Okay, you have collected all of your items on the canning checklist and you have a bushel of vegetables washed and prepped. Many vegetables require pressure canning in order to be stored safely. These foods are low in acid and have to be processed at higher temperatures in order to kill any harmful bacteria such as botulism. These vegetables include green beans, squash, ...
Recipes
You Can Can-Can Too!!! Part 1
This post contains affiliate links I'm sure you have all been desperately worried about where I have been ( can you detect the sarcasm?), but I assure you that I am perfectly fine. I have been out of town for a while hanging out with my parents in Tennessee and learning a very valuable life skill; how to can food. We country folk like to call it "puttin' up" and it was ...
It’s all Greek to Me – Chicken Souvlaki
For some reason, there are several foods that I only really enjoy when made into something. For example; I'm not a big tomato eater, but I love tomato sauce; I hate cabbage, but I could eat sauerkraut everyday; I think raw cucumbers are unappetizing, but I could eat enough tzatziki sauce to make me Greek. I'm weird, what can I say. So, anyway, if there is any culture that is ...
Kebaaaaaabs
For some reason, whenever I talk about kebabs I always seem to say it with a Jersey accent. I don't know why. It just sounds nice...kebaaabs.Anyway, summer is the perfect time for kebabs. They are the perfect grill food. A great way to feed many or just a few. They can be marinated and assembled earlier in the day and then thrown on the grill for dinner. I like chicken kebabs ...
Mmmmm…Donuts
Sometimes, inspiration hits me late at night. Actually, most of my good ideas hit me at night sometime after the kids have finally gone to sleep and I have relaxed a little. Anyway, last night I was thinking about the big wad of refrigerator dough I had in the kitchen and what exactly I should do with it. And then it hit me, DONUTS! And they would be healthy ( sort of) because ...
Whole Roasted Herb Butter Chicken and My First Giveaway
Well, the end to a long and busy week has come and gone. The craft show is over and my life can now get back to normal. Which means I can now get around to posting this whole roasted chicken I made last week! This is not the first time I have made this chicken, I have made it several times and I also make my Thanksgiving turkey in the same fashion. If you can get over the ...
Memphis Memories – Homemade Bar-B-Q, Sauce and Spicy Slaw
I would like to start off this post by letting everyone know that my husband and I are BBQ snobs. The Hubby is from Memphis, born and raised, and I spent the first part of my adult life there and consider it my home ( maybe not born and raised, but I certainly found myself there). If you have ever been to Memphis then you know 2 things; 1 - never leave valuables in your car, ...
Tandoori Inspired Chicken with Spiced Saffron Rice and Roasted Asparagus
Sometimes I get a wild hair and feel the need to really do something different. I get sick of Southern cooking or typical Meatloaf Monday fare and I really just want to branch out and experiment. It usually comes during a long week ( or month) when my stress level is high and I just want to get away. I think a week of potty training twins and trying to get ready for this craft ...
Grilled Squash
Finally! Spring is here! It's time to plant flowers, clean the house, and fire up the grill. It's also time to try to fit back in those shorts from last summer. So that means more veggies! When it comes to veggies I like simple. Fresh produce has a lot of flavor and I don't like to compete with that too much. A simple sprinkle of olive oil, salt and pepper is all most veggies ...
Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry
Ahhh, stir-fry. Possibly the world's quickest cooked dish and one of my favorite things to eat. This is a simple dish with lots of flavor and lots of veggies. I know this is a keeper not because I loved it so much, but because my 2 year olds ate every bite. Even the broccoli.1 pound chicken breast (about 2 breasts), cubed3 scallions, whites only, thinly sliced on an angle2 ...
Beans, Beans, Good for Your…Pasta
Let me tell you a little about myself. I love tulips, trashy novels, my kids and beans. Especially white beans. I could eat them every day and have been eating them every day for the last week. I made a BIG pot of white beans from dry beans and have been using them in cooking all week. Pretty soon, I ran out of ideas. I was digging through the fridge to see what I had for ...
Rising to the Occasion – Sourdough Part Deux
I have been meaning to get this posted for the last few days. The luscious loaf you see here is long gone now, and has currently been replaced by another. That's the beauty of sourdough starter. With very little effort you can easily make endless loaves of bread for a very long time. The older the starter is the better it becomes, gaining more and more depth with every feeding. ...
Starting Something – Sourdough Part 1
Gloom and Doom. That's the word on the street these days. Everyone is tightening their belts and pinching their pennies in case they lose their job, inflation skyrockets, or the nation collapses in on itself. Whatever the reasoning there is no doubt that people are looking for more and more ways to spend less. Well, I'm throwing my idea into the hat...make some dough. ...
Broiled Sesame Ginger Chicken
When it comes to chicken quarters, I feel that the possibilities are slightly limited. Maybe that's what makes them so cheap. Even so, I buy a lot of chicken quarters. It's hard to beat 59 cents a pound. Therefore, I am always on the look out for recipes using chicken quarters. I think one of the secrets to cooking chicken quarters ,or any other meat for that matter, is having ...
The End – Pork Tacos
So, just in case you are just now tuning in, I have been making meals from one pork loin that I cooked on Monday. Last night was the very end of the pork loin, and it was just as tasty at the end as it was at the beginning. To catch you up the first meal was a Spice Rubbed Pork Loin, then we moved on to a Mostly Moo Shu Pork Stir Fry , and then last night wrapped up Pork Week ...