Entertaining Kitchen - Mother/Daughter Summer Series - 2015 - Blackberry Cobbler

During wheat harvest our fresh blackberries that I order from Elderslie Farms came in.  PV and I made a quick trip to get them and that afternoon tried another new recipe.  We found on Pinterest Blackberry Cobbler from Five Heart Home.  As always, please be sure to check out the recipe from the link.  The website is beautiful and looks to have lots of great recipes!

This time around I decided it was time for PV to learn to read a recipe.  Normally I just get all the ingredients out and tell her what to add and when.  I had her read it to me and also participate in mixing it up. She did well and so I decided she could make the box potatoes for supper.  We decided to go easy on supper this night so Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes it was!  I also made her clean up her mess and rinse the dishes. 

After we were done she looks at me and asks the following.  

"Mom, does cooking make you relax?"

"Yes, usually."

"Me too."

That makes me very happy! :)  Big joys in little packages! That's what life is about isn't it?

We hope you enjoy this recipe.  Our family found it to be very yummy with vanilla ice cream! I did cook mine longer than the 30 minutes, it was juicy, but oh so good!

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie

Stuffed Shells

One of my oldest daughter's favorite recipes is Mancotti.  I was whipping up a pan for her birthday this past weekend which inspired me to make stuffed shells.  Normally I would make them just as I had for her Manicotti, but I had some italian sausage in my frig to use up.  So I made stuffed shells for lunch and used the sausage!  Our family enjoyed them for lunch! It will be one we make again!  

Stuff Shells                                                                                          Print Recipe

1 pkg. large pasta shells
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 pound Italian sausage
1 small container of Ricotta cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta shells in boiling water for about 9 minutes. Drain and lay out.  Cook the italian sausage until done.  Mix together the ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella, and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, and the italian sausage.  Pour a layer (about half) of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 cake pan.  Stuff the cooked shells. Put them in the pan.  Pour rest of spaghetti sauce over all of them then put rest of cheeses over the top.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until heated through.

Hope you enjoy it!
Julie

Entertaining Kitchen - Mother/Daughter Series 2015 - Decadent Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake

Don't let the title worry you, this recipe is pretty simple.  Most of the ingredients are probably staples in your pantry and refrigerator.  

PV and I made this coffee cake after we traveled one Saturday to pick blueberries at The Berry Patch.  I highly recommend them if you have a desire to purchase blueberries.  It was a jaunt for us but we didn't mind.  We were in the mood for a road trip and a free Saturday in June due to rain!

This will be one of those cakes we make again and again.  Especially since we have 21.5 pounds of blueberries in the freezer! :)  Also because it includes almond flavor and I love that!

We hope you enjoy the recipe.  It was supplied by another orchard that we stopped at on our way home.  Pome on the Range.  We picked up some absolutely awesome tasting peaches!  They also gave us some advice on how to care for our peach trees we have here at home.  So glad we stopped there too!

Decadent Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake                                   Printable version

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries

Topping
1 egg white
3 tbls. sugar
1 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 2 qt. glass baking dish (I used a 13x9 pan)

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and set aside.  Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and almond extract.  Add flour mixture and milk beating on low speed.  Fold in the berries.  Spread mixture in baking pan.

Prepare topping; lightly beat egg white and add sugar and almonds, stirring to coat.  Spoon mixture over batter and spread evenly.

Bake 45-50 minutes. Cool and serve.

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie and PV

Entertaining Kitchen - Mother/Daughter Series 2015 - Zucchini Brownies

There are two things I really love in the food world.  Zucchini and Brownies!  I was flipping through my Pink Tractor magazine and found a recipe that called for both.  Luella Fischer-Gregory shared her recipe in this months edition.  It looks as though her blog, Luella's Front Porch has a great collection of recipes to try! Be sure to go and check her out!  I couldn't find this recipe to directly send you too so it is below.

These brownie were delicious, not as sweet as others. I did not make the frosting, but next time I will. That will add the sweetness I was looking for I think. I used up the last of my zucchini from our garden last year.

I invite you try the recipe and let us know how you enjoyed it!  Before long we will have lots of zucchini to use up! This is a great recipe to do just that!

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie & PV

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 c. vegetable oil            
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. shredded zucchini

Mix sugars, egg, oil and vanilla until blended.  Add remaning dry ingredients. Stir in zucchini and pour into a greased 13x9 pan.  Bake at 350 until inserted toothpick comes clean.  

Frosting 
5 Tbls. unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/4 c. melted butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and butter, alternately adding milk.  Frost when brownies are cool.

* I attempted several times to contact the original blogger of the recipe through her blog contact page and Facebook but did not hear back. I just wanted to note that, but please be sure to go visit her slew of recipes on her blog!

