Homemaking

Connie's Kitchen

 

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. September 19, 2007.}

 

Dear Mothers, 

 The Fall it seems is the time the Lord always calls so many of us back to the usual comfort foods that we have a lot of the year..Whenever I think of my family I think of how I started many comfort meals with a pound of hamburger. . Even if we were having company the meat portion remained the same..a pound of hamburger. . . I could be generous with the potatoes and beans or corn etc but the meat was a small amount. . I would make a lot of biscuits and gravy and vegetable soup with hamburger . . One favorite meal I made with wieners was this. . I would get out my big cast iron skillet and fry a pound of hot dogs. . You could fry onions and peppers in too. . the wieners, whole not cut up, and the onions in rounds. . Then when the meat was brown I would pour about 3 cans of pork and beans over this, drained. Then stir in about a fourth cup of brown sugar and a fourth cup of ketchup and a squirt of mustard. And lots of Black Pepper for Papa. . and salt. . Then bake this in the oven for about a half hour at medium heat. . 

Ya know, left over baked beans is good in sandwiches. . Back in the Depression Era? Meat was sometimes hard to come by unless your husband was a hunter. . So since beans had protein like meat the housewives used a lot of beans for meals. . I once read of a Depression era sandwich that I tried and love it to this day. . I eat it often. . You take some bread and spread some mayo on it and the left over baked beans. . You put a slice of onion on it and some lettuce and a slice of tomato. . This is my favorite sandwich. . But during the summers on the farm many families had all the vegetables and fruits they could eat. . So this was a wonderful Depression era summer lunch..

Wild man used to eat radish sandwiches with butter on them or salad dressing.  . He didn't like mayonnaise. . I liked it but never got any until after the kids were raised and left home. . For years I never got to drink instant tea unless we went some place as I couldn't afford it when the kids were home. .To belt out 3 bucks or so then for a jar of instant tea was out of the question.. I mean once in a while if we had extra money I got some instant tea but that wasn't often. . I made a lot of sun tea in those days..

I made sure, as the Depression era mothers did, to always splurge on Papa's coffee.  He didn't ask for a lot but I wanted to always run ahead of him and get him a name brand coffee to please him.. He deserved it and it took a lot out of him to work for all of us..So I tried to always have hot brewed coffee for him each morning before he went to work. Or on cold evenings if he was home late he knew Mama and the coffee would be warm at home waiting for him. . .

Most of my life I am waiting for Papa. . And now I am waiting to see him in heaven.  "I love you Papa if you are reading this. . . I am tryin to honor your memory and be an example to the kids." 

Love Connie

 

{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints."  It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.* 

 

 

Easter Preparations



{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. April, 2014.}


Part 1  (Easter Preparations) (April 12, 2014)

Dear Mothers, 

I am up in the night writing. . . Aunt Tootsie came early afternoon yesterday to help me with some Easter preparations....We had a good time..Then we had a pizza delivered for supper. . 

I had made a Pumpkin Cake too. .This is how I made it. . I used a yellow cake mix, 2 eggs and a can of pumpkin, and a cup of raisins. . I just put the canned pumpkin in a bowl and added the 2 eggs and I beat this up with a spoon. .Then I added the dry cake mix to the eggs and pumpkin and I stirred this good.  . last of all I added the cup of raisins. . Also for spices, I added Pumpkin Spice and extra cinnamon. . . Just stir this up really good ..Then pour this cake mixture into a big oiled baking pan...and bake at 350 degrees until it is done.. about a half hour...To see if the cake is done, I just stick a paring knife in it..or a tooth pick ...if the knife comes out clean, then it is done..

Anyway Mary's family is coming for Easter and David's family. . Then some family friends too. .We will have a ham and mashed potatoes. . My 2 brothers will come with their families. . Everyone brings food to go along with the ham dinner. . 

We always have a good time. . Hopefully we will have a sunny warm day. What are you all having for Easter? 

Mothers, just walk by faith. . No one's family is perfect . . Just cook up a nice dinner for Easter. . If your husband is gone, just make your dinner as if he will come in the door any minute.  . Don't be sad. . its Easter. . Jesus was raised from the dead. . Nothing is impossible with God !!! Love Connie

 Praise God. . Jesus is Alive !!!


Part 2  (Psalm 91: Under the Shadow of His Wings.) (April 17, 2014)

Dear Mothers, 

Yesterday I was going into the store and something strange happened.  . . First I have to say I was soooooo tired ...I had gone to the Dollar Store and now needed to get some groceries for Easter. . 

But on the way into Aldies, I thought I saw a big eagle or something fly over. . I could see the shadow of his wings on the pavement. . But I couldn't see any bird anywhere. . 

