Diva's Grandma Sarah's Blackberry dumplings

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Grandma's little helper, I would help her pick the berries.  One day I ate them all and brought her a bucket full of kittens instead:) Good thing she loved me Grandma Sarah's Blackberry dumplings
Inspiration: My German Grandma Sarah Rutz always had wild blackberries growing in her yard near Scottsbluff, NE.  It was an awesome treat for her to make her dumplings.
Ingredients: 1 quart Blackberries 2 cups water 1/2 cup sugar 2 TB butter ________ Dumplings: 1 cup flour 1/2 tsp salt 1~1/2 baking powder 1/2 cup milk 3 TB sugar 2 TB oil or melted butter	Instructions: Wash and cook berries until tender in a large heavy kettle.  May need to adjust sugar if not sweet enough. Cover and bring to a boil. Drop tsp's of dumplings into boiling mixture.  Cook 10 minutes without lifting the lid.
Variation:  Serve warm with cream me and Grandma Sarah at her house on E in Scottsbluff, NE in the 70's.  Right through that backdoor was where she did her magical cooking and teaching. her kitchen was 6x6, but the most awesome cooking came from her little space in the world.  Grandma has been gone since 1996, but every now and then when I cook her recipes, I smile and say hi Grandma:)

Diva's Grandma Sarah's Viennese Kipfel rolls and a loving memory of her

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Viennese Kipfel rolls
Inspiration:  This recipe was tucked into one of my Grandma Sarah's cookbooks.  They are like croissants rolls and yummy.  I love when you reach for her cookbooks and little memories of her fall out.  It's like she is saying hello my little darling, I Love you and miss you.  I touch it and smile and say I Love you and miss you too Grandma:)  I would bake with her when I would visit, which was often and she would let me make shapes.  When I was 7, I made a shape of a kitten.  The day after she passed I walked into her house and sitting on the kitchen table was that little kitten on one of her pretty plates, wrapped with cellophane.  She passed when I was 36 and she had kept that little kitten all those years.  It is still a mystery to me why she had it sitting on her kitchen table that day.  I had not seen it for years.  it Was one of those goose bump moments.  I looked at my mom and smiled... She had no idea what it was or what it was doing there either.  Grandma reached out... i know she did, just like she always had to comfort & love me.  I did her eulogy at the service and I made a lot of the family smile, just as she would have wanted.  I love you Grandma.
Ingredients: 1 pkg active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees F) 1/2 cup warm milk 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup butter or margarine 3 TB sugar 3 egg yolks 2~1/2 cups flour (approx)	Instructions: Sprinkle yeast over warm water.  Let stand 5 mins.  Stir until dissolved.  Add to warm milk in a large bowl.  Add salt.  Cream butter to consistency of mayonnaise.  Add sugar slowly, continuing to cream.  Add egg yolks, one at a time.  Add flour alternately with yeast mixture; using enough flour to make a soft dough.  Turn out on to a floured board.  Knead until smooth and elastic.  Place dough in a greased bowl.  Turn to bring greased side up.  Cover and let stand in a warm place (80 degrees F) until dough has doubled.  Punch down.    Divide dough in half and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut into 6 inch squares, then cut those into two triangles.  Roll up each triangle; beginning with broad side and folding tip over.  Curve into crescent shape.  Repeat with other half of dough.  Place on well-greased baking sheets.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.  Brush with 1 egg white beaten slightly with 2 TB milk.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
Variation:  Yields 24 rolls

Diva's Apple History & how to choose your Apple Guide

Apples have always been eaten fresh, dried, stewed, baked or fried in a variety of dishes.  Apples can be turned into apple butter, apple sauce and cider & vinegar.  They not only provide a vital source of food and drink, but also preserve for food and supplies, just like our pioneer ancestor' did.  Apples can be used medicinally as anesthetics, antiseptics, and sedatives and stimulants.

History shows the first colonists to bring apple seeds from Europe to New England.  From there, apples spread across the North American continent.  Thousands of varieties were developed in different regions of the country and the world.  

Here are some interesting tidbits about how our ancestors knew to use apples:

• An apple in your bag of potatoes will help to keep the potatoes from sprouting.

• An apple in your brown sugar container will help keep the sugar moist.

• An apple in your cookie container will help to keep the cookies moist.

• Add lemon juice to an apple recipe if the apples you are using lack tartness or need flavor.

• If you can't brush your teeth after a meal, eat an apple.  Eating a raw apple will cleanse the mouth of more that 95% of bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Maybe an apple day does keep the doctor away?  Both of my Grandma's had Apple Tree's in their yard's so they were always plentiful for eating and cooking.  My Grandma Margret kept them stored in a room we always slept in when we would come to visit.  What an awesome memory when I smell apples.  My Grandma Sarah also had crab apples and made the most incredible jelly.  She passed away at the ripe ole age of 85 and 2 weeks before she passed, she was found up in her crab apple tree picking them.  I will share my recipe soon of her jelly, it is delicious!

