Butter

Along with the banana bead I got this butter at the farmers market. It is the best butter we almost died when we had it on a biscuit and it was pretty darn good on the banana bread.
It is made by some Amish people and is well worth getting.

Banana Bread

I know we posted this before I think with out a picture. Our pecans just make it so much better.
1/2 cup butter room temp.
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed banana about 3
1/2 cup pecans (we added just a few more)
/2 cup sour cream
cream butter,sugar,eggs and vanilla
add dry ingredients then bananas,nuts and sour cream
Mix well then pour in 1 large greased loaf pan
bake in preheated oven 350 for 1 hour.
let cool then take out of pan.

Deer leg and roast

pull apart shoulder

roast roast

shoulder

shoulder
We were lucky to be given three pieces to deer. One we had ground meat made up and the other two pieces we roasted in the oven. We still have meat in the freezer from these two pieces. We went ahead and cooked them as we have a small chest freezer and we didn't have room for much else. This was cooked on two different weekends. We did the shoulder first and the roast (we think that was what it was) two weeks later. Needles to say we have ate a lot of deer meat.

On both we pretty much did the same thing.
This is an all day event so plan accordingly. Once its in the oven its just a mater of time.
Using a dry rub of your choice (we used DJ's the same we used on the pork butts) and wrapped it in plastic and placed in the frig over night.
The next morning place in roasting pan add more of the seasonings then sprinkle with olive oil. Add onions,carrots,celery.
Place in 325. oven uncovered.
after one hour pour apple juice, beer or chicken stock (we used apple juice) cover and cook for 6 to 8 hours till it falls apart.
On the second one we placed slices of bacon on top to give it some more fat.

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas. Sweetie Pie got a little festive this year. Still hoping we can find Baby Girl a home. She is real shy but after we get her out from behind the bed she loves to be petted.
I will post some new food this coming week as I have been busy with work. They have me working some crazy hours this year so not much new cooking has been going on. We have revisited some of our older recipes but we have got a few e new ones that were real tasty.
Sweetie Pie got a little festive this year.

Sunday Cat Baby Girl Needs a home !

About 2 months ago this baby showed up barley able to walk. She would flop over if she got excited or if Mommy Socks or Gin Gin got near her. And of course Gin Gin did not want her around and would go pop her. She would sit on the edge of the patio till all the other cats had eaten then she would creep up to the bowl. Wife has been sitting out every morning, afternoon and night talking to her and moving the food bowl closer to her. We thought she may have had a broken leg or back by her actions. We were afraid we would hurt her if we made a grab for her and if we missed it would take a long time for her to get close again. And she was doing better since she had some food.
All the outside kitties know when we whistle its feeding time(even the opossum and coons come). So we have to guard them from the unwanted critters while they eat.
With the cold weather wife decided Sunday she had to make a go of catching her. Success, she was grabbed placed in a pillow case and brought in the house to a large carrier and only bit once while petting her.
Monday it was off to the vet. Poor baby knew we were cat people as she loved being petted and really liked her face rubbed. She was real good at the vets and they ran all the virus test (FLV,FIV,HW). She was clean and vaccines and rabies shots given, spayed and x rays showed no broken bones so they are not sure why she has trouble walking. It could have been from a tick or a blood clot.
If any one can give this sweet baby a inside home please let us know. It would be best if there were no other cats or maybe one female as she can not defend herself well.

Cheese Ravioli with Shrimp Tomato Sauce

This is a Taste of Home Recipe and they always have good ones. we picked up some cheese ravioli from Sams as we have not made our own yet.
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste
2 packages ( 9 oz each) fresh or frozen cheese ravioli
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (we used half and half)
1/2 lb shrimp (peeled)
1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese (we used more)
1 Tablespoon minced chives
Process tomatoes in blender till pureed
In a large skillet,saute onion in butter until clear. Stir in flour until blended. Bring to a boil and stir till thickened.
Add tomatoes,brown sugar,bay leaf,clove,basil,salt and pepper to onion mixture. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer and cover for about 10 minutes.
Cook ravioli according to package. Remove bay leaf and clove from sauce. Gradually sir in cream, add shrimp and heat till shrimp turn pink.
Drain ravioli top with sauce, cheese and chives.

