Homestead Recipes: Midwestern Inspirations, Family Favorites, and Pearls of Wisdom from a Sassy Home Cook

by Amanda Rettke

Overview

From the author of Surprise-Inside Cakes and the hugely popular I Am Homesteader and I Am Baker blogs—a book filled with sass, charm, and 110 tried-and-true home-cooked favorite recipes that shine whether you’re a megamart devotee or a garden-to-table enthusiast.

With 75 chickens, 25 ducks, 5 guinea hens, and a 1/2-acre garden on her Minnesota homestead, Amanda Rettke and her family have dedicated themselves to learning about the land and feeding everyone who steps foot on it, from beloved friends to delivery drivers. After pleasing many sweet teeth with recipes from her popular I Am Baker blog, Amanda opens up more of her kitchen to share how her family eats on a daily basis. All of her 110 recipes are accessible regardless of how close to the land you live, with a combination of ingredients you can grow at home (but don’t have to) and store-bought staples. A small-town smart-aleck, Amanda pairs her recipes with sassy commentary and food and homestead photos as beautiful as her famous desserts. She’ll make you feel right at home with practical, easy methods and real ingredients that give you incredible flavor.

Amanda has you covered with recipes for all types of meals, with chapters for breakfast, casseroles, soups, appetizers, ground beef, chicken, pork, vegetables, salads, bars, desserts, and cookies. She even has an entire chapter dedicated to zucchini recipes, as every Midwesterner with a garden has been subjected to Zucchini-pocalypse—that moment when you can’t even give away the bounteous green deluge. 

Homestead Recipes is sure to please, with Amanda’s no-fail versions of delicious, unmistakably Midwestern staple recipes, including:

• Tater Tot Hotdish
• Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms
• Skillet Hamburger Nachos
• Buffalo Stuffed Chicken
• Roasted Asparagus Puff Pastry
• Zucchini Corn Chowder
• Butterscotch Bars
• Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Amanda invites you into her kitchen, garden, and family with this eagerly awaited, down-to-earth cookbook.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063008212
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/12/2022
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	73,886
File size:	207 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Amanda Rettke began her food blogging career in October 2010 with the introduction of her first surprise-inside cake, and since then she's been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Woman's World, Midwest Living, Brides, and Romantic Homes. A regular contributor to Food Network and HuffPost Food online, she has also been featured on the Martha Stewart Show and marthastewart.com. She lives with her husband and five children near Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I Am Homesteader ix

Meet the Family xii

1 Breakfast 1

2 Appetizers 33

3 Soups and Salads 73

4 Hot Dish 101

5 Main Dishes 119

6 Sides 159

7 Zucchini 177

8 Cookies, Bars, and Desserts 197

Acknowledgments 272

Universal Conversion Chart 275

Index 277

Editorial Reviews

02/21/2022

I Am Homesteader blogger Rettke (Surprise-Inside Cakes) offers the homiest of home cooking with recipes that highlight “how fantastic and crazy the food is here in the Midwest.” She begins with sweet breakfasts, including overnight caramel rolls, while her husband weighs in with a savory pulled pork hash. Among the filling appetizers are a skillet beer cheese bread that owes its golden brown finish to an amount of butter that’s “nothing short of ridiculous,” and a Piggy Pickle Pizza topped with Alfredo sauce, Canadian bacon, and sliced dills. Making no apologies, soups and salads go the sinful route with options such as lasagna soup, and a salad made with Granny Smiths and roughly chopped Snickers bars. If the main dishes are not haute cuisine, there are at least a trio of French onion entrées, including French onion pork chops. For a side, eight heads of garlic meet six pounds of red potatoes in the hundred-clove mashed potatoes. Zucchini, of all things, gets a chapter of its own and, even more surprisingly, four of its seven recipes are tasty desserts (chocolate zucchini cake, anyone?). This clears the path for the expansive, vegetable-free dessert chapter itself, featuring some 31 decadent cookies, bars, and cakes. A spoonful of sugar, then several more, help the treats go down in this waistline-be-damned parade of comfort foods. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Amanda Rettke is truly the heart and soul of the food blogging community, with her authenticity, laughter, genuine spirit, and passion for what she does. My girl Amanda keeps it real! These recipes are the kind I grew up loving, filled with soul and pure comfort. This book is a necessity for home cooks everywhere, and I can't wait for everyone to have this glimpse into Amanda's heart” — Jocelyn Delk Adams, author of Grandbaby Cakes: Modern Recipes, Vintage Charm, Soulful Memories

“Whether you pick up Homestead Recipes for the food or the writing, you'll be fully satisfied with both. Amanda delivers no-fail food in a delightfully nonsensical way. Loaded with flavor and tips but also humor and heart, this book will have you gathering your family around the table to eat, then lingering a little longer to swap stories, share anecdotes, and make memories with a little added sprinkle of Amanda's signature Midwestern flair.” — Susie Bulloch, BBQ expert and founder of Hey Grill Hey

“Food is a common love language that connects us all. These are Amanda’s family favorites, and you can feel the love she has for each member of her family in every recipe. This magical love language comes to life in your own kitchen with your own family for years of treasured memories to come, with amazingly delicious food as the centerpiece.” — Rachel Farnsworth, author of The Stay-at-Home Chef Slow Cooker Cookbook

“Amanda makes cozy home cooking easy and accessible with recipes that are perfect every time. Filled with tried and true family favorites, this is a book you’ll reach for again and again.” — Holly Nilsson, founder of Spend with Pennies

“I Am Homesteader blogger Rettke (Surprise-Inside Cakes) offers the homiest of home cooking with recipes that highlight “how fantastic and crazy the food is here in the Midwest.” . . . A spoonful of sugar, then several more, help the treats go down in this waistline-be-damned parade of comfort foods.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Amanda Rettke is truly the heart and soul of the food blogging community, with her authenticity, laughter, genuine spirit, and passion for what she does. My girl Amanda keeps it real! These recipes are the kind I grew up loving, filled with soul and pure comfort. This book is a necessity for home cooks everywhere, and I can't wait for everyone to have this glimpse into Amanda's heart

Jocelyn Delk Adams

Whether you pick up Homestead Recipes for the food or the writing, you'll be fully satisfied with both. Amanda delivers no-fail food in a delightfully nonsensical way. Loaded with flavor and tips but also humor and heart, this book will have you gathering your family around the table to eat, then lingering a little longer to swap stories, share anecdotes, and make memories with a little added sprinkle of Amanda's signature Midwestern flair.

Susie Bulloch

Food is a common love language that connects us all. These are Amanda’s family favorites, and you can feel the love she has for each member of her family in every recipe. This magical love language comes to life in your own kitchen with your own family for years of treasured memories to come, with amazingly delicious food as the centerpiece.

Rachel Farnsworth

Amanda makes cozy home cooking easy and accessible with recipes that are perfect every time. Filled with tried and true family favorites, this is a book you’ll reach for again and again.

Holly Nilsson