Baked Beans

To make my Aunt Lorna's Baked beans you just have to attend the White Christmas to take them in.  They are delicious and my favorite.  I have tried and tried to get her to write her recipe down and I think she just eye-balls everything and isn't that our luck!?  
I have tried to figure it out, but I am sure this isn't the exact precise way it goes down.  However - we have been eating them this way for years, and they are pretty great!

This was a huge batch for a family get-together so if this is a bit much just cut it down!

Drain your Baked Beans out of the can and rinse with cool water.  Remove the piece of Pork Fat.

Cut up a bell pepper and about 1/2 cup of red onion.  I used the Onion chopper as seen on TV that I love so much! I like them to be tiny.

Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

1 Tablespoon of Worchestire Sauce

1 Teaspoon liquid smoke

Ketchup and Mustard = Eyeball it.

2 teaspoons Garlic Powder

1 cup or your favorite BBQ Sauce
Stir and check to see if you have enough sauce on your beans.  If you want more sauce add a little more BBQ.

Add some bacon to the top and bake in a 13x9 baking dish at 350 for at least an hour!  I love for these to reduce and cook down a bit.

Spiced Pecan Strawberry Salad

This salad is so major yummy!  I could eat my weight it in I often say!  You may feel like making this up for a side or often times I just have it for lunch! 

Spiced Pecans:
1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup pecans

soak for 10 minutes

Drain and Discard Syrup

Combine:
2 T Sugar
1 T Chili Powder
1/8 t. ground red pepper

toss with nuts.
Bake 30 minutes at 350- turning very often.

Serve with Green leaf Lettuce or your choice of baby greens, thinly sliced red onions (optional), sliced strawberries, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1 pkg of Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
Follow Pkg instructions replacing the regular vinegar for balsamic.
Then add at least 1/4 cup of honey and vigorously shake to combine!

Roasted Cauliflower with Red Pepper

This week I tried Cauliflower in a new way that has saved this vegetable for me.  I don't cook it much, because I haven't ever truly LOVED it.  After pulling this out of the oven and we were all fighting over the last of it - it will definitely be making it's way back into our diet!
This is so simple and super easy.  It would be good as a side, however we had it for an afternoon snack.
All you need is:
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
1 head of Cauliflower
Red Pepper Flakes
On a rimmed cookie sheet (I lined mine with foil or parchment) lay out your Cauliflower florets evenly. Drizzle them with Olive Oil, and salt well with Sea Salt then stir to coat.
Place them in a 425 degree oven to roast for 25 minutes.  Stir them about every 7 minutes for even browning.
Once they are done, sprinkle them with as much or as little Red Pepper Flakes as you like!  Delicious!
PS - this has been kid and babysitter approved at our house! They all loved it!

Karina's Guacamole

I could seriously forgo a meal for just a sit down of "guac" and chips.  My brother made the best decision of his entire life when he married my now sister - Karina.  Karina comes from a Hispanic family that can throw down on some major delicious food!  At their Wedding her family made Fajitas for the entire lot of us, and her mother, Dora made "the best" tamale I have ever put in my mouth.  I've had tamales everywhere including Mexico - I mean come on - I live in Texas, they are bountiful here - But none have compared to Dora's.  All of that to tell you Karina taught my sweet man Joshua how to make Guacamole! And Yesterday I ate Guac for lunch! It was delicious as always.  Here's the problem.  There isn't a recipe.  Its a "O taste and see that the guac is good" sort of thing... It's simple like most things that are delicious.
 Here's is what you need:
3 ripe avocado's
3 limes start with the juice of one and go from there.
onion
garlic
tomato
salt

 Karina spoon's her avocado's out! Make sure that you save the seeds! Keep them in your finished guacamole to keep it from turning brown!

 My avocado skins never look this good after Im done - Im so excited to get to the guac part that I end up just squeezing the skins together and diving in!

 Also a very fine chop on everything makes every bite super good.  She's got mad chopping skills! :)

 Teeny tiny onions, maybe it ended up being like 3-4 tablespoons - again do it to taste.

Here you can take a look at her proportions and see about how much of everything goes in.  The minced garlic is on the top.  I always think a little more garlic is way better than not enough.  We did at least two cloves in this batch. 

 Yesterday Joshua made it.  They both make it delicious!  Here's his batch. Using the same ingredients - we just taste as we go - EVERY SINGLE TIME!

 Once you have all of the ingredients together, use whatever tool necessary to get it combined and in your mouth!

You can substitute garlic powder - if you HAVE to!

