Ozark Trail Bars

I'm on a mission to find a recipe after having Stone Mill's Ozark Blueberry Trail Bars yesterday. My Mother-in-law and I had a 10 o'clock appointment with AARP's free tax preparers at the Boys and Girl's Club in South Fayetteville. She was anxious to have her taxes done, we always worry we're going to have to pay... don't we? She got good news/bad news, the good news is she didn't have to pay and the bad... she didn't get any money back! Oh well, we felt rich somehow when we left there so we headed for a quick lunch at Stone Mill's Bakery and Cafe down on Gregg Street.

They are famous for their whole grain breads and have a delicious menu of homemade soups and sandwiches. It was a cold, blustery day so we both chose a bowl of Chicken and Dumpling soup. It came with two chunks of their crusty French Bread and butter, YUM! The soup was so good, little pinches of dumplings in a thick golden broth. I just know there's a Grandma back there in the kitchen making this one!

Since we were good and just had soup, well kinda good since we both scrarfed down the buttered bread... we decided we'd try the delicious looking Ozark Trail Bars that we saw in the bakery case as we ordered our soup. It was a little hard to look away from the giant iced cinnamon rolls, but they were the size of my hand and I can only eat so much! I went back up to the counter and ordered a mixed berry bar for me and a blueberry bar for Mom. They menu says they are made with whole wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt flours. In fact most of their breads are made without any fat, eggs or dairy. Now I'm on an Internet search for a recipe and it's not easy. Anyone have an idea how they did this magic trick... they were out of the this world delicious!

I didn't take my camera, but a quick Google search and I'm finding pictures that "look like" the bars, just not the healthy ingredients. Then I had the bright idea to see if anyone had posted a recipe to Pinterest. Lots of great recipes to try, even its not THE one!

Madison County, Arkansas

Friday we started off on a little jaunt over to Madison County. I had the bright idea that it would be fun to take my Mother and Father-in-law to a great little cafe at Hindsville called the Valley Inn. It's been there a long time, alongside old highway 412 about halfway between Fayetteville and Huntsville, Arkansas. I had taken my Mom there on several occasions, it's one of those places with local flavor... waitresses that knew the 75 residents of Hindsville by their first names. In fact, they probably knew what they were going to order before they even opened their mouths! Hindsville is an old town, built in the 1890's. Still standing are a row of stone buildings that house an Arvest Bank, an antique store and the Valley Inn. We told them we were going to a NEW place to eat, but not exactly where! I knew they would love the food, homemade plates of chicken and dressing, meatloaf or ham and sweet potatoes with sides of greens, fried okra or butter beans.

It was a beautiful, sunny day and it was fun as we drove along enjoying the rolling hills and pastures with happy cows up to their bellies in green grass. It's a good time to be a cow in Arkansas right now with all of the rain we've had this spring!

We know highway 45 like the back of our hand, but when we got to where it joined the new 412 we turned right. After just a few miles, we knew we had went the wrong way. Just a spot in the road, it would be easy to miss. We turned around and went back, then realized that the familiar road had been bypassed by progress. In 2007 Highway 412 took a more direct route and left the quaint town of Hindsville. In the window of the Valley Inn was a For Sale sign. Sad for us and especially for the residents of this small community. For years they served delicious plate lunches or hamburger baskets, homemade rolls and pies to the hard working farmers or the lucky tourists passing by.

On that  fateful day when Mom and I needed a cup of coffee, but stayed when we realized they had homemade pie...Coconut Cream, Butterscotch with meringue piled so high it was sinful and Peanut Butter Pie. Not my choice, but Mom's favorite. We shared a piece that first visit to the Valley Inn.

Peanut Butter Pie
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 12-ounce carton refrigerated whipped topping (Cool Whip)
2 graham cracker pie shells

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and peanut butter together. Fold in the Cool Whip, reserving enough to decorate the tops of two pies. Pour the mixture into the pie shells and chill several hours. Top each slice with a dab of Cool Whip.

Chicken Dumpling Soup

I've made this many times since I ran this last year, it's one of our favorites! Today is shaping up to be another busy day so I have a chicken in the crockpot and when I get home late today I'll whip up a pot of this soup. Don't tell anyone it takes less than 30 minutes... it'll be our little secret!

