Doan Family Holiday Recipes

Family time is the best time, and it’s only better when delicious food and snacks are added! The Doans love family get togethers and there’s nothing more special than dusting off those old family recipe cards and sharing a taste of generations past. If you’re looking for some holiday inspiration this year, try out one our own family recipes and start your own traditions today!

Pumpkin Rolls

Perfect for the fall season, Pumpkin Rolls are a delicious treat that can be served anytime between Halloween and Thanksgiving (really any time of the year is fine, they’re just that good).

Beat 3 eggs for 5 minutes. Gradually add 1 cup sugar. Stir in ⅔ cup pumpkin and 1 tsp lemon juice. 

Sift together: 

¾ C Flour

2 Tsp Cinnamon

½ Tsp Nutmeg

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Ginger

½ Tsp Salt

Fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread into a greased and floured jelly roll pan. Top with 1 cup chopped walnuts and bake at 375 for 15 minutes only. Turn out onto a towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Roll together and cool. Then unroll spread with 1 cup powdered sugar and 6 oz of cream cheese, 4 tsp of butter or margarine, 1 tsp vanilla. Beat together and spread over the roll. Roll and chill.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

Just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this INCREDIBLY simple treat! If you’ve never had a popcorn ball before you absolutely have to try this recipe, they’re just so good!

1 Package Brown Sugar

1 Cup White Karo Syrup

1 Stick of Butter

1 Can Evaporated Milk

3 Gallons of Popped Corn

Combine brown sugar and syrup and cook stirring constantly until boiling. Add butter and stir until melted. Add evaporated milk and bring to a boil again over medium heat, cooking until it forms a softball (between 235 and 245 degrees Fahrenheit). Pour over popcorn to form balls and let cool.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

How do you make a pecan pie even better? Add a little chocolate of course! This fall classic with just a little twist is perfect for any family gathering you’ve got coming this year – or just make it for yourself, we won’t judge!

½ Cup Sugar

1 Cup light corn syrup

½ to ¼ cup butter – marg ok

4 eggs – beaten

1 tsp vanilla 

⅛ tsp salt

1 cup broken pecans

8-9” pie shell unbaked

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a pan – cook on low heat until butter melts. Remove from heat, pour VERY slowly into beaten eggs. Add vanilla, salt, and nuts. Add chocolate chips into the bottom of the pie shell. Pour mixture into pie shell, bake at 350 for 50 mins. Pecan Pie Recipe but sprinkle some chocolate chips on the crust before adding the rest of the filling.

Pepparkakor

Here’s one you may have never heard of! Pepparkakor is a traditional Swedish cookie that’s very similar to a gingerbread cookie and is a traditional favorite of the Doans. You won’t believe how delicious these thin, crispy cookies are!

¾ Cup Shortening

1 Cup Sugar

1 tbsp Molasses

1 Egg Beaten

2 Cups Flour

2 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp each of Cloves, Cinnamon, and Ginger

Cream sugar and shortening together, add egg and molasses, blend well. Add the spices to the flour and sift, then add it to the creamed mixture. Let cool for 1 hour in the refrigerator covered with saran wrap. Then roll into balls the size of walnuts, put onto a cookie sheet, then with glass covered with saran wrap, roll each ball in sugar then flatten with the glass. Put nuts or raisins on them in the middle and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Joy

Who doesn’t love a little pumpkin? This super simple recipe is so easy, you might just have everything you need in your pantry today!

1 yellow cake mix – put in bowl (remove 1 cup)

Mix w 1 egg and 1 stick butter

Press in a greased and floured 9×13 pan 

Mix together 1 16oz can of pumpkin and 2 eggs 

Pour over

Take the reserved cup of cake mix –

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp butter 

½ cup sugar 

Mix together and sprinkle over top 

Bake in 350 oven for 45 mins 

Top w a dollop of whipped cream

Doan Family Halloween Traditions (Plus: Snack Ideas!)

The 2020 Doan Family Halloween Party

Every year for Halloween, we have big, themed parties. We love any reason to get together, but Halloween is one of our favorites! As many of you know, and for those of you who didn’t know, Jenny started her sewing journey as a costume sewist for the theater. She’s always been a whiz at whipping up costumes! Besides being passionate about dressing up, she loves a reason to decorate the house and always goes all out during the holidays! 

Leading up to Halloween, we pick a family theme (last year was Harry Potter and this year is Disney) and then often search Pinterest to find wacky and spooky food inspiration to bring to our party. We keep it easy, but fun! 

Besides bowls of candy, here are a few Doan family Halloween snacks that have shown up in recent years.

Past Halloween snack spreads:

Wafer cookie “Band-Aids”, marshmallow and caramel “Cotton Swabs”, finger shaped breadsticks, and more.
Fruit “pizza”, layered dip, chocolate cake, Feet Loaf, cookies, and more!

