Recipes:

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Oatmeal Yeast Bread

1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup scalded milk
1 cup boiling water
3 cups oatmeal, uncooked
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 packages or cakes yeast
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

Add sugar, salt and shortening to the scalded milk. Pour the milk and the boiling water over the rolled oats, combine well and let stand till lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water, add to the lukewarm oats mixture and beat well. Stir in the flour.

The batter is very rough in appearance. Now, turn out on a floured board and knead for 5 minutes, using more flour if necessary. Dough should be smooth and easy to handle at this point. Place ina greased bowl, grease top of dough, cover. Let rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees), till nearly double, about 45 minutes.

Punch down and divide in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Form into two loaves and place in well-greased bread pans, the 1-pound size. Grease the top of each loaf. Let rise till nearly double, about 1/2 hour. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 60-65 minutes longer. Remove from pan, brush with melted butter and let cool thoroughly. Two loaves, but doubles easily.

I know it takes a while to knead, but use it to good advantage by kneading away your frustrations, by listening to good music, by learning some quotations you've been meaning to memorize, by thinking about all the good things you intend to accomplish in 2001. And believe me, making this bread will be one of them. Do let me know how you like it.

Spicy Chicken Soup

Combine in Crockpot:
3 C. Chicken Broth
1 C. Diced Tomatoes (I use Ro-Tel)
2 C. Water
1 C. Cut-up Raw Chicken
1 3oz. Italian Sausage Link (Cut-Up)
1 C. Med-Sized Shrimp
3 Bay Leaves
1 tsp. Cajun Spices
1/2 C. Brown Rice

Let cook on high for 3-4 hours. Great for chilly January days!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1/2 C. Butter
1 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
2 C. Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Soda
8-12oz. Sour Cream

Mix butter and sugar, add eggs, bet until light and fluffy. Add vanilla then sifted dry ingredients. Last stif in sour cream. I like to add 1 cup of chopped cranberries (mixed with 1/4 C. sugar) to only 8 oz sour cream, then melted 3 T. butter mixed with chopped nuts, some cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinled on top. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Peanut Butter Temptations:

1/2 C. Butter
1/2 C. Peanut Butter
1/2 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 C. Flour
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Bags of Reese Miniatures

Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars together. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Blend in to creamed mixture. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place in 1 1/2 inch muffin tins. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350-375 or until lightly brown. Press peanut butter cup into center of each cookie until only the top of the peanut butter cup is showing. Let cool 10 minutes, then remove from muffin tin to finish cooling. Makes 40-60 cookies.

Hint: I keep the Reeses frozen so they don't melt when pressed into cookie!

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