For those of you who know me, you know that I am in 4H and went to State competition yesterday. The competition that I participated in was Chef 4H. The way it is done is similar to a cooking show; you fix a dish to prepare and show the judges how to make it, like Emeril or Rachael Ray. The dish that I had chosen was a Pampered Chef Recipe. It was called Southwestern Chicken Salad. I had made it a couple of times last week to get a feel for it. This recipe calls for Southwestern Spice Mix(I used Mrs. Dash), vegetable oil, sugar, lime juice, cherry tomatoes, chicken(of course), pecans, lettuce, squash, and cucumbers. I marinated the chicken in the oil and spice mix for about 30 minutes. While that was marinating, I mixed the pecans, oil, sugar, and spice mix together.Then, I grilled it for six minutes. Next, I sliced the cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes. After that, I added the veggies to the lettuce and tossed to combine. Then, I sliced the chicken into bite-size pieces. Next, I combined the lime juice, oil, spice mix, and sugar in a jar and shook to mix well. Finally, I put the salad veggies on a plate, then the chicken, then the pecans, and last but not least, i drizzled the dressing over the salad.
It was very delicious. The judges loved it. There was a good bit of the salad left, but within 15 minutes, it was gone. People who had watched wanted some and a few came back for seconds.
God bless. :-)
Catherine
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Back with Pickles
Well, it's been a few weeks since I last posted, but I made something new this weekend that I have never made before. I made sweet pickles. It's a family favorite that we love to make every so often. We enjoy it in our tuna, chicken, and potato salad. The pickles are sweet with a bite to them. Think about when you eat a SweetTarts candy or something like that and you have the sensation of eating one of these pickles. We have made them in small, bite-sized pieces and in long strips like I did this time. Hope you enjoy making them as much as I did. :-)
Lime Sweet Pickles
7-8 lbs. Cucumbers (the big, yellow ones work best)
2 C. Pickling Lime
2 Galllons Water
3 T Salt
2 Qts. White Vinegar
10 C. Sugar
1-3 T Pickling Spice
Peel, seed, and slice cucumbers into the right length. Stir together water and pickling lime in a large bowl. Soak cucumbers for 24 hours. Rinse well. Cover with fresh water and soak for 3 hours. Mix vinegar, salt, and sugar in a large container. Measure pickling spice out onto a square of cheese-cloth. If desired, pick out any red pepper flakes. Tie cheese-cloth around spice. Place in vinegar solution. Soak cucumbers in vinegar solution overnight. Pour cucumbers and vinegar solution into a pot large enough to hold it, plus a little. Boil pickles in vinegar for 35 minutes. Pour in jars and seal.
Hope you enjoy them. :-)
God bless.
Catherine
Lime Sweet Pickles
7-8 lbs. Cucumbers (the big, yellow ones work best)
2 C. Pickling Lime
2 Galllons Water
3 T Salt
2 Qts. White Vinegar
10 C. Sugar
1-3 T Pickling Spice
Peel, seed, and slice cucumbers into the right length. Stir together water and pickling lime in a large bowl. Soak cucumbers for 24 hours. Rinse well. Cover with fresh water and soak for 3 hours. Mix vinegar, salt, and sugar in a large container. Measure pickling spice out onto a square of cheese-cloth. If desired, pick out any red pepper flakes. Tie cheese-cloth around spice. Place in vinegar solution. Soak cucumbers in vinegar solution overnight. Pour cucumbers and vinegar solution into a pot large enough to hold it, plus a little. Boil pickles in vinegar for 35 minutes. Pour in jars and seal.
Hope you enjoy them. :-)
God bless.
Catherine
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Back Again
Well, I finally made something that I can blog about. This time, it was some breads that have blueberry in them. The first one is a blueberry and oatmeal bread. It is very easy to make. I have not tried it yet but it looks yummy. The second recipe that I made was blueberry muffins with a streusel crust. It is delicious. The texture is wonderful and the streusel topping gives it that extra sweetness. I posted these two recipes below.
Here are the two recipes. I found them in a Southern Living cookbook.