I've had to go to the dealership twice this week for maintenance on the car, I hope I don't have to go back for awhile. Akin to setting in a doctor's office, you are at their mercy and a hour drags by as you set in the waiting room with coughing people, blaring tv and kids who are misbehaving. By the time I got finished there it was after 3 and I went to Wal-mart to pick up a few things. Bad idea since after 3 is when everyone else goes to Wal-mart, when the kids get out of school I guess. I had a list, but you know how that goes... you start lookin' and then you start reading and then the next thing you know, your cart is FULL! I hadn't planned on buying a new cookbook yesterday, until I saw this new paperback publication by Gooseberry Patch. Comfort Food 101, I know it doesn't say that, but that's what it is. Inside the covers are a primer for anyone who has to get a meal on the table in an orderly time frame. Quick to fix recipes that are down home good. As I was thumbing through, I see the Chicken Dumpling Soup that we had at Stone Mill this week. OH MY GOODNESS! The recipe, I hear Angels singing...

You won't believe how easy this went together. I got home at 4:30 and it was ready when Jerry walked in the door an hour later. His favorite food, in soup form was simmering on the stove. I think I'll be getting flowers or maybe a dinner out for this little magic trick...

Chicken & Dumplin' Soup  PRINT RECIPE

10 3/4-oz. can cream of chicken soup

4 cups chicken broth

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 (15-oz.) cans mixed vegetables, drained *I used a handful of peas and carrots instead

12-oz. tube refrigerated biscuits, quartered *I used Mary B's frozen Butter Biscuits, slightly thawed 

Optional: pepper to taste

Combine soup and broth in a 6 quart stockpot; bring to a boil over medium high heat, whisking until smooth. Stir in chicken and vegetables, bring to a boil. Drop biscuit quarters into soup; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Let soup stand covered for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle each serving with pepper, if desired. Serves 6-8

*This can't be improved on much, it's almost perfect! Cut the biscuits in smaller pieces since they puff up quite a bit. They are super tender and really, really good, I was a little skeptical of the whole biscuit thing! My husband ate two bowls, that's like a rating system at my house... 2 bowls is like 5 stars! If you buy rotisserie chicken or have leftover from another day, this recipe is on the table in less than 30 minutes.

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Main Street Cafe- Hackett, Arkansas

The noon crowd that gathers at the Main Street Cafe in Hackett, Arkansas are hungry, hardworking folks. I looked around the room and saw the faces of middle America. The ones who live simple lives and like it, the ones who struggle to pay taxes and most likely the ones that Congressman Steve Womack talked about last week at the Town Hall meetings held for District 3.

We can't help but worry our future, it's apparent that Washington is clueless to what we face with higher prices for gas, groceries, utilities... the list goes on. Unlike government, these folks would be in sad shape if they didn't have the money to cover their debts. Miss a few payments to the bank and the farm that pays your bills is in jeopardy. Lord help us if we get sick, because health care plans are hard to pay for when your work is your cattle.

The cafe was full the day we visited. Friends and neighbors of the small community of Hackett, a town of roughly 800 people gather at the Main Street Cafe to talk politics, to exhange the news and share their worries and their joys. 

Most of them ordered the Blue Plate Special of fried catfish, fries and brown beans. Table by table, they left... off to an afternoon of hard work. Another day, another dollar.

Local Flavor

Daddy called it "Local Flavor," the Mom and Pop places that hide away in small towns along your trip. The one's that you might drive right by and miss out on a life experience if you judge the book by it's cover. I heard him say it over and over throughout my childhood. We visited many places just like the Main Street Cafe as we traveled to and from my Grandparents in another state.

Aunt B. and Uncle George had just such a place in mind to take us to when we visited last week. The town of Hackett, Arkansas had so much to offer that it's going to be a week of blogs! We got there early, just a few minutes before noon. The hometown hangout had a few tables taken, the choice tables were near the window air unit that was struggling in the River Valley heat. It was near 100 that day and we were glad to be inside with our head in the shade!

I started taking pictures and it wasn't long until a nice young man struck up a conversation. Come to find out he had just moved back to Hackett from Rogers, our stomping grounds. He had worked up here for a while and missed home.

Rural Hackett is farms and stone quarries, Fort Smith and Van Buren are close-by if you need to run to Target. It's not the middle of the boondocks, in fact it's only a few miles from "civilization." But for those who choose to live there, it's all about lifestyle. These are the people who choose to march to a different drum.

