Homemade Jalapeño Cheddar Bread

 

Olé!  Spice it Up!

 

 

A slice of this bread will awaken your senses and please your palate!  

 

Broken Spaghetti in Garlic-Butter and Parmesan Sauce

 

Hankering for a big, full bowl of pasta smothered in a creamy garlic-butter and Parmesan sauce?   

 

 

If so, I’ve got a great recipe for you!

 

It's Sausage Gravy and Biscuits Time

 

I remember the commercials on TV with the catchy little song way back when we’d visit Mom and Dad after they retired and moved back to Ohio:  

“Bob Evans, down on the farm..."

 

Baked Donut Holes----Two Versions

 

You might be satisfied with eating just one ~ 

not me ~ 

it’s 2 or 3 of these sweet tiny gems for me.  

And because they’re baked, not fried, 

that’s OK!

 

 

I made chocolate donut holes the other day for the chocolate lovers here and then I thought about...

 

Stuffing-topped Baked Pork Chops with Gravy

These delicious savory fork-tender chops 
are topped with 
stuffing and gravy, 
they’re right up Bill’s alley!

Bill is a huge fan of pork chops and I’m always thinking of new ways of preparing them.  If stuffing is involved, that’s all the better in my way of thinking!

Homemade Baked Cinnamon "Sugar" Donuts

Lately, (like the last 5 years) I’ve seen a plethora of bloggers praising how good their baked donuts ~ I secretly wondered ~ how good are they, really?  

The food blogger side of me is just a touch embarrassed to admit I’m more than a little late in hopping on the baked-donut-band-wagon.

CLASSIC PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS

Soft, chewy peanut-buttery cookies, rolled in sugar and topped with a Hershey kiss ~ a cookie both sweet and salty.  In other words, Peanut Butter Blossoms!

Blossom cookies debuted at the ninth Pillsbury Bake-Off and have been a classic Christmas cookie since then. In my way of thinking, they’re a good thing to bake any time of the year!

Fresh Peach Cobbler

Ripe juicy peaches with spicy cinnamon and a 

buttery cobbler crust,
baked until golden brown and delicious ~
who doesn’t like a sweet treat now and then...

Here, we all like fresh peaches and I was happy to see ripe white peaches at the farmers’ market the other day.  

Savory Sour Cream Cornbread, it's Divine!

Cornbread is the perfect vehicle 

for sopping up the things 

that are 

on your plate!

Those cracks are a good thing in cornbread!

Everyone has their foibles ~ for me, it’s that corner slab of cornbread ~ the slice with two crispy edges.  Grandma liked it crumbled, submerged in a glass of cold buttermilk, and eaten with a spoon ~ whatever floats your boat...

The Best ~ Classic Chicken and Dumplings

This is an all-time favorite meal here at our house!  

And for good reason ~ 

it’s a delicious comfort dish for chilly snowy weather!

Chicken always gets top billing, but it’s the dumplings that sway people so easily.  There are a plethora of ways to make this dish, and this time I followed Paula Deen’s most of the way...

Easy, But Different, Peach Cobbler

A bushel and a peck ~ that’s how much we love fresh peaches here!

I knew it was time for 'summer-time comfort food' last Saturday when a bounty of great looking Michigan peaches was on display at the farmers’ market!

Impossibly Easy French Apple Dessert Squares

Apples and cinnamon, oh my! 

This is a really close cousin to Dutch apple pie, actually maybe more like a crisp, and  there’s no crust to roll out!  French apple dessert has a buttery crust, and is packed with apples, cinnamon and nutmeg.  

Old-Fashioned Biscuits Just Like Grandma Used to Make

The mere suggestion of homemade biscuits, conjures pictures of sweet grandmas and fragrant aromas wafting from the oven.  People love everything about biscuits, a hot oven, a light touch, and lard…

Why should you bake biscuits with lard?  Because you’ll have the most delicious rich biscuits ~ soft on the inside, crusty on the outside ~ that you can imagine!  Lard is commonly used in many cuisines around the world as a cooking fat, or as a spread similar to butter in Europe and North America. 

Unfortunately, lard has gotten a bad rap for years --- it’s not as bad as you may think.  The Jungle, Upton Sinclair’s 1906 book, might’ve had a lot to do with it when, in a scene from the book, the workers at a meat-packing plant fall into boiling vats of rendering lard.  It played such a large part in turning people against lard, that an entire pro-lard ad campaign was launched to undo its damage.

Full-page ads ran in all the newspapers picturing healthy, smiling, happy people praising lard...  

 

Actually, while lard is anything but “healthy,” it contains less cholesterol and saturated fat than butter, and no trans fat, unlike most vegetable shorting.  

As Julia Child said, “Everything in moderation…including moderation,”  it truly does make the best pie crusts and biscuits.

