Do you have that one family recipe that just makes you happy? It may have a funny name or special ingredient, but it’s a family staple everyone loves. Comfort food, good for filling bellies and hearts!

This is one of those recipes. I think what is unique about these kinds of family recipes is the memories attached to them. That’s what makes them special. Yes the food is good, but the love and memories are what makes them a family favorite.

I remember cold winter days, coming in from feeding hay, and filling up on Granny’s casserole and cornbread. I remember my dad and grandad chopping wood, and stopping for lunch, to eat this out of a thermos on the tailgate.

My Granny was one of a kind. But aren’t they all? ❤️ Raised in the Depression, she could make a meal out of anything. What she made was simple, delicious, and filling. Just like this casserole, we don’t even have a clever name, but simply Granny’s casserole. And the older I get, the more I realize food doesn’t have to be fancy to be good.

Food does not have to be fancy to be good

I’m sure there are many variations of this casseroles, and that is what makes it great! You can add in whatever you like!

Granny’s Hamburger Casserole

Recipe by Ellie Holt @Holt Family FarmsCourse: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Total time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Pound of Hamburger Meat

• 1/2 Cup Onion

• 1/2 Cup of Corn

• 1/2 Cup of celery

• 1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

• 1/2 Cup of Milk

• 1/4 Cup of Sour Cream

• Breadcrumbs

• 1 Stick of Butter

• 1 Box of Any Kind of Noodles

• Salt and Pepper

• Garlic Salt

Directions

• Cook celery and onion with the ground beef. Drain and set aside.
• Mix soup, corn, milk, sour cream, and seasonings.
• Cook noodles and drain.
• Mix all ingredients together in a 9×13 pan.
• Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
• Spread buttered breadcrumbs on top and put back in oven until brown.

What I used:

I started making broth as a way to save money on our groceries. Plus I’m a little crazy when it comes to not wasting food. I liked the idea of using every part to get my money’s worth. It wasn’t until later that I read about the great nutritional benefits of making your own broth. It can be an excellent source of calcium, can boost your immune system, and supports healthy skin and joints through collagen.

Here’s how I do it: I save my used bones in the freezer until I’m ready to use them. You can use any type of bone, but I do keep them seperated and make different kinds of broth-chicken, ham, beef. When I cut carrots, celery, potatoes, or any vegetable, I put the scraps in the freezer to use too. This makes the broth more flavorful and stretches your grocery dollars a little too.

“The best part about making anything homemade is that you can control what goes into it.”

Many people think of homemade broth as being a complicated thing, but it really isn’t! Like all my cooking, I take a simple approach and mostly use the Instantpot or crock pot. This is a super easy way to set your broth and then go on about your day. Just throw all the ingredients in and forget it. You will find many different opinions about what your broth needs to look like, but rest assured even if it doesn’t look right, its still flavorful and nutritious. The best part about making anything homemade is that you can control the ingredients. So, if you need a low sodium option, you’ve got it. If you like the flavor of a certain spice, you can add as much as you want. You can use any type of bones too, chicken, beef, ham, whatever you have. You can make it with a ton of vegetables or just water. It’s all up to you!

I like to store mine in the souper cube molds, but if you don’t have them, even ice cube trays will work. If you haven’t tried these, check out the link below because they are great! They are a great way to store freeze, then store at just the perfect portion size. You can also pressure can your bone broth to make it shelf stable.

Simple Bone Broth Recipe

Recipe by Ellie Holt @Holt Family FarmsDifficulty: Easy

Making your own bone broth is a simple way to stretch your grocery dollars and still enjoy a nutrient dense food in all your recipes.

Ingredients

• Roasted or Cooked Bones

• Vegetables or Vegetable Scrapes

• Water

• Salt and Pepper

• Additional Spices such as thyme, oregano, or garlic

• 2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions

• Put bones in pot and cover with water just about one inch above bones.
• Add in vegetables, apple cider vinegar, and spices
• To cook in the Instantpot, cook on high for at least 3 hours. Or until bones break easily and broth has a gel like consistency.
• Strain, let cool and place in containers to freeze.
• OR use immediately in casseroles, vegetable dishes, or as soup

What I used:

We love soup in our house! We probably eat soup at least once a week in the winter and this one is our new favorite. Two things led to this recipe creation. First, my family likes cream based soups as opposed to tomato based so I’ve been looking for more of those recipes. We also had an abundance of sausage from the hog we killed recently. With those 2 things in mind, my daughter and I came up with this soup. We tweaked it over a few weeks and have been eating it at least once a week ever since, with homemade bread of course.

It is the perfect soup for a busy night, being that you can stir it all together and be ready to eat in 30 minutes or less. It’s creamy and filling, with the slightest amount of spice. It’s versatile as far as what vegetables you want to add or leave out to suit your family’s taste. I’m sure there are recipes out there for something similar, but this is our version and our last task was to name it! Since, my daughter helped me make it, I let her name it, and the official name is……. “Pig in a Potato Patch Soup.”

I hope you all enjoy!