Easy Egg Rolls

Asian food is by far my hardest to cook.  When I am craving a good General Tso Chicken, I just want to go out.  When we lived in Ames Iowa we had a friend we went to church with that owned a joint we could walk to.  To this day I haven't had hot and sour soup that even comes close to how delicious his was.  He was from Laos and was a delicious cook.  So knowing this you can understand that usually when I try a new Asian dish it doesn't go so well. (In comparison to House of Chen Im never going to measure up!)  In fact, upon telling my husband that I was making Egg Rolls for supper he asked if he needed to stop for PB&J supplies in case they didn't turn out quite right!  He had the best of intentions in asking too!  I totally didn't take it personal!  The good news is - Last night I found an easy recipe that EVERYONE at my table loved.
I found this recipe online but tweaked it just a bit.  It is simple and super easy.  Jon from House of Chen would laugh at its simplicity - but that is ok - he is 11 hours away and doesn't do shipping.

Here is what you need:
1 pound pork sausage
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger (from your spice cabinet)
2 1/4 cups shredded slaw mix (chopped a bit more)
Egg Roll wrappers - found in the produce section of your grocer
Peanut Oil for frying
Seseme seeds for topping (optional)
Soy Sauce for dipping (optional)

In a large frying pan, fry up your pork sausage with the spices.  Chop the pork small.  While that is working chop the slaw mix a bit smaller.  (This all depends on your brand of slaw mix)  If you would rather you can chop up 2 cups of cabbage and 1/4 cup carrots.  This is the same equivalent. 
Once the pork has cooked through, drain well, I even used paper towels to blot away any excess oil.

Combine your drained pork and slaw mix together.  Stir well. 
Lay out your Egg Roll wrappers in front of you, corner facing you so that it looks like a diamond.
Place 1/4 -1/3 cup of the mixture in the center of the wrapper.  First fold the sides in and then roll up the wrapper much like the chick at subway rolls up your sub.  Use water on the tip of your finger to "seal" the corner of the wrapper down.  Go ahead and make up all of your egg rolls before you begin frying because this process takes a bit longer than the frying process and can make you feel rushed.  Not good when dealing with hot oil and a frying pan!

I used my cast iron skillet for frying mine up - but there is no right or wrong pan for frying these up.  Pouring in a generous amount of peanut oil, fry them until golden brown.  This goes pretty quick, I just sort of rolled them over to get them brown on all sides. 
Set on paper towels to drain.  
Once they are all done and you are ready to serve them - you can garnish with sesame seeds if you so desire.  They are a perfect paired with Fried Rice.  I have a great recipe for that coming soon, (not my own just in case you were concerned! :)  No need for the Peanut Butter and Jelly!  This was a hit with the whole family!

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

Here is a preview of one of our amazing recipes for the Flavour Cookbook!  Try it tonight and get ready to order a Flavour cookbook for every woman in your family!!!  

(picture shown is right before going into the oven) YUM!!!

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes

2 yellow onions

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

Cut potatoes in halves or quarters depending on size and place in mixing bowl.

Slice onions into half rounds and add to potatoes. Toss together.

Mix olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper in separate bowl and add to potatoes and onions.

Bake on sheet pan for 1 hr. at 425°, tossing from time to time so they brown evenly.

Serve hot, sprinkled with the chopped parsley and a little extra salt.

Brown Beans (Grandma Branhams way)

  

Sort a pound of pinto beans removing all the split beans as well as any little rocks that may have been in the bag.

Soak the beans over night in a stock pot of water.
This is the type of bean that Grandma would remove. She would throw that out!
Rinse the old water that the beans have been soaking in all night OFF!  Pour in fresh  new water - a couple inches above the bean line.

Cut the top off of a bell pepper just to open up the flavor.  Place the entire pepper, seeds and all still attached inside the stock pot of beans.
Put in a ham hock, and season with lots of salt and pepper!
Also add a couple teaspoons of baking soda. (it helps trust me)









Boil the beans good for an hour or so, and then simmer all afternoon.  Serve them with Jiffy Cornbread Mix and Fried Potatoes and Onions and you have yourself a meal!

Grandma Branham's Cole Slaw

3 Cups finely shredded crisp cold cabbage
green onions, diced fine
(Can add chopped bell pepper and chopped parsley)
3 Tbs. Sugar
1 1/2 teas. salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs. salad oil

1. Combine vegetables, tossing lightly.
2. Just before serving, combine sugar, salt, vinegar and oil, and shake or stir until sugar is dissolved and pour over vegetables.
Grandma would sometimes place the cabbage mixture in the freezer for 15-30 minute before we were to eat, so it would be super cold and crisp! Yum!

Grandma Branham's Potato Salad

Grandma's Potato Salad

Boil potatoes and mash and season with milk, butter, salt and pepper like you would make regular mashed potatoes.
Boil 5 eggs, and grate (save a slice or two to garnish the top)
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/4 teas. tumeric
paprika sprinkled on top
2 Tbs. sugar
4 big blobs mayonnaise
5 heaping Tbs. sweet pickle relish.
2 Tbs. vinegar

Mix all up and ENJOY!