“Feet” Loaf:

Meatloaf, with a sinister twist.

One year, Sarah was inspired to shape some meatloaf into . . . you guessed it, a foot. To make this, take your family favorite meatloaf recipe and get to cooking! All you need to do is shape up your meatloaf into a foot shape, add an onion ankle bone and some onion toe nails, and you’ve got yourself a spooky but tasty treat!

Mummy and Monster Cookies:

Oreo Monsters and Nutter Butter Mummies. Yum!

For these easy treats, just take some white melting chocolate, melt it, and for the Nutter Butter Mummies, drape and drizzle it over the cookies. For the Oreo Monsters, add some green food coloring and dip the cookies into it! Add some eyeball sprinkles before the chocolate sets and you’re good to go!

Happy Halloween! Do you have any family Halloween traditions? What are some of your favorite Halloween candies or treats?

Summer Family Fun! with 3 BBQ Side Dish Recipes

The Doan family loves getting together and throwing a party! Especially in the summertime, we gather at one of our houses to be together outside and eat good food. 

Summer Fun! The kids race around playing soccer.

Sometimes we swim, sometimes we camp, sometimes we bring out the dirt bikes and ride around playing dirt bike soccer, but no matter what we do, we always have good food and good company! 

The Doan boys gearing up for a round of dirt bike soccer!

Accompanying our hamburgers and hotdogs and varieties of chips, here are a few of our favorite family barbeque side dishes!

Potato Salad 

A family barbeque classic — we love our potato salad! 

  • 6  medium potatoes (2 pounds)
  • 1 Tablespoon minced dried onion
  • 13 cup dill pickle relish
  • 2 Tablespoons dill pickle juice
  • 14 cups mayonnaise 
  • 2  Tablespoons mustard 
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt (to taste)
  • 4 hardboiled eggs – cooked, peeled and grated. 
  1. Cook potatoes in boiling, salted water until tender.
  2. Drain well, and let cool. 
  3. Peel potatoes. 
  4. Cube potatoes into a large bowl. 
  5. Add onion, relish and grated eggs to bowl.
  6. Combine mayo, mustard, garlic salt, and pickle juice. 
  7. Add mayo mixture to bowl.
  8. Mix well to coat potatoes and combine all ingredients. 
  9. Cover and chill thoroughly. Enjoy! 

Cowboy Beans

The perfect barbeque side to compliment your spread!

  • 1 lb hamburger
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 5-6 cans of beans, drained (red, black, and pinto) mix em’ up!
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 2 cans chopped tomatoes, drained
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Brown the hamburger and cook the onions, then mix it all together in a crock-pot and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours!

Strawberry Pie

Jenny’s favorite is the strawberry pie. We never have a summer party without it! 

  • 1 9″ frozen pie crust, baked
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups of water
  • 1/4 cup of cornstarch
  • 1 lb of sliced strawberries
  • 1 (3oz) package of strawberry jello
  1. Bake pie crust according to package directions, remove and then let cool.
  2. While the crust is in the oven, add sugar and water to a large saucepan over medium heat, whisk the cornstarch in slowly and make sure there are no leftover lumps. Stir continuously for about 4-5 minutes until the mixture is thickened and turns a little clear.
  3. Remove from heat and whisk in the strawberry jello mix until completely dissolved. Let this mixture cool to room temperature.
  4. Once cooled, toss in the strawberries and make sure they are evenly distributed. Pour into pie crust.
  5. Place in the refrigerator to set for about 2-3 hours and then serve! (Add whipped cream if desired!)
The Doan Family gather together outside. Picture by Hannah Earnheart.

Do you have some fun family and friend traditions? What are some of your favorite barbeque side dishes?

Artist Spotlight: The Quilting Marine

Join us LIVE on Tuesday June 1st at 11:00 am cst as The Quilting Marine joins Missouri Star Live as a special guest!
The Quilting Marine

People often find quilting in times of need to help them through difficult situations – that’s how The Quilting Marine first discovered his love for quilting. After serving 20 years in the United States Marine Corps, The Quilting Marine found quilting as his therapy for PTSD related issues. Now, he has a new goal and his YouTube channel says it best, “I taught myself to quilt and would like to help you make quilts that you can admire for years to come.”

What is your favorite part of the quilting process?

My favorite part is piecing the blocks together and giving the quilt away for someone else to enjoy. It’s the building of the quilt for me and is my therapy. I don’t get wrapped around the wheel on everything else. I live behind the mantra of “it’s only fabric” and “it’s only thread”.

Who are your favorite fabric designers?

Robert Kaufman; Michael Miller; Riley Blake; Brother and Sister Design 2009

What notion or sewing tool are you most dependent on?

