Search Results for “Recipes” – Page 9 – So Does That Mean I'm SOUTHERN? (2024)

Posted on May 4, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

I purchased the Crock Pot Recipe Collection Cookbook during the cold winter months. I have really enjoyed reading it and like the idea of making different types of recipes in my crock pot. On a recent Sunday we had many different obligations and I decided the crock pot was going to be a great way to prepare our main meal of the day. As I read through the cookbook, this recipe really appealed to me. The aroma of the Parmesan Chicken was so welcoming on a busy day. As the pasta was cooking, I made a salad and put some prepared garlic bread in the oven. Everything was ready quickly and enjoyed very much by Mr. D and I.

As you read the recipe you will see they recommend on step 3 to sprinkle cheese over the chicken and cook for ten more minutes. We chose to add the cheese to the sauce at the table as it was being served.

This will definitely be something that I will prepare again soonand I do plan to use my crock pot even in the summertime.

Our family will be visiting for a very short time in June and as much as I love to cook, spending time with our grandchildren will be our top priority. I hope you are having an easy Monday and thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in Cookbooks, crockpot, Meat, pasta, recipes, Uncategorized and tagged chicken, crock pot recipe collection recipe, crockpot chicken, crockpot chicken parmesan, parmesan. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on April 20, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

Yard sale season is approaching and on Saturday there was a yard sale at a local church and we bought a few things. I was extremely happy when I saw the Hungry For Home Cookbook by Amy Rogers so without hesitation, I bought it. Amy is a food essayist for public radio and a founding editor of Novello Festival Press. This book shares recipes from the Carolina mountains to the Lowcountry. Some of our state’s most prolific writers are contributors. I enjoy reading the stories that are written about the recipes of home cooks all over North Carolina.

Even though I wasn’t able to attend on Saturday, I was also super excited because the Hickory Farmer’s Market opened for the season. One of my favorite vendors at the market is a lady that has wonderful fresh salad greens. I have never been disappointed with any of the fresh lettuce I have purchased from her.

When I saw the recipe for Killed Lettuce and Onions by Sheri Moretz, I knew I wanted to share it with you. I remember my Mother and Grandmother making this in the Spring. As a young child, I just remember the smell and with the cooked onions I thought it smelled very unappetizing. Later on, I was brave enough to give it a try and instantly loved them. The combination of the onion, lettuce and bacon when it is blended perfectly together is a wonderful combination. Sheri gives specific instruction on killing the lettuce and I think that would be the key in having the best results. She recommends this as a side for pinto beans and cornbread and I think I would be a happy girl with the killed lettuce and onions and fried cornbread. YUM!!!

Sherri lives in Boone, N.C., the town where she was born and attended Appalachian State. She currently works at Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. The pictures are from one of our recent visits to the historic store in Valle Crucis. So does it mean I am Southern because I love Killed Lettuce and Onions? I certainly hope so.

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Posted in Cookbooks, Salads, Uncategorized, Vegetables and tagged Amy Rogers, Hungry for Home, Killed Lettuce and Onions, Lettuce, Mast General Store, North Carolina Recipes, onions, Valle Crucis. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on April 16, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

Last week Mr. D and I went to Applebee’s for a meal. We don’t eat out a lot and that is one of our favorite restaurants. As I was sitting there, I began to realize our eating out had just become a habit and a part of our routine. I enjoy going out to eat but I love to cook too. When we got our check I told Mr D who has always treated me to this meal that this has to stop. I really surprised myself when I told him that. Being a foodie, I love to try new ways of preparing food. I would never be a person that would eat Octopus or something strange but I do like new cooking ideas and techniques. However, I think our eating out has become routine and a little mundane. Mr. D and I talked about it and decided that we would make more meals at home and concentrate on making something really special at least once a week.

I wanted to share an extra special dish with you today and I thought of Ina Garten’s truffled mashed potatoes that I made for Easter. After reading several of Ina’s books I have become a fan of truffle butter and so the mashed potatoes sounded wonderful. They were easy to make and Ina’s directions in her recipe were easy to follow. Mr. D loved this dish and I think if you follow Ina’s philosopy of having one or two special dishes at a meal they will really shine and you can serve basic recipes with them.

I will give you one hint in preparing these and that is when you add the hot truffle cream do it very slowly and stop and see how thick it gets before you add more. I did add to much at one time and it was a little soupy. It did thicken up as we warmed it for leftovers. This is definitely a family favorite now and it is fairly easy to make. I would say it is definitely restaurant quality.