They go to high school ball games and church potlucks. They bake cakes and cookies to raise money for the senior class trip and they carry covered dishes when someone loses a loved one.

Hugs and Biscuits, the local convenience store sets right across the street from the cafe and if you live in Hackett, it's where you fill your tank and get your morning sausage biscuit. It's where you talk politics and no one gets their nose out of joint cause you're friends, in some cases you're lifetime friends. All those "Local Flavor" experiences taught me a valuable lesson in life. It taught me to never pass by the small places, or miss out on the simple pleasures in life. He didn't know that he taught me to never judge a book by it's cover, whether it was a place or a person.

Terry's Secret Recipe

Today I'm sharing a secret family recipe. This one is a keeper, put it where you can get to it easily if you've had a busy day or a "Mom's Night Off" or  "Dad's Cooking!" Easy, but oh so good and it's Super Bowl perfect too. My SISTER in law's recipe, it's famous in our family. It's probably the only recipe that I had that the daughters left home with... they didn't want to be far from the secret recipe!

OK, are you ready? It's not one of those recipes that has a lot of ingredients or a lot of steps. In fact, it sounds too easy to be considered famous or secret... just trust me on this, it is!

Terry's Secret Recipe   PRINT RECIPE
2 lb. hamburger
1 lb. brick chili, this isn't canned chili (it's next to the hot dogs in most groceries, a rectangular brick of chili meat that is condensed)  I like the Famous brand or 4 Star ... they look like this:

1 lb. Velveeta, cut in chunks
2 cans chili beans, undrained
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes, your choice...blazing hot or wimpy mild!
8 oz. sour cream
shredded iceberg lettuce
shredded Cheddar cheese
tortilla chips

Brown hamburger and drain. Add beans, chili, Ro-Tel and Velveeta. Simmer over LOW heat until melted. Add sour cream and serve in bowls topped with shredded lettuce, shredded Cheddar cheese and serve with tortilla chips. I didn't say it was healthy, did I?

Proud to be an American

This picture was making the rounds on Facebook last Friday. I've seen it before, but each time I do I get a big lump in my throat and my heart feels very sad. I feel a deep hurt over what's going on in this county right now. We have lost direction, we've forgotten how to overcome.

I still have it in me to be a proud American, I'm not beat completely down yet.

In the 60's there were demonstrations, marches that spoke to the unrest in this country. I'm not saying we need riots or violence, but have Americans just given up?

We need change for the better,

...not just change for the sake of change.

When I looked around today, it seems I'm not alone.



Time Out

We like to sit outside under the trees after supper and relax on lazy weekends, just enjoying the sounds of summer. I allow myself to just sit there, literally thinking about nothing...content to listen to the crickets and watch the fireflies do their magical dance. I sit there totally relaxed and happy.
 

There is something about the “great outdoors” that seems to put all things in perspective. It's good to slow down our lives and breath in all that is right with the world. Sometimes it feels like the world just wants us to absorb the negative. Newspapers and TVs blast it at us.
 

After a time out, it's easier to let go of the little things, allowing them to just pass by and not getting hung up on the things that aren’t quite right. There are so many things in my life that are right. Things like the joy that our kids and grandsons bring us, good health and a marriage that has endured the test of time.
 

So fix yourself a glass of iced tea and go outside after supper tonight, just to listen to the sound of the crickets singing their "Summer Song!"

Hope and Hard Work

A few days before Christmas I got in my closet and cleaned out clothes that don't fit, the ones that are  hopelessly out of style and the ones I shouldn't have bought in the first place. By the time I gathered up the shoes that lined the floor of my side of the closet, I had the back of my car full. That load was taken to the Benton County Thrift Shop, one of my favorite places to find treasures! Then last week, I started gathering up things in the garage that we don't use and filling up the car again. Saturday we dropped those things off at Salvation Army. Today I cleared out 2 closets of purses, I'm making a dent in the things I've been putting off. If you're like me, you probably have good intentions. I think about organizing the closet, cabinets or junk drawers but something always gets in the way. So while I'm in this New Year/Clean House mode I'm going to do a little every week, filling up my car and taking it to Goodwill so someone can get some use out of it. I can't imagine how much stuff we'd have accumulated if we hadn't been transferred so much. This is actually the longest we've ever lived in one house, since 2005. That will be 8 years in May. 