I depend mainly on my omnigrid rulers, rotary cutters and my machine, the Brother PQ1500sl. And if I had to throw something else in, it would be the Oliso iron.

How were you introduced to sewing and quilting?

I taught myself around the time my grandson was to be born. I wanted to create something for him that was one of a kind.

Join us LIVE on Tuesday June 1st at 11:00 am cst as The Quilting Marine joins Missouri Star Live as a special guest!
The Quilting Marine at work on another project.

What was the most frustrating sewing project you ever worked on?

The one for my grandson was my first quilt and was the most frustrating because I entered a world that I had no idea about. Once I realized that there wasn’t much to create a quilt, that is one of the reasons it attracted me. The repetitiveness of building a quilt keeps me sane. Even though the process is repeated, the result that comes from it is different every time.

What do you do to find inspiration/encourage your creativity?

I find my inspiration from watching other quilters and add or take away from what they have created to make it my own. I love using a lot of color when building my quilts. Colors to me bring out the quilt.

What occupation would you like to try if sewing/making wasn’t an option?

I would love to be a hard hat diver/saturation diver. They get paid handsomely to do what they do and the risk is tremendous.

Who is your favorite fictional character?

The Punisher. He is a normal guy who has no superpowers and takes on the responsibility of fighting crime. I like normal guys who do extraordinary things.

Join us LIVE on Tuesday June 1st at 11:00 am cst as The Quilting Marine joins Missouri Star Live as a special guest!
A beautiful example of The Quilting Marine’s artistic ability and craftsmanship.

What fabric have you been hoarding/saving the longest?

Batiks are my all time favorite and whenever subscribers send me fabric, I will hoard Batiks until I find something that the fabric is perfect for. I don’t normally like flowers, I’m not the flower guy but the 2009 Brother Sister Design Studio Fabric has me hoarding it too. This one is super hard to find now so I hoard it as much as I can.

Describe your perfect day.

A day on the beach in the Caribbean with my wife, a fishing rod with a line in the water and no hook and a cool drink. Sleep, wake, piece a block and repeat. Maybe some eating in there somewhere as well.

Want to know more about The Quilting Marine and his incredible journey into quilting? Join us on Missouri Star LIVE, June 1st, 2021 at 11:00 am CST, as he joins us as a special guest! Until then, be sure to follow him on Instagram and Facebook and don’t forget to subscribe to his YouTube channel to keep up with his journey while learning more about the art of quilting.

Celebrate National Walnut Day with a New Pincushion

The Cactus Pincushion from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Did you know today is National Walnut Day? Of course you did, who could ever forget such a major holiday! We here at Missouri Star Quilt Co. are big fans of this special day because walnuts can be your new best friend when it comes to quilting and sewing! Crushed walnut shells are often used as stuffing material for pincushions because, not only do they hold their shape and make a great pincushion, the oil from the walnut shells has restorative properties that keep our needles sharp.

So grab some fabric from your stash (you won’t need much) and check out these three great and unique ideas for a pincushion – each featuring crushed walnut shells as the filling! You may surprise yourself by how creative you get with found materials from around your sewing studio!

Mason Jar Pincushion

The Mason Jar Pincushion from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Who doesn’t love repurposing materials from around the house? Not only do you get the opportunity to flex your creative ingenuity, but you make something from scraps that would normally just be discarded. This handy upcycled pincushion not only stores your pins (and keeps them sharp thanks to our friend the walnut) but offers additional storage for bobbins, bits of thread, and whatever you can think of in the jar below!

Watch the Live Replay >

Stay Sharp with Crushed Walnut Shells >

Happy Chicks Pincushion

The Happy Chicks Pincushion pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Let’s face it, you can’t help but love the classic farmhouse sewing notions from generations past. Remember the little sewing tomato? We know you do! Pay homage to yesteryear with this scrappy quilt block chicken pincushion – the perfect combination of farmhouse chic and scrappy modern piecing! With the addition of a bag of crushed walnut shells, this simple project comes together in a flash and is a great addition to your sewing table.

Get the Happy Chicks Pincushion Pattern >

Watch the Free Tutorial >

Cactus Pincushion

The Cactus Pincushion in a Missouri Star Thimble Container

We are absolutely in love with this cute cactus pincushions (and they look mighty fine planted in a Missouri Star Thimble Container too)! While this project might look slightly more advanced than the others, that couldn’t be father from the truth. Grab a little green felt and your favorite pot to plant this project in and you’ll be ready to store and sharpen your pins in no time!

Watch the Live Replay >

Don’t Forget the Crushed Walnut Shells >

Which pincushion will you create? Share with us by using #msqcshowandtell on Facebook and Instagram!