Blueberry-Oatmeal Bread
2 C plain flour
1 C quick cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 C sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C plus 2 T butter, softened
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 C milk
1/4 C light corn syrup
1 C fresh blueberries
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Combine eggs, milk, and syrup in a seperate container; mix well. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9- X 5- X 3-inch loaf pan (I just used a 9X13 cake pan); bake at 350 degrees for one hour and 10 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean (I baked it for 30 minutes). Cool in loaf pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
2 C Self-Rising flour
1/3 C sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 C milk
1/4 C vegetable oil
1 C fresh or frozen blueberries
Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. Measure out 2 tablespoons and set aside. Combine egg, milk, and oil in a seperate container; stir well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Combine blueberries and the 2 tablespoons of flour and toss to coat. Stir into batter. Spoon batter into a greased muffin pan(s) (depending on the size that you make them), filling 3/4 full.
Streusel Topping
1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
2 T flour
1 T butter, softened
Combine brown sugar, flour, and butter and mix until crumbly. Spoon over batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 18 minutes, or until browned.
Hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do.
God bless.
Catherine
Here are the two recipes. I found them in a Southern Living cookbook.
Blueberry-Oatmeal Bread
2 C plain flour
1 C quick cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 C sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C plus 2 T butter, softened
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 C milk
1/4 C light corn syrup
1 C fresh blueberries
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Combine eggs, milk, and syrup in a seperate container; mix well. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9- X 5- X 3-inch loaf pan (I just used a 9X13 cake pan); bake at 350 degrees for one hour and 10 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean (I baked it for 30 minutes). Cool in loaf pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
2 C Self-Rising flour
1/3 C sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 C milk
1/4 C vegetable oil
1 C fresh or frozen blueberries
Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. Measure out 2 tablespoons and set aside. Combine egg, milk, and oil in a seperate container; stir well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Combine blueberries and the 2 tablespoons of flour and toss to coat. Stir into batter. Spoon batter into a greased muffin pan(s) (depending on the size that you make them), filling 3/4 full.
Streusel Topping
1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
2 T flour
1 T butter, softened
Combine brown sugar, flour, and butter and mix until crumbly. Spoon over batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 18 minutes, or until browned.
Hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do.
God bless.
Catherine
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Third Recipe
Well, tonight, I made my third meal. This time, it was a chicken and rice skillet meal. This meal is a super easy meal to make in less than one hour. It has chicken, tomatoes, rice, celery, and onions. It also called for olives, but I did not add the olives. I will give the recipe, which I found in one of my Mama's cookbooks, later in this post. The taste was similar to that of a mexican lasagna, except without the tortillas. This recipe would taste great with any kind of meat that you would want to use. It is a one dish meal, so there is not a lot of clean up. And the dish that you do use, a large skillet, needs to be your largest skillet, as this recipe uses a lot of room in the skillet. I learned that the hard way. We all live and learn.
I also made corn on the cob to go with it. All in all, it was a delicious dinner.
God bless.
Catherine
Chicken-and-Rice Skillet Dinner
1/4 c flour
3/4 tsp seasoned salt (I used Chachere's seasoning)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into small cubes
Olive oil
2-14 1/2 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1-1 1/4 oz package taco seasoning mix
1 c thinly sliced celery
1 small onion, chopped
1 can sliced olives (I did not use these)
1 c uncooked rice
1 c water
Shredded cheese
Combine flour and salt (or seasoning, whichever you use) in a large, heavy-duty zip-top bag; add chicken. Seal bag; shake to coat chicken thoroughly.
Brown chicken in hot olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and next 6 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes, or until rice is tender. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.
I also made corn on the cob to go with it. All in all, it was a delicious dinner.
God bless.
Catherine
Chicken-and-Rice Skillet Dinner
1/4 c flour
3/4 tsp seasoned salt (I used Chachere's seasoning)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into small cubes
Olive oil
2-14 1/2 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1-1 1/4 oz package taco seasoning mix
1 c thinly sliced celery
1 small onion, chopped
1 can sliced olives (I did not use these)
1 c uncooked rice
1 c water
Shredded cheese
Combine flour and salt (or seasoning, whichever you use) in a large, heavy-duty zip-top bag; add chicken. Seal bag; shake to coat chicken thoroughly.