On Grandma's farm in Ohio, she fried with lard and baked all of her pies, breads and biscuits with lard.  On our farm down the road, Mom was a Crisco and margarine sort of lady. I cook with a little butter or olive oil, rarely cook or bake with lard, except for when I make these biscuits…

Lard has very little pork flavor, it’s not bacon grease.  It makes crispy fried foods and tender flaky baked goods without leaving a trace of flavor behind.  

In my book, lard is a good source of cooking fat, but I draw the line at eating it smeared on a slice of bread, so I'll keep on making these little bites of goodness…

These biscuits are easy to make, and with a few simple steps the results are tender and delicious.

I’m not saying my biscuits are perfect, no way are they, but slathered with butter, they make me smack my lips and help myself to another one…

Yield: 8 to 10 biscuitsAuthor: Pam

Old-Fashioned Biscuits Like Grandma's

These biscuits are definitely made the old-fashioned way - with lard.

prep time: 30 MINScook time: 12 MINStotal time: 42 mins

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup lard
• 2/3 cups buttermilk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven 450° with the oven rack in the center.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cut in lard until it resembles small peas.
4. Add buttermilk, stirring gently with a fork, to make a soft dough.
5. With floured hands, knead dough gently 4 times in the bowl.
6. Put dough on lightly floured surface, and roll or pat the dough to about 1/4" to 1/2" thick.
7. Cut with a floured 2" cutter.
8. Place cut-out biscuits about 1" apart on ungreased baking sheet.
9. Lightly brush with butter if desired.
10. Bake for about 12 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown.
11. Serve warm

 Enjoy!  

It's Stuffed Peppers with Grits and Italian Sausage!

You ask, “What could possibly make a cheesy grits and Italian pork sausage combo taste better?”  

Southern Living magazine has the answer:
It’s seasoned cheesy grits and Italian pork sausage, stuffing a tender bell pepper with mozzarella cheese sprinkled over all and baked!  

Deliciousness comes together in this flavorful and easy meal for your family and friends too, it's that good! 

Surprisingly, all bell peppers contain more Vitamin C than an orange, ranging from 95 mg in a green to a whopping 341 mg in a yellow.  They're also super low-cal, containing just 45 calories per cup, making them the the perfect snack.  Maybe we should be eating bell peppers instead of of reaching for a glass of sugary orange juice to ward off a cold!

And who doesn't like grits?

Here's the Ten Commandments of Grits:

1. Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits.
2. Thou shalt not eat Cream of Wheat and call it Grits; for this is blasphemy.
3. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors Grits.
4. Thou shalt only use Salt, Butter and Cheese as toppings for thy Grits.
5. Thou shalt not eat Instant Grits.
6. Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits.
7. Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits.
8. Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits.
9. Thou shalt not put sugar on thy Grits either.
10. Thou shalt not put sugar or syrup on thy Grits.

Amen, right on!

There are 8 colors in the bell pepper family.  Besides the usual green, red and yellow, the family includes orange, black, brown, ivory and purple.

Any color bell pepper could be used in this slightly adapted Southern Living recipe, I opted for red peppers simply because red is my favorite color.  The important thing is to make sure the peppers are large enough to be stuffed with the cheese and grits filling, 3 of them should total about 20 ounces.

After stuffing the peppers with the savory filling, and baking them, whisk a simple vinaigrette, then toss in a few grape tomatoes to drizzle over the peppers before serving.

We all really liked this savory and satisfying version of stuffed peppers, so the recipe is a keeper!

Yield: 6 servings    Author: Pam

Stuffed Peppers with Grits and Sausage

Cheesy grits and Italian sausage provide a savory and satisfying filling for bell peppers!

prep time: 15 MINScook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 15 mins

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 large red bell peppers (about 20 oz.)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 hot Italian pork sausage links, casings removed
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 cup stoneground grits (or regualr)
• 11/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 3 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup), divided
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Microwave bell peppers on HIGH 2 minutes to soften slightly. Cut bell peppers in half through the stem. Remove seeds and white membranes using a serrated tomato corer or melon baller. Discard seeds and membranes.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage to skillet; cook 4 minutes, stirring to break into small pieces. Add onion to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is cooked and onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Remove sausage mixture from pan.
3. Add grits to skillet; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth, milk, and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt to skillet; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in sausage mixture, and half of the cheese.
4. Divide mixture evenly among bell pepper halves. Place side by side on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven until cheese is browned and peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.
6. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, black pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. 
7. Add tomatoes; toss to coat. Serve over peppers.

Enjoy!



Our Prayers and Best Wishes to everyone in the path of the hurricanes!

And let's remember, honor and pay tribute to all those affected by the events of 9/11...