The Farm Girl Recipes (2024)

We are snowed in here. How about you? I saw the storms all over the States and so thankful that we still have power and are enjoying being cooped up inside and warm.

When it starts to snow I immediately want to make something warm and yummy. Soup usually wins out but the crockpot is near the top of my list too.

I've mentioned in the past we are a meat loving family. I try to limit how much meat we eat but I grew up in a house where we raised our own chickens (for meat and for eggs), raised a cow to butcher and put in the freezer, and bought a pig from the local fair to add to freezer too.

So needless to say I have meat on the brain when it comes to dinner. I really have to work hard on finding ways to make something without meat.

One thing I loved growing up was my mom's meatloaf. Simple, delicious, and no weird things hiding in it. My kids love meatloaf too. So when I came across this idea of putting the meatloaf in the crockpot--I was stoked. What a great idea!

The meat was delicious and moist, had great flavor and was so easy to throw in the crockpot while we played in the snow and snuggled inside.

We have had the coldest winter. I don't remember a colder one since I was young. It use to be totally normal to have snow on the ground all through winter, but not in the past 15 years, it has been super mild.

Because of the cold we spend a lot of time inside. When the high is not even in the teens for weeks at a time and the low is in the negatives we try to stay as warm as possible.

And my favorite method for staying warm is making delicious food. And it gives me lots of time to experiment and try new things. One of my goals this year is to make my very own recipe.

Well guess what!!!!!

I did it and it turned out fantastic. I thought I would start out with something that needed a little update. Sloppy Joes get a bad rap for being disgusting (just ask my kids about their school ones---uuggghhh so gross!!). Well I wanted to change that and what better way than throwing it in the crock pot (what a wonderful invention that thing is!).

All of us absolutely loved this. I was so shocked on how well it turned out. Sometimes you just never know what to expect, especially as you are just guessing in the beginning, but wow!! This is our new favorite by far for dinner. Hope you try it and love it as much as we did.

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

(click here for printable version)

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup cooked, chopped bacon
1 small onion, diced finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Buns, toasted (I used this homemade version)

1. In a large frying pan, over medium high heat, cook beef and onion until meat is completely cooked through and onions are soft. Transfer mixture to the bowl of your crockpot. Add garlic, tomatoes, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, lemon juice, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir till completely combined and incorporated.

2. Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours. Serve on toasted buns with your favorite cheese (we love Havarti). Enjoy!

Sometimes I get a major craving for chinese food. Living where we do (small town Idaho) the chinese food is pretty good.

It's nothing to write home about but it's not bad.

Every time we go on vacation we usually end up at PF Changs sometime in the midst of our trip because I love their food. On a side note is PF Changs authentic chinese food? I am of the opinion that it's americanized but since I live in America I'll claim it as chinese because frankly I don't really want to eat salted duck eggs.

I have two favorites at PF Changs, lettuce wraps and the broccoli beef. I always think I am going to branch out but EVERY time I resort back to these favorites.

Because of that I am always looking for copycat recipes or even something better to make at home. Well ladies and gentlemen, I think I have found THE one. This broccoli beef was amazing!!! The hubs and I thought we had almost died and gone to heaven. This definitely a keeper. So delicious :)

The Best Broccoli Beef

(click here for printable version)

Sauce:
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp low-sodium chicken broth
5 tbsp oyster sauce (this is very hard to find so you can also substitute hoisin sauce)
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp cornstarch

Beef and Broccoli:
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 pounds flank steak, cut into 2-inch-wide strips with the grain, then sliced across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices
2 tbsp minced garlic
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 tbsp)
1 tsp peanut oil or vegetable oil, plus extra for cooking
1 1/4 pounds broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup water
3 medium scallions, sliced 1/2-inch thick on diagonal, optional

1. In a medium bowl, combine beef and soy sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, whisk the sauce ingredients together in a liquid measure or small bowl. In another small bowl, combine garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon peanut oil. Set aside.

2. Heat 1-2 teaspoons peanut oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot and rippling. Add half of beef to skillet and break up clumps; cook, without stirring, for 1 minute, then stir and cook until beef is browned around edges and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes.

– cook until just barely cooked through so the meat stays tender. Transfer beef to a medium bowl and cover with a lid and tin foil. Heat another 1-2 teaspoons peanut oil in the skillet and repeat with remaining beef.

3. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to now-empty skillet; heat until rippling and hot. Add broccoli and cook 30 seconds; add water, cover pan, and lower heat to medium. Steam broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Push the broccoli to the sides of the skillet and add the garlic/ginger mixture. Cook, mashing the mixture with a spoon, until fragrant, about 15-30 seconds. Stir the mixture into the broccoli. Add the beef back to skillet and toss to combine. Whisk the sauce to recombine and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with scallions, and serve with white or brown rice. Enjoy!

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe via America's Test Kitchen

Is it still grillin' season at your house?

We use our grill as long as possible. We are still having very warm days with chilly nights so we are loving being outside.

One thing that never gets old on the grill is hamburgers. The kids love them, I love them, and they are perfect for football parties. We love watching college football at our house and all the fun bbq/party food we get to eat.

I think sliders (aka small hamburgers) are ideal for football parties, bbq parties, and kids. My son can eat a full-size hamburger but the rest of my kids can't but they always want their own hamburger and leave at least half on their plate. Sliders solves the problem.

Woot! They get their own hamburger, which they are excited about, and I don't have to worry about them wasting their food.

Plus when it's smaller, it seems like it has fewer calories!

Note: I make our own hamburger buns so I make them little to fit the sliders. That way you don't have to worry about finding rolls/buns to fit.

BBQ Bacon Sliders

1 1/2 pds. lean ground beef

8 strips bacon, chopped and cooked well

1 Tbsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 c. mayo

1/4 c. bbq sauce

Small buns

Toppings: (cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions and mushrooms--the hubbies favorite, etc.)

1. In a medium bowl combine beef with cooked bacon and steak seasoning, mixing well. Set aside.

2. In small bowl combine minced garlic, mayo, and bbq sauce. Add half the mixture to the beef and stir till completely incorporated. Cover the remaining mayo and keep in fridge until you are ready to serve the hamburgers.

3. Make small patties and grill until completely cooked through. (Hint: to make the patties not bulge in the middle, put a thumb size indent in the top of each one before cooking) Serve with your favorite toppings and remaining mayo. Enjoy!

One thing you should know about farmers: they always know what the weather is and will be.

I didn't think of it much until I got married. It was very routine in my house growing up. You always watched the news and it was pretty much only for the weather.

One would often hear, "Quick we don't want to miss the weather" in my house. We would all run, turn on the TV and watch the weather section. Then the tv went off and everyone went to bed.

Everything centered around this important bit of information. Why?

Because whatever you needed to do depended on the weather. Because my family are hay farmers it mattered even more. Everything changed depending on what that weatherman said (and sophisticated weather data hanging around the house).

So naturally when I got married, I did the same thing. I couldn't go to sleep until I had watched the weather and I even had a thermometer that sat outside and would relay inside all sorts of weather information. My husband loves to tease me about it. He even knows to put a weather chart on my google homepage so I can always see what the weather is.

I am better now. I can actually go to sleep without watching the news but still I love to know the temperature outside. Especially on days like today.

We went from having sun to sprinkles to wind to pouring rain to thunder to hail and then back to rain in a matter of minutes. Idaho weather is so fickle, but hey we at least have moisture. Another very important thing farmers always know, but hey that's a different post!

On to these skewers. We love to put pretty much everything on skewers especially as summer comes around. This one was very delicious. It was mild enough that my kids loved it but very tasty. If you have great weather enjoy your barbecuing, I'm afraid we have to wait awhile for that here!

Thai Orange Beef Skewers

1 orange

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 T. honey

1T. sesame oil

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. coriander

4 cloves garlic

2-4 t. Sriracha chili sauce (in the Asian aisle--has a rooster on the bottle)

1 1/2 lb flank steak

1. Zest your orange and add all of the zest to a medium bowl. Cut the orange in half and add all of the juice to the bowl, at least a 1/4 c.--if you have more that is fine. To the orange mixture, add the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, coriander, and garlic. Then add Sriracha to your liking, I used 2 t. so it would be child friendly. Whisk the marinade until combined.

2. Cut the flank steak across the grain into about 1/4" slices, this will soften the steak and make it tender.

Preheat your grill. Take your skewers, pre-soaked if you're using wood/bamboo ones, and thread on the strips of meat, just like you're stitching. Place them on the grill. Cook for 2 minutes and flip. They cook very quickly so watch carefully. Overcooked flank steak is very chewy. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Let me tell you a secret about my daughters--okay it's probably not a secret anymore but they Never, Ever get enough of Spaghetti. If dinner was up to them we would have it every night, it's not a joke! Every time I ask them what they might want, as a chorus, they say, "Spaghetti"! Sometimes I get sick of it so in an effort to make for them I try to do something different each time. We have tried it with focaccia bread, with cheesy bread to name a few, but this time we tried meatballs. They were fantastic and so easy to make. I loved the gooey, cheesy middle and dressed up the spaghetti into a fancy, albeit, frequent dinner!

