Vegetables

Spinach or Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

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This Cheese Sauce is one of the first recipes I received from a roommate back in the early 70’s. It is just so different, and good, but is so easy to make. Even if you aren’t a great gravy maker, this sauce is one that will make you proud. To make a colorful dish, you could also add Spinach, Carrots and Cauliflower or Zuchinni and have a medley of veggies with this sauce.
2 tables butter
2 tabels flour
1/4 teas each salt and pepper
1/4 teas dry mustard
1/8 teas cayanne pepper
1/2 teas garlic powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cubed (4 oz)

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Blend in flour and seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk.*See below* Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Boil one minute. Add cheese and stir until melted and well blended. Set aside. Cook the veggies (which one you choose) until tender; drain. Pour cheese sauce over veggies. *I also, use 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup of the water that I have cooked the veggies in instead of the 1 cup milk. It gives more vitamins and I like the taste of the sauce using 1/2 and 1/2 instead of all milk.*

Meats

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

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I know most of you know how addicted to Sister Schubert rolls I am and when I went on-line on Tues to order them to be mailed out here, I discovered that their website has recipes which can be downloaded. Instantly, I pushed “print” and now have several recipes which sound just so southern and delicious. One of the first that I am trying is this one. It has just ordinary on-hand ingredients and you can tell by that the flavor will be just amazing because of the soy sauce and red wine vinegar. Here is the recipe.
1/2 cup peanut oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tables Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tables chopped fresh parsley
1 tables dry mustard
1 1/2 teas freshly gorund black pepper
2 pork tenderloins

Whisk together all ingredients, except tenderloins, in a mixing bowl. Add pork tenderloins and marinate at least 4 hours.
Prepare a grill to medium-high heat. Transfer pork tenderloins to a tray and discard marinade. Oil grill rack and grill pork until each reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees. Cooking time will vary according to the size of each tenderloin.
Transfer pork to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil for 8-10 min. Slice and serve. Offer the infamous SS Dinner Yeast rolls or her Parker House Style rolls. YUM!!!!!!

Daily Thoughts

Sister Schubert Rolls

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We are home from Cameron and Mandy’s wedding and still feeling a little festive from having all our meals with our kids and extended family, it is easy to already get excited about the upcoming holiday season when we will get to be with family and friends again. That never seems to come fast enough, but I have discovered a secret that I just had to share. As soon as the plane flew over the border of Texas and knowing that I was about to re-enter the land of No Sister Schubert Rolls, I got a little down, not only were we flying back to grocery stores which do not carry breaded fried okra, but they also have never heard of these amazing rolls. So…upon awaking our first morning back in Sushi-land, I got on the computer, contacted Sister Schubert Rolls and found that they ship all their mouth watering rolls to anywhere in the USA! Well….I guess I don’t have to tell you that I have 12 pans of rolls coming my way. Since I am cooking breakfast for a brunch next week, these ladies out here are going to be introduced to these amazing little gems.
Sushi and salad lovers, watch out……you are about to discover a little roll that will have you saying, “ya’ll” and “git back here” before you know it……Some ladies might need to go for a mani and pedi or massage to get regenerated……..me, I just need to bake a pan of SS rolls, and I’ll be dreaming of grits, gravy and green beans seasoned with bacon tonight. Meals as I remember them are about to “git” good again!

Daily Thoughts

Wedding in Texas

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Am headed to Texas for our son’s wedding. Will not be posting until Monday, September 5th! Have a great Labor Day and get out a favorite recipe and try it out for some sweet friends.

Chocolate · Desserts

German Chocolate Cake Truffles

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These will be a hit at any gathering. Just perfect for popping into your mouth. Perfect for grabbing the whole tray of them and going over to a corner and just savoring each and every one. After all, there will be enough people to “mingle” with the other guests while you sit back and enjoy these delectable little bites of heaven. This recipe comes from the Southern Living Christmas 2011 Edition.

1 (18.25 oz) package German chocolate cake mix
1 (16 oz) container milk chocolate ready to spread frosting
2 cups toasted coconut, divided
1 3/4 cups toasted finely chopped pecans, divided
Wax Paper
4 (7 oz) containers milk chocolate dipping chocolate
Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directons in a lightly greased 13 x 9 pan. Let cool completely in pan (about 30 min)
Crumble cake into a large bowl. Scoop frosting by spoonfuls over cake crumbs. Sprinkle with 1 cup each coconut and pecans; stir gently just until thoroughly blended. Using a cookie scoop, scoop cake mixture into 1 1/4 ” balls and roll in hands making them round. Place balls on wax paper lined baking sheets. Cover and chill 1 to 2 hrs.
Meanwhile, combine remaining 1 cup coconut and 3/4 cup pecans; stir well. Melt dipping chocolate, 1 container at a time, according to package directioins; dip chilled balls in melted chocolate, using candy dipping fork or if you don’t have one use a fork with a toothpick to secure ball to fork. Allow excess chocolate to drip off. Place coated truffles on wax paper lined baking sheets. Sprinkle tops with coconut pecan mixture and chill 30 min or until set. Place truffles in small baking cups to serve or a platter.
*I used Duncan Hines German Chocolate Cake mix, Betty Croker Frosting and Bakers Real Milk Chocolate Dipping Chocolate

