Holiday Newsletter

happy holidays2

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Until next time,

Ann

Enter the contest: 12 Days of Small-Town Christmas!

.12days of smalltown..

12 Days of Small Town Christmas beginning Midnight Thursday Nov 28…

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Stay tuned for more information…..

Until next time,

Ann

Aunt Rose’s Raisin Dressing

 

recipe box

This month I’m sharing some of my family’s favorite Thanksgiving recipes. The box pictured above isn’t one of mine. That’s right, I have SIX recipe boxes, crammed with delicious recipes! I inherited three of them from relatives. I cherish those not only for the recipes, but also for the hand-written notes and the peek into the past.

Both my hubby and I had a Great Aunt Rose. This recipe comes from his great aunt. I wasn’t privy to the recipe until I married into the family, and I’ve used it every Thanksgiving since.

The dressing is sweet, but  I happen to love the combination of turkey with a sweeter dressing.

Ingredients and Directions
Note: ingredients are in bold type
2 quarts bread crumbs made as follows: remove crusts on approx. 15 slices of white bread; toast lightly (I place slices on a cookie sheet and broil on both sides until barely starting to brown). Cut into cubes and place in a large bowl
Gently stir on 1 cup sweetened condensed milk

Add and mix carefully in the order below:

1 1/3 cup seedless raisins, washed in warm water
2 1/2 cups unpeeled, diced apples (I like Granny Smith because this apple holds together so well)
1 medium onion, chopped and fried in butter until golden brown (I use ¼ cup butter)
2 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Add:
½ tsp baking powder combined with ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup warm melted butter
Makes a great stuffing in your turkey. If baked in a separate pan, pour some turkey basting juice in the bottom of the dish before adding the dressing. Cover with foil and bake slowly until raisins are cooked. I cook at 325 for approx 20-30 minutes.
Happy Eating!

Until next time,
Ann

Mom’s Yeast Rolls

 

yeast rolls

 

This month I am sharing some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes.

These delicious rolls contributed to many happy meals in my family.  They’re great any time of the year, but I always  make them for Thanksgiving. So  did my mom and my grandma. They are light and fluffy, and no kneading required! The secret is to handle them as little as possible. Over-handling makes the dough tough, and who wants that?

The rolls are excellent straight from the oven, but they’re also great reheated the next day.  I like to slather butter and jam or honey on mine.  Or stick a slab of leftover turkey in the middle.  Or dunk a warm roll in coffee and enjoy with eggs, bacon or sausage.  Or…the list is endless.  If you decide to make bread instead of the rolls (see below), the bread goes especially well with beef stew and soups.

This recipe feeds about 20 guests. Halve it if you want– or make it all and freeze for later use.

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3 heaping Tbs Crisco
  • Add these ingredients to a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and stir to dissolve Crisco. Set aside to cool.

While mixture cools, in a small bowl combine 2 packages yeast with 1/2 cup tepid water; stir to dissolve. When Crisco mixture has cooled to tepid, add yeast, 2 beaten eggs and 7 cups flour. No need to knead this, just mix with a spoon (will be very gooey). Cover with a damp cloth, set in a warmish place, and let rise for 2 hours.

Flour a surface, turn out dough and roll to 1/’2 inch thick. Don’t over-roll!. Cut out rolls. I use a round cookie cutter, but a glass dipped in flour works well, too. Use a dinner knife to crease each roll,  then fold over and pinch the edges together. Set on greased cookie sheets. Let rise 1 hour. Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 10 minutes, until golden brown.

For the bread:
After the letting the dough rise 2 hours, turn out onto floured surface and knead two-three times. Divide in half, roll into balls and place each ball into a greased bread pan. Let rise 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

Enjoy! And if you try these, let me know how you liked them.

Until next time,

Ann