Mindy's Favorite Recipes

I can't believe this is my final post. When I first joined the café in 2012 I had yet to be published. Now, I'm about the celebrate the release of my eleventh book. My, how time does fly.

But while all good things must come to an end, some things live in perpetuity. Like my favorite recipes. Goodness knows I have a lot of them, so narrowing them down was tough. The good news is that while we won't be adding any more recipes to the Yankee-Belle Café, the ones that are here will remain so that you (and our children) can tap into them whenever you like.

So here we go with my top five favorite recipes.

Grape Salsa - 

I know it sounds weird, but this sweet and savory concoction is my most requested recipe. It's super simple and perfect for any gathering. You can find the recipe here. 

Coconut Cream Pie - 

My girls' grandmother was famous for her cream pies. And when microwave ovens became the norm, she simplified her recipe so you no longer had to stand at the stove, cooking and stirring forever. My kids love the Chocolate Cream version, but hubby usually wins out and get his favorite, Coconut Cream. You can find the recipe here.

Pumpkin Bread - 

I'm pretty sure I've shared this recipe every year because I make it every fall to give as gifts. At first it was for teachers and other school staff, but since we no longer have any kiddos in school, friends, neighbors and our adult children are now the recipients of this moist, delicious tradition. That recipe is right here. 

Macaroni and Cheese - 

Credit for this recipe goes to my oldest daughter, but it's definitely a family favorite. You can serve it straight off of the stove or add a cracker topping and bake it a while. Whichever way you choose to serve it, you won't be disappointed. Find the recipe here.

Last but certainly not least is Sour Cream Blueberry Bundt Cake - 

My mouth waters just looking at this. It's so moist and bursting with blueberry flavor. Mmm, mmm, mmm... I wish I had a slice right now. You can find the recipe here.

I've shared and discovered so many wonderful recipes on this blog these past nine years. And I know I'll be back every now and then to retrieve recipes my counterparts have shared over the years. The Yankee-Belle Café has so many great recipes from all across this great country. 

While I won't be posting here anymore, I won't be hard to find. I'll still be cranking out books and hanging out with many of these lovely ladies over at Seekerville. So come and visit us and let's keep the party going. We'll bring the food. ;)

Until we meet again... 

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com

Back to the Beginning with Chicken and Dumplings

I can't believe it was nine years ago this month that I joined the Yankee-Belle Cafe. Ruthy, aka The Yank, and Missy, aka The Belle, decided to add to the menu by offering up Tuesdays with the Texan. And that very first recipe I shared is still one of my favorites. 

Good old fashioned chicken and dumplings are one of my family's favorites when the weather turns cool. Comfort food to the max. My girls' great-grandmother taught me how to make them, which means I learned from the best. Many of Lois's recipes are forever woven into the fabric of my family.

The first thing we need to do is make our chicken stock, which will also provide us with the chicken half of our chicken and dumplings. So, in a large Dutch oven or stock pot, add one chicken (or whatever type of chicken meat you might have on hand), two or three carrots cut into thirds, a couple stalks of celery, one onion, quartered, some salt and pepper. I like to skin my chicken so there isn't as much fat in the broth, but that's a personal preference.

Add three quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for a little while before removing chicken and vegetables. Strain broth, discarding solids.

Once the bird is cool enough to touch, remove the meat from the bone and chop into bite-size pieces. For the most part, the veggies don't make it into the soup, however I like to smash the carrots into tiny pieces and add those.

Return broth to Dutch oven, along with the chicken, and bring to boiling. 

While you're waiting for the broth to boil, prepare your dumplings.

Combine:

• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp. vegetable or canola oil 
• Approx. 1 1/2-1 3/4 cups self-rising flour (if the mixture seems too sticky, add more flour in small amounts)

Turn dough onto a floured surface and kneed a handful of times.

From here, it's up to your personal preference. Some like their dumplings big, others like them small. I like a bite of dumpling in every spoonful. My sons want as few dumplings as possible. Personally, I think that's just wrong, but they're brats.