Entertaining Kitchen - Mother/Daughter Summer Series - Lemon Blueberry Bread

I personally love the taste of lemon and blueberry together and my sister shared a great recipe with me last week!  I had a sample of this recipe when she made it and I fell in love!  

This week PV and I made it as one of our recipes to try for the Mother/Daughter Summer Series.  I measured all the ingredients out and she did the mixing!  It was quick and easy too!

The original blogger to share it was Stephanie @ Back for Seconds!
To get this great recipe, just click the link below!

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Be sure to head on over and look over her blog and other recipes! She has a whole slew of them for you!

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie & PV

VVDDP - 2015 Edition - Recipes

Our menu for the 2015 VVDDP gathering was one of simplicity and yet offered flavor!

We chose to serve soup verses salad this year.  

The weather has been cold and we thought a hearty 

thick soup would be delightful! Although the rescheduled date we actually served it ended up being beautiful spring-like weather.  It was still a good choice we feel!

Beer Cheese Soup

The main course included chicken and broccoli.  

We kept the main course light so we 

could enjoy the two desserts 

that were on the menu!

Herbed Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

Parmesan-Lemon Roasted Broccoli

Amazing Pull Apart Rolls
Made by our guest/friend Lisa G.
They were wonderful and she said she would
 be using the recipe again!

We chose to serve two desserts. 

One was sugar free and the other included chocolate.  

Both were ones we will make again for sure!

Yogurt Pie

Chocolate Italian Love Cake

You can obtain the recipes for yourself by clicking the title of each recipe.  It will take you to the original source.  We also have all the recipes on our Pinterest Board named VVDDP.

I would highly recommend any of these.  They truly were delightful to eat.  They will be put into our regular rotation at our home!  Enjoy and feel free to share!

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Julie

VVDDP - 2015 Edition

Our annual couples gathering for February had to be rescheduled to this past weekend due to weather.  We were thrilled that all the couples were still able to make it in March and the day couldn't have been more beautiful outside!  We kept the menu simpler as our focus was more on spending time with friends.   The table decor was spring like as well!

There will be a follow-up post with all the recipes 

and links to where  I found them. I have to admit this year was simpler but was not without taste! I have found a go to chicken recipe for the grill I know we will make again!  

My favorite part of the gathering was the games.  Our friends DD and JD did a GREAT job of preparing a super game (s)!  I won't share all the photos but I will tell you we were all laughing having quite the time!  I now have a few games to do at future other gatherings!

It was such a nice day that a couple of our guests drove their beautiful vehicles.
So we took our annual group photo with them!

I want to talk about the games for just a moment. 
 It was like the game Minute to Win It. 
 Did I mention how much fun it was?  
We did several different ones.  
Here's a little information on each.

One used conversation candy hearts, while another 
used candy corn and a paper plate.  
How about pasta and spaghetti!

Oh and the one with all our hot air!
My sister won this round!

I think my sister cheated, she used the end of the counter!

Then there was the one where 
the guys used pantyhose and pennies! 
 The guys had to wrap us girls in crepe paper too. 
 Those photos are hilarious 
but I better not post them, my friends 
might not come next year!

And the only reason I am allowed to show 
this next photo is because my husband was the 
winner of this round!  
Yep, he's got talent! 
He can get a cookie from his forehead 
to his mouth without using his hands!

The couple that won with the most points was MG & LG.  They have been married for 24 years, but this game it took skills, not years! Apparently they had the best and their prize was awesome from DD & JD!  A Gratitude Smash Book!  

We all got little prizes, which ours was a piggy bank that had LOVE BANK on the backside! :) 

Thanks again to DD and JD for their fabulous game and prizes!

Our menu for the gathering is below.  

My sister and her husband brought an assortment of cheese, grapes, and crackers for us to munch on.  I had some mushrooms I needed to get used up as we were heading out of town the next day, 
so I whipped up my recipe for stuff mushrooms!

Beer Cheese Soup
Herbed Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Sauce
Parmesan-Lemon Roasted Broccoli
Chocolate Italian Love Cake
Strawberry Yogurt Pie

Milton & I were very pleased with the meal.  It was good tasting, healthy, and fun to prepare.  We look forward to start planning our 2016 gathering!

Be sure to look for the recipes and links to the menu items!
So not to miss anything, be sure to follow us!

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Julie & Milton

Waffles

I like to eat waffles over pancakes any day.  I was lucky enough to get a new waffle maker for Christmas.  It is one of those that you can flip and it beeps when the timer goes off.  I love it!  It's like being in a motel for breakfast but in the comfort of my own home! 

My mother in law gave me a waffle recipe a while back and I finally tried it this past weekend.  I wanted to share it with you here on Sunsets.  I hope you enjoy them!  It makes a large amount of batter, so if you are only wanting a few, maybe cut the recipe in half.

