Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens

We're heading into the kitchen with Wendy Doornink, the color services manager at Hirshfield’s, a family-owned paint, wallcoverings and window fashions company headquarted in Minnesota. 

Wendy has been painting since she could hold a paint brush, so when Jason and I started talking about painting our kitchen and possibly even our cabinets, I knew I needed professional help.

Maybe you can relate. It's because I have a hard time choosing paint colors, for two main reasons—I’m worried I’ll choose a color that once it’s on the walls, I won’t like it. Second, as soon as I choose a color and like it, I find another I wish I would have used.

We cover timeless and daring paint colors, how to incorporate personality into our kitchens, painting cabinets, and we even talk about wallpaper and a few fun places to use it.

Show Notes & Links

Hirshfields.com

Blog

Facebook Hirshfield’s

Instagram @hirshfieldspaint

Pinterest @hirshfields

Hirshfield’s At Home Magazine

Hirshfield’s Design Resource Showroom

The Effects of Light on Color

Color 101

Staci Mergenthal

RandomSweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website randomsweets.com

Instagram @potatoesandmittens

Instagram @randomsweets

Facebook Random Sweets

Pinterest @staciperry

Email: [email protected]

It’s hockey season and I live in Minnesota, the State of Hockey. And even though my kids played hockey in South Dakota where’s it’s not school-sanctioned, there’s one thing we have in common across the sport—once a hockey mom, always a hockey mom, even after our kids have shot their last puck as a high school player. We may not wear our player’s photo button on our puffy winter coats anymore, but we’ll always proudly wear the “hockey mom” title. 

It’s been a few years since my guests, Kathy Lesnar and Julie Pederson and I screamed from the bleachers together, so I thought it would be fun to swap a few stories and share the recipes that our hockey players loved at team breakfasts and potluck dinners—like caramel rolls, biscuits and gravy, crockpot spaghetti at the hotel, egg bake, pancakes and butterscotch muffins, and it wouldn’t be the Midwest if we didn’t include Casey’s breakfast pizza on that menu. 

From hotel hallway knee hockey, parent bonding over beer in the lobby, and driving to games in blizzards, lifelong friendships were formed on and off the ice—among players, parents, even grandparents.

So whatever sport or team your kids are, or were, involved in, I think you’ll be able to relate to our amusing and heartwarming recollection of our time as Brookings Ranger Hockey Moms.

Recipes and photos from this episode are on randomsweets.com.

breakfast egg bake

butterscotch muffins

cake batter pancakes

Staci Mergenthal:

Randomsweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets

Email: [email protected]

We’re going back to school—to the school cafeteria, that is. And although I do ask about good ol’ square school lunch pizza, and the pairing of cinnamon rolls & chili, my guests, Karla Sawvell and Amanda Reilly are spilling the beans on how the Huron South Dakota School District is implementing Farm To School.

In addition to being one of the very few public school nutrition programs that cooks from scratch AND bakes all of their own bread, they are striving to serve fresh and local foods to 2,200 students each day.

You’ll come to the end of this episode knowing:

1.     How to champion your school district to cultivate a farm to school initiative if it isn’t already. 

2.     If you’re a farmer, rancher or producer, you can help revolutionize school lunch in your area.

3.     How many pounds of cheese, and the secret mixture of cheeses they use, to make 132 commercial-sized sheet pans of pizza in one day.

So grab your pencil box and sharpener, because it’s time to learn how local agriculture and school nutritionists are positively impacting student well-being and benefiting the community. The seasoned turnip fries with herb dipping sauce is on randomsweets.com.

National Farm To School Network

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program

Farm to School Planning Toolkit from USDA

Find the network in your state https://www.farmtoschool.org/our-network

Facebook: National Farm to School Network

Contact Amanda Reilly, Nutrition Director or Karla Sawvell, Farm2School Coordinator: [email protected] and [email protected]. 

#agriculture #food #schoolnutrition #farming #FarmToSchool

Staci Mergenthal:

Randomsweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets

Today we’re heading to rural Dixon, Iowa to meet Lauren Schroeder and her mom Katie on their family farm, and Lauren’s FFA advisor and ag teacher, Jenna Kingsley. 

Lauren is a junior at Calamus-Wheatland High School. She shows sheep and rabbits at county fairs, plays softball and volleyball, she’s the junior class president, and somehow, Lauren, who is a three-time National FFA grant recipient and a My Impact Challenge Special Award winner, has found time to grow more than $15,300 in retail value of fruits and vegetables over the past two years and donate them to local nonprofits. 

