Old Mother Hen’s Picnic Potato Salad

Everyone loves a great potato salad especially during weekends when family picnics abound. So here at kitchen chicks we thought, “What better post could we post for Memorial Day than one of our most delicious potato salads?” So here it is: Old Mother Hen’s Picnic Potato Salad. What’s so great about this potato salad? It has radishes and green olives to give it a little kick. Not so much kick so that you say, “What is this?” but enough to make you nod your head in agreement that this is one of the best tasting potato salads you have ever eaten. enjoy!

OLD MOTHER HEN’S PICNIC POTATO SALAD

3 LBS RUSSET POTATOS (CUBED)
3 HARD BOILED EGGS (CUT INTO QUARTERS)
6 GREEN ONIONS (SLICED THINLY)
4 RADISHES (SLICED THINLY)
1/3 CUP SLICED GREEN OLIVES
1 CUP SALAD DRESSING (I LIKE MIRACLE WHIP)
1 TBS YELLOW MUSTARD
1 TSP WORCHESTSHIRE SAUCE
1 TSP SUGAR
SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE

INGREDIENTS

Gather all your ingredients and then put the eggs (For tips on boiling the perfect egg, click here http://wp.me/pQZac-1D) and the potatoes on to boil. Boiling time for the potatoes is about 10 minutes, but you should check them to be sure they don’t get too soft. The idea is to have them soft enough to put a fork in them without them breaking apart.

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While the eggs and potatoes are boiling, chop the other veggies. Slices are better than chunks in this case because the texture is better for the potato salad. When you are done, they should look something like this:

When the potatoes and eggs have finished, drain the potatoes in a colander and let them cool for about 15 or 20 minutes. Don’t rinse them with water or ice them down. This affects the texture and quality of the potatoes. Peel the eggs and cut them into quarters. I like quarters better than slices in this case because the texture of eggs is softer and gives some bulk to the potato salad.

Once things have cooled down, put all of the veggies, potatoes and eggs into a large bowl and, using a wooden spoon, jumble them up a bit. Now add the wet ingredients and mix the whole thing together gently so as not to break up the potatoes and eggs too much. Just a reminder to keep this salad refrigerated after serving so that you don’t spoil it’s deliciousness!

HAVE A WONDERFUL MEMORIAL DAY!

The Easiest Most Delicious Apple Pie Recipe Ever

Baby Chick here. Fall is in full swing at my home in Boston! In the northeast around mid-October, EVERYONE goes apple picking. Not only does the event provide you an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather, but you also come homes with TONS of apples. I’m talking 10+ pounds worth of apples. And what do you do when life gives you apples? You make apple pie of course.

As many of you know, Momma Chick and I are a HUGE fan of The Joy of Cooking. I’ve never been disappointed with a recipe from that glorious bible of a recipe book. So, I tried out one of her apple pie recipes and tada! Another scrumptious dessert that takes no time at all to put together. You’ll LOVE it!

Note: This pie uses a reducing method (you cook the apples first)

P.S. I am super lazy and did NOT make my own pie crust (tsk, tsk)

Pie Ingredients:

• 6 -8 large(ish) apples
• 3 tbs. unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts (Joy is rolling in her grave, I know)

Pie Method:

Before you begin, put the oven rack on the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

1. Core and peel all apple, cut into 1/4 inch pieces, set aside
   
2. Grease a 9-inch pie pan, place bottom crust, set aside
   
3. Put butter in a pan on high heat until melted, fragrant and sizzle-y
   
   
4. Add in apples and stir until all apples have a buttery coating
5. Immediately turn heat down to medium, cover tightly and let simmer for 3 minutes (stirring often)
   
   NOTE: Apples are ready when they are tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside
6. Take off cover and add sugar, cinnamon, and salt
   
7. Increase heat slightly and stir
8. Let apples simmer and cook until the liquid is thick like syrup
9. Place finished apples on a baking sheet and cool to room temperature
   
10. Once cooled, poor mixture into bottom pie crust
    
11. Add top pie crust a flute (or crimp) sides together
    
    
12. Cut vents on top of pie, place in over for 30 -40 minutes (pie crust should be brown and filling bubbly)
    
    
13. Take out of oven and let cool for 3 hours (or as long as you can wait) then eat!

    

 

 

Joy of Cooking’s Oatmeal Cake

For every chick grains are important and here at the henhouse grain is a personal favorite.  So for this addition of kitchenchicks, we’ve decided to make a good old fashioned oatmeal cake.  The best one we’ve tried comes right from your favorite cookbook and mine, The Joy of Cooking.  I don’t think there’s a recipe in this book, that I’ve tried, that hasn’t been absolutely wonderful, so here it is:

JOY OF COOKING OATMEAL CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1 and 1/2 cups boiling water

1 and 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp grated or ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

STEP ONE:  Boil the water and soak the oatmeal in the water for 2o minutes.

