Food Throw down...

I can always blog about politics and etcetera, more scandals are rocking the White House. The administration can not keep hiding behind the "I did not know" curtain forever. One day it will catch up to them. My mother use to say " Your sins will find you out"...  darn if over the years she did not prove to be right with that statement.

Anyways, I have been on a cooking streak this week. I guess because I have been tired of the same ole things and wanted food we had not cooked in a while. It started Tuesday night with some Southern food.
I pan fried smoked sausage, added in sliced potatoes. Boiled up some collard greens, and did a pan of fried corn bread.  Then topped all that off with a big glass of Sweet Tea.
ND and NW made their corn bread better by squirting honey on it...that does make it yummeh.  What can I say, the kids know how to liven up food.  There wasn't any left overs at all. Every one stuffed themselves silly with this mess.  My Man, SENIOR  thanked me with a big wet kiss on the cheek!..  So it must have been good.

The other day my good gurlie buddy and favorite canadien  KYMBER did a post about making spaghetti and meatballs..which prompted me to remember that it had been years since I made "Meatball Subs".  So I got back to the half of me that is Italian and whipped some up last night.

 I mix my own meat and add garlic powder, Italian spices and Parmesan cheese to them. I then let them soak in spaghetti sauce for about an hour.

Then I take my sub rolls, line them with mozzarella cheese and bake them in the oven for about 10-15 min. on 350 degrees, Until the buns are slightly toasted and the cheese is melted. Then I slop my meat balls and sauce on top, and sprinkle more Parmesan cheese.   The boys had never had a meatball sub before, NW was begging for another one, and ND ate 3/4 of his. I also chopped up my first cucumber and added it to salad...  

Boy ! was I a hit at the dinner table.. SENIOR virtually inhaled his and told me repeatedly that is one of the best subs he had ever had. And, gave me another big wet kiss on the cheek.  I was asked to please make them again.  : )  

 

Andiamo a Mangiare!   Godere !

 

Ciao!

-JUGM

 

 

 

 





Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

I am thankful for family and friends like you good blogger folks... I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving..Enjoy the time with your friends and family..

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I have had some new folks hit the follower button, some of blogs of their own. Thanks to:

That Corgi
Janet Gray
Wild Cookery
and Mike Miles

I appreciate you all stopping by and hitting the follower button! I will try to repsond as best as I can to any and all comments you may leave.
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As per the instruction of  MAMA BEAR, I soaked my turkey in apple juice for a good 24 hours. Then prepared it for roasting on a bed of celery, carrots and onions. It is now cooking, and the house smells heavenly.

Senior got up, and after I some how lost the bushing to the wheat grinder, he fixed it and now I am making fresh yeast rolls for dinner...Gosh I love that Man!  My dad said there was no way I could make my own yeast rolls...some times he can be real coot. Its my first time doing them, so I am sure hoping they come our great and he can literally eat his words-I will let you all know !

Again, enjoy your day everyone !

Blogger Cook off Winner...

The 2012 Annual Blogger Cook Off Award goes to all participants because it was a four way tie. Congratulations to all who entered!

That is what happens when everyone is a excellant cook!

 

 

 

  Senior and I  would like to thank the academy for this award and to all our fans..without you we couldnt have done it..  : )

Blogger Cook Off Entry

Cowboy Brisket and Macaroni and Cheese

I start my brisket off with my own home made rub  consisiting of:

crushed chili pepper
red pepper,
black pepper
dry mustard,
garlic powder
a bit of sugar
and last but not least
Coffee...  Yes Coffee! it actually makes a great rub for beef.

And if you want a good marinade for meat, try some "Johnny Walker Red Label"....excellant !

I did not add measurements of any of the spices, because I do not measure anything, it is pretty much a pinch here, or a pinch there, blend it all together and do a small taste test..add more if you wish.

I saturate the meat with Olive Oil and massage the rub in, cover with foil and place it in the fridge. The Olive Oil keeps the meat juicy, and helps the rub to stick. Let it sit overnight soaking in all those seasonings.
The next morning, Senior cranks up the smoker..Its an all day affair. Hickory chips work great, let it smoke for 7-8 hours at about 250-300.

 

Once its off the smoker, and in the fashion of the great Johnny Trigg, we take the electric knife and cut...nice smoke ring!

