Sunday in Iowa...

 The sunrise is just starting to lighten the sky at 7 am. above the city square all dressed for the holidays.

The center structure behind the tree is a bandstand.

$avings $aturday...December Week 4 - Potatoes Again

Some of the Hot Deals I bought during week 4 of December are a half dozen cans of green beans to replace what I've used from my pantry (there is no limit), and the 29¢ eggs of course, for baking and cooking.  (Iowa leads the nation in egg production!)  Russet Potatoes are on sale again and at $1 for 5 pounds they are a real bargain.  These are new crop, and smaller sizes; about 5-8 ounces each, so they are a good choice for us.  Besides baked potatoes and regular mashed potatoes, I have a couple dishes that use left-over mashed potatoes that I want to make again.  I cook enough potatoes for a meal to be sure I have enough for one of these recipes too.  In November and December I have stocked up on potatoes using coupons to last the winter for the two of us.  This grocery is more expensive on regular items than the others in town, so I have no qualms about only buying the Hot Deals I need.

Crispy Potato Patties

Crispy Cheesy Potato Waffles

Frosted Maple Drops

 If you have a good source of real maple syrup, this recipe from the "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book 15th Edition" is excellent.  My husband doesn’t think that a cookie is much good without some nuts, so I added a cup of chopped pecans.    This is a perfect take-along cookie.               

 Frosted Maple Drops

  1           Cup  Butter -- softened

  1           Cup  Brown Sugar – packed (8 ounces)

  1           Teaspoon  Baking Soda

     1/8    Teaspoon  Salt

  1           Cup  Pure Maple Syrup

  1           Large  Egg

  1           Teaspoon  Vanilla

  4           Cups  Flour, All-purpose (1 pound 2 ounces)

  1           Cup Pecans, chopped (optional)

                        Maple Frosting

     1/2    Cup  Evaporated Milk -- or heavy cream

  6           Tablespoons  Butter -- melted

  1           Teaspoon  Maple Extract

  4           Cups  Powdered Sugar -- as needed

Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly grease cookie sheets; set aside.  In a mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally.  Add maple syrup, egg and vanilla, beat until combined.  Beat in as much of the flour as you can.  Stir in any remaining flour.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets; flatten slightly.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until tops are set.  transfer to wire rack; cool.

Frosting:  In a medium bowl, whisk together evaporated milk or cream, melted butter and maple flavoring.  Gradually stir in powdered sugar until mixture is icing consistency.  Spread tops of cooled cookies with icing.

8 Dozen (96 cookies)

Sunday in Iowa...

 The Mahaska County, Iowa Courthouse  

Dressed up for Christmas with hundreds of lights   
Most of the town square is "painted" with different color lights on each building around Thanksgiving in time for their popular nighttime lighted Christmas Parade    
"Christmas in July" is a big fundraiser to help pay for the holiday joy.

Courtesy of Colleen: a link to a video of the lighted square

Thanks Colleen!

Saturday Thoughts...Holiday Salad

 

We like broccoli salad, and this is an especially nice one – very festive for the buffet.  I had some mixed dried fruit with nuts too, so I substituted that for the mixed fruit and almonds.   Fresh, in season, pretty…perfect.  I served it in my favorite $5 flea market compote.                                                   

Broccoli Salad

  1 ½    Pounds  Fresh Broccoli

  1        Cup  Mayonnaise

  2        Tablespoons  Sugar

     ¼     Cup  Red Wine Vinegar

     ¼     Teaspoon  Salt

     ½     Teaspoon  Pepper -- freshly ground

  6         Ounces  Dried Mixed Fruit

  2         Ounces  Slivered Almonds -- toasted

     ¼      Cup  Red Onion -- diced

  4          Slices  Bacon -- cooked and crumbled

Cut florets from Broccoli, reserving stalks.  Chop florets and dice stalks.

