Cook »

 One of our favorite snacks around here are Chili Bites. 

They were intended as appetizers, but we eat ‘em for dinner sometimes.

I usually use the Scoops type chips, they’ll hold more, there’s less chance of spillage (yes, it is a word - at least in my vocabulary), and they’re cuter.  But today I had these regular kind of tortilla chips left over.

The original recipe called for vegetarian chili.  Which I’m sure is absolutely marvelous, but I live in Arkansas, where most people don’t even know that exists or much care.  So, we go in the opposite direction with No Beans chili - perfect reasoning, right?  Calls for meatless, use veggieless.

I plop the chili right onto the chip, top with grated cheddar cheese (or whatever you fancy) and pop it in the oven - 350, just until the cheese is melty.

I mix taco seasoning - either from those handy packets or your own mix if you prefer, into sour cream.  Now, how much sour cream and how much seasoning is up to you.  I mix it to taste, start with 1 tablespoon seasoning to a cup sour cream and go from there.  The leftover sour cream mix is pretty good plain as a dip too.

I leave a little more than half of the chili bites to top with plain sour cream for the kiddos, because they tell me it’s too spicy with the seasoning.

And to top it all off we usually put a sliced jalepeno on the top of ours (we were fresh out this time). 

MMMM!

Cook »

for all our humidity we do have some things that just can’t be beat.

last night’s dinner that brought back my childhood days is definitely one of ‘em.  

homemade cornbread made with bacon drippin’s in a cast iron skillet.  real cornbread should not be sweet.  unless you’re eating it with strawberry preserves on top for dessert.  i just forgot to pick up some buttermilk to crumble my warm fresh cornbread into.  oh, how i missed out.

fresh homegrown tomatoes (wish they were from my own garden - but, alas, i’ll settle for someone else’s, for now.)  straight from the icebox and sliced - still not fond of salt on mine, but i will take a little ranch dressing.

purple hull peas (mine, unfortunately were from the freezer this time, i neglected to buy some from the farmer’s market) - sliced onions, salt, and pepper with a little bacon drippin’s for flavor.

green tomatoes - sliced, dunked in milk and dredged through cornmeal, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper.  fried to a golden brown in, what else?, but bacon drippin’s.

and a side of salisbury steaks just for a little added protein.

served up with a tall glass of freshly brewed sweet tea.

and dessert?  why, watermelon, of course.

i’d've made my mama and daddy proud last night.

Cook »

i have lots of ideas.  but some of ‘em don’t pan out so well.  okay, most of ‘em.  because, as we all know, what sounds good on paper sometimes doesn’t translate well in real life.  so here’s where we are in our real life.

cooking day:  the trial run worked out really well.  we’re down to the very bottom of the food barrel.  it’s been 3 1/2 weeks since i went on the huge shopping trip.  i’ve supplemented with 2 mini grocery shopping trips (for fruits, veggies, and a few insta-foods, oh, and a bunch of sweets, what can i say?) at $63.00 for one and $19.00 for the second.  we have eaten out a couple times - especially for my honey’s lunches.  but that’s gonna just be a fact of life for us.  and that’s alright.  we’re planning another huge trip for tomorrow (guess i better start figurin’ out what we’re gonna eat this time around!).  here’s what we had and how it worked.  if you want some of the recipes comment and let me know.

• lots of deli sandwiches
• white chili
• breaded chicken sandwiches
• southern meat and potatoes
• ham and egg sandwiches
• egg casserole
• chinese dinner - this was a huge hit
• parmesan chicken
• mexican chicken
• tacos and bean burritos
• ravioli - regular(not outta the can) and toasted and fried mozzarella sticks - also a huge hit
• chicken enchiladas
• hamburgers
• homemade pizza - not a hit at all - i can’t get the crust right - any suggestions on this?
• lemon garlic pork loin - argh - i planned several meals off this one.  i left it on the stove to cool after just one helping and daisy-the-cat got to it - into the trash went a whole pork loin.  no cats were harmed in this, except in my imagination.
• turkey smoked sausage - kids LOVE this one
• pancakes
• french toast
• tuna fish
• twice baked potatoes

lots of bacon, breakfast sausage, toast with butter or jelly or both, pb&j’s, green beans, great northern beans, corn, carrots, apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, cereal - we don’t eat a lot of this - it’s on my hate list:  too much money, the kids don’t really eat a lot of it anyway, makes a HUGE mess with all my little ones, don’t feel like it’s very nutritious.  however, if it’s something i like i can put away a box at a sitting - another reason to not have it in the house. 

leftovers and insta(box or frozen)foods filled in the gaps, we just can’t bring ourselves to drop our frozen pizzas.  we’re frozen pizza freaks.  we also love us some frozen chicken pot pies - all of us - right down to the baby.

Cook »

• when you put the cheese on the chicken patty to melt on the top rack and turn on the broiler, don’t start making a homemade weather vain for the kids.
• when you discover there’s a fire in the oven, don’t open the oven door.
• when you throw a cup of water on the fire, don’t leave the door to the oven open to see what’ll happen.
• when you do all of these things, don’t call your husband at work for him to hear the smoke detector going off and then tell him, “no, it’s all okay, you can stay at work.”

Cook »

(originally published March 13,2008)

(and a “where i’ve been for 2 days!”)

i’m learning as i’m going, folks, but i thought i’d pass on what i’ve learned recently.  now, i know to large families (those of you that have more than 5 children) we’re a drop in the bucket, but to those of you who have 1 child we’re a phenomenon - it’s all in our perspectives.  but i’m trying to learn from you larger families and pass a little of that learnin’ on to you others.  one of those things that i’m trying to incorporate is “days.”  a day for laundry.  a day for the kitchen.  a day for the office.  a day for town.  a day for deep cleaning.  you get the idea.  now, i’m on the very front end of this right now, but baby steps, people.  the idea is that you set aside one day a week for each of these large projects and there is predictability and consistency and order.  i could use a little of those.

now that i have the money for food (in abundance, might i add) i can put into practice what i have dabbled in before.  (and can i just say, as an aside, that i rarely go to the cabinet or fridge now that i am not overwhelmingly thankful for the overflowingness.  my middlest said the other morning, “i’m hungry, mama.  and there’s millions of food in there.”  yes, there is, son of mine.  yes, there is.)

i went grocery shopping tuesday.  the big one.  the shop for a month one.  i was thankful to go alone.  that’s right.  you heard me.  i went alone.  i used my parents-in-law and ran for the hills, aka wal-mart.  i even left the baby.  second time ever.  3 whole hours.  (he survived, just in case you were wondering!)  and i used only one shopping cart.  by the time i made it up to the produce section i had stuff falling off the cart and was using my full weight to turn it.  i wish i was kidding.  people were staring at me like i was nuts.  it’s easier to explain away that kind of scene when you have 4 little ones in tow, but when you go alone you just look stupid.  oh well, i’ve said before i have no shame left.

so, i planned menus.  i shopped.  i picked up the fast food for dinner (you think i’m cooking at this point in the day?!) and the kids.  i came home and everybody helped me unload.  hubby helped me get the cold stuff put away.  and we put all meat in the fridge for seperation later.  it was 8pm by this time, so we left all the other non-pershables on the counter.  got kids in bed and relaxed on the couch.

i got up wednesday morning turned my menus into a calendar on the ‘puter to post in my cabinet.  i planned days for dinners according to what would perish first.  and spread them out a little allowing for improv, left-overs, and sandwhiches.  since my honey is all about improv - i only listed lunches for him so that he can pick what he wants when.  same with weekends.  the weekdays are more my cooking territory so i planned those a little stricter.  breakfast and snacks are very loose - just a list to pick from since it all depends on if i’m up to cooking first thing in the a.m. or if i’m in desperate need of a poptart.

after making the menu calendar i went to work first thing.  boiled a whole bag of chicken breasts.  baked 5 loaves of bread - that i had let set out and rise all night (i bought them in the freezer section 5 for $3 - good stuff).  baked potatoes for twice-baked.  peeled and boiled the other 2 1/5 pounds of potatoes for mashed potatoes and for the ground beef recipe i posted the other day.  i had onions left over from last month, but if i had not, this would be the time i would chop and freeze several of them at once to pull from through the month.

while these things cooked i put away all those groceries i left out the night before, made the mix for the twice-baked potatoes, shredded 3 pounds of cheese and ziplocked them.  and set out food for immediate consumption because by now, my munchkins were smellin’ the good stuff and whining.  since i was cooking for the future and they were excited about all the new stuff - cooking day became grazing day for them.  easy for me.  fun for them.  dried cranberries, string cheese, chunks of the fresh baked-bread, apples, bananas, peanuts, hot mashed potatoes, etc.

when the chicken finished i pulled it out and let it cool on a plate.  pulled the baked potatoes and let cool.  i put seasonings and onions in the broth and left it on to simmer for homemade stock to freeze.   i drained the water from the potatoes, added milk and butter and mashed them.  put them away.  unloaded and loaded a set of dishes (they’re pilin’ up by now!).  the chicken was cool so i shredded and divided it according to meals and froze it.  the potatoes were cool by now so i halved, scooped, mixed, reloaded and topped with some of that cheese i shredded.  wrapped them individually to freeze for grab and go snacks.

daddy came home for lunch which was a deli pizza and frozen pizza for the kiddos (picked especially for this busy day - the oven was already hot - i just fit it in between potatoes and bread).  at this point, i took a break.  the kids were flippin’ out and in desperate need of attention and naps (before you get all up in the air, i had stopped constantly for all their needs and perceived needs, several nursings, many “i wants”, and bottom wipings.  and it was a pretty day so out they went for most of it.)  i put the bread into bake and left the kitchen.  i put a girl to bed who was beside herself.  i nursed and held a sleepy baby.  and i read to and did a st. patrick’s day lesson with the bigger boys.

when the bread got done, our bellies got full on it, the babies woke up, and the boys got bored, i went back to the kitchen.  now for the ground beef and ground sausage.  i seperated the beef into browning for meals and patty for burgers.  i put 2 pounds of sausage for egg casserole to brown and 2 1/2 pounds of beef on to brown simultaneously.  when these got done and drained i let them cool while i seasoned the other half of beef and pattied it out for burgers.  individually wrapped them and put in freezer for another quick meal.  by now the browned meat was cool enough for prep.  i put the sausage in the fridge.  seperated the ground beef by meal (3 seperate ones) and froze each of those baggies.  i had made chicken and dumplins last week and had lots of chicken and the broth left over (because the dumplins are the best part, of course!) and i hate to throw all that out.  so i froze that in a ziplock for another meal and will just reboil and drop fresh dumplins in next time.  by now, the chicken stock was done, so i strained the seasonings and set in the fridge to cool so that i could skim the fat off and seperate and bag for future soups and anything that calls for chicken broth.

at this point, the dishes were done and in need of reloading, the house was in ridiculous disarray, quittin’ time was on the horizon, and the kids were getting bored again.  clean up time!  everybody in for a quick pick up of the house.  we had left over pizza, quick sandwiches, fresh bread, and mashed potatoes for dinner.  i washed, folded, and put away 2 loads of laundry (still catching up from all those soggy snow clothes!), play time, bath time, bed time.  and, of course, american idol time for mama and daddy!  i also baked these ridiculously good double chocolate chip muffins after the kids got in bed so that honey and i could munch them and i’d have insta-breakfast this morning.  oh my!

so, 2 very busy days, no less than 24 planned, pre-prepped-much-easier-to-fix whole food meals for a family of 6, and $230.00 later and i’m sitting on my bum in front of my computer.  if you made it this far and are interested at all in some of the recipes, let me know.  i’ll post ‘em.

hope this helps one of y’all and happy eats, people!

Cook »

i have no pictures because by the time i realized i was onto something my family had eaten every last bite of it.  everyone (all 6 of us) loved it.  that is hard to come by around here. 

i did a google search for “ground beef potato recipe” and this is one of the recipes i found.  i happened to have everything and held my breath as i cooked it.  experiments rarely go well in cooking around here.  a.mazing.

here it is:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound ground round
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced onion (1/2 small onion)
• 1 large egg
• prepared mashed potatoes, about 2 to 4 cups
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• paprika, optional

PREPARATION:

Soak bread crumbs in milk. Mix ground beef, salt, pepper, onion, bread crumb-milk mixture, and egg. Spread in a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Top with mashed potatoes; sprinkle with cheese.

http://southernfood.about.com/od/hamburgcasseroles/r/bl30119r.htm

i don’t know if you’re supposed to cook the ground beef first or not, but mine was already browned (i brown all of mine at once and seperate it already cooked.  then when i go to make dinner my time is cut in half).  and i had real potatoes so i peeled, boiled, and mashed them first.  (and used the leftover mashed potatoes for the kiddos to eat as a side with other meals)  but you can, obviously, use the boxed kind if that’s what you have.

oh, my.  so good.  really easy.  and everybody (the picky eaters, baby, daddy, everybody) ate it.

also, that night, since i was on a roll and craving chocolate.  i decided to try my hand at fudge again.  i’m not good at this.  and winging it especially doesn’t work with fudge for me.  but i was feeling bold.  i took all the semi-sweet chocolate chips i had (a little less than one bag), a dash of vanilla, a can of sweetened condensed milk, and a jar of marshmallow fluff.  i melted them together on very low heat.  poured this in a pan to cool.  and it failed miserably as fudge.  it had the consistency of the inside of a 3 musketeers bar. 

so, why am i telling you about this failure?  because my husband said we should spread it on something.  we had graham crackers on hand.  i sandwiched the “stuff”.  and, lo and behold, it was the most perfect s’more i had ever made.  pre-melted.  on hand for the constant snack.  the perfect texture.  the perfect ratio of marshmallow to chocolate.  oh my. 

Cook »

and then last night this happened when i attempted to bake a cream cheese pound cake for my honey’s birthday.

Cook »

for maury, lisa, and rebecca:

the best salsa ever. it’s like the kind in mexican restaurants, not like the junky sweet stuff in the jars.  (credit to kristi at half-tied ribbons!)

• 2 big cans and 1 regular sized can (just over 2 quarts total) petite diced tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can diced green chiles
• a few chopped or sliced jalapenos (more or less to taste)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup vinegar (or use the juice from the jalapenos and use less of them)
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

(yes, i said tablespoons!)

dump all these things in a huge bowl or pot.  mix around a little.  ladle a little into the blender.  blend it up and put it in what you’ll store it in.  keep ladling and blending and dumping until it’s all mixed up.  it’s always better the next day.

and then when you’re ready for dessert…

this one’s for mandy, here’s to the memories!

caramel roll delight (my honey came up with this one, so you know it’s divine!)

• caramel rolls in the can (like cinnamon rolls, only they’re caramel…mmm)
• chopped pecans
• chocolate chips
• shredded coconut

preheat oven according to directions

spray a glass pie plate well with pam.  layer a handful (or however much you want, don’t measure, people, just toss it in!) evenly in the pan of the chopped pecans, then the shredded coconut, then the chocolate chips

drizzle the caramel from the package all over that

place the rolls with sides touching in the pan

bake as directed

when they get golden remove from oven and immediately place a large plate over the top and flip them out onto the plate

eat ‘em warm and just try not to gorge yourself!

Cook »

the kiddos got this kit for christmas and last night we baked ‘em up.  too good!

Cook »

my honey came up with this recipe the other day.

 oh. my.

yummy.  if you’re a health nut just stop reading right here - you’ll freak out just reading about it!  the more of everything, the better tasting!

start with generic biscuits

cut them spirally

unroll them

butter them - the best way i found is just to scoop and smear!

sugar them

cinnamon them

roll ‘em back up (i also smear them around in all the left over sugar and cinnamon that’s on the cutting board after i roll them up, the more the better, i say!), spray your baking pan, set ‘em in there, and bake them about 25 degrees less than the package calls for and for about 10 minutes more than it calls for (but you’ll have to check this - because i don’t ever pay attention to the time, i just check ‘em!)

while they’re baking…

for your icing - take about 3 tablespoons butter and mix with about 2 cups powdered sugar.  this is gonna take a bunch of stirring.  it will eventually look like icing.  you may have to add more of either or both to get it to the right consistency (again, i don’t pay a lot of attention to the measurements, i just add stuff.)  also, we love to add cream cheese (melt it a little before stirring into your icing).

when the rolls are done, drizzle your icing over them and serve hot!