I love meatloaf. It was one dish I had a lot growing up. I didn't even think about putting zucchini in it until I came upon this recipe. It keeps the meatloaf very moist, and the best part is that the kids don't even notice the vegetables! Try adding Heinz 57 Sauce to the Topping mixture if you want a little variety.

2eggs, slightly beaten

2c. shredded zucchini (1 large or 2 small)

1/3c. plain bread crumbs

1/3c. chopped onion

1t. salt

1/2t. dried oregano leaves

1/4t. pepper

1 1/2lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

2 T. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. ketchup

1t. yellow mustard

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix all meat loaf ingredients until well blended. Press mixture into ungreased 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass pie plate. Bake 35 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard. Remove meat loaf from oven; pour off drippings. Spread topping over meat. Return to oven; bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until thoroughly cooked in center (at least 160°F in the middle). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe is special in our house. This is the first dish that I ever made my husband when we were dating. At the time we were both poor college students, but I lived off much better food than him (at least I think I did, I didn't eat everything out of a box or the microwave). When I made him this, he thought life couldn't get any better. Men and their food!

Meatballs:

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. milk

2 T. ketchup

1 t. worchestershire sauce

3/4 c. quick oats

1/2 t. onion powder

1/4 c. parsley

1 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

3 T. flour

Cream Sauce:

4 T. butter

4 T. flour

1/2 t. thyme

salt/pepper to taste

1 (14oz) can chicken broth

1 c. milk

3 T. parsley

* Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl combine egg, milk, worchestershire sauce, ketchup, oats, onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 in. balls and roll in flour, shaking off excess. Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 22-25 minutes, turning meatballs over after 10 minutes.

* While meatballs are cooking make sauce. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, thyme, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add broth and milk, whisking until smooth. Bring to a boil, stirring occansionally. Cook until thickened and bubbly.

* Drain meatballs on paper towels. Serve over rice with sauce.

I found this recipe on Blogchef and we really enjoyed it. We eat chicken enchiladas quite a bit so it was nice to have a change, plus I loved the rice in it. It has great flavor, hope you enjoy.

1lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup water
2 cups rice, cooked
1 16 oz can refried beans
2 cups shredded cheese, divided
10, 8 inch, flour tortillas
Red Sauce-
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon onion, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 ½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried parsley
¼ cup salsa
1 6 oz. can tomato sauce
1 ½ cups water

* To make enchilada sauce- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the onion, chili powder, oregano, basil, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, parsley, tomato sauce and salsa. Mix well and then stir in the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

* In large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat. Drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice. Cook and stir until the liquid is evaporated. Spread 2 tablespoon refried beans, ¼ cup ground beef mixture, and 1 tablespoon of cheese down the center of each flour tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Repeat until all tortillas are filled. Top enchiladas with red sauce and with the remaining cheese.

* Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and the cheese has melted.

Do you need a easy fast recipe for dinner? This is one of my son's favorites. It is quick, simple and easy.

1 lb hamburger

1 small onion, chopped

1 t. worchestershire sauce

2 cans cream mushroom soup

1 can milk

2 c. cheddar cheese

1 package tater-tots

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In saucepan cook hamburger, breaking into small pieces, and onion, season as you want ( I usually just add a little garlic and some seasoning salt). When done add worchestershire sauce, mushroom soup and milk, using one of the mushroom soup cans. Pour into 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle cheese over hamburger mixture. Arrange tater-tots on top of cheese, covering the entire mixture. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!

This is great to do for dinner on the night you make bread. Very yummy and my kids love it.

1 lb hamburger

Taco Seasoning

1 can drained, black beans

Cheese

Sourcream

Lettuce, chopped

Tomatoes, chopped

Salsa

Anything else you like on tacos

* Heat up oil in fry pan. Pinch off small pieces of dough and spread out on greased surface using your fingers. You can make them as big or as small as you want. Put them in oil and fry until light brown on each side. Drain on paper towels.

* Meanwhile, cook hamburger thoroughly, breaking into small pieces. Add seasonings and black beans. Then take your scone and layer on each topping. Meat, cheese, sourcream, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and any other toppings you enjoy.