When it’s finished it should look like this:

 

STEP 2:  Put the butter (room temperature) and sugars in a mixing bowl and cream them together.

 Add the eggs and vanilla and continue to cream the mixture.The creamed mixture will look like this.  Be sure to scrape the side of the bowl to make sure the mix is completely mixed together.STEP 3:  Add the oatmeal mixture and then the dry ingredients to the batter.  

The batter will look like this and will be much thinner than the creamed mixture.

Pour the batter into a greased 8X8 pan.

NOTE:  The original recipe calls for a 9X13 pan, but we liked the thickness of the 8X8.STEP 4:  Bake the cake for 35 minutes.  While the cake is baking, prepare the topping.  Here’s what you’ll need:

•                    1/4 cup packed brown sugar
•                     1/2 cup white sugar
•                     1 cup flaked coconut
•                     6 tablespoons butter, melted
•                     1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
•                     1/4 cup cream

Combine these ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth in consistency.  It will look like this when you are finished.

STEP 5:  Remove cake from the oven and turn on the broiler.  Carefully spread the topping over the cake until completely covered and place under broiler for 2-5 minutes or until the topping is brown and bubbly.Here’s the finished product.  We couldn’t even take a picture before the roosters were pecking at it!  We had to convince them that we should save some for their lunches the next day.  HAPPY EATING!

 

Cinnamon Rolls

Welcome fellow chicks.  Pull up a box or haybale and have one our fantastic cinnamon rolls!  These are so easy because the first kneading is done in the bread machine.  Of course, you can do it the regular way if you prefer, but the bread machine sure makes the process a lot smoother.  Here’s the recipe.

In a small bowl add 1/2 cup warm water and a package of yeast.  If you have canned yeast, add 2 and 1/4 tsp yeast.  Stir together with 1 tsp sugar and let sit while you put these ingredients into the bread machine.

Into the bread machine in this order put:

1/2 cup scalded milk (I pop it into the microwave and set it for 1 minute)

6 T butter softened (leave it out overnight)

1 tsp salt

1 egg

3 and 1/4 cups flour  (some people put more flour, but I think it’s better to err on the side of less, otherwise your dough can become tough.  Besides, you’ll add more during the second kneading.)

Pour the yeast mixture over all and start your machine on the dough cycle.  When it’s done it will look like this:

Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and begin to knead the dough.  It will appear sticky and slightly formless.

Knead the dough into a smooth ball adding flour as needed.  When you are finished, it should look like this:

  

Now, roll into a 15 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick or so.  When you are finished, it should look like this:

Spread the rest of the softened butter over the surface of the dough.  Some people melt it and brush it, but I prefer the softened method because granny chick used to do it that way.

Sprinkle sugar (about 1/4 cup or more if you prefer) and cinnamon (about 1 T or more if you prefer) over the buttered surface.

Starting at the wide side, roll into a tube and pinch sides to seal.

Slice to the width you want keeping in mind that rolls will rise to double in size.  I slice about 9 rolls from this tube.  Put in a dish to rise and cover with a cloth in a warm place or cover with plastic wrap.  (about 45 minutes to 1 hour)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  While the rolls cool, make the icing for the top.  Pour icing over top while rolls are still warm.

Icing:  Mix 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 T butter with an electric mixer.  Add 1 T of hot water at a time until icing reaches desired consistency.

Enjoy your warm-from-the-oven cinnamon rolls!

 

Christmas Cookies!

There’s only one way to really enjoy the holiday season and that’s with Christmas cookies and a good cup of hot chocolate.  Here are the cookies we made here at the henhouse this year.  There are some old favorites and a couple of new treats. Enjoy!

Molasses Krinkles and Snickerdoodles

Here are a couple of old standards that we enjoy year after year.

Old Fashioned Molasses Krinkles

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 4 tsp. soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cloves
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ginger
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups flour

Cream shrotening, brown sugar, eggs and molasses.  Sift flour, soda, salt and spices together.  Stir into first mixture.  Chill 3 hours or overnight.  Form dough into 1-inch balls; rollin sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  I like to do two pans at a time so I put one on the top rack and one on the bottom rack and then switch them after 5 minutes.

Snickerdoodles

• 1/2 c. soft shortening
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 c. sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 c. sifted flour
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix shortening, sugar and eggs.  Sift flour, cream of tartar, salt and stir in.  Form dough into balls size of walnuts. Roll in mixture of the 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon.  Place about 2″ apart on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake about 10 minutes.  They puff during baking but settle down and look sugary and crunch.  

You can’t have a nice assortment of cookies without a few bars and here are the two choices we pecked at this year.

Club Cracker Bars and Hip Padder Bars

Hip Padder Bars are an old favorite and Club Cracker Bars are a new treat.  Which do you prefer?

