4th of July Celebration!

Well, I was TRYING to make red/white/blue muffins.

So I got a cake-like muffin recipe....

Added triple berry mix to the recipe.

Muffins did not come out white with red and blue berries.

Muffins came out tan with no curve on top, too heavy and dense, and not one bit patriotic.

And I tried making a cinnamon coffee cake with the remaining batter.... swirled with cinnamon and topped with streusel!

YUM!

Nope.

Nope.

Nope.

The cake was dry and nasty and the topping sunk into the center as the outside rose to mountainous heights that could have been helpful in the muffins!

But to each life some kitchen fails must come, and that was my current one... so back to chocolate chip cookies for the WIN in our house and everyone will love, love, love me!

And doesn't that just feel so wonderful?

:)

But despite my failed attempt at a patriotically-themed muffin, I am still here to wish youse all a wonderful and Happy 4th of July!

God bless you, one and all!

Multi-published author Ruthy Logan Herne is not afraid to share her kitchen fails and her goofiness on a fairly regular basis because sharing is caring, right? :) Chat with Ruthy here or on facebook, follow her on Twitter and visit her website ruthloganherne.com. She loves getting to know new people!

Pasta Salad - The Perfect Fourth of July Side Dish

by Mindy Obenhaus

Know anyone having a cookout anytime soon? Like, oh, tomorrow? 

Yes, the Fourth of July and cookouts seem to go hand-in-hand. And this pasta salad is the perfect accompaniment to your burgers, brats, chicken, ribs or steaks. It's even delicious all by itself. It's nice and cool...perfect for a hot summer day. Best of all, it's easy. If you can boil water, you can make this pasta salad.

Of course, there's always one key ingredient in pasta salad and that's the pasta. I prefer mine with some color, so I often opt for the Wacky Mac or some other tri-colored pasta.

Sometimes you can even find holiday pasta, like red, white and blue stars or red and green Christmas trees. I've seen them at places like Homegoods and Cost Plus World Market. They're fun for both cooking and decorating. Simply keep them on display in a sealed mason jar until you're ready to use them.

Cook your pasta according to package directions to al dente. Once the time is up, drain immediately and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Then place your cooked pasta into a bowl. 

Add some chopped red onion, bell pepper and sliced black olives. 

These are my veggies of choice, but you're welcome to use whatever you like. But this next ingredient is what takes this pasta salad to the next level.

Imitation crab, which can usually be found in the meat section of your favorite market, is the key ingredient. Chop it up and stir in as much or little as you like into your pasta mixture.

Top everything with some Italian salad dressing (I don't recommend fat-free versions because without the oil the liquid ends up soaking into the pasta, making for a drier salad) and toss again.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. That means you can make it the day ahead. But when something is this easy, you really don't have to.

Colorful, tasty and simple, making this one of my all-time favorite recipes. Oh, and did I mention it's always a crowd-pleaser?

So tell me about your plans for the Fourth. Do you tend to celebrate at home or do you like to go somewhere? And how about the fireworks? 

-------------------------------

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus, lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children, two dogs and countless cattle. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining and sometimes adventurous manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com. 

Happy Fourth of July!

The café is closed in observance of Indepence Day.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

Happy Independence Day!

We have folks from all over the country here at the Cafe, and we celebrate the 4th of July in as many different ways!

I thought I'd talk just a bit about how people celebrate the 4th in western South Dakota.

Because out here, where the sky meets the land some fifty or a hundred miles off in the distance, we don't take freedom for granted.

This is where cowboys roam...

photo credit: Marty Bauman

...and work to keep the family ranches growing and intact for the next generation.

photo credit: Marty Bauman

This is where neighbors are neighbors, even if you've never met them before.

Where people work hard and and play harder... and pray the hardest of all.

And when Independence Day arrives, we celebrate!!!

The most awesome 4th of July celebration in our area is...

Wait a minute. I'm not sure I can say which one it is. It's a close tie between the festivities at Mt. Rushmore, where there are no fireworks, but a great light show -

 - and the Black Hills Roundup, Rodeo and Parade just a few miles north of us in Belle Fourche (pronounced "bell foosh"). That's real cowboy country up there!

To see what all of the excitement is about, go here!

However you celebrate, I hope you're having the best Fourth of July ever!

This n That ~ Good Intentions Gone Awry

Good morning, Yankee-Belle peeps!

Are you awake now?

No.

Okay, I'll have Ruthy put on another pot of coffee.

So how was your July 4th? Quiet? A day of celebration? Maybe you went to the lake or the beach. Did you cookout? 

Whatever the case, I hope you had fun and enjoyed your freedom to do those things in this great country of ours.

