The Plucky Housewives

Homemade Soft Pretzels

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:18:00 PST

Homemade Soft Pretzels - Easy!! I have always enjoyed a good soft pretzel. But, then again, I am a nut for bread, period. Add to that a craving for mustard, and I am drawn into the fresh, hot, soft, warm, delight, smothered with the tang of a good yellow mustard! I am also a pinterest addict. I think I spend more time on pinterest than on Facebook, which seems to be more productive.

Cinnamon Burst Bread

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:15:26 PST

This recipe is a favorite and is based on the yummy bread made by Great Harvest. Its good for eating, toasting, making into french toast and is a super bread if you love bread pudding. This recipe makes four loaves. It can be halved to make two, if needed. 3 T yeast 1/2 c sugar 4 eggs 3-3/4 c warm water 4-1/2 t salt 4-5 T vegetable oil 2-1/2 generous cups (use more if you like) cinnamon

Corn Bread

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:07:52 PDT

A couple of weeks ago, in the throws of school and packing and house hunting, Hawley sent me a bunch of recipes to contribute to the site, cause she knew I was going crazy. Of course, I didn't get to them right away, but here we are and we are back, at least until I have to unplug in a month and relocate my studio/office. But until then, the stories and recipes will once again flow. Thanks for

Update

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:01:36 PDT

As you may have noticed, we have not had a recipe posted in over a week. We are so sorry about that. Life has gotten quite busy and complicated. I am in the middle of coding the website for Plucky Housewives, which we hope to have up in the next few months and an unexpected relocation. We will be moving our home base to Columbia Missouri in a few short weeks and its taking away time from

Hootenanny Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:14:11 PDT

I would love to be able to tell you that my sweet ol Appalachian granny from West Virginia made this wonderful dish, but that would be lying. I have no Appalachian grandma. But we can pretend, right? I have yet to really determine their origins. Most of what I am finding is that they are German - but then again, I could claim my wonderful German grandma used to make these.... shoot, can't do

Arlene's Chicken and Rice Casserole - well sort of...

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 05:00:14 PDT

My mother, dear Arlene, made this chicken and rice casserole often, and I mean often. I swear we had it once a week, at least. It wasn't until I was a single parent that I really understood why it was such a staple. It was easy, it fed a lot of people (and there were a lot of us) and it tasted pretty good. It was one of her signature dishes - well signature casseroles. She even included it

Swedish Meatballs with homemade smashed potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:07:41 PDT

Yesterday was one of those days. No, this week has been one of those weeks, where I just haven't had time or energy to cook. I have lots of ideas, lots of recipes out, but I am not even in the mood to go to the grocery store, let alone cook. That being said, I decided to pull some meats out of the freezer. I had handy a recent delivery of pork products from my favorite local organic farm. I

Muskmelons - A Sundae and a cold summer soup

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:21:17 PDT

My mother grew a plethora of muskmelons. The smaller ones she would bring home and slice then in half, clean out the seeds and scoop vanilla ice cream into the center. Sometimes it was homemade ice cream. She would drizzle homemade hot fudge sauce or a homemade strawberry rhubarb sauce on top. It was incredibly yummy. Try it sometime, its so simple! Here is a fantastic recipe for muskmelon

Citrus Glazed Grilled Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:29:43 PDT

3 T Orange/Pineapple Marmalade2 T Honey3 T pineapple juice2 T olive oil1-2 cloves of garlic - minced6-8 chicken thighs (I used bone in skin on, but you can do skinless/boneless too. Just takes less time to cook)Kosher salt and fresh pepper - to taste In a small bowl, combine the marmalade, honey, juice, olive oil and garlic. Whisk until well incorporated. Prepare your grill before you fire it

Magic Squares

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:22:14 PDT

Yummy Magic Squares - often called 7-layer bars. First put out by Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk I first discovered these treats when I was living in Rockland County New York and working as a nanny. A nanny friend of mine made them for a party. I was surprised I had never had anything like them, considering all of the sweets my mother baked throughout my 23 years, thus far.

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 07:36:04 PDT

Zucchini stuffed with italian sausage, mushrooms and onions I went to the farmer's market yesterday afternoon and picked up some local veggies. I was getting low and was craving the garden-fresh taste of good vegetables. I saw some zucchini that were perfect and grabbed six of them, along with some very colorful cherry tomatoes (even purple ones, which were quite tasty) and walla walla

Amy's Tacos with homemade flour tortillas

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:32:29 PDT

My oldest child Amy is a fantastic cook. Everything she cooks is really good. She married into a family that goes to Lake Powell every summer. They have a tribe of many mouths to feed. This is a recipe that she makes ahead (cuts up the veggies, puts them into ziplock bags) so that al she has to do is heat it up! She made this for our family because we have a tribe to feed as well (when we

Grandma Geiger's Chocolate Chip Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 08:00:05 PDT

My daughter called me today. Once again, it was for a recipe and one I had not included in their cookbooks. That always happens! So as I was typing out the recipe to send to her smart phone, I thought, "what the heck?" Why have I not put this recipe on the blog. So, here it is.... Its an heirloom. She kept a cookie jar full of these at all times, for whenever any of her grandchildren came

Check out the Family Favorites

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 23:00:03 PDT

Our new page - Family Favorites has a recipe listed. Joy's Casserole. Check it out and enjoy!

