation Army's Mobile Canteen serves breakfast to more than 900 homeless and near homeless individuals in Des Moines. The menu features a hot egg casserole (recipe below) that provides a delicious high-protein meal.

The free breakfast also includes coffee or hot chocolate, milk and orange juice (when available), individual boxed cereal, donuts, hard-boiled eggs and more, depending on what is available at the time.

You and your friends and relevatives can help feed Des Moines' hungry homeless by preparing egg casseroles for the Salvation Army.

After preparing and baking the casserole, we ask that you freeze it and then deliver it to our eastside facility. 

Each casserole feeds 10 people, and we serve approximately 150 casseroles each week.

You can also volunteer to help the mobile canteen serve the breakfast. Weather and disaster permitting, we begin serving at 5 a.m. each Tuesday and Friday.

To learn more about the program and to volunteer to assist, call 515-282-3599.

You can help feed the homeless in Des Moines!"

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Egg Casserole

• 1 - 9x11 inch disposable aluminum pan greased or sprayed with cooking spray
• 2 C. grated cheddar cheese
• 1 lb. sausage, Italian sausage or hamburger, crumbled and browned, or 3/4 lb ham (or no meat for a vegetarian casserole
• 4 eggs
• 2 C. milk
• 1 C. Bisquick mix
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• Salt to taste (use less salt if you use ham)
• 1 Tbls. taco seasoning (optional)
• Paprika

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place meat and cheese in a greased disposable pan. Combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper and biscuit mix in blender; blend one minute on high. Pour this mixture over meat and cheese. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until casserole is firm in the middle. After cooling, cover with aluminum foil and freeze. Note date and meat contents on cover with a permanent marker.

Iowa recipe: Honey peanut butter bars

When I was at the Iowa State Fair last year, I picked up a recipe brochure from the Iowa Honey Producers Association booth.  This recipe, from the 2011 Iowa Honey Queen Ellie Johnson, is very kid-friendly and easy to make.  The Honey Queen (yes, that's her real title), says her grandma used to make these bars when she stopped to visit.

I couldn't stop eating these bars, I loved them so much.  And with the Cheerios, honey and peanut butter, I think they make a good snack for adults, too, after a work out.  My husband, however, wasn't a big fan of these bars because he doesn't like Cheerios.  (I think his mom fed him too many sugar-free cereals as a kid.)

Give this recipe a try, and be sure to use local honey, if possible.  Let's support those beekeepers out there!

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Honey Peanut Butter Bars

From the 2011 Iowa Honey Queen

• 3 C. miniature marshmallows
• 2 T. butter or margarine

Microwave on high for one minute, then add:

• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C. peanut butter
• 1/2 C. honey

Microwave on high 1 minute. Mix in 4 C. or more Cheerios cereal

Spread and pat lightly in an oiled 9x13-inch pan. Cut in bars when cool.

Iowa recipe: Strawberry vinegar

One of my co-workers, who knows I love unique recipes, gave me this recipe for strawberry vinegar.  I'm not exactly sure if this is true, but she told me that this is the same strawberry vinegar that is extremely popular at a northwest Iowa U-Pick strawberry patch.

This strawberry vinegar is a salad dressing. I've been spooning a little on my salads, along with a dash of olive oil.  The recipe says to strain the strawberries once you mash them, but I'm too lazy to use a cheesecloth to get the "chunks" out of the vinegar.  I ended up using my manual Oxo food mill, which pureed the strawberries and removed a lot of the seeds.

 It's a fun recipe to make if you come home with way more strawberries than you know what to do with after visiting a U-Pick patch.  I would guess this recipe would also work with raspberries or blueberries, which are in season now here in central Iowa.  If you try this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you.  Enjoy!

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Strawberry vinegar

• 4 C. fresh strawberries, halved
• 4 C. cider vinegar
• 1 C. sugar

In a large pan, combine fruit and vinegar.  Cover and let stand for one hour.  Stir in sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Cool completely.  Strain and discard pulp.  Pour into a covered container.  Store in a cool, dark place.  Excellent with salad greens.

