Secrets of a Southern Kitchen

The World's Best Peanut Butter Fudge

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 22:17:00 +0000

Today I made the world's best peanut butter fudge.

When I first started writing this post, I hadn't even cut it yet, it was in the fridge, cooling off. I made that statement based on licking the spoon and scraping the pot clean and licking the spoon again.

It's that good.

And now that it's cooled and cut and I've tasted it again, I stand by my initial statement. '

This is the world's best peanut butter fudge.

I'm so happy I tried this, and at the same time, a little worried that I might like this just a little too much. It's made from pantry ingredients that I pretty much keep on hand at all times, and it's really easy, too.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 c peanut butter ( I used 3/4 c crunch and 3/4 c smooth)
1 t vanilla
3 T baking cocoa
3 1/2 c confectioners sugar (this is the equivalent of 1 box if you buy it in a box, or usually half a bag if you buy it in a bag)

Melt the butter in large saucepan on medium heat. I should have used one with higher sides, but I didn't know that yet. Add the peanut butter, and stir as it melts until it's well blended. Add the vanilla.

Meanwhile, sift the confectioners sugar, and stir the cocoa into the sugar.

Add the confectioners sugar mixture to the liquid and remove from heat....

...and start stirring.

At one point, you will decide that you have wasted your ingredients and this will never all mix together.

But persevere!

Pour (this is a euphemism--glob the stuff out of the pot) into a foil lined 8x8 pan and allow to cool.

Once it's set, turn onto a cutting board and cut into bite sized squares.

Then eat all of the little crumbly pieces that fall of it or don't look pretty. Well, probably not all or you might sicken yourself out on this delicious fudge, and trust me, you don't want to do that. .

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

See Ya in the Gumbo at Ms. enPlace
Motivation Monday at A Life in Balance
Make Your Home Sing Monday at Moms the Word
Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm
Treasure Box Tuesday at Yesterfood
Homemaking Party at Hope in Every Season
Wake Up Wednesday at SewCraftyAngel

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 01:37:00 +0000

Today I thought I'd share a super easy "recipe" that"s been passed around among all of the ladies of my family this fall. I always say that "quick and easy" are my middle names in the kitchen, and the same is true of most of my family, so this has been a big hit with each and every one of us.

Ingredients:

Spice cake mix
15 oz can of pumpkin
add-ins, if desired--your choice of raisins, dates, chopped nuts, chocolate chips

One of the things I really like about this is the super simplicity of the ingredients list--cake mix and pumpkin are all that's necessary-no eggs, no oil, no "nuthin", just cake mix and pumpkin. The add-ins are just lagniappe--that little something extra that just adds to the deliciousness.

Step 1--open the cake mix and dump it in a bowl.
Step 2--open the pumpkin and dump it in, too.
Step 3--mix it together. I use a big metal spoon.

At about this point, you will start to doubt the veracity of this--it looks like there will never be enough moisture to make this into anything edible, but if you just keep stirring....

...you will end up with a sticky dough that looks like this!

And now is where the fun begins--you may add some additional spices, if you'd like--depending on the cake mix used, I sometimes add pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, allspice, or nutmeg, just a teaspoon or two, total, of spices. The day I made this batch, I totally forget the extra spice. You might notice the pecan halves--I would advise chopped pecans, but I was feeling exceptionally lazy this day and just left them alone. I didn't measure, just added a handful.

Same here, no measurement, I just added a handful of chocolate chips, and stirred them in.

Spoon batter into a paper lined muffin tin. The original version of this called for making 18 muffins, but they come out a little small, so I decided to make only 12, and I liked the size of this batch better.

Bake at 350, for 15-25 minutes, according to the size of the muffins you make.

The dough is really sticky, so I didn't try to smooth it out at all....

...so the resulting muffins are bit rustic looking--what in the food world I guess we'd call artisan.

Variations:

I've made this recipe 3 times, each time slightly different, but each time delicious.

The first time I used a carrot cake mix instead of spice cake, which had carrot slivers and raisins in it, and I added a few chopped nut, made 18 small muffins, and added a simple powdered sugar and milk glaze to the top.

The second time I used spice cake mix, and added chopped dates and nuts, made it in a 9 x 13 pan, and added a cream cheese and powdered sugar glaze.

And this time, as you can see, I used the spice cake mix with chocolate chips and pecans, and no glaze.

I haven't tried it in a loaf pan yet, but I think that's my next experiment. All you have to vary is the cooking time. Use your judgment and insert a toothpick to check for doneness.

I also think you could use a plain cake if that's all you have, and just add some extra spices--pumpkin pie spice, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon--I think it would be great no matter what you add!

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post linked to:

Weekend Re-Treat
Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm
Show and Tell at My Romantic Home
Weekend Bites at Simple Living and Eating
See Ya in the Gumbo at Ms enPlace
Penny Pinching Party at The Thrifty Home
What's Cooking Wednesday at Buns in My Oven

Thanksgiving Classics--Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Praline Topping

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 17:40:00 +0000

This is not your typical Thanksgiving-day-yams-with-marshmallow-topping sweet potatoes, this dish has a yummy topping made with brown sugar, pecans, and butter that melts together into a praline flavored crust on top of soft and sweet mashed sweet potato souffle.

Ingredients:

3 c mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1 c sugar
1/2 c melted butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

If you're using canned sweet potatoes/yams, drain and mash. If using fresh sweet potatoes, bake these ahead of time, then scoop out the insides. (I used to make these with drained, canned sweet potatoes, and thought they were great--until I has some leftover baked sweet potatoes and used them instead. Now I use canned only in case of emergency!) Add the sugar and melted butter. Beat eggs separately, and add after the butter has cooled a little. Add vanilla, and beat with mixer until ingredients are well blended. You will probably still have some lumps, unless you run it through a food processor. You can also mix by hand, but the batter will not be as smooth. Pour this into a greased or cooking-sprayed 8 x 8 pan or equivalent casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, mix together :

3/4 c chopped pecans
1/4 c flour
1/2 c brown sugar
2-3 T melted butter or margarine

Mix together the nuts and flour, then add the brown sugar and stir together. Add the melted butter last, and stir until everything is moistened. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the sweet potatoes.

If I use finely chopped pecans, or for special occasions when I want the finished product to look especially pretty, I add extra pecan halves on top. There's something that happens when I add the pecan halves on top that's more than the sum of the separate ingredients--the nuts take on a completely different taste, with a smoky, roasted flavor, which combines with the brown sugar and butter to a make a candied pecan taste that is out of this world.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, (longer if you make this ahead and refrigerate overnight) or until topping is melted together and browning on the edges.

This makes the best sweet potatoes--the perfect side dish that's also good enough to eat for dessert!

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

In and Out of the Kitchen at Feeding Big
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday at Kathe with an E
PINcentive Blog Hop at Cropped Stories

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 18:33:00 +0000

We eat lots of vegetables these days around my house--not a statement I thought I've ever be making!

For years the vegetable selection in my cupboard and freezer was limited to predominately peas, corn and potatoes, with an occasional green bean thrown in for good measure. I thought I had really branched out when I started feeding my family frozen mixed vegetables! Here lately, though, I make lots and lots of oven roasted vegetables--crispy baked kale, brussels sprouts, and root vegetables, along with our tried-and-true favorites, and we've all been a lot more willing to at least try vegetables that we used to scorn.

And that's what has lead me to try something way outside of our little comfort zone--pizza crust made out of---wait for it---cauliflower. My initial response was "eeeewwww", since cauliflower is one of those veggies that I have disliked since childhood. However. Since I've had some success with other eeewww-factor vegetables by cooking them in unusual-for-me methods, I decided to give this a try.

Since my husband and I are meat-eaters, and my son is a semi-vegetarian (another reason for me to widen my vegetable repertoire) I decided to make two crusts, one for a meat pizza and one for a vegetarian version.

Ingredients: (makes two crusts)

2 bags frozen cauliflower
2 eggs
2 cups finely grated mozzarella cheese
1 t dried minced garlic
1 t salt

The first step was to steam the cauliflower. All of the recipes I'd read on-line mention that the cauliflower needs to be as dry as possible after cooking, so I just covered mine and put it in the microwave from frozen with no extra water and cooked it until it was softish, about 10-12 minutes or so.

The tips I read said to use a ricer, which I don't have. I tried a potato masher, but my cauliflower wasn't really soft enough to mash well, so I broke out my mini food processor and more or less grated it. Then I added eggs, cheese, salt, and garlic, and mixed well. I ended up using my hands to be sure the egg was well incorporated.