Club Cracker Bars

• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 box club crackers

Bring butter, milk and sugars to a boil.  Set the timer for 5 minutes and stir constantly.  Line the bottom of a 9X13 inch pan with club crackers.  Pour cooked filling over crackers and top with another layer of crackers.  (You will not use the whole box).  Set aside and prepare topping.

Topping:

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Melt ingredients together in microwave at 30 second intervals stirring until completely melted.  Pour over top of bars and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs.

Hip Padder Bars

1 cup butter melted in 9X13 pan.
Sprinking 1 cup graham cracker crumbs on top.
Layer these in order:
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup toffee pieces
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Top with one can Eagle Brand Milk
Bake for 30 minutes.

Black-eyed Susans–at least that’s what Granny Hen used to call them.  I think they’ve been since renamed Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies.

This is an old Pillsbury Bake Off winning recipe from the 30′s originally won by Freda Smith. It’s definitely a winner in our book.

Black-eyed Susans

• 1 1/3 c. shortening
• 1 c. peanut butter
• 2 c. brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 3 c. flour (I sometimes add a little more depending on consistency)

Cream shortening and peanut butter.  Gradually add brown sugar.  Beat eggs and vanilla well and add.  Add and blend gradually salt, baking powder and flour. Shape dough into balls.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Top each cookie with a Hershey’s kiss; press down into cookie dough.

Cherry Oatmeal Cookies–an old recipe with a new twist

We tried a similar recipe when we were in Boston at Crema Cafe.  Those cookies inspired these.

Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 c. butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 c. dark brown sugar
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 2 lg. eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
• 2 Tbs cherry jelly
• 1 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter with sugars and beat until well blended.  Add eggs and vanilla, beat for several minutes until light and fluffy.  Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon, add them to butter mixture and beat until well blended.  Stir in oatmeal and cherries.  Drop batter by tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets and bake until edges just turn brown, about 12 minutes.  Let cookies cool in the pan for a minute or two, then remove them to racks to cool completely.

One last recipe to inspire you.  So easy to make, but very messy to clean up.

Cherry Roll-ups

This recipe has been around a long time at the henhouse and we think it will be for a long time to come.  Plenty here to share and enjoy!

Cherry Roll-ups

• 1 c. butter
• 1/2 lb. cream cheese
• 2 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Marachino Cherries
• powdered sugar

Beat together and chill dough.  Roll 1/8 inch thick on board dusted with powdered sugar.  Cut into 1 x 3 inch strips with pastry wheel.  Roll up cherry in each strip.  Put on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  (Yes, I know 15 minutes seems like a long time, but it will need every minute of those 15.)  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND MANY DELICIOUS COOKIES TO YOU!

 

Texas Chocolate Dessert

Delicious!

This dessert has it all and on top of that it’s a favorite of every rooster in our henhouse.  It makes a lot if you want to take it to a function, and is a real flock pleaser.  Enjoy!

gather your ingredients

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 small boxes cook and serve chocolate pudding
• 3 cups milk
• 1 regular sized package cream cheese
• 1 large container non dairy whipped topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt 1/2 cup butter and combine with flour and pecans.  Press down with fingers into 13×9 inch pan.
2. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Take out and let cool completely.
   

   Bake the crust for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

3. While the crust is baking, cook the pudding in the milk over medium high heat until thickened, stirring frequently.
4. Cool the pudding completely and refrigerate. 
   

   cool pudding completely

5. Mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until creamy.
6. Add 1 cup non dairy whipped topping and blend until smooth.
   

   Mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Then add 1 cup non-dairy whipped cream.

7. Once the crust is cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the crust.
   

   spread the cream cheese layer over the crust

8. Pour cooled pudding over the top of the cream cheese mixture.
   

   Spread pudding over cream cheese layer

9. Top with remaining whipped topping.
   

   Spread remaining whipped cream over the dessert.

DELICIOUS!

Tuna Macaroni Salad

Here’s a favorite during the summer here at the henhouse.  No kidding, my chicks would beg for this.  Serve it with chips and sun tea.

Tuna Macaroni Salad: 

Ingredients: 

gather your ingredients

1. 16 oz box salad macaroni (I also like small shells or ring macaroni with this recipe)
2. 1 12 oz can white albacore tuna
3. 1 p0und diced ham
4. 1/2 pound diced sharp cheddar cheese
5. 1 12 oz bag frozen peas
6. 1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
7. 2 Tbs mustard
8. 1 tsp sugar
9. 1 tsp worchestershire sauce
10. Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Bring water and a tsp of salt in a 6 quart pot to a boil.  Add macaroni and boil until just tender (about 9 minutes).  Pour frozen peas into a colander and when the macaroni is done boiling, pour it into the colander over the peas. 

put frozen peas into a colanderPour macaroni over peas in colanderPour macaroni over peas in colanderPour macaroni over peas in colander