You can roll out the dough and cut it into pieces. That's too much work for me so I flatten a portion of dough on a cutting board, slice into strips, then cut the dumplings into the boiling broth mixture with a scrapper or knife. Remember, you can add as many or as few as you like.

Once you've added your dumplings, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Then get ready for a bowlful of pleasure. 

Now, if you find making the dumplings intimidating, here's a secret shortcut Greatmom sometimes used--canned biscuits. Simply break or cut them into pieces and drop into the boiling broth. Easy-peasy.

A lot has changed in the last nine years. But one thing that will never change is our love of family and food. Good food that stirs fond memories and continues generation after generation.

What's family favorite dish that has been passed down through the generations at your house?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com

If I Owned a Restaurant...

I love steak. And one of my favorite things to do with leftover steak is this.

It's simple, just lettuce, sliced steak, sunflower seeds and blue cheese dressing. It's flavorful, blue cheese and steak are a match made in heaven. It's super quick and easy to prepare. And every time I take a bite, I think, "If I owned a restaurant, this would be on the menu."

On this day, I then asked myself, "If you owned a restaurant, what else would you have on the menu?"

Hmm... 

Cupcakes. Definitely cupcakes. 

And Lemon Bars.

Then I'd probably throw Chicken and Rice on the menu, just because this version is so different from what most expect.

So today, I thought we'd play a little game called If I Owned a Restaurant. And this is how it goes. If you owned a restaurant, what would be on your menu?

And...go!

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. 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 www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Hard Boiled Eggs 101 and Classic Deviled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs. Something that's been around forever, yet I know many a person who laments making them because whenever they go to peel them, the eggs themselves end up mangled.

So today I'm going to go step-by-step through the process of successfully boiling and peeling eggs.

Now, I have two ways of boiling eggs. The best method and the quick method. Today I'm going to share the best method.

First, place your eggs, as many as you desire to cook, into a pot that has enough room to not only hold the eggs without crowding, but that will hold enough water to cover the eggs by at least an inch.

Place on a burner over high heat until water comes to a boil.

Once the water is boiling, cover with lid, remove from heat and set aside for 22-24 minutes.

Once the allotted time has passed, place pan in sink and remove lid. Drain off as much of the hot water as you can without losing any eggs, then add cold water and ice.

This stops the cooking process.

By the way, have you ever cut or bit into a hard-boiled egg that was green around the edges as opposed to a pretty yellow?

That's a sign of an overcooked egg.

Thank you, Emeril Lagasse, for sharing that tip on your show many years ago. :)

Once the eggs are cooled, it's time to peel them.

Sometimes eggs are tricky to peel because there is a membrane that sits between the shell and the egg white. To successfully peel an egg, you have to get through that membrane without taking a lot of the egg white with it.

The best way to do that is to get something between that membrane and the white. In this case, water.

So tap your egg on the counter a few times. Just hard enough to crackle the shell, but this is not the time to demonstrate your strength or you'll end up with a big mess.

It should look something like this.

Now run some water over that crackled egg.

Actually, I gently roll it between both hands, allowing the water to work its way under the shell and membrane, but I needed one hand to take the picture.

Sometimes you'll feel the shell almost slipping away from the egg. Other times, you'll need to pick a spot and start peeling. If it feels like it's stuck, roll it under the water some more until you can get that membrane away from the white.

Here's how mine looked. As you can see, while some were perfect, I still had a few ornery eggs where the membrane was stuck to the white and pulled some of it off during the peeling process. That's okay, though. Overall, these are some good looking hard boiled eggs.

But what am I going to do with all these eggs?

Well, we have a party to go to, so I'm going to turn them into deviled eggs. Deviled eggs are a family favorite and good just about anytime, but especially with Texas barbecue.

So I'll start by halving my eggs. I just use a paring knife to slice them lengthwise. Then I plunk the yolks into one bowl and set the whites aside to be filled later.

These are my weapons of choice when it comes to the filling for my deviled eggs.

Mayo, Dijon mustard, seasoned salt, ground black pepper and paprika.

