Jamming ...

I have been wanting to make strawberry jam for a while now, and I must have been talking about it too much. 

Last Tuesday, my sweet, thoughtful, darling husband brought home 10 pounds of strawberries.

Before I got home, he had already eaten 1 pound ...

and then proceeded to help me make 19 jars of strawberry jam. 

We washed, and washed, and washed - strawberries, jars, lids, pots, pans, the dog. You name it and if it was standing still, we washed it. 

 

We used the jam recipe in the Sure-Jell to create our wonderful masterpieces. 

and I finally got to use my canner that Middle Sister gave me for my birthday. 

It truly was easy. Believe me. 

Having someone to help you, was even better.  

Hearing the "pops" of the lids made me giggle, because our little science experiment truly did work! 

The taste is wonderfully fresh and sweet. I could eat my weight in biscuits and jam right now. 

I also love the beautiful colors ...

  

but the best part about it ...

is sharing it with friends. 

I'm No Food Photographer & A Recipe for Those That Eyeball ...

Well, I guess this week will be about photography or the lack thereof!

I am no Food Photographer, but I want to be a better, creative photographer one day.

Right now this is what I am feeling ...

Source: cookingupamess.wordpress.com via Vyna on Pinterest

And that is okay! It makes me laugh!
Photography, especially food photography is a beautiful thing that takes a lot of practice. My quest does not include being the next Pioneer Woman. I just want to have satisfaction in my photography. I don't care to get paid. I get tickled pink when something comes out like I imagined it.

So on to the recipe ...

There is a lady at school that makes a delicious pimento cheese. Everybody loves it, but I think I love it more than anyone else. She shared her recipe, but it one of eyeball type of ingredients just like I like it. So mine version is not perfect, but it is close.


Pimento Cheese:

(1) 8 oz Cream Cheese (I used the 1/3 version for less fat)
(1) extra sharp bar of cheese grated
(1) small jar of pimentos
Minced garlic to taste
Onions (green or powder) to taste

Mix all ingredients together, and enjoy with crackers or bread.

I made this recipe as a grilled pimento cheese with bacon (as shown at the very top). And it was good.  

As I mentioned before, Southern Living did a spread about pimento cheese in last month's issue. It is my quest to perfect it!

How do you make your pimento cheese?

Freezing ... A New Obsession

Due to my addiction to Pinterest, I have decided to try making freezer meals for us. I have done a little of this in the past, due to cooking for two. It was just easier to make a dish and divide it in half for later. So since I had a few days off a while back, I decided to cook up some things. 

One thing that I have the most trouble is breakfast. I like to eat breakfast, and really enjoy a big breakfast. No time for that, though, so I thought I would try these:

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

Source: momontimeout.com via Jessica on Pinterest

So far, so good. It took us a couple of tries to reheat perfectly in the microwave, but I think Ken has that all figured out. 

We went to Sam's and I got about 5 1/2 lbs of ground chuck that I made into:
 (5) hamburger patties
 (3)1 lb bags of ground beef for various dinners this month
(1) 1 1b of taco meat.
and we also got some pork loins that we were able to divide into 2 bags.

This had really helped me with cooking at night. I just look to see what we are having the next day and throw the bag in the fridge the night before to thaw.

I also made some twice baked potatoes from A Turtle's Life for Me.

Source: aturtleslifeforme.blogspot.com via Haven on Pinterest

This website has a ton of dinner meals:

Source: joelens.blogspot.com via Haven on Pinterest

What do you freeze?

Crock Pot Meals

We love our crock pot so much that we invite it over once a week and allow it to cook for us. 

Seriously, I use it at least once a week and would use it more, but I do not want my husband to think that is the only way I know how to cook.

On the other hand ...

Here are some of our favorite recipes. 

This one is fantastic and I must cook it at least once a month:

Crock Pot Ranch Pork Loins with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Source: realmomkitchen.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Chicken and Dumplins'

· 2 cream of chicken
· Onion
· Chicken Broth
· Chicken
· 2 Tablespoons butter
· 2 cans biscuits



Directions
1. Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
2. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

Taco Soup

Italian Chicken Over Rice

Place 3-4 chicken breast in the crock pot. I always use frozen



Combine in a separate bowl:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. Italian salad dressing

Seasoning of your choice! 


Pour mixture over chicken in crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Serve over rice

Sante Fe Chicken Over Rice

Just a different flavor than that above! 

Place 3-4 chicken breast in the crock pot. I always use frozen



Combine in a separate bowl:

1 can cream of chicken soup

Sante Fe Philadelphia Cooking Sauces or 8 oz cream cheese and taco seasoning


Pour mixture over chicken in crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Serve over rice

Pot Roast or Pork Tenderloin with Vegetables

- Pot Roast
- Potatoes

- Carrots

- Pot Roast Mixture

Wash and cut the potatoes. Follow directions on Pot Roast Crock Pot Mixture.

Any type of  homemade soup - vegetable, potato, etc. 

How do you Crock Pot?

Well, How Do You Do?

Life is one busy little bee. Ain't that a kick in the head at times, but no matter what, I would not trade it for the world.

I did not intend to go on a week and half hiatus, but duty called and things took precedence.