Brown chicken in hot olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and next 6 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes, or until rice is tender. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Been a While
Well, for those of you who have been reading my blog, y'all know that I have not been posting recently. Last week was VBS at my church, so I helped out there at night which was when VBS was. I did not have a lot of time to cook a meal, eat it, and get out the door so I only made Greek Bean Soup for supper one night, even though I didn't get to eat it. My parents ate it though and loved it. Greek Bean soup has white beans, chicken or vegetable broth, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, and parsley for an optional garnish. You cook it like you would any other soup, except you don't put everything in the pot at the same time. First, you put the beans and the broth in the pot and let it cook for 1 1/2 hour. Then you add the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and simmer for another 30 minutes. Finally, you add 3 T of olive oil and optional flaxseed oil (I hope I got that right) and simmer for another 3o minutes. Then dish it up and serve.
Friday, I did cook something else. I made another 7UP cake for a family in our church. Last Saturday, my church had a car show and a bake sale, with the proceeds from the car show going toward the Mexico Mission Team to help fund their mission trip to Mexico, and the proceeds from the bake sale going toward the family in our church, the Gaithers. The Gaithers are wanting to adopt two very cute twin baby boys. They started the adoption process in October hoping they could adopt internationally. They were blessed just a couple of months ago with these two sweet baby boys, Cason and Harley. They are raising funds for the adoption, and the bake sale is one of several fund raising opportunities that they are using. They raised $450 last Saturday. God is blessing them. Please keep them in your prayers.
Tomorrow night the cooking adventure continues with Chicken-and-Rice Skillet Dinner, green beans, and whole wheat rolls.
God bless.
Catherine
Friday, I did cook something else. I made another 7UP cake for a family in our church. Last Saturday, my church had a car show and a bake sale, with the proceeds from the car show going toward the Mexico Mission Team to help fund their mission trip to Mexico, and the proceeds from the bake sale going toward the family in our church, the Gaithers. The Gaithers are wanting to adopt two very cute twin baby boys. They started the adoption process in October hoping they could adopt internationally. They were blessed just a couple of months ago with these two sweet baby boys, Cason and Harley. They are raising funds for the adoption, and the bake sale is one of several fund raising opportunities that they are using. They raised $450 last Saturday. God is blessing them. Please keep them in your prayers.
Tomorrow night the cooking adventure continues with Chicken-and-Rice Skillet Dinner, green beans, and whole wheat rolls.
God bless.
Catherine
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Day 1 pictures
Everyday after I post about what I made, I will post a second time with pictures of what I made.
These are some pictures of tonight's recipes.
Here is a picture of my 7UP cake. Notice that it has a piece missing.
This is a picture of my meal put together on a plate at the table.
This is another picture of my meal.
These are some pictures of tonight's recipes.
Here is a picture of my 7UP cake. Notice that it has a piece missing.
This is a picture of my meal put together on a plate at the table.
This is another picture of my meal.
Day 1
Well, day one of this exciting venture is complete. It went very well I would say.
Today, I made fried pork chops, a Paula Deen recipe, corn casserole, a family recipe, hoecakes, also a Paula Deen recipe, and 7UP cake, which is one of America's lost recipes.
I will talk about them in the order I made them.
The 7UP cake turned out good. I found this recipe in a cookbook called America's Best Lost Recipes. This cookbook has lots of recipes from families all over the USA. Some of these recipes are family recipes from Germany, Holland, Britain, and some were created here in America. The 7UP cake is one of those family recipes that is from America. It first appeared in the marketplace in 1929, though it was called a different name. It wasn't until 1936 that it came to be called 7UP cake. This particular recipe that I used has the usual cake ingredients, flour, eggs, salt,vanilla, and sugar, and it also has lemon zest, shortening, and, of course, 7UP. I did not have any shortening, so I substituted with butter. Once all the ingredients were mixed together, I then baked it in a bundt pan for about an hour. That sounds like a long time, but it is just the right amount of time for everything to cook. Tonight, the cake turned out delicious. It was very moist and not crumbly. Definately a recipe I will use again.
The corn casserole is a family favorite. We have been having this at family gatherings for many years. This casserole has rice, cream of chicken soup, and you just cannot have corn casserole without corn. It calls for cream corn and Mexi-corn, although whole kernel corn nibblets work just as well. All these ingredients are stirred together in a pan, then cooked for about 30 minutes, adding cheese for the last few minutes. Tonight, it turned out extremely good.