Having already donated more than 7,000 pounds from her bounty of 25 different crops, Lauren will triple her impact when she meets her goal of expanding to two acres and growing and donating a total of 20,000 pounds of fresh produce to at least 10 organizations by the end of her community service project in the summer 2025.

We have a lot to talk about like where in the world Lauren came up with this idea, how many green beans she’s donated and how she likes to cook them at home, why she’s watering it all by hand with watering cans, how Jenna sees Lauren’s project inspiring others, and what impact her generous bounties have had on communities. 

Her mom, Katie shares her recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce, how Lauren gives with the goodness of her heart, and, a heartwarming story about the time she saw firsthand how the fresh produce affected a mom and her children at a domestic violence shelter.

While you’re listening, go to randomsweets.com to see the photos of Lauren with all her bounties and the recipes for green beans and spaghetti sauce.

Watch Lauren on ABC News: Teen harvests huge vegetable garden for charity. 

Lauren in the Washington Post: Iowa teen grew 7,000 pounds of veggies, then gave them all away

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets

Email: [email protected]

Since I can remember, my mom, Linda Moe, has shared dozens and dozens of delicious goodies at our family’s Christmas gatherings.

Today we’re talking about most of them, like vintage treats from her mom like mashed potato candy, cherry bing bars, and fruit salad with a cooked pineapple dressing, and newer recipes she’s added over the years like Ritz cracker cookies, Corn Pops clusters, puppy chow, taco dip, veggie pizza, caramel corn chips, chex mix, and orange chewins cookies with orange slice candies. 

Of course, we love our bars in the Midwest so we’re reminiscing about the ones with our take on candy bars like Mounds and Babe Ruth, 9x13 pans that start with a box of cereal like s’mores, caramel rice krispies and peanut butter krispies treats, and our Christmas classics like 7-layer and mud hen bars.

We each share a funny memory from Christmases past, like what happened to my mom’s forgotten kisses, and why my sisters and I brought large totes with us to Christmas at mom’s one year and headed straight to her spare bedroom.

Get the recipes on randomsweets.com.

Staci Mergenthal

www.randomsweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets

Email: [email protected]

Rural South Dakota friends since kindergarten and K-mart co-workers in high school, Carissa Trygstad and Val Ellens have a bond that even Val’s dense molasses cookies can’t break. 

They’re joining me today because I heard that Carissa hosts an annual ranch cracker snack mix tossing party, and to top it off, she weaves in a Christmas cookie exchange and an evening of cocktails and appetizers with their friends. Get the recipes and photos on ⁠randomsweets.com.

It hasn’t always gone as planned though, so along with Carissa’s snack mix recipe from her friend Lorna Nielsen and Val and Carissa’s tips for planning a successful night, these BFFs share some pretty funny stories from over the years. Like how they define the 5-second rule and why scented garbage bags aren’t on the list. 

Carissa has done this enough years now to know a few things about what works, what doesn't, and what to do when things go hilariously wrong. Like how a bag of snack mix ended up on the floor so now they use the large, heavy duty Ziplock bags. 

Carissa Trygstad: @carissatrygstad

Val Ellens: Instagram @valellens

Showplace Cabinetry: Instagram @showplacecabinets

Form Fitness: Instagram @formfitnessboutique

Staci Mergenthal

Randomsweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets

Email: [email protected]

For Minnesota native and public relations professional Sarah Peterson, launching her own blog with family recipes helped her find her writing voice. But it didn’t take long for Sarah of Vintage Dish and Tell blog to expand her passion for handed-down recipes and the stories behind them by inviting others to share the cherished food and family traditions that are dear to their hearts. 

We talked about Aunt Jeannie’s famous lasagna parties and her friend Annette’s sugar cookies, which recipe earned Sarha the title of a Minnesota State Fair blue-ribbon baker, recipes to inspire you such as Carol’s Krispies Bars, Ede’s Cucumbers, Sarah’s Lucy's Juicy Tater Tot Hot Dish, gluten-free coffee rum cake with boozy buttercream, and chocolate chip shortbread, plus two cheesy hash brown casserole recipes.

Some people don’t like to share their secret thrift shops, but Sarah generously gave us the scoop on where she finds the best vintage wares and enjoys an afternoon of nostalgia in St. Paul and northern Minnesota. And bonus, she gives us a “local’s” list of where she goes out to eat in the Twin Cities or Duluth.

Recipes, photos, and recommendations from this episode available on Randomsweets.com.

Sarah Peterson

Blog: vintagedishandtell.com

Instagram: @vintagedishandtell

Facebook: Vintage Dish and Tell

Staci Mergenthal

Randomsweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets

Email: [email protected]

This episode is dedicated to thanking you, a listener of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens. Plus I share a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes, like sausage stuffing, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, KAHLÚA pumpkin chocolate cheesecake, cherry crunchobblerumble, and pumpkin bars with maple cream cheese frosting. I'm also sharing ways you can support this podcast and a sneak peek into a few upcoming episodes. Thank you for pressing play today!