Next step, I divided the "dough" (sort of a almost-but-not-quite-"mush" really) into two portions, and pressed each out--one onto this lovely well-used pizza pan...

...like so

And one onto this never-used pizza stone, both of which were sprayed with cooking spray first.

Voila'!

Note: Next time I will use parchment paper instead of cooking spray, because mine stuck.

I baked these at 400F for about 25 minutes, until they started to get firm and light brown on top.

On the meat-eaters pizza, I used basic spaghetti sauce from a jar on half, and pesto (also from a jar) on the other half, topped with cooked ground meat and grated cheese blend.

Bake at 400 degrees for about five minutes, or until toppings are hot and cheese is melted. When I got this out of the oven, I thought it needed more cheese, so I added another handful of mozzarella and stuck it back in the oven for another couple of minutes.

As noted above, the crust stuck pretty badly, so my plated pictures aren't pretty at all, and I totally failed to get a picture of the vegetarian version, topped with pesto, kale, and cheese, but it was a success, as well.

I have to say--this doesn't taste like regular pizza crust, but it's still good in a different kind of way. I will definitely try this again, with the tweaks in cooking techniques that I've noted. And get this--it's not only healthier for us because of being made from a vegetable, it's low-carb, and fairly low-fat, also! So it's win-win!

NOTES:
Next time I will use parchment paper, and do the pre-bake slower and longer. The one on the metal pan stuck worse, I think, but the one on the pizza stone was still damp underneath in the middle.

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
Homemaking Party at Hope in Every Season
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Frugal Thrusday at A Life in Balance
Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm
Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home
Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes
The Weekend Re-Treat at The Best Blog Recipes
Sweet N Savory Sunday at Cookin' for the Seven Dwarfs
The Creative Home & Garden Hop at Mumtopia
In and Out of the Kitchen at Feeding Big
Motivation Monday at A Life in Balance

Quick and Easy Fruit Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 16:21:00 +0000

You may have noticed, I've been on a blog hiatus for a while. I really didn't intended for it to last three months, but somehow the time sped by while I was otherwise engaged. Not sure at what, exactly, but it obviously wasn't cooking or blogging!

We had a long hot summer, par for the course here in the Deep South, and I did as little cooking as possible, just enough to keep us all fed. Just lately, though, I've been in a bit of an entertaining mode. We had someone over to dinner not just once, but twice (one was family, so that may not count); I helped just a little in the planning of food for a bridal shower for one of my nieces...

...aren't they a pretty couple? (sorry, just couldn't resist)

and we've been having some friends, old and new, over on Friday nights for a Torah study at our house.

One of the recipes we pulled out of our family archives for the bridal shower was this super easy, super delicious sweet fruit dip. Then I made it again yesterday for our study group. It's so much better than the pre-made fruit dips, and makes twice or three times as much for the same price.

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 container whipped topping

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy and soft. Add sweetened, condensed milk and mix until well blended. Fold in whipped topping. (I just used my electric mixer on low speed). Cover and refrigerate at least an hour.

(I almost made myself sick while I was making this. First I had to dig our every bit of the sweetened condensed milk, and lick that spatula clean. Then the beaters and the mixing bowl. Fruit, who needs fruit?)

I served it with strawberries, apple slices, and grapes. I had kiwi but I forgot to peel and slice it. I think this would be good with any variety of fruit, and even some cubed pound cake. Or better yet, serve sliced fruit over the pound cake, and use the dip as a sauce over the top.

And yes, it is even better with fruit that just licked off the beaters.

Until next time, good (un)cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm
The Weekend re-Treat at the Best Blog Recipes
Sweet and Savory Saturdays at Dessert Now, Dinner Later
See Ya in the Gumbo at Ms enPlace
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
In & Out of the Kitchen at Feeding Big

Coconut Cream Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 12:41:00 +0000

My daddy is coconut lover from way back, so it really wasn't a big surprise when I asked him what kind of dessert he'd like to have for Father's Day, that he requested coconut cake. I make a really good rich and creamy Italian Cream Cake that has coconut in it, but for this occasion I wanted something a little lighter, not quite as rich---and I remembered this old favorite from long ago, one we haven't made in I-don't-know-when, Coconut Cream Cake.

And as you can see from the picture above, we broke out the fine china, as well as adding a little vanilla ice cream on the side. I love formal dining, don't you?

Ingredients:

1 yellow or white cake, prepared
1 container cool whip
1 can cream of coconut (find this in the alcoholic drink mix aisle, next to the margarita mix--this is one of the ingredients in a pina colada)
grated or flaked coconut

Step 1: Make a plain white or yellow cake. I used Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Golden cake mix, but I "doctored it up" and made my Sour Cream Pound Cake From a Mix, but you can make one from scratch or just a regular cake mix cake if you'd like. (Hint: If you use a cake mix, use a good one) (Second hint: make it in a 9 x 13 pan that you don't mind taking somewhere or serving from, because this cake stays in the pan. Don't use that favorite old one that has the black stuff all around the edges that can't be scrubbed off no matter how hard you try, even with a brillo pad.)

Step 2: Poke holes all over the cake with a fork

Step 3: Mix together the cool whip and 3-4 T of the coconut cream. (Hint: it's easier to do if you put it in a bowl that's big enough to really stir it around instead of trying to do it in the cool whip container)

Step 4: Pour the remaining cream of coconut all over the cake in the pan, and allow it to soak in.

Step 5: Spread the coconut-flavored cool whip on top of the cake

Step 6: Sprinkle liberally with coconut. Actually, just kind of gob it on all over the cake.

Step 7: And this is important--cover it refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight. The longer this sits, the better it gets.

This cake was big hit with my Dad, as well as the rest of the family. This recipe is one of those that everybody made "back in the day" and somehow fell by the way side, but when you make it again after a long time, you think "Why did we ever quit making this, this is good!" kind of recipes.

Note: You could add some crushed pineapple to the cake batter, or maybe even drain some and spread on top after you soak the cake in cream of coconut, and it would be a Pina Colada Cake. As a matter of fact, I think we made something like that "back in the day" as well.

What old favorites have you baked up for your family lately?

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating....

This post is linked to:

Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals

Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory

See Ya in the Gumbo at Ms enPlace

Sweet and Savory Saturday at Dessert Now, Dinner Later

How to Freeze Purple Hull Peas

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 00:05:00 +0000

Field peas of different varieties are a staple of a southern kitchen, and my personal favorite, as well as most of my family, are purple hull peas. Mississippi pink eye purple hulls, to be exact. (You can see pictures of some of them growing on my other blog on the on the post I did last week about my parent's garden.)

It's wonderful to eat fresh vegetables in season, especially home-grown, but part of the fun of having a garden is to be able to "put up" some to eat later. Preserving food is, to me, both an art and a science, and no one wants to waste time or money "putting up" food that doesn't taste good, or heaven forbid, goes bad. Canning, freezing, drying, pickling and preserving, there are a myriad of ways to do it, and some foods just take better (and taste better) if they're done a certain way, and purple hull peas, in my opinion, are one of them, and the way that they taste best is frozen--IF--and that's a big "if"--they're done the right way!

And what is the "right" way of freezing purple hull peas? I'm about to show you the secret.

And what is the secret?

Blanching and shocking.

And I'm about to show you how!

This is a dishpan full of peas, peas, glorious peas. I love running my hands through a pan full of freshly shelled peas. I don't even know how to tell you how they feel, cool and just slightly moist to the touch; I feel like Midas counting my gold when I play with peas. (Yes, my momma told me not to play with my food, but this is fun!).

This dishpan full was from about a bushel and half of unshelled peas, or about 13 1/2 pounds (General speaking, purple hulls weigh out at 9 pounds a bushel, unshelled.)

Although my parents wash the peas in the shell twice before they go through the sheller, the first step is always to wash them twice again.

My mom has her techniques down to a routine--fill one dishpan with water, then swish around and lift them into a second pan...

...she gets a rhythm going, of swish and plop...

And when she finishes the first washing...

...she adds water and does it all over again...

....to still another dishpan.

Swishing and plopping (they're my own technical terms)...

...until we have another dishpan full of lovely washed peas. (not fun to handle after they're wet)

Then she drains the water from the dishpans....

...and this is secret number one--try to one of these little strainers, or you will fill you drain up with all of the little goopy things that come off the inside of the shells.

(And you will need your sink to be fully functional, this is a sink-intensive task)

Secret number two--use a blanching pot, which is large (think soup-size) pot with an insert like the one above, which makes putting the peas or other vegetables in and out of the boiling water much easier.

