Blog Posts

Oh Christmas Tree!

12/3/2019

Tis the season, Pa Lloyd managed to get our Christmas tree up, and I got the decorations on. I love doing that, so many of our decorations are ones our children made or were given to me by friends and family. So each decoration holds special memories, I know it’s time to think of maybe a table top tree but then I wouldn’t be able to use all of my decorations, I’m not ready to give that up yet. I gave myself a Christmas present this year, we had a gas insert put in our fireplace. It was no longer safe for the man of the house to get up on the roof to clean the chimney and I love a fire, it’s so cozy and festive. It looks like the real thing so I am one happy Grandma! Now I have to decorate the mantle and hang the stockings. What used to take me a half day to decorate takes me 2 days. Oh well gives me something to do!
Have you ever had a recipe in your recipe file for years that you have never gotten around to use? Years ago I copied a recipe off a Bisquick box for a Impossible Brownie pie, it’s probably been in my box for 20 years. I had a craving for dessert a month or so ago so finally tried it, now I have made it three times (once I took it over to my granddaughter’s). It’s quick and easy and doesn’t make such a large amount so good for the two of us. I hope that you will like it too.

Impossible Brownie Pie:
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup bisquick
4 oz. semi sweet chocolate, melted, cooled for 5 minutes
1/2 cup nuts chopped (optional)

Put all ingredients in a blender except nuts. Blend for 2 minutes, stir in nuts then pour into a greased pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, serve with ice cream or whipped topping, good to serve at room temperature too.
Happy decorating and have a good week!

Yummy Leftovers!

11/26/2019

Since we have seen all four of our children and their families sometime this fall, and Christmas is in just a few weeks, I’ve decided not to cook this Thanksgiving! We are going out for dinner, the main problem with that is that there will be no leftovers.. That is one advantage of hosting the Holidays, the yummy leftovers. Today I am sharing a recipe using leftovers, a recipe my sister, Doris shared with me. Its quick and easy and a favorite.

The Newbury Sandwich:
Cut a thick slice of sourdough bread, place on a microwaveable plate. Put a layer of cranberry sauce on the bread, next layer with pieces of left over turkey (chicken would work too), cover meat with lots of shredded cheddar cheese and sprinkle with crumbled crisp bacon or bacon bits. Heat in microwave for about 2 minutes, until cheese is melty. Makes a really large open face sandwich to be eaten with a fork.

Didn’t I say it was quick and easy? Remember to count your blessings, have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

A Timely Recipe

11/19/2019

The Lloyd hunting party did not get a deer last weekend, Maggie and I were mighty happy when the man of our house returned safe and sound. We just got word that our fourteen-year-old granddaughter Taylor got her second deer of the season today. I guess she is turning out to be the hunter of the family! I can live without venison, although we do eat jerky, sausage and I can tell no difference if I use ground venison in chili.

This time of the year I am always browsing through my recipe file looking for holiday recipes that use ingredients that remind me of the holidays, such is the one I am sharing with you this week, I have no idea who gave it to me, its easy to make and the muffins are best served warm.

Cranberry Muffins:
Mix together in a small bowl, 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, halved with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp. grated orange rind, set aside.

Whisk together in a large bowl: 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup orange juice and 1 tsp. canola oil. To this stir in 2 cups Bisquick, stir just until moistened, then fold in cranberry mixture. Divide muffin mixture between 12 greased muffin tins, Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Have a great week!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

11/13/2019

When the holidays are near I start looking for new recipes for old favorites! I recently came across a different way to prepare sweet potatoes in my new issue of Midwest Living magazine. I decided to try it yesterday when I had my granddaughter Samantha and her family over for dinner. It was a “have another helping” success. Two year old Lydia enjoyed it as well, but then Lydia likes just about everything. I am giving you the recipe as it was printed but mine was cooked in about 30 minutes and I kept the temperature pretty low. As I have mentioned before I have a knack for scorching food! It’s going to be on my holiday menu!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange and Mascarpone
1/4 cup butter ( half a stick)
3 # sweet potatoes ( 5-6 medium) peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup orange juice
3 Tablespoons pure Maple syrup
4 oz. mascarpone cheese
2 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. ground cardamom

Melt butter over medium heat. Stir in sweet potatoes. orange juice and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until fork tender, about 45 minutes ( it didn’t take mine that long). Remove from heat ( DO NOT drain). Mash with a potato masher, stir in mascarpone cheese, grated orange zest and cardamom. Serve warm. Stay warm and have a good week!

