Fluffy Flapjacks

 I am a recipe collector. 

Whether I find one on a website, on social media, or go "old-school" and clip one from a magazine, each one is collected with the good intentions of giving it a try. 

This week I tried Fluffy Flapjacks. They were tasty and simple and made a perfect "breakfast for dinner" meal. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

FLUFFY FLAPJACKS

1 1/2 cups plain non-fat yogurt

1 egg

1 cup pancake mix (Bisquick)

3/4 cup fat-free milk

In a bowl, combine the yogurt and egg. Mix well. Add pancake mix and milk. Stir to combine. Spray a non-stick pan or griddle with vegetable oil spray. Ladle out 2 tablespoons batter per pancake. When edges are firm, turn pancake and cook 1 minute longer. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings (6 small pancakes per serving).

Freezer Cabbage Slaw

 No, it's not a typo. Cole slaw can be frozen. At least this recipe can!

Even with dry conditions, daughter Sara and Grandma Karen are excellent gardeners! We have an abundance of cabbage, and purple cabbage. We also have lots of carrots and colorful peppers. I guess next year they will have to add celery to the garden plot, because that is the only vegetable we had to pick up at the grocery store!

Freezer Cabbage Slaw

1 Medium cabbage, shredded

1 tsp. salt

        Sprinkle salt over shredded cabbage and let stand 1 hour. Squeeze out moisture.

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

1/2 red pepper, finely chopped

shredded carrot (optional)

        Mix together with cabbage.

Syrup recipe-

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 cups sugar (can use less)

1 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. mustard seed

        Pour syrup over cabbage mixture. Freeze in desired amounts. Will keep in freezer for several  months. It is fresh and crisp when defrosted!

We now have nine quarts of crispy Cabbage Slaw in our freezer.

Thanks for the recipe, Gary!

Zucchini Devils' Food Cake, Yum!

 We have zucchini coming out of our ears! Have you heard that saying before; coming out of our ears? I wonder how that saying originated. It sure conjures up a strange image in my mind! I Googled (of course) the saying but came up with nothing. Anyway... zucchini.

Sara's garden is blessing us with lots of zucchini, so after putting several packages of the grated stuff in the freezer, I broke out the cake pan and my mom's favorite zucchini recipes. First up, Zucchini Devils' Food Cake. Hmmm, I wonder why it's called devils food and not just chocolate? Hey, Google...

Zucchini Devils' Food Cake

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup cocoa

1 cup grated zucchini

Cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs. In seperate bowl sift together flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Add to sugar and butter mixture. Then add egg mixture alternately with buttermilk. Add vanilla. Blend in cocoa and zucchini. Pour batter into 2 - 9" greased cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. OR pour batter into 9"x13" greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 43 minutes. 

TIP: If you do not have buttermilk you can subsitute plain yogurt OR place 1 tablespoon  lemon juice or vinegar in measuring cup and add milk to equal 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes before using.

National Cheese Day!

 National Cheese Day seems like the perfect time to share this cheesey recipe. It's one of the first recipes that my daughter Sara made by herself. Maybe that's why my family refers to it as 

Sara's Cheeseburger Pie!

Sara's Cheeseburger Pie

1 pound hamburger                                        1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup minced onion, optional                        3 eggs

3/4 cup Bisquick                                            1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tomatoes, sliced                                          1 cup milk 

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger and onion, drain. Beat eggs, Bisquick, salt and pepper. Put browned hamburger and onions in 10" pie pan. Pour liquid mixture over this and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Take from oven. Top with tomatoes and cheese. Return to oven and bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean (5-8 minutes). Serves 6-8. 

And for dessert, how about 

Creamy Cheesecake.

Sailor Moo Cow At Sea

Little Moo was craving an adventure. She boarded a ship and went out to sea. (This is not a true story.)

Was she content after her adventure? Let's watch and then we'll head to my kitchen.

Mozzarella Sticks

3 tablespoons flour

2 eggs

1 tablespoon water

1 cup dry bread crumbs

2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

12 sticks string cheese

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce, heated

Place flour in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs with water. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs and seasoning.

Coat each cheese stick with flour, then dip in egg mixture, and coat with bread crumb mixture. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Drizzle with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes Let cool 3-5 minutes before serving. Serve with marinana for dipping. 4-6 servings.

The Farm Book

Betty and Bobby are the farmers in today's story. Along with their dad, they have lots of chores to do each day. 

The morning begins with milking the cows. That's just like what we do each morning (and evening) on Bremer Farms.

Let's listen.

Chocolate Chip Dip

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (6 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips

Graham crackers or Teddy Grahams

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Serve with grahams. Keep refrigerated. Makes 2 cups.

The Cow Said Neigh!

The Cow Said Neigh! Impossible! She's not the only animal on the farm that is speaking another language. Let's see what's happening in today's story.

Here's the 

Breakfast Parfait

I made in today's video.

You will need:

Honeycomb cereal

Greek yogurt

Fresh fruit

Layer in a tall glass. You can use any flavor of Greek Yogurt, and any fruit. You can make as many, or as few layers as you would like. This is a great treat for your "little chefs" to make!