Pecans

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I want to thank my sister for cooking all the good food. We brought deviled eggs and a sweet potato casserole and forgot to take a picture. Ooh well that just means we will have to make another one. They are like a desert really.
And this year our pecan trees have pecans. The last two years they did not do good and we ran out of pecans. Wife has been cracking like a little squirrel, and still has a few bags to go. We have about 3 gallon bags put up and some sent to mother in law a friend and sister in law.
Wife has been under the weather the last few days and only wanting sprite and cheese and crackers so I have not been cooking. She got sick standing in the drizzle and rain last week trying to catch a kitten. She did get her Sunday night.

Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya

This is the first time I tried a jambalaya not from a box. It turned out real good and now we may try my mother in laws next time. We got this from a book called Beyond Grits and Gravy and it has some nice recipes in it.
2 medium onions chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 ribs celery chopped
1 large green pepper chopped
2/3 cups uncooked rice
2 cups chicken broth
8 oz chicken cooked and cubed
1 16 oz can stewed tomatoes
8 oz shrimp
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 pepper
salt to taste
and we added some red pepper flakes because we like it hot and a little Zaterans.
In hot (large) skillet cook onions,garlic,celery, and bell pepper until tender.
Add remaining ingredients
Bring to a boil, cover reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes or till rice is done, stirring occasionally.

Sunday Cats

Stinker loves this cool weather.
I have some real weird hours that I have to work this week like at night so I will not be home for dinner and we have been making some of our older recipes and not any much new.
Also I.m back to 5 days a week sure will miss having Friday off. We did our regular shopping Saturday and it was a mad house. We get spoiled by shopping on Fridays.
I would like to tell everyone in Jackson of a new Mex Restaurant called El Mezquite Grill.
This just opened at metro center mall. Our go to Mexican restaurant has been Salsa.s But we were really impressed the two times we went here. In fact we brought home food both times.
They did a good chili relleno last time and one of the best tamales I've had. They also bring a bowl of looks like black beans with cheese dip with your chips and salsa. We really like this and are going to see if we can duplicate it. The restaurant its self is very nice inside so go give it a try.

Spinich Pinwheel appetizers

Our computer went haywire after some thing happened on some update. I had to reload everything and on the email I could not find the paper with our pass words for it. Its hell getting old and can't find stuff. A long with that we had to make something for the reception at the Crystal Springs Art show and I had to wait on getting the computer back up and running.
Here is the pinwheels they looked real pretty and would look real festive for Christmas with a sliver of red pepper rolled in the middle for color.
2 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained and squeezed dry with paper towels.
1 8 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 envelope ranch dip mix
1 jar bacon bits or to taste
4 green onions chopped
1 8 count flour tortillas
Mix cream cheese,sour ream and mayonnaise
add green onions bacon bits and spinach mixing thoroughly
spread mixture onto tortillas leaving 1/2 inch all around edge
roll up tightly and wrap in plastic
chill over night or at least several hours
cut end off and slice in 1/2 or 1/4 size.

Sunday Cats

This is wife's painting of Wolfie and Trouble from the above picture. Fads and Frames had some straw hay bales and she thought they looked good sitting on the bale of hay.

Cheddar and Green Onion Biscuits

How can anyone not like a biscuit. The green onion make the biscuit.
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (we like the sharp for more flavor)
4 medium green onions sliced about 1/4 cup
2 Tablespoons butter.
Preheat oven 450.
Stir Bisquick,milk,cheese and onions until soft dough forms
drop rounded teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet
Bake 7 to 9 minutes remove and brush with warm butter.

