CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER - 2013

My guest chef today is Kaitlyn, my granddaughter!  She is now 21 and beginning her own life away at school, but still comes to her "Granny's" house to spend the night.  The best part, besides sleeping with Granny and talking the night away, is that she is beginning to cook for us!

Christmas Day Dinner is a tradition at our house; a time when our daughter, son-in-law, my mom, and, of course, Katie Bug come to celebrate another year as a family.  It's an intimate time for just the immediate family, but often we share it with one of Kaitlyn's friends.  This year it was Mercedes, a high school friend.

The following recipes with the exception of the cornbread, she said, came from a search on Pinterest. 

She started a crock-pot pork-chop dish around noon and cooked it on low until meal time around 6PM.  It was simple enough, and best yet, she never had to touch it again until the meal was served.

Here is all she had to do:

Ingredients

• Pork chops (she used 8 boneless pork-chops 1/2" thick)
• 1 Ranch Seasoning Dry Mix Packet
• 1 can Cream of Cream of Chicken Soup (plus 2 cans of water or milk)

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in crockpot and mix well.
2. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

Around 4PM she began her side dishes consisting of macaroni, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes (giving us a choice, but most, like me ate both kinds), mixed vegetables, and cornbread.

The macaroni dish was prepared normally, drained, Velveeta, colby-jack, and some shredded mild cheddar cheese and milk was added, and then poured into a baking dish.  She then added Panko bread crumbs and baked it in the oven for 30 minutes at 375.

She baked 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and put them into a baking dish.  To the potatoes she added a can of pumpkin, butter, brown sugar, salt, chopped pecans, cinnamon, and half and half and mixed thoroughly.  She baked it for about 30 minutes at 350.

The mashed potatoes were prepared normally, except for the addition of garlic powder and Parmesan cheese.

Katie then patiently chopped up fresh zucchini, yellow squash, orange bell pepper, and salad size tomatoes.  She placed the veggies into a baking dish and poured vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and olive oil over the pieces, salted and peppered them, and baked for 45 minutes at 350 covered.

Next, she turned up the oven to 450.  In a 4-cup glass measuring bowl, she added 2 cups of cornmeal, milk to make a batter, an egg, 1 heaping tablespoon of sugar, and 2 heaping tablespoons of flour in a large measuring bowl and mixed.  She put a large cast iron skillet with about a 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in it into the oven.  When the skillet was hot, she poured in the cornmeal mixture.  The mixture should start to rise around the edges immediately.  Put back in the oven for 25 minutes.

Katie (R) and Mercedes (L) relax after Christmas dinner.  

All this, including a glass of Barefoot wine, (and a bowl of "store bought" slaw) was placed on our Christmas table and we dove in with both hands!  It was quite a change from the norm, and everyone seemed to enjoy it...most of all the family time.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year folks!

Kielbasa And Greens Soup

I owe this one to my sister-in-law Charlotte, who passed it on to my wife, along with a "mess" of collard greens.  It's a new way, at least to us, to eat healthy garden greens of any "color", so to speak!

We already enjoy turkey kielbasa fixed in a variety of ways, but I always wondered if the tube-meat couldn't be enjoyed in a healthier way, rather than with potatoes and Velveetta cheese!  Turns out, there is.

Most recipes say to cut up the kielbasa and dump it into the total mixture right up front, but I just can't eat it without browning it a little in some olive oil and garlic.  Do what you want...it'll all be fine either way.

So, cut up the kielbasa along with the following (feel free to add your favorite soup vegetable):

• at least 4 cups of greens (kale, mustard, collard, spinach, etc.); trimmed, washed, and chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced (if you brown your meat with garlic just do 1)
• 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth of stock
• 1 15-1/2-oz. can of kidney beans* rinsed
• 1 15-1/2-oz. can of great northern beans* rinsed
• 1 14-1/2-oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dry wine or water (or half and half)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Combine everything in a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker.  Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, which is usually 4 to 5 hours on high, or 8 to 10 on the low setting.

*You can use any type and mixture of beans you prefer (except pork'n beans) for this soup.

This soup is found all over the Internet, and any recipe will make your "greens" tasty.  It's a very hearty soup and it will warm your insides on the coldest day, for about 160 calories per cup.

The broth is about all the salt you will need, but the soup can be spiced up to taste. 

One final note...if it seems too healthy for you, then add some cornbread...as did I!

Easy Man's Gumbo Soup

So, I noticed this package of "gumbo soup mix", by Bear Creek, in the store the other day, and I said, "Hmmm, how can I fix that up!"  I said it to myself, not out loud, 'cause the store was full, 'cause someone had said it was snowing in the Smoky's!  That's all it takes around here!

So, back to the story.  

