from generation to generation

About a month ago as I was driving home from work, I started thinking about all of the mouthwatering goodies my Grandma made when my sister and I were growing up. I have fond memories of barely being able to look over the counter top as my Grandma was rolling out her homemade pie crust and trying to contain my excitement when she gave my sister and I the extra dough so that we could make our own miniature versions of the pie she was creating. I remember coming to visit and there ALWAYS being a fresh bakes pie on the counter.....chocolate meringue, apple, cherry, you name it.

Dinners at Grandma's were a must. She always made sure we were fed, even if we popped in unannounced. One of my FAVORITE dishes she made was slippery pot pie. (My mouth is seriously watering just thinking about slippery pot pie.) Every time we went to visit, I secretly hoped there was a pot of this yummy goodness on the stove. More often than not, there was. :)

Needless to say, with all of the times I watched my Grandma whip up this delicious meal, I didn't have a clue as to how to actually make it myself. So when I visited PA a few weeks ago, my sister and I decided to see if our Grandma would pass on the recipe (which she said she never uses) to us. 

So, my friends, I leave you with one of the most treasured cooking experiences I've had. 
I hope you try these recipes for yourself. You truly won't be sorry.

Slippery Pot Pie

Broth
- 1 lb beef cubes, cook until brown
- Add about 1 qt water to get a broth
- Dice 1 (peeled) potato and put in broth
- Cook about 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender

Dough

- 2 ½ to 3 cups of flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 T shortening (heaping spoonfuls)
- With hands, work shortening until the dough crumbles to pea size
- Add a little cold water at a time, work in as you go, until you reach the consistency of pie dough
- Flour rolling surface
- Take a piece of dough, roll into a ball, and rollout as thin as possible (the thinner the better)
- Cut into rectangles
- Wait until broth is boiling to put in the squares – one piece at a time
- Cook until thickened

 Hands are best! It gets a little sticky, but as you add water the consistency gets just right.

The thinner your dough, the better. It'll thicken as it cooks. I got a serious arm workout rolling this dough out! When you finish rolling and cutting your squares, place them one by one into your pot.

Tadaaa! (Thanks for taking notes, Sarah!)

Now......while your pot pie is cooking on the stove, we'll move on to Creamed Lettuce. There is truly nothing like it.

Creamed Lettuce
- chop 1 head of lettuce
- chop 1 onion
- 2 T Miracle Whip
- ¼ c milk
- Almost 1/3 c sugar
- Combine Miracle Whip, milk and sugar together to make dressing
- Add vinegar to taste

Enjoy!

vanilla goodness.

2 posts in 2 days? Watch out blog-world. Actually, this post is coming sooner than expected. 1. My vanilla beans came in the mail today! 2. I am really looking for any excuse to use my new camera. (drool...)

If you're like me, you dread running out of vanilla extract. I haaate spending $7 on those teeeeny bottles. So when I came across a blog that had instructions for making your own vanilla extract, I felt like the heavens parted, and knew I had to try it!

After hunting through the spice aisles at Wal-Mart, Publix, and even Publix Greenwise, I decided to venture into Whole Foods where I finally found whole vanilla beans for a whopping $13.00.
For two.

Amazon to the rescue! The instructions call for 3 vanilla beans per cup of alcohol, and I was somehow able to find 7 beans for 6 bucks. (Including shipping!) The downside to this homemade vanilla extravaganza? It takes 2 months for the vanilla to be ready. Looks like I'll have to settle for store-bought for the next few batches of cookies or muffins.

Take a peek at the process. It was really easy to make, and aside from waiting a week for my vanilla beans to arrive, it only took me about 15 min. to make. (Leaving time for pictures, of course.)