Another Side Dish!

11/5/2019

We survived another Halloween on Woodland Avenue. This year we had handed out 800 treats by 6:30, the action started at 3:30, so we finished in record time! The children and parents are all so polite and fun to see, even some of the dogs that are brought along are in costume, I probably should have some doggie treats to hand out!
Today’s recipe is one of my favorite ways to prepare peas, be sure to use the tarragon, it’s the ingredient that makes the peas taste so good!

Creamy Ham and Peas:
2 Tablespoons butter
one slice of ham cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 red onion, halved and slice thin
2/3 cup whipping cream
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, or 1 tsp. dried
salt and pepper to taste
1 # frozen peas

Melt butter, add ham, cook til brown about 5 minutes.Add onion, cook another 5 minutes, add cream and seasonings, cook 3 minutes til getting thick. Stir in peas. Cover and cook another 5 minutes, serve. Have a great week!

Love those Veggies!

10/29/2019

Love those Veggies!

It doesn’t seem possible that Halloween is already upon us! That means a lot of activity on Woodland Ave. We are ready for the little ghosts and goblins! Our daughter Mary and Scott are coming to help us hand out treats. We thought we were going to do it alone this year but they informed us they would be helping! We do so appreciate it so much. Our up north sons have both come and taken a turn. I think they wanted to see if our description of the night was accurate, so different than when they were growing up here.

I frequently roast the veggies I am going to serve. Its easy, they are more flavorful too. I am going to make this recipe I found in the Paula Deen magazine for Thanksgiving.

Balsamic-Glazed Roasted Root Vegetables:
2 cups ( 3/4 inch) diced peeled rutabagas
2 cups ( 3/4 inch) diced peeled turnips
1 cup ( 1/2 inch) chopped peeled carrots
1 cup ( 1/2 inch) chopped peeled parsnips
2 cups ( 3/4 inch diced peeled beets
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp., minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line three large rimmed baking sheets with foil.
Divide rutabagas, turnips, carrots and parsnips between two prepared pans. Place beets on remaining pan (to prevent beets from bleeding onto other veggies) Drizzle all vegetables with oil, and toss to coat.
Bake for 15 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together syrup, vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour syrup mixture onto vegetables , tossing to coat. Bake, stirring once until vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes more. You can add quartered peeled onions, and white or sweet potatoes too it you want.
Have a safe and great Halloween. Have a good week!

The Huntress!

10/22/2019

There was a youth deer hunt over MEA near Wadena, our granddaughter Taylor, 13 got her deer! She will have a supply of deer jerky for a while. I wonder if her grandfather will be lucky in two weeks. Maybe she can give him some tips.

According to our forecast we are suppose to have rain, sleet and possibly snow flurries the next two days. Sounds like soup weather to me. I tried a new recipe this weekend and it hit the spot Pa Lloyd doesn’t care for lasagna so I am hoping this recipe will sort of disguise the dish because I like it. I hope you will too.

Tastes like Lasagna Soup:
1 1/2 # hamburger
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper. chopped, optional
3 cloves garlic minced
1- 32 oz. beef broth
2- 14.5 oz. petite diced tomatoes
1- 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 bay leaves
2 cups bow tie pasta
1/2 cup cream

Brown hamburger, onion, green pepper and garlic until hamburger is no longer pink, add to large soup pot, add remaining ingredients except pasta and cream. Bring to a boil, then add pasta, simmer 8 minutes until pasta is tender then add cream, serve with a dollop of the following: blended together; 1 cup ricotta cheese, 1 cup parmesan cheese, 3 Tablespoons sour cream and 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley. Have a great week!