I will continue to write posts as we experiment with preparing restaurant quality meals at home. I think going out to eat will become a special occasion for us and hopefully preparing meals together at home will become special occasions for us too.

I hope you have a special weekend and thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in Cookbooks, recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables and tagged Ina Garten's Foolproof Cookbook, Ina Garten's Truffled Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes., potatoes. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on April 13, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

Summer is my favorite time of the year. In the South, I know we can become drenched in humidity but I really think that is a trade off for the idea of not having to bundle up in a coat to go outside. One of my favorite things about summer is the vegetables. I subscribe to a blog by another North Carolina resident, Arthur, and he is preparing his vegetable garden. Just reading about the preparation makes me think of the wonderful summer tomatoes, cabbage, zucchini, cucumber, peppers and I could just go on and on. Here is a link to Arthur’s blog and I think you will enjoy it: http://arthur-in-the-garden.com/

I think corn bread served with fresh vegetables is just the perfect addition to a wonderful summer meal. I saw the recipe I am sharing with you today and it is from the cookbook, the Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peaco*ck. In the introduction to the recipe they mention other recipes in the cookbook that would be great with the corn cakes. Unfortunately, I chose this cookbook from the library and did not save the recipes they referred to. However, I think the comments just prove that homemade corn bread will go with just about anything. I think you can substitute store bought baking powder for the homemade that is referred to in the recipe.

I am aware of the Southern tradition of serving corn cakes made out of corn meal with cane syrup; however, I have never tried it. It does sound good and especially if you are having breakfast for supper. I love to do that sometimes.

I love to plant flowers in the Spring and Mr. D and I worked in our yard on Saturday and moved some plants and shrubs around that needed to be divided or would thrive in a different area of our yard. We don’t garden at all but we certainly enjoy going to the Farmer’s Market and buying all the wonderful bounty of fruits and vegetables of Summer.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted on April 9, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

As I reflect on growing up in the South, I remember how my Mother would complain about fixing the same old meals all the time. Add to that the fact that my Daddy was a meat and potatoes man and would not eat any dish that was combined such as spaghetti, etc. Thinking about that, I now realize the ingredients and options were so limited for my Mother’s generation. When I started to write this post, I thought of growing up and never hearing of stir frying anything. Wow, I do believe my Mother had a legitimate complaint and I now understand why so many dishes were repeated.

The recipe I am sharing today is from the local Hickory Living magazine and is credited to Bird’s Eye frozen vegetables. I prepared this last week as I was also preparing for Easter. Needless to say, I didn’t want to make another trip to the store so I am showing you the ingredients that was called for in the recipe and then show you how I adapted the ingredients to what was available in my kitchen.

As I read through the ingredients, I realized I did not have an orange so I substituted with three of the small mandarin oranges and used the juice and zest from them. I did not have any frozen broccoli but I had frozen mixed vegetables that included carrots, broccoli and cauliflower so I used that package. I did not have any fresh ginger so I used a teaspoon of dry ginger powder. I did not have any rice wine vinegar and don’t think I would use it for any other recipes so I did not include it in my mixture. I was so happy about the results of this recipe because the chicken is breaded and is crispy and I liked the texture of the chicken. I did not use bread crumbs for my chicken but I used panko crumbs that has become a favorite for me.

Here is what I did.

Blended orange juice soy sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl: set aside.

Heat oil over medium high heat and cook chicken, turning once. 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, Remove from skillet and keep warm.

In the same skillet add the broccoli or selected frozen vegetables, mix and cook, stirring occasionally. 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender.

Add garlic and ginger and cook for one to two more minutes. Stir in orange juice mixture, orange zest, chicken stock and rice wine vinegar. (The rice wine vinegar is the ingredient I left out of my dish.) Cook stirring occasionally for three minutes or until sauce is bubbly and starts to thicken. Add cooked chicken back into the pan and let flavors combine for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

Mr. D and I really enjoyed this dish and I was so happy with the crispy chicken. We will definitely have this again. I am very thankful that we have so many options for preparing meals for our family now. Just imagine not having Mexican, Chinese or Italian restaurants. When I was growing up in the 60’s in a small town in North Carolina I didn’t even know what take-out pizza was.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in Meat, recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables and tagged orange chicken, orange chicken with broccoli, stir fry chicken with vegetables. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on April 2, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

