By Sheri Hopkins, Lifestyle Contributor
Hello everyone! Brrrrr! It’s cold in Mansfield, Arkansas. I don’t like to complain but I am not a fan of winter weather. I can take the 40’s, but below that and I’m freezing.
My husband was from Pennsylvania, and he always made fun of us Arkie’s because he said, “you Arkie’s have no clue what cold weather is.” He said, “as long as I have been in Arkansas, I’ve never not been able to make it to the store.” As a matter of fact, as soon as the snow started, he wanted to get out on the road. It used to make me so mad I could spit. This one particular time, he was needing his meds from the Greenwood Walmart Pharmacy. He had been at home all day and as soon as it started sleeting, he heads to Greenwood. I saw him and Jacob drive by the bank and I called him and asked where he was going. Sure enough, Greenwood. I said, “have you lost your mind?” He wouldn’t listen to me and turn around and go home. He got between here and Huntington, not very far, and ended up in a pasture and had to be pulled out. I loved telling him I told him so. But I was worried about my son, so I didn’t ride him too hard. He never wanted to admit when I was right.
At Christmas we always had to have a real tree. No matter what. We have had Charlie Brown trees, that’s what him and the kids would go cut, and we have purchased beautiful trees from Lowes. One year he wanted us to all go out and find the perfect tree. Same scenario, we are in the middle of nowhere, I believe we were on Poteau Mtn., and it was slick, and he just kept on going and I finally had to put my foot down before we slid all the way back down. Them Yankees don’t want to listen. I always teased him about being a Yankee. Wouldn’t eat okra and it took me years to get him to eat white gravy. I told him, you cannot live in Arkansas and not eat white gravy, period. Then it was the way he pronounced cities in Arkansas. Lavaca was always “La va as in ah ca.” My sweet mother-in-law always came once a year and we always tried to make her time here a nice, restful visit. Her son, the Yankee, always wanted to drag her out to places she didn’t want to go. This particular time we took her to the Knoppers Ford/Jack Creek area and drove her all over the area. She read the sign that says Ouachita National Forest. She pronounced it Wa Cheetah National Forest. Well, that Yankee son of hers made so much fun of her, he had no room to talk. I love thinking about all the memories of that crazy man of mine. Used to tell him when I would get mad at him that I was going to kill him and drive to Scott County and dump him out. We had lots of laughs out of that. I guess the moral of this story is – men, listen to your wives and don’t get out on the roads when they are icy. I kind of got on a pig trail. Y’all be safe another little snowstorm may be headed our way.
This week’s recipe is for Snickerdoodle Bread, If I repeat my recipes, it’s because I can’t keep up with what all I have gave y’all.
SNICKERDOODLE BREAD
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups, plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 package Hershey cinnamon chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two large load fans with cooking spray. In a large bowl, cream the butter, 2 cups of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and salt until fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Then, add sour cream and vanilla and mix well. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl and add to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add cinnamon chips and stir in batter. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared pans. Mix the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the top of the batter in each pan. Make a tent with foil and put on top of the loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes until done. Let cool before removing from pan. It is good with some butter on it! Enjoy!
