Homemade Biscuit Mix

Want to make a great biscuit every time?
Want biscuits and gravy that is better than any restaurant?

Sausage Gravy Recipe coming soon

Easy, delicious,

Pineapple Salsa

YUMM!!!

Oh my!  This is the most wonderful salsa.  It is the perfect combination of sweet and heat.  You really must try this..... now!

Home Canned Pineapple

Home canned pineapple is delicious .  Its tastes is far superior to the commercial canned stuff.  I prefer putting up my own canned fruits

Vanilla Ice Milk

Vanilla Ice Milk is absolutely my favorite "ice cream".  I can not stand the gummy store bought ice cream.  Ice cream should be very cold and very refreshing.  And this Vanilla Ice Milk certainly is cold and refreshing.

Orange Sherbet

Orange Sherbet
makes 4 quarts

8 cups orange juice
3 cups milk
3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch salt
few drops vanilla (optional)

Pour everything in ice cream maker.  Follow ice cream maker instructions.

To enjoy a variety of fruit sherbets, simply puree any fruit

Grandma's Pineapple Banana Bread

Pineapple Banana Muffins with Coconut and Walnuts

When there are lots of really ripe bananas that need to be used, what do you make?

Here at Saltbush Flats we make Grandma's Pineapple Banana Bread. YUM!

Grandma makes this most amazing bread every Christmas and shares it with others along with her homemade cookies and fudge.  

Grandmas Pineapple Banana Bread

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups oil

2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained (half 20 ounce can)

2 cups mashed banana, 4-5 bananas

Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a very large bowl.

In another large bowl mix eggs, oil, and vanilla very well.  Add pineapple and banana.  Blend.

Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and mix until just blended.

Grease 13"x9" baking pan.  Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 degrees about 60 minutes.

Cool completely.

Slice into 5 "loaves" 2 1/2" x 9".  Wrap loaves very well with plastic wrap and freeze any loaves not planning to eat right away.

This bread freezes beautifully.  

This recipe also make 2 5"x9" loaves or 36 muffins.

Rancher Roy and Colt in the City love coconut.  Anytime I can add coconut to a recipe they are happy.  

Coconut Nut Variation

Add 2/3 cup coconut and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the wet ingredients before mixing into the dry ingredients.

This recipe makes a lot, much more than Rancher Roy and I can eat.  The solution?  Freeze the batter in muffin cups.  Now when Rancher Roy and I want Grandma's Pineapple Banana Muffins, all we have to do is take a few out of the freezer and bake them up warm and fresh.  

Flash Freeze batter in Lined Muffin Tins

Once Frozen, Place in Freezer Bags.

Bake frozen muffins about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy fresh baked muffins anytime.  

Grandma is actually my own mama.  But since Colt in the City was born, she has been called Grandma.  How many of you refer to your mother as "Grandma" after your children are born?

See this post and other like it at:
The HomeAcre Hop       The Homemaking Party     Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop      The Homesteaders Blog Hop     Homestead Barn Hop     Tuesday Garden Party      The Creative Home and Garden Hop     All Things Thursday

Summer Rice - Quick Dinner

What do you eat when you get home late, you are starving and exhausted, and the only thing in the refrigerator is fresh garden produce generously given to you by dear friends?

Lots of sauteed vegetables and rice.  

A quick delicious dinner.
Use whatever summer vegetables you happen to have fresh from your garden, or fresh from someone else's garden. 
In our food storage we have a variety of rice.  Boil in bag rice is perfect for nights like these when we are tired and want something right away.  I simply boiled the rice while I sauteed the vegetables.  You could just as easily use regular white rice, or whatever type of rice you like or have on hand.

Summer Rice

Summer Rice
Serves 2

2 cups assorted fresh vegetables
2 cups cooked rice
2 Tablespoons olive oil or butter
kosher salt

All amount are approximate.  Julienne or finely chop assorted fresh vegetables.  I used green pepper, onion, carrot, zucchini, and yellow squash.  Yum!  I used my mandolin to 1/8" julienne the zucchini, yellow squash, and carrot in a jiffy.  Small pieces cook quickly, and this dinner was all about quick.

Saute vegetables in a small amount of olive oil or butter until tender, about 10 minutes.  I used a combination of both olive oil and butter for a wonderful flavor.

Add cooked rice and salt.  Give it a quick stir and serve.