(You don't have to have one of these, but trust me, it's much easier if you do.)

Secret number three--don't fill the pot full, you need to leave room for the water to boil, with vegetables in it, without overflowing.

Secret number four--it's much easier if you have two blanching pots, or at least two inserts, so you can speed up the blanching time by having one in the pot, and one ready to go when the first one gets ready.

Secret number five--don't over fill the blanching pot insert (see secret number three)

Secret number five--while you're waiting for the water to boil, pre-mark your freezer bags with the date so that next year you'll know how long things have been in your freezer. If you freeze mystery food, you may want to include what's being frozen, but peas are pretty much self-evident. (My parents use a code instead of the date. They're mysterious like that.)

Secret number six--use a good quality freezer bag, not a storage bag, to put things into the freezer. Don't waste your time and money, not to mention your good produce, by using cheap bags that aren't made for long-term storage.

And now--step one--once the water comes to a boil, put the peas (or whatever vegetable you're putting up) into the water, and bring back to a boil. Stir a little to make sure the boiling water is coming into contact with all of the food being blanched.

Guess what? You're blanching!

Skim off the foam and stuff that floats to the top.

And now for the tricky part--each different vegetable blanches differently. Small things, like peas, take less time than something big, like and ear of corn.

We did these about 3-4 minutes after the water was boiling again. My mother is magic, she just knows when it's been long enough.

(Actually, she's done this so long, she goes by the look of the peas when they're about done.)

Now you're ready to shock the peas---no, no, you don't have to tell them your deepest, darkest secrets, you just have to cool them off rapidly, to stop the cooking process. This is done with water and a lot of ice.

And on to secret number seven--it takes a lot of ice. A lot. Your ice maker cubed ice is not enough. Some people buy bags of ice, but don't waste your money--little pieces of ice melt too fast, you need big ice, so make ice ahead of time in recycled plastic bowls. (Don't use your good tupperware, most of them will spit after they've been frozen a few times--once these split, we send them to plastic heaven and get more out of our saved-all-year-for-this-purpose-stash)

Fill one side of the sink with water, and throw in some cool-whip-bowl ice.

Take the insert and rinse it with cool water from the tap, swishing around to cool off the pot...

(rinsing it first in tap water cools off the pot and keeps it from melting the ice too fast)

Put it over in the ice water side and continue to rinse until the vegetables are cool.

Guess what?

You're shocking!

(Not, you are shocking (noun) as in you are a shocking person--you are shocking (verb), as in you are blanching and shocking to put vegetables into the freezer!)

Next step--bag them up!

A hundred years ago when all of us kids were at home, we used to make what we called "fat quarts"--as much as we could fit in the bad and it close properly--now mom and dad make "skinny quarts" so they don't have to eat peas for a week at a time--although peas are even better when they're left over and heated up, but even the best thing gets old after a while.

We make a game of it--when the peas are still in the dishpan, we all take turns guessing how many bags we'll end up with--and this time, we had 11 quarts (some fat, some skinny) which I got to take home to my house and put in my freezer! (One last secret--spread the bags out in your freezer in a single layer, if possible, until they're well frozen, and then stack them, that way you know everything is frozen in a timely manner)

Note: I know of some people who cook their peas completely before freezing or canning, and that works, but you miss that just-cooked-fresh-from-the-garden taste that you get from doing it this way. I've also heard of people who just shell their peas and freeze them in big bags without the whole blanching and shocking process, but we don't like the way they taste or keep that way.

If you want to see the process I use to cook peas that have been frozen like this, you can my Pass the Peas, Please post.

So now you know the Secrets of this Southern Kitchen when it comes to "putting up" peas--and many thanks to my mom and dad for letting me take picture of the process. (My mother has threatened me if I show her face--one of these days I'm going to sneak one in!) This was just the first picking, and a small one at that--my folks have already put up over 70 quarts of green beans alone, there's no telling how many quarts of peas will come from their garden this year. So needless to say, I trust their experience and their expertise.

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

See Ya in the Gumbo at Ms enPlace
Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory
Make Your Home Sing Monday at Mom's the Word
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage
Teach Me Tuesday at Growing Home Blog
Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family
Wow us Wednesday at Family Home and Life
Homemaking Party at Hope in Every Season

Cooking From the Pantry--Taco Tamale Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:47:00 +0000

Ever have those days where you suddenly wake up and realize that it's getting close to 5;00 p.m. and you have no idea what you're going to make for dinner? I hate to admit it, but sometimes I have those days two or three days a week. Luckily, I have a family that's easily pleased, but you still want to have something that's not only edible but tastes good, too!

So on one of those days last week, I was standing in the middle of my kitchen ~~mumbling to myself~~ thinking out loud--"let's see, I have a pound of ground meat that's about half thawed, what do I have that I add to it to make something ~~nutritious~~ that my family will eat?" And I came up with this, a cross between taco casserole and tamale pie, I call it "Taco Tamale Pie". Clever, right?

It was super easy and big hit, and is now enthroned on my list of last-minute go-to meals.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat
1 can whole kernel corn
1 or 2 pkg taco seasoning (I started with 1 and added an additional 1/2 pkg)
1 pkg cornbread mix
1 egg
1/3 c milk (enough to make the cornbread)
cheese

Step 1: Brown the ground meat, and drain if necessary. We have farm-raised beef, so all of the water usually cooks out by the time the meat browns, and there's very little fat to drain. If you're using commercial ground meat, you will almost definitely need to drain it.

Step 2: Add the corn and taco seasoning (I ended up adding and additional 1/2 envelope to off-set some of the sweetness from the corn) and just enough water to mix it all thoroughly. (If you don't use commercial taco seasoning, use the equivalent of your homemade seasoning blend) Bring to a bubble, cover and simmer for a few minutes.

Step 3: Mix the cornbread according to package directions. Mine called for one egg and 1/3 cup of milk. If you want to whip up cornbread from scratch, I'd recommend about a half recipe.

Step 4: Take the lid off of the skillet and allow the liquid to evaporate until the meat mixture is almost dry. Pour into a greased 9 x 9 inch casserole dish.

Step 5: Add cheese. I realized I didn't have enough grated cheese, so I grabbed some sliced cheese and threw it on top. We like lots of cheese.

Step 6: Pour the cornbread batter on top of the meat and cheese, and spread to the edges.

Step 7: Bake at 375-400 degrees for20-25 minutes, or until the cornbread is beginning to brown and seems "set" in the middle.

I served this with fresh sliced cucumber and carrot sticks, I think it would also go nicely with a green salad.
We all liked this, a lot. Even the leftovers disappeared by the time everyone made it to bed.

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

See Ya in the Gumbo at Ms enPlace
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Melt in Your Mouth Monday at Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill
Recipe Sharing Monday at Jam Hands
Make, Bake, and Create at Hope in Every Season
Wonderful Food Wednesday Mom's Test Kitchen
Foodie Friday At Rattlebridge Farm

Fried Summer Squash

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:58:00 +0000

Last night I broke down and did something I don't do very often--I fried.

Two things--steak and squash.

I love fried food--what self-respecting southerner doesn't--I mean, we'll take anything and batter it or roll it in cornmeal or flour and fry it, and I mean anything, from meat to vegetables to cheese to ice cream and candy bars. I think I've even heard of fried twinkies, back in the days when twinkies were still around.

Fried food is everywhere in the south, and I eat my fair share of it. I just don't like to do it. Not because I'm all that health-conscious, although I should be more health-conscious, and shouldn't we all.

No, I have to confess, I have no noble reason for not frying more food at home, I just despise the clean-up afterward. Everything has to be dipped in so many things--water, eggwash, cornmeal, flour, batter, whatever, each requiring a seperate bowl. And then the grease. All over the stove. And however good it may be in the moment, I feel like I can smell it in my kitchen for days afterward.

But every now and then--especially this time of year, when it seems like all of the vegetables in the garden are starting to get ready all at once, we have a little "fry-fest". More of a "fry-feast", actually. Last week my mother had one, and we were invited. She fried up a big ol' mess of zuchinni and squash, and we ate our fill of perfectly delcious healthy vegetables, rolled in seasoned cornmeal and flour, and fried to within an inch of their lives.

It was delcious.

We both make a much healthier version these days that we bake, but every now and then you just need to break down and do it the good old fashioned way.

This week was my turn to go frying spree.

I made southern fried steak, fried squash, and cooked-to-pieces green beans. All home grown, too, even the beef.

I'll share a little about the steak and green beans at another time, but this squash was so good, I have to give you this method.

Most of the time when you get fried squash, okra, etc, it's battered, and that's good, but my family tradition is to make it more very lightly breaded, and that's what I did.

Ingredients:

yellow summer squash, sliced
seasoned bread crumbs
flour
Tony Chachere's Seasoning or any good all-purpose seasoning
oil for frying

Step 1: Slice the squash. I like mine farily thin, maybe 1/4 inch or less.

Step 2: Wet--I just put all of the sliced squash in a bowl and filled it with water, then fished them out as I needed them. You can use an egg wash instead of water if you want the breading thicker. Sometimes I do, sometimes I just use water for a lighter breading. Because I was frying steak, tending to the green beans, etc, I opted for water instead of egg wash; egg wash tends to be a little messier in my opinion, and I try to not use it if I'm ~~distracted by other things~~ multi-tasking.

Step 3: Bread--I used a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs, and flour I had previously seasoned with Tony Chachere's Seasoning blend.

Step 4: Fry--I used an all-purpose vegetable oil, heated to medium high. Cook until the squash reaches the desired brown-ness--probably two minutes or so. (You can see that mine varied a bit)

Step 5: Drain. If I'm making a large quantity, I try to put them on something that I can slip into the oven between batches to keep them hot. We ate these almost as quick as I got them out of the oil, but I managed to keep enough around for supper!

Note: You can bread these with almost anything--flour, cornmeal, breadcrumbs, or a combination of all of the above. Egg wash makes it stick a little more. I like battered ones, as well, I just don't have a recipe handy for that since I prefer breaded. (Plus it's easier!)

Just another day in southern fried paradise!

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating...

This post is linked to:
Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage
In and Out of the Kitchen at Feeding Big
BBQ Block Party at Easy Life Meal and Party Planning
Sweet & Savory Saturday at Dessert Now, Dinner Later

Glory Foods--Southern Taste with a Soulful Heritage

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:02:00 +0000

Not long ago I wrote a post about making crispy bits of delicious goodness from kale, and the kale that I used (and still buy when they have it) is the pre-prepared kale from Glory Foods. So when I had an opportunity to receive from free food items and do a review of other Glory Foods products, I jumped at the chance.

(Disclosure: Glory Foods provided me with the products pictured above, but the opinions expressed are my own and those of my family.)

And may I say that Glory Foods did not disappoint? They sent me this huge basket just stuffed with a variety of their canned and packaged products.

They even had another layer of big cans lined up behind the first row!

One of the things I noticed right off the bat is that they have more than one type of canned vegetables--they have the "Seasoned Southern Style", the "Sensibly Seasoned" and even "Sweet Traditions". "Seasoned Southern Style", is just what is sounds like--old fashioned cooking the way our mothers and grandmothers did it, with plenty of spices and a bit of bacon to bring out the flavor. "Sensibly Seasoned" is lower in sodium, and has no bacon, bacon fat, or meat flavorings in it. And of course "Sweet Traditions"--that's the sweet potato casserole and fried apples--I haven't tried them yet, but I plan on doing at least two more review posts on all of these yummy-sounding products.

So--"Seasoned Southern Style" vs "Sensibly Seasoned"--I got one kind of black-eyed peas in the basket, but I wanted to try them both, so I went out and bought an additional can, just so we could taste-test these side by side.

I even cooked them side by side, with no additional seasoning or spices added.

And even ate them side by side!

Now, I have one family member that never ever ever eats pork of any kind, they ate only the "Sensibly Seasoned" kind, and gave them a thumbs up; my husband ate both, and liked the "Southern Style Seasoning" the best; and I ate both and actually preferred the "Sensibly Seasoned".

Along with the black-eyed peas, I tried two other Glory Foods products, but this time I combined them in one of my tried and true recipes. I used the Golden Sweet Corn Muffin Mix and the Cream Style Skillet Corn to make a delicious corn casserole.

Ingredients:

1 box cornbread or corn muffin mix
1 can cream style corn
1 egg
8 oz container of sour cream
half a stick of butter

Turn the oven to 350. Place the butter in a 9 X 9 casserole. and put in the oven to melt and heat the casserole dish while the oven is heating.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the corn, sour cream, and egg. Add the corn muffin mix, and stir until well mixed. Pour the batter into the melted butter in the casserole, and bake for about 30 minutes.

(One note: I was surprised that the "creamstyle" corn didn't look creamy in the can I had--it actually looked like whole kernel corn. But I used it anyway, and the corn casserole was delcious, as always!)

I may have overcooked this one just a tad!

I served this, as you saw above, with hamburger steak and gravy, rice, and the black eyed peas, and it was a true Southern comfort food meal!

So far, we've been well pleased with all of the Glory Food products that we've tried. As I use each of these other items, I'll be sure to let you know how they measure up, as well!

To see more about their product line, as well as other recipe and serving ideas, see the Glory Foods website.

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

Frugal Food Thursday at Frugal Follies

Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs

Pumpkin Cake Squares

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:50:00 +0000

Pumpkin Cake Squares

Besides church suppers, I think the next best place we southern gals get our quick and easy recipes is from our families--mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, you name it. You know how some people won't share their "special" recipe? Not my family. If one of us finds something yummy to make or eats something delicious, we share! This recipe came about that way! My aunt found it in her newspaper and tried it, then passed it along to my mom, who passed it along to me.

They both have "quick and easy" as their middle name in the kitchen, too! A good, Southern tradition!

When I first heard of this, I thought it was like the pumpkin pie cake that I've posted on here several times before, but this one is totally different, but just as easy and just as good, if not better.

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 c + 2 T melted butter (separated)
3 eggs
1 15-oz can pumpkin
2/3 c evaporated milk
1/2 c + 2 T sugar (separated)
2 t + 1 t cinnamon
whipped topping (optional)

Measure 1 cup cake mix, and set aside to use for the topping.

Combine remaining cake mix with 1/2 c melted butter and 1 egg until crumbly. Press into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350.

Meanwhile, mix pumpkin, 2 remaining eggs, 1/2 c sugar and 2 t cinnamon. Spoon mixture over the baked layer.

For topping: combine reserved 1 c of cake mix, 2 T melted butter, 2 T sugar, and remaining 1 t cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the topping mix over the pumpkin mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes

Allow to cool (yeah, right!), cut into squares, and serve with whipped topping. (I think vanilla or cinnamon ice cream would be really good, too!

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating...

This post is linked to:

Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Sweet and Savory Sunday at Cookin' for the Seven Dwarfs
See Ya in the Gumbo at Ms enPlace
Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm
The Weekend Re-Treat at the Best Blog Recipes

Quick and Easy Ice Cream Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:10:00 +0000

Here in the south, church dinners are a tried and true source of new recipes, and that's where I was first introduced to a version of this cold, creamy, and delicious semi-homemade ice cream cake. This is one of those dishes that's made of such common-place ingredients, and is so easy to put together, it almost seems too good to be true.

But trust me, the result is so much greater than the sum of it's parts!

Ingredients:

2 boxes vanilla ice cream sandwiches (the ones with chocolate cookie outsides, vanilla insides)
2 large or 3 small containers whipped topping
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
1 bottle chocolate fudge magic shell
chopped nuts

Step 1--Remove papers from 10-11 ice cream sandwiches, and place in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan (or slightly larger--I usually have to squish the sides a little to make it fit.

Step 2--Mix together chocolate pudding powder and 1 large or 1 1/2 small container of thawed whipped topping. (This works easier if you put it in a larger bowl instead of just mixing it in the whipped topping container.)

The whipped topping will "deflate" just a bit, and the mixture will thicken to the texture of a sort of whipped chocolate mousse.

Step 3--Spread "chocolate mousse" mixture over the layer of ice cream sandwiches

Step 4--Add another layer of ice cream sandwiches

Step 5--Add a layer of plain whipped topping.

Step 6--Drizzle liberally with magic shell, and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

And here is the hard part--cover and put in the freezer until frozen firm--I'd say at least 4 hours, but I usually make this the night before and freeze overnight to be sure.

This is a "sliceable" or "scoopable" dessert but I usually cut it into squares and serve it that way so that you can see the layers.

When I first tasted of one of these at a church supper, and told my mother about it, she didn't think it sounded that good, because she doesn't really care for ice cream sandwiches that much. Once she tasted it though, she became as big a fan as I am, and she's already put her request in for one of these for her birthday in August. That's why I surprised her with one early, for Mother's Day. (Hence the "fine china" in the pictures above--who wants to wash dishes on Mother's Day?)

Variations and tips:

I haven't tried it yet, but I think this would be delicious using butterscotch pudding and caramel magic shell.
You can use chocolate or caramel ice cream syrup if you don't have magic shell.
Once it's frozen hard, I have packed these in an ice chest and transported them to a family pot-luck.

What summer goodies have you been gearing up to make this year?

Until next time, good (un)cooking, and good eating...

This post is linked to:
Sweet and Savory Saturdays at Dessert Now, Dinner Later
Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Saturday Show and Tell and Cheerios and Lattes
The Weekend Re-Treat at The Best Blog Recipes
Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Sweet and Savory Sunday at Cookin' for the Seven Dwarfs
See Ya in the Gumbo at Ms enPlace
Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm
Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime
BBQ Block Party at Easy Life Meal and Party Planning

No Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:30:00 +0000

When I had the chance not long ago to buy a whole flat of these beautiful Louisiana strawberries, I had several things in mind, but the main two that I knew I wanted to make was the fresh strawberry pie that I shared last week, and as much strawberry freezer jam as I had berries to make.

I'm especially partial to freezer jam, in part I think because it's so easy to make, but also, since it isn't heat processed, when you thaw it and use it, it tastes just as fresh as the day you put it up. When we were in Georgia, my husband picked buckets at a time of ripe blackberries that grew wild around his job site, and I made backberry freezer jam every year, as well as a couple of different kinds of blackberry pie.

My pectin product of choice is the Ball brand, for two reasons--one, it requires no cooking at all, and two, it uses more fruit and less sugar than some brands do for freezer jam. You can buy it in envelopes or pouches, like I did when I made the blackberry jam, or in a little jar, like I used this time.

I had an especially hectic day the day I made this jam, and I had mixed results--~~mostly~~ completely my fault, I'm convinced. Here is the basic recipe, and I'll tell you what I did right, and what I did wrong.

Ingredients:

1 2/3 c mashed strawberries (not completely crushed, you want more fruit than juice so that the jam will have some body)
2/3 c sugar or Splenda
4 T Ball fruit pectin (or one small envelope)

Mix the sugar (or Splenda) and the pectin together in a bowl. Add the fruit, and stir for about 3 minutes, or until the sugar and pectin are well dissolved. Pour into jars or containers, and allow to set for 30 minutes. Because this is not heat processed, you can use regular glass canning jars, specially made freezer jam jars, or even repurposed plastic or glass containers of your choice. Once it's set, store in the fridge for immediate use, or freeze for use later.

I made one small low-sugar batch, using Splenda, which set with no problem.

Then I made a larger, slightly-more-than-doubled batch, which didn't set. When I realized that this batch wasn't working, I went back over my math to be sure I figured everything right. Then I dumped the jars all back into my bowl and added a little more sugar and pectin and stirred it all up.

Still nothing.

The directions do say not to try to make more than 6 jars at a time, or it may not "set", but I don't think that was the issue. I think the problem was, instead of mashing the berries in small batches, say a cup at a time, I put the last batch in my big bowl and just went to town with a potato masher. By this time I had made pies, jam, cleaned the kitchen several times, put away my freezer beef delivery, etc, and I was tired, and trying to hurry the process. So I mashed and mashed, and I think I mashed too much, so that I had too much juice and not enough actual fruit in the last batch.

So, my final tally, is 2 2/3 jars of low sugar strawberry jam, and 6 1/2 jars of sweetened mashed strawberries, that when, thawed, make a delicious strawberry syrup to pour over ice cream, or maybe even mix with pound cake and cool whip for a really juicy strawberry shortcake. Or mix into cake and frosting to make a delcious strawberry cake.

At any rate, it will be eaten in some form or the other, and I have to say, it's not bad as peanut butter and jam, as long as you mix it into the peanut butter and not try to just spread it on the bread.

I've had too much success with freezer jam to let this be a discouragement (although, I have to admit, I was pretty discouraged the day I made this!)

What success and failure have you had in the kitchen lately?

Until next time, good (no-cook) cooking, and good eating...

This post linked to:
Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Sweet and Savory Sunday at Cookin' for the Seven Dwarfs
Make, Bake, Create at Hope in Every Season
Back for Seconds

Fresh and Easy Strawberry Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sat, 04 May 2013 05:49:00 +0000

When I first moved back home to Louisiana a few years ago, I really missed not having more noticiablly different seasons. In Louisiana, we have a short fall, 5 minutes of winter, and 9 months of summer. And in between winter and summer, we have spring. Strawberry weather.

Yes, while most of you are still struggling with frost and cold and even snow this late spring, we have folks sitting on the side of the road selling beautiful flats of Louisiana strawberries. Sometimes from Hammond, sometimes from Ponchitoula, sometimes one of the other little towns in the top of the toe; what's commonly known as the northlake area, that little stretch of strawberry heaven along Interstate 12 north of Lake Pontchartrain. I don't know what it is about that area of the state, whether it's the soil or the weather, or something completely different, but they grow the best strawberries.

I like strawberries almost every way you can eat them. I like them so much I'll even slice some up and eat them with milk and sugar, like a bowl of cereal. Or cream instead of milk, if I have it. Even what we in the south euphemistically call "canned cream", which is nothing more than evaporated milk, poured straight over a warm cobbler or a cool bowl or fruit. Yum.

But by far my favorite thing to do when I have really good strawberries is make a fresh strawberry pie.

Years ago when I worked at one of our local banks, one of our customers always brought a truckload of strawberries back from southeast Louisiana and sold them to his friends and neighbors, and he generously gave every employee of our bank a whole flat of strawberries. (There are definite advantages to living in a small southern town.) The first time I got strawberries-by-the-flat after I was married, my husband said "Oh, good, strawberry pie!" I had an immediate vision of a cooked, two-crust pie, like apple pie or cherry pie, and turned up my nose, but he had something else in mind. "My favorite!" he said, and tried to describe it, so as a dutiful wife, I started looking for recipes in my cookbooks.(Remember those? Where we used to find recipes before the internet!).

I found several versions, and narrowed them down by practical, everyday ingredients and ease of application, and this is my tried-and-true version that I've used for years. It uses a combination of a cooked glaze and strawberry gelatin, but it uses less gelatin than many recipes, making a softer setting, fresher tasting glaze than some versions of this pie that I've eaten.

Ingredients:

1 c sugar
1 c water
4 T flour
4 T strawberry gelatin (that's half of a small box--this is easily doubled, I usually make these two at a time, using 2 c sugar, 2 c water, 1/2 c flour and the whole box of gelatin
1 pint (approximately) strawberries
single pie crust (or two crusts if making two)

Step 1: pre-bake your pie crust, and allow to cool

You can make your own if you have time, or use a frozen pie crust. If I don't make my own (which, honestly, I hardly ever do, I prefer the refrigerated roll out crusts.) Be sure to pinch the edges and prick the bottom and sides. I baked this one at 375 for about 10-12 minutes.

Step 2: While your crust is baking and/or cooling,wash and hull your strawberries

Step 3: Stir together sugar, flour, and water and cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly while the sugar and flour dissolve, then regularly until the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Allow to cook for another minute or so, stirring constantly again.

Step 4: Remove from heat and stir in gelatin, stirring to dissolve

Step 5: Allow glaze to cool

Step 6: Spread a small amount of cooled glaze on the bottom of the pie

Step 7: Slice strawberries and layer in the pie shell. Be generous, but don't overfill, or the glaze won't cover all of the berries, and the pie, while it'll still taste good, will be ugly. Don't ask me how I know this.

Step 8: Pour the remaining glaze over the top of the berries. Refrigerate and allow to "set", at least 30 minutes. If it's a little soft, oh well, that's the price you pay for cutting it too soon. Don't ask me how I know this, either.

Step 9: Add whipped topping, either the real thing or the fake stuff that most of us still use, although we feel really really guilty about that.

If I'm serving this at home to family, I usually leave the topping off and add a big dollop to the top of each piece of pie as it's served. If I'm making this for an occasion, I add a big dollop to the middle, so that when I bring it out everyone will ohh and ahh over it, or I spread it out all over.

I love this pie. Really.

Tip: You can use 3 T of cornstarch instead of 4 T flour if you want a clearer glaze. Flour makes it a bit more cloudy, but I first started making it with flour because in my newly-wed kitchen it was what I had.

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm

Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home

Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes

Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tater Tots and Jello

Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals

Share Your Creativity at It's Overflowing

Sweet and Savory Sunday at Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs

Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory

Cooking From the Pantry--Roasted Root Vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:23:00 +0000

As a Southern girl, born and bred, and a bit of a country girl, to boot, I grew up with home grown vegetables. Purple hull peas, sweet corn, summer squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, just to name a few. But a parsnip was not among them. Up until recently I had never even seen a parsnip to my knowledge, and if I ever did, I probably thought it was some kind weird albino carrot.

But I've been trying really hard lately to broaden our vegetable horizons--so much so, that my son has even taken to trying a vegetarian diet for a while. We've been eating kale, brussels sprouts, and baby carrots and sweet potatoes, too.

So as I was browsing the produce section, I came upon a bag of parsnips, and since we've had so much luck trying other new-to-us veggies, I decided to try these as well. And yes, they do look like albino carrots!

I decided to try them a part of a pan of roasted root vegetables. I had four small yukon gold potatoes, and this ginormous carrot that the husband of a friend brought back from his rounds of truck farms in West Texas and New Mexico. I ended up with two of them, one of which I used in a pot roast a while back, and then this last lone one.

It's that time of year, when the winter root vegetables are playing out, and the early spring greens haven't started producing yet. So what do you do when you have a little bit of this and little bit of that in your fridge and/or pantry? You but them all together with the simplest of seasonings, and you make the most amazing vegetable medley ever!

Ingredients:

potatoes
carrots
parsnips
olive oil
kosher salt or sea salt

Peel or scrape the carrots and parsnips, and cut into chunks, splitting the larger sections into half or quarters lengthwise. Cut the potatoes into halves and then quarter the halves. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake 30-40 minutes at 350-375, until fork tender and they start to brown. (I baked these 20 minutes at 350, then bumped the oven temperature up to 375 and cooked them another 15 minutes)

I love the mixture of these three together--the parsnips get really sweet, the carrots not quite as sweet, and then the potatoes balance it all out.

Now that I've made the acquaintance of parsnips, I hope to maintain the relationship--I'm looking forward to fall planting time so I can see if I can grow my own in our garden next winter. Maybe this time next year it'll be my own home-grown version that I'm using up from the pantry!

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

Frugal Food Thursday at Frugal Follies

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm

Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home

Foodtastic Fridays at Not Your Ordinary Recipes

Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory

See Ya in the Gumbo from Ms enPlace

Cooking From the Pantry--Quick and Easy Taco Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:42:00 +0000

Yesterday I worked on cleaning out my fridge and pantry as part of the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge at Money Saving Mom. The fridge wasn't so bad, but the pantry, oh my! I found things I had forgotten I had, as well as realized some deficiencies I need to correct. Since I was working on the pantry anyway, I decided to see if I could come up with all of the ingredients I needed to make a good a dinner, and I decided on one of my favorite go-to meals, taco soup.

I love taco soup, because everything in it is something that I buy regularly anyway, I don't have to make a point to buy any exotic ingredients, it's usually all on hand in the pantry and freezer. There are a variety of different ways you can make this, and trust me, I've made this dozens of times with all different combos of beans, tomatoes, etc. This is the version I made yesterday

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (I used the very lean home raised beef I get from my parents)
1 29-oz can of tomato sauce
1 15-oz can of black beans
1 1-oz can of red beans
1 12-oz pkg frozen corn
2 packets of taco seasoning
about a tablespoon of dried onion flakes

Ordinarily I cook the meat first, draining it if I use commercial ground meat--luckily our homegrown meat is so lean we don't have to do that. But our son is eating vegetarian right now, so I cooked the ground meat in a skillet separately. Once I got the meat cooking, I put the corn in the microwave for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, I opened the tomato sauce and beans, and dumped them in my soup pot, adding the taco seasoning and onion flakes, bringing it to a simmer. When the corn was ready, I opened it and added it to the soup pot. At this point, all it needs is some time. Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes to give everything time to meld together. At this point, I scooped some out in a smaller saucepan for my son, and added the cooked ground meat to the rest.

Taking out some of it made the meat version a little thicker than I usually make it, and I normally would have added some additional tomato sauce, maybe even just a little water, and some additional seasoning, but I used up all of the taco seasoning I had (and I had borrowed one of those packets from my mother!)

I ate mine with a little grated "Fiesta blend" grated cheese and a little dollop of sour cream.

This is good a regular soup, with crackers, or with corn chips. It's very hearty, no matter how you eat it.

My son pronounced the vegetarian version good, as well. "Almost like real taco soup".

Last night turned out to be good night for it, although we've had very warm weather lately, we had a thunderstorm move through and cool things back down quite a bit.

What's your "go-to" meal for cooking from your pantry?

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating...

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm

Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home

Foodtastic Friday and Friends at Not Your Ordinary Recipes

Clever Chicks Blog Hop at The Chicken Chick

Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Kale "Chips"

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:02:00 +0000

For a southern girl, I have never been much of a vegetable eater. I love purple hull peas and sweet corn, but honestly, a lot of other vegetables were in the eat-this-because-it's-good-for-you category. Even salads are usually just so-so in my book. (In a restaurant, given a choice between soup or salad for a starter, I always go for the soup.) I've tried to make up for it by eating a lot of fruit, but even natural sugar can get to be too much if you over-do it.

This year I've been really trying to cook (and eat) more vegetables, and to introduce some variety into our steady diet of purple hull peas/corn/mixed vegetables. I found out a couple of years ago that I love fresh asparagus, but it's a quite pricey around these parts. Although I've read that asparagus is difficult to grow in the deep south, I'm still hoping to find a variety that will work here and put in an asparagus bed.

Meanwhile, I tried brussels sprouts for the first time in my adult life, they've become a regular part of our veggie rotation. That success has inspired me to try another new-to-me vegetable, kale, one I never thought I'd ever try, much less buy, and it's become another roaring success.

This is not so much a recipe as it is a technique, because nothing is really measured, but this is our favorite version so far.

Ingredients:

Kale
Kosher salt or sea salt
olive oil
crushed red pepper flakes

Spread a generous amount of washed, dried, and chopped kale on a baking sheet.

I use pre-washed and chopped bags of kale from the produce section at Wal-mart. I try to pick through it and pull out the thick stem pieces as I go. I'm hoping to raise some kale in my garden this year, if you have whole kale, cut the thick center rib out and chop the rest coarsely. You need a lot, because this wilts down dramatically.

Drizzle with olive oil, probably a couple of tablespoons for this size pan (around 10 x 15, I think)

Sprinkle with coarse grained salt (not table salt--use Kosher salt or sea salt) and crushed red pepper flakes

Next-and I couldn't figure out how to take the picture while I did this--toss the kale until the olive oil and seasonings seem pretty well distributed throughout. I take a handful of swirl and flip and toss for a minute or so, until it seems to be pretty well mixed up.

And now the tricky part--put in a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

The tricky part is making sure the kale gets crispy and a little browned on the edges, but not not burnt. If you take it out too soon, it's wilted and slightly chewy, but not really crispy and not very tasty, either.

I set my timer on 10 minutes and go about my business. When the time goes off, I pull out the tray and give it a shake, maybe touch a piece or two and even taste one. Then I usually put it back in for another couple of minutes, but I stand beside the stove and watch it very carefully.

The trays in the pictures above are actually just a little browner than I usually go, I had raised my oven rack for something else I was cooking and I forgot to lower to back to the middle, so it cooked just a little bit faster than usual, but even if you think you've over done it, once they get crispy, the brown doesn't seem to affect the taste--burnt to black, now, that might!

We have eaten these yummy bits of green as a crispy accompaniment to a sandwich...

...and as a traditional vegetable side dish with a meal.

(In this picture they look "wet", but this is from a batch where I was particularly generous with the olive oil--they're just "shiny".)

Last night's batch was on the stove as I was making dinner, my son was standing there talking to me about his day at work, and between the two of us, we finished off the whole tray in a matter of a few minutes. I never thought I'd see the day that I'd need to slap back fingers from pinching the kale!

Until next time--good cooking, and good eating!

This post is linked to:

Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory

Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family

Meatless Monday at Littlest Sweet Pea

Wonderful Food Wednesday at Mom's Test Kitchen

Frugal Food Thursday at Frugal Follies

Quick and Easy Lentil Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 23:41:00 +0000

Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of soup? I'm definitely not a food stylist, nor a professional photographer, but I have to admit, this soup isn't exactly photogenic to start with. This is such an easy and delicious recipe, though, I had to try, regardless of the poor result.

I've never cooked lentils before, and the first time I made it, I made a half batch, just in case we didn't like it. I thought I might have to cajole my family into eating it, but all if took was one try and it received thumbs up from each of us.

Ingredients:

1 pound dry lentils
2 bags of broccoli slaw
chicken or vegetable stock (about 8 cups) fresh, packaged, or from bouillon or base.
1-2 T dried onion flakes

Cook the lentils according to package directions in about 6 cups of stock, for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. I just bring it to a boil, then simmer with the lid slightly askew to let the steam escape. I usually use chicken stock, but if you wanted to make this truly vegetarian you could use vegetable stock. Once the lentils are tender, bring it back to a boil and add the bags of broccoli slaw and the dried onion. At this point, I usually add a couple more cups of stock, and stir the vegetables down into the liquid. Bring to a slow boil, then cover and simmer for awhile longer--probably 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Season to taste. Because the stock is usually salty, I don't add any additional seasoning until right at the end, and then I add a few shake of Tony Chachere's or pepper.

And that's it! Every time I make this, I tell myself that the next time I'm going to add something to make it little prettier, like a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste. So far, though, we just over look the dish-waterish appearance and enjoy the flavor!

This recipe is easy, inexpensive, makes a big batch so there's enough for freezing or leftovers, and is one of those dishes that's actually better the next day.

This post is linked to:

Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
Creating My Way to Success
Martha Mondays at Watch Out, Martha
Make It Pretty Mondays at the Dedicated House
Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

Matzah "Crack"

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:26:00 +0000

I've made several new things lately that I've been wanting to share, but I haven't posted much lately due to lack of decent photos. Lately my camera has been M.I.A. a lot--it's always where I'm not, or it needs batteries, or I don't have time to download and edit, etc. I took these with my phone (and it's of the "un-smart" variety), so I apologize up front for the poor quality of the pictures, but this recipe is so good, I just had to share.

I heard last year about making toffee using a matzah base, but I tried one recipe and I wasn't really impressed. Then this year I decided to try again for our Passover Seder that my church was hosting. (Yes, we are an equal-opportunity celebraters, we celebrate most of the Christian holidays, and also many of the Jewish feasts and festivals.)

This time it was a real winner!

Ingredients:

4 sheets of Matzah (matzos)
1 c (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 c packed brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
chopped nuts (optional)

Step 1--- line a baking sheet (one with a raised edge, not a flat cookie sheet) with foil, and put a layer of matzah edge to edge in the lined pan.

Step 2-- pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat (I use set my burner between 7 & 8 on a 9-pt knob) melt the butter or margarine, then stir in the brown sugar. Continue to cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture comes to a boil, then cook for about 3 minutes more. At first is seems as though the butter and sugar are not not really combining, but as it cooks it becomes somewhat foamy, and when it starts to pull away from the side of the saucepan as you stir, remove from heat and pour immediately over the matzah, spreading over all of the surface.

Warning: This is HOT. Be very careful. And do not under any circumstances try to lick the spoon, however tempting it may be. It will burn the taste buds right off your tongue. Set the spoon aside and test ti periodically with your finger. When you can touch it without is sticking to your finger and raising a blister, then and only then can you scrape the spoon and eat the caramel sauce you just made.

Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes, until it's brown and looks sort of "set" with little cracks all over it.

Step 3-- allow to sit for just a minute or two, then sprinkle all over with chocolate chips. After two or three minutes the chocolate chips will start to get shiny, which means they've melted and softened enough to start spreading. Sprinkle with chopped nuts of your choice--I used finely chopped pecans, but I've seem other versions on line that used chopped pistachios, walnuts, even a sprinkle of sea-salt.

And now for the hard part--you have to let this cool completely or it won't "set" enough to cut or break into pieces. I stuck the first batch in the fridge to cool, the second I tried to leave out on the counter, but I finally had to put it in the fridge to firm up as well.

I made two pans, one with nuts, one without. I even tried a version with nuts and toffee/caramel sauce but no chocolate, but it was a different recipe, and I didn't like the flavor. I want to try that again later this week with this recipe for the sugar/butter mixture.

All I can say about this recipe is--now I know why they call this "crack"--it's crispy and crackly on the bottom, you can crack or cut it apart--and it's perfectly addicting!

Until next time--good cooking, and good eating!

This post linked to:

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family

Lean Cuisine Chef's Pick--Product Review

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 22:20:00 +0000

Many years ago--more years ago than I'd care to tell you, but it was in the days that microwaves were mainly for industrial use and no one that I knew had one in their personal kitchen, I started my very first "real" job. I was excited to find that the kitchen/break room at my brand-new "big-girl" job was equipped with a microwave. It was a whole new way of cooking, but I took to it like a duck to water. (Must be where I first got my "quick and easy in the kitchen" middle name!)

One of my favorite "quick and easy" lunches to bring to work to microwave were Lean Cuisine dinners. They were just the right size for lunch, easy to make with that "magic" microwave, and low-cal, to boot. That was back in my single days, when I was supremely conscious of weight, always, and health--well, that was just lagniappe.

So when I had an opportunity recently to try a couple of the new Lean Cuisine Culinary Collection Chef's Pick varieties of frozen dinners, it took me immediately back to those early working years when I ate Lean Cuisine at least 2-3 days a week, if not more.

The first one that I tried was Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce. It contains only 230 calories, 5 grams of fat, and has 2 grams of fiber.

It had cheese tortellini, grilled chicken, Italian green beens, red bell peppers, and yellow carrots. I thought the carrots were yellow bell pepper at first, but they were so sweet I had to look at the box to see what they were. I thought this tasted really good. The green beans could have been a little more cooked, but that could have been my ancient microwave (almost as old as those memories I was telling you about). The sauce was delicious, I could have literally ~~licked~~ scraped the plate. Or sopped it with a piece of Italian bread.

The next one I tried was Glazed Chicken--240 Calories, 5 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber--roasted white meat chicken in lemon tarragon sauce with rice, french-style green beans, and cashews. Now this one really brought memories, as the earlier version of glazed chicken was one my very favorites, back in the day.

The new version is equally as good as my memories, if not more so. I was especially impressed that it came in a little black microwavable container, all I had to do was peel the plastic cover at one point and stir. (Gone are the days of boil-in-bag plastic bags--I used to bring my own plate to cook and eat mine from at work, along with a real fork. Really.)

When I first took a bite of the rice mixture, I thought it needed just a little touch of salt, but when I mixed the extra glaze into the rice mixture, it was fine. I liked that this one had more meat in it--actual bigger-than-bite-sized pieces. I don't remember the cashews in the back-in-the-day version, they added a nice touch of texture as well as another layer of flavor.

All in all, I was nicely impressed with flavors, the colors, the textures of these meals. And although I had coupons that covered the cost of these, they were inexpensive enough, even in these days of rising food prices, that I would definitely buy these and eat them again. I think they'd be perfect to grab-and-go for the work place, and even for those of us who are home alone during the day and don't want to cook for ourselves.

I have partnered with Lean Cuisine through DailyBuzz Food to help promote their new line of Chef's Pick
products. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with this product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Thank you Lean Cuisine!

Until next time, good (microwave) cooking, and good eating!

Sugar-Free Sunday--Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:20:00 +0000

I've been really working on getting my family (and myself) to eat more vegetables lately. I've been trying some new things, like oven-roasted brussels sprouts, and revamping some old favorites.

We had baked sweet potatoes not long ago, and I got the bright idea to do a healthier version of a holiday favorite, sweet potato casserole with pecan praline topping. The regular version is loaded with sugar, from the canned sweet potatoes/yams at the start, to additional sugar added, to the sugar in the topping. In my original post of this recipe, I called it "Sweet Potatoes You Can Eat for Dessert"--it's just that sweet and gooey, and I have family members who actually do it eat it for dessert.

Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes
cooking oil of your choice
1/2 c Splenda, or equivalent non-sugar sweetener
1/2-3/4 stick of butter
1/2-1 t cinnamon
chopped pecans

Rub the outside of the sweet potatoes with oil, place on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 for around an hour, or until they're fork tender. Allow to cool enough to handle, and pull the skins off. You may want to slice through the ends, but the rest of the skin should just slide right off. Mash the baked sweet potatoes, and add Splenda, butter, and cinnamon. If your potatoes are cold, melt the butter--mine were still warm, so I just chunked up the butter and threw it in the bowl, and it melted as I mashed and mixed. Put into a 8x8 pan, slightly greased on the sides or sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with slightly chopped pecans. Bake at 350 for around 20 minutes, or until the pecans are beginning to brown.

I thought I had over cooked these, the nuts were getting very browned. Without the familiar brown sugar and butter mix, I wasn't really sure what to look for, but they tasted fine. (I actually forgot the cinnamon in these, so we just added a dash of cinnamon to our serving on our plate, then just stirred it in slightly. Still tasty).

My family decided they liked the sugar-free version better than the regular one for everyday eating. My son said it tasted like it should be eaten with the meal, and not afterwards.

I liked the healthier version in several ways. I usually use canned sweet potatoes/yams during the holidays. Because they're already cooked with a sugar syrup, although I drain it off, it can be hard to regulate the sweetness. And while I never thought that you'd hear me say it, you can have too much sugar in a recipe. It also seems to me that the last several times I've made my regular version, the sweet potatoes have been mushier, and there's definitely a higher proportion of sugary juice to potatoes in the cans--as a result, sometimes I have trouble getting the middle to set without over browning the top--I usually have to cover it with foil at some point to keep the topping from burning.

Conclusion: As long as my son and I are working on reducing sugar in our diets, I'll be making this version for our everyday meals--and when it's holiday time, although I'll probably go back to my regular version on special occasions, I'll bake my own sweet potatoes and go from there instead of using the canned.

Do you have a sugar free recipe to share? Be sure to link up with the linky tools below!

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:15:00 +0000

I've never been a big vegetable eater, especially the healthier ones that everyone says we need to eat a lot of, like dark leafy greens. I tend to cycle between peas, corn, and mixed vegetables, with maybe a carrot or potato thrown in every now and then to break things up a bit. But I've been trying really hard lately to add some variety to our diet, both to be healthier, and also for the sake of our poor taste buds.

I made something absolutely, completely new for me last night that was so very quick and easy, and so surprisingly delicious (approved by the whole family) that I had to share with everyone immediately.

Brussels sprouts.

The last time I ate brussels sprouts was when I was a kid, and I did not like them. Not at all. They came out of a box and were cooked in boiling water, tasted kind of like cabbage, which I didn't like, either.

These brussels sprouts should be in a whole different category by themselves, though.

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh brussels sprouts
2 T olive oil
Kosher salt
garlic powder

Heat your oven to 375-400. Cut off the stem ends of the brussels sprouts, and remove any yellowed or discolored outer leaves. Cut small sprouts in half lengthwise, larger ones in thirds or quarters, to make the pieces fairly uniform. Put in a bowl, add olive oil and sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt (it's coarser and adds something to the texture) and garlic powder, and toss until well coated. Put on a baking sheet (with sides in case the oil runs) cut sides down and bake in in a hot oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the tops start to get from golden brown to the color of chocolate. I had my oven at 400, then turned it down to about 350-375 after 25 minutes or so. Your time will vary according to the size of the sprouts and temperature of your oven.

Watch closely toward the end so they don't burn, but you want the yummy carmelization of the dark chocolate brown parts.

There were some loose leaves that were browned to crisp that I ate right off the baking tray as soon and they came out of the oven, along with a couple of the larger pieces. We had dinner fairly quickly after these were done, and they were still delicious, but I have to say, next time I'll try to time these so that we're ready to eat immediately.

The whole family gave these the thumbs up, so I'll definitely be adding these to our vegetable repertoire.

What new things have you been cooking up lately?

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday at Rattelbridge Farm
Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

Sugar-Free Sunday--Another Old Favorite, Butterscotch Yum-Yum

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:25:00 +0000

Sugar-Free Butterscotch Yum-Yum

I know this post is late this week--I started it on Sunday, but didn't have a chance to finish, and "Sugar-Free Wednesday" just doesn't have the same ring to it, so I'm leaving the title the same!

The recipe I want to share with ya'll today has to be one of my very favorite sugar-free desserts. It's based on the familiar Chocolate Layered Dessert, aka Mississippi Mud Pie, aka Chocolate Yum-Yum, that we all know and love. But for the sugar free version, I chose Butterscotch, and can I just say, it's the best Yum-Yum Layered Dessert, ever. I made this recently right before the holidays, when my son & I were trying to "good" as much as possible, knowing that we were about to indulge in a non-stop barrage of food and especially goodies. I brought it to the table to be served, and I have to confess, my husband (who is not a sugar-free-er), my son, and myself, finished the entire dessert. All of it. We just kept sitting around the table, talking and eating, and eating and talking. It's really just that good.

Ingredients:

Layer 1: The first layer is a basic "press in" crust:

1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/2 c flour
1/3 c chopped nuts
1 T sugar or Splenda (optional)

Toss together the flour and sugar or Splenda; cut in the butter, then add the chopped nuts. (I used walnuts because they're about half the price of pecans in the grocery store.) Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until set and just slightly brown around the edges. Set aside to cool.
Layer 2: While the crust is cooling, mix together in a medium bowl

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar or Splenda
1 t vanilla
1 c whipped topping (I used sugar free)

Mix everything together until well blended. Spread on cooled crust.
Layer 3: This is where you can get creative with the flavor

1 small pkg instant pudding (I used sugar free butterscotch)
1 1/2 c milk

Whisk together until blended and the mixture starts to thicken. Pour over the cream cheese layer and smooth the edges.
Layer 4: Add a layer of whipped topping (again, I used the sugar-free)

Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. I usually cut this into squares, but I didn't let this one set up long enough, so I just sort of scooped it out onto the plate (see the top picture) then I had to eat along the edge to straighten it out. Sometimes we all have to make sacrifices for the sake our art. Cough.

If you have a sugar-free recipe, please feel free to post your link.

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

Sugar-Free Sunday--Sugar Free, Flour Free Peanut Butter Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 21:25:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but my body has been begging me to get back on the straight-and-narrow of healthier eating. So much so, that my son and I actually started off the new year with a fast, just to get ourselves back to a better place just a bit more quickly!

Now we're transitioning to low- or at least lower-carb eating for a while, which included drastically reducing our sugar intake. One thing I discovered when we did this a couple of years ago, no sugar doesn't have to mean no goodies, at least not all the time, so I'm bringing back my Sugar Free Sunday feature. I'll be highlighting some no sugar, low-sugar, and sugar-free recipes and products, as well as searching out some recipes on the internet to link to.

For now, I want to reprise the sugar free version of my favorite Believe-it-or-Not Peanut Butter Cookies. These are not just sugar free, they're flour free, and were a big hit with everyone who tried them.

Do you have a sugar free, or reduced sugar recipe to share? Please feel free to link up!

1. Sugar Free Hot Cocoa Mix

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This post is linked to:
Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

Quick and Easy Pull Apart Monkey Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Charlene) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 20:57:00 +0000

Pull Apart Cinnamon Sugar Monkey Bread

I woke up this morning knowing that as of tomorrow, the whole family is back on the straight-and-narrow of healthier eating. We have one day left of (over)-indulging in too much sugar, fat, too much anything that doesn't eat us first. So of course we needed an ooey, gooey breakfast to set the tone for the rest of the day.

A couple of years ago, I did a regular and sugar-free version of a personal sized (or maybe for two) cinnamon sugar pull apart bread, better known as monkey bread. Today I wanted a full-sized version, so I looked at a couple of recipes on the internet and warped them together into this:

Ingredients:

4 tubes of refrigerated biscuit dough (these are the small, inexpensive tubes, 10 biscuits each)
1/2 c sugar
1-2 t cinnamon
3/4 c butter, melted
brown sugar
pecan pieces

Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Grease or cooking spray a bundt or tube pan. Sprinkle a few chopped pecans in the bottom of the pan (when inverted, this will be the top of the bread. Roll each biscuit in the cinnamon sugar mixture, and place in the pan. Every couple of rows, or layers, I sprinkled a handful of brown sugar and a few nuts, then drizzled some melted butter over it. When I had placed all of the biscuits, I poured the remaining cinnamon sugar and then the rest of melted butter all over the top layer, then baked for about 30 minutes. I started off with the oven around 375, but the top started to get too brown, so I reduced the oven temp to around 300-325. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate. Mine stuck in one place, but we just dug it out and stuck it on top for the picture! This was good, but I would do one thing different next time--some of the middle biscuits were dry-ish, so next time I'll roll every biscuit in melted butter, then cinnamon sugar. That's what I did when I made the mini monkey breads, but I was afraid on a big one that it might be too much or too soggy. But face it--this isn't something you're going to have every day, so when you do make it--make it good!

This recipe is linked to:

Recipe Box at Bizzy Bakes
Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!