Guacamole

I have another when I first starting dating Baby Cakes recipes to share...

My Mother in Laws recipe box is full of quick meals, having been so involved in and dedicated to her children’s lives and also substituting at the High School she needed fast and filling to feed the family. It was one of those after football/cheerleading/work/PTA/laundry/homework/etcetera etcetera situations. You might know this situation personally; heck I think all women know this situation personally. Anyhow even though her life has calmed a bit since then she still makes some of the dishes that my husband grew up eating and I was lucky enough to get to devour them while we were dating. This is my third favorite thing that she makes. (Yes I have a list; she makes some really wonderful dishes.)

I was surprised to learn that all she uses in her guacamole are avocados, tomatoes, garlic salt and salt. I had always had it with jalapenos, onions, cilantro, and just so many different ingredients and variations but who would have thought that the simplest version would taste the best. She taught me that salt is key in this recipe and I have found myself even adding salt to it at restaurants and being amazed at what a difference it makes. Mmm hmm, once you make it like this then they can keep the all the other ingredients.


Guacamole
slightly adapted from my MIL

3 large avocados pitted and scooped from skins
¼ purple onion, small diced
1 Roma tomato, small diced
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
salt to taste

In a mixing bowl mash the scooped avocados and then add the diced onion, tomato and garlic powder stirring to combine. Add a teaspoon of salt at a time, each time stirring and tasting until you can taste the difference. Not salt lick salty but obviously salted.

Serve with tortilla chips.

These and other dips are my second favorite form of dinner, second only to the crock pot, that I could ever make. It is such a delight knowing that after I come in from work all I have to do is a bit of chopping and mixing before we can eat. Of course this doesn't have to be a dinner recipe, it would be great for any situation where a dip is needed.

Yum.

Crockpot Pinto Beans

Now I am no stranger to a pinto bean. My Grandma makes killer beans, my father-in-law, an uncle-in-law and even my hubby allegedly makes a killer pot of pintos (allegedly because he’s never made them for me) but even though I have ample recipes readily at hand I had never made them, until now.

My hang up was the fact that I would have to be home to do so, or so I thought, because in everyone else’s recipe they cooked all day long over slow heat in a big old giant pot and when I’m at home I don’t want to pause every so often to stir. Ahem, it’s called a slooowwww cookerrrrr. I did all the rinsing, chopping, corralling, and measuring in advance the night before, while waiting for Mike & Molly to come on, so that all I had to do was toss it all in and turn it on before I left for work this morning. Love it!

Yesterday I mentioned that I ran a search for recipes featuring ham, so that I could use up the leftover ham. I also introduced you to a blog titled Newlyweds that I found running the search. Put the two together and we get Crock-pot Pinto Beans. If you want her recipe verbatim check it out on her blog here.

Baby Cakes loves them, as I knew that he would and I must admit I'm pretty fond of how easy they were to make.


Crockpot Pinto Beans
slighly adapted from Newlyweds

1 lb. pinto beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried chives
½ -1 lb. ham, cut into chunks
4-6 cups water

Rinse the beans very well, checking for any beans to discard, dirt, pebbles, etc. Add the rinsed beans to the crock pot along with 4 cups of the water.

Stir in the onion and garlic, all the spices, and the can of Rotel. Add the chunks of ham into the bean mixture and submerge them into the ingredients.

Add enough water to completely cover all of the ingredients.

Cover and cook on high for 7-8 hours.


And don't forget the cornbread, Honey Butter Cornbread. Seriously what are you waiting for? Make this for tomorrow night’s supper.

Yeah, it's that good,

Scalloped Cabbage

We have leftover cabbage, not to mention the left over ham; I’m sorry, leftover hams, HAMS! So in honor of these leftovers I am running searches for recipes featuring them. I easily located tomorrow night’s recipe, coming ahem tomorrow, using up a majority of the ham, but I couldn’t as easily locate a new and improved cabbage recipe until…

Say hello to Newlyweds, an adorable blog featuring recipes, gardening and personal bites about her family especially her twin boys. Who, by the way, are adorable. Also, she’s a Texas girl! (grin). I must have bookmarked all of her recipes and I can’t wait to make some of them starting tonight. Oh and another thing, she is a heck of a blogger. She photographs the entire cooking process she is a better women than me!

