Rust Family Cookbook, A Year's Journey 2018

Grandma Betty Rust's Drop Doughnuts This recipe for Drop Doughnuts is very much loved family staple.  Just the mention of these crispy, sugary bites of sheer happiness brings everyone running to snatch them up.  Once I get started cooking, it is hard to keep up as they get eaten.  The fact I got a picture of the finished doughnuts at all is a small miracle.  Luckily, the recipe makes quite a few so there's more than enough for 5 hungry kids and their parents. This a relatively simple recipe, with ingredients you probably always have in your pantry and fridge.  The only bitty downside is the care and time needed to cook them properly, and it takes a while.  I didn't time the effort from beginning to end, so it will be a surprise, but maybe 45 mins, including help from a 6 year old and occasional help from the twins. When you are ready to begin, start heating up the oil. I used an 8 inch round saucepan filled with vegetable oil about 2 1/2 inches de...

If you are anywhere near Iowa, or the Midwest for that matter, you've been suffering with the deep freeze that is the outdoors.  Negative temperatures are upon us, and what better way to warm up than with a big bowl of delicious chili this weekend? This recipe is my Sister, Gretchen's, and it is sure to warm your bones.  Along side the recipe is a note about our Grandfather, Noel Rust, and his Chili and Cornbread.  It says, 'Noel made great chili, using different ingredients each time.  One time he added mushrooms, and none of the grand kids ate any (really?  we would do such a thing?).  A lot of the time he added sliced green olives (I do remember that!).  For chili and cornbread, prepare the chili recipe in a large roaster pan.  Prepare a box of cornbread mix according to package directions.  When the chili's ready, dollop the cornbread batter right on the hot chili.  Place the roaster in a 350 degree oven until the cornbread is ...

It's time to make wintertime treats, and who can resist Peanut Clusters?  This recipe is from my Grandma Betty Rust. These perfectly chocolaty peanut-y globs remind me of Christmas at the Rust Farm in Webb. I don't ever remember watching Grandma make them, they were just always ready to go on the cookie tray, or in a white, rectangular Tupperware container, separated by waxed paper. It also makes me wonder how many times my Mom made these over the years? To be honest, this was my first foray into the peanut cluster making business.  Aside from all of them I've eaten over the years, I've never actually made them myself. They are also one of Eddie's favorites, so it's about time I made some! Good news is they're super easy to make, and don't require high temperatures that make this Mamma worry about little helping fingers.  I usually have Griffin as my kitchen helper these days, and his fingers survived ouch free. Here w...

Welcome Friends!  I'm excited to announce this project to delve into the pages and dishes of my Families' cookbook throughout 2018!   The cookbook was compiled by my Sister, Gretchen, several years ago, from recipes collected from family members near and far, and with as many written recipes as she could get her hands on. In the years prior, my Mom, Dorothy, carefully converted many recipes to standardized measurements, from 'handfulls' and 'dashes', with the help of my late Grandmother, Betty Rust. Since the cookbook's distribution, over the years I have used it to find a few of my favorite recipes. While doing so, I perused the pages and found recipes I wanted to try, but never got around to making, or found recipes that made me go hmmmm?  I've even read recipes and imagined my husband or kids' reactions and gott en a giggle.  Salmon loaf, anyone??? Lately I've found myself looking through the cookbook, thinking about our family traditio...