Grandma Tucker's Scalloped Potatoes

My dear friend Anna and I grew up together.  Her Grandfather and mine were best friends.  My grandparents lived in the Parsonage on one side of the church parking lot, and hers lived on the other side of it.  We used to sell lemonade out of her tree house there it was so fun!
One day I was fortunate to eat a meal with Anna and her Grandparents.  Grandma Tucker served her amazing Scalloped Potatoes. I can't recall how old I was but all I remember was this oval aluminum pot that was full of delicious yummy-ness. Well, when Anna went back home to East Texas this Christmas she seen her Grandma she asked her for the recipe! Funny thing about this "recipe" - was all she wrote down was:
Potatoes
Oleo
1 Can of evaporated milk
Salt & Pepper

Gotta love our sweet grandma's  - they don't tell you how many potatoes, how much butter, they don't tell you what temperature they just do their thing and it turns out delicious every single time!
So we called her - "Grandma, what temp did you cook it at?"
Her sweet response  "Now, Anna, you cook nearly EVERYTHING at 350!" 

So,,, here is how we recreated them - very easy, and simple
8 or so potatoes
1 Stick of Butter
1 can of evaporated milk

 Layer peeled thinly sliced potatoes with pats of butter. Salt and Pepper each layer.
Pour the can of evaporated milk over the top.  Cover and Bake for about an hour @350.

Sour Cream Biscuits

Biscuits have never turned out for me when I have made them from scratch. Oh, sure - they have turned out, but I haven't been dying to make them again, and they haven't been tender fall apart in your mouth melty goodness! I have been looking for a recipe for FOREVER that meets all my desires in a biscuit.
I just knew it would have buttermilk and all the rest of a mess that goes along with what you think a biscuit should be. Unbelievably this is the easiest biscuit I dare say you will ever make.  AND SO DELICIOUS!  - but I hope by now you know I wouldn't post it if it weren't delicious right?  We have surely established that by now!

Here is what you need:
2 Cups of Bisquick
1 stick of Butter
8 oz of Sour Cream

Combine all the ingredients together and spoon into a muffin tin.

This recipe made 10 biscuits for me.  I baked it at 400 for 8-10 minutes!
Serve this with the Devon-shire cream - and your mouth will thank you!

Wilted Spinach Salad

Serve this dish with Peggys Pasta! They marry quite well!
1/4 cup oil
1Tbs. Sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
Heat till boiling and sugar dissolves
Pour over spinach with crumbled bacon and purple onion slices over top.
Delicious & Simple

Mexican Corn Casserole

This is one of those dishes that is a holiday tradition, but isn't necessarily a holiday dish!  It's just one that Cousin Pat Eichenberger always brought to Christmas gathering and we loved it. I would love to see her and all my Arkansas family.  I miss them so much especially in the fall and Christmastime.  So today while I think about them - I will share her dish with you!

5  cans shoe-peg con drained
2 pkg *8oz  cream chease
1 cup warmed milk
1 1/2 stick of butter
1 cup jalapeño peppers (chopped)
3 Tbs. flour
1 tsp. salt

Melt cream cheese and butter in microwave; Stir until smooth.  Add Milk, flour, and Salt, Mix Well. Stir in Corn and Jalapeños.  Pour into a 9x13 baking dish and cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

Party Cheese Ball

1 cup crushed pecans (I like to toast mine)
2 8 oz cream cheese
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 T onion
1T bell pepper
1 T pimento
2 tsp Worcestershire
2 tsp lemon juice
Mix cream cheese and grated cheddar cheese
In food processor (i use my little cheap one for this) blend your onion, pimento, bell pepper, Worcestershire and lemon juice
When blended and diced very fine add to cheese mixture

Form ball with hands then roll in crushed pecans! Serve with wheat thins
Instead of balls I have also shaped it into hearts, bells, Christmas tree...whatever the season requires! This makes 2 balls. It is best on the second and third day after the ingredients have blended together well.

Aunt Viki's Sweet Pickles

I have been meaning to post this for some time now.  This is my Aunt's recipe for the most amazing sweet pickle you have ever put in your mouth!  These are the pickles that I love to eat with Chili.  I know that pickles are a summer thing - but its always winter when Im craving them.  I am going to post this now while I am wishing I had a jar in my pantry to go with the Chili on my winter menu!

