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April 6, 2012 - Easy and Fun Fruit Leather

A few weeks ago during spring break here, I decided to start it off with something fun for the kids. I decided to try my hand at making fruit leather in my dehydrator. I wanted to use something that would be easy, inexpensive and, of course, fun! It’s spring break–it has to be fun! After...
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April 4, 2012 - Zimtsterne, a German Christmas Cookie

Pronounced “tseemt-shtair-nuh” (cinnamon stars), these German Christmas cookies are far too delicious to only eat once a year. My grandmother always made a dozen different kinds of cookies during Advent, and these have always been, hands-down, my FAVORITE. After she passed away, I dug through her recipes and decided to try these. I couldn’t believe...
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April 2, 2012 - Ham Spread, the Way I Remember It

In elementary school, my brothers and I brown bagged it for lunch. Many times it was peanut butter and jelly, but quite often it was bologna–not pre-sliced bologna you find in the packaged lunch meat section today, but the good stuff, bought by the hunk. (I actually don’t remember pre-sliced, pre-packaged bologna when I was...
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March 31, 2012 - April 2012 Monthly Contributor Giveaway

Farm Bell Recipes blog contributors are eligible (and automatically entered!) in a giveaway each month in which one contributor will be drawn (by random.org, using the days of the month that posts run) to receive a prize. Each month’s prize (and previous month’s winner) will be listed here, in a blog post on the Farm...
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March 29, 2012 - Square Bread: Imposing Your Will on Grandmother Bread

We’ve all purchased perfectly square bread. We’ve all never given it another thought. I remember the square white sliced bread that my mother would never buy…the kind that you could wad up into a ball a fraction of the size of the slice it started out as. When I could get it (usually at a...
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March 27, 2012 - Brownies–In My New Doughnut Maker

Once a month, Suzanne does a giveaway to one of the Farm Bell blog contributors. Last month I was excited to be the winner of this doughnut maker! Pretty, huh! I especially like the sprinkles on top. The girls, especially K2, were excited to try it out right away. So I turned them loose and...
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March 23, 2012 - Spring, Chickens!

It’s Spring! We have a very small flock but they are laying like a big flock. We have more eggs than we know what to do with. You know how your neighbors start avoiding you in the summer when your zucchini comes in? That’s what folks in our neighborhood are doing when they see me...
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March 21, 2012 - Finding My Medium

I am completely self-taught in the kitchen. I have never taken a cooking class but I do use books–lots of different books. I live in Oregon and recently learned how to make cheese. Then I bought books by Ricki Carroll and Mary Karlin to learn how to improve upon my cheese making. Then…I read Suzanne’s...
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March 19, 2012 - Friendship, Grace, and Fine China

There are people in your life who with the character and conviction of their words teach you about grace. I have been blessed by many such wonderful mentors along the way. But the really spectacular encounters are with the people who cross our paths who just seem to so effortlessly be grace in flesh. Some...
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March 13, 2012 - Little Mug of Sweetness

Ours is a VERY busy household. Two teenagers who play different sports, a mom who works full time (that would be me…), a dad currently pounding the pavement, a bunch of critters. Lots going on all the time. We are also involved in school and community theater and recently that has really put us over...
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March 9, 2012 - This Is Your Community

We have so many members now! We are approaching 3000! Come out and play. The Farm Bell Recipes blog is your community blog. It’s a place for fresh voices and new (and old) faces. A place where community shares with community. Need Help Submitting a Post walks you through every step to submit a blog...
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March 7, 2012 - Pancakes for Everyone

I always have a little bit of a challenge when Weston brings his girlfriend home with him for the weekend. She’s a vegan, and in my kitchen of milk and butter and cream, whipping up a meal that everyone will enjoy is an adventure. My latest recipe to tackle for her was pancakes. Requirements: The...
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March 5, 2012 - DO’s and DON’Ts of Freezing and Thawing Food

There comes a time in the life of every working mom when she discovers the benefits of the freezer. With the busy working schedule, and children who demand a lot of attention, healthy nutrition and leisure time are very difficult to keep. With this tempo of life, it’s impossible to cook every day. However, that...
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March 3, 2012 - A Well-Loved Kitchen

In my house, the kitchen is the most used room. At any given time there is something going on in there. The only time the kitchen is quiet is when everyone is asleep. My kitchen is the hub of the household. Everything comes through the kitchen at some point in time. It is where pockets...
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March 1, 2012 - How to Make Candied Ginger

My experiences with candy have not been exactly successful. Entertaining, yes. (See How NOT to Make Horehound Candy.) Successful, no. So, it’s been a while since I’ve done the candy thing. Even so, I’ve been thinking about making candied ginger for a long time. And now is the time. Yep. Any minute now. Excuse me...
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February 29, 2012 - March 2012 Monthly Contributor Giveaway

Farm Bell Recipes blog contributors are eligible (and automatically entered!) in a giveaway each month in which one contributor will be drawn (by random.org, using the days of the month that posts run) to receive a prize. Each month’s prize (and previous month’s winner) will be listed here, in a blog post on the Farm...
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February 26, 2012 - My Favorite Freezer Meal

Since I have been reading on Farm Bell about some various freezer meals, I decided that I would share my family’s favorite freezer meal. I don’t do a whole lot of freezer cooking, although there are a couple dishes that I like to keep in the freezer. Having a meal that is already prepared comes...
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February 24, 2012 - Not Pie! Apple Slices!

In the late fall or early winter when I was growing up, when it was time to use up those apples in the cellar, I’d wander into the kitchen to find big half-sheet pans filled with golden-brown apple slices. They didn’t last long in my house with brothers who ate their weight in food daily...
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February 22, 2012 - Kitchen Fireworks

Not too long ago, after a long, long day, I came home really hungry for cornbread. I turned on the oven to preheat it and then started doing the dishes so that I’d have dishes to actually make and bake the cornbread in. Two minutes later, I heard buzzing and fizzing and popping and out...
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February 20, 2012 - A Warm Winter Soup to Remind You of Summer

I had eaten an Italian soup from a meal-prep company recently. You know, the places in larger cities where you go and assemble meals that you will store in your freezer to cook later, so you can (in theory) avoid making a mess in your own kitchen AND so you don’t have to buy more...
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February 18, 2012 - Crazy Chicken Combo

This crazy chicken combo is not one I would have ever dreamed up. The inspiration for it is Anthony’s Chicken. It is an eclectic ingredient list that leaves one frightened initially. Looking at something different we tried this meal several years ago. It is certainly different and unique. The crazy chicken combo blends together to...
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February 16, 2012 - How to Eat Oatmeal

Mama fixed oatmeal on cold mornings when I was a child. As I got older, oatmeal became “gross”. One morning Mama sat the bowl in front of me and I told her that I wasn’t real hungry. Daddy asked why and I told him that oatmeal was gross. Daddy said, “Of course it is not...
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February 14, 2012 - Quick and Sweet!

Marking the arrival of a special date, holiday, or season is easy to do with cookies, and while it’s such a temporary thing–after all, cookies disappear fast!–it’s somehow an important celebration of daily existence. And even if you don’t have a lot of time to spare today, you can whip up something special. Here are...
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February 12, 2012 - Searching for the One

It seems like I am always searching for the one. At lunchtime, on weekends, sometimes after work… I head off in search of the one. My husband knows, and he encourages me. He likes a bargain too! My search for the one begins and ends at my local Sam’s Club. The local Sam’s happens to...
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