Waffles

1 C. All purpose Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1 C. Cornmeal
1 Tbls. Sugar
1 Tbls. Baking powder
3/4 Tbls. Baking soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
3 Eggs
3 C. Buttermilk (can use sour milk made with vinegar)
1/2 C. Applesauce
3 Tbls. Oil
2 Tbls. butter, melted

Mix together and bake in waffle maker.  Normal batter I cook for about 2 minutes, but this batter I needed to go more like 4 minutes.  They come out crispy and air light!

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie

Yogurt Pie & Balloon Bowls

I was spending some time in my kitchen this past weekend and finally made my friends delicious dessert.  It's simple, it's low calorie, and it's awesome tasting!

Yogurt Pie. That's what I made.  Here's the deal though, since VVDDP is coming up soon I thought I would put a little change in the presentation!

Of course my idea came from Pinterest! To see the original post on it check out InStyleFashionOne!  You use balloons and dip them in melted chocolate.  Place them on aluminum foil and put in the refrigerator for an hour.  

Removing the balloons and not breaking the chocolate was a little harder than I anticipated.  I did dip them twice per instructions but will probably do three times next time.  

I would normally insert a photo here of my creations. Unfortunately I deleted it and can not even find the picture in my recycle bin.  And of course they are ALL gone!

I decorated mine with a cut strawberry because I used strawberry jello.  I am going to make this again and again and probably again.  It really is that delish!

Not sure if I will serve them in the chocolate bowls or my pretty ramkens but I'm glad I tried it these two ways!

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie

Cakes - Homemade or Box Mixes?

Hello from the Entertaining Kitchen!  I'm not entertaining anyone other than the two people that live with me right now but our annual couples gathering is right around the corner!  So be sure to follow us so you can see the results of this years VVDDP!

I headed into the kitchen this past Sunday with PV.  I had been at the grocery store and this colorful cake mix drew me in.  Yes I bought it, pricey but the cake is actually very good. Duff and Walmart made $2.98 off me, although I didn't buy his frosting!

Since marrying my husband the only box mixes I really use are angel food cake and brownies.  I like the Kroger brownies, very good!  Milton was raised on homemade cake his entire life!  The benefit is that it is cheaper in the long run I'm sure and you know exactly what is going into your cake.

We took some of the batter and made it purple.  PV really liked this part of the cake making process!

It ended up being a good cake, with family in the kitchen, spending time together!  What better way to spend our Sunday afternoon!

How about you?  Do you  have a preference on cakes?  Do you prefer made from scratch or from the box?  Let me know by commenting below!

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie

*This was not a paid endorsement, it is all my own opinions!

Three Grain Bread

My husband gave me a couple cookbooks for Christmas. 

I decided instead of just barely using them I would actually put them to good use!   Here is one of them.

I spent time in my Entertaining Kitchen last week preparing this bread for my family. Although we don't normally eat this type of bread, I want to be sure to expand our horizons so to speak.  

This recipe came from Page 12 of the Bread  Cookbook by Publications International, Ltd.

Three Grain Bread

1 cup milk

1 Tbls honey

3 Tsp salt

1 C. whole wheat flour

3/4 C. all-purpose flour

1 Pkg rapid rise active dry yeast

1/2 C. plus 1 Tbls old fashion oatmeal, divided

1/4 C. whole grain cornmeal, plus additional for baking sheet

1 egg beaten with 1 Tbls water

Makes one loaf

1. Combine milk, honey, oil, and salt in small pan; heat over low heat to 115 degrees to 120 degrees.

2. Whisk whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, and yeast in large bowl of stand mixer.  Add milk mixture; beat at medium speed with paddle attachment 3 minutes.  Beat in 1/2 cup oats and 1/4 cup cornmeal at low speed.  If dough is too wet, add additional flour, 1 teaspoon at a time until dough begins to come together.

3.Replace paddle attachment with dough hook, knead at low speed 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.

4 Shape dough into a ball, place in greased bowl, flip over so top does not dry out. Cover with cloth and let rise for about an hour or until dough is puffy and does not spring back when touched.

5. Sprinkle baking sheet lightly with cornmeal.  Punch down dough, shape into 8 inch loaf.  Place on baking sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place about 45 minutes or until almost double in size.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

6. Cut shallow slash down center of loaf with sharp knife.  Brush lightly with egg mixture; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon oats.

7. Bake 30 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped and internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.  Remove to wire rack to cook completely.

Since my oven is not under my stovetop, I like to heat one of my ovens to 200 degrees.  Then when I am ready to have the dough raise, I will shut it off, cover pan with damp large towel, and place in the oven.  Leave the oven door slightly open.  Works like a charm!   

If you try the recipe, please be sure to let me know what you think of it.  We thought it was tasty!  A different texture than we are used to, but still delish! 