Whisk together mayonnaise and next four ingredients in a large bowl.  Add florets, stalks, dried fruit, almonds, and onion, tossing to coat.  Serve immediately, or chill up to 6 hours.  Sprinkle evenly with bacon just before serving.

10 Servings

  "Southern Living Christmas Cookbook"

Holiday Recipe...Cheese Wafers

The "Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook" says cheese wafers are a must for brunches, showers and teas, as well as holiday buffet tables.  I have eaten plenty of them when I lived in Texas and Georgia, but I hadn’t seen a recipe that included the nuts and crisp cereal, so I had to try it.  These are a good make-ahead, as they improve as the flavor mellows, and they get crisp.   I used my food processor and a size 100 scoop to portion them – I actually got 4 dozen as called for.  Cereal has been on sale here this month too.

                              Cheese Wafers

  6          ounces  Sharp Cheddar Cheese -- shredded

     1/2   cup  Butter -- softened

  1          cup  Flour, All-purpose -- 4-4 1/2 ounces

              dash  Salt

              dash  Paprika

  1 1/2   cups  Corn Flakes -- crushed (about 2 ounces)

     1/2   cup  Almonds -- finely chopped (about 2 ounces)

Process cheese and butter in food processor until blended.  Add flour, salt and paprika; process until mixture forms a ball, stopping often to scrape down sides.  Add cereal and almonds, process until blended, stopping twice to scrape down sides.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Place balls about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Flatten each ball in a crisscross pattern with a fork dipped in flour.

Bake at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove to wire racks to cool. 

These store well in an airtight container.

Yield:  "4 dozen"

Sunday in Iowa...

Fishing at Lake Keomah in December 
on a day in the 30's!  

We did have several days of almost 60° weather earlier in the week.
Check out the boatload of fishermen in the center of the lake.  

The state park is near Rose Hill, Iowa 
The building is in the swimming beach area

$avings $aturday...December Week 2 Heavy Cream

We get a “Hot Deal” flyer from one of the local grocery chains at the beginning of the month, which gives me time to decide what to buy and how to use it in our menu.  Last week the best special was a 1/2 gallon of milk for 99¢.  

For Week 2, the special that made the most sense for us was Heavy Whipping Cream for 99¢  The regular price was $1.79.  Anderson Erickson is a large dairy in Des Moines that is well-known for its excellent products.  Their cream is NOT ultra-pasteurized, meaning you can’t keep it as long before you get sour cream.  But the taste and quality is excellent.

If you are gravy and sauce challenged, heavy cream is the answer…it thickens without adding flour or cornstarch when it’s heated.  It’s also great in frostings, homemade ice cream and other desserts.

I think I’ll make one of our favorite dishes…Chicken Terrapin.   Use your turkey leftovers instead of chicken.  

Out of what's  left  I’ll use it for Spaghetti Romano for two.   

Chicken Terrapin  

Spaghetti Romano for two  

Holiday recipe... Creamy Onion Blue Cheese Dip

The Better Homes and Gardens Golden Treasury of Cooking says that the ‘50’s were the dawn of the sour cream age.  They say that one of the sensations of these years was combining sour cream and onion soup mix.  

I can’t say that I can remember when sour cream dips first were popular – I don’t remember my mother serving them; but by the time I married, I was serving these dips for card parties and the like.  I've made plain onion dip many times, but we really liked the addition of blue cheese crumbles in this recipe – we served the leftovers on baked potatoes the next day – delicious!
Creamy Onion Blue Cheese Dip

  1 ½   cups  Sour Cream

  2       tablespoons  Onion Soup Mix -- dry

     ½   cup  Blue Cheese -- crumbled

           Pimento Stuffed Olives -- sliced

Combine sour cream and soup mix.  Stir in blue cheese.  Chill until ready to serve.  Garnish with sliced olives.

Serve with vegetable dippers, or crackers or chips.

Yield:  "2 cups"
CLICK HERE for a recipe to make your own onion soup mix - it's easy and delicious.