Chickens in the Road's Grandmother Bread Recipe

I just recently came across Chickens in the Road, and now it's one of my favorite daily stops.  If you haven't visited, check it out.  This week the author posted about freezing "Grandmother Bread."  I followed the link to the recipe, and I can't wait to try it.

There are also many different sweets that can be made with the Grandmother Bread recipe.  Go have a look!  Yum!

Stuffing the Thanksgiving Turkey

That's one way to stuff a bird!  Happy Thanksgiving! 

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I Want a Retro 1950's Chrome and Formica Kitchen Just Like Mom's

 

I would love to have a vintage 1940's/1950's kitchen one day.  I love the old formica and chrome dining sets, like this one at Classic Kitchens and More.  My mom had one for years. 

I remember my brother got quite a spanking when he was about five for punching holes with a pin in one of the chairs.  It's a favorite family story - for me anyway.  Not so much for my little brother.

Anyway, decorating a vintage kitchen can be expensive and time consuming, although for some people that might be the best part (shopping antique stores, yard sales, thrift stores). 

But if you're on a budget, I found a neat place online that sells vintage reproductions.  It's Jack and Friends Retro and Vintage Productions.  I like the cute little salt and pepper shakers.  I especially like this reproduction sign:

If only I could convince my girls of this truth!

Spicy Apple Cider Recipe: Just Right to Warm You Up!

Just right for this time of year!

Ingredients:

2 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
2 quarts apple cider
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 orange, thinly sliced

Directions:

• Combine water and spices in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. 
• Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. 
• Strain mixture discarding spices, return water to pot. 
• Add apple cider, lemon and orange.
• Cook over low heat until thoroughly heated. 
• Serve warm.

Gift Idea: 10-Minute Easy Pecan Candy Recipe

 

One year, I came acoss a giant pecan tree in the middle of a parking lot.  And seeing as how all those pecans were being run over and about to go to waste, I gathered them up by the bagful.  That year, everybody on my Christmas list got a big tin of pecan candy. 

I've never been so lucky again.  I have to buy mine at the store now.  But here's a great, quick pecan candy recipe that makes a nice gift  at Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar
1 can condensed milk
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 c. pecans

Directions:

• Cook all together for 10 to 15 minutes. 
• Have a pan greased with butter to pour candy on. 
• Let cool and enjoy.

See!  I told you it was easy!

Vintage Printable Betsy McCall Paper Dolls

Some of my fondest memories of childhood are the times I spent curled up on my bed, playing with paper dolls.  This was back in the 1960's, a simpler time.  Sigh.  I can't remember all the names of the various paper dolls I had.  I remember one of them was named Maxi or something similar.  She had several mini dresses, and I would spend hours dressing her and imagining where she was off to in those white go-go boots.

I hadn't thought about my paper dolls in a while, when I came across Betsy McCall: The First Ten Years.  I got such a kick out of it.  It's a site dedicated to Betsy McCall paper dolls from 1951 to 1961, and the different pages, many of them holiday-themed, are all printable.  So if you have a little girl who likes to play with paper dolls, or even if you want to introduce the concept, you can print these and help cut them out.  Have a look!  It's a great vintage site!

Down South Banana Pudding Recipe

Ingredients:

1 package Jello Vanilla Pudding & Pie mix
2 egg yolks, beaten
2 and 1/2 cups milk
25 vanilla wafers
2 large bananas
2 egg whites
Dash of salt
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

• Combine pudding mix, egg yolks, and milk in pan. Cook until thick. 
• Arrange a layer of vanilla wafers on bottom and sides of bowl. 
• Alternate layers of bananas and pudding, starting with bananas.
  
• Beat egg whites until frothy, add sugar and beat until peaks form. Spoon over dessert and brown slightly in oven.
  

Daylight Savings Time: Don't Forget to Fall Back!

History of Soup: It's Mmm Good!

 

Soup.  It's what we crave in cold weather.  It's liquid.  It's warm.  It satisfies.  But I was surprised to find that there's much more to soup than you might imagine.  For one, did you know that soups are classified into two broad groups, clear and thick, and that thick soups are classified according to what thickening agent is used in them?  There are purees.  There are bisques.  There are veloutes.

And where did the word "soup" come from?  It actually came from "sop," a dish consisting of a thick stew that was soaked up with pieces of bread.

Finally, commercial soups weren't popular until the invention of canning in the 19th century.  That's when Campbell's Soup Company invented the first condensed soup in a can. Had enough?  If not, read more about the history of soup here.