When I started to prepare my menu for Easter, I was browsing through my Ina Garten cookbooks. As I read one of her recipes for potato salad she stated that most Potato Salad was boring. That really surprised me and if you have read this blog often you know that I love Ina Garten but I didn’t agree with that statement. I loved my Mother’s potato salad and I loved my Mother-in-laws potato salad. Most of the time, I love my potato salad too. Last weekend, I made potato salad for us and that is something I usually include in my holiday meals. However, Mr. D and I are being quite unconventional as far as our Easter meal is concerned. However, I was craving potato salad. As I was making it I kept thinking of what Ina said and I think I included everything I could think of in my potato salad. I asked Mr. D if it was boring and he said he that it was very good. Here is how I made it.

Not So Boring Potato Salad

4 russet baking potatoes

1/3 cup of sour cream

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

2 tablespoons of mustard

2 tablespoons of durkee’s sauce

1/2 cup of chopped purple onion

1/2 cup of chopped sweet colored peppers

1 medium size jar of choppedpimento drained

2 tablespoons of sweet pickle chips

2 tablespoons of celery seeds

2 tablespoons of taragon

I to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

I baked the unpeeled potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees until done. I let them cool and then I peeled them and cut them into small cubes. I put them in a large mixing bowl and added the other ingredients. If the potato salad does not seem creamy enough, you can add more mayonnaise or sour cream.

Usually, I am inspired greatly by the recipes in Ina Garten’s cookbooks and we will be having her truffle mashed potatoes and argula salad with her homemade dressing as sides for our Easter meal. However, this time I think I was inspired to make a very tasty potato salad from the one comment I read in Ina’s cookbook. Maybe Ina hasn’t been lucky enough to taste a Southern cook’s potato salad.

For our Easter meal Mr. D and I will have the following:

Steaks on the grill prepared by Mr. D (they are always a favorite for me)

Argula Salad with homemade dressing of lemon juice and olive oil

Truffle mashed potatoes

Deviled eggs

Blackberry cobbler for Mr. D and I am going to make the bunny cake I blogged about earlier. It will be a nice break from the many years of preparing so many traditional Easter meals and will be a very relaxing day for us after church services.

I am including a special note for my Southern soul sister and fellow blogger, Seasweetie. I know the NCAA tournament is this weekend and Duke University is in the final four. Just for you, I will say, “Go Duke.” I hope you know how special you are because I can promise you I haven’t ever uttered those words before.

May each and every one of you have a Blessed and Happy Easter. Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in Cookbooks, recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables and tagged potato salad, Southern potato salad. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on March 19, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

Mr. D and I are big fans of the TV show American Pickers. I am amazed at the people here in the US that have such enormous collections of so many different things. As we were watching an episode the other night I commented to Mr. D that I don’t collect anything. He gave me one of those looks that can only be shared by married couples as if I had lost my mind. He told me he wanted me to think about that statement and then think about books. Oh Dear!!! He was right. Nothing makes me any happier than getting a new book and to receive a new cookbook is the best thing ever.

I had lunch with my friend Dixie this week and she brought me a cookbook. Of course that made me very happy and I love Dixie because she likes to cook too and we share lots of food experiences. The cookbook she brought me was from Williamsburg and I love to visit that historic place in Virginia. As I have been browsing through the cookbook, I have been thinking of great options for Easter and I saw the recipes I am sharing with you today. I love to serve coconut or something lemony for Easter and either one of these would be a great choice.

By the way, the ingredient in the parfait recipe that refers to top milk refers to the cream or milk that rises to the top. I think you should be able to use whole, skim or 2 percent milk. I included the maple sugar ice cream recipe because I thought it was a little unusual and would be good any time of the year.

The name of this cookbook is from Williamsburg Kitchens by Kay Willard and was published in 1968. Isn’t it wonderful to have friends that are thinking about you and present you a gift that they know you will love so much.

Of course if you have been reading my blog for a long time, you know that my favorite macaroons come from the Solvang Bakery in Solvang, California. If you have some of their macaroons you don’t even need to make a parfait. Yum, Yum!!! Here is a link to their website: Solvang Bakery.com

Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in baking, Cookbooks, desserts, recipes, Uncategorized and tagged easter dessert recipes, lemon pudding, lemon sponge pudding, macaroon, macaroon parfait, maple sugar ice cream, parfait, solvang bakery, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Recipes. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on March 16, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

I am really looking forward to Spring this year. Next week we will have several days that will have temperatures in the 70’s. I think I am more excited about Spring this year because I am not working in the afternoons and l love the idea of spending pretty spring weather outside. As Easter approaches I start thinking of brunch. One of my favorite meals is when Mr. D and I prepare brunch for my Mother’s Day celebration and lot’s of times we do the same on Father’s Day. I will not be preparing Easter brunch this year but I do plan to have brunch for us sometime in the month of April.

