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Old Fashioned Meatloaf Recipe

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  It amazes me how many recipes can be found on the internet at the click of a button! You can find all kinds of fancy, fun, new and different foods to try. But there there are those times when we really just want to go back to basics and make the food that Grandma used to serve. Many of our mother’s and grandmother’s old recipes have stood the test of time and are still loved today. And that is after we discovered Pinterest and all the changes and dressing-up one can do of basic, old recipes. Today’s post features a classic meatloaf recipe just the way it was made “back in the day.” Nothing weird, just the warm goodness of a meatloaf made with love! And who could argue with that?   To prepare the meatloaf you will, of course, need ground beef. The recipe below uses one pound, but since I like to make extras once I’m at it, I tripled the recipe when I took the following pictures and used three pounds. My meat was in the freezer so I took it out that morning to thaw out in time for dinner prep. At that point you will need almost 1 1/2 hours from start to finish. When dinner time comes around, start out by combining the dry ingredients: oats, sage, salt, and pepper. You’ll also need milk, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Mix all of these dry and wet ingredients […] Read more »

How to Make and Bake Norwegian Lefse

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    Lefse is a food very much associated with Norway. With fond memories of their old traditions and culture, people with Norwegian heritage often love to bake lefse and feel the nostalgia of years past, especially during Christmas. In Norway, this dish is also served during other holidays, or any special occasion. In this post I will share details on how lefse baking is done, along with lots of pictures of the process and two different recipes on the very bottom of this page. The Askeladden Lodge of the Norwegain-American organization Sons of Norway, holds a popular, annual event called “The Lefse Party“. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, winters can get mighty cold and snowy, so this is a perfect time to get together to bake lefse! Members who have lefse griddles and other equipment bring it along, and everyone enjoys this fun time of teaching and learning while lefse dough is rolled, flipped, and baked. Then, finally comes the time to add toppings and enjoy a splendid meal together! Visitors and new members are always very welcomed at Askeladden Lodge, and to any of the many lodges across the country. Locations and more information can be found by clicking the Link to Sons of Norway, and the Link to Askeladden Lodge of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Askeladden Lodge can also be found on facebook. The generous members of Askeladden Lodge were so kind to let me shoot photos and learn from them […] Read more »

Making Homemade Soft, Spreadable Butter. Recipe

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  For several years we have made our own soft spreadable butter to use on our sandwiches in place for margarine. Even though we keep it in our refrigerator, it stays soft, unlike regular hard butter. It is ready for use at any time. This homemade “margarine” is very convenient to use, and has also saved us money by stretching our butter to last twice as long. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! I grew up using margarine to spread on my sandwiches. It was nice and convenient to be able to grab the tub of soft spread right from the fridge and use it without crumbling my slice of bread. It was also believed that margarine was better for us than real butter. After I grew up, I have come to believe that it’s the opposite way, butter being the healthier alternative as it is a natural product, unlike the heavily processed margarine. That doesn’t mean every natural product is good for you, but being that margarine ingredients after processing are altered, and in my opinion not natural in any way, I can’t see how margarine can possibly be better for the body than butter, or even equal to it. When we first started using butter for our sandwiches in place for margarine, we […] Read more »

Making Whole Juice: Vegetables, Fruits, Berries. Recipes

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  Early this past summer my husband surprised me with a Blendtec blender. My first thought was “do we really need such a fancy blender”, but then he showed me what it could do. He had seen demonstrations at Costco, and after doing some research, he felt he had found the right one for our family. He demonstrated it for me here at home, and I was totally sold! I never knew just how easy it is to use a surprisingly large variety of produce to make juices full of nutrition and fiber. And you don’t have to have a fancy, powerful blender to do it, but it sure helps. Our cheap OLD one could never have handled all that this new one can do. Here’s a link to the Blendtec at Amazon that is the closest to the model we own, also the best price out there that I can find. There are lots of reviews as well, on different models. Vitamix blenders are very good as well, so here’s another link, to Vitamix on Amazon, for comparison. I’m sure there are many other brands out there that will also do a great job. The point is, this is easy to learn and will benefit your health greatly. You don’t have to follow a recipe, just get an idea of what to do, then get started with whatever you have on hand. Some related posts I recently wrote, with […] Read more »

Making Homemade Yogurt Using Cooler for Incubation; Recipe

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    Homemade, plain yogurt is easy enough to make. But how do you make sweetened vanilla yogurt without turning it into a runny mess? In this post, I will show you how to make thick and creamy, wonderful homemade vanilla yogurt using a cooler as an incubator, and of course I will share the recipe as well. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! Is yogurt good for you, I mean, really? Yogurt is good and good for you, isn’t that what we’ve leaned? Looking at the ingredients list at the grocery store, one can begin to wonder if this is really true after all. What had me wonder was the high sugar content, “other” ingredients, and live cultures, or rather, the lack thereof. As I’ve read about it and looked more closely at ingredients lists, I have found that store bought yogurt often contains loads of sugar, artificial colors and flavorings, and not all of them contain live cultures. Sure, the culture is alive when it first starts out, but not necessarily by the time the yogurt ends up at the store. According to an article by Dr. Weil, MD, yogurt is sometimes heat treated after the fact to increase shelf life, which kills the precious living bacteria that we need. “Made with” doesn’t mean […] Read more »