Start by crumbling the yolks with a fork.

Now add the mayonnaise, mustard (you can use regular yellow mustard if you prefer, but I like the extra tang of Dijon) and seasoned salt.

I had 15 eggs, so I started with a half a cup of mayonnaise, about a tablespoon/tablespoon and a half of the mustard and half a teaspoon of seasoned salt. If I were doing only 4-6 eggs, I'd start with 1-2 tablespoons of mayo and about a teaspoon of Dijon. It's not an exact science. Everyone has different tastes. The key is to start small then add more as needed. You don't want to add a ton of mayo then not be able to adjust the other stuff without getting it so thin it's hard to work with.

Stir all that up and give it a taste.

Needs more Dijon.

Perfect!

Now some pepper to taste...

And if you like yours with some relish,

Go ahead and add some of that.

Now it's time to fill those lonely egg whites.

Simply spoon up a dab of the yolk mixture...

And place it into the hole of the white.

(Yes, hubby took this one so I could use two hands)

If you want them to look fancy, you can put the yolk mixture into a decorating bag with a star tip like you would use for piping frosting and pipe the frosting into the holes of the whites.

Since we were going to a barbecue, I decided to keep things rustic.

However, just like the proper accessories set off an outfit, these eggs need a little pop of color.

Paprika to the rescue.

The flavor is gentle and is such that it adds to the egg filling, not overpowers or detracts, and that's what you want from any accessory. ;)

These eggs are ready to par=tay!

So that's today's tutorial on hard boiled eggs.

Are you a hard boiled egg person? What's your favorite way to eat them?

BLT Chicken Salad

Stop the presses!

The rain has ceased, the clouds have parted and there are once again blue skies over Texas. God has rewarded our patience with what is shaping up to be a nice string of absolutely gorgeous days. And get this, there's not a 90 degree temp in sight. In June, in Texas, that's virtually unheard of. But I will most definitely take it.

Now that things are feeling a little more like summer, though, I'm having an easier time wrapping my brain around the idea of  salads as a meal. Call me weird, but I just don't enjoy salads as much when it's cold/cool outside. I want warm things when it's cold.

One of my all time favorite sandwiches has to be a BLT, with lots of bacon and some nice juicy tomatoes.  But since I tend to steer away from bread, sandwiches are few and far between at my house. So with a little thinking (I'm sure you could smell the smoke), I figured out a way to satisfy my craving, while keeping things low in carbs, yet with lots of good protein.

Let me introduce you to the BLT Chicken Salad.

Is your mouth watering yet? Kav, I'm sure yours will be once you finish mentally picking off all of the meat. ;)

This is easy. Start with a nice bed of lettuce and top it with a grilled chicken breast that's been cut into bite-sized pieces. Now add a little tomato and some decent sized chunks of cooked bacon.

Easy peasy.

I don't know about y'all, but I love my BLT sandwiches slathered with mayo. So to add some plain old ranch dressing to this mix would not do. After all, I'm trying to replicate a BLT.

So here's what I came up with. A little mayo (approx. 2T), some garlic powder (not too much, just enough to add a little flavor), salt and pepper to taste. 

I mixed that up, then decided it was too thick for a dressing, so I thinned it with just a little bit of milk and tasted it. Something still wasn't quite right. For a dressing, it needed a little zing. So I added just a tiny splash of vinegar. 

Perfect!

Naturally, I forgot to take a picture of the dressed salad. But let me tell you, it was divine. All the flavors, without any of the guilt. 

(Insert angels singing)

I may never go back to another BLT sandwich again. 

What's your favorite sandwich? Have you ever thought about turning it into something else?

Revisiting the Confessions of Mad Tea Junkie

After chatting with Julie last week, I decided it was time for me to again share my love of tea, so I'm doing a repost today. The one thing I remember most about this post was that I actually rendered Ruthy speechless. Can you imagine that? So here we go again.

Hello. My name is Mindy, and I am a tea junkie.

