Home Made Brownies

This weekend I had a Family Reunion to attend and I was asked to bring a dessert to pass. I wanted to bring something everybody would like and eat, so I decided to make my homemade Brownies. This recipe comes from my grandmother and it makes anywhere from 32 to 40 nice size brownies. So today I will give you my grandmother’s Homemade Buttermilk Brownies Recipe.

Buttermilk Brownies

1 Cup Water                                                    1 cup Butter or Margarine

1/3 Cup Cocoa (dry)                                       2 Cups Flour

2 Cups Sugar                                                   1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Salt                                               2 Slightly Beaten Eggs

½ Cup Buttermilk or (milk)                            1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla

Frosting

¼ Cup Butter or Margarine                           3 Tablespoons Cocoa (dry)

3 Tablespoons Buttermilk or (milk)              2 ¼ Cups Confectioners’ sugar

½ Cup Chopped Walnuts (optional)              ½ teaspoon Vanilla

1.   

    In a saucepan, combine butter, cocoa, and one cup of water. Bring to a boil; stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.

2.     

  In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; stir in beaten eggs, buttermilk or milk, and vanilla.

3.     

  Add hot cocoa mixture; mix till blended.

4.    

   Pour into a greased 15 ½ x 10 ½ 1 inch baking pan.

5.    

   Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

6.       Immediately pour Frosting over the brownies; spread evenly over brownies.

7.       Cool; cut into bite-size bars.

Buttermilk Frosting

1.       In a saucepan, mix ¼ cup butter or margarine, 3 Tablespoons cocoa (dry), and 3 Tablespoons buttermilk or milk.

2.      

Cook and stir till boiling; remove from heat.

3.       Beat in 2 ¼ Cups confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup Walnuts (optional) and ½ teaspoon Vanilla.

4.     

  Pour over hot brownies right out of the oven.

5.     

  I start making the frosting when there are about 5 minutes left for the brownies to cook, this way my frosting is ready when the brownies come out of the oven.

6.       Note: this recipe can be made with buttermilk or regular milk. They both taste great.

Making this recipe brings back so many fond memories of baking with my grandmother. She used to make these brownies every Sunday when we came to visit. Making old-time recipes are a fun way to connect with your own children or grandchildren. I hope you try this easy Homemade brownie recipe, my family loved it along with the rest of the family at our Family Reunion. Making things from scratch is so much better than buying a brownie mix from a store and tastes so much better. I hope you like my homemade Buttermilk Brownie Recipe from Suzie Homemaker.

Homemade Beef Jerky

                A while back I had a reader compliment me on my dehydrating video. He said that I showed him how to make fruit roll-ups in a very easy way from fresh fruit. Then he asked me to do a blog post on how to make homemade beef jerky. Since his request, I have had several more people asking me to do a blog post on making beef jerky. So today I will give you my homemade beef jerky sauce recipe and show you how I make beef jerky with my dehydrator.

What You Will Need

              

  Dehydrator  and trays                                          2# Beef Roast of any kind

                Serrated knife                                                      1 large bowl with an airtight lid

                1 small bowl for mixing sauce                             non-stick spray

Beef Jerky Recipe

              

  2# Beef Roast of any kind                                   ½ cup Soy Sauce

                ½ cup Worcestershire Sauce                               1 Tablespoon Liquid Smoke

                1 teaspoon Garlic Salt                                         ¼ cup Ketchup

                Pepper to taste

1.      

Take your beef roast out of the freezer and do not thaw. It is much easier to cut thin pieces while the beef roast is frozen.

2.      

With a serrated knife start cutting very thin pieces.   While it is frozen it is easier to trim the excess fat of too.

3.      

Take your thin cut pieces of beef and place them into the large bowl.

4.     

  Mix up your sauce with the recipe above. Depending on how hot you like your beef jerky add your pepper.

5.      

Pour your sauce over your thin cut pieces of beef. Put your cover on tightly and shake the bowl so the sauce will coat the beef.  Leave the sauce on the beef for at least 2 hours, shaking it up every 20 to 30 minutes to evenly coat your beef.

6.      

Put a tray on the bottom with a fruit roll-up insert in it to catch any liquid while dehydrating.

7.     

  As you start taking out your thin strips of beef soak them in the liquid a little bit before putting them on a tray. I recommend using some non-stick spray on your trays first so the thin strips of beef do not stick.