Broccoli Rice Casserole

This is a really old recipe I had and have not made it in a very long time. Found it going threw my recipes the other day and thought I would make it again. Must say as a side dish it makes a LOT. I did think as we wee eating it if we added diced chicken and made it a main meal it it would have been better. May give it a try next time. Also this is the first time I have used Velveeta cheese other than making the rotel dip in I don't know when.
2 cups cooked rice
1 small box frozen broccoli.... cooked
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup onion (we added more)
1/4 cup celery *we also added more)
can of mushrooms or fresh if you want to
one small box Velveeta cheese cubed about 2 cups
saute onion and celery in butter or olive oil till clear
mix all ingredients together and place in a buttered baking dish and cook at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Wife did good

Just wanted to congratulate wife on her work at the VAA this past Sat. She got second place in oils for her Green Tomatoes and an honorable mention on Barn yard cats. Better yet The figs and bowl got purchased so it has a new wall to hang on. Yea. I will put up the barnyard cats this Sunday but here is the figs and tomatoes. It is food related.
Our friend Lisa also got 1st place in Photography Mono with her shadow people. Two of wife's past teachers got first place in oil Ms A and Ms McCarty in mixed media.
All in all it was a nice show with some real good goodies.

Sunday Cat

Wolfie wishing every one a safe and happy Halloween.

Mexican roasted corn in skillet

We love the flavors used in Mexican corn on the cob so we justed adapted it to a skillet.
We use two ears of corn for us off the cob.
Place in cast iron skillet
corn.
1 Tablespoons butter,
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon mayo
1/2 cup feta cheese. (can use monterry jack)
1 Tablespoon cilantro can add extra for garnish.
mix well and place in 375 heated oven.
after taken out of oven sprinkle with lime juice to taste.

Wifes paintings

You are the first to see this one its called Maw Maw's fig bowl.
Wife said that she always remembers her grandmother had fig preserves in this bowl when they went to visit. Now we also use it for figs.
Just wanted to invite any one around Vicksburg this Sat. to the Vicksburg Art Association's big fall show. Reception is 8 to 10 at the old Firehouse Gallery at 1204 Main Street.

Spinich and Artichoke Poppers

We see poppers all over the blogs and have not tried one yet. We had some of the spinach and artichoke we could not get in the bowl. So why not put it in some jalapenos.
USE gloves or we used plastic bag to clean out the seeds. And wash your hands afterwards.
Place mixture in pepper Top with cheese and place under broiler a few minutes till pepper is cooked.

Spinich and artichokes

This is a repeat as when I posted it the first time I did not have a photo.
It is also a recipe that was very popular a few years ago. Its some cheesy goodness.
10 0z box of frozen spinach
1 pkg of cream cheese cut in cubes
1 Tablespoon butter
1 small onion chopped
1 small jar marinated artichokes drained and chopped
1 teaspoon garlic
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
mushrooms chopped(optional)
To taste
salt
pepper
Greek seasonings (Cavenders)
Parsley
Basil
Red pepper,white pepper
Pre heat oven to 350
Cook spinach according directions on box, Pour in a colander and drain well.
In same pan melt butter and cook onion till clear then add artichoke and garlic stirring about 2 minutes. Now add spinach till warm.
Turn off heat and add cut up cream cheese and 3/4 of the Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, heavy cream blending well. Add seasonings to taste.
Pour into ovenproof dish, sprinkle with rest of Parmesan cheese and bake for 15 to 20 minutes till hot and bubbly. We also add mushrooms and mozzarella cheese

Beef Shawerma

Yum Yum we just love the seasonings we got from Aladdin's grocery in Jackson.
We took a rib eye steak and sliced it in thin slices and covered it with the seasonings and olive oil and let sit overnight.
Place on grill and cook. Does not take long in these small strips.
We had roasted potatoes and most everyone knows how to do this but we do add onion and basil and rosemary to the Lipton onion mix.
The humus recipe can be found on the side and I will post the other dishes this week.

Sunday Cat

Spooky Boo looking all Halloween. He is a beauty but a terror in the house. All the other cats run and hiss when he is around.

