Laurie Jackson's Blog, page 17

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen — Dough

Here are a couple of salt dough recipes if you ever want to make hand prints or foot prints for a child.

SALT DOUGH CLAY

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup salt

3/4 cup water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Place dough in ziplock bag and knead until smooth. After kneading, take out of bag and form into 3 smooth balls.

Place together in a snowman shape to make sure they sit well. Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper. Take the snowmen apart once more and bake at 180 degrees until they are hard. (About three hours). Don’t brown and keep turning as they will dry out.

Use tacky glue to hold together. Use mod podge waterproofing glaze. Use child socks for hats and pompoms.

The next recipe is what I used to make my grandson’s footprint.

SALT DOUGH CLAY

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water (give or take)

Knead until dough forms

Make impression. Bake at 200 degrees for three hours. Do this every summer and make a stepping stone path.

Enjoy your day!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

It’s A Beautiful Day!

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning as I sit here and write this. I am in my office trying to think of something to write as I listen to the banter between my son and daughter. Reminds me of a time when they were younger almost constantly bickering at one another.

I miss those days when my kiddos were younger. If only the clock could be turned back at least for a little while. Today is my second son, Kyle’s, birthday. Although none of my kids are second to none. It’s hard to believe he is 27 years old!!! Memories of him being a little boy come flooding back. There was never a dull moment with him. When Kyle was born, I said this is the child that will give me gray hair. This is the child who will try anything once. Kyle and I have had our rough times but through it all, we survived. There’s nothing I would change about him.

I am going to be a grandma second time around. My baby is having a baby!!! When she told me, I just kept clapping and smiling. The other week, I was able to ride a long with Adele to her doctor appointment. I was able to see the little munchkin and hear the heartbeat. It was an amazing experience. She is due in February. I am so excited! Being called grandma is the best ever!!!

I have already been blessed with a grandson. James is six. He is so much like his daddy. There is never a dull moment when James around. Definitely makes my day to spend time with him. :)

May your day be full of blessings!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

Don’t Say Things You Don’t Mean

Don’t promise me you love me

Then go and leave me blue.

Don’t say I mean the world to you

Unless I really do.

Don’t flower up the things you say

To make my life a dream.

Unless you really love me,

Don’t say things you don’t mean.

Don’t let me feel your loving arms

And then push me away.

Don’t talk about forever

Unless you plan to stay.

Don’t tell me that you’ll be my king

Or that I’ll be your queen.

Unless you really love me,

Don’t say things you don’t mean.

Written by Debbie Folsom

May your day be filled with sunshine.

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

A Letter To Mindy

I wrote this letter to my sister, Mindy, shortly after she passed. She struggled and battled for 11 long years with cancer. It’s hard to believe she has been gone 27 years.

I will always love you, Mindy Jo. I miss you so much!

Dear Mindy,

Hi. I feel like crying! So, I thought I’d write you a letter. I have no idea what to say. It’s just that I miss you soooo very much.I need your help. I need you back with us. I want you back with us. Please tell me that it will be okay. This is the first time I cried today. It’s so very hard to imagine that you’re in a much better place. I know you’re really happy where you’re at right now. Do me a favor, please. Keep an eye on Mom. She really misses you so much. It’s hard on everyone but it’s mostly hard on her. You two were always together. Our family is going to fall apart. You’re the one who held it together. Now I don’t know what’s going to happen.

That feeling is coming over me again. Please help me. I was at Mom’s today and it was kind of hard not seeing you there playing with your Barbie dolls. We won’t let Elmer EVER forget his Aunt Mindy. He loved you very much. He still says your name.

(This letter was written when Elmer was almost 2 years old. I was five months pregnant with my second son when Mindy passed. She was only 11 years old. She touched so many lives without even trying.)

May your day be filled with loads of blessings!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen — Hole In The middle Cake

HOLE IN THE MIDDLE CAKE

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons cocoa

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

Sift all the above ingredients into a pan. Make a hollow in the middle.

1 egg

6 tablespoons melted shortening

1 cup sour milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Drop the egg into the hollow which has been made in the dry ingredients. Add gradually the melted shortening, sour milk and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and bake in a moderate oven until done.

Enjoy!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen — Easy Icebox Rolls

I always enjoyed spending time with Grandma. I spent most of my summers with her. Her kitchen was always filled with the aroma of something freshly baked. From homemade breads and pies to cookies and candy. The aroma of strong brewed coffee was in the air.

EASY ICEBOX ROLLS

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pkg. dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2/3 cup warm water

1 egg, beaten

4 cups all-purpose flour

Combine boiling water, 1/2 cup sugar, shortening and salt. Let stand until lukewarm. Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in water; add to the lukewarm mixture. Beat in the egg and 2 cups flour. Mix well. Add remaining flour, beat again. Put in a well greased bowl and refrigerate. When ready to prepare rolls, remove desired amount of dough; make into rolls and let rise until double in size.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

This is a soft dough. Rolls may be baked without refrigeration.

Yield: About 36 rolls

I love any type of warm bread straight out of the oven. Smear butter on a slice and take a bite. Let the melted butter drip from the corner of your mouth. Yummy!!

Enjoy your day!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen — Caramel Cake/Caramel Syrup/Caramel Icing

Excitement was in the air each and every time Grandma made these recipes.

CARAMEL CAKE

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold water

1 tablespoon caramel syrup

Cream shortening. Add sugar gradually and cream thoroughly. Add the beaten eggs. Sift the flour once before measuring. Mix and sift flour, salt and baking powder. Add alternately with the water and caramel syrup which have been mixed together.