Iowa recipes: Strawberry pie

Here it is!   I'm sharing with you the pie recipe I used to make my first-ever strawberry pie.  I was afraid that the pie filling would turn out runny, but it actually set up near perfectly.  And the Iowa-grown strawberries were so sweet in this pie!  You know how the strawberries at the grocery store can be kind of "hard" sometimes.  Well, these U-Pick strawberries were soft and super ripe.  This strawberry pie was exactly what I was craving for a spring dessert!

The pie filling set up perfectly; it wasn't runny or liquidy.

Fresh whipped cream is a necessity with strawberries.

I found this same strawberry pie recipe in several of my Iowa church cookbooks.  Enjoy!

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Iowa Strawberry Pie

• 1 baked pie shell
• 1-1/2 pints strawberries, cleaned

Glaze: 

• 3 T. cornstarch
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 C. water
• 3 T. corn syrup
• 1 small package strawberry jello

Mix cornstarch and sugar together, then add water and syrup. Boil and then add the strawberry Jell-O. Cool. Mix with berries and put in baked pie shell. Refrigerate.

Iowa recipes: Baked beans & pulled pork

I love the summer -- and not just for the beautiful weather.  I love a good summer barbecue!  And Iowa farmers raise the best beef and pork in the world, and it's all available at my local grocery store.

I thought I'd share with you my favorite baked bean recipe, which I found in the most recent Iowa Master Farm Homemakers cookbook.  For the pulled pork, I tried out a recipe from my favorite Iowa BBQ sauce company, Cookie's. We use Cookie's flavor enhancer and seasoning all the time on chicken and pork. 

What's your favorite summertime cookout foods?  I always enjoy a good potato salad, but I'm still trying to figure out my grandma's old recipe. She didn't use any measurements; she just went by taste, and I'm having trouble re-creating it.

Here's the recipe for the baked beans.  Enjoy!

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Really Good Baked Beans

• 5 strips bacon
• 1/4 to 1/2 chopped onions
• 1 (2 lb.) can pork and beans
• 3/4 C. brown sugar
• 1/4 C. catsup
• 1/4 C. barbecue sauce
• 3/4 T. Worchestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. chopped garlic

Saute bacon until nearly done, and add chopped onion. Continue cooking until onions are soft. Drain off most of fat. Put brown sugar, catsup, barbecue sauce, Worchestershire sauce and chopped garlic in pan, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add pork and beans, bacon and onion; combine. Put into baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Iowa recipes: Summer salad

My husband and I are trying to eat a little healthier, so I've been making big salads on the weekends when I have more time to cook.  One of my favorites is this summer pasta salad.  I found the recipe in one of my favorite church cookbooks.  I always make the mistake of adding too much pasta; I never take the time to actually measure the pasta out and just dump it in.  But I love how colorful this salad is. The recipe does make a large batch of salad, so it's perfect for summer picnics.  Enjoy!

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Summer Salad

• 2 (7 oz.) boxes macaroni rings (I used spiral noodles), cooked
• 2 C. cucumbers, diced
• 2 C. carrots, diced
• 1 C. celery, diced
• 1 C. onion, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced

Dressing for salad:

• 1/2 C. Miracle Whip
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1-1/2 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. vinegar

Cook and drain macaroni. Add vegetables and mix. Combine dressing ingredients, mixing well. Pour over vegetables and macaroni. Stir to coat. Cover and chill until time to serve.

Iowa recipes: Rhubarb custard pie

As you can see, I'm not that great at making pretty pies.  But I still love to bake them from scratch.  I found this recipe for rhubarb custard pies at my favorite grocery store, which offers copies of recipes featured on a local radio program.  I also found a similar recipe in one of my favorite church cookbooks.  I decided to merge the two recipes into a pie that's closer to my taste.  You can bake this pie with one crust, but I decided to use two crusts. 

The pie turned out perfect on my first attempt, and I think it tastes even better the next day, once the rhubarb has "mellowed" and isn't so tart.  If you're looking for an easy, old-fashioned rhubarb pie recipe, then this is the one to try.  Enjoy!

