Corn Salad

My family went to an out of town church home-coming service. Of course there was a pitch-in dinner, and of course that always makes me happy!
One lady shared her delicious, unique salad recipe with me:
Sister Perry's Corn Salad:
Mix together: 2 cans of Mexicorn (drained)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup of real mayo
Right before serving, add 7 ounces of chili cheese corn chips.
Very tasty and crunchy!

Pumpkin Pancakes

The picture above shows what was left after the boys ate their fill!

Pumpkin pancakes

This is a bulk recipe.  It makes a BUNCH of pancakes for the freezer.  Make sure you have plenty of quart-sized freezer bags to hold it all.  I usually put in 3 or 4 pancakes into each bag because that's what the kids usually eat.

5 cups of flour (I used wheat)
2 heaping TBSp baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
milk  (I probably used about 5 cups)
I also added about 1/4 of a bag of chocolate chips, but that's not necessary.  I just had extra and it makes them extra special. :-)

Mix dry ingredients well.  Add eggs and gradually add milk until your pancakes reach the desired thickness.  I like mine thin and light so I add quite a bit of milk to make the batter pretty runny (about the consistency of gravy).

Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto hot griddle.  Turn when batter bubbles in the middle.

If you want to make a home-made syrup, see the previous post or click here.

Home-made pancake syrup (Maple)

2 cups of sugar.  I usually do half brown and half white
1 cup of water.

Mix together and boil for 1 minute.  Add one tbsp of maple extract.  Cover while cooling so that the sugar won't crystalize.  Store in an airtight bottle or container!

Home-made Crockpot Yogurt!

I enjoy making yogurt in the crock pot.  Ryan could eat it all day, so it's nice to be able to make an entire quart of it. 

(Ryan's caramel syrup yogurt right before he stirred it)

Instructions:
Pour 1 quart of WHOLE milk into the crock pot.  Turn on low for 2 1/2 hours.  Then turn the crock pot off and leave for 3 hours.  Take 1 cup of store bought PLAIN yogurt and 2 cups of milk from the crock pot and stir together.  Dump this back into the crock pot.  Wrap a heavy towel around the crock pot for insulation and let sit overnight.  Chill in the refridgerator.  Before you eat it, mix in fruit, honey, or any type of syrup.  We love to add strawberry, caramel, or chocolate syrup to ours.  It is a little thinner/runnier than store-bought yogurt... this is normal and how yogurt is naturally.  Thickeners are added to get the store-bought consistency.  If you use less than whole milk, it will still turn out, but it will be runnier.  I'm thinking.... drinkable yogurt.  Either way it is very yummy and healthy!

P.S.  I've never added dried milk, but I've read that you can add it to thicken the yogurt.

Some really neat links. Try some new things!

http://www.homemademamas.net/2010/10/breakfast-banana-splits.html

http://meandmypinkmixer.blogspot.com/2010/10/pumpkin-spice-granola.html

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2010/10/caramel-apple-cookies.html

http://prairiecottagerose.blogspot.com/2010/09/toffee-mocha.html

http://sweetbeebuzzings.blogspot.com/2010/10/so-corny-fabric-candy-tutorial.html

Creamy Potato Soup

I made this for Sunday afternoon dinner. 

I planned ahead, and  used my crock-pot the night before to boil the potatoes. 

I wash mine, cut an x in them, cover them with water, and turn the crock pot on high.  They were actually cooked by morning and I just unplugged the crock pot.  

You need:

• 10-12 boiled & cubed potatoes -- you could do less if you think this is too much, but it was enough to feed our family of five and have enough for seconds or leftovers.
• Either 2 cans of cream soup ( cream of mushroom or chicken), or make the equivalent home-made (click here for a home-made recipe)
• 8 ounces sour cream
• bacon bits (real or imitation/soy).  I used half the bag.
• milk or water (to add at the end to get the consistency you like)

Mix the cream soup (I made a home-made cream gravy) & sour cream into a large soup pan. Add the cubed potatoes & bacon bits. Add milk or water to get the desired consistency.  Salt and pepper to taste.     Very easy and very tasty.

Easy Home-made Pizza, using Self-Rising Pizza Crust

This is an extremely frugal meal if you just use cheese and sauce.  :-)

Self-Rising Pizza Crust (from HillbillyHousewife.com)

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry yeast

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup oil

I doubled the recipe, making a giant pizza on my giant cookie sheet.  If you don't have a giant cookie sheet, you can make 2 pizzas if you have extra pans and pie pans and such.

 The recipe above (undoubled) makes a 9x13 size.

In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and yeast.  Stir it up to distribute the salt and yeast evenly.  Add the water and oil.  You may need a spoonful or two more of water if the day is dry.  Mix he dough with a wooden spoon until it forms a big ball in the middle of the bowl.  It will be a little stiffer than biscuit dough.  Knead the dough about 10 or 12 times and then form it into a ball.  Place the ball in the center of a 16 inch pizza pan or a 9 x 13 inch rectangular pan.  Use your hands and a rolling pin, to press the dough into the pan.  I find a rolling pin most effective in this effort.  The dough will be a medium thickness.

For rolling out the dough, I use a mat I found at Walmart in the kitchen utensils section (near the cake pans).  It is  made by Wilton used to roll out pie crusts.  It is great for rolling out doughs.  You roll it up and dump the excess dough and flour into the garbage.  Hand wash on the counter with soap and water. Easy clean up!  I have found that I am more likely to do from-scratch dough recipes when I have an easy way to clean up.  I highly recommend it. Click here to see what it looks like.

 Top the crust with a sauce and toppings of your choice.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.