Like Jan, July is a month full of celebrations around our house. And the fourth wasn't simply a day to celebrate our independence, it was also my youngest grandson's birthday.

Elijah was one happy birthday boy. When asked what he wanted for his birthday, he said, "Candles." 

Well, he got those, along with an entire day of food and fun.

Since it was a birthday, naturally, we had to have cupcakes. Complete with star-spangled sprinkles.

**TIP**  One of my pet peeves when using sprinkles is that they scatter. I find them on the counter, the floor... To remedy that, try setting the cupcakes inside of a baking pan. I was able to fit my cooling rack inside. Then, simply sprinkle away and let all those little wayward pieces land in the pan, instead of scattering all over your kitchen.

Whenever I post pictures of my cupcakes, some of you ask how I make them look so pretty.

Here's  the key.

It's a large star-type decorating tip. All you do is slip it into the narrow end of a decorating bag (If you're using a disposable bag, you have to snip the tip off first. I prefer the disposable ones, so I can just toss them when I'm done), fill your bag with your favorite frosting, twist the top to prevent the frosting from squirting out the back end and then squeeze the frosting onto the cupcake.

Looks like it took all day, but it's SO easy.

After hamburgers and brats, cake and presents, Elijah was ready to swim. 

Don't you love the way his big brother, Caden, photo-bombed the pic.

Elijah challenged his Uncle Ryan to a diving contest.

I'm not sure who the winner was.

While the boys swam, grammy cranked out some more treats.

Like Dutch oven cherry cobbler.

Originally, I had intended to show you every step of this tasty treat, but then I forgot to take pictures. 

I was making this in a cast iron Dutch oven, the kind with legs, that you put coals under and on top of. A cool process I wanted to show the grandboys.

First, I generously rubbed the inside of the pot with butter. Then I added two cans of cherry pie filling and spread that over the bottom. Next, I topped the filling with a package of yellow cake mix. Yep, just the dry stuff. Smooth that around, then cut up one stick of butter (the real stuff) and dot it over the top, like I've done here.

Then you put the lid on, set the pot over approximately 8 hot coals, then add another 19 on top of the lid and let it go for about 35 minutes. That's when the magic happens. 

Between the pie filling and the butter, you get this wonderfully golden crust on the top that is to die for.

This recipe is sometimes referred to a dump cake and can be made in the oven. Again, pour your pie filling into a buttered pan, oblong is fine, pour on the cake mix, add the butter and bake in a 375 oven for 30-35 minutes.

On this day, though, doing it outside and creating a little fun for the boys was the way to go.

And what goes better with warm cherry cobbler than ice cream? 

Why, homemade ice cream, of course,

Just another event I wanted to share with grands, who'd never had homemade ice cream before. 

I'll have to share this recipe some other time. Like when I make it again and have some pictures. Just suffice to say that it was relatively easy.

Time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

See those golden bits of crust mixed in with the cherries?

This is heaven in a bowl, I tell ya.

But all good things must come to an end. After a hard day of swimming, you just want to relax and check out your new toys.

The bonding time with Uncle Michael was an added bonus.

In this pic, Elijah is channeling his inner Superman and Ninja Turtles. 

And to think, this is only the beginning of July. We still have four more birthdays to go!

Now it's your turn. I want to hear about your Fourth festivities.

It's July! Time for Ginger Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches!

July has to be my favorite month - it's full of birthdays!

There's Independence Day, of course. We went to a great barbecue party at a friend's house. Fabulous :)

And the 4th is also my dear daughter's birthday. The whole country celebrates with fireworks JUST. FOR. HER.

(What? You thought the fireworks were for Independence Day? Sorry to burst your fantasy bubble!)

Later in the month we celebrate my birthday :) and our anniversary.

So July is just one party after another, all month long!

This year, I thought ice cream sandwiches would be fun, so I started browsing through the internet for ideas. Susan Branch had an interesting sounding recipe on her blog - Susan Branch's Ice Cream Sandwiches - but I couldn't find the ingredients here in our corner of the midwest.

So I came up with my own concoction - -

Ginger Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches

The ingredients are so simple:

For the sandwich part, you need a thin, crispy cookie. Anna's was the brand I found here, but I've seen other brands in other parts of the country. Basically, you need to look for the cookies that are sold stacked vertically in boxes like this one. These are ginger, but there are other flavors, too.

The salted caramel part needs, well, caramel. And salt. You also need a small can of evaporated milk.

And finally, the ice cream. Since my ginger cookies were already going to be fighting for attention with the salted caramel, I chose vanilla ice cream. If you had vanilla cookies, chocolate ice cream would go well.