But for now, I am back whether you like it or not. :)

So I wanted to share with you a Sock-It-To-Me Cake to make my debut back in the blogging world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A while back, I was in a fallish mood, craving cinnamon and ooey gooeyness, and Ken was running late from work. What's a girl to do but bake and bake I did. I must say this cake was delicious! I couldn't decide more if I liked the icing or the cake more. Even days later, it was great! So sock it to you, and bake one soon!

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

4 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2.In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream. Stir by hand approximately 50 strokes, or until most large lumps are gone. Pour half of the batter into an ungreased 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the batter in the cake pan. Spoon the other half of the batter into the cake pan, covering the brown sugar and cinnamon. Twirl the cake with a butter knife or icing knife until it looks like a honey bun (or whatever design you want to make).

3.Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Frost cake while it is still fairly hot. Serve warm.

4.To Make the frosting: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth.

I am linking up with:

Fall Decor ... Breakfast Room

Since we do not have a mantle, I am so glad that we made this to display seasonal decor.

I made the banner here and will share how I did that with you tomorrow.

I also made the "tree" by finding a twig outside and cutting out various leaves out of scrapbook paper. I then hot glued the scrapbook leaves onto the twigs combining a couple of different colors.

I spray painted some pumpkins that I had on hand cream. I wanted to do this to all my pumpkins, but backed out. Part of me likes the orange, but the other part loves the cream! There is always next year!

I picked up some acorns out of my brother-in-law's yard. I have never seen some so big!

I also made a little garland with leftover scrapbook leaves.

Tomorrow - A "somewhat" tutorial on the banner!

Tortilla Making ...

Have you ever stopped to think about some of the things that you buy and wonder, "Could I make that?"

I do this all the time and was curious when I say this recipe over at House of Smiths.

I decided, "Hey what the heck! I want to try this!"

I really just think I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could actually make these ...

and I did but with a little trial and error ...

1. Always read the comments to recipes. There is a lot to learn if things aren't going well (again, passion and excitement are my strong suit!)

2. After reading the comments, I learned to add a little extra flour and to turn up the skillet!

After all of that, I finally enjoyed the fruits of my labor, and even made another batch, which by the way, you can freeze!

I have used these with all kinds of things - mexican dishes, mini-pizzas, and wraps!

You can also make these and add a little sugar and cinnamon to dip into some wonderful fruit salsa.

What have you challenged yourself to make?

Squash ...

(please know that I normally don't measure when I cook, so if you do, just email and ask. If you don't  measure either, we will get along great!)

I didn't find the love of squash until my later teenage years. That would also be the year that Mama fell in love with squash casserole and seemed to make it constantly between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Total squash kill.

Anyhoo ...

I mentioned that I recently bought some squash at the Farmer's Market.

Here is how I made it for dinner:

What you need:

4-5 good sized squash

1 small onion

1 tbsp of butter

Salt

Pepper

3/4 cup water

What you do:

Slice squash and onions and throw them in the skillet. Add butter, salt, pepper, and water. Cover for about 15 minutes and then uncover for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Simple. Simple. Simple. Yet so good!

***This is also how I put it up in freezer bags, but I just left out the butter and seasoning.
After cooking, I drained and let it cool before putting in freezer bags.
I make sure all of the air is out of the freezer bags and then press out my squash to where they are laying flat in the bag for better storage.
Place in refridgerator overnight to cool completely, and place in the freezer for later use!
When you are ready to eat, allow to thaw, put contents in skillet, add butter, and salt and pepper.
I don't think you will need any water, but if you think you need to add a little bit, go ahead and just add maybe 1/4 cup.
Cook until warm.

Bacon Tomato Cornbread Sandwiches

(please know that I normally don't measure when I cook, so if you do, just email and ask. If you don't measure either, we will get along great!)

"Creative Messes" often lead to wonderful food.

This is exactly what happened on a moody Saturday ...

Serves 2-3 or really serves 3 and 2 people just split it.

Bacon Tomato Cornbread Sandwiches

Corn bread

Use your favorite recipe or mix.

Bacon and Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients

6 pieces bacon, fried

1 large green tomato

1 egg

1/2 buttermilk

(did you know that you can mix 1 cup of milk and 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to make buttermilk. This is how I roll with the buttermilk.)

1/2 cup or more corn meal

1/2 cup or more all purpose flour

Salt

Pepper

Directions

In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp.

While bacon is cooking slice the tomato, salt and pepper, and let stand for about 15 minutes as you mix up the other ingredients.

Three bowls:

Bowl #1: Mix Cornmeal, all purpose, salt, pepper, and any other season.

Bowl #2: Buttermilk

Bowl #3: Egg

When bacon is finished, leave the lovely bacon grease in the skillet. Take the tomatoes, dip in the buttermilk, then the egg, and the dry mixture. Then put the breaded tomatoes in the bacon grease for about 2-3 minutes or until crispy. Flip and crisp the other side.

Don't do this ..

Because it could lead to this ...

Once everything is ready, cut your cornbread in half, add your favorite condiment and then stack your fried green tomato and bacon for a very Southern Saturday Night Sandwich.