Aunt Toot, after hearing my story, said "Connie maybe it was an angel.." Jill said, after I told her,"You were under the shadow of His wings.." The scripture that I thought of was, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. . They shall mount up on wings as the eagle. . They shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint.


Part 3  (A Lovely Easter) (April 21, 2014)

This morning I am sitting here wondering how on earth I did what I did yesterday with Easter dinner. . When everyone got here I had most things done.  Usually I need a lot of HELP !!

"Tiffany" my sweet girl.  . David's wife said, "Well Connie, last year when we came you didn't even have the ham in the oven yet". . I had forgotten that.  . I have come a long ways since last Easter. . And the Easter before that, my brother had Easter at his house. . 

For you who don't know, I was diagnosed with Parkinsons. . But I am fighting it and believing God for a HEALING in Jesus name. . 

Tiff brought the mashed potatoes and the green bean casserole. . . and dinner rolls. . I bought an apple pie and I made Easter cupcakes for dessert. . My brothers brought deviled eggs and a relish plate. . . and I baked the ham. . When the ham was done, I had my brother Kirk slice the ham up and I made ham gravy. . . it was too salty. . Next time I will use less broth and more milk to make the gravy. 

But I am super grateful to the Lord for helping me and giving me a supernatural strength. . Jesus is our healer. . . He sure healed my marriage and he can heal all of us ..No matter what it is. . .

Love Connie

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," - It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony!* 

Menus for the Week

 {From the Archives of Connie's Letters. May 2012.}


Dear Home Keepers,

On our response group Canaan suggested that we all make out menus for the week.  . I think it is a good idea. . . I used to do this when the family was home. . Anyway hopefully we can all get some good ideas from each other for meals. .

This is how I used to do it . . . On one piece of paper I would write out my menus.. Then on the other paper I would write down the grocery items I would need to make the family meals. .

If Jim was working and got off work in the evening, then I would have the family meal around 5:00. . And if he was working a 2nd shift, I would have a family meal before he went to work in the afternoon. . .

Then we just had simple breakfasts, they varied.  I made barrels of pancakes. . and fried eggs. . Sometimes we had oatmeal or just toast and a glass of milk . . The meals we had when Jim was at work were just leftovers or sandwiches. . . Or just popcorn with a vegetable salad. 

I make the regular popcorn in a skillet on the stove. . Not microwave. To make real popcorn, just put about a fourth cup of oil in a skillet on the stove. . Then pour in about a half cup of popcorn. . Put a lid on it and shake it up a little bit to redistribute the popcorn so it won't burn. . Turn the heat on high ...then turn it down a bit when it starts to pop good  . . . it only takes about 10 minutes to make fresh popcorn.  And oh it is so good .  .We liked to eat apples with our popcorn. . and Kool-Aid to drink. I would eat my popcorn with cheese and dill pickles. . Well it is fun to have popcorn for supper. . I usually drank ice tea with my popcorn. 

The popcorn is done when it stops popping in the skillet . . Be sure to have a big bowl handy to put your popcorn in when it is done popping.  . After it is all done just melt some butter and put it on the popcorn and stir it up with salt sprinkled on it. . Sometimes we would put Parmesan cheese on it..  plus the butter. 

You can even buy bulk popcorn at the Dollar Store now. . And to some of you older ladies - Many younger ladies in this generation don't really even know about cooking popcorn on the stove. That's why I am explaining it. . I am not trying to insult anyone's intelligence.


Love Connie

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," - It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony!* 

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Connie's Kitchen

 

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. January 2010.}

After a chicken dinner, if any chicken or vegetables are left over, just cut up the chicken in bite - sized pieces and put it in a 9 by 13 pan.

 Add some vegetables. . Then cover all of this with gravy or cream of chicken soup . . diluting soup with a bit of water. . keep it thick like gravy.

Bake this in the oven until it bubbles. . Then take this out and drop your homemade biscuits on the top. . 
Crank the oven up to 450 to bake the biscuits.

This makes a hearty meal for a big family with rambunctious boys.

Yesterday I had to shovel as it snowed again. . Also I had to drag my trash to the front of the driveway over chunks of ice, covered in snow. . . Like walking on water?  Frozen water?  It was so slippery. . The cold made me so hungry for biscuits and gravy last evening. . That's what I had for supper . . and potatoes. . It was so good.

One way I used to fix potatoes for our big family was like this:  Just wash the potatoes and leave the skin
on. . .Slice them in half lengthwise and lay them in a baking pan, with oil, cut - side down. . Salt and pepper them and bake them like this in the oven. . We ate these potatoes with ketchup. . I flip these once in the oven so they get done well. . I used to bake these on my cast iron griddle. . I planned to make soup yesterday. . But the biscuits and gravy and potatoes won out.

Love Connie

 * Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," - It is autobiographical - all about homemaking and family life. It also tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony!*