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?

Price of Groceries?

Have you seen the price's of different grocery items, lately?  It seems to be a never ending battle, when going to the grocery store.  I've gotten smart enough to shop at more than one store, for items I know are cheaper to buy.  Aldi, gives certain food products for good prices but limit the types you can get.  So, for specialty items that can only be gotten at the other stores, I have to go there and pay higher prices to get what I want.  Walmart, gives all the different items I need, but at higher prices.  So, I have to divide up the shopping list and make sure to get what I need from each separate store for the quality and price I can afford.  I rarely find the same items at one store for what I need.

Eating Out

There comes a time when you just don't want to cook.  Especially on your birthday or during holiday shopping.  Recently, my birthday was celebrated at a local restaurant.  It was just my boyfriend and me, but we had a nice visit. I got my entree' free but was very let down with the quality of the food.
I got a steak and it was tough, and not very tasty.  We bought beer and my boyfriend got Chicken Ques Dias, which he seemed to like.  The beer topped off the meal, but I could have had better with the food.  Maybe, I will pick different menu items next time to please my pallet.  Either way, I will send it back if I don't like the way it turns out, since I will be paying for it this time...........lol