Holly Cessna 1989-2012

On Friday January 6 my niece Holly died peacefully in her sleep.
She was a cancer survivor of five years.
There are holes in my heart were family and friends used to be,
Holly’s is a little bigger.
Will be back to cooking soon.

Tamale Casserole

I found this under Group Recipes as I was looking for a Tamale casserole. Now I love Tamales but I do not need dozens of them so I was hoping for a casserole that might do the trick. Well I guess we will just have to get them from the new restaurant we have been eating at. The Mesquite grill at the metro center in Jackson.
We have had several things from their menu now and must say they do have some good tamales.
Back to this recipe. We had a pablano pepper left over from the soup we made so we thought we would use it in this dish.

1 lb ground beef(we have deer meat and used that)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small bell pepper chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 can whole tomatoes (we used a can of diced)
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 cans corn (drained)
1 can chopped green chilies
2 eggs slightley beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 pablano pepper seeded and chopped (this is optional)
1/4 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a large skillet saute the ground beef. Add bell pepper,celery and onion and cook until beef is coked and onions onion is clear.

Add tomatoes with liquid, cornmeal and corn blend well then add eggs, salt,pepper, chili pepper and cumin and paplano pepper and ground beef mixture mix and pour into 2quart deep casserole with lid or or use foil

Cover and bake for 45 minutes or till casserole is set
Remove and sprinkle with cheese bake till cheese is melted.
Garnish with olives, avocado and sour cream

Pablano Shrimp Corn Chowder/Soup

This is a terrible picture for such a good soup. It says its a chowder but for me a chowder is thicker than this. Who knows maybe I got it wrong.

It also was not nearly as hot as I thought it would be. Wife has ruined me, I can take more heat than I used to. It does have a lot of ingredients but does not take a long time to cook most time is spent in the prep work.

1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined cut in half or more if very large. wife likes bite size so she gets a little with each spoonful.
1 Tablespoon butter
3-4 slices bacon
1 small yellow onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic minced
3 stalks of celery diced
1 pablano chili seeded and diced. (can use two if small we used one large may go for two next time.)
1 Tablespoon jalapeno chili minced (use gloves!!!)
2 ears of corn cut off cob (we used some we had put up in the freezer)
2 medium white potatoes in 1/2 inch cubes (can use can) we had russet
2 cans sweet cream style corn
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup half and half
1 Tablespoon corn starch mixed with 1 Tablespoon cold water
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne and chili powder to taste
1/3 cup cilantro
cilantro and cheese to garnish (cheddar pepper jack or what ever you like)

Cook potatoes in water till tender drain and cool
Melt butter in large pot and cook bacon till browns slightly. Add celery,onion,garlic,jalapenos and poblano and saute till slightly softened about 5- 8 minutes.
Now add corn, cream corn,chicken broth,spices,salt and pepper,half and half and milk bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and add potatoes,cornstarch and cilantro
simmer for 20 minutes
Add shrimp and cook till pink about 5 minutes
serve with cheese and extra cilantro.

Sunday Cats and Happy New year

Moon is enjoying the deer leg bone with a little meat still on it.

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.