Cooking in Texas

We just got back from a weekend trip to see our parents. I did some cooking while I was there.

First I made Struesel Puffs, a muffin recipe my mom saved from Family Circle magazine approximately 1970. She made them often and we all liked them. I baked and entered them in a 4-H food show and got a blue ribbon. 

I baked Struesel Puffs so many times when our children were all at home. This was a normal Sunday before church recipe and I always doubled the recipe back then. 

Fresh baked Struesel Puffs on my parents dining table

Streusel Puffs

2 1/2 C. All purpose flour
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 C. milk
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 beaten egg

Grease a standard 12 muffin tin. Combine 1/2 C. flour and the brown sugar in a small bowl. Cut in 2 Tbsp. butter until mixture is crumbly. Set aside. 

Mix remaining 2 C. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; cut in remaining 6 Tbsp. butter until crumbly. Combine egg and milk in a small bowl; add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir lightly, just until liquid is absorbed. Batter will be lumpy. 

Divide batter between 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serve warm after baking. They are still good the second day if reheated. 

Pecan Pie Bars

Mom found this recipe on Pinterest and asked me to bake them,  I made them just like recipe except baked them in a 10 by 15 airbake pan instead of the 13 by 9 pan the recipe called for. We liked them a lot and think that thinner is better.  It was an easy recipe and makes a big batch. 

Pepperoni Lasagne that my brother requested. I just used a recipe from AllRecipes.com but substituted 1/2 pound diced pepperoni for the ground beef

A meat loaf

Boomer, my brother's dog, wagging his tail as he was hoping to get a few bites of meatloaf. 

I also made pimento cheese to eat on celery and crackers and cooked roast beef, mashed potatoes and 2 pounds of baked carrots. 

They will be able to heat and eat all week.  I wish we lived closer so I could cook for them more often. 

On our last trip to Texas, I took photos of beautiful bluebonnets along the highway.  

This trip was not as pretty as we drove through about 100 miles of highway lined with  ice storm damaged trees. Some trees were broken down to the ground, others had hanging or fallen broken limbs and some trees were split down the middle. It is going to be a big long job to clean them up.

July #8 - last day of this month

I’m sure you’ve all had days like the poor woman above 😂  so we will just continue to grin and bear it.  

But never order chocolate from Amazon during an Oklahoma summer as I’m sure it would arrive very melted.  

We’ve had lots of rain this month and some of our plants are loving it 

But others, not so much 

The 5 local grands were here for a play day that turned into a sleepover.  

It was a good opportunity to do our traditional back to school shoe shopping.  I didn’t get photos but all their feet but here are the 8 year old grandson’s

I’m not sure they are practical shoes for a farm boy but he really wanted them and I don’t say no to Old Glory 🇺🇸

Schools are planning to open in late August but who knows how that will go.

  I’m very concerned about my daughter, 2 son in-laws and brother who all work in education as they will be exposed to many students.  

But as I said,  who knows what will happen.  

For their breakfast after the sleepover,  I baked a double batch of Struesel Puffs 
  

➡️Struesel Puffs Recipe ⬅️⬅️link here 

They are a really tasty muffin,  made a bit different from other muffin recipes,  and you probably have all the ingredients on hand to bake them for your family ❤️

We all enjoyed eating the muffins and we dropped off some to one of their mothers and my parents.  (See the rain outside?) 

My husband’s summer garden plants are about done and he brought in a big pile of produce,  so yesterday I froze tomatoes, bell and poblano peppers,  and canned jalapeños.  

We have ate lots of fresh salsa this summer.  We like cilantro in our salsa but it seems to go slimy in our fridge.  

I tried this dried cilantro and we like it just fine- it’s much milder but still adds the cilantro flavor- and it’s much easier 

Above is this week’s to do list - yes,  I’ve done some of it but that is marked off on the paper copy 

It is a shorter list than usual.  

Today is cooler and the ground is mushy from rain,  so I’m planning on working in the front flower beds this morning,  

I’ll try to take before and after photos as I hope it will look a lot different 

Have a great Friday everyone 

❤️Rhonda