I plop the package in the buggy, pick up some frozen Sea Best salad shrimps (as Bubba would say*), and a big mohonking package of Hillshire Turkey Polska Kielbasa.

So, from there it is a snap!  Just pour yourself a little single malt, and watch for the pot to boil, and then dump in the gumbo ingredients.

Run some water over the shrimps*, cut up the kielbasa, pop the pieces into a skillet to brown, and then dump it all into the hot soup mixture!

See.  Anyone can cook!

If you want to make it a little more difficult, then make my cornbread to soak up all the juices!  

TALK ABOUT QUICK AND EASY

Well, all except the pinto beans!  Judy soaked them over night and cooked them most of the day, and man, was it worth the wait!

The trick is finding something to go with them that's quick and easy and just as yummy!

We settled on a Food City rotisserie chicken, a can of white/yellow hominy, mac'n cheese, and a big pone of cornbread!

Now, I don't care who you are, that's good eatin'! 

Yeah, it's mostly starch, well, maybe all starch, but who's countin'!?  Besides, there's protein in the beans!

A Vegetarian Supper For Ellen

You won't see that word, vegetarian, on my cooking blog very often, but this is one of the few that even Ellen DeGeneres might eat!

We were sitting around watching a little late afternoon TV, around about news time, when hunger pangs/pains hit us at about the same time.  We had been eating a lot of animal flesh over the previous days, so we wondered out loud what in the world we could have for supper (that's dinner to you northern folks) that didn't involve another meat sacrifice!

Luckily, Judy had been cooking greens beans since about mid-day, so one thing was ready, so, what to go with it!?

We decided on  cornbread, which  was the obvious thing to have if just beans were on the table, but something more was needed.  

She remembered buying some fresh vegetables the day before and mentioned that to me.  A vegetable meal sounded good to me, but I didn't want anything breaded and fried, at least that day!

So, while she finished up the green beans, mixed up the cornbread, put it in the oven, and cleaned up the corn-on-the cob, I busied myself washing and cutting up the other vegetables.

We had bought okra and squash for the purpose of frying up our annual "fried garden meal", but with frying out of the question, I cut the items up, mixed them in a bowl with vegetable oil, sea salt, cayenne pepper, garlic, pepper, and creole seasoning.  

Along the way, I also found one red and one orange bell pepper and a big fat onion, which also fell to my knife and all got mixed into the bowl!

I then spread them on a sheet of aluminum foil over a cookie sheet and waited my turn for the oven.

Judy wrapped the corn in paper towel and placed them in the microwave.  When the time came, a press of a button for about 6 minutes, that would bring everything to the table hot!

The oven dinger went off and out came the cornbread, and in went the vegetables; turned down to 400.  In about 10 minutes the corn was nuking, and in another 10 the broiler came on at 500 (for a little browning), and when I judged them to be fit for consumption, out they came.  They were sizzling and smelling so good!

I think we may have had another meal of leftovers, but as I write this I'm so hungry I think I could have eaten it all!  The cornbread made it all that much better...and especially with an ice cold glass of Mayfield's 1% Nuture milk!  

I sure hope Ellen at least drinks her milk!  If not...so sorry for her!

JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOUR CUPBOARD IS BARE

Haven't posted much lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been eating!  Both of us, my wife and I, have been out lots of times and have fixed some great things to eat at home, but tonight was a little scary.

Yep, we thought we didn't have anything good in the house to eat, but, man, were we surprised!

Judy had put some pintos in a pot last night to soak overnight, but she wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do with them...chili or just with cornbread?  Since we didn't have any ground beef, chili was out, so cornbread was a definite!

However, after she picked around in the freeze she found that we had some chicken tenders, so that with some BBQ sauce seemed to be calling her name...and mine!

I mixed up the cornbread while the chicken cooked in BBQ sauce in the oven, and I occasionally stirred the beans that had been cooking most of the day Saturday.

Judy discovered some potatoes in a plastic bag beneath a banana, an apple, and a couple of onions in a wooden bowl we keep on the counter next to the coffee pot.  

Eureka!  We had the makings of quite a supper!

She pealed and sliced up the small potatoes and fried them to a golden brown, while I cut up the onion, and finished the cornbread mixture by adding an egg and some milk.  Some where a long the way, might have been after I poured some scotch over ice...I don't know, I added some shredded cheddar cheese and some diced jalapenos!

I poured the bread into a hot iron skillet just after the cooking oil began to smoke and, walla, we were off!

Judy finished the potatoes and reheating the pintos just as the timer signaled the bread was ready.

Man, I'm tellin' ya...this all came together wonderfully, and I'd much rather have been at my table tonight than in any restaurant in the country!  It was delicious and I hated it when my plate was clean...so good I can still taste it! 

So, the morel of  this story is...keep looking, there's more in your cupboard than you might think!

OUR TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN NEW YEAR'S DAY MEAL

For as long as I remember, my family has eaten black-eyed peas, hog jowl, and either cabbage or plain ol' spinach on New Year's Day. The question always asked when meeting a family member or friend was, "Did you have some black-eyed peas today?"

One difference in us and the tradition, was that the peas symbolized money to us instead of the greens, but we had both anyway.

Why do we eat these things? Simply put, eating beans and greens, typically a poor man's food, on New Year's Day means you'll eat rich the rest of the new year!

Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day was always thought to bring prosperity to our Southern home. The peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring (such as bacon, ham bones, fatback, or hog jowl), diced onion, and served with hot sauce.

Judy soaked hers over night in clear water, then picked out the pea hulls, added some pork pieces from the hog-jowl, and cooked them for about 1 hour. They cook much faster than pintos. She added salt to taste, and that's it!

The traditional meal also features cooked cabbage, collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion. Some say the peas are coins and the greens dollars, and some even add sweet potatoes to represent gold! Cornbread always accompanies this meal.

I cut up the cabbage and onions and then sliced the hog-jowl. I slice across the thick skin in the opposite direct of my horizontal slices so that the pieces don't curl up while cooking. The real trick is to start them in a cold skillet, but the second and third additions to the hot grease will curl some, but not nearly as much as uncut slices! Click the meat shots to enlarge them enough to see the cross cuts.

Judy puts the cabbage in a little of the pork grease, adds about 2 cups of water, and then adds the cabbage. She salts and sprinkles on Ms. Dash's Hot and Spicy seasoning. When the cabbage cooks down some, she adds in a measure of sugar...do this to taste.

After my cutting and garbage duties were completed, I was back in front of the Capitol One and Rose Bowls!

These "good luck" traditions* supposedly date back to the American Civil War. Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, typically stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock, and destroyed whatever they couldn't carry away. At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" or "cow peas" and field corn suitable only for animal fodder, and didn't steal or destroy these humble foods.

The origin of the New Year's meal is not really known, but of course I like this one best, being a Southern man. The truth is, there is a large contingent of Scottish folks living in the south (a third of my genes as well), and their influence brought us things like our "good luck" meal, the "St. Andrew's Cross" in the Confederate Battle Flag (which is square and not the true Confederacy Flag - Stars and Bars), and even "Auld Lang Syne"!

"Auld Lang Syne" is an old Scottish song that was first published by the poet Robert Burns in the 1796 edition of the book, Scots Musical Museum. Burns transcribed it (and made some refinements to the lyrics) after he heard it sung by an old man from the Ayrshire area of Scotland, Burns' homeland. 

It is often remarked that "Auld Lang Syne" is one of the most popular songs that nobody knows the lyrics to. "Auld Lang Syne" literally translates as "old long since" and means "times gone by."

I suppose you can say the South never forgets - its family traditions and heritage anyway! A true educated Southerner knows the war was not about slavery, but about "States Rights", heavy, unfair taxation, and the right to secede. Slavery wasn't an issue in 1861, where 95% of the south was too poor to own anybody! That came along after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

Anyway, Happy New Year everybody...ain't it grand that we have all that bad history behind us!

Last but least, I wanted to mention the cherry liqueur I attempted for the Holidays. I bought fresh cherries, removed the seeds, and put them in a quart fruit jar (Mason Jar). I then added one cup of sugar and poured in a full fifth of 90 proof vodka! I shook the mixture for a couple of days until all the sugar disappeared. On retrospect, I should have made that one and half cups to 2 whole cups. It wasn't sweet enough for Judy's taste. 

Anyway, I put the liquid away in a dark conor place for about 5 weeks. The cherries slowly sank to the bottom of the jar, and I shook the jar about 3 times during that time...mostly to get more cherries to sink.

So, I bought a cheap decanter and added the liquid first, and the spooned in the cherries. It was quite tasty to me, but the cherries weren't very sweet to the taste. More sugar may have done the trick. However, I do love to sip it slowly while cooking...it's very soothing to the throat, and could be mistaken for cough syrup! 

*Other legends hold that the "good luck" meal has its roots in Hebrew traditions. Instructions found in Babylonian, compiled around the year 500, tells Hebrews to include gourds, black-eyed peas, leeks, dates, and either beets or spinach in their new year meals for good luck. 'Course these Hebrews weren't eating any pork and that's just a shame!

FRIED SQUASH AND PINTO BEANS

As promised, mom cooked for me Sunday afternoon. However, she went to two places and could not find okra or green tomatoes, but she prepared a find meal just the same.

The fried squash was delicious, dipped in egg and rolled in corn meal! She added pinto beans, with lots of juice so the corn bread muffins could soak it up! She also made mashed potatoes and meat loaf.

To add to the taste combination were fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet onions! Of course, I added to the flavor of the potatoes by adding a dab of Miracle Whip Salad Dressing! Yep, and it is great! You put mayo or Miracle Whip in your potato salad don’t you? Well, you should! I learned this little “common-sewer” tip from my Uncle Tom. He loves his mashed potatoes this way, of course, he is one to eat a raw onion while drinking a Pepsi!

My little 80 year-old "mama-zoody", who weighs a good 100 soaking wet, can still stand by the stove and cook with the best of them. She has forgotten more about cooking than I’ll ever learn!

She promised to get okra and green tomatoes soon and do it all again. I personally can hardly wait!

CORNBREAD AND GRAVY

Yeah baby! I know you are looking for a way to slap on another 2 or 3 pounds before Labor Day, so this breakfast post and tomorrow’s “supper” post will help you out!

Before “getting serious” again Monday, there were things I wanted to eat. The first was a good old country breakfast of cornbread, white-milk gravy, eggs, and bacon! My gosh, it even had the dog dancing around the kitchen wanting some of the action!

While Judy was busy wiping up the gravy, using the grease from thick sliced bacon, I watched the cornbread in the oven, and whipped up some scrambled eggs. I know what you are thinking, but I got my blood test results back from the doctor today and everything was “PERFECT,” to quote the doc’s comment!

So, it was so delicious there was little left to share with Baylee!

Now, the other things I wanted I will get at my mom’s Sunday afternoon – EVERYTHING FRIED! Fried squash, fried okra, fried green tomatoes, and creamed yellow corn! Is life grand, or what?

TURKEY KIELBASA AND CORNBREAD

Want to know how to make it! Check out this earlier post - CHEESEY KIELBASA!

CROCK-POT CHICKEN AND DRESSING

My wife stole a recipe from my Aunt Carolyn the last time we were in Alabama, and this was the first time she has tried it. I did not know she had decided that was what we are having tonight for supper, so I did not get early preparation photos.

However, the smell drew me to the kitchen and I started with a shot through the lid of the crock-pot! She started by doing the following:

· 4 or 5 chicken breast cooked and cubed (save broth)
· 2 cans cream of chicken soup
· 1 tablespoon sage
· 2 eggs
· 1 stick butter softened
· 1 medium onion diced
· Salt and pepper to taste (She used garlic powder also)
· 2 ½ cups crumbled cornbread
· 1 cup crumbled biscuits (canned is ok)

Now, what do you do with all that? This:

· Combine 1 can soup with 1 can saved broth set aside.
· Combine cornbread, biscuits, butter, eggs, sage, onion, salt, pepper.
· Pour in soup/broth mixture and mix well.
· Use ½ can cream of chicken soup to cover bottom of crock-pot.
· Layer cornbread mixture and chicken until all is used up.
· Spoon the remaining ½ can soup on top.
· Cook on low for 3 hrs!

My heart just sank as I read that last instruction…I was wanting some way before that!

Finally, I got to taste the dish, served with good ol’ fashioned fresh cooked pinto beans, topped with diced onions and juicy tomato pieces! It was worth the wait!

Whose that? Just "baby girl dog," Baylee, waitin' fer a taste too!

NEW YEAR’S HOT STEW

The Dragons and Knights traditionally get together on any holiday, and some we make up! We try to have different things each year for New Year’s Eve, so this year it was Ms. Mushy’s Hot and Spicy Beef Stew.

Begin by buying the best stew beef and cutting it into small pieces (about a pound and a half per every 4 to 5 people). Heap it all into a large hot pot with a small amount of olive oil, salt and pepper it, and brown well. Meat will not be fully cooked through in this step. Extra boiling and simmering will tenderize and finish cooking the meat.

Depending on how many you are feeding, add Spicy Hot V8 juice, a hefty sprinkle of Mrs. Dash’s Extra Spicy Seasoning Blend! Let the mixture and meat boil on medium heat for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Sauté some mushrooms and onions (if you like onions) and dump into the stew pot!

Then begin adding your favorite vegetables, like diced new potatoes, a can of mixed vegetables, corn, and anything else you like or need to get rid of!

Boil the mixture another 20 or 30 minutes, and then put the pot on small burners/elements and simmer until the party arrived. About 30 minutes before time to eat, mix up your cornbread mixture and bake either in muffin or pone forms. Remember, buttermilk makes the best tasting cornbread!

Serve with large bowls and butter for the cornbread.

For dessert, offer sweet or buttermilk for the remaining cornbread! Now that’s Southern goodness!