Oriental Cole Slaw

Although I enjoy regular coleslaw from time to time, occasionally, it's nice to mix things up a bit. I recently took this dish to a church potluck dinner and came home with only a few bites left in the bowl. Bill didn't care for it, but it was something outside of his normal comfort zone of food.

Oriental Cole Slaw:

Ingredients:

1 lb coleslaw

½ c sunflower seeds

½ c oil

½ c almond slices

½ c sugar

¼ c apple cider vinegar

1 pkg Ramen Noodles - chicken flavor

Directions:

Break up the Ramen Noodles in a bowl.  Using a wire whisk, mix the season package from the Ramen Noodles with oil, vinegar and sugar. Toss all ingredients together and serve.

Break up the Ramen Noodles in a bowl.

 

 

Save the seasoning packet and mix it with the oil, vinegar and sugar.

Should look like this when it's mixed.

 



 

Add the coleslaw to the bowl.

 



 

Add the sunflowers...

 

Add the almonds (you can toast them beforehand if you like)...

 

Add the Ramen Noodles...

 



 

Add the oil, vinegar, sugar and seasoning packet and toss/mix until well coated.

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

I've only made mashed potatoes in the slow cooker one other time in my life and I was asked to make them this year for Thanksgiving meal at church.  After looking through what seemed an endless amount of recipes...I finally decided to combine the ingredients of about 3 of them to see how it came out.  I am pleased to say that they were good, edible and gone. 

 

 

Ingredients:

5 pounds of potatoes, peeled and cut into about 1" chunks

3 cubes of chicken bouillon

1 (8oz) pkg of cream cheese

1 (8oz) container of sour cream

1/2 to 1 cup warmed milk

salt and pepper to taste

1 stick of butter

 

Directions:

Peel and cut potatoes into about 1" chunks (you can actually do this step the night before and put them in a bowl with water over them until ready to use). Turn your slow cooker on the warm setting.  Get a pot of lightly salted, boiling water going on the stove.  Once the water is boiling, add the bouillon cubes and stir until dissolved.  Add the potatoes and cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are firm, but tender.  Drain the potatoes, reserving some of the water (about 2 cups).  I then put my potatoes, sour cream and cream cheese in my Kitchen Aid and beat them on low speed until they were well blended.  Add enough milk to get to the desired consistency that you like.  Add salt and pepper.  Transfer the potatoes to the slow cooker and keep on low or the warm setting until ready to serve (will keep well for about 2 hours).  If the potatoes begin to thicken before it's time to stir, add a little of the broth water to it and stir.  Right before serving, add the butter.

 



I'm so excited!

Okay, you probably can't read the letter at all, but maybe you recognize the Gooseberry Patch symbol at the top?  About a month ago, I received an email from Gooseberry Patch asking about one of my recipes and that they would like to feature it in an upcoming cookbook.  This weekend, I got the letter in the mail that made it official!

My, "Sweet Pepper Sausage Bake" recipe will be included in their upcoming cookbook, "Foolproof Family Recipes" coming out in June of 2014.  Totally made me day, and to celebrate, I added the recipe below.

On a side note, we finally have all of our crops in and for the most part it was a great harvest.  No accidents, no major repairs and everyone did their part and more.  Thank you to all the farmers out there who work day (and sometimes most of the night) to help feed the world, but mostly, for doing something they love!

Make it a great week everyone!


Sweet Pepper Sausage Bake

(for pictures, visit: http://thefarmerswifein.blogspot.com/2013/02/sweet-pepper-sausage-bake.html_
Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium sized onion
1 bag of sweet peppers, cleaned and sliced
1 package of skinless smoked sausage
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper


Directions:
Peel, wash and cube the potatoes. Wash of the peppers and slice them lengthwise as thick or thin as you want them. Do the same with the onions. Slice the sausage into bite size pieces. Put all ingredients in a large bowl and coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the aluminum foil. Pour the ingredients of the bowl on the sheet of aluminum foil, making sure everything is evenly coated in the olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top and cover with another layer of aluminum foil sealing the top and bottom pieces together. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve.