Month: April 2020

Recipes-In-Love: Crafting Happy Hearts & Magic Memories (Thanks, KG!)

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“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.” – Alan D. Wolfelt

 

What a world we’ve lived in the past six weeks!  When COVID-19 began sending the United States into a terrific tailspin of re-aligning our daily lives, whoever would have thought that our world would almost have totally changed in a period of six weeks.

 

Our life’s priorities have been realigned, and some of that is not all bad.  Spending more time at home has caused us to get reacquainted with our cookbooks and cookware, and revisit things in the kitchen.  In an effort to find some semblance of comfort, we’ve gone digging into recipe boxes for those beloved family-favorite recipes  which remind us of better times and bring back warm and happy memories.

 

And so, I’ve called upon Kathy Dougherty to help share some comfort with the rest of us through her recipes.  Kathy and her husband Blan are long-time, 3rd generation members of AgCentral Farmers Co-op, a farm-supply cooperative based in Southeast Tn.  Kathy is known to be one of the best farm cooks in all of the Southeast, and is infamous for her contributions to her community through agricultural boards, school boards, and education organizations.  (I’m also blessed to call her a dear friend!)

 

She loves creating memories with her family through cooking and her recipes, so she was a natural to call on for this first ‘recipe’ post – we surely hope there are more to come.  First, let’s meet her family –

 

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On the left, you find Kathy and Blan with granddaughter, Willow.  And on the right, daughter Betsy with husband Russell, and their sons Ryland and Cameron.  Kathy enjoys crafting recipes and creating memories for and with them all!

Kathy is also famously known for referring to Russell as her “Son-In-Love.”  That term of endearment is the inspiration for this post, and what is hoped to be the first of others like it  – “Recipes-In-Love.” 

So therefore, Russell and Kathy’s relationship is the catalyst for the first recipe we share – “Son-In-Love Brownies.”  According to Kathy, these are his favorite brownies, and once you taste them, they might become your favorite too!  They’re pretty easy to make, but the flavor is as gourmet as any you will find at an upscale bakery!

 

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Son-In-Love Brownies

1 box of regular brownie mix*

2 “Giant” size Symphony candy bars with toffee and almonds
Mix brownies as directed on the box. Pour half the mixture into a 9″ x 13″ pan.
Break the Symphony bars into pieces along perforations.
Place in the pan on top of the brownie mixture.
Cover with the remaining mixture. Gently smooth over candy pieces.
Bake according to the directions on the box, adding 5-10 minutes to baking time.
*We prefer just a plain chocolate brownie mix. (from Kathy)

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Of course, Brownies are always better with milk, and Mayfield is a favorite milk in the Dougherty household!  And why not drink it out of a fancy spring glass to lift your mood?

Million Dollar Cheese Dip     (A local-centric version)

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Million Dollar Cheese Dip
Green onions to taste, chopped, to add color and flavor
8 ounce Shredded Sharp Cheddar
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup real bacon bits
1/2 chopped, toasted pecans
Mix all ingredients together and chill at least two hours before serving. Serve with your favorite crackers. (We like the Pretzel Flips and Ritz.) Easily doubled.

Willow’s Crispies

Scroll on down for a favorite treat of Kathy’s grandaughter, Willow!
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Willow’s Crispies
1 box cake mix*
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg
Combine all the ingredients. Roll into 1″ balls
Place 2″ apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees.
Keep tightly closed to keep them crisp.
*We like lemon cake mix, devil’s food cake mix and strawberry cake mix.
Coconut cake mix is good too then substitute 1/2 cup of coconut for 1/2 cup of Rice Krispies.
Look for a future photo of Willow’s Crispies!

Additional Recipes:  (but no photos at this time!)

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

1 pound sausage, cooked and drained
1 package Pioneer Gravy mix
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 can Pillsbury Grands biscuits
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the gravy according to directions on package
Cut biscuits into 1″ pieces and line the bottom of the pan. Spread cooked sausage over the biscuits. Sprinkle cheese on top.
Beat the eggs with the milk and pour over biscuits and sausage.
Pour gravy over all. Bake 30-35 minutes.
Can be refrigerated and baked the next morning.

Tammie Fruit Salad  (Yes, that’s the correct name!)

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 large can Mandarin oranges, drained
Cherries, (if you like them) drained
1 can peach pie filling
2 bananas, sliced
Any other fresh fruit you like such as strawberries and blueberries.
You can also add 1/2 cup coconut. I add about 1 cup toasted, chopped pecans.
Best made the day before.

Willow’s Baked Corn Casserole

1 15 ounce can whole kernel corn. Do NOT drain.
1 14 ounce cream corn
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
Combine all and pour into a 9×13 dish.
Bake 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
These recipes are some of Kathy’s favorites!  We hope you enjoy them as much as Kathy’s family has!  And – we look forward to sharing some of your favorites in the future!
Recipes-In-Love.  Creating Warm Memories and Happy Hearts! One Serving at a Time!
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New ‘LOCAL’ Brand in the Mountain South – Thanks, Food City & Milkco!

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Went to a Food City store and what did I see?

A New Brand of LOCAL Milk looking back at me!

 

In a month of challenging news centered on COVID-19 and how it is affecting farms across the country, a once-every-10 days trip to a grocery store offered a bright spot in an otherwise difficult time frame.

 

‘Southern Dairies’ is a new brand of milk making its way onto Food City shelves!  This carton was a sight for sore eyes, particularly when I saw the words  “We support LOCAL dairy farmers!”  And then, I saw the milk plant #37-82,  a milk plant I and many others in the South are familiar with – the Milkco plant at Asheville, NC.   The cost on this day (Friday, April 10, 2020)  was $2.99 / gallon.

 

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Because I’m fairly familiar with farms whose milk is delivered to certain milk plants in the southeast, this made me extremely happy!  That milk plant receives the majority of its milk from farms in northeast TN (from Knox County to Johnson County), southwest VA, North Carolina (central to western NC), SC, and north GA.

 

I have many, many friends whose milk is bought by Milkco, and this is another opportunity for their milk to be available to regional/local consumers!  Truly, this is a case of a milk plant located in the mountain south, purchasing from farms in the south, and delivered to food retailers in the South!  That’s a whole lotta local $$ circulating in the area economy!

 

Food City has collaborated with the Milkco plant before, as they have sourced their Food Club (private label) branded eggnog from them in past holiday seasons.

 

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There were  other brands of gallon milks on the Food City Dairy Case shelf at the time of this visit:  Mayfield is another brand of milk processing milk from southeast dairy farms, with a plant in Athens, TN.    The ‘food club’ brand is bottled at the Superior Milk plant in Canton Ohio, sourcing milk from farms in that regions of the country.

 

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Food City is a grocery store chain of approximately 130 stores located from Southwest Virginia to Eastern KY, through East TN and into North GA.  This is a chain I know well, since I am frequently in their stores, and I know vegetable growers who sell produce at Food City.    This chain, like many,  has been challenged with all of the panic buying experienced by many groceries across the country, with shortages at times.  The ‘new normal’ has still not settled in, but things are better than at the beginning of the pandemic hoarding.

Read some related articles about the effect Coronavirus buying had on Food City:

 

Read More about Food City in general:

 

None of us in farming, food, or the supply chain have any idea what the ‘new normal’ will be when the Coronavirus is more under control and life gets back into more of a predictable routine.  While it is hoped sales of Southern Dairies branded milk take off like a rocket, that too is unknown at this point, and we’ll have to wait and see what other varieties or flavors of milk make it into retail channels.  But shelf space and access to consumers, ever how much it is, is a great beginning!

 

Food City and Milkco have teamed up to give dairy farmers who operate farms in the southeast something to be proud of when they walk into a Food City – that’s their milk on that shelf!   And this won’t only help local dairy farmers, this will help other farms in the area who grow grains which help feed those dairy herds, it will help local agribusinesses who serve those dairies, and it will give a sense of pride to local southeast communities.

And for that, many farms and agribusinesses in the southeast are grateful for this ‘carton of hope’ at Easter Weekend, 2020. 

Southern Dairies, you have our prayers and our support for a successful brand launch and future!

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