It all started a few years ago, on a cruise, when I sampled some passion fruit and jasmine white tea. From there, I branched out to Earl and Lady Grey, black tea, green tea.... Then my SIL started push--er, distributing the good stuff.

Now, I buy my tea by the half-kilo. Currently, I have at least four different varieties on hand.

In the beginning, I had the simple ball tea strainer. Then I moved up to what I call my tea gnome. I love it's fine mesh and the fact that I don't have any leaves drifting through my tea. But that wasn't enough. I have to have my tea even when I travel. That's what the mesh spoon is for.

Sometimes, when I feel like living on the wild side, I use my three-piece tea cup. Its holes are large, so I always have tea leaves in my drink. But it's fun to change things up once in a while.

And then, there's my tea tin. This is how I travel with my tea. So far, I haven't been stopped.

Just look at this Cream Earl Green. So beautiful. And so good for you.

 Loads of antioxidants.



What's your beverage of choice? Your splurge? The one you've just gotta have? And how far will you go to make sure you have it?

Since this original post, I've increased the varieties I have on hand. I mean, sometimes a girl just needs a Buckingham Palace Garden Party in a cup or some good ol' Texas Iced Tea Blend. 

But you know what they say, it's all good. 

Last Supper

Howdy, gang. By the time you read this post, I will be in the hospital recovery from surgery to repair a hiatal hernia. Yes, my presence was requested at the hospital at 5:15 am Monday morning. Really? 5:15? What, are they trying to save money on anesthesia? Do you have any idea time I will have to wake up?

As with most surgeries they tell you not eat anything after midnight the night before. I'm cool with that. However, the details of my post-surgical diet are anything but cool.

• 2 Days Following Procedure: Clear liquid diet only
• Next 2 Weeks: Full liquid diet (ANYTHING YOU CAN POUR)
• Next 4 Weeks: Soft diet (ex: baby food, well cooked vegetables mashed, well cooked pasta, oatmeal, grits, etc. Anyone up for some baby food?)

That's 6 weeks of NO chewing. So for Sunday's meal, I was having whatever I wanted. 

But, what did I want? 

As I pondered that question, I knew I didn't want to veer from my Trim Healthy Mama eating plan. (BTW, I'm so glad Jan turned me on to this when she did. I now have LOTS of recipes for protein-packed smoothies and they will be my main source of sustenance during the full liquid phase of this diet. At least having a good source of protein will ensure I'm burning fat and not muscle. And if there's one up side to this post-surgical diet, it's that I WILL lose weight.)

Back to Sunday's meal. I'd been promising my boys brisket. 

So smoked beef brisket was at the top of my list. You can find that recipe here.

But what else did I want?

Comfort food. And it doesn't get much more comforting than this.

Yes, I got to have homemade mac and cheese without veering from THM. I just used the Dreamfields brand of macaroni and added glucomannan (you can learn more about what that is here) as a thickener instead of flour. No one could tell the difference. It was amazing.

The next thing on my comfort food list was, of all things, deviled eggs.

And apparently I'm not the only one who likes them. There were a dozen of these babies before the vultures got to them.

Which meant my plate looked like this.

I know I should have had a salad, and had intended to make one, but I just couldn't do it. I mean really, this is my last substantial meal for six weeks. Salad is not at the top of my list.

My daughter and son-in-law joined us for dinner and this was the complete spread. The mashed potatoes were for the guys and the cupcakes were to celebrate my daughter's birthday this Thursday. 

No, I did not have one. But I did make a cake-in-a-mug for me. :)  Recipe here.

Needless to say, since I'm confined to a liquid diet, I will not be doing any cooking for a while. But the wonderful ladies here at the Yankee-Belle Cafe have agreed to cover for me for a few weeks. Just think of all the smoothie recipes I'll have for you. :)

For the record, since I announced my plans to get back on track with my eating and start knocking off some of this weight that has so graciously attached itself to me, I have lost eight pounds. 

It'll be interesting to see how much I lose in the coming weeks. Though it's not exactly what I had in mind.

Now I have to ask, if you were planning your last meal, what would you choose?