Mama's Sweet Bean Chili

My mom made the most delicious chili (probably because of the brown sugar)! I loved those cold winter evenings when its delicious smell filled the room. My stomach is growling right now thinking about it!

Of course, when served, the chili was presented with homemade rolls, muffins or corn bread; and ice-cold raw milk, right from the milk barn.

I have talked before about my mom's thriftiness. I am sure it found its roots deep in her childhood. My mom was the youngest of 12 children. The picture below shows my grandma in the center surrounded by her 4 sisters. Their names: Faye, Delia (Mary Effie their mother), Mary, and Beulah. In the front center is my mom Theresa (pronounced Thres-sa). To this day I follow her meal-saving "thrifty" rule. The first day with the hamburger is for tacos, but fry enough to have leftovers to make the next day's chili or spaghetti.

I hope you enjoy one of my favorite Mama Recipes: 

Sweet Bean Chili

Ingredients:

1 large (or 2 small) can pork and beans

1 small can lima beans

1 small can kidney beans

1 large onion

1/2 green pepper

1/2 cup brown sugar (or molasses)

1/lb. ground beef

1/2 cup ketchup

1 T. dry mustard

Dash of chili powder

Directions:

Cook the ground beef, onions and green pepper. Add all of the ingredients in a large bowl (drain all beans). Place in a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

*This is a recipe that I love to adapt! I have added salsa, barbecue sauce, chili sauce, green chilies, can of stewed tomatoes, I just add “there-abouts” just like my mama taughted me. I have tried numerous types of beans. I especially love to garish with chopped green onions, sour cream and grated cheese. 

It is an easy meal to make early in the morning, throw in the crockpot, and cook all day! 

Old Fashioned Mustard Plaster

Because I have been sick for a week now, and very sick of being sick, it has made me think about my mom's home remedies. For example when I had a stomach ache, my mom would put a brown paper bag on my stomach. When I had lung congestion, like I do now, she would treat me with a mustard plaster. And, yes! I am making one for me to use right now. I am hoping that it works as good as when my mom made it.

Mustard Plaster

1 T.  dry mustard
Scant 3/4 cups flour
Warm water.

Mix the dry mustard with the flour. Add warm water a little at a time until the mixture looks like pancake batter.

Spread the mixture on a thin cotton towel (my mom used flour sacks). Lay the towel on your chest for about 20 minutes or so.

So here goes. In honor of my mom's home remedies and always making me feel better, here goes the mustard plaster. Set the timer for 20 minutes and go!

Theresa's Famous Fudge

Every Sunday night our family made together some sort of treat be it divinity, honey taffy, cookies, or fudge. I loved when I heard the pots and pans began to bang around because I knew there would be delicious smells filling the air. I always went as quick as I could to help my mom make her taste of the day.

Fudge is still my weakness today, I simply can't leave it alone. Consequently I have to be careful not to make it too often; but I think I will need to whip up a batch soon.

Here is Theresa's famous fudge!

Uncle Neal or Myles, My mom and her niece Barbara

Combine in a saucepan 2 cups white sugar, ½ cup old fashioned powdered cocoa (unsweetened), and 1 cup milk. Stir all ingredients together on medium heat. Continue stirring constantly until the mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer the mixture. DO NOT STIR AGAIN!

Cook until the candy reaches 238 degrees if you have a candy thermometer. But if not, do it Theresa's way and spoon out a small portion of the mixture and drop it into a cup of cold water. If the mixture forms a soft ball, dump the water from the cup and feel the ball with your fingers. It should stay formed and flatten if you press it, rather than fall apart.

When done, remove the mixture from heat and add 4 T. butter and 1 t. vanilla. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Using an electric mixer, mix the fudge until it looses it's sheen. Dump from bowl and knead the candy by hand. Shape the candy into a long snake. Cut the fudge into desired pieces and ENJOY!

Homemade Soda Crackers

Crunchy homemade soda crackers

It was always fun when we had homemade soda crackers dripping with my Grandpa's, and later on, my Uncle Ken's "Hansen's Honey" right from the hive. In this picture, Theresa is dressed and ready to work in the family honey business. Because she was allergic to bees, Theresa worked in the cannery (the back porch of the family home) with her mother. This was a hard and dangerous job. Her mother Effie once received serious burns from a honey can exploding on the stove. This accident had Effie bedridden for a period of time. I am sure this canning job of Theresa's youth was the foundation of her tireless, hard-working lifestyle that would follow her through her life.

When I think about the food of my childhood I think about all the preservatives my mom kept me from eating. In these days of a gluten-free rage, I can't help but think, is it the gluten or the mass quantities of preservatives we put in our bodies? Thanks mom for making everything home-cooked right down to the crackers and hamburger buns!

Homemade Soda Crackers

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 t. yeast

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. cream of tartar

2/3 cup hot water

1 t. sugar

2 T. shortening

2 T. butter

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the hot water and yeast. Stir well and sit for a minute or two. Mix in the sugar, shortening and butter. Sit for another minute until cooled to room temperature.

