Winter Storm Warning!

I can't believe it. While we're sweltering here in Texas and the calendar still said September, the northern Rockies were hit with a major winter storm. What I wouldn't give for a little taste of that. So I decided to go back into the Yankee-Belle archives again and take us on a trip down memory lane, back to the ice storm that shut down a good bit of north Texas in December of 2013.

You ever have one of those weeks? Well, that was me this past week. First, I was trying to catch up after Thanksgiving, then BAM! North Texas is hit with a major ice storm. Stuff like that just totally messes with my head. Not in a bad way, mind you, just has me shifting gears.

So this was the scene when we awoke Friday morning. Nothing compared to Jan's blizzard, I know. Looks kind of peaceful, doesn't it? Like a nice dusting of snow. Except this is layers and layers of sleet and freezing rain. It wasn't fluffy. It was crunchy. And the driveway (note that it's sloped)? Two-three inches of solid ice. Nobody was going anywhere.

Now you folks who live up north may think this is nothing, but Texas is not equipped to handled stuff like this. They have sanding trucks (which finally made it down our street Sunday morning), but that's about it. Schools were closed. Highways were shut down. Over 270,000 people lost electricity. DFW Airport was at a standstill, trapping thousands of weary travelers. In a word, it was a MESS.

But a pretty mess. One that had me opting to stay inside.

A cold winter's day deserves a nice hot breakfast. Something besides the usual oatmeal. So I decided to make eggs, biscuits, and bacon. Now my biscuits aren't the gorgeous fluffy variety that Jan shared with us here, but they're easy and very yummy. My daughters' great-grandmother taught me how to make these when I was but a young bride.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

You'll need only 3 ingredients:

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2-3 cups self rising flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil, plus more for pan

Yep, that's it. Like I said, easy. :)

Now, I like to dirty as few dishes as possible, so I measure my buttermilk into a large measuring cup that will double as my mixing bowl.

Add the oil and two cups of flour. 

Stir to mix. If it's too sticky, add more flour a spoonful at a time. You want it to hold together without being sticky.

Dump onto a floured surface and knead gently. Fold and push. Fold and push until elastic, but not sticky.

Prepare your pan (whatever pan you like. I usually use a round cake pan, but sometimes I'll use a cast iron skillet) by coating the bottom with a couple tablespoons of oil or butter. I usually use oil, but butter works just as well.

At this point, you can roll it to about a half-inch thickness and cut your biscuits, however, Greatmom taught me to "pinch" off the biscuits like she did. Simply grab a biscuit-sized blob between your thumb and forefinger and "pinch" it off.

Now shape it a bit with your hands. I usually roll it in my palms a time or two, then flatten it a bit.

Coat each side of the biscuit with the oil in the pan and settle in pan.

Repeat the process until your dough is gone and your pan is full.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Clean up mess and stare at the beauty outside the kitchen window. That is until one of the dogs barks, ordering you to let her outside. Just because she has a fur coat... Sheesh! And she would much rather drink her water al fresco than out of the bowl inside. However...

Imagine her reaction when she saw her water bucket.

 After pacing for a while, she gave up and decided to eat the sleet.

The warmth from the oven, not to mention the timer, draws me back inside. Perfect!

Now that's my kind of breakfast. One that's usually reserved for the ranch. But hey, it's not like we're ice-bound every day. This is an event, right? And an event like this calls for a hearty breakfast.

Well, things look a little different outside on this first day of October 2019. It's hot, it's dry, and I'm still sporting shorts, a t-shirt and sandals. But that doesn't mean I can't hope. Something I'm sure is lost on all of you who live up north. Because while I'm sweating, you're probably wondering how long before Jack Frost comes to visit you.

So, were you caught by this weekend's snow storm or are you reveling in fall's glorious color? And what's your favorite breakfast when you're snowed in?

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 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 a mindyobenhaus.com.

It Was a Busy Week!

Last weekend was...busy. To put it mildly. And things still haven't let up.

Wynter always enjoyed her treats!

But it's all good!

Let's see...it began with negotiating a deal to buy our place in the Hills...

And then Wynter...

And then WINTER!

But I still found time to try a new (delicious) recipe!

