A Common Shepherdess

I have started a new blog at https://creativeinstinct.blog/ and moved my State Dinner and information there. Come visit my new site! Wild Rice Soup Lefse Milk (official state beverage) Blueberry crumb bars Wild rice is Minnesota's official state grain. For many years, Minnesota produced almost all of the world's wild rice. It was a staple food for the Ojibwa, Cree and Menomini Native American tribes. Lefse is a traditional Norwegian flat bread and still a popular treat among Minnesotans. Milk is the official state beverage. Blueberries can be found wild throughout Minnesota. This dinner is very white. I lived in Minnesota from about age 5 until I was married. I remember after having dinner at someone's house, we remarked how everything on the plate was white. Growing up with parents raised in the South, we were more used to sweet tea with dinner than milk and definitely used to more spices! My kids loved the wild rice soup, lefse and blueberry bars t...

I have started a new blog at https://creativeinstinct.blog/ and moved my State Dinner and information there. Come visit my new site! Bratwurst Beer cheese soup topped with popcorn Spinach salad with bacon dressing Milk Cream puffs Wisconsin is known as "America's Dairyland." According to the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service, the total monthly milk production in Wisconsin is 2.2 billion pounds and in 2008 Wisconsin produced 2.5 billion pounds of cheese. The official state nickname is The Badger State, but it isn't what you think. The "badgers" were miners in the 1800s. They would tunnel into the ground looking for lead (galena) and many of them lived in the tunnels they dug. Thus the nickname "badger". Wisconsin has since adopted the badger as its official state animal. Bratwurst is a German sausage and many Wisconsin residents have a German heritage. That might have something to do with why Wisconsin has so many brewerie...

Chicago-style deep dish pizza watermelon Cracker Jack Pizza is always a hit! Chicago-style pizza was invented at Pizzeria Uno in Chicago in 1943. We made ours with sweet Italian sausage and pepperoni. I didn't have a 15-inch deep dish pizza pan so I made it in two of my cast iron pans. It turned out great. I used a 10-inch pan and an 8-inch pan. I always like to serve a fruit or vegetable with pizza so we choose watermelon. Watermelon certainly isn't peculiar to Illinois but it is popular throughout the whole Mississippi Valley area. Cracker Jack was first introduced to the public at the World's Columbian Exposition (more commonly called the Chicago World's Fair) in 1893--most likely America's first junk food. Although consisting of peanuts, popcorn, and molasses, it is probably healthier than most of today's junk food! The Chicago World's Fair popularized many new things: electric lighting, motion pictures, elongated coins (I collect these every w...

Breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches Orville Reddenbacher's Popcorn Van Camp's Pork and Beans Hoosier Sugar Cream P ie Pork is a major product of Indiana. Pork tenderloin sandwiches are popular throughout the Midwest but are also a famous sandwich from Indiana. In 1998 there was even a documentary released called "In Search of the Famous Hoosier Breaded Tenderloin." Orville Reddenbacher was born and raised in Brazil, Indiana. He developed his own hybrid of popcorn in Valparaiso, Indiana. In 1970, he started selling his gourmet popcorn which is still the most popular brand of popcorn in America. From the Van Camp's website: "America’s #1 Pork & Beans since 1909! Van Camp’s Pork & Beans traces its roots back to 1861 when Gilbert Van Camp and his wife Hester opened a family grocery store in Indianapolis, IN where they canned fruits and vegetables. Gilbert’s son, Frank, discovered that their Pork & Beans tasted even better when served hot in t...

Pasties Baked Apples Vernor's ginger ale (bottled in MI since the Civil War) Cherry Chocolate Shortbread Cookies This was a very beige dinner but tasty! A pasty (past-ee) are a savory filled pastry. Copper and iron deposits were discovered in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan during the 1840s. Many of the first settlers to the area were immigrants from Cornwall of England, with years of mining experience. Pasties were a convenient lunch to carry into the mines. It could be held by the crust on the edges with dirty hands with the crust was tossed after the meal was completed. The traditional filling is meat, potatoes, and onion. There are also two-course pasties. The meat filling is on one side, a stale bread or roll of dough in the middle, and jam or fruit on the other side. The apple blossom is the state flower. Vernor's ginger ale is the oldest brand of ginger ale in America. It was developed in Detroit and has been sold since 1866. Michigan is also a leading produc...

Cincinnati-style chili Fried Apples and Onions Tomato juice Buckeyes The kids thought the chili was pretty good. They liked it even better the next day served on tostadas topped with melted cheese. We choose an apple side dish because Johnny Appleseed, although born in Massachusetts, lived and planted many apple trees in the Ohio region. Tomato juice was voted the official state beverage in 1965. Buckeye candies are delicious bites of peanut butter and chocolate. They resemble the nut from the official state tree, the buckeye.