I love the feeling of clean and organized, always have and always will. I'm past the early years of OCD, where I lined up cans in the pantry and clothes in the closet by color. Now I'm lucky to be able to find the extra peanut butter because it's hidden under bags of noodles or rice. The closets are bulging, probably because we have two wardrobes in there... fat and fatter! We are Americans, who have plenty, and for that I'm grateful. Never a day without food or a roof over our heads. That's not to say we never had to pinch pennies. The early years were nothing but lean so now it's a habit and a lifestyle. I buy on sale, choosing off brands and we make do. Years of being careful, I can just hear my Dad's words..."The Poor House is just around the corner!" 

But there's a world of folks out there with big worries that face this New Year with trepidation. Paychecks that are lighter because of heavy taxes, someone has to pay for social security but it still hurts. There are hurricanes to pay for, budgets to balance and deficits to be met. All without falling over a cliff. Little by little, that's how we do it. I know it can be done, our parents went through the Great Depression and with hard work kept their farms and prospered. A little bit of hope and a lot of hard work, we can do it!

Band-Aids for Jackson

When our girls were little, we read to them a lot. Upstairs, those books are still in the pink bookcase that used to set in their old bedrooms at the many houses we called home.

Bedtime, after baths we'd settle down to a good book or two. Most of the time they were Golden Books. Stories with beautiful drawings of children and the struggles that children face. Each one taught a lesson or left the impression that Mom and Dad can fix whatever is wrong. They would fall asleep to sweet dreams.

The girls are grown now with families of their own. They are the ones putting band-aids on knees and kissing boo boos. I wish sometimes we could go backwards in time. I wasn't thinking then how fast they would grow up and I didn't know the struggles they would face. The world was a simpler place then, we drove around without even wearing our seat belts most of the time. With Grandchildren you stand back and just hope and pray they will grow up and make the right decisions, but your child raising days are over. Mom used to say, "It's their turn." Good advice and I've tried to practice it. All we can do is hope they learn from their mistakes and find their path in life. It's the prayer that I say most often these days.

Life's Little Hiccups

You better have a sense of humor or life's little hiccups are gonna make you crazy. I do, have a sense of humor and have hiccups... OFTEN! Sunday I had just got the last ornament put on tree #2 and finally set down. The house was quiet, hubby had went to a basketball game and I was planning some serious Pinterest Pinning. That's when the floor above me shook, well maybe it was more of a thump or a shudder but it got my attention! The squirrels make a lot of noise out on the deck chasing each other, but this definitely wasn't a squirrel.

I went up the stairs to investigate and checked out the bedrooms, didn't see a thing out of place. Then I noticed a round chunk of wood in the doorway leading to our closet. I walked inside to see the full length clothes rod broken in half, 10 feet 6 inches of clothes on the floor. Luckily the shelf above was still attached or I would have cried. It took a good 30 minutes to carry clothes to guest bedroom closets, they weighed a ton so I think the rod did a pretty good job holding out for 7 years!

Mom used to say "Laugh or cry, take your pick!" I think it was kinda funny. I think that means I'm coping well!

The View

After a few windy days and then Sunday's rain, the leaves are almost off the trees. They are everywhere, knee deep in some places and glued to shrubs. We'll tackle them next weekend, mostly just blow them into the woods but even that is a job. My "yard guy" works for free, give him a good breakfast and he makes quick work of the leaves!!!

Fun to watch, the squirrels are busy outside finding acorns, hiding acorns and eating acorns! The birds and squirrels share a platform feeder, no sense fighting the battle to keep them apart. Just about every kind of bird visits the feeder including crows. They were lined up on the deck railing today, thrilled that I'd put banana chunks out. I wish I'd got a picture of them balancing in the feeder! Like most weekends, it flew by and Monday arrived in a blink. 

I'm wondering if retirement will slow down life. We both preface many of our sentences with, "When we retire..."No specific plans, but just knowing that we'll have longer than 2 days a week to "get things done" makes us feel like life is going to be easier. I hope so anyway. We built this house 7 years ago and it's a lot of work keeping up with the maintenance. It's beginning to creep into our minds that a smaller house might not be a bad thing, just not yet.

I don't want to give up fishing off the dock, picnics on the boat and especially the view...

But you know what I've learned in 42 years and 17 moves? Sometimes the next view is worth the wait!

Long Island Medium

Have you seen this show on TLC? The last time I saw it, Theresa Caputo was at the nail salon having a pedicure, her toes were down in the little soaking tub and she was having a conversation with her best friend when in walks a spirit. Really! The lady next to her had brought one with her when she came and set down beside them. What else could she do, she had to tell her that her Mother was there with her and that she appreciated all that her daughter had done to care for her during those last few difficult months. She wanted to tell her that she was thrilled to see she was getting married, finally! There's always that shocked look when she spills out the information to a perfect stranger. By the time she gets finished telling you things that just couldn't be known unless, well unless it was true, she makes a believer out of nearly everyone.

Mom told me once that when she and Daddy first moved to California, they had their fortunes told by a lady on the Boardwalk at Santa Cruz. Just a fun thing, they didn't believe it was possible that she could foretell their future. They walked away knowing that a baby boy would be born, followed by a daughter. Sure enough my brother was born the following year and then I came along 6 years later!

I'm not sure if I would ask a medium any questions, I like the surprises along the way!

What's Next Mother Nature?

Source

Our thoughts and prayers are with residents along the East coast that are facing the effects of Hurricane Sandy. So many states affected and Sandy's fury is still ongoing this morning with more rain, high winds and snow. Watching the news this morning and we can see the devastation. If you've ever been in a flood or evacuation, you know the utter fear they are feeling right now as they are desperate to find a safe place to ride out the storm.

We lived on Lake McQueeney in South Texas in 1998 when heavy rains caused massive flooding. Our neighborhood was a disaster along the waterfront with 12 foot of water in homes. We were evacuated by the National Guard and didn't have any idea that we would come back the next day to a dry house. Since we lived 2 blocks up from the waterfront homes, our house escaped flooding. It came to the edge of our garage, you could see the water mark up along the bricks. There were weeks of clean-up, you don't know where to start after the water takes it all downstream.

Regardless of whether you have flood insurance, so much is lost. Not just furniture and clothing, it's the important things like family albums or china that had belonged to your Great Grandmother can't ever be replaced. Gone. We pulled together and helped with whatever we could during those weeks that stretched into months. Something as simple as a meal or clean clothes means the world to someone who's lost their home. 

With so many affected, this storm is shaping up to be yet another storm of the century. What's next Mother Nature?

The Tree Rats

This is the little guy that tried to come inside several times last spring. Every day now, I can see him on the deck watching me. He's very interested in what goes on in the kitchen. That's because he's always thinking about his next meal! Last winter he set in the bird feeder stuffing his face with sunflower seeds. You can see he's not thin, he got his fair share and then some! 

Winter temps are arriving tonight with a hard freeze expected tomorrow night. I can see I need to make a quick run to the store for more cookies and Ritz!

Rotten Apples

It's hard to pick up a paper or turn on the tv or even to get on Facebook right now. We are in the midst of another election year and it brings out the uglies. The ugly comments about the way "All Republicans are" or "All Democrats are." There's a need to lump them together when one bad apple is found. I don't know about you, but when I find a rotten apple in the barrel I throw it away but I keep the good ones! It can cause even good friends to get their "feathers fluffed." I have to adopt a don't read policy and I work at keeping my opinions to myself. "Work" because that's not the easiest thing to do!

When I first started blogging, I was blindsided one morning with an ugly comment about how the sun must always shine on Granny Mountain, no bad news ever in Blogland. It came out of no where, anonymous of course. I don't remember what the post was about, probably pictures I'd taken and posted with memories or observations since that's what the bulk of my blog is about. Whatever, to that reader all they could see was my pretty header pictures, and they assumed that my live was sunny and perfect. No one's life is perfect. In Blogland, you don't have to look very far to find the reals. We may talk about the county fair or what we had for dinner last night, but eventually we peel the onion and get down to what we really want to talk about.

Sometimes we don't even know it's in us, but with post we etch away until it's on the surface and we can share what we needed to say all along. For me it's senior issues that I've had to face since Mom and my Father-in-law have developed dementia/Alzheimer's. I also like to blog about the good things in my community, the businesses that give more than they take, the restaurants that feel like home and the pretty in my world. The sky is blue on Granny Mountain, but make no mistake there are gray days too. I just wear my rose colored glasses on those days!