Dinner was on the table in 15 minutes.

I enjoyed my rice seasoned with only the butter and salt it was cooked in, while Rancher Roy chose to douse his liberally with soy sauce.  Either way, we both gobbled it down, enjoying every bite.

Scalloped Corn - Comfort Food

Everyone has favorite foods that just make them feel good.  For me, it is Scalloped Corn.  
My mama made this dish often... and I gobbled it up every time.  Even now when I visit her, I request this amazing dish.  I have watched Mama making this dish for years.  But do you think I can make it just the way she does?  No.  :(

Sometimes recipes are that way.  There is something special about the way someone makes a dish that just can not be recreated by anyone else.  

Her recipe used cream corn, eggs, milk, butter, and crackers.  When I make scalloped corn with her ingredients, it come out heavy .  When she makes it, it comes out light, fluffy, and delicious.

Browsing through all my cookbooks, I found a similar type recipe in this great little cookbook.

The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook

Corn Pudding

The Blue Willow Inn's Corn Pudding is delicious!  It is the closest I have come to in flavor.  I will never be able to recreate the wonderful texture in Mama's Scalloped Corn, but I can still enjoy a similar dish as often as I like.

It is a simple dish.  One where everything is simply mixed together and baked.

Scalloped Corn  (adapted from Blue Willow Inn Corn Pudding)

3 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can cream corn
4 Tablespoons butter, melted

In small bowl mix together sugar, flour, and salt.  Set aside.
In larger bowl mix together eggs and half and half.  Add corn.  Mix well.
Add sugar flour mixture.  Mix well. 
Stir in melted butter.  Mix well.
Pour into buttered 9" round baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy this post and others like it at:
The Weekend ReTreat    The Homeacre Hop

Cole Slaw - A Saltbush Flats Favorite!

We love salad - Lettuce Salad, Macaroni Salad, Potato Salad...

but by far, our most favorite is Cole Slaw!

We love a creamy, slightly sweet, slightly tangy dressing.  No bottled cole slaw dressing even comes close to the flavor we desire.  What to do?  Make your own.

Buttermilk powder is convenient to use when only a small amount is needed.  We normally do not purchase buttermilk.  But in a few months we should have a jersey cow.  I look forward to the fresh dairy products and will probably adjust this recipe to use fresh buttermilk when available.

Coleslaw at Saltbush Flats

2 Tablespoons buttermilk powder
4 Tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
pinch celery seed
1/2 cup miracle whip type salad dressing
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
8 cups shredded cabbage

Combine buttermilk powder, sugar, salt, and celery seed.  Blend well. 
Add salad dressing, water, and vinegar.  Whisk smooth.
Combine dressing with cabbage.  Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
The flavor is best the next day (if it lasts that long).

Makes 2/3 cup dressing and 4 cups prepared slaw.

This recipe is part of the following blog hops:
The Backyard Farming Connection Hop    The Weekend ReTreat    Think Tank Thursday

Sweet Apple Tenderloin

Oh my, this is delicious!

Sweet Apple Tenderloin Ready to Serve!

The tenderloin comes out of the slow cooker just beautiful.  I had to nibble some immediately.

Top of Tenderloin

Bottom of Tenderloin, Nice and Browned

Straining out all the solids leaves you with a wonderfully clear dipping sauce.

Bowl of Clear Sweet Apple Dipping Sauce

Return Some Dipping Sauce Back to Shredded Tenderloin

Sweet Apple Tenderloin

1 Pork Tenderloin, trimmed of all visible fat

2 Tablespoons crushed dehydrated apples

1/2 cup hot water

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Place tenderloin in slow cooker.

In small bowl pour hot water over apple bits.  

Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour mixture over tenderloin.

Cover and cook on low 8 hours.

Remove tenderloin from slow cooker.

Strain remaining liquid through sieve to remove solids.  Save liquid, discard solids.  

Wipe out slow cooker with paper towel.

Return meat to slow cooker and shred.  

Add a little (or a lot) of strained dipping sauce back to shredded meat to moisten and add flavor.

Set slow cooker to keep warm setting until ready to serve.  

Try, if you can, to not nibble shreds of it before dinner.

Serve alone or on buns with additional sweet apple dipping sauce or favorite barbecue sauce.

Enjoy.  YUM!