Pizza

Well we have the Bisquick and they have a thick crust pizza recipe we thought we would try.
It was ok but we felt like we were eating a Bisquick pizza. Will have to search out another crust. The toppings were good and we will have to try again. Also it said to beat the dough vigorously but there was no way had to knead it .
3 cups original Bisquick
2/3 cups hot water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/14 cup spaghetti sauce
favorite toppings (we used hot Italian sausage, cooked. Mushrooms, bell pepper and red onion.)
1 1/2 mozzarella cheese
Heat oven to 425 and use lowest rack position
Mix Bisquick water and oil until dough forms beating vigorously 20 strokes and let stand 8 minutes.
Grease pan and press dough around pinching edges to form rim.
Spread sauce and toppings all around

place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or till cheese is melted. (Our cooks in the 15 minuet range so set the timer at 15 to check and if need more time or not)

Bisquick Pancakes

We have had a craving for some pancakes lately. I know not on the diet but it has been a really long time since we had any. And we really like the Bisquick ones like I had as a kid.
So go out and get a box of Bisquick and follow the directions. And they did not pay me anything for this blog but all donations are welcome.

Cornbread

We had the pork and cabbage and of course we had to have cornbread. Now the jiffy mix is good but we wanted a real sothern cornbread.

2 cups yellow self rising cornmeal
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoons bacon grease
3 Tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
we used a 10 inch cast iron skillet
Preheat oven to 425
In cast iron skillet place butter and place in oven to melt just don't let it scorch.
put cornmeal in bowl with sugar in top.
In another bowl beat eggs add milk and bacon grease mix well. Add cornmeal with sugar and stir till cornmeal lumps are broken up and mixed in (do not over mix)
Take pan out of oven and make sure butter is covering pan good. Spoon cornbread batter in pan.
Place in oven and cook15 to 20 minutes(we did 15)
Now enjoy.

Sunday Cat

This is a picture of Whiskers before we brought him in the house with the others. It took wife a while to get him and siblings to trust her.

Cabbage and Country style Pork ribs

We found a good many dishes using red cabbage and county style pork ribs, but we had half of head of green cabbage. So we used a little of this and a little of that and came up with this one. By the way this is wife's dish she came up with and it sure smelled good coming home.
Two large country style rib
1/2 head of green cabbage cut up
salt and pepper to tast
2 tablespoons veg oil
1/2 large onion or one small onion chopped
one chicken bullion cube dissolved in water. (enough to cover pork a little over half way
as much lemon pepper as you want.
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar.
Season ribs with salt,pepper and lemon pepper sear on all sides in oil over med high heat till brown.
Add water and half of onions bring to a boil and turn down to simmer and cover. Cook about 2 hours turning every 20 minutes and check the water level adding more if needed. meat should be pulling away from bone.
Now turn up heat to boil and add rest of onions,cabbage add little more salt,pepper and lemon pepper, and red wine viniger and a few red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to simmer again and cover cooking till cabbage is tender stiring occasionally about 45 minutes.
This was really good and we cooked some again and ate it over rice.

The Green Goddess and cole slaw

When I was growing up Green Goddess was my moms favorite salad dressing and we have rediscovered it this past summer. As you can see there is very little left in the bottle and not wanting to waste it we decided to add it to our Cole slaw and it was great. Just use our recipe on the side bar for Cole slaw and add 2 Tablespoons to the cold slaw or add till it is the right taste for you. Just be careful that you stop taste tasting at some point.

Chicken on a pot

We were given a clay chicken cooker that we have not used till now. Must admit we are lazy and buy the roasted chickens from Sam's all the time. To buy a whole chicken and cook yourself we could not see any or much savings in $. We did have a hen in the freezer and decided to give this a try it is like beer can chicken. We also did a first for us by brining over night. Biggest problem this posed was finding room in the frig.
Brine

1 gallon warm water, 3/4 cup kosher salt,2/3 cup sugar,3/4 cup soy sauce,1/4 soy sauce,olive oil, lemon slices. We threw in a few pepper flakes because we wanted to. Place chicken and leave in refrigerator overnight.