Grilled Lamb Chops, right from the farm

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 06:39:53 PDT

I love summer, because I love to grill. I have pretty much tried everything on the grill, from the traditional burgers, brats, chicken to roasted veggies and even my roasted Roma tomato sauce. Today, its lamb chops. We get our lamb from a great local farm, Ruegsegger Farms. Their meats are fabulous and we have enjoyed helping to support our local farmers. The lamb chops are lightly rubbed

Greek Egg-Lemon Soup (Avgolemono)

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 06:40:08 PDT

Avgolemono Soup(Greek Egg-Lemon Soup)8 cups chicken stock (use your own homemade or you can buy good chicken stock (not broth) over the counter at your local grocery store. I make my own, cause I like the added flavors)1-1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta6 egg yolks (room temperature)16 oz heavy cream (room temperature)5 Meyer lemons, juiced (should be about 1/4 c of lemon juice, but it all will vary

Carson Gulley's Fudge Bottom Pie

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 06:35:05 PDT

When trolling a Facebook group this week about growing up in Madison, a discussion was started about Carson Gulley's Black Bottom Pie. I had long forgotten about this decadent dessert and was quickly transported back to days sitting in the union, having wandered down with friends just for an excuse to have some of this pie. I was surprised to see that a large number of people were involved in

A Dixie Banana Pudding Trifle - my "Chopped" moment...

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:00:17 PDT

A "Dixie" pudding/trifle I have to tell the story behind this one. I needed to make a dessert for a funeral lunch of a dear friend. It had been an exhausting weekend and start to the week and my grandiose plans of some fabulous and intricate yummy dessert were left behind because of shear exhaustion. I looked through the freezer and cupboards and found the following: A 1/2 sheet cake in

Gnocchi (to go with those Grilled Lamb Chops)

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:10:56 PDT

I love anything potato. I did not have an Italian grandma who taught me how to make these (I sure wish I did). I ate them once, fell in love with them. Im German and Irish, like I wouldn't love anything with so much potato???? I discovered that they are not as difficult as they seem and they are just so good. Its also that making fresh dough thing. There is something

Key Lime Pie

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 06:31:45 PDT

Key Lime Pie. CRUST1-1/2 c crushed graham crackers3 T sugar5 T butter, melted PIE FILLING2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk8 large egg yolksZest of 2 lime1 c key lime juice (approximately 20-30 key limes, depending on how juicy they are) Few tips: For the Key Lime juice, you have a couple of choices - you can squeeze fresh key limes or you can use bottled Key lime juice. If you choose to

Fajitas - Grilling Friday Repost

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 05:23:10 PDT

June 10, 2011 Weekend Grilling Menu - for 6-8 folks Beef (or Chicken) FajitasFlour Tortillas (homemade or store bought - its all up to you)Grilled peppers and onionsCreamy guacamoleTomatilla SalsaGrilled CornTexas Chocolate Sheet Cake Marinade1 lime, juiced and zest1 lemon, juice and zest2 cloves of garlic, crushed1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped1 t kosher salt1 t cumin1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

Guacamole

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 05:19:25 PDT

Creamy yummy Guacamole I think we have referred to the use of guacamole several times in previous posts, so it seems appropriate that we include a great guacamole recipe. I prefer a creamy guacamole, primarily because it was the only way I could get my kids (or at least a couple of my kids) to try it. One of my girls refused to eat it until a few years ago. I dont think she believed me when

Baked Potato Skins

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:15:42 PDT

Delicious Smoky Potato Skins I set out last weekend to make some homemade gnocchi. Every now and then I like to immerse my hands in dough, be it bread dough or pasta dough. I think it’s the touch and taste and smell combination. It is also very therapeutic. But, anyway, where was I going with this? I made gnocchi. I bake my potatoes (instead of boiling them) and I was scooping out the

Check it Out

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:06:41 PDT

Over on our Gadget Tab is a great recipe for Key Lime Pie. The What is This tab features Meyer Lemons and a wonderfully refreshing Greek Egg-Lemon soup (Avgolemono). Go over and have a try!

Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

noreply@blogger.com (The Plucky Housewives) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:36:14 PDT

Grandma’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Pie crust – double (for crust and top)2 c strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced 2 c fresh rhubarb, chopped1 c sugar2 T cornstarch 1/2 t lemon zest 1/2 t lemon juice 3 T butter, cubed, small. 1 egg mixed with 1 t water for glazing1-2 T decorative white sugar crystals Prepare pie crust recipe as directed, making sure you have enough pie crust for top and bottom