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Rhubarb custard pie

Beat slightly - 3 eggs

Add 3 Tbsp. milk

Mix and stir in: 2 C. sugar, 1/4 C. flour, 3/4 tsp. nutmeg

Mix in 4 C. cut rhubarb

Pour into 9 inch pie crust.  Dot with 1 Tbsp. butter. (Top with another crust, if you choose.)  Bake at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes until nicely browned.

Iowa recipes: Cherry Coffee Cake II

I wasn't sure if I was going to share this new recipe I found for cherry coffee cake, because it looked a little odd when I pulled it from the oven.  But it was so wonderful to eat, I just had to share it with you all.

I found this recipe for cherry coffee cake in an Iowa farm newspaper. It was very easy to mix up, but not so easy to spread in the pan.  For some reason, I couldn't get the cake batter to spread on the bottom of the pan without sticking to my spatula.  Also, the recipe says to spread only half the batter on the bottom of the pan, but I had to use three-fourths of the batter to cover the pan.  That didn't leave much batter to spread on top.  I ended up dropping the batter on top of the cherry pie filling, then swirling it.  As a result, the cherry pie filling got mixed into the batter, and once baked, the cake looked an odd brown color.  Thankfully, it still tasted excellent, and the photos turned out OK.

Cherry coffee cake, with the flowers my hubby gave me for Valentine's Day. Please excuse my messy kitchen!

My husband and I loved this coffee cake, so I'm sure I'll be making it again soon.  Hope you enjoy it, too!

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Cherry Coffee Cake

• 3/4 C. butter, softened
• 1-1/2 C. sugar, divided
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 C. sour cream
• 2-1/2 C. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 can (21-oz.) cherry pie filling
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 C. pecans, chopped

Cream butter and 1 C. sugar.  Combine eggs and sour cream, and add to butter mixture.  Stir in flour, salt and baking soda; combine well. Spread half of the batter in a greased 13 x 9-inc pan. Spread pie filling over batter evenly. Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half over pie filling. Drop and spread remaining batter on top and sprinkle with remaining sugar and cinnamon. Garnish with pecans. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 45 minutes.  If desired, drizzle baked coffee cake with a mixture of 2/3 C. powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla extra and 1 Tbl. warm water.

Iowa recipes: Cornmeal rolls

I found this unusual recipe for cornmeal rolls in an Iowa farm newspaper and knew immediately that I wanted to try it.  The recipe was submitted by a grandmother who says she bakes these rolls with help from her grandkids for their family's twice-a-year "baking day."  I scribbled the recipe on a sheet of paper, then tried it a few weeks later.  Unfortunately, I realized right away that I made a mistake, because the recipe calls for margarine, but I didn't write down how much is needed.  Oops!  I tried to make a semi-educated guess and added 4 Tablespoons, which is probably a little on the heavy side, but I thought it would be better to have too much margarine than not enough.  (I actually used butter instead of margarine, by the way. I always bake with butter.)

When I added the 4-1/4 cups of flour listed in the recipe, I knew something wasn't right.  The dough was soupy and wasn't "solid" enough to knead.  So I added another 2 to 3 cups of flour until the dough was still sticky, but kneadable. I felt pretty proud of myself that I can now tell when the dough is ready just by feel. All my failed experiments are finally paying off!

The dough rose beautifully -- so well, in fact, that I ended up with more dough than I expected.  I ended up turning them into giant cinnamon rolls, but the recipe says you can shape the dough into biscuit-like rolls or doughnuts.

My husband, the taste-tester, said he really enjoyed the texture of these cornmeal rolls.  Yet he thought I made the rolls way too big.  He wants me to try this recipe again, but this time bake the dough as smaller dinner rolls.

So here's the recipe, with my guesstimation of margarine.  Next time, I think I'm just going to add 2 Tbls. margarine instead of 4 Tbls. and see how that turns out.  If anyone has any suggestions on how much margarine to add, I would appreciate it.  Enjoy!