Now you can use any liquid in the little well, it is the moisture cooking on the inside that is supposed to do the trick. We used a mixture of soy sauce and pineapple. Place the but of chicken on cone after pouring on liquid. We also poured some of the juice on chicken and place on indirect heat on grill( drip pan in middle just in case with coals pushed to both sides.) The nice thing with this little clay thingy is the juices stay in the well. But this was originally done with a can of beer.
We tried to tuck the wings in but they just came flapping out during the cooking.Cook for about 2 hours for a small bird and 4 for a large. We use a temp gauge to test doneness. Best gadget I ever bought.
This was a very juicy and tasty chicken. If we find some on sale we will do this again.

Summer Squash with Baked eggs

This dish comes from food network.
This was ok for us but it did not knock our socks off. I guess our taste buds crave a little more excitement but it was a good way to use up some summer squash. This also made a lot so for those out there feeding more than two it is a good side dish.

2 lbs summer squash we used yellow and zucchini.
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil _ another 2 Tablespoons
2 shallots (we used yellow onion)
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon paprika + more for sprinkling
1/2 lb tomatoes chopped
4 oz goat cheese (chevre)
1/4 cup basil sliced and extra for garnish
4 eggs
black pepper
Cut off ends of squash and using a grater or food processor grate the squash. Combine 1 Tablespoon salt and let drain in a colander in sink for about 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 375
In an oven proof skillet heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Add onions garlic and paprika and cook till tender and fragrant.
Squeeze as much of the liquid out from the squash, add to the skillet along with the tomatoes.
Cook until the mixture is tender and no longer releasing liquid, about 10 minutes.
Remove skillet from heat and stir in goat cheese and basil.
Smooth the mixture in skillet and make 4 wells with the back of a spoon and crack an egg in each one.
Sprinkle salt and pepper and paprika over eggs. Bake until egg whites and yolks are set about 10 minutes Garnish with basil and crusty bread.

By the way I have been having trouble loading my pictures. After 3 days of this I went back to my old template wish they would quit trying to improve something that works for me already. Now I have the dang spaces I can't get rid of with out going in to the html.

Sunday Cats

Wife was setting up a still life with these cute pumpkins and of course everyone had to come look and check it out. Heres our Spookie Boo looking like a halloween cat.

Shrimp and jalapeno cream sauce

We have to thank the site Cajun Delight for this one. http://cajundelights.blogspot.com/ This was good but next time we think we could get away just mixing in the skillet instead to heating the house with the oven.
Cook pasta acording to directions and set aside.
1 lb shrimp
1 Tablespoons cajun seasonings
1/2 cup onion chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 Teaspoon thyme
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated.
Saute in a large skillet onions, celery, garlic, and bell pepper for about 5 minutes. Then add shrimp and thyme and cook for another 10 minutes stiring often. Add pasta  and shrimp mix and add in casserolle dish.
 Jalapeno Cream Sauce
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped fine
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoon veg. oil
salt to taste
1/3 shipping cream
2/3 cup sour cream
Saute peppers and garlic in oil over low heat stiring frequently about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and whipping cream and salt mix well.
Pour over shrimp and pasta and sprinkle cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 350 or till bubbley.

Sunday Cats

We have had some cooler weather and the boys are all huddled up together.They are all asleep expect the one looking out the window at the hummers. They are so fat they can hardly fly. We are getting some coming threw and tanking up as they are smaller or slimmer.

Black Crowder Peas

We got some Black crowder peas at the farmers market to put up and they are a little different than the regular crowder peas we usually get they are smaller.(wife prefers the other or regular ones just what she grew up with) They were very good and as you see we have some put up in the freezer. We cooked thes like our last batch of the oldfashioned crower peas the recipe can be found on the side bar.