Love Side Dishes!

10/15/2019

This morning I am going to pay my little great granddaughters, Lydia and Nora a visit, we snuggle and read books, the perfect weather for both activities! Its weather like this that also starts me thinking about Holiday menus! I love onions and can’t imagine cooking without them. I recently found a side dish recipe in the Paula Deen magazine for roasted onions that I think would be perfect as a side dish for any Holiday menu. I hope that you will enjoy it too!

Glazed Roasted Onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 pounds assorted medium onions, peeled and quartered
6 tablespoons chicken broth
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
3 tablespoons butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a 12 inch cast-iron or oven proof skillet, heat oil over medium- high heat, Add onions;cook turning once, until browned, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper until sugar is dissolved. Add broth mixture to onions, turning to coat. Place butter pieces around onions. Bake until tender about 25 minutes, gently stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Spoon glaze onto onions when serving. Garnish with fresh rosemary, if desired.
Have a great week!

A Son's Visit!

10/9/2019

I don’t think children know how much a visit means to their parents! Our four children live from 1 hour to 5 hours away so we don’t see them too often. Our eldest son Jason lives four hours away, he and his family came for dinner on Sunday. I call it his honey run. He is the live off the land type, has chickens, a few feeding cattle, bee hives and a huge garden. He brought me my year’s supply of honey, earlier some maple syrup ( he taps his trees in the spring) and some of his garden bounty but the best part was spending some time with him. Our Grandson Evan came too and did a couple of things like bringing my large box of Halloween decorations down from the store room and our upstairs window boxes. He says its what Grandsons are for. There is nothing I like to do more than make a sit down dinner for family members and spend some precious time with them. One of my favorite foods is sweet potatoes. I often make them into oven fries. Today’s recipe is a dressed up version.

Spiced sweet potato wedges:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed halved lengthwise, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick wedges.

Dip
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder dash of black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, place 2 heavy duty baking sheets in oven until very hot, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, stir together oil, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin and red pepper; add sweet potatoes and toss until well combined. Carefully spread potatoes evenly onto hot pans. Bake until tender, 20-25 minutes stirring potatoes halfway through baking. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, mayo, garlic powder, black pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Serve with sweet potatoes. Garnish with parsley if desired. Have a great week!

Simple sometimes the best!

10/2/2019

I have over my cooking years tried complicated recipes with numerous ingredients. Sometimes they are worth the effort but often not. I have had some of the best results with simple recipes that are fast with few ingredients. So it is with the one I am sharing with you this week. I recently received this recipe from my friend, Joyce Jorgenson. I may try it with pork chops sometime too.

Sweet and Sour Chicken:
4 chicken breast halves
1 cup Western salad dressing
1 cup pineapple jam ( I found this at Wal-mart, you probably could substitute apricot jam)
1/2 pkg. dry Lipton onion soup

Lay chicken breasts in a single layer in a greased baking pan, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over chicken, cover with foil, bake covered at 325 degrees for 1 hour, then uncover, spooning sauce again over chicken and bake another 20-30 minutes. Serve over rice if desired. Have a great week!

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Author

I'm Kathy Lloyd. I grew up on a farm near Elmore, MN and have lived in Fairmont for over 44 years. I have always loved to cook, even when I was very young. I loved to stay with my Aunt Dorothy during my childhood. She was a great cook and used to give me freedom in the kitchen, teaching me along the way. She made recipes from our Norwegian heritage, along with pies, homemade doughnuts, yeast bread and cinnamon rolls.

Marrying a husband with a hearty appetite and raising 3 sons and 1 daughter gave me plenty of hungry appetites to satisfy! I worked as a nurse for 42 years and have been retired for 11 years. Even though I loved my work, I love having time to spend with my grandchildren, to experiment with new recipes and work with my flowers in the summer. Life has been very good to me, blessing me with my loving family and great friends!

I enjoy sharing my love of cooking and recipes with the readers of the Photo Press! (I have had my share of cooking failures over the years!)

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