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Julie

Cinnamon Apples

My mother had mentioned that she hadn't had Cinnamon Apples in a long time and they sounded good.  So I decided we would make them for our family Christmas gathering. Actually to be honest, my husband made them.  I was busy setting up the house!

I thought since it had been awhile since we shared a recipe here on the blog from the Entertaining Kitchen I would share this one. Hope you enjoy!

Cinnamon Apples

6-7 apples
1 Cup sugar
3 Tbls. water
6 oz. pkg. cinnamon red hots

Peel and core apples in fourths.  Put in heavy stew post.  Add all ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes or until apples are tender.

Stuffed Italian Mushrooms

I went to a gathering and one of the ladies brought some delicious stuffed mushrooms.  When I asked her for the recipe she told me she just threw it together!  WHAT!  She didn't use a recipe??? I'm the type that normally won't stray from a recipe, but Carla inspired me to live wildly in my kitchen on a weeknight no less! :)

My husband and I love mushrooms, and we were needing to get some used up.  We were grilling steak (he is a trooper, it was like 20 degrees out!) for supper and so while he was feeding calves I started the mushroom experiment! 

Milton loves sausage, I am not a big fan of it, but we had some Italian sausage in the frig.  I remembered we had this great olive oil we picked up on our vacation in Fort Collins, Colorado that we both love.  So there you have it! 

Stuffed Italian mushrooms were created in the Entertaining Kitchen!  Like I said, I'm not a big fan of sausage, but this mixture of yumminess, I ate the left over filling straight from the bowl. THAT'S how good it tasted (at least to me or maybe I was just really hungry!)

So here you go, the recipe is below!  Enjoy or even create your own mixture and come back to share with us here!  We all love new recipes don't we?

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie

Stuffed Italian Mushrooms

12 button mushrooms
1/4 lb italian sausage
1/4 c. onion
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. parmesean cheese
Olive oil or butter


Wipe the mushrooms with a wet paper towel to clean and remove stems. You can chop the stems up into tiny bits and use with sausage and onion mixture or disgard.  

Fry the italian sausage, onion, and diced stems until cooked through.  Mix with cream cheese and parmesean cheese.  

Dip mushrooms into oil oil or brush outer edges with it. Fill the mushrooms with the filling.  Top with panko, place on baking sheet.  I did drizzle olive oil about half way through baking over all the mushrooms.  Next time I think I will use butter for this part, and olive oil for the first part.

Bake at 350 degrees until done, about 25 minutes.  

Landlord Appreciation Dinner 2014

The fall brings all sorts of activities to the farm, but I really look forward to one event imparticular.  Our annual landlord appreciation dinner.  It allows us to hear stories of days gone by, about their lives, enjoy food and fellowship!

This year I chose a good home-cooked meal that is one of my husband's favorite meat dishes.  Although it was from an inexpensive cut of meat, we love this meatloaf recipe!  To go with it we had potato casserole, crock pot corn, and a pumpkin dessert.  I didn't get around to making the homemade bread I wanted to, but I think it went just fine using Sara Lee honey wheat bread!  We had three types of homemade jam to go with it!

Not all of our landlords were able to attend for various reasons.  Some of our landlords live out of state such as Missouri and California.  Since they are unable to attend, we normally send them a little something homemade from the Entertaining Kitchen!  I hope they enjoy it and perhaps someday be able to attend our event!

In our area of Kansas most of the land that is leased to others has been in those families for many years.  We feel privileged they have chosen to allow us to farm the ground that is their family legacy.  Some of the land that Milton and I farm was farmed by his Dad before us.  So that means our family has been farming some of the ground over fifty years!  As farmers, we care for the land whether it is owned by us or not, as if it were our own.

Farm ground isn't cheap and we know that without landlord's we might not be able to farm like we do.  So this small token of our appreciation each year is one way we show them we value them.  We hope they walk away feeling that we are authentic and care about not only their land, but them as well. 

We had good food, conversation, and we always send them home with a party favor.  This year PV and I made some trail mix sleeves with Happy Fall Y'ALL stickers I printed from Pinterest.  We threw in a small jar of jam as well!

We had grapes and cheese before our meal. Nothing too fancy here folks!

Our menu for the evening is below.  You can click on the name of each item to obtain the recipe.   As one of the guests left he thanked us and mentioned it was a "good homecooked meal."  That made my heart glad!  My intentions are to be one that shows hospitality and just some good food.  :)

As we close out this post, we want to once again thank those that allow us to farm their ground.  To care for it and carry on our family legacy in farming.  Even if you don't farm, please join us in thanking others in providing your life with splendor.

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie and Milton


Meat loaf

Potato Casserole

Crockpot Corn

Pumpkin Crunch Cake