It's National Fudge Day!

There is one thing that I can be sure of, without a doubt. My family LOVES chocolate! National Fudge Day seems like a perfect time to share one of our family favorite ooey, gooey, chocolatey, fudgey, recipes.  I first discovered this recipe in one of my many church cookbooks, because I don't know about you, but those cookbooks have the best recipes.

 Family favorite recipes deserve a hand-written card in my recipe file, so here you go...

 The cream cheese creates the fun of "frosting on the inside". These cupcakes are one more example of  DAIRY-GOOD cooking! How about a little milk with that cupcake?

Happy June Dairy Month!

The Cow in Patrick O'Shanahan's Kitchen

This is a farm-to-table story all about where some of our favorite breakfast foods come from, but you may be surprised by the visitors Patrick finds visiting his kitchen. After we see what's cooking in Patrick's kitchen, we will head to my kitchen to learn a new recipe.

Cheesy Chicken Ring

2 packages (tubes) crescent rolls
Mozarella shredded cheese
Shredded, cooked chicken
Small jar prepared pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay out your dough. Keep the square sections together instead of making it into triangles. Lie out four pieces making a plus sign and then do the same over those four pieces with the second package. Place chicken on dough in a circle surrounding the ring. Place pasta sauce on chicken. Place cheese on sauce. To close your ring, take the top four pieces of the dough and fold them over the food. Press the ends back into the dough on the other side. Repeat with the remainder of the dough. Firmly press in the ends so they stay closed. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Slice and serve. Top with more pasta sauce, if desired.

It's an easy, cheesy meal!

How To Speak Moo!

Yipee! It's June Dairy Month! It's a time to celebrate dairy foods, and dairy farmers, and cows, of course! 

One of my favorite foods made from milk is Greek yogurt. I have it every morning as part of my breakfast. But it's not just for breakfast. Here's a yummy salad made with Greek yogurt.

Fruity Salad

11 ounces mandarin oranges, drained

20 ounces pineapple chunks, drained

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Mix, cover, refrigerate. Serves 4-5.

Thanks to 5 Ingredient Family Favorites for the recipe.

See you tomorrow!

#30DaysOfDairy

The Milk Makers

Did you know it only takes about 48 hours for milk to get from my farm to the store? Did you know that no two cows have exactly the same cow spot pattern?  Do you know how a cow is milked?

This book will answer all these questions and a whole bunch more.

Orange Slushy

6 ounces orange juice concentrate

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

12 ice cubes

Blend in blender. Serve. Makes two servings.

Recipe thanks to 5 Ingredient Family Favorites.

No Moon, No Milk!

Martha said she was tired of being a cow. So what did she want to do instead? No Moon, No Milk will answer that question. 

Next it's off to our kitchen to make one of my favorite smoothie recipes.

PB and J Smoothie

2 tablespoons strawberry jam

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1/2 cup ice cubes

1 banana

1 cup lowfat or fat free milk

Combine all in blender. Blend until smooth. Makes two, 1 cup servings. 

Go Bananas! with this Banana Bread Recipe

I love trying new recipes, and the best recipes come from friends. This Banana Bread recipe came from a dear friend Hillary (2021 update- she is now my daughter-in-law!) and her mama, Carol. It's moist and delicious!

I added chocolate chips!

Never Fail Banana Bread

4 bananas, mashed

2 cups sugar

4 cups flour

2 cups milk

1 scant tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup applesauce

4 eggs

2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup nuts (optional)

Cream together bananas, shortening, applesauce, and sugar. Add eggs. Mix well. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk. adding nuts if desired. Put in well greased loaf pans. Makes 2 loafs. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees. 

Ready for the oven.


Banana Bread is a great way to use those no-longer-perfect bananas. I like to make it ahead and keep a loaf or two in the freezer. Banana bread is a great hostess gift, or perfect to add in with that meal delivery of your favorite Minnesota hotdish you are making for that family friend that needs a little hug.

The Cow Loves Cookies

Exciting news!

You could win a book!

All you need to do to enter is answer the question at the end of today's story. Place your answer in the comments below or in the comments at My Barnyard View on Facebook. There will be a new question each day this week, so you can enter every day. A random winner will be selected Friday evening. Good luck!

Thanks to Dakota County Farm Bureau for providing this week's book.

The Cow Loves Cookies is all about the Farmer feeding his animals. We can tell from the title of the book that the cow loves cookies, but what do the other animals like?

Looking for our cookie recipe? Click here- Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can learn more about today's book by going to https://www.karmawilson.com/books/oth...

Celebrating Valentine's Day

How did you celebrate Valentine's Day?

Our family tradition is to have a dinner at home.

Traditionally Valentine's dinner is homemade lasagna, lettuce salad (topped with cheese and homemade croutons), wine, and a heart-shaped pan of chocolate chip cookie bars, all served on our best china and crystal. Yes, china and crystal... the gifts we registered for when John and I were married 37 years ago. The china and crystal that used to get brought out only on Christmas and Easter when celebrating with company. But now it gets dusted off for several celebrations throughout the year. After all, who is more special than our own family?