After months of looking, we have finally found our place in the Hills. We spent last weekend going back and forth in negotiations...and we came to an agreement! We'll be moving sometime this summer, if everything falls into place. I hope to have pictures to share soon, but until then I'll leave you with this tantalizing view.

Yes, we'll be able to see Mt. Rushmore from our new place! (Not this close, of course...)

And then Wynter.

She was such a good dog, even though she really didn't like strangers! She started her life in Kentucky, moved to Kansas with us, and then to South Dakota.

And she loved hiking in the Hills...until her arthritis got too severe.

A good dog. But at 14 years old, she was tired and sore, and the dementia was beginning to bother her. Her anxiety was heartbreaking in her last few days, so we made the hardest and most loving decision a pet owner ever has to make.

We'll miss her. Thatcher is still grieving, and so are we.

But the next day, WINTER came back! Not the fuzzy one - the snowy one!

With this spring storm, we experienced the difference between snowfall and snow accumulation!

Of course, it was a blizzard (lots of wind and blowing snow,) so we can only estimate. But based on measurements in the areas around our house, I think we got about 24 inches of snowfall, and about 12 inches of accumulation.

Part of my estimate comes from pictures like the one of our grill. On the deck, the grill got cold faster than the ground, so more snow piled up. We had a couple days of 70° weather before the storm, so a lot of the snow fall melted rather than accumulated. But that's at least 20 inches of snow on the grill!

And with a blizzard, you get drifts! This one outside the front window was about 24 to 30 inches high.

This was a two-and-a-half-day storm. We didn't go anywhere. The interstate was closed from Rapid City to the Minnesota state line - that's 350 miles - and there was "no travel advised" warnings everywhere else. Everything was closed - schools, stores, the post office... This was a serious storm.

But we did what South Dakotans do. No frenzied rush to the grocery store. No panicked drivers clogging up the streets.

We settled in and enjoyed the time to read and catch up on the indoor chores. :-)

By Friday, the sun was out. Yesterday the temperatures reached 50°. The April storm is over!

During the storm, I tried a new recipe. We need to clean out our freezer and pantry with our pending move, and I found a great dish that used what I had on hand.

Easy Beef and Broccoli

ingredients:

2 pounds beef (chuck roast, steak, flank steak, or whatever you have) cut into thin strips

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons sesame oil (if you don't have sesame oil, increase the olive oil)

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup beef broth

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/2 cup soy sauce (I used low-sodium)

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 package (10 - 12 ounce size) frozen broccoli florets

Serve with rice (I used Jasmine rice)

Do all of your slicing and dicing first. The meat should be cut against the grain in thin slices, and the onion should be chopped. I use my cereal bowls for prep bowls, just like on the TV cooking shows, but put your meat in a larger bowl - you'll see why in the next paragraph.

Then, in another bowl, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and beef broth with a whisk. Pour the mixture over the meat (this is why you need the larger bowl!) and set aside. Let it marinate for five to ten minutes.

(This is a good time to start cooking your rice.)

By the way, you can cook this in your Instant Pot, or on the stove.

Put the oils in your pot and heat for a minute or so. Add the onions and saute until they are translucent, then add the meat and marinade.

On the stove, let the meat mixture cook for about an hour, simmering until the meat is tender.

In the Instant Pot, cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, then quick release the pressure.

Carefully remove about 1/3 cup of the juices and add the cornstarch. Mix with a whisk until combined, then add it back to the meat mixture. Stir occasionally (low heat on your stove, the "keep warm" setting on your IP) as it thickens.

Meanwhile, cook the broccoli according to the package directions, then add it to the meat mixture.

Serve the Beef and Broccoli over rice.

It was delicious!

I hope your week wasn't as crazy as mine, but I'm expecting this week to be worse. We need to put our house on the market before the end of the month, so we're cleaning, painting, and staging the house to make it look its best. New carpeting will be installed in a couple weeks, and then let the buyers come! I hope they enjoy this house as much as we have!

Jan Drexler spent her childhood dreaming of living in the Wild West and is now thrilled to call the Black Hills of South Dakota her home. When she isn’t writing she spends much of her time satisfying her cross-stitch addiction or hiking and enjoying the Black Hills with her husband of more than thirty-six years. Her writing partner is her corgi, Thatcher, who makes life…interesting.

Revisiting Chicken Soup - This Time with Pictures!