Nebraska where i grew up, is known greatly for Arbor Day and having awesome apples

Here is an apple guide on how to choose your APPLES, and I don't mean a computer:)

Diva's Grandma Sarah's Cheesy hash brown's

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Diva's Grandma Sarah's  Cheesy hash brown's
Inspiration:  Grandma Sarah liked to make these for big family gatherings or carry in's.  We would have our family gatherings in Grandma's basement which she always had a dinning table all set up; and fyi: She always had a decorated Christmas tree down there that she kept up all year long.  I love to watch the lights and I would spend the night on the couch and she would turn them on for me.
Ingredients: 2 lb shredded hash brown potato's, thawed salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup minced onions, optional 2 cups shredded cheese of your choice 1 cup milk	Instructions: Put thawed hash brown potato's in a large bowl.  Add salt, pepper and onions.  Add shredded cheese and milk and stir. Put in 9x13 very well greased baking dish and Bake approx 1 hour in a 350 degree F oven.
Variation: Serves 8

Diva's Grandma Sarah's Whoopie Pie Cookies

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Whoopie Pie Cookies
Inspiration:  This is marked in one of Grandma Sarah's recipe books from 1965.  I love when she circled recipes. Most are wonderfully delish!
Ingredients: 1 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 2 eggs, beaten 5 cups flour 3/4 cup cocoa 1~1/2 tsp salt 1 cup sour milk 2 tsp baking soda 1 cup hot water ____________ filling: 2 egg whites, beaten 1 TB vanilla 4 TB milk 4 cups powdered sugar 1 cup shortening	Instructions: Cream shortening and sugar; add eggs.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternating with sour milk. Combine soda and hot water; add.  Drop from TB spoon onto cookie sheet and Bake @ 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. ____________ filling: Beat egg whites, vanilla and milk.  Add 2 cups powdered sugar.  Cream 2 cups powdered sugar and shortening together. Mix both together.  Spread between cookies when they are cooled.
Variation:  if you don't have sour milk, you can add 1 TB vinegar to the milk. I have also substituted peanut butter for the shortening in the filling.

Diva's Aunty's Pumpkin Cheese Cake Bars

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Pumpkin cheese Cake Bars
Inspiration:  This recipe was from the Rutz Family Cookbook by Aunt Audrey.  My Aunty I posted about up above.
Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1/3 cup brown sugar 5 TB butter 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1 8oz softened cream cheese 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup pumpkin 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs, beaten 1~1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp allspice	Instructions:  Combine flour and brown sugar.  Mix in butter to make a crumb mixture.  Stir in pecans.  Set aside 3/4 cup of mixture for topping.  Press remaining into an 8x8 baking pan.  Bake @ 350 degrees F for 15 mins and cool.  Combine cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, eggs, spices and vanilla.  Blend until smooth.  Pour over baked crust.  Sprinkle with reserved topping.  Bake an additional 30~35 mins.  Cool and cut into bars.
Variation:  Can be topped with cool Whip.

Diva's Grandma Sarah's German Grebel

Diva’s Memories of Recipes German Grebel
Inspiration:  This was Grandma Sarah's German Grebel.
Ingredients: 1 Cup buttermilk 4 eggs 3 TB mazola oil 1/4 Cup sugar 4 1/2 - 5 Cups flour 1 Cup sour cream 4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt powdered sugar or cinnamon & sugar for sprinkle's	Instructions: Mix buttermilk and sour cream.  Then add baking soda; sugar; salt; oil; eggs.  Beat well.  In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to buttermilk mixture.  It will make a soft dough - so this is what determines the flour amount. Start with lesser amount and add if need be. Put in refrigerator overnight; and may also be frozen for a later time. Roll out onto floured board until the dough is 1/8 inch thick.  Cut into squares or rectangles.  Make two slits in each square and twist or make one slit in each and pull one corner through slit. Fry in deep fat fryer 350 degrees F until brown.  Turn with fork to brown on both sides.  Drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with sugar
Variation:  can be used to make yummy donuts too.

Diva's Iced Coffee

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Iced Coffee
Inspiration:  this came from the Rutz family cookbook, my German side of the family.
Ingredients: 3 Cups Cold Coffee 1 pint whipping cream 2 tsp vanilla 1~1/2 cup sugar 1 quart milk	Instructions: Mix ingredients and chill.  Serve over ice.
Variation:  Can be frozen in a shallow pan like a roasting pan.  Take out of freezer approx. 2 hours before serving. Break it up and serve as a slushy coffee. I use other flavors as well.  My favorite is Hazelnut... and be topped with whipped cream.  Be creative!  Splenda can be used for sugar as well. Makes 1~1/2 Gallon