Mix in the baking soda and cream of tarter and 1 cup of the flour. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes.. Then add the remaining flour to make a workable dough. Knead the dough by hand for about 5 minutes until it becomes soft and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Punch the dough down and then roll the dough into a large rectangle as think as you can get it without tearing the dough. Rest the dough as you roll occasionally and it becomes easier to roll. (Make sure your counter is well floured so the dough will not stick.

Prick the dough all over with a fork and then cut into squares. Transfer each square to a baking sheet leaving space between each.

Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for about 12 minutes (watch closely because time really depends on the thickness of your dough). When crackers are lightly browned, remove from oven. Brush the crackers with melted butter and then sprinkle lightly with salt. Cool!

When completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Theresa's Meatloaf

Theresa and Ed in their early days on the farm.

Living on a farm, one simply had to be thrifty. My mom knew how to stretch a pound of meat while making the most delicious dishes. 

I know one of the families favorite of those meat stretching meals was meat loaf. Here is my mom's version of meatloaf. (Note. Theresa also used this exact recipe to make hamburgers, simply make into patty's grill or fry). Enjoy!

Theresa's Meatloaf

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs (small bits)

1/4 finely chopped onions

2 tsp. mustard

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup tomato juice

salt and pepper to taste.

Directions

In a large bowl combine all ingredients and thoroughly but gently mix all ingredients.

Grease a baking dish (My mom preferred a flat pan rather than a loaf pan). Press the beef mixture tightly in the pan.

Cover with special topping: Mix together 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup mustard 3 Tbs. brown sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes until done.

Spudnuts

Nowadays, if one is looking for a treat, it is easy to run to the local market to pick one up! Or in my case, run to the local frozen yogurt shop or even better, LOPS, the local soda shop.

That is not what life is like growing up on a farm in a rural area. If we wanted a treat, (aside from the occasional bag of penny candy from Lucians Corner Store), we made it. One of my favorite treats were Spudnuts! I loved when we had mashed potatoes for dinner, because what usually followed within the next day or two were Spudnuts.  Now how my mom made these treats perfect every time is a mystery to me; perhaps it was the cup of love for her family that she put into each and every one. Enjoy this great recipe.

Spudnuts

Ingredients:

3 T. (1 package) yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup scalded milk

1/2 cup shortening 

(or butter if you prefer)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup leftover mashed potatoes

About 5-6 cups flour

Directions:

Add yeast to lukewarm water, stir, and set aside.

Scald milk. Add shortening (or butter), sugar, and salt. Cool to room temperature and add yeast mixture. Stir and let set for a few minutes. Add the beaten egg and mashed potatoes to the mixture. Add flower until the dough becomes stiff and leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough lightly for about 1 minute to form a ball. Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise for 90 minutes under a covered cloth. Roll our the dough about 1/2 thick and cut with a donut cutter. (Theresa used a class cup and a salt shaker lid to cut the hole in the center. This is still my favorite method)! Let donuts rise for about an hour. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot (You must stay close to this pot, at all times. Theresa told me how oil jumped out of the pan one time and started a towel on fire. Keep a close eye on it!.

When oil is heated, place the doughnuts a few at a time, cook to golden brown on both sides and then place on a paper towel. Then, dip the doughnut is a power sugar glaze or in granulated or powdered sugar. YUM!

Cinnamon Rolls

Honestly I have no idea how i am going to make it through this post without running to the kitchen and making a yummy pan of cinnamon rolls. My mom's cinnamon rolls are always a special treat even for the most ordinary of days.

Forty years ago when I brought my then boyfriend (now husband of 40 years) home to meet my parents, he was greeted with homemade cinnamon rolls. When he proposed a few short weeks later, he told me flat out that the cinnamon rolls sealed the deal. "I am hoping that you cook like your mom!" He said. 

Of course nothing can compare with cinnamon rolls made by mom's hands, but here is the recipe so we can all try!

Theresa's Cinnamon Rolls

To make Theresa’s special cinnamon rolls, make her basic roll doll. Let rise for 60 minutes and then roll the entire amount of dough in a large flat circle.

Melt 1 square of butter in a small dish. Mix 1 cup sugar and cinnamon to taste in another small dish or shaker.

Rub desired amount of melted butter over the entirety of the dough, and then sprinkle with desired amount of sugar/cinnamon mixture. (Or you can substitute brown sugar for the sugar mixture. Theresa made it both ways). 

Add raisins and/or chopped walnuts.

Begin rolling the entire circle of dough to make a long loaf. Using a string (or very sharp knife), cut into individual rolls; placing each on buttered baking sheet. Let rise 45 minutes.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet.

Cool and ice with delicious buttercream frosting (1 cup powder sugar, 1 T. heavy cream, 1 tsp. melted butter, 1 tsp. vanilla).