CARAMEL SYRUP

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup hot water

Melt and caramelize the sugar. Add the hot water and cook until the lumps are dissolved.

CARAMEL ICING

4 tablespoons caramel syrup

4 tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat the caramel syrup and butter together. Mix with the powdered sugar, adding cream to thin the mixture until of the right consistency to spread. Add vanilla and spread on cake.

Looking over the recipe for the cake, I realize there is no baking temperature. I suggest you bake accordingly.

Have a day full of laughter!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen — Random Recipes

Here are a few random recipes I came across and thought you might enjoy them.

HOMEMADE SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons instant non-fat dry milk

1/2 cup warm water

Mix well. Set in a pan of hot water.

Stir in 3/4 cup sugar

Stir to dissolve sugar

This recipe is equal to one can of sweetened condensed milk.

DRESSING FOR SLAW

1 cup vinegar

2 cups sugar

2 medium sized onions, chopped fine

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 tablespoon mustard, dry or prepared; NOT horseradish

Put sugar on onions and let sit for a few minutes.

Add vinegar and celery seed.

Let mixture set overnight. Strain the next morning.

FRENCH DRESSING

1 can tomato soup

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon onion salt

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 cup salad oil

Shake well. Makes 1 quart.

Here’s a hot beverage for a cold day.

HOT COCOA MIX

2 cups dry milk powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup powdered creamer

dash of salt

Blend well. Store in covered container.

Single serving: 1/4 cup mix to 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir to blend.

I always seem to be out of this mixture. Sure taste good after being out in the cold.

Hope your day is full of blessings!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen — Waffles — Syrup

Who doesn’t love waffles??? There are so many varieties to making waffles, too.

This is the recipe Grandma used but I don’t have any memory of her making any for us. Hmmm.

WAFFLES

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk or soured milk

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoon soft shortening, (fresh bacon fat is good)

Beat eggs well. Beat in rest of ingredients. Mix until smooth.

Makes 8 waffles.

NEVER-FAIL SIRUP (That’s the way it was spelled on the paper.)

1 cup white sirup (syrup)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

Pinch of salt

Maple flavoring

Stir together sirup, sugars, water and salt in a saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Let boil 5 minutes. Add maple flavoring to taste. Makes a little over a pint.

Here’s another homemade recipe for syrup.

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

Combine sugars and water in saucepan. Boil until sugar dissolves (about 3 minutes).

Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

I teaspoon maple flavoring (optional)

I have not made either of these recipes myself.

Enjoy your day!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!

Daily Ritual

When I saw this post, I immediately thought of my grandmother. If ever anyone had a daily routine, it was her. :)

Every morning, she’d rise out of bed before the dawn. She’d glance over to Grandpa’s side of the bed and see that he was already up and most likely outside milking the cow.

She’d traipse to the kitchen and fill the coffee pot with water. It was a huge coffee pot but it certainly seemed endless with the coffee.Once the water was boiling, she added heaping tablespoons of coffee. She grabbed the same old pan she used for cornbread each morning. It was a black square pan. She mixed up the bread by memory and popped it in the oven. The same large cast iron skillet sat atop the stove. It was worn after many years of using it. There was always a large pot of oatmeal for breakfast, as well. When it came time to wash the dishes, she just knocked the crumbs out of the cornbread pan and put it away. She never let her skillet touch the dish water. She said it wasn’t good for it.

After the dishes were washed, dried and put away and the kitchen was spotless, Grandma always made the beds. She made her bed and then she went upstairs to make my uncle’s bed. She’d fluff the pillows and straighten out the sheets. Once she was back downstairs, she’d sweep the floors with the same old dust mop. Her mop had a long handle. There was an old towel with a hole in it down over the cloth of the mop. She’d go back upstairs to sweep the floors up there.

Once a week, she’d do the laundry. I remember her using those old time clothes pins that did not have any clasps. These were just wooden pins that slid down over the clothes on the line.

As busy as Grandma was, she found time to bake and cook. Grandpa had such a sweet tooth. Pies, cookies, and cakes were found in abundance in the kitchen. She used to bake at least six loaves of bread, as well.

If it was during the summer, she had a huge garden. You name it, it was probably had been planted in her garden. Anything from eggplant to cabbage to strawberries and zucchini. We picked many a pea and green beans from her garden. She always had canning to do. Pick (I don’t know how many) five gallon buckets of corn from the field before it was too hot.

The routine for meals were always the same. Breakfast no later than 6 am. Lunch was at 9. Dinner was at noon. Then, of course, we had to have that afternoon coffee and sandwich usually followed with pie or cookies of some sort. Supper had to be between 5:30 and 6 pm. There was always ice cream or cereal to eat at bedtime. Ten o’clock was considered late.

If it was during the winter, you would find her behind her sewing machine or in the front room quilting. She could sew a shirt for Grandpa in a day’s time between cooking and baking and cleaning.

I do not remember Grandma ever sleeping past the break of dawn. Unless, of course she was ill. And even then, she’d force herself out of bed.

Grandma was raised as a farmer’s daughter and became a farmer’s wife. She was not scared of hard work. She was a strong, hardworking woman. I miss her everyday. Thank you, Grandma, for all that you taught me. :)

Have a blessed day!

Laurie Jackson

Please feel free to visit my website. Thank you!