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

Thanksgiving Dinner

Here's a few pictures of our family dinner, and the most important thing of the day.......the food......

Turkey

 

Well, it's out of the freezer and sitting in the roasting pan for awhile, until I get a chance to unwrap the bird.  Right now, it will sit there and stare me down until I get off my butt and get the work done........actually, I will put it in the fridge for the next two days to thaw and then the big day arrives to cook this bird!

Roasting Pan

 

In many homes this particular pan is used only on holidays.  The roasting pan can be used to bake a turkey, duck, or ham.

 

The size is perfect for a good size ham, turkey, or duck and this gives you space to catch all the drippings for making your gravy later.  I'll show you more pictures of what I'll be doing this week of "Thanksgiving".

Turkey and Dressing

Getting it ready for the oven.....