Normally I would smother my pulled pork with barbecue sauce, not this.  The flavor and texture was so good I did not want anything covering it up.  I ate it plain, and had a second helping.

Just writing this makes me want to go run to the refrigerator and devour all the leftovers.

This post is part of the following blog hops:
Think Tank Thursday    The Weekend ReTreat     Backyard Farming Connection 

Apple Bread

Like many of you I have dehydrated fruits and vegetables in my food storage.  One of my favorites is dehydrated apples... well really, any dehydrated fruit.  Pineapple tops the favorite list followed by a close second of apples.  We eat them by the handfuls still in their dehydrated state.  Bite after bite, crispy little crunch after crispy little crunch. 
They are that good.

I made two loaves of this wonderful Apple Bread today.  Half a loaf was devoured within minutes of removing from the oven.

Apple Bread

Ingredients: 
     1 cup dehydrated apple slices, crushed
     1 cup warm water
     2 cups flour 
     1 Tablespoon baking powder 
     1 teaspoon salt 
     1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon 
     1/4 cup powdered milk
     1/2 cup sugar
     1/4 cup brown sugar 
     1 egg 
     3/4 cup apple water (from rehydrating apple)
     1/4 cup oil  
     1 teaspoon vanilla

Soak apple bits in 1 cup warm water until soft.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and milk in a separate bowl.  

Drain apples well, reserving apple water.  Measure reserved apple water to 3/4 cup, adding additional water if necessary.  
Add sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla to apple water and mix well.  

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just to mix.  
Do not over mix. 

Coat 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 bread pan with non-stick baking spray.  Pour batter into pan. 
Sprinkle top with additional cinnamon.
Bake 35 minutes at 375 degrees.
(Baking time may need to be adjusted.  Saltbush Flats is at 6200 feet elevation.)
Cool in pan 10 minutes.  Remove from pan to cool completely on wire rack.

This recipe makes excellent Apple Muffins, also.
Prepare batter as directed.
Coat 12 cup muffin pan with non-stick spray.
Fill each cup 3/4 full.  
Bake 15-18 minutes at 400 degrees.  
Remove from pan to cool on wire rack.  


This post is part of the following blog hops:
The Weedend ReTreat    From the Farm blog hop    Homestead Barn Hop

Way Too Many Lemons and Limes... Is There Such a Thing?

Bottomless Boxes

          I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase lemons and limes 10 for $1.00.  Do you think I bought just 10?  ha! not me.  I purchased 150 of those juicy little things. Estimated yield is about 18 gallons of sweet tangy lemon/limeade for my family, plus zest and citrus cleaner.

     

           I wish I knew of a great quick and easy way to juice these.  I used a reamer or that spoon in the picture below to extract the juice.  I have tried rolling them on the table.  I do not think that made much of a difference.  I also tried microwaving them for 20 seconds.  That did make the pulp softer and a bit easier to juice.  But do I really want to microwave all my citrus?  No.

Ready for the freezer.

          Each ice cube tray holds about two cups juice.  It took about ten limes to get two cups juice. 

A little bit of zest.

          The lemon and lime rinds will get bagged and put in the freezer until I am ready to make some citrus oil cleaners.

Lemon/Limeade

2/3 cup lemon and/or lime juice (about 5 juice cubes)

1 cup sugar

water to fill 2 quart pitcher

Stir all ingredients together in pitcher.  Enjoy!

It Came with the Ranchlet - Hummingbird Feeder and Nectar Recipe

          This hummingbird feeder is just outside my door.  A few days ago I saw a little hummingbird hovering over the feeder looking for nectar.  With everything to do getting settled in a new home, the feeder went neglected.  This afternoon I was determined to get the hummingbirds back.

Clean feeder and fresh nectar

          That dark mark on the base had me stumped.  I tried and tried to scrub it off. I lost that battle and the mark is still there.  

          While hanging the filled feeder I soon realized the purpose of the mark.  It is let me know which hole the hook goes into to hold the feeder still in these harsh New Mexico winds.  Can you imagine the little hummers being whipped around in this wind, holding on for dear life.

Thanks to that little fellow's visit this feeder is now clean and full all ready for him to return... and bring his friends.

Nectar Recipe

1 cup sugar

4 cups water

Stir together sugar and water in saucepan.  Bring to boil.  Boil just long enough for sugar to dissolve and mixture to become clear.  Cool.  Makes 4 1/2 cups nectar.