So the first step is to lay the cookies out on a tray, pretty side down. I lined my tray with parchment paper.

You might want to have two boxes of cookies handy, because these can be pretty fragile. You might find several broken cookies.

And then you'd have to eat them instead of using them for your ice cream sandwiches.

Too bad. :)

Now unwrap your caramels (I used a 4 ounce bag) and put them in a microwave safe dish with one Tablespoon Sweetened Condensed milk.

Microwave for thirty seconds, stir, then microwave and stir at 15 second intervals until the caramel is runny. I only had to heat mine for a total of 45 seconds.

Next, drizzle the caramel on half of the cookies, and then sprinkle with coarse salt. I used a half-turn with my salt grinder.

Let the caramel cool for about ten to fifteen minutes, and then put a small scoop of ice cream on each caramel drizzled cookie. Put the other cookie on top and squish them together carefully and lightly. Be careful not to break the cookies!

You can eat them immediately (of course!), or you can put the tray in the freezer for a couple hours. Once they're completely frozen, you can store them in a freezer bag or container.

Now, if you've been paying attention, you'll notice that I only used one tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk out of the whole entire can.

And since I'm not one to waste anything I don't have to, I made Magic Cookie Bars - Mounds Candy Bar style.

Preheat your oven to 350°.

In a 9x9 square baking dish, melt 1/4 cup butter. (I just stick the baking dish in the oven while it's preheating.)

Sprinkle 1 cup graham cracker crumbs on top of the melted butter.

Sprinkle 1 cup 60% Cacoa Ghiradelli Baking Chips on top of the graham cracker crumbs.

Pour your leftover sweetened condensed milk over the chocolate chips.

Sprinkle about 1 cup flaked coconut over the whole thing (I used unsweetened coconut flakes).

Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes, or until it's bubbly and the top is browning.

Let it cool completely before cutting and serving.

The perfect way to use leftovers, and my husband loved them!

What is your favorite way to celebrate in July?

Bruschetta on Zucchini for a festive 4th

So it's July already!

How did that happen? 

Wasn't it just the other day we were shoveling snow and thinking summer would never come?

Well, now it's July and the 4th is nearly upon us, so what do I have to share with you today? A good old American variation on an Italian recipe.

Zucchini Bruschetta

A prize should go to whoever can pronounce that correctly.   You can test yourself here.


Now, if you're a visual learner, you can skip the first part of my post and just watch the video that comes on after your phonics lesson above.  Or you can go here - bruschetta.


Or you could go back and read Mindy's post from 2012.


But it's 2015 now so I have a healthy twist.

First, I have to say that this recipe is SOSOSOSOSO amazingly good. I woke up wanting it for breakfast then next morning.

As Mindy showed us back then, traditionally bruschetta is served on sliced baguettes or crostini. And it's really really good that way. I even sneaked and had some of this on a baquette.

BUT

I've looking to lower my carbs though so I decided to try it on zucchini slices instead.

Mmmmmm  As my Italian grandma would say (if I had an Italian grandma) Tutto va bene! At least that's what the Italian grandmothers in books say.  Correct me if you know better. This Irish gal promises not to have hurt feelings.

On with the recipe.

Did you read Mindy's post or watch the video?

If not, the recipe is simple. You chop up tomatoes, red onion, basil and garlic and mix with olive oil and vinegar. Most people use balsamic but I had red wine vinegar and I liked that better.

Mix and let marinate.

Isn't it beautiful? Molto bene.

Now usually you're done there. You put it on the crostini and enjoy.

And oh, you will. It's amazing! Did I mention that?

But remember the zucchini? They're going to look a little like the eggplant Missy made last week.
I sliced them (two different ways to see which worked better), brushed with olive oil, and roasted briefly.

I also tried sprinkling them with cheese because in my world cheese makes everything taste better.


When they were done, I did two more variations. I spooned the cold tomato/basil/onion mix on top of the zucchini. Some I left cold and some I slid back under the broiler briefly. Confession: I liked the slightly broiled ones best but the others were awesome too.

  

Sorry, I was so quick to eat them, I didn't think to take a picture of them on the plate.

So, this teacher is on vacation, but you still get a mini science lesson.

Why should you eat the ingredients:

I love this site for health information about food. They put out a giant food preparation book that I have, but the website is great for quick info and healthy recipes. World's Healthiest Foods

Here are links for each of the ingredients if you're looking to feel good about your healthy bruschetta.

zucchini

basil

red onion

tomatoes

garlic

PS - eat them all at once. That idea of eating it the next day didn't work. They got soggy.

