Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A very Happy New Year to All!

Happy New Year! May Your Days Be Blessed!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And ne'er brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
We'll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run aboot the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary fit'
Sin auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.

And here's a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o' thine,
We'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Real men DO eat Quiche!

We just call it something else... something a bit less French.

This is a quick and easy quiche that i like to make for weekends and holidays. It's perfect for Christmas morning.

INGREDIENTS:

1 dozen eggs
1 pint half and half
1 pound bacon, cooked and thoroughly drained
1 package sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 package colby and Jack, shredded
2 deep-dish frozen pie crusts

DIRECTIONS:

Place cooked bacon in bottom of pie crust, top with both cheeses until almost to top of crust. In a bowl, thoroughly mix eggs and half-and-half. Pour over the cheese and bacon.

Bake on 375 for about 35 minutes until a knife inserted into center of pie comes out clean. ENJOY!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Black-Eye Pea Salsa... Southern-Style!

We've been making this for several years now. It's fairly inexpensive, quick, and tastes just great.



3 cans Mexican-style diced tomatoes (drained)

2 cans Black-eye Peas (drained)

1 small can green chiles (drained)

1/2 small onion, diced

1 Jalapeno, veined, seeded, and diced.

1 lime



Place all ingredients in a large plastic or glass bowl (NOT METAL!), Squeeze lime over mixture. Mix well, cover, and allow to sit overnight in refrigerator until ready to serve with chips.



As an alternative to black-eye peas, use black beans instead.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Accidental Recipe...

I hope your Thanksgiving Holiday has been lovely!

Necessity really is the Mother of Invention -- as I found out yesterday afternoon. My daughter and I had already made the Dressing and Green Bean Casserole and it was time to make the Sweet Potato Souffle.

That's when things took a turn. Seems I didn't have any honey or orange juice per the usual recipe. So, I turned to Morgan and asked for apple sauce -- we didn't have that, either.

We did find a jar of cinnamon apple slices. HHhhhmmm. Okay. Let's try it.

Guess what? It turned out to be fabulous! The slight tartness of the apples was a lovely contrast to the sweet potato.

Sweet Potato and Apple Souffle

INGREDIENTS:

2 large cans Sweet Potatoes
1 jar sliced cinnamon apples
2 eggs
1 stick real butter, softened (I used salted, sweet cream butter)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix gently as you want nice little chunks of sweet potato and apple.
Place in a casserole dish and bake on 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

TOPPING:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 to 1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use chopped pecans)
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes (I use honey-flavoured flakes)

Mix ingredients well and pour on top of the baked souffle. Return to oven for about 15 minutes to set topping.

Monday, November 24, 2008

After Thanksgiving Leftover killer... :)

Leftovers are great. Especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The following recipe can be used with leftovers or made from (boxed) scratch! Either way, it's a great meal: hearty and delicious!

We've made it twice now and it's very filling... served hot from the oven, it'll keep you warm on a cold day.

I think we'll probably serve this up for Sunday dinner after Thanksgiving. Nothing to spoil if you've got a good fridge. This way, we can watch the afternoon football games and there's no scramble to decide what to cook -- it's already done! Just prep and warm it up!

TURKEY BAKE

INGREDIENTS:

Mashed Potatoes
Turkey (sliced or shredded)
peas and carrots (or use a vegetable you've got left from the holiday)
Dressing (or stuffing)
Giblet gravy (divided)

DIRECTIONS:

Lightly grease / spray a 9 X 13 pan (or smaller according to your leftovers). Spread mashed potatoes evenly in bottom of pan. Layer with Turkey slices, then vegetables and top with 1/2 of the gravy. Top the pan off with the dressing and place pan into a 350 degree oven. Allow about 40 minutes for the casserole to heat thoroughly. Remove from oven and top with remaining gravy!

Now... if you're making this for an "anytime" dinner and don't have leftovers, it's an easy dish to create from the box & can. Not quite the "homemade" taste, but still quite good.

Chicken Bake -- Out of the Box

INGREDIENTS:

One box mashed potato flakes
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans white chicken (drained)
1 box stuffing mix
1 can mixed veggies (drained)
2 jars chicken gravy

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare mashed potatoes and stuffing according to box directions, except
use chicken broth instead of water in each. Then layer according to the directions in recipe above!

Enjoy!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Down Drury Lane...

Lives the Muffin Man!

Morgan and I spent the Friday night in the kitchen baking muffins for her Show Choir fundraiser.

We had a ball... laughing and playing around and generally destroying the kitchen in the process.

Morgan made apple-cinnamon and banana muffins. She had pre-packaged mixes for them, but she made a few changes here and there... adding vanilla extract, eggs, and brown sugar and subbing milk for water...

All-in-all, they turned out quite well!

More importantly, we spent a couple hours enjoying our time together. We talked about cooking and we talked about Nanie, now long gone but for memory. Every moment counted.

Do you know the Muffin man?
The Muffin man, the Muffin man...
Do you know the Muffin man
that lives in Drury Lane?

Friday, November 21, 2008

Penne Pasta Bake

Don't ask me where this recipe originated, I don't know. I *think* it came from 123 Stitch. I've made it three times: once by the original recipe and then twice after I made a couple of changes. I hope you'll like it, too. It's a very hearty meal -- something nice on a cold night.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground chuck, browned and drained
1 package Penne Pasta
1 package sliced Provolone Cheese
1 package sliced Mozzarella Cheese
1 package shredded Provolone / Mozzarella (for topping)
2 Jars of your favourite Spaghetti Sauce (or 32. oz of fresh, home-made sauce)
bread crumbs
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 onion, peeled, diced

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet, brown ground chuck and drain. To the skillet, then add onion, garlic, and your favourite seasonings to taste.
Add Spaghetti Sauce to skillet and cover. You want lots of sauce so the casserole doesn't become too dry!
Allow to simmer as you prepare the Penne pasta according to directions. Undercook the pasta slightly as it will finish up in the oven.

When the pasta is almost done, remove from heat and drain.

In a 9 X 13 casserole dish (glass preferably), spray or lightly coat with olive oil to prevent sticking. Spread some of the meat mixture in the bottom of the dish, add a layer of pasta, and place a layer of provolone and mozzarella slices.
Repeat until you have the meat mixture at the top of the dish.

Mix bread crumbs with the shredded provolone / mozzarella and sprinkle over the top .

Bake at 35o degrees for about 30 minutes. The topping should be nicely browned and bubbling. Serve with Garlic bread and French-style green beans.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Godiva Brownies... out of the box.

This is a box recipe... of sorts. I add so much to it... ;) It's Morgan's favourite brownie.

INGREDIENTS:

Two boxes fudge brownie mix
4 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons Godiva Chocolate liqueur
1/4 cup Godiva Cocoa (we use the Dark Chocolate)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place the brownie mix in Mixing bowl and add Cocoa, followed by oil, milk, vanilla extract, and liqueur. Add eggs one at a time until blended.
Mix on medium speed for about two minutes.

Place in a 9 X 13 inch rectangular pan (I use a glass pan).

Bake on 350 for about 40 minutes. These should be slightly "gooey" -- Don't over cook!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Uncle Boogie's Taco Supreme

Our family makes really good tacos.
They were a great favourite of our late friend, Stephen. We made them with most of the ingredients mixed together because Stephen was quadriplegic and it was difficult for him to hold food. These worked well for him and we still call them Uncle Boogie's Taco Supreme.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. ground chuck, browned and drained
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can Rotel Mexican-style tomatoes (Do not drain)
1 can red kidney beans or black beans (drained)
taco shells
re-fried beans
favourite shredded cheeses
salsa
sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

In skillet, season and brown ground beef and drain. Add tomatoes, taco seasoning package, and beans.
Allow to simmer.
Heat re-fried beans on stove top adding one tablespoon salsa to make re-fried beans a bit creamier.
Heat taco shells.

Placing shells on plate, spread about 2 teaspoons of re-fried beans into bottom of each taco shell, then add the taco mixture, top with salsa, sour cream, and cheese.
The re-fried beans on the bottom of the shell helps hold the other ingredients together.

This also make a great nacho topping!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Cool, windy. foggy, misty... Beef Stew!

It's rather cool this morning in Southeast Georgia... a bit windy and foggy... and a fine mist is in the air. Time for crockpot beef stew, ya'll!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs beef, cut into bite-size chunks
one yellow onion, peeled & coarsely chopped
fresh baby carrots (1 package)
Yukon Gold or small red potatoes, washed, quartered
1 can beef consomme
1 can beef broth
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 stick REAL butter
Seasonings to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet on the stove top, place butter and chopped onion. Stir onions and allow them to cook on medium heat until a golden brown. Remove and place in crockpot.
Add beef chunks to skillet and brown on all sides for just a few minutes. Add salt and pepper now for more flavour.
Place beef chunks, consomme, broth, and garlic in crockpot with the cooked onions. Cook on high for about 3 hours.
Add potato quarters and baby carrots and turn to crockpot's LOW setting and allow to finish cooking (about 3 hours.)

If you are leaving for a few hours or just want to let it cook it all day, add ALL ingredients at the same time and allow to cook on low for about 8 to 10 hours.

Serve over rice.

This is a very hearty stew and really warms you up after a long day!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Pumpkinberry Pie

Welcome to Pumpkinberry Pie!

I opened this food journal so that my daughter, family, and friends (cyber as well as real-life) would have access to our family's best recipes.

The name Pumpkinberry Pie came from my now 16 year old daughter, Morgan. When she was about four years old, we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner at my Nanie Thomas' house. In the middle of the table was her famous Pumpkin Pie.

Morgan, excited and delighted, begged for a piece of Nanie's Pumpkinberry Pie! We've called it that ever since!

I hope that all who read and try these recipes will love them as much as we do.

I'll try to post photos when I can.