Recipes in this episode:

Sausage Stuffing

Cinnamon Chip Muffins

Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Turkey Leftover Ideas

9 Recipes for Cheesy Hash Browns/Funeral Potatoes

Ham and Cheese Stuff’n Puff Breakfast Bake

Sausage Hash Brown Egg Bake

How to Smoke Cheese, Crackers and Summer Sausage

Salami Pasta Salad

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Butterscotch Monkey Bread

Smoky Garlic Hummus

KAHLÚA and Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

Cherry Crunchobberumble

Staci Mergenthal

⁠Randomsweets.com⁠

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Stine Aasland’s dream of creating a Nordic Waffle Wafflelution has come true, and that means we get to delight in sweet and savory, handheld, heart-shaped waffles all day long. 

Stine, known as Norway’s Waffle Queen, came to America in 2015 with two suitcases, a waffle recipe, and a dream. On today’s show, Stine and Nordic Waffle’s CEO, Jeremy Ely, talk about everything from selling cozy, soft and thin waffles at Valleyfair to the Minnesota State Fair, to what happened when a pandemic shut down their main revenue stream, her advice to people with a business dream, and why they like to partner with companies close to home. 

Stine, Jeremy and I talk about what we add to our Nordic Waffles to make them extra special. 

And then Stine unexpectedly advises us on the only one ingredient she says is not very good on a Nordic waffle. And if you want to make the Scandi snack at home, Stine shares her basic Norwegian waffle recipe, which includes her two most special ingredients—cardamom and love. Get the recipes and photos on randomsweets.com.

Web: nordicwaffles.com

Where to Buy: https://www.nordicwaffles.com/locations

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @nordicwaffles

Facebook: Nordic Waffles

TikTok: nordicwaffles

#wafflelution

Randomsweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets

Email: [email protected]

Also mentioned: 

Kramarczuk’s

Top The Tater

Hormel Foods

Urban Growler Brewing Company

Farm Stores

Gjetost (brown cheese)

Lunds & Byerlys

Kowalski’s Markets

Cub Foods

Hy-Vee

Potluck at Rosedale Mall

Pheasant Restaurant & Lounge

DashMart

Tuck a few Kleenex in your sleeve. Everyday living—the highs and lows of everyday life—is exactly what today’s show encompasses. Because whether we, or someone we love, is braving adult or youth mental health battles, our everyday lives continue around us. But how we cope with and support each other makes all the difference in the world. You might cry, laugh, cry again, and then even laugh out loud.

In the first half of the show, Kristin and Anna Rehkamp share their personal story about how Anna’s panic attack at a well-child check in 2020 when she was 11 years old turned into a debilitating panic disorder within two weeks. Counseling was booked months out. And their daughter was in crisis.

Although it is hard for Anna to talk about it, she and her mom bravely and candidly tell their story, with the purpose of changing and opening the current conversation and advocacy, or lack thereof, around youth mental health with parents, children, medical and mental health professionals, the community, and anyone who can help make change. 

Anna is remarkably courageous, and she is wiser than many of us when it comes to accepting people where they’re at. She and her mom continue to advocate for youth mental health initiatives.

This journey led Kristin to write and publish her book titled, “Finding Us: A Mother’s Memoir of Braving Mental Illness with Her Young Daughter,” along with opening La Vie Est Belle, her boutique in Lake Elmo, which in turn, she donates a percentage of net profits to pediatric mental health initiatives. 

I learned that there is a long line of bakers in this family, Anna and Kristin being two of them. And Kristin’s mom, Lynn (Johnson) Rohman, has taken it up a level by publishing two family cookbooks! So naturally, we thought it would be fun to talk about some of their handed-down family recipes like turtle cake, chocolate chip shortbread bars, and cinnamon rolls. 

Recipes, photos, links and Lynn’s dedication to her mom, Eileen (Klinkhammer) Johnson in the family cookbook are on https://randomsweets.com/family-recipes-and-braving-youth-mental-health-with-kristin-and-anna-rehkamp/.

This episode is NOT intended to be medical advice.

Kristin and Anna Rehkamp

shoplavie.co

“Finding Us” 

Instgram: @lavieestbellegiftshop

Facebook: La Vie Est Belle Gift Shop

LinkedIn: La Vie Est Belle

Instagram: @honey_beebakery_

#youthmentalhealth

#smallbusiness

#recipes

Randomsweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets