Sage?

How many of you have noticed the shortage of "sage" at the local grocery stores?  It was the same last year around this holiday, and now I find it missing on the shelves again this year.  What are we to use for seasoning in our dressing/stuffing?  Thanksgiving is the one holiday that we use plenty of sage.  I inquired about it and the clerk told me that when she ordered, there was none in the warehouse.  WTF is going on?  I suppose that I will have to go and buy a flowering sage bush at my local home and garden store, plant it and grow my own.  That way, if it don't die I will have plenty of fresh sage each year.

Eggs?

Eggs in their finest forms........

Strawberry Sorbet

1/2 c boiling water
1/2 c sugar
4 c fresh/frozen strawberries, sliced
2 T orange juice
1 T grated lemon rind
1 T lemon juice
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Combine boiling water, sugar in lg. bowl, stir till sugar is dissolved, let cool.  Stir in strawberries, and the next 3 ingreds.  Press into a 13X0X2in. pan, freeze till almost fire, spoon into lg. bowl, beat on med. speed till smooth, return to pan, freeze till firm, serve at room temp.  10-15 min. garnish if desired.
Yields 4 cups

Shrimp Spread

1 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese soften
1 (4oz) can shrimp, drained & chopped
6 olives chopped
2 T fine onion chopped
2 T mayo
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t  Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t hot sauce
1/4 t garlic powder

Combine all ingreds. spread on bread or crackers for that summer outing.

Pork Chops

Good old smothered pork chops......yummy.

Pork & Beans

Yummy...grew up on these things......American staple!

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, soften
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lg egg
2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350*F
In large bowl, mix sugar & butter until blended.  Beat in vanilla & egg till light & fluffy.  Mix in oats, flour and baking soda; stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake 9-11 mins. or till golden brown.  Cool slightly and remove from sheet to wire rack.  When cookies are cool, store in airtight container.

Lazy Way

Well, I did it again!  Went and got lazy on myself.  But I found that putting the potatoes in the microwave and letting it do all the cooking saved my a lot of prepping when it came to making different potato dishes.  Like potato salad, or cream/mashed potatoes or even cheesy potatoes.  Just peel them after they are cooked and then add your spices and dressings to taste.  Man, what a difference it makes!  The only problem is when your peeling the potatoes, your fingers get hot, cause you want them to be fresh and warm so the spices and seasonings with blend well.  There's a lot of ooh ouch darn and all those types of words till you get them all peeled.  But, as I said, there's no using the paring knife,  peeling then putting a pan of water on the stove and waiting for them to cook.  Just pop the right number of potatoes in the microwave, put the desired cooking time, then "START"!  LOL!

Collards

How to buy, prepare and cook collard greens for a great dish.............


I just had to re-post this one..........it looks so good!

Pecans

 

Recently I got the chance to go to a friend's home and pick up pecans.  These paper shell's are great and come out in good condition.  I see pecan pie's in the future.  The ability to freeze them for later will give more time to cook, in the next few months.

Pork Chops

I found a recipe on a website, for cooking pork chops in a slow cooker.  They promise that the chops will be tender.  I can testify to this, because I've tried this way of cooking chops before and they came out delicious.  I cut up 1/2 an apple over the top of the chops, for extra taste and seasoning.  Fresh garlic leaves have been cut up over the top, as well.

I've also put ribs in a slow cooker with BBQ sauce and they were wonderful when finished.  The meat falls off the bones and it's so tender, all you need to do is indulge in the goodness.

Shit On A Shingle

Leftovers, always get me, when it comes to finding something to go with them.  Last evening, I fell back on an old dish, which saved my butt several times, when raising the kids.  It's easy to make and you don't have to slave over it.  I had a pot of pintos left from the day before and some potato salad, so I threw together the "shit on a shingle".  Most of you here in the "south" can relate to this dish.  If you aren't from around here and haven't been introduced to it, then let me explain.
It's hamburger or sausage or a mix of both meats, broken up in a nice big iron skillet, with your seasonings, onions, chopped or sliced, maybe some other things you like thrown in as well.  Saute, this until the meat is done and then scoot the mixture to one side of the pan.  Place about 1/2 cup of flour in the grease and mix well.  Then mix the meat over into the flour and get some water.  Pour the water into the mixture, stirring while doing so to create the gravy.  When the mixture starts to thicken pour about a cup of milk in slow and stir to thin the mixture.  After a few minutes your mixture will thicken again and you are ready to serve it over toast along with your other leftovers.......

Post Holidays?

It's the time for your diets and here comes Valentines, right?  Say, how was your holiday's?  Mine was full of food and snacks, not to mention the celebrating with wine and spirits.  Now, how the hell are we supposed to get rid of all those calories, that's already been consumed?  Oh hell, you know!  It's not funny either, when you diet and exercise.
Me, well that's another story, and I just maintain!  I'm not going to kill myself dieting, when I know that I won't last over a week, and then start right back eating the good food again.  I say, good, when it's really bad for me, but it tastes damn good!  How about you guys?