Wes's mom, Vill, used to make potato soup and cornbread on a regular basis. His family would eat it on a plate...crumble up the cornbread, pour potato soup over, devour. I coluld never get into the idea of eating it as a plate of mush (don't worry, Wes knows I call it this), but I did like both the potato soup and the cornbread. I've tried to make cornbread a million times, but it never turns out quite right...I think I've finally figured it out though! I also looked at a few recipes for potato soup, and think I've come close to Vill's recipe. Wes was in the den when he took his first bite (all mushed up on a plate!), and I heard him from the kitchen say, "Wow! This is it! It's good!" Yay for making one of his favorite meals his mom used to make him!
Cornbread (and next time, I think I'll try it in a preheated cast-iron pan, but I didn't this time)
1 1/4 c. self-rising cornmeal
3/4 c. self-rising flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. milk
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Add the egg/milk/butter mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring only until just moistened. Pour into a greased 9" pan, and bake for 25 minutes at 425*.
Potato Soup
*if you'd like to top with bacon (I do!), cook some until crispy, crumble, and set aside
*you may also cut up some scallions and grate some cheddar cheese on top
About 3 lbs. Idaho potatoes (I think I used 5 med. to large potatoes?)
1 c. sour cream
1 stick butter
2 2/3 c. milk
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Rinse, peel, and cut the potatoes into 1" chunks. Put into a large pot, and add just enough cool water to cover. Heat to a boil, reduce and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, approximately 35-45 minutes.
Drain the potatoes, and return to the pot and mash (Vill didn't really mash the potatoes in her soup, so I didn't mash it a ton...left some chunks). Stir in the sour cream, butter, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer to heat through, and serve however you'd like--mushed up on a plate with cornbread (yuck!), or in a bowl, topped with shredded cheese, scallions, and bacon (yum!) with a side of cornbread.
**And leftovers are great--Wes ate most of them, so I stirred about 1/2 c. of the leftover soup with about 1 c. of frozen broccoli and heated through for Wesley and my dinner. YUMMY!
Disclaimer: I didn't say either of these recipes was healthy ;)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
New Year's Day "Lucky Lunch"
Happy 2010, ya'll!
I wanted to post what I cooked for the traditional NYDay Lunch before I forgot how I did everything! It was so much fun...Sallie and Isabelle, and Maggie, Barry and Davis came over to eat with us. I was a little concerned that I'd cooked WAAAAY too much...but either everyone was starving or everyone was being polite, because the majority of the food got eaten!
So here it goes...we had black eyed peas, collard greens, macaroni and cheese (posted previously), and pork tenderloin. Oh, and the ladies enjoyed some seriously amazing pink champagne ;)
A great thing about this meal...I did 3 of the 4 dishes in crock pots (yup, I am the proud owner of 3 crock pots..more on that later). So, I was able to get everything prepared in the morning, veg on the couch for most of the day, then once everyone got here, I quickly cooked the pork and everything was good to go!
Black Eyed Peas:
6 or so slices of bacon
1/2 a large onion, diced
3 c. water
Glory vegetable base
1 can of RoTel tomatos, drained just a bit
2 10-oz packages of fresh (local!) black eyed peas
Salt and pepper
Cut the bacon into 1-inch (or so) pieces, and brown until crispy. Drain about half of the bacon on a paper towel, and add the onion to the remaining bacon, cooking in the bacon fat (those diet resolutions shouldn't kick in until the 2nd or later!) until very translucent. Put this mixture in the crock pot, along with the water, a heaping teaspoon of the vegetable base, the tomatoes, peas, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on high for approximately 4 hours, checking the seasoning and doneness of the peas often. Crumble the reserved bacon over top of the peas just before serving.
Collard Greens:
1 T. butter
1/2 a large onion, diced
1 pack of Turkey Jerky
6 c. hot water
1 beer
Glory vegetable base (approx. 2 T)
2 bunches of fresh (again...local!) collard greens, washed and trimmed
1/3 to 1/2 c. cider vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the onion in the butter until translucent. Put in the crockpot along with the next 5 ingredients, and some salt/pepper to taste. Cook over high heat, stiring with tongs frequently to ensure all the collard pieces spend ample time submerged. About 1 hour before serving (once collards are very soft and yummy!), add the cider vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce, and s/p if needed. Serve with cider vinegar to be sprinkled on top if desired!
I wanted to post what I cooked for the traditional NYDay Lunch before I forgot how I did everything! It was so much fun...Sallie and Isabelle, and Maggie, Barry and Davis came over to eat with us. I was a little concerned that I'd cooked WAAAAY too much...but either everyone was starving or everyone was being polite, because the majority of the food got eaten!
So here it goes...we had black eyed peas, collard greens, macaroni and cheese (posted previously), and pork tenderloin. Oh, and the ladies enjoyed some seriously amazing pink champagne ;)
A great thing about this meal...I did 3 of the 4 dishes in crock pots (yup, I am the proud owner of 3 crock pots..more on that later). So, I was able to get everything prepared in the morning, veg on the couch for most of the day, then once everyone got here, I quickly cooked the pork and everything was good to go!
Black Eyed Peas:
6 or so slices of bacon
1/2 a large onion, diced
3 c. water
Glory vegetable base
1 can of RoTel tomatos, drained just a bit
2 10-oz packages of fresh (local!) black eyed peas
Salt and pepper
Cut the bacon into 1-inch (or so) pieces, and brown until crispy. Drain about half of the bacon on a paper towel, and add the onion to the remaining bacon, cooking in the bacon fat (those diet resolutions shouldn't kick in until the 2nd or later!) until very translucent. Put this mixture in the crock pot, along with the water, a heaping teaspoon of the vegetable base, the tomatoes, peas, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on high for approximately 4 hours, checking the seasoning and doneness of the peas often. Crumble the reserved bacon over top of the peas just before serving.
Collard Greens:
1 T. butter
1/2 a large onion, diced
1 pack of Turkey Jerky
6 c. hot water
1 beer
Glory vegetable base (approx. 2 T)
2 bunches of fresh (again...local!) collard greens, washed and trimmed
1/3 to 1/2 c. cider vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the onion in the butter until translucent. Put in the crockpot along with the next 5 ingredients, and some salt/pepper to taste. Cook over high heat, stiring with tongs frequently to ensure all the collard pieces spend ample time submerged. About 1 hour before serving (once collards are very soft and yummy!), add the cider vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce, and s/p if needed. Serve with cider vinegar to be sprinkled on top if desired!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Nothing to do with cooking...
But I love reading Jill's blog at www.babyrabies.com. She's freaking hilarious. And, to make it even better, she's giving away a Dyson vacuum! So, head on over there and read about her life with an adorable toddler...and life in general. BUT, if you win that vacuum, I'm gonna be mad...it should be MINE!!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thanksgiving Yummyness!
I'm still stuffed from 3 Thanksgiving meals (yes, 3!) and can't even think of turkey right now, but I did want to go ahead and share the recipes I made because they were super yummy and I want to have them for next year! Hope you had a great holiday with family :)
Cranberry Sauce (a combination of a couple of recipes, but basically this one by Alton Brown)
1/4 c. cranberry juice (NOT cocktail...the 100% juice)
juice from one orange (approx. 1/4 c.)
1 c. honey
zest from one orange
1 bag fresh cranberries
Bring the cranberry juice, orange juice and honey to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, adding zest after a couple of minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the cranberries, and continue to simmer for 12-15 minutes (no more than 15). Continue to stir every minute or two. The cranberries will begin to burst, and I used a wooden spoon to kind of mash up the cranberries in the last few minutes of cooking.
Remove from heat, let cool for a few minutes, then pour into either a mold or serving bowls. Refrigerate overnight.
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole (I believe it was basically a recipe by Paula Deen, but of course now I can't find the original recipe)
2 bags frozen broccoli (1 family size, 1 large size I believe)
1/4 c. chopped celery*
1/4 lb. chopped mushrooms*
1/4 c. chopped onion*
*I eyeballed these measurements, and probably used more celery and less onion.
2 T butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 lb. velveeta cheese
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Steam the broccoli in salted water for just a couple of minutes (basically to heat thru). Drain well--I drained it in the colander, then spread the broccoli out on a few layers of paper towels to absorb as much water as possible.
Saute the celery, mushrooms, and onion in the butter until very soft. Add the soup and velveeta, stirring often, until the cheese is melted and everything is combined well. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Combine the broccoli and cheese/soup/veggie mixture well, then pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with the cheddar cheese.
Either 1) put into a preheated 350* oven for about 20 minutes and serve; or 2) if made ahead of time, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before cooking, and cook at 375* for about 30 minutes.
Streusel Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (From Tyler Florence's recipe)
This may be my favorite sweet potato recipe!
6 small to medium sweet potatoes
1 stick (1/2 c.) butter, room temp
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. toasted pecan pieces
1 c. (or a few handfuls) mini marshmallows
Scrub and prick the sweet potatoes, then bake in a preheated 400* oven until soft (about 45 minutes or so).
While the potatoes are baking, make the streusel: combine the butter, sugar and flour with a fork until crumbly. Add the cinnamon, salt and pecans.
(I made this the day before, so at this point, I put the streusel in the fridge, along with the cooled sweet potatoes.)
Cut the sweet potatoes in half length-wise, and use a fork to kind of tear up the insides (does that make sense?! haha). Place them in a baking dish, flesh-side up. Top each half with a generous amount of the streusel mixture, covering as much of the potato as possible. Sprinkle marshmallows over the streusel.
Cover with foil and bake in a pre-heated 375* oven for about 45 minutes, removing foil for last 15-20 minutes. (If you are making this directly after baking the potatoes, I think you can keep the oven at 400*, and just bake uncovered for about 20 minutes).
The streusel should get crispy, and the marshmallows will melt and brown. SO yummy!
Cranberry Sauce (a combination of a couple of recipes, but basically this one by Alton Brown)
1/4 c. cranberry juice (NOT cocktail...the 100% juice)
juice from one orange (approx. 1/4 c.)
1 c. honey
zest from one orange
1 bag fresh cranberries
Bring the cranberry juice, orange juice and honey to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, adding zest after a couple of minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the cranberries, and continue to simmer for 12-15 minutes (no more than 15). Continue to stir every minute or two. The cranberries will begin to burst, and I used a wooden spoon to kind of mash up the cranberries in the last few minutes of cooking.
Remove from heat, let cool for a few minutes, then pour into either a mold or serving bowls. Refrigerate overnight.
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole (I believe it was basically a recipe by Paula Deen, but of course now I can't find the original recipe)
2 bags frozen broccoli (1 family size, 1 large size I believe)
1/4 c. chopped celery*
1/4 lb. chopped mushrooms*
1/4 c. chopped onion*
*I eyeballed these measurements, and probably used more celery and less onion.
2 T butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 lb. velveeta cheese
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Steam the broccoli in salted water for just a couple of minutes (basically to heat thru). Drain well--I drained it in the colander, then spread the broccoli out on a few layers of paper towels to absorb as much water as possible.
Saute the celery, mushrooms, and onion in the butter until very soft. Add the soup and velveeta, stirring often, until the cheese is melted and everything is combined well. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Combine the broccoli and cheese/soup/veggie mixture well, then pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with the cheddar cheese.
Either 1) put into a preheated 350* oven for about 20 minutes and serve; or 2) if made ahead of time, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before cooking, and cook at 375* for about 30 minutes.
Streusel Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (From Tyler Florence's recipe)
This may be my favorite sweet potato recipe!
6 small to medium sweet potatoes
1 stick (1/2 c.) butter, room temp
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. toasted pecan pieces
1 c. (or a few handfuls) mini marshmallows
Scrub and prick the sweet potatoes, then bake in a preheated 400* oven until soft (about 45 minutes or so).
While the potatoes are baking, make the streusel: combine the butter, sugar and flour with a fork until crumbly. Add the cinnamon, salt and pecans.
(I made this the day before, so at this point, I put the streusel in the fridge, along with the cooled sweet potatoes.)
Cut the sweet potatoes in half length-wise, and use a fork to kind of tear up the insides (does that make sense?! haha). Place them in a baking dish, flesh-side up. Top each half with a generous amount of the streusel mixture, covering as much of the potato as possible. Sprinkle marshmallows over the streusel.
Cover with foil and bake in a pre-heated 375* oven for about 45 minutes, removing foil for last 15-20 minutes. (If you are making this directly after baking the potatoes, I think you can keep the oven at 400*, and just bake uncovered for about 20 minutes).
The streusel should get crispy, and the marshmallows will melt and brown. SO yummy!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Olive and Feta Stuffed Chicken
Okay, this is seriously awesome. I didn't know what to make for dinner, and called mom on the way to the grocery. She suggested this, and I made a few tweaks since Wesley would be eating it with me. I am seriously thinking I'll make it again tomorrow night!
olive oil
boneless skinless chicken breast
about 8 kalamata olives, diced*
about 1.5 T crumbled feta (I used the garlic herb kind)*
about 1/3 bag of frozen spinach
salt and pepper (and/or seasoned salt...I used Crazy Salt)
*I put both the olives and feta in the food processor to dice since I was feeding this to Wesley.
Preheat oven to 375. In an ovenproof pan, heat olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Cut the chicken to create a pocket. Combine the olives and feta, and stuff into the chicken. Season outside of chicken, and brown well in the olive oil. Once browned, add the spinach to the pan, season, and cover. Put the pan in the oven, cooking until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. YUM!
olive oil
boneless skinless chicken breast
about 8 kalamata olives, diced*
about 1.5 T crumbled feta (I used the garlic herb kind)*
about 1/3 bag of frozen spinach
salt and pepper (and/or seasoned salt...I used Crazy Salt)
*I put both the olives and feta in the food processor to dice since I was feeding this to Wesley.
Preheat oven to 375. In an ovenproof pan, heat olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Cut the chicken to create a pocket. Combine the olives and feta, and stuff into the chicken. Season outside of chicken, and brown well in the olive oil. Once browned, add the spinach to the pan, season, and cover. Put the pan in the oven, cooking until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. YUM!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Taco Soup
I did the in the crockpot, and it was the easiest thing ever!!
1 lb of chicken (either cut boneless skinless breasts into small chunks, or I got a package of "stir fry chicken pieces" or something to that effect)
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of corn (I used a small can of shoepeg)
1 can of black beans
1 can of mild Ro*Tel tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 packet of taco powder
1 packet of ranch powder
Approx. 1 c. of water (I added some awesome Glory chicken base to it--I use this stuff all the time!!)
And it can't get any easier than this: throw everything into the crockpot (don't drain any of the cans), cook on high for 4 hours, then eat! I actually cooked some cheese tortilini and threw that in the bowls when I served this to make it a little more hardy. It really didn't need it though. It can be served with Fritos, cheese and sour cream.
2 notes:
1) If you like spicy, you could use regular Ro*Tel tomatoes, but honestly, it was plenty spicy for Wes and I with the mild ones.
2) This is a similar recipe to the Sante Fe Stew, but it's thinner (and a little bit easier b/c you don't have to cook the chicken first).
1 lb of chicken (either cut boneless skinless breasts into small chunks, or I got a package of "stir fry chicken pieces" or something to that effect)
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of corn (I used a small can of shoepeg)
1 can of black beans
1 can of mild Ro*Tel tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 packet of taco powder
1 packet of ranch powder
Approx. 1 c. of water (I added some awesome Glory chicken base to it--I use this stuff all the time!!)
And it can't get any easier than this: throw everything into the crockpot (don't drain any of the cans), cook on high for 4 hours, then eat! I actually cooked some cheese tortilini and threw that in the bowls when I served this to make it a little more hardy. It really didn't need it though. It can be served with Fritos, cheese and sour cream.
2 notes:
1) If you like spicy, you could use regular Ro*Tel tomatoes, but honestly, it was plenty spicy for Wes and I with the mild ones.
2) This is a similar recipe to the Sante Fe Stew, but it's thinner (and a little bit easier b/c you don't have to cook the chicken first).
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Barbeque Chicken AND Pork!!
I made WONDERFUL bbq chicken for dinner tonight (along with grilled corn and Cesar salad. Yum!), and am making bbq pork for the Wofford Homecoming tailgate this weekend...go Terriers!! So, here are these two recipes. I'll have to let you know after Saturday how the pork goes over! (And of course, the measurements aren't exact...although this time I did at least use measuring spoons/cups most of the time)
BBQ Sauce
Whisk together all of the following ingredients over medium low heat. Let simmer for approximately 45 minutes, whisking often.
2 c ketchup
1 c apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire
3 tbsp prepared mustard
¾ c sugar
½ tbsp garlic salt
½ tbsp black pepper
½ tbsp paprika
½ tbsp dry mustard
3 shakes cayenne pepper
2" cinnamon stick
BBQ Chicken
1 c. Zesty Italian dressing
¼ c apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp onion flakes
½ tbsp paprika
½ tbsp black pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Combine all marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Marinate the chicken for at least a few hours (we marinated it overnight). Grill the chicken, brushing with BBQ Sauce for the last 5 minutes or so. Serve with BBQ sauce if desired (but discard the sauce you used to brush the cooking chicken!!).
BBQ Pork
1 c. Zesty Italian dressing
2/3 c. prepared mustard
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Liquid Smoke
2 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tbsp garlic salt
1/2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp seasoned salt (I use Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt)
1/2 tbsp dried mustard
1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
5-6 lb. Boston Butt Pork
Combine all marinade ingredients, whisk together well (I used my immersion blender with the whisk attachment) so that ingredients emulsify. Place pork in a Ziploc bag, pour marinade over it. Seal, squeezing out air, and let marinate for 24 hours. We will EITHER be cooking this in the oven at very low heat overnight, or in the crock pot overnight. I'll let you know!!
BBQ Sauce
Whisk together all of the following ingredients over medium low heat. Let simmer for approximately 45 minutes, whisking often.
2 c ketchup
1 c apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire
3 tbsp prepared mustard
¾ c sugar
½ tbsp garlic salt
½ tbsp black pepper
½ tbsp paprika
½ tbsp dry mustard
3 shakes cayenne pepper
2" cinnamon stick
BBQ Chicken
1 c. Zesty Italian dressing
¼ c apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp onion flakes
½ tbsp paprika
½ tbsp black pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Combine all marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Marinate the chicken for at least a few hours (we marinated it overnight). Grill the chicken, brushing with BBQ Sauce for the last 5 minutes or so. Serve with BBQ sauce if desired (but discard the sauce you used to brush the cooking chicken!!).
BBQ Pork
1 c. Zesty Italian dressing
2/3 c. prepared mustard
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Liquid Smoke
2 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tbsp garlic salt
1/2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp seasoned salt (I use Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt)
1/2 tbsp dried mustard
1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
5-6 lb. Boston Butt Pork
Combine all marinade ingredients, whisk together well (I used my immersion blender with the whisk attachment) so that ingredients emulsify. Place pork in a Ziploc bag, pour marinade over it. Seal, squeezing out air, and let marinate for 24 hours. We will EITHER be cooking this in the oven at very low heat overnight, or in the crock pot overnight. I'll let you know!!
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