Desserts

Pecan Pie Cobbler

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Doesn’t the title even make you just stand up and say, “YUM”? When I read this new recipe in a new Christmas Book that I received, I just knew it was going to be one of my favorites for 2012…..there is nothing better than hot cobbler with ice cream, and to have it with the gooey pecan filling, well, it just combines two of the most yummy desserts. Hope your Thanksgiving orChristmas menu will include this at least once..I think you will add it to your favorites also.
2 1/2 cups light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tble vanilla
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 (14.1 oz) package refrigerated piecrusts (or make your own)
Pam cooking spray (preferably butter flavored)
2 cups pecan halves
Honey or Cinnamon Ice cream
Preheat oven to 425. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in coarsely chopped pecans.
Unroll 1 piecrust. Roll into a 13 x 9 in baking dish. Spoon half of filling mixture into pastry. Unroll remaining piecrust. Roll into a 13×9 in rectangle. Trim sides to fit pan. Place over filling in pan. Coat with cooking spray.
Bake at 425 for 14-16 min or until browned. Reduce oven temperature to 350.
Carefully spoon remaining filling over baked pastry; arrange pecan halves on top in a decorative fashion. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until set. Cool 20 min on a wire rack; serve warm with ice cream. *If you are a chocoholic, you could add 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips to the filling before pouring over the crust, giving you ANOTHER favorite, chocolate with pecan pie filling.

Daily Thoughts

A Step Back in Time

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Yesterday was just one of those days that I cannot let go by without writing about. We went with some friends to eat mexican food after church. They invited us back to their home after lunch so we went, promsing them that we would only stay for a minute. We ended up staying for a couple of hours. They had just bought a 3D TV and we ended up putting our feet up, sitting with a bowl of M&M’s and nuts and watching a 3-D movie. Joe, the Lou’s husband has taught himself to play the fiddle and they had a keyboard, so we ended up laying some songs together and just had a great afternoon. On our way home, Randy and I talked about how long it had been since we had just gone to someone’s home and sit and visit and watch a movie or sing along while playing a piano much less the added fiddle. It was like our growing up years when we use to go to peoples homes after church and just sit, visit and talk….brought back so many memories. Thank you Jo and Lou for a precious afternoon.
Today, I went to the grocery store to buy some rib eye steaks to make Philly steak sandwiches for dinner. When I asked the butcher to slice one very thin, he replied, “we don’t have any machines that will do that, I would have to do it by hand.” I couldn’t believe my ears…..every grocery store in Dallas would be able to slice steaks, but then again, this is Pasadena and some of our experiences here have truly been like stepping back in time….in most ways, it is so refreshing and such a precious time of people taking the time to get together, but when I want a steak sliced, I want the convenience of being able to have that. If I had to pick between the two, I think I will take the slower, more relaxed visiting time and just slice the steaks myself. It will give my arms some exercise. Pasadena, we love your slower pace of living, but am going to add a meat slicer to my wish list for Christmas.

Desserts

Brown Sugar Shortbreads

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These seriously melt in your mouth. I know that right now, with the heat it is a little hard to think about “fall” but in a few short weeks, a cool breeze will blow through and you will be searching for just the perfect cookie to sit down and munch on while you sip a mug of coffee, while leafing through your new October issue of Southern Living Magazine.
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teas apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teas salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
Nonsitck cooking spray
Granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter on medium to high for 30 sec. Add brown sugar, apple pie spice and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in any remaining flour.
Shape dough into 1 in balls. Place balls 2 in apart on prepared cookie sheet. Coat bottom of a glass or cookie stamp with cooking spray and dip in granulated sugar. Flatten each cookie with the glass or stamp, imprinting the pattern.
Bake for 12-15 min or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 36 cookies.
Layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container and cover. Store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

appetizers · Breads

Baby Hot Browns with Spicy Candied Bacon

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These are GREAT little appetizers to take to parties or serve company. Taken from a Paula Deen magazine, there are easy, yet scrumptious!
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teas ground red pepper
16 slices thick cut bacon
1/4 cup softened butter
24 (2 in thick) diagonally cut french bread slices
3 tables butter
3 table flour
2 cups whole milk
2 cups ( 8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tables freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lbs thinkly sliced smoked deli turkey
2 tables chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray a wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place on baking sheet.
In a bowl, combine brown sugar and red pepper. Dredge bacon slices in a brown sugar mixture, shaking off excess and place on prepared rack. Bake for 15-18 min or until crisp and golden brown and caramalized. Let cool on rack. Cut each slice into 3 equal pieces.
Preheat broiler. Line another large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Using 1/4 cup of the butter, spread over 1 side of bread slices; place slices, buttered side up, on prepared baking sheet. Broil until toasted. Set aside on pan.
In medium saucepan, melt 3 tables butter over medium-low heat. Add flour, whisking until smooth. Cook for 1 min, whisking constantly. Gradually add milk, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly for 10 min or until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat; add cheeses, whisking until cheese melts.
Arrange turkey slices over toasted bread slices. Spoon about 2 tables cheese sauce over each. Broil for 2-3 min or until lightly browned and bubbly. Remove from broiler and place on serving platter. Top each slice with 2 bacon pieces. Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes and parsley if desired. Serve immediately.

Casseroles · Vegetables

Sweet Corn Casserole

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2 large Eggs
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk
6 tables butter, melted
1//2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper
2 tables flour
1 1/2 (20 oz) packages frozen cream-style corn, thawed
Preheat oven to 375. Lighly grease a 13×9 inch baking dish with Pam. In a large bowl, beat eggs, and add milk, butter, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Stir in flour and corn.
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake for 45 min or until a knife inserted comes out clean.