A year or two ago I shared my sister-in-law's recipe for chicken soup, except I was so excited about it that I forgot to take any pictures until the end. Can you imagine? A visual learner such as myself forgetting the pix? The horror.

So I'm here today to correct that. But first...

Lookie what we woke up to Thursday morning!

Snow! Not sleet. Not ice. Seven inches of white, fluffy snow!

I can't tell you how happy, happy, happy that made me.

Ahem...

Now that I've gotten that out of my system...

This chicken soup recipe is fairly easy and the actually cooking time isn't long. However, there is some prep work, so plan on about an hour and half  from the time you start chopping until the time you're sitting down to eat.

Here's what you'll need:

• 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 5-6 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4-5 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 1 quart vegetable broth (or use 3 chicken)
• 2-3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1-2 dashes red pepper flakes
• l large bay leaf (optional)
• 3-4 cubes (or equivalent) chicken bouillon
• 1 package Kluski or Bohemian noodles

I like to chop and gather everything for this dish before I actually start cooking.

Once that's done, place a large Dutch oven over high heat and add your olive oil. 

When the oil is heated, add the chicken, onions and garlic.

Cook until meat is browned.

Okay, so it doesn't exactly brown because there's a lot of moisture in there from the onions. The main thing is that you don't want to see any pink meat.

Next, you'll add your carrots, celery and all of your seasonings.

Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Boy, oh boy, does my house smell yummy. Talk about whetting your appetite.

Add noodles and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes.

Delicious.

Now that's one lean meal. With loads of flavor. I try to limit the amount of noodles in my bowl, since I'm watching my carbs, but you might want to eliminate them all together. That is, if you won't have people glaring at you across the table because you did such an atrocious thing.

And if you have anyone in your house with a cold, this is the perfect meal. Feel free to up the garlic and red pepper flakes. ;)

Would you believe that Texas schools are on spring break this week? Something I find rather odd since spring doesn't start until March 20th. But then, they never ask me.

And yes, our snow is gone. Within 48 hours of its arrival, for the most part. But when July comes and temps hit 110, I'll be remembering it fondly.

Ice Storm!

Missy Tippens, here. We were without power in our part of Georgia from Monday to Wednesday. So I did no cooking this week! Rather than re-share an old recipe, I thought I'd share some of the beautiful photos of our winter wonderland. It's difficult to enjoy the beauty when you're miserably cold, sitting in the dark in total silence. But once we had heat again, I could appreciate the beauty of trees tipped in sparkling crystals and the silvery woods surrounding us. So much glistening! And I'm a gal who loves sparkles and bling. :)

This first shot was taken while in line at Bojangle's trying to buy breakfast! Earlier that morning, traffic was lined up way out into the road. All the fast food restaurants that still had power were absolutely packed. When we went out to breakfast the second day (to get warm and charge our phones and computer!), the poor waitress said the day before had been terrible, and that quite a few people were really hateful to her. I know it was frustrating, but really? Why mistreat the waitress?

The rest of these photos are in our neighborhood. I wish the photos could somehow show how everything glistened, or let you hear how the icicles on the trees would make tinkling sounds in the wind.

I took these last two photos Thursday. The sun was out, and the temps had dropped into the teens. You can see the beautiful blue sky in the background.

I got behind on my writing this week. I was trying to type while wearing fingerless gloves with hand warmers (the chemical kind) inside. Maybe next week once I'm caught up on everything, I'll be able to share a real, current recipe. :)

www.missytippens.com

Pancake People versus Bread and Milk People

Here in North Carolina, we've had a mild winter so far. Last week, we even had temps in the 70s. ManO and I've lived in our area long enough to know summer in January or February is a bad sign. There's a winter storm coming right behind all that glorious spring break weather. 

Sure enough, the Jaws music played again. Meteorologists called for a snow possibility and then changed it to an ice storm definitely. Forget Snowpocalypse three years ago, at least that was just snow.

I love snow. Ice is an entirely different matter.

We don't do ice well here in North Carolina. At. ALL. One ice storm we had was a pitiful inch at an early rush hour. People were stuck on I-40 for seven hours, getting out of their cars to do their business behind bushes or just plain old walk home. Children were stranded overnight in schools.  Their teachers and staff stayed with them. They were saints. So you see why we might go a little overboard on cancellations. This time folks heeded warnings and left early...so they could mob the grocery stores.