 



 

Now, its cut, and juices running out, I serve it with a side of my grandmothers Macaroni and Cheese. Have it with a cold Corona or a glass of red wine from my favorite winery..either way it is DELISH!!!!!

Macaroni and Cheese:

It is my nansons recipe and a staple in our house..I must make it a few times a month, and on every holiday.

1 pound box of Ziti or Ready Cut Noodles
1 pound of mild cheddar cheese, cut in to squares
1 small can of evaporated milk,
1 pack of shredded mild cheddar cheese

Boil the noodles, chop the cheese, grease a cassarole dish, throw the noodles in and pour on the evaporated milk. Add the cheese. Bake in the Oven on 425 until cheese is bubbly and the top of pasta is getting toasted. Take out of oven, cover top with shredded cheese...place back in the oven until melted. Take out, let cool and serve...  hmmmmm

And Never be afraid to add more cheese if you wish...the more the merrier...

Corn Fritters and Collard Greens...

I kept getting the age old question.."Whats for dinner"...  I hear it a hundred times a day. I have never been one to plan out meals, I have tried, but it has never taken hold with me...why I don't know. I guess I am a spontaneous kind of girl.

So, last night I decided to cook something truely southern.
I used to spend my summers up in a little town called Easley, SC. My grandmother would make the most delicious corn fritters known to man. Her fried chicken and mac and cheese wasnt bad either, but there was just something about a stack of her fritters slathered with butter..I feel my arteries clogging as I type this....lol
 When I told the boys about them, they thought the idea of corn in a pancakes was super cool. So, I mixed some up.

 The boys thought this corn fritter came out looking like a bad "bigfoot" print..lol

 Then threw on some home grown collards, and took out some fresh smoked sausauges. hmmmmmmm  To add to the mix, I fried senior up some okra..And of course it was all topped off with sweet ice tea.  Can't go wrong with some good refreshing ice tea on a hot summer day. That also brings back the childhood memories, my grandmothers ice tea was so sweet, we always swore that woman must have put 5lbs of sugar in it. In the evening we would sit together on her porch swing, or chase lighening bugs, and sip on her good tea.

The last batch of my collards I grew over last winter.. hmmmm

So, now here we are its 11am On Sunday and again it all starts over..."Whats for dinner" ???????   : ) 

Saturday...Last day of the Week...

I ended my week, by having to take both boys shoe shopping. With the way they scuff their feet, they wore holes in  the bottoms of shoes I had just bought them in August. And again, can hardly find lace shoes, so Velcro it is again...  : (  
I must have been asking for it, because I invited my mother along, you know my same mother that thinks "nothing bad can ever happen"... well, Thank God I had half a pot of coffee this morning and a whole anti-depressant, with out them both I doubt I would have survived dealing with her, and 2 boys out shopping.. We started talking well, here is the jest of our conversation:

Mother: "Do you think the president will get re-elected" ?
ME: " Yes, but IF he doesn't, look out for rioting"
Mother: "Rioting!!!"  " your not serious"
ME: " yes" and shaking my head
Mother: "I spent 200.00 last night on groceries, and have nothing to show for it"
ME: " everything is getting expensive, wait until gas is 10.00 a gallon, and a loaf of  bread is 5.00 a loaf, now you see why I am learning to make my own"
Mother: " what are you Amish?, and what's with this car of yours being so high? Is this how you like it" ?
ME: <---- bangs her head on the steering wheel!

Knowing the area we were going to be in, I did something today I have not done in a while, I got out my wrap holster ( I call it that, because it literally wraps around your waste and you fit your gun in pockets on the side) and i carried on person today. I have recently gotten in to the habit of carrying a concealed purse, but lately this particular area of her town as gotten much worse, and I felt better with my glock on my side.

Senior is off with group friends today, so I am making a good spaghetti dinner, and home made Italian herb bread...the kitchen smells delicious...I hope the family enjoys it. We have also been camper shopping, wanting to get out of the one we have, and in to something a bit bigger..I like those with bunk beds for the kids.

This has been a heck of week in my area, we lost a great police detective and our good friend Duke lost his sweet mother in law. My sister new her very well, and is deeply saddened.His mother in law was a very beautiful person inside and out, all though I did not know her personally, I have heard my sister speak of her on many occasions, and I felt like I knew her. Our prayers goes out to his family during this sad time....

So on to a new week, Hope its a good one for all of you.....