Grandma Jean's Oatmeal Rocks!

My Grandma Jean would have turned 96 years old today if she was still with us cooking in the kitchen, working on her crewel stitching, talking with fellow friends, reading her favorite mystery novels, and just being a grandma to us.

In honor of her, my daughters and I decided to bake one of her favorite cookie recipes...Oatmeal Rocks! (no they are not really rock hard, it is just what her family called them). I remember cooking in her kitchen, baking this special family recipe that her great-great grandma would make for her and her 11 brothers and sisters. We use to bake these cookies together and then create a special care package for my uncle who was in the military.

As the years have gone by, we still bake these oatmeal goodies. Today my daughters learned the family recipe. It was such a fun day and we wanted to share it with you.

Happy Birthday Grandma Jean! We love you!

Oatmeal Rocks!

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup lard or butter
2 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

4 Tablespoons sweet milk

1 teaspoon baking soda (dissolve in milk)

pinch of salt

Dates, raisins and nuts - as many as you like

Mix all together and drop on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes.

The girls also enjoyed dunking them in milk..ohlalala yummy!

Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup

A new little bundle of joy joined my sister/brother-in-laws family about three weeks ago.  My sister and brother-in-law had a little girl. We have been calling her “Sweet Pea” for many months. Her three big brothers are already protective of her, can you believe it? And my "little mamas" wanted to hold her and never let her go, they just love babies and of course, now they have a little baby girl in the family!

A group of ladies and I each selected a day to bring a meal over to my sister, brother-in-law and nephews, so that they did not have to cook. It was just one less thing that they did not have to do and be pampered for a little while longer! My family and I brought one of our favorite recipes, Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup. I made this recipe for my parents one night and the loved it too!

Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup

1 large onion, diced
3 T. olive oil
1 pound of smoked sausage or kielbasa, cut into bite-sized pieces (we also have substituted turkey sausage)
2 cloves of crushed garlic
4 carrots cut into small cubes
3 cups of white beans
5 cups of chicken stock
3 cups of chopped kale (our family uses roughly about 1 ½ cups)
Salt and pepper

Chop and sauté your onions and garlic (until they are golden brown) in olive oil in a large stock pot. Add your sausage and cook until it is the desired tenderness that you like. Add carrots and sauté so that they are incorporated into the onion and garlic mixture.

Add the chicken stock, white beans and kale. Simmer for roughly for one-hour. It goes great with hearty bread.