My beloved snow boots need spikes!

When it comes to storms around here, there are two kinds of people, Pancake people or French Toast fans (as most folks call them, Bread and Milk people). My sister pointed out she has a snow day tradition of waffle making. But waffles are just crazy pancakes IMHO.

Bad weather forecast? French Toast people risk life and limb to get these two items. Plus the eggs which I totally forgot to get more of.

This week's ice storm hit right before Fat/Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day. The tradition of eating pancakes right before Ash Wednesday came from when Christians were required to get all the fat and sweet stuff out of their house before Lent.  No point in being tempted for forty days! Take that butter, flour, eggs, syrup and make pancakes. BUT our community pancake suppers were cancelled all over town. Bummed doesn't begin to describe how we felt.

The good news? I had pancake supper ingredients including gluten free pancake mix, syrup and the last two eggs in the carton. Yankee Belle is full of recipes. I didn't need to go the grocery store. No, let me be honest, I was scared to go. The Publix, Harris Teeters and Food Lions were packed with milk and bread people. Long lines, people fighting over the last of everything, and being impatient because they were sure they were going to get stuck in the storm before they got out of the parking lot. Whew. There's no place like home...so long as there's a stocked pantry.

I didn't have to make a full recipe's worth of pancakes but I did. The great thing about these is they freeze well. And believe me, it's freezing here! Down to lower single digits the rest of the week!

Naked pancakes waiting to be all dressed up!

Pancake Supper Buffet Ideas: Feel free to add your own bacon, sausage, ham and pancake toppings. 

Hawaiian Pancakes   - My favorite pancakes of all time and makes me think of Hawaii, which I need right now. I use Pamela's gluten-free baking mix for this one.

Missy's easy Sweet Potato Pancakes   The great thing about these Southern inspired pancakes is you can use gluten-free Bisquick in the mix.

Ruthy's Pancake Heaven   Our New Yorker knows how to win my heart. Chocolate and peanut butter chips! Need I say more? Yes, it's also easy-peasy as she likes to say, thanks to Bisquick.

So, are you a bread and milk person or pancake person when it comes to storms? Did you go to a pancake supper for Shrove Tuesday?  Do you observe giving up something for Lent or do you plan to mark the days in some way before Easter?

Waist not, want not for 2014.

As I type this, the wind is blowing, the temp is dropping and we aren't promised a lick of snow. The downside of being this far south. Power outages are imminent so I got up early to make sure I got my coffee fix and put my chicken carcass on to make broth. Coffee first helped me stand the sight. Not very pretty. But it is the beginning of soup and soup season.

I keep my chicken bones in the freezer until I am ready to make more broth. Somehow makes the process feel easier.

January's definitely the month of soup. Between needing to drop those holiday pounds, save some money, and battle the weather forecast, soup is the ticket.ManO and I are starting a new budget and insurance plan. I'm launching an etsy vintage shop in the coming months. And we are planning a trip to Ireland in the fall.  Hopefully my waist will be whittled along with my expenses.

So I'm headed to fridge instead of the grocery store. No way am I going outside, except to put the broth on the screened porch to cool down. Flash freeze if you will! So I looked in my fridge to see what I had for soup besides the broth. Fresh black peas with bits of ham, turnip greens, carrots, and celery. Sounds like the makings of soup to me.

I always have this fear that my Depression era grandparents would be appalled by the amount of wilted produce I throw away. I'm resolved to throw veggies in freezer bags for future meals rather than let them die from refrigerator dehydration.

I think my mother and my MIL would also like it if I whittle my waist down. They may not look it in these pictures but both these women had waists measuring in the lower 20 inches! Both got married in cold weather too. My granddaddy had to wrap my mother in a sheet to carry her in her velvet wedding dress through the ice and mud to the car and then the church.

Anyway, back to the soup! I just threw everything in the pot and cooked it for thirty minutes since everything had been precooked. Added a bit of hot sauce and voila! "Good luck" New Year' sides turn into a good-for-me meal.

 

I had enough to freeze for future winter lunches! Yay! 

What leftovers do YOU throw in the soup pot? Are you starting the new year with the resolve to lose wait or gain savings?