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Cornmeal rolls

• 2 C. milk
• 2 to 4 Tbls. margarine or butter (I used 4 Tbls, but will try next time with 2 Tbls.)
• 1/2 C. sugar
• 1/3 C. cornmeal 
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 package yeast
• 1/4 C. warm water
• 4-1/2 C. flour (I ended up using over 6 cups; just keep adding flour until the dough is kneadable)

 Cook milk, cornmeal, sugar, salt and margarine, and cool until lukewarm. Add eggs. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 C. warm water. Add to cooked mixture with beaten eggs and flour. Make into soft dough and knead for several minutes. Place in a greased bowl, put a dish towel over it, and let rise until doubled.

Punch down dough, and cover again for 10 minutes.  Then put on floured board and roll out 1-inch thick.  Cut with juice glass.  Put onto cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise again. Bake 8 to 12 minutes at 350 degree.

Can also make cinnamon rolls (8 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees) or doughnuts.

Iowa recipes: Three bean salad

I realize this salad is a bit of a departure from my usual Cookie Friday recipes. But it's definitely worth sharing.

My husband and I are trying to eat more vegetables (or "green things" as he likes to say). I saw this recipe for Three Bean Salad in a local ag newspaper and decided to give it a try just to see if my husband would like it.  According to the newspaper article, this salad is one of the most popular items offered at a family-owned diner in central Iowa.

Overall, I think this salad was excellent. My husband's only complaint was that he still isn't that fond of kidney beans. But I think the kidney beans add a lot to the texture and color. So next time, I'll probably only put half a can of kidney beans in the salad.  This would be an excellent salad to take to a potluck or picnic because it doesn't include any mayo. You can find the recipe below, if you want to give it a try. Recipes don't get much easier than this!

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Three Bean Salad

• 1 (14.5-oz.) can cut green beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can wax beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, diced
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. vinegar
• 1/4 C. vegetable oil
• 1/4 C. water

Combine all beans, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper in a bowl. Combine sugar, vinegar, oil and water, and mix with beans.

Iowa Caucus Recipe: Grassley Family Meatloaf

With the 2012 Iowa Caucus just a few days away, I thought it would be fun to share a politically inspired recipe on my blog.

To be honest, I've been glued to my TV the last week, watching the pre-Iowa caucus coverage. Of course, I want to hear what the presidential candidates have to say (I'm still an undecided voter).  But I'm also getting a kick out of seeing the places where the presidential candidates are visiting in Iowa.  It's been fun to see all the stump speeches in restaurants, towns and stores I'm familiar with.  I have yet to see a presidential candidate up close and in person, mostly because all of their events are held when I'm at work.  But I'm thinking of driving to Des Moines this weekend to see all the national media in town for the caucuses.

In honor of all the caucus excitement, I prepared a special dinner at home.  I inherited a stack of cookbooks from my grandmother, and in her recipe clippings, I found a pamphlet of recipes from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley's family, dated 2004.  If I remember correctly, it was the year when Grassley ran virtually unopposed for the Iowa Senate seat.  He's a very well-respected politician in our state.

I decided to try the Grassley's "Tasty Meatloaf" recipe, since my husband and I were a little tired of eating Christmas ham leftovers.  It's pretty much a standard meatloaf recipe, with the spicy addition of chili powder.  I also "frosted" the meatloaf with ketchup, just like my husband likes it. Definitely a comfort food favorite -- and a winner on caucus night or any night of the year. The recipe is below, if you want to give it a try.  Enjoy!

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Tasty Meat Loaf

From Grassley Family Favorites

• 1-1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 C. oatmeal (uncooked)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 C. (or more) chopped onion
• 1 Tbl. worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbl. ketchup
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 C. milk

Mix all ingredients thoroughly -- hands work best.  Shape into two meat loaves.  Put crosswise in 9 x 13 cake pan.  Pour water around the loaves. (I skipped this step, and it turned out fine.)  Bake in a 350 degree oven until loaves are brown -- 45 minutes to 1 hour.  (Note: I like to spread ketchup on top after 45 minutes of bake time, then pop it in the oven for the remaining 15 minutes.)