7 lbs Cucumbers
2 cups of pickling lime
1/2 gallon of vinegar
8 cups of sugar
1 Tablespoon of salt
1 Tablespoon of Cloves
1 Tablespoon of Celery Seed
1 Tablespoon of All Spice

Mix 2 cups of pickling lime with 2 gallons of water, pour over sliced cucumbers.  Soak 24 hours - stirring often.  Pour off, and Rinse the cucumbers VERY GOOD 4 or 5 times if necessary.  Let the cucumbers set in ice water for three hours.  Drain Well.
Mix Vinegar, Sugar, and Salt.  Pour over the cucumber slices and soak for 6-24 hours (longer for convenience).  Cook until transparent and only gently stir them.  Pour into jars and cap off.  As with any canning make sure that before you put the lids on,  the top of the rim is wiped off with a scalding hot cloth.  This will ensure that you have a great seal and that there isn't any pickle juice or sweet syrup hindering that! 
Once you place the rings on - give these jars a 10-15 minute hot water boil bath.   Your jars will seal as they cool and you will have pickles in the summer and the winter - depending on how quickly you eat them and if you share them! :) This recipe will make about 12 pints.
I say this is an AWESOME Christmas gift idea, because they are a labor of love, but not hard to do.  I received them in my stocking a few years ago and it was probably one of my favorite gifts!

California Sisters Salad

I promised you that I would bring you this amazing salad recipe, and here it is.  While spending time with my parents this weekend they have taken the Spiced Pecan Strawberry Salad to an amazing place.  While in California they were served this amazing version. The dressing  It is actually completely different except for the greens, strawberries & spiced  pecans!
So here is is the totally kicked up version!

For your salad greens, do a rough chop of Boston Lettuce and combine with a container of Baby Greens.
Thinly slice some red onion, paper thin if possible.
Slice up a fresh Pineapple, Several Kiwi's, and a pint of Strawberries. (not pictured here but also a part of this salad are Fresh Blueberries).
Make up a triple batch of Spiced Pecans.



Now for the dressing:
Combine 1 Cup Mayonaise
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Poppyseeds
1/4 cup of Strawberry Preserves (or simply fruit strawberry's)
Mix all these together very well and refrigerate before serving!

Caprese Salad

This is one of my favorite appetizers to eat and to make. It is always a hit with my girlfriends and as impressive as it looks, it is so easy.  My first time to eat this was at a restaurant down the road from my house in Iowa.  I was immediately hooked, and when I went back within just a few days to have this yummy deliciousness again - they had removed all fresh mozzarella from  their menu.  I was so desperate - it sent me on a mission to recreate the dish at home.

Here is how you make this -
Slice fresh mozzarella into thin slices.  (Its easy to find at Costco.) 
Slice Roma tomatoes into thin slices.
Using fresh Basil, break off several of the leaves and roll them up, then do a thin slice of these and set aside.
Taking a french baguette, cut it on the diagonal and brush with melted butter.  Sprinkle with Garlic Salt. DONT WALK AWAY - it toast very quickly.  Now repeat on the opposite side of the bread.

Dressing: Using a Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix and Cruet is your bouncing off spot!  Taking the Cruet that often comes with these dressing packets, fill to the V line - with Balsamic Vinegar.  Fill to the W line with Water. Fill to the O line with Olive oil, then fill on up to about 1/2 inch from the top with HONEY!

Assemble the toast onto a large tray - stack with a slice of cheese, & then tomato. Sprinkle your Chopped basil all over the top. Drizzle the dressing on and you have one Happy, no longer Hungry Momma!

Cresent Rolls

This recipe is the recipe that built my confidence with bread.  This is so easy, I assure you that you can do it!
My momma has been making these for years.  What is so nice with these rolls is that you mix them up and put them in the fridge to rise over night.  That helps so much with Sunday Dinner prep or Holidays!  Its one less thing that you have to do!
I hope that you try these and love them as much as we do!  I don't recall ever throwing them out - we fight over the ones that are left, and you can even reheat them in the microwave for just a few seconds the next day! Mmmmmmmm


Ok so here is what you need:

1pkg of yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 eggs beaten
4 1/2 cups flour

Here is how you do it:
Dissolve yeast in the warm water, mix together your warm milk, oil, sugar, and salt.
Add dissolved yeast and eggs.
Add Flour.
Stir it up until it is all mixed together, and cover it with either a tea towel or sometimes I spray plastic wrap with some oil and cover it with that.  (I always spray a clean bowl with pam and put my mixed batter in that and then cover it.)
You let this stand over night in the refrigerator.
In the morning divide the dough into three equal parts.  Sprinkle some flour on your work space and knead lightly just 4-5 times. Roll Each section into a 8" or 9" circle.  Spread softened butter over the top.  Cut your circles like a pizza with a pizza cutter into 8 wedges. Roll these into crescent's and place on cookie sheets.  Let Rise for a while - I just do the bread first thing and then by the time lunch rolls around they have raised plenty. Bake at 325 approx 10 minutes.
Makes 24 rolls.
*to avoid doing them overnight - momma did them at 9:30 AM, rolled them out in mid afternoon around 2PM and we baked them for dinner at 7PM  - SHE DID NOT REFRIGERATE