Baked Cabbage was a wonderful way to use up the leftover head of cabbage; I cannot get over how amazing this dish is/was. The smell of it while cooking, the crispy bits of bacon, the creamy dreamy goodness of the sauce, I’ll call it a sauce. We ate the entire baking dish full. Not to worry it was only a small version of the recipe. Baby Cakes loved it (he gives it a bada** rating), I loved it. What’s not to love?


Scalloped Cabbage
recipe from Newlyweds

1 small head of cabbage, sliced
1/2 onion sliced
3 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning blend, your choice
2 cups heavy cream
4 dashes of hot pepper sauce
6-8 slices raw bacon, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Layer the cabbage into a buttered baking dish and top with onion slices.

Put the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch into a mixing bowl and measure in 4 tablespoons of heavy cream, using your finger or a spoon stir the mixture until the cornstarch is dissolved completely. Add the remaining cream slowly while whisking the cornstarch mixture. Whisk in the salt, pepper, hot sauce and seasoning blend. Pour over the cabbage and onions.

Top evenly with the raw chopped bacon.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 90 minutes. Uncovering the baking dish with 10 minutes left.

Stir before serving.



Simply a.maze.ing,

Crock Pot Chicken

I have a feeling there will be many more crock pot recipes to come in the near future. My in-laws gave me a new crock pot for Christmas and I am overjoyed. My old one also given to me by my Mother-in-Law, only had one heat setting still working and that was the HIGH setting. Everything I made was overcooked only I had no idea. Not only that but this thing can turn off the cooking after the set amount time and kick on the warming setting so that even if I run late at work the food won’t be overcooked and it’ll still be warm. LOVE.

This recipe is a breeze to prep in the morning. There is nothing worse than trying to rush out of the door only to have to chop and precook something before it even goes into the slow cooker. This is as simple as tossing in the meat, opening some cans and turning that baby on. When it’s time to eat I just cooked some rice and a veggie.

I realized today, while typing this that I never added the sour cream that the original recipe calls for. Somehow I just forgot about it and honestly it didn't seem to matter because this is delicious. Wonderful. Amazing. I can’t wait to try it with the sour cream next time. Even Baby Cakes went crazy over this recipe. Yeah, it’s a keeper.


Crock Pot Chicken
accidently adapted from Jenny Mac's Lip Smack

1 lb. ground chicken or turkey
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
2 cans sliced mushrooms, drain
salt and pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tbs. dried chives

Sprinkle the uncooked ground meat with the seasonings and break up into the crock pot. Mix together the undiluted soups and mushrooms in a bowl and pour over meat.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Serve over rice or broad noodles.


This really is so very yummy. I plan on making it again and again and again only next time maybe I'll remember the sour cream because that would truly just kick it up to a whole other level of good.

Share this one, you won't be sorry.

XOXO,

Happy New Year Y'all

I can remember in the past on New Year’s Eve my Grandma making all the traditional southern new year staples, black eyed peas, cabbage, corn bread and I am sure some sort of protein, most likely something pork, and although the following recipes aren’t from my Grandma I do make them every year because of her. Since learning what these foods represent I can’t imagine not eating them on the eve of or the actual day, hopeful that they might actually pull through. Superstitious maybe but I’ve always heard that you make your own luck and mine just happens to be in a big old pot on the stove, or so I believe.


Now I will for warn that the following recipes are what I call my semi-homemade versions, with a store bought ham that I only had to heat up, but please don’t let that stop you because they are so good and worth the time they take, barely any, but most importantly I won’t tell anyone. Go ahead tell them that the peas were fresh and the cornbread is from scratch. Just remember to eat a bit of it all for a year of luck and prosperity. So without further ado (just click on the item name to go to the recipe page)…

Semi-Homemade Black Eyed Peas

For the best chance of luck every day in the year ahead, one must eat at least 365 black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.


Fried Cabbage

The cabbage represent paper money.


Honey Buttered Corn Muffins

Cornbread represents gold.


Happy New Year Y'all,

Fried Cabbage

I can remember in the past on New Year’s Eve my Grandma making all the traditional southern new year staples, black eyed peas, cabbage, corn bread and I am sure some sort of protein, most likely something pork, and although the following recipes aren’t from my Grandma I do make them every year because of her. Since learning what these foods represent I can’t imagine not eating them on the eve of or the actual day, hopeful that they might actually pull through. Superstitious maybe but I’ve always heard that you make your own luck and mine just happens to be in a big old pot on the stove, or so I believe.

This recipe actually came from my MIL; I had never had fried cabbage until I started dating my husband. In fact the only time I had even really eaten cabbage at all was on New Year’s or in the form of a cabbage roll a few times in my lifetime. Anyhow, I hadn’t been dating Baby Cakes that long when I was over for dinner at his Mom and Dad’s house for supper and had this version of cabbage. Oh.my.goodness good. We eat this often too, because I learned quickly that BCakes’ Mom knows the way to his heart. I take notes.


Fried Cabbage

1 small cabbage, rinsed and chopped
½ stick butter
½ onion, quarter
1-2 tbs. seasoning blend, your choice

Over medium heat in a large skillet sauté the sliced onion in the butter until done and/or translucent.

Add the cabbage and seasoning to the skillet, stir and cook down. It will wilt pretty quickly and once it begins to you can cover it with a lid and continue cooking over low heat for 25-45 minutes or until some of the cabbage had taken on a golden color and it is completely soft.

Serve it warm and preferably with some pepper sauce and corn bread.

I can’t help but grab a bit every time I walk pass the skillet. I adore it although it doesn’t make the house smell that lovely but that’s where Scentsy comes in.

Mmmm Buttery Cabbage,

Honey Buttered Corn Muffins

I can remember in the past on New Year’s Eve my Grandma making all the traditional southern new year staples, black eyed peas, cabbage, corn bread and I am sure some sort of protein, most likely something pork, and although the following recipes aren’t from my Grandma I do make them every year because of her. Since learning what these foods represent I can’t imagine not eating them on the eve of or the actual day, hopeful that they might actually pull through. Superstitious maybe but I’ve always heard that you make your own luck and mine just happens to be in a big old pot on the stove, or so I believe.

Okay, perhaps it’s because I have done way too much cooking over the holidays but I cheated on almost every recipe made for New Years, this one is no exception.


Honey Buttered Corn Muffins

2 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 of a cup of half and half
1 can of creamed corn
1 tbs. honey
½ a stick of butter, room temperature

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare the muffin tins.

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together and let it sit for about 5 minutes and then mix well once more.

Fill the muffin cups ¾ full, it should make about 18 muffins, and bake until golden brown about 12-15 minutes.

While the muffins are still warm gently press in the center top of the muffin and place a pad of butter in the “bowl”.

As you can see from the recipe above this isn’t really anything major, actually super simple but it got more raves and compliments than any baked good I’ve ever made before. Okay, well almost any baked good I’ve made before. I personally enjoyed them so much that I smeared a bit of jelly on one for breakfast this morning.

This doesn't have to wait until New Years to make it would be great with chili or any soup.

XOXO,

Semi-Homemade Black Eyed Peas

I can remember in the past on New Year’s Eve my Grandma making all the traditional southern new year staples, black eyed peas, cabbage, corn bread and I am sure some sort of protein, most likely something pork, and although the following recipes aren’t from my Grandma I do make them every year because of her. Since learning what these foods represent I can’t imagine not eating them on the eve of or the actual day, hopeful that they might actually pull through. Superstitious maybe but I’ve always heard that you make your own luck and mine just happens to be in a big old pot on the stove, or so I believe.

The first recipe I’ll be sharing this evening is something that I call my semi-homemade black-eyed peas. A couple of years ago, Baby Cakes and my first New Years together, I wanted to make the whole spread for him and went to the store in search of the needed ingredients, to make a long story short they were sold out and I ended up buying canned. I didn’t care and was dead set on making them the way I wanted to originally only with canned peas so I did and they were wonderful. Since then I have made them using frozen and fresh peas, salt pork, bacon and even ham bone but I keep coming back to this recipe. Don’t judge me just make this recipe and see for yourself.

Everyone who tried them last night at the party loved them, I got nonstop compliments and I might even add a challenge or dual rather for next year.


Semi-homemade Black Eyed Peas

1 package of bacon, sliced into 2 inch segments, browned and drained
½ of an onion, diced and cooked in the bacon drippings, drained
6 cans of black eyed peas, drained
2-3 tbs. of seasoning blend, your choice
1 tbs. of garlic powder

Once the bacon and onion are cooked and drained add them along with the rest of the ingredients to a Dutch Oven and cook over low heat for 1 or 2 hours.

You might need to and can add a bit of water as needed, ½ a cup at a time.

Like I said above this is an amazing recipe and although I have never seen anyone post an embellished canned good recipe I am taking a risk and doing it anyway.

Yum!