 But what makes the holiday special is not the food or the dishes, but who we spend it with. With everyone's work schedules, dinner with all four of us around the table at the same time has become less frequent. Truth be told, we celebrated on February 13th rather than waiting until the 14th, since our kids had plans with their special someone's on the actual holiday. But hey, what difference does 24 hours make? We celebrated with the ones we love, and isn't that what Valentine's day is all about?

How did you celebrate?

Ready for the oven

Heart-Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I use a combination of chips and red M & M Mini's)

Lightly grease pan, In large bowl combine sugar and butter, blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Stir in vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in chips. Spread in prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Do not over bake, Cool before cutting. 

U is for Unicorn

I'm sure you're wondering what do unicorns have to do with National Dairy Month. Ummm...nothing, except it's the name of this smoothie recipe we make for breakfast or snacks. It's a fruity, yummy way to start your day with dairy!

Rainbow Unicorn Smoothies

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup frozen mango chunks

Optional toppings:

6 tablespoons whipped cream

4 teaspoons sprinkles

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor. Add additional milk, if needed.

Divide into 4 glasses. Add toppings.

Thanks to Dairy Good for the recipe. 

R is for Recipe

It started out like most days. Toss a load of laundry in the washing machine. Set the table for breakfast. Get dressed and ready for the day. 

I like schedules. I like goals. I like to look at my Google calendar each evening to plan the following day. Every day I wake up with that plan in my head, but life on the farm can be unpredictable. What's that saying? The best laid plans...

John came in for breakfast. I'm going to need a ride to Vermillion (neighboring town). The tractor is fixed and ready to be brought home. Sounds easy. Let me know when, I said. 

Shortly before lunch- "Hey, can you run to Hastings (just a few miles the other direction). I'm going to need some bolts to fix that gate." Sure, I'm on it.

As we sit down to lunch- "Can you rake hay this afternoon? It shouldn't take too long." Hmmm...not too long? You mean all afternoon, don't you?

We often get asked, "What is a typical day on the farm?" You just read about it. It's full of surprises and interruptions. Never a dull moment!

I think you now know why I am a fan of slow-cookers. I can get a meal ready right away in the morning before the unpredictable chaos sets in.

I first made these Creamy Hash Browns for our Easter dinner and we weren't disappointed!

2 pounds frozen cubed hash brown potatoes

2 cups shredded American or cheddar cheese

2 cups sour cream

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place potatoes in an ungreased 5 quart slow cooker. In a bowl combine the remaining ingredients, Pour over potatoes, and mix well. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until potatoes are tender and heated through. Makes 14 servings. 

Ready to go!

Thanks to Taste of Home 2001 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes.

B is for Burgers

No, this is not our family portrait. Our daughter Sara loves to try new recipes and has become quite the cookbook collector. I think it's hereditary because my mom was a HUGE collector of cookbooks also. One of Sara's favorite TV shows is Bob's Burgers, so when son Michael saw this cookbook, he knew it would be a perfect Christmas gift for his sister!

The show is pretty silly, and the names of the burger recipes are even sillier, but man, do they ever taste good! Here's one of our favorites...made with butter and cheese, of course. Hope you enjoy it too.

Poutine On The Ritz

3 tablespoons black pepper, divided

2 tablespoons paprika

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

French fries or Tator tots

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

3 cups beef stock

1 pound ground beef

salt

4 buns

fresh cheese curds

1 sleeve Ritz crackers

Combine 2 tablespoons of the pepper with the paprika and cayenne in a large bowl. Cook the Fries (or Tots) and then toss with the pepper mixture and a pinch of salt while still warm. 

To make the gravy, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Keep whisking until the mix starts to turn a light brown. Add in 2 cups of the beef stock and stir until completely combined. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon of the pepper, and then slowly add the remaining stock.

Make 4 patties, season both sides with salt and pepper, and cook.

Build your burger- bottom bun, a bunch of cheese curds, brown gravy, a gratuitous amount of crumbled Ritz crackers, top bun.

For the potatoes- mix in cheese curds with Fries (or Tots) and pour gravy on top.

Dinner is served!

It's simple, but a bit classier than a plain burger,

and the Tots...Oh my gosh!

BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Foil Packet Dinner

One of my favorite meals growing up was "Hobo Dinner". It was a ground beef patty, sliced potatoes, and sliced carrots neatly wrapped in a foil package, and popped in the oven or on the grill. Perhaps it was a favorite because it was one of the first things I learned to make. Or perhaps it was a favorite because there were no dishes to wash since it was cooked in aluminum foil and eaten from that same foil packet. 

Imagine my excitement when Sara found this recipe on the Midwest Dairy website. It brought back fond memories of delicious food and no dishes to wash!

Click here for the recipe. Don't you need a night off from doing dishes too?

JUST NEED TO ADD THE CHEESE BEFORE BAKING

CHICKEN, POTATOES, PEPPERS, CHEESE AND A DASH OF BBQ SAUCE
(We didn't add the onions)