Whole Wheat Waffles

My beautiful friend, Sarah shared this recipe with me over a year ago.  They are delicious and much more healthy than the ones Grandma used to make, but hey - no one is judging Grandma here - or knocking her waffles, just to make that perfectly clear.  These, I just feel less guilty eating!

Start with whole wheat that has been freshly ground *this is a huge note - if you don't have freshly ground wheat - they don't seem to turn out the same - mix half regular flour and half whole wheat flour from the store if they don't seem to turn out quite right from the store bought bag of whole wheat flour.


1 3/4 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1/4 Cup of Honey
2 Tablespoons of Oil
2 Eggs (I prefer fresh eggs from Sarah's chickens)
2 Cups of Milk (soy can be used if that is what you prefer)
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla
Throw in some flax seeds or a little flaxseed oil - the kids will never know.

Place in a bowl all of your dry ingredients, then stir in the liquids.  All Waffle Irons cook differently, but mine takes 2.5 minutes for a half cup of batter.

Okay - now last but certainly not least is how to dress these babies up for the table.  I like mine with fresh blueberries and strawberries and a little syrup.  My son prefers them with lots of syrup.  They are delicious many ways, but for quick serving take a jar of pure maple syrup and a stick of REAL butter, and melt them together on the stove and whisk up and ladle over the top.  Honey, it is worth putting in your mouth.  I would never lead you wrong on this - its food were talking about here! Yummy!

Grandma Branham's Beef Stew

Beef Stew

Note: This is exactly how she wrote it down - you know how Grandma's are - No exact measurements! You have to taste it and see what you think!

Taking Stew meat - chop it into tiny chunks and fry with 1 Onion and 1 Green Bell Pepper in a small amount of Olive oil.

After its browned add:

1 qt. canned tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
6 or 7 potatoes peeled and cubed
3 or 4 stalks of celery, plus the leaves, chopped
1 can of green beans drained
Gobs of carrots
1 cup frozen corn
2 teas crushed basil (she loved basil)
salt and pepper
Bring to a Boil and then Simmer for 2 hours.

She always served it with cornbread! YUMMY!

Dara's Notes

After making this today - I wanted to add a few pictures of the yummy stew and note a few changes.  I didn't put in the bel pepper.  I only added 2 Large red potatoes as apposed to the 6-7 Grandma suggested.  Her pot was obviously bigger than mine!  As well, I had to add some beef broth to this.  Her tomatoes were always fresh home grown canned tomatoes and I used Organic stewed tomatoes from the store.  Their consistency was thicker than what hers was - so therefore I needed more broth!

Austrian Jam Cookies

Some would call these thumbprint cookies. We grew up calling them Austrian Jam's.  They are a must have at our house around the Holidays.  However - these are worth putting in your mouth any time of the year especially with a spot of hot tea!


1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teas. vanilla
1 egg separated
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
2/3 cup chopped almonds or pecans
Raspberry Jam

1) Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk in a medium sized bowl until fluffy. Stir in Flour, gather dough into a ball; Chill several hours
2) Roll level teaspoonful of dough into balls. Dip into slightly beaten egg white; roll in almonds.  Place on un-greased cookie sheets 1 inch apart.  Press an indention with finger in each; fill with 1/4 teas. jam.
3) Bake in slow oven (300 degrees) for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden.  Cool on wire racks.

Dara's Notes: I usually double this batch. Also this freezes well.

Old Fashioned German Apple Cake

Here it is! The cake that says "fall"!

Old Fashioned German Apple Cake
by Lorraine Branham

2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Cups sugar
4 Cups sliced apples
1 Cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Mix: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice with sugar. Pour over apples and let stand 15 minutes.
Beat eggs slightly, then add oil and vanilla. Add the sugar/apple mixture, then add flour and soda and baking powder. Stir in pecans. Bake in a bundt pan or a 9x13 baking dish, or 2 loaf pans that have been well greased. Bake at 350 or 45 minutes. Freezes well. (We love to sprinkle salt over the top after it's baked! This enhances the favor)

Pumpkin Pancakes

"Here is a concoction I made tonight that turned out wonderful and comforting."

Pumpkin Pancakes
by Leah Vincent

2 1/2 c flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
sprinkle of nutmeg, ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix all that together then add:
1 cup pumpkin
2 eggs and then 1 or 2 cups of milk until it makes a pancake consistency


Make just as you would regular pancakes!

Pumpkin Bars

I have tried so many pumpkin bar recipes, and none quite touch this one. Its tried and true delicious and just in time for the holidays. 

Pumpkin Bar Recipe
By: Lori Jacobs

Combine:

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups pumpkin

Add:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

Mix well. Pour into greased 10 x 15
Pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

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Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese
1 TBSP milk
1 stick butter (softened)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla