Chicken Salad

 

 

3 large chicken breast halves simmered in water until done

2 boiled eggs
1 apple, diced
1 large celery stalk, diced

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup sweet or dill pickle , diced

dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
mayonnaise as needed
salt and pepper to taste

Cut chicken meat into small chunks. More salt and pepper may be needed.

 Add diced apple,
celery, boiled eggs and onions . Add mayonnaise to desired moistness. Place mound on bed of lettuce leaves or make a sandwich Or serve on crackers..

SPICY TEXAS BBQ SAUCE

Love this BBQ Sauce, Good on anything you want to BBQ..

1 c Ketchup
12 oz Tomato paste
1/4 c Lime juice
1 teasp Vegetable oil
1 1/2 c Onion; chopped
2 Clove Garlic, finely chop
12 oz Beer
1/2 c Brown Sugar; firm packed
2 tsp Red chiles flakes to taste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded and dicedHeat all ingredients to boiling in a 2 quart pan, reduce heat to low.
cover Makes 5 cups sauce.

CRISPY FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

 

 

4 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/4 cup flour

1 egg, slighty beaten

1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce, or to taste

1/2 tsp. salt

dash black pepper

1 cup fine bread crumbs

oil for frying

Dip tomatoes in water then coat slices with flour, then dip in egg (seasoned with salt, pepper, and hot sauce) and then in bread crumbs. use medium heat, brown on both sides in a skillet with 1/2" of hot oil. Serve hot.

COUNTRY HAM WITH RED-EYE GRAVY

 

1/4 to 1/2  inch-thick center cut of country ham 
5 tablespoons black coffee
1/2 teaspoon sugar

This is a traditional way of serving country ham in many parts of the South. It's ususally served for breakfast with grits and hot biscuits. Water may be used in place of the coffee, but it won't have that unique flavor.

1)   Fry the ham quickly in an ungreased hot iron skillet for a couple of minutes on each side. Remove the ham from the pan and set aside. If you don't have a iron skillet , then any heavy skillet will do..

2) To fat remaining, add the black coffee and sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, cover, and simmer for about 2 to 3  minutes.

3) Pour the gravy over the ham slices and serve.

Serves  ( 1 big Cowboy or 2 small ones )

Calico Beans

 

 Back in the mid 80's Bubba's  Bosses wife gave me this awesome recipe.. it is so very good..

 

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped

2 Tablespoon vinegar

1 lb ground meat

 1 lb. brown sugar

 1 larfe chopped onion

 1 large can pork and beans

 1 Tablespoon prepared mustard.

 

Brown bacon, take out and add onions, add all the other infrdients and fold to blend.  Pour in a buttered casserole, Bake at 300* for 1 hour.

Can add a little water if you need too...

Jerrie's Fruitcake

 

I lost my precious sister to cancer in 2007 at the agr of 66. She was my rock, and I miss her terribly.. She was such a good cook, this is her own version of a fruitcake and if you don't like all that candied fruit , you just might like this one.. I love it !

 

 

1 9oz. package of non such mincemeat , crumble into a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups warer.stir over medium heat occasionally until softened 1 minute... set aside.

 

 Mix in a bowl the following:

 

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoons baking soda

2 eggs

1 can eagle brand ( condensed milk )

2 cups dates, raisins, and brandied cherries

1 cup pecans

 

Butter and flour a angle food cake pan, set aside

 

Now mix all together and add the fruits, condensed milk, flour , baking soda, nuts and watered mincemeat, water and all..

 

Bake @ 300* for 1 hour, test with toothpick to make sure it is done..

Jalapeno Jelly ~ Green

 

 

 

The first time I had this was at the county fair in Jacksonville , Texas.. It is good on just about anything..

 

 

1/4 cup green sweet bell peppers,Ground ( 3 medium size pepper )

3/4 cup jalapeno peppers, ground

1 cup cider vinegar

5 cups sugar

1 bottle of pectin

 

Seed peppers and grind. combine sweet bell peppers, jalapeno peppers , vinegar,and sugar in large saucepan. Bring to boil, boil 4 minutes. remove from heat and let cool 1 minute.  Add pectin and a few drops of red food coloring. Pour into hot sterilized jelly glass jars ( 6 oz )  and seal.

 

Makes 5 jars of jelly.

 

Serve with Cream Cheese and Ritz Crackers...

Tamale Balls

 

Yummy, True Tex-Mex Appetizers

 

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

3/4 cup tomato juice

1/4 cup flour

3 crushed cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoons chiki powder

2 teaspoons salt

 

Grind beef and pork together , twice.

Add all the other ingredient together and mix well, Form inro small bals,

 

Sauce:

 

3 cans ( #2 ) tomatoes

2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoons chili powder

 

Heat ingredients together in a large roaster pan. Let the sauce come to a boil and drop in small balls. Simmer about 20 minutes , depending in the size you make... you can check for doneness after 15 minutes.

 

Put in a slow cooker on warm and serve by sticking a toothpick in the balls as needed..

Cheese Straws

 

This is a southern favorite..

 

3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

2 sticks margarine

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper

3 cups sifted all purpose flour

 

Cream Cheese and margarine together until soft. Add salt and cayenne pepper. Slowly work in flour to make a stiff dough, Roll, cut in strips and bake in oven @ 300* for about 15 minutes.

 

Egg Dumplings

 

2 eggs

1 1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. water

1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. Baking powder

 

Beat two eggs until frothy.

Add eggs with remaining ingredients; blend well.

Drop by spoonful into boiling soup or broth.

Cook for about 10 minutes.

Pecan Pie Muffins

 

    1 cup pecans, chopped 
    1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 
    1/2 cup flour 
    2 large eggs 
    1/2 cup oleo, melted 

  Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, make a well in center
of mixture. Beat eggs until foamy. Stir together eggs and butter;
add to dry ingredients stirring until moistened.
 Spoon batter into muffin  cups to2/3 full.

 Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until done. Remove from
pans immediately, cool on wire racks. Best served warm.

Again a dollop of vanilla ice cream would be awesome !

Hummingbird Cake

Tam makes these and oh man are they good.. Try it, you won't be sorry!

 

 

3 cups   flour
2 cups   sugar
1-1/2 cups   butter or margarine
8 oz.     crushed pineapple
2 cups   chopped bananas
1 cup     chopped nuts
1 tbsp.   cinnamon
2 tbsp.  vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg.    (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 stick   butter or margarine
1 box    confectioners' sugar (16 oz.)

       Heat oven to 350º F (175º C).  Cake:  Sift dry ingredients until mixed.  Mix fruits, nuts, vanilla and eggs.  Pour into dry ingredients; stir, do not beat.  Bake in 10" tube pan for 1 hour -- more if necessary.  Let cool.  Frosting:  Have butter and cream cheese at room temperature.  Mix until smooth.  Apply to cooled cake.  Makes 8 servings.

Texas Cow Patties

Texas Cow Patties

 

1 cup     each butter or margarine, softened; sugar; firmly packed brown sugar
2            eggs
1 tsp.     vanilla
1 cup     each quick oats, cornflakes
2 cups   all-purpose flour
1 tsp.     each baking powder, baking soda
1 cup     each chocolate chips, chopped pecans 

 

       Heat oven to 325º F (165º C).  Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla.  Add oats and cornflakes to creamed mixture, mixing thoroughly.  Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Gradually add to creamed mixture, beating slowly to mix.  Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.  Drop by rounded tsp. onto greased or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.  Bake 10 - 12 minutes.

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup Buttermilk
Mix buttermilk  into flour with a fork or pastry cutter. (Do not overmix.)
Pat out on a floured surface to 1/2″ thick (don't roll). Cut out biscuits no smaller than 1 1/2″ across. Use a round biscuit cutter or a large knife and cut the dough into squares.
Bake on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
I use butter in my pan and lay the biscuit in and then turn it over to get butter on the other side.. makes them softer .

Mama's Impossible Pie/ Makes it's own crust !

 

My Mama started making these in the 60's , They are just plain delicious..

 

1 - 7oz. can Angel Flake Coconut

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 cups milk

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Grease 2 9" pie pans

 

Mix all together and por into pie pans.

 

Bake @ 350* for 30 to 40 minutes or until coconut is toasted and the pies are firm.

Peach Cobbler

Working at The Olde Store for 12 years , I made this in a big roasting pan at least 3 times a week.. And the customers couldn't get enough :)

 

 

1 large can of peaches ( 2 cups )

2 cups Bisquick

2 cups sugar

butter

cinnamon

 

Butter a long pan 9"X 12" , set aside

 

Put bisquick and sugar in a bowl, add peaches ( juice and all )..

 

Pour into prepared pan

 

Dot with pats of butter on top

 

Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake in a 350* oven for about 30 minutes, or till golden..

 

Serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream while hot.. Yumm

 

You can sub Splenda for the sugar if you want too .

Pinto Bean Recipe and Corn Bread

 

Oh Yeah, Now this is about as southern as it gets :)

Pinto Bean Recipe

Here are cooking instruction for preparing a tasty pot of beans:

 Start with a small bag of beans, about 1 pound. This should produce about 5-6 cups of cooked beans.

Sorting and rinsing your beans is very simple. Sort through your beans removing any defective beans or small stones that may be present. Place the beans in a colander and rinse several times.

  For overnight soaking just cover beans with 3 inches of cold water and place in the refrigerator

 

 After the beans have soaked overnight or for 1-4 hours discard the water. Replace discarded water with fresh water. Replace beans in pot and cover with two inches of water. Bring beans to boil, replace lid and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 4 hours, checking beans frequently to ensure beans have enough water. Add water if necessary.

Fry some bacon ( about 5 slices ), or add ham hocks OR you can add a package of pork chops.. 1 or 2 jalapeno's and salt and pepper to taste.

-----------------------------------------------

There is nothing better then a good pot of Pinto Beans with a pan of Cornbread !

That was a meal in itself. Mom would cook her beans make cornbread and fry potatoes, and that was it.. Simple but oh so good..

Corn Bread Recipe

1-1/2 – cups yellow corn meal
1-1/2 – cups general all purpose flour
4 – tablespoons baking powder
2 – tablespoons sugar
1 – tablespoon salt
1-1/2 – cups milk
2 – eggs
2 – tablespoons vegetable oil

You can start off by greasing your cast iron skillet with a little vegetable oil. Set the oven to 425 degrees and heat your skillet. If you don't have the cast iron skillet go head and use a  baking pan.

Blend corn meal, flour, baking powered and sugar in a mixing bowl. In another bowl Wisk together your milk, eggs and melted butter. Make the corn bread batter by mixing your dry and wet ingredients together thoroughly.

Next using oven mittens, carefully remove the cast iron skillet from the oven. Using a kitchen basting brush or whatever you have available coat the inside of your skillet with vegetable oil.

Pour batter into the skillet and return to oven. Bake for about half an hour or until a wooden tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. The finished product will be golden brown.

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

 

 

4 tenderized beef cutlets or 1 round steak

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

All-purpose flour

Cooking oil or melted crisco

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

How to make chicken fried steak with cream gravy

Beat together the egg and milk and set aside. Mix together the salt, black pepper and sprinkle on both sides of beef cutlets.

Dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip each cutlet in the egg/milk mixture, then back in the flour. Set cutlets aside on acookie sheet.

Heat the cooking oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Oil should be about a half-inch deep in the pan. Check the temperature with a drop of water. If it pops and spits back at you, it is ready.

With a long-handled fork, carefully place each cutlet into the hot oil. Fry cutlets on both sides, turning once, until golden brown. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 4 or 5 minutes until cutlets are done through. Drain cutlets on paper towels.

After the cutlets are removed from the pan, pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour in the hot oil. Stir with a wooden spoon, quickly, to brown the flour.

Gradually stir in add 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water, mixed together, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and mashing out any lumps. Lower heat, and gravy will begin to thicken. Continue cooking and stirring a few minutes until gravy reaches desired thickness. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper according to your taste.

Oh I do love my veggies

 

My first memories of a garden was my Grandpas.

He had the best sweet potatoes ( yams ) you ever tasted.

Anytime we went to grandpa and grandmas house you could

 betthere was backed sweet potatoes waiting in the oven for

 us kids. OMG , I can still smell the sweet syrupy aroma

coming from the kitchen. And then there is the fact that you didn't

need to add butter because they were so sweet and buttery without it.

That was 53 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday!

 

 

Know your Veggies

So many of these I grew up eating.. It may say other parts of the country, but I assure you will find many of these on a southern table..

I am glad I found this chart online, it is very useful.

 

Artichoke - a tight head of fleshy leaves, delicious with lemon butter

Asparagus - tender green tips available during a short growing season

Aubergene - A rich purple vegetable that absorbs strong flavours well. The aubergene is called eggplant in America.

Beans - high protien seeds of legume plants

Beet - Tubers with rich nutty flavours. A sweet variety of beet is grown commercially in europe and asia for sugar manufacture.

Broccoli - green and delicious and full of vitamins

Brussels sprouts - traditionally eaten with Christmas Dinner in the UK

Cabbage - the king of vegetables. Easy to grow almost anywhere

Carrot - Introduced by the Romans, carrots have been popular for 2000 Years

Cauliflower - White relative of broccoli

Celeriac - a large knotted ball-like root vegetable which makes amazing nutty soups

Celery - Slightly bitter (unless blanched) european stalks with a distinctive flavour, used in salads, stews and soups.

Chard - green leafy vegetable

Chicory - bitter vegetable

Collards - This leafy green vegetable is also known as tree-cabbage and is rich in vitamins and minerals.

Corn - North American native vegetable considered sacred by many native tribes. Confusingly corn is also the word used to describe the seeds of wheat and barley.

Cress - small peppery sprouts

Cucumbers - related to courgettes and traditionally used raw in salads. The cucumber grows quickly and holds lots of water

Gourds - The common name for fruits of the Cucurbitaceae family of plants (members include cucumbers, squashes, luffas, and melons).

Jerusalem Artichoke - It isn't an Artichoke and it doesn't come from Jerusalem. The jersalem Artichoke is actually related to the sunflower. The bit we eat is an ugly little tuber (like a small thin potato) that tastes amazing. It has a smoky taste that really excites the palette.

Kales - Until the Renaissance, kale was the most common green vegetable eated by the people of northern Europe

Kohlrabi - Kohlrabi is a member of the turnip family and can be either purple or white.

Leek - The national vegetable of Wales.

Lettuce - lots of green leaves used as a mainstay of salads. Varieties such as round, isberg, lollo rosso and radichio are popular.

Melons - Wonderful fruits with a high water content. There are many farmed varieties . All have seeds surrounded by rich, watery but sweet flesh that is encased in a fairly hard shell.

Mushrooms - not technically a vegetable, but a far older member of the plant kingdom. Mushrooms do not use sunlight to produce energy, hence they have a completely different range of tastes than any other vegetable. Did you know that the largest single living organism on earth is a mushroom called Armillaria Ostoyae, the biggest of which is up to 8,500 years old and carpets nearly 10 square kilometres of forest floor in northeastern Oregon, USA.

Okra also called 'ladies fingers' or gumbo is a wonderful pungent vegetable from the same family as hollyhock. It probably was first cultivated in Ethiopia and is still a North African staple, but has become popular in Europe, Asia and America too.

Onions Onions have been eaten for tens of thousands of years and we still aren't bored of them.

Parsnips The sweet, starchy parsnip was a very popular european vegetable before the arrival of potaoes and Sugar Cane from the Americas. Although not the prize it once was, the Parsnip is a classic root vegetable, particularly popular in more northern lattitudes.

Peas - best eated within minutes of picking as the sugars rapidly turn to starch. Therefore frozen peas often taste better than 'fresh' peas.

Peppers - These are the fruit of the Capsicum family of plants. The hotter tasting ones (due to more Capsaicinoids in the flesh) are usually refered to as chillis.

Potatoes - Nothing finer than a steaming plate of mashed potatoes. An american staple crop that as been exported all over the world.

Pumpkins - A popular gourd vegetable used in cooking and to make halloween jack o lanterns.

Radicchio - a chicory leaf used in salads. Popular since ancient times, modern widescale cultivation of the plant began in the fifteenth century close to Venice in Italy.

Radish - rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), folic acid (folate), and Potassium, the raddish is a peppery vegetable popular in western and asian cookery. We usually eat the taproot, but the leaves can also be eaten in salads.

Rhubarb - A plant with large leaves that grow out of thick succulent stems with a very particular floral scent. These stems are popularly eaten as a fruit once sweetened and cooked. Rhubarb was originally native to China but has been popular in Europe since Roman times.

Rutabaga - These are like a turnip.

Shallots - Small onions often with a more fiery bite.

Spinach -large green leaves wilt easily in a pan and are often served with a little butter and nutmeg as an accompanying vegetable. Spinach contains lots of healthy trace minerals including iron

Squash another generic name for fruits of the vine of the Cucurbitaceae family of plants (see also Gourds). Butternut Squash has recently grown in popularity in the United Kingdom.

Swede - Apparently a cross between cabbages and turnips swedes are a low calory root vegetable

Sweetcorn - a north american native plant loved throughout the world.

Sweet potato Ipomoea batatas (related to the morning glory) produces a starchy tuber. In the USA the red variety of sweet potato is often called a yam, although yams are a seperate vegetable in their own right.

Tomatoes - not technically a vegetable, but a fruit. Tomatoes are best grown yourself because the uniform flavourless powdery fruits available in supermarkets are not worth eating.

Turnips - Root vegetable will grow in cold climates.

Watercress - very peppery small salad like leaves

Watermelon - Sweet tasting gourd reaches enourmous size and definitely the most refreshing fruit there is.

Yams - Sweet starchy tuber that are popular in African, Carribean and American cookery

 

Fried Chicken ( Southern Style )

There is nothing better then a platter of southern fried chicken..

Southern Fried Chicken

1 fryer, cut into pieces

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups all purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying

Cut your fryer into pieces as follows:

2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 wings, 2 breast, upper back (saddle )
lower back cut into 2 pieces..

Pour the buttermilk in a bowl that the pices of chicken fit in..

Put Flour in a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste, mix well..

Dry chicken off with paper towels, then put one piece at a time

in the buttermilk, hold it up and let alittle drip off. Now dredge in

flour.. lay out on a cookie sheet ( pieces not touching...

Let set for 20 minutes..

Turn burner on medium high..

Heat oil in a skillet about 1/2 way up.. I use a iron skillet.

Put  the breast, legs, thighs and wings in first.. let it get golden before turning..

Turn and brown on other side.. it takes about 20 minute or so, to get done.

Then add the reat and cook as before...

~It 's So Good ~

Inaugural Blog Post

"Well, butter my butt and call me bisuit!" this thing might actually work!!!