The fried pork chops are a recipe that I found in a Paula Deen magazine. This recipe just calls for three ingredients, four if you count the oil with which to fry the chops with: buttermilk, flour, seasoning, and pork chops. You use the buttermilk and flour to coat the pork chops with a light crust, then fry them for about 8 minutes on each side until they are done.
And I just cannot forget to mention the pecan pie. Today is my Daddy's birthday and pecan pie is his favorite, so I made it for him as a birthday surprise. This recipe calls for Karo syrup(or any light corn syrup), a pie shell, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, butter, and pecans. I did not have enough pecans, so I improvised and added cashews to make up for it. I heated the syrup, butter, and sugar until all three were thoroughly combined. I then added the eggs, vanilla, and the salt, stirring to make sure that they were mixed together. Finally, after I put the nuts in the pie shell, I poured the liquid over them. I then cooked it for 50 minutes. Daddy loved his birthday surprise.
After each post, I will try and add in a recipe or two. Tonight's recipe is corn casserole.
Hope you enjoyed reading this. Comment and let me know what you think.
God Bless.
Catherine
Corn Casserole
1 pkg. Mahatma yellow rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 large can cream-style corn
1 can whole kernel Mexi-corn
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the rice according to the directions on the pack. Then mix with the remaining ingredients. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese for the last few minutes.
Today, I made fried pork chops, a Paula Deen recipe, corn casserole, a family recipe, hoecakes, also a Paula Deen recipe, and 7UP cake, which is one of America's lost recipes.
I will talk about them in the order I made them.
The 7UP cake turned out good. I found this recipe in a cookbook called America's Best Lost Recipes. This cookbook has lots of recipes from families all over the USA. Some of these recipes are family recipes from Germany, Holland, Britain, and some were created here in America. The 7UP cake is one of those family recipes that is from America. It first appeared in the marketplace in 1929, though it was called a different name. It wasn't until 1936 that it came to be called 7UP cake. This particular recipe that I used has the usual cake ingredients, flour, eggs, salt,vanilla, and sugar, and it also has lemon zest, shortening, and, of course, 7UP. I did not have any shortening, so I substituted with butter. Once all the ingredients were mixed together, I then baked it in a bundt pan for about an hour. That sounds like a long time, but it is just the right amount of time for everything to cook. Tonight, the cake turned out delicious. It was very moist and not crumbly. Definately a recipe I will use again.
The corn casserole is a family favorite. We have been having this at family gatherings for many years. This casserole has rice, cream of chicken soup, and you just cannot have corn casserole without corn. It calls for cream corn and Mexi-corn, although whole kernel corn nibblets work just as well. All these ingredients are stirred together in a pan, then cooked for about 30 minutes, adding cheese for the last few minutes. Tonight, it turned out extremely good.
The fried pork chops are a recipe that I found in a Paula Deen magazine. This recipe just calls for three ingredients, four if you count the oil with which to fry the chops with: buttermilk, flour, seasoning, and pork chops. You use the buttermilk and flour to coat the pork chops with a light crust, then fry them for about 8 minutes on each side until they are done.
And I just cannot forget to mention the pecan pie. Today is my Daddy's birthday and pecan pie is his favorite, so I made it for him as a birthday surprise. This recipe calls for Karo syrup(or any light corn syrup), a pie shell, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, butter, and pecans. I did not have enough pecans, so I improvised and added cashews to make up for it. I heated the syrup, butter, and sugar until all three were thoroughly combined. I then added the eggs, vanilla, and the salt, stirring to make sure that they were mixed together. Finally, after I put the nuts in the pie shell, I poured the liquid over them. I then cooked it for 50 minutes. Daddy loved his birthday surprise.
After each post, I will try and add in a recipe or two. Tonight's recipe is corn casserole.
Hope you enjoyed reading this. Comment and let me know what you think.
God Bless.
Catherine
Corn Casserole
1 pkg. Mahatma yellow rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 large can cream-style corn
1 can whole kernel Mexi-corn
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the rice according to the directions on the pack. Then mix with the remaining ingredients. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese for the last few minutes.
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