Mother’s Pot Roast

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 pound shoulder or sirloin tip roast
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 medium onion, cut into thin strips
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: more…

 by: Ann Crabtree

The following recipe is more involved, but really turns out delicious. Turnovers are meant to be saved for dessert, as an alternative to the traditional apple pie. If your guests are really feeling decadent, serve the turnovers with vanilla ice cream. Yum! Yum! more…

“French vanilla,” made with an egg yolk based custard far surpasses “Philadelphia-style” vanilla, made without eggs. It has far more of the richness and creaminess that we look for in ice cream. While as few as three yolks in a quart recipe makes an excellent ice cream, six yolks makes for an optimum silky texture without tasting eggy. more…

by: Ann Crabtree

To some of us the work of home canning, conjures up visions of grandmother spending endless hot hours over a stove, diligently working just to insure the family had plenty to eat during the upcoming long hard winter. It used to be that nearly everyone who had a garden put something up for the cold months. Simply put, raising a garden and canning was their way of life. Then seems that over the years, lack of time “to do yourself” or perhaps “progress” has eradicated that lifestyle into nothing but a fading memory. What with the hustle and bustle of this modern day life, wherein we can so conveniently “drive up,” ” run through,” “call up,” pour water hot over it, “order out,” microwave it, etcetera, well you get the picture, why bother with gardening and home canning? But stop for a moment and really think about it, what are we really eating? Do you know, I repeat DO YOU REALLY KNOW what you are eating? Do you know what’s in it, who prepared it, how it was prepared? I think not! With today’s concerns of the safety of our food, it is time to resurrect this time-honored tradition. By canning your own food, you control how it’s prepared and what goes into it. You are not forced to eat foods with additives and pesticides, or somehow altered and the lasting effects of such experimentation will only be revealed in some future time. more…

Hey here at The Message Tree, we just love Italian food, so while we’re in the mood to cook outside why not some grilled chicken that has been marinated in Italian seasonings!!! more…

What a better way to enjoy Summer than to cook outside over a barbecue grill, after all who wants to fire up that oven and heat up the kitchen? But what about our favorite foods that require baking? How about Pizza on the grill? And why order in when you can make your own dough and cook the fun way, out in the backyard. more…

2 medium zucchini squash, diced
2 medium yellow squash, diced
6 green onions, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cubed
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup any Italian dressing
Just toss vegetables with the dressing and and chill for 1 hour before serving. Optional: salt and black pepper to taste.

Yield: 4-6 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 container (8-oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package dry instant butterscotch pudding
1 can (8-oz) crushed pineapple with juice
3 cups diced apples
1 cup dry roasted nuts
1 cup marshmallows
DIRECTIONS:
Mix cool whip, butterscotch pudding and crushed pineapple
with juice. Add apples, roasted nuts and marshmallows.
Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.