8.   

    About 2 to 3 hours into your drying start flipping your beef around so they dry evenly.  This is the time to also flip your trays around so they dry evenly.

9.       Every dehydrator is different so you will have to check your directions on temperature and times of how to dehydrate your beef jerky. I use an American Harvest Dehydrator and my beef jerky will take most of the day to dehydrate.

10.   Always check on your beef jerky when you think it is almost done. Depending on how chewy or hard you like your beef jerky is when it is done. I ended up with 5 trays of beef jerky.

11. 

  Put into a sealed bag or bowl and enjoy.

Making beef jerky is an all-day process but well worth the wait. Beef jerky in the store is so expensive. This is why I make my own. This whole batch will cost me less than $7 dollars. Needless to say, I’ll be lucky if this beef jerky makes it more than 2 days in my house. My family loves this beef jerky. I hope you like my recipe for homemade beef jerky at a fraction of the price you pay in the store. Yummy Beef jerky from Suzie Homemaker.

                

French Apple Wedges

How many people love the smell of cinnamon and apples baking in the house? I know I do. So I pulled out an old recipe that my grandmother used to make for us when I was little. This recipe has been a favorite of mine and my family for years. So while I was home and not working I decided to make this recipe and share it with my readers today. If you like apples, this recipe took me 1 hour to mix up and bake.

What you will need

1 large mixing bowl for mixing all your ingredients.

Measuring cups and spoons

1 zip lock bag

A rolling pin

1 9 inch round or square tin

French Apple Wedges

2 eggs                                                   2 teaspoons vanilla

1½ cups sugar                                      ½ cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon                           ½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt                                     2 cups chopped apples   (any variety of baking apple)

1 cup chopped nuts                               1 teaspoon baking soda

In a large bowl, beat your eggs and vanilla.

Add your sugar, flour, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and mix well.

Take your nuts (any variety), and put into a zip lock bag.

With your rolling pin crush your nuts

. Add your nuts to your mixture and mix well.

Peel and core your apples.

Start cutting your apples into little wedges.

I used Macintosh apples. Add your apples to the mixture and stir well.

Pour into a 9 inch round or square tin.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. When crust starts turning golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, your Apple wedge dessert is done.

This dessert is great right out of the oven with ice cream or cool whip on top. Enjoy a sweet apple treat anytime.

I hope you enjoy my grandmother's recipe for French Apple Wedges from Suzie Homemaker.

Easy Potato Pancake Recipe

I thought today I would give you a quick and easy recipe I make for my husband and myself.  If you need a quick and easy recipe to make in a hurry this one you will like, My husband loves potato pancakes, but I make mine with a little twist. I don’t actually have a recipe but I will show you how I make these potato pancakes step by step.  From start to finish this recipe took less than 30 minutes to make and fry up in a frying pan.

Potato Pancake Recipe

Things you will need

1 very large potato or a big scoop of mashed potatoes           ½ cup any flavor cheese

¼ cup chopped onion                                                            1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 scrambled egg                                                                    Salt and Pepper to taste

Grater, cooking spray, frying pan, spatula, knife, and a big bowl

This recipe makes 6 four inch round pancakes.

1.       Take one very large potato or a big scoop of mashed potatoes. Peel and wash the potato.

2.       Take a grater and grate your potato and place into a large bowl.

3.       Chop up ¼ cup onion and add to potatoes.

4.       Grate up ½ cup of cheese. I used Cheddar Cheese, but any cheese will work.

5.       Add 1 Teaspoon of minced garlic.

6.       Add 1 scrambled egg.

7.       Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

8.       Mix everything together in the big bowl.

9.       Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray, so the pancakes don’t stick to the pan.

10.   Take a heaping spoonful and place in the middle of the pan. Press down to make them flat.

11.   Fry your potato pancakes on medium heat until golden brown. Flip over and fry the other side to a golden brown.

12.   Time to eat and enjoy.

When you are short on time and you want something quick and easy to make, try this recipe. You can add just about anything you want to this recipe.  I make these when I have no idea what to make because I know my husband will approve every time. Leftover potatoes can really make a quick and delicious meal. This recipe can be for breakfast, dinner or supper. I hope you enjoy my Potato Pancake recipe from Suzie Homemaker.