The other day I glanced over at my cookbook shelf and saw my Pirate House Cookbook from Savannah, Georgia. I realized I had not shared many of their recipes with you recently. I have such fond memories of eating at the Pirate House and their cookbook is one of my absolute favorites. I love the way they prepare so many Southern traditional foods so simply but so deliciously. As I browsed through the cookbook I saw the recipes I am sharing with you today.

The first recipe would be a great brunch recipe if you are having a large family celebration for Easter. You can prepare the casserole the night before and refrigerate it. As it is baking in the oven, you can prepare the other dishes for your brunch. I think this sounds delicious with the sausage and eggs along with the swiss cheese. The only other thing you would need to prepare is fruit and if you are making a southern brunch you need some grits. Keep reading.

I also love the recipes below for either a grits souffle or cheese grits. I have made a cheese souffle before but I love to think of challenging myself again and giving the grits souffle a try. Cheese and grits are such a wonderful creamy combination.

So as Spring approaches I think of the beautiful city of Savannah and the wonderful people and places that make that city so special. Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in baking, casseroles, Cookbooks, Meat, recipes, Uncategorized and tagged brunch casserole, brunch recipes, cheese grits, georgia, grits, grits souffle, pirate house cookbook recipes, savannah. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on March 12, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

This is ACC tournament weekend here in North Carolina and I wanted to feature a recipe today from the state. Oh, of course, I could have made a Carolina hamburger because we do put cole slaw on our burgers but being a big NC State fan, I couldn’t do that. I could have featured a barbecue recipe but I wanted something just a little different. I am not a Duke fan for sure but they do have a very strong basketball program. Coach K was a real good friend of the late and great Jim Valvano from NC State so that kind of justifies the recipe.

As the days have become warmer and we reached almost a record of 80 degrees here yesterday, I have been looking for recipes that are a little lighter. I have eaten Spinach Lasagna before but never made it. When I saw this recipe it really peaked my interest and I think it needs to go into my “Recipes I will make” file. The recipe is from the cookbook, “Come to the Table: by the congregation at Duke University Chapel. So see it really isn’t from the school at all.

Our temperatures change so much this time of year in the foothills of North Carolina. Tomorrow our temperature will not be over 50 and it is to rain all day. This would be a great dish on such a cold day.

By the way, NC State will play Duke tonight in the tournament. I am not superstitious or anything like that but I wouldn’t dare feature a recipe from NC State because I am afraid that would hurt their chances and they would lose tonight. Go State!!! And by the way, always pull for State because there is only one State – NC State.

Hope you have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in casseroles, Cookbooks, pasta, recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables and tagged Duke University Chapel Recipe, Lasagna, Our temO, spinach, spinach lasagna. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on March 9, 2015 by So Does That Mean I'm Southern

Yesterday afternoon it was over 70 degrees here in the foothills of North Carolina. I had chosen to make this chocolate banana dessert for our Sunday lunch and it was a good choice. Sometimes I think I find recipes but I must say this recipe found me. I was using the last of my honey graham crackers and crushing the box to throw it away. I noticed a recipe on the back of it for the chocolate banana dessert. It seemed easy to make and I realized I could use the sugar free chocolate or vanilla pudding and it would be great for Mr. D. When I started to make the dessert, I realized I did not have sugar free vanilla pudding but sugar free banana cream pudding. I made the substitution and the dessert was very good.

The only thing that was confusing for me was in step two and the explanation of the use of the graham crackers. You crush 7 graham squares, arrange 14 graham squares and 1 rectangle on the bottom of the pan and place another layer of 14 squares and 1 rectangle on top of the vanilla pudding. The 7 crushed grahams are used in step three for the garnish.

I know I will make this dessert again and I look forward to experimenting with different pudding flavors and fruits. Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in desserts, fruit, Recipe - Diabetic, recipes, Uncategorized and tagged banana graham cake, chocolate pudding cake, Honey Grahams Chocolate Banana Dessert, Low sugar refrigerator cake, vanilla pudding cake. Bookmark the permalink.

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