Creamy Sausage and Potato Soup

Recipe by adminCourse: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Sausage

• 4-5 Potatoes (Peeled and Cubed)

• 2 Carrots (Peeled and Sliced)

• 4 Cups of Chicken Broth

• 2 Cups of Water

• 1 Cup of Cream or Milk

• 1 Cup of Shredded Spinach

• 1 Block of Cream Cheese

• 1/2 cup onion finely chopped

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• Pinch of Red Pepper

• 1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Salt

Directions

• Cook onion with sausage and drain.
• Add broth, water, potatoes, carrots, and spices. Boil until vegetables are tender.
• Add in cream, cream cheese, and spinach.
• Simmer until cream cheese melts and spinach wilts (about 15 minutes).

What I used:

After owning a pumpkin patch for over 10 years, we’ve eaten a lot of pumpkins! Many people are surprised when I tell them that you can eat your pumpkins after Halloween, but this is one of the most cost effective ways to use pumpkin. Just think, you not only get to have decorations for your porch, but also you can eat them and get more bang for your buck! I think its the perfect win-win situation! And with grocery prices rumored to be sky high this winter, we need to find every shortcut we can.

This recipe is a simple twist on your traditional sweet potato casserole. We have come to love this version more than the original. You know the one your great aunt makes every Thanksgiving topped with marshmallows or corn flakes? It’s like that, but better! The topping is similar to an apple pie crisp, and you just can’t go wrong with that. Maybe its the combination of the pumpkin and sweet potato that compliment each other so well. But I think mostly it’s the topping that, well it…. just tops it off. 😂

Make a yummy side dish with your fresh fall pumpkin and save money too!

Like many great recipe this one was born out of necessity. I had a ton of pumpkin purée I needed to use up, I didn’t have any marshmallows for the topping, and I had several small children who I didn’t want to drag to the store for last minute ingredients. So I tweaked the recipe and created a topping from what we had on hand. This is now my go-to when I need a Thanksgiving side dish. It doesn’t hurt that it’s simple and yummy too!

First you want to cook your pumpkin for purée. You can read a step by step on how to do that HERE!

Next, you just mix all the ingredients together and bake! It’s as simple as that!

Sweet Pumpkin Crisp

Recipe by Ellie HoltCourse: Food From ScratchCuisine: Side DishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6-8

servings

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients:

• Filling:

• 1 Cup of mashed sweet potatoes

• 1 Cup of pumpkin purée

• 1 1/2 Cup of Sugar

• 2 Eggs (beaten)
  

• 1 Stick of butter

• 1/3 Cup of milk

• 1 Teaspoon of vanilla

• 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

• Topping:

• 2 Cups of oats

• 1 Cup of brown sugar

• 3/4 Stick of butter

• 1/2 Cup of nuts

• 1/2 Cup of shredded coconut

• 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

• Pinch of salt

Directions

• Mix ingredients together and put in a baking dish. Bake at 350 º for 30 minutes.
• While that is baking, mix the topping together.
• Spread topping on the filling.
• Return back to oven and bake until topping is browned.

Notes

• This recipe can be easily doubled or made ahead and frozen.

So much about food and recipes, for me, are the memories that go along with them. Most of my recipes that I share here are not anything earth shattering or new, but they are tried and true and almost always have a story. Mostly a story of love and family and a few fond memories thrown in there on my part. Some are time consuming and made solely from scratch, some are quick and easy to make life easier, but all are shared with the hope that these same recipes will bring you and your family together around good food (made mostly from scratch), to make those fond memories too!

If you’ve been around here a while, you probably know my love for hot drinks and tea time in the wintertime. My kids have affectionately started calling them my hug in a mug. This recipe dates back to probably the late 80s and my childhood avocado green kitchen. My mom would make a big batch of spiced tea and we’d drink on it all winter long. I even still remember the big glass jar she stored it in. Makes me wonder what random things my kids will remember one day! 😂

Maybe there are other drink mixes like it out there, but I have not found them! It’s not necessarily tea and its not apple cider. It’s a nice change when you don’t want hot chocolate or coffee. It’s just in it’s own category and I love it! It is warm and spicy, but also sweet and tangy. You can most definitely change it up and add your own spices or mixes too. The recipe is super easy to mix up and keep for your winter time sipping! Or hugs in mugs! ❤️

Hope you enjoy,

Ellie

Spiced Tea

Recipe by Ellie @ourlifefromscratchblog.comCourse: Food From ScratchCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

This version of hot tea is sweet yet tangy, with the perfect amount of “spice”, making it a great wintertime drink!
Go ahead and try it! We promise you won’t be disappointed!

Ingredients

• 2 Cups of Sugar

• 1/2 Cup of Instant Tea

• 2 Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon

• 2 Cups of Powdered Orange Breakfast Drink (Tang or something similar)

• 2 Small Packages of Lemonade Mix (envelope kind)

• 2 Teaspoons of Ground Cloves

Directions

• Pour all the ingredients in a large container.
• Mix well until all the powders are combined.
• Store in an airtight container.
• To Make a Cup of Spiced Tea:
• Mix 3-4 Tablespoons of the powder to a cup.
• Add boiling water and stir.
• Serve for a warm winter “hug in a mug” 😉

Notes

• You could leave out or add different kinds of “spices” to make your own version of spiced tea!
• I usually double or triple the recipe and keep a big container of this ready for cold weather!

What I used:

My most favorite mug!

Spices:

Kettle:

Storage:

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