Dumplings

Jumping in, we head to Roland, Oklahoma. Roland began as a small community called Garrison or Garrison Creek. They voted to change their name in 1904. Within a few years, Roland had a population of over 200, postal service, public school, general stores and grocery stores.

The town doubled and then tripled in size over the next 70 or so years. Their main population spike came when the Cherokee Nation built the casino. It was originally called, Cherokee Nation Bingo Outpost.

It’s a sweet little town, full of history and just across the border into Oklahoma from Arkansas.

On to the recipe!

While looking thru, “Taste Of Heaven: Zion Missionary Baptist Church” I came across Apple Dumplings. I’ve actually made these a few times but it’s been probably 10 years or more. Our youngest had never had rhem before, so I decided it was time to get back at it. And he could also help me.

Couple things:
This recipe is pretty spot on.

I used Granny Smith apples
You can also use Sprite if you’d like instead of Mountain Dew.

That’s it. Enjoy!

This week we trek to the Arkansas of the north, Wisconsin!! That’s right! Home of the Packers! The Badger State!

The Mineral Point area was once mined for limestone and other minerals. When prospectors arrived to the area, they didn’t bother building houses. They dug out the bluffs and made shelters out of them…like badger holes. Hence, The Badger State.

Several Native American Tribes originally established the area, one of them being the Ho-Chunk tribe. Fun Fact: The summer of my 16th year, I spent in Mazomaine, WI (which is a hop, skip and a jump from Mineral Point) I can still remember the jingle from the Ho-Chunk Casino commercials😆

Anywho, once the California Gold Rush Started in 1848, Mineral Point fell into a depression. In the late 1880s, zinc was discovered and Mineral Point soon became home of the largest zinc oxide company in the United States.

By the turn of the century, dairy and cattle production increased. With cattle grazing on native blue grass, they earned their own brand at the Chicago Stockyards. Cattle and dairy production is still a huge part of Wisconsin’s industry today. Cheese stores, y’all. They have cheese stores!

This week’s book is, “Cook Book: First United Methodist Church Mineral Point, WI”. The recipe I chose was, Beef And Dumpling Bake. Y’all, this is a heavy dish. Like I’m picturing a room of lumberjacks or dairy farmers having this after a long day. Tasty nonetheless!

This one is done in two steps. When I took it out the second time, I was like…ain’t no way those dumplings are done. They were🤷🏻‍♀️ Couple of things: I used fresh mushrooms because we like them better. Because of this, I used a whole cup. Also, I used a smaller bell pepper so I put more rings on top. Made sense🤔 Enjoy!!