Happy Eating,

Cate

Happy 4th!

Wishing you all a Happy 4th of July!

Photo by Missy Tippens--JFK Museum, Boston

Hope you're having a blessed day with family and friends.

Photo by Missy Tippens--JFK Museum, Boston

What are you doing today to celebrate our amazing country?

Aunt Eddie's Beans (and a surprise dessert!)

Jan here, and I'm pleased to welcome Christina Rich as our guest blogger today!

If you happened to make it out to our virtual writer's retreat at the Green Mountain Dude Ranch in Idaho a couple weeks ago, you'll remember when Christina helped Sally May out in the kitchen and cooked up a batch of Aunt Eddie's famous beans.

She's agreed to share the recipe with us, exclusively (for now), here at the cafe. So give a big welcome to Christina!

Hiya! I’m so excited to be a guest at Yankee Belle Café. You don’t know how often I’ve read over the posts and drooled over the pictures, wishing I had a drop of foodie blood in my veins. After talking beans with some of the gals here, I’ve discovered I just might have a drop after all, and what better time of the year than the 4^th of July to discover my inner foodie.

I love the 4^th. Okay, I can do without the up –close-in-your-face fireworks, but I do love watching others shoot them off.

And I love watching my nieces and nephews get excited by the fireworks.

And of course, I love watching my younger brothers act like kids.

But one of my favorite things about the 4^th is getting together with friends and family and eating. Almost every year my parents open up their driveway to whoever would like to come; family, extended family, friends and neighbors. Everyone brings something good to the table, but one of my favorites is Aunt Eddie’s Beans. Aunt Eddie (pronounced like weed) is really an aunt, which is something I just discovered a few weeks ago. Turns out she’s one of my cousins’ aunts but I’m okay with the association as I get to benefit by eating her beans. ;)

Aunt Eddie’s Baked Beans

Ingredients:

29 ounce can of pork and beans

16 ounce can butter beans (drained)

16 ounce can red kidney beans (drained)

½ pound bacon

1 pound hamburger

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup catsup

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vinegar

Chopped onion to taste

*To make gluten free, use all gluten free ingredients.

Cut the bacon onto small pieces and brown in skillet. Drain off the grease. Brown the hamburger and drain off the grease. Combine all of the ingredients stirring well.

Pour into a 9"x13" pan and bake covered at 350° for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 30 minutes.

There is no fancy dancy cookware here, only tin for a much easier clean up.

Another favorite item, one that was made out on the trail back in the old days is Stir Crazy Cake. Now this recipe isn’t gluten-free, but I think it can be made gluten free. The next time we make it we’re going to try and use a gluten free flour so I can have some. This recipe comes from Chuckwagon Coooking from Marlboro Country: Range Recipes and Chuckwagon History.

Stir Crazy Cake

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup cocoa

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup cooking oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups cold coffee

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Put flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into an ungreased 13"x9"x2" metal baking dish (I have used glass before as well and it works). Stir dry ingredients together with a fork.

Form 3 wells in flour mixture. Pour oil in one well, vinegar in one well, and vanilla in one well, pour cold coffee over all of the ingredients and stir with a fork until well mixed.  Do NOT beat. 

Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the batter.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

My favorite recipes wouldn't be complete without my dad manning the grill and the smoker, fresh cut watermelon, my sister-in-law’s fabulous cupcake creations, and everyone gathered around to watch the night light up in celebration of America’s independence.

A little historical fact: The Kansas territory didn't open up for settlement until May 30, 1854, and it became a state January 29, 1861. However, the very first 4^th of July celebrated in Kansas was in 1804. Yes, nearly fifty years before being opened up to settlement. It seems good ol’ Lewis and Clark crossed the Missouri River and set up camp near a creek and an abandoned Kansa Indian campground. The aptly named the creek Independence Creek and celebrated the occasion by firing a cannon from a bow piece and handing out an extra ration of whiskey.

When Christina Rich was younger, she tried to dig herself to China, loved Three Billy Goats Gruff, and had an obsession with maps. She gave up her dig to China but still jumps at the chance to travel even if it’s just down the road. She loves watching modern takes of fairytales and mythologies on the big screen and still has a huge obsession with maps. The older the better.

Born and raised in Kansas, where she currently lives with her husband and children, Christina loves to read stories with happily ever afters, research,  take photos, knit scarves, dig into her ancestry, fish, visit the ocean, write stories with happily ever afters and talk about her family and Jesus.

A semi-finalist in the Genesis, she just recently signed a contract with Love Inspired Historical for a Biblical romance. You can find more about her at www.authorchristinarich.com and www.christinarich.wordpress.com