It All Started With A Purple Pan!

And it made for a cute title! 

It also reminded me of the very thoughtful gift that Holly and Brad gave me! I love this pan~ I'm so glad they chose this color of Le Creuset cookware for me... I would never have believed that I would also be adding purple accents throughout my home today!

 I plan on adding more pieces to this collection!

(back to why I'm posting)

So when I realized we would be home for dinner tonight I began to try to think of something to make for us to eat!

 Nothing came to mind~ Imagine that!

But I had a rotisserie chicken in the fridge...

(and as you can see I began the process of bbq chicken pot pie!)

And lately my mind has been on barbecue. 

I'm not really sure why except that I live in Alabama!

(in fact, at this point I had already added the chocolate!)

 yes, chocolate!

Who knew chocolate would be so incredibly good in this sauce!

Well it is and this is definitely a dish I will continue to make! 

It's actually in the cookbook I made for my family several years ago but I haven't made it since then.

 I will now be the bbq chicken pot pie advocate!

(obviously I have way too much time on my hands!)

With it's cornbread topping it's basically a one pot wonder!

I mixed it together in two seconds flat

But then I got nervous~ Yes...I really did! 

Why do I stress over the simplest of things?

As you can see it turned out just fine! 

Don't stress over the little things. Trust me on this.

 They all "even out" in the end! 

(wow...I am old!)

This dinner was so yummy! I hope you will give it a try!  

I really hope to get back to posting...I miss it and I miss the fun that I gained from it. 

I promised myself today to start doing the things I used to love again!

I'd love to hear from you if you try this recipe!

Barbecue Chicken Pot Pie

1 medium onion, diced

1 small green bell pepper diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 T olive oil

Saute the veggies in the olive oil until tender and then add:

1 1/2 Cups Chicken broth

1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar

2  Tablespoons brown sugar

12 ounce bottle Chili Sauce

 1 ounce square unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 Cups cooked, chopped chicken

Heat over low heat and then pour in a 11 x 7 casserole dish or similar pan. 

Top with cornbread topping.

Cornbread Topping

1 Cup all purpose flour

1 Cup yellow corn meal

1/3 Cup Sugar

1//2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 Cup buttermilk

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Whisk dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together and then add to dry ingredients just until blended. Pour over chicken mixture and gently smooth. Does not have to be perfect!

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees!

Enjoy!

What's A Mama To Do?

A lot of times I pretend that I'm cooking because "Miller is home!" Well, truth be told…I cook pretty much for me and blame it on Miller! What am I supposed to do when he goes back to Auburn tomorrow? I don't like thinking about it so I thought I would share his favorite meal that I made just the other day.

Barbecue Meatloaf…it's both of my boy's favorite and a favorite of mine as well. I got the recipe from my friend, Pattie and I've made it ever since! I will post the recipe below.

Simple mashed potatoes. You have to have mashed potatoes with meatloaf! 

The gravy is so yummy on them!

Then there was the okra….two ways! I love it boiled….they love it fried! (well, I love it fried as well but since I love it boiled I figured that was at least better for me!)

You certainly don't need to be scared to fry okra…it's really very simple! I've gotten to where I use Coconut Oil to fry it in as it is better for you and heats faster. 

It works really well and NO….it doesn't taste like coconut!

Oh, and those Lady Peas! They were so yummy! Got them at our local farmer's market and bought some homemade chow chow as well to go on them. 

Everyone knows a good Southern meal like this has to have sliced, vine ripe tomatoes to go with it! They were some of the best I've ever had! Again, our local farmer's market!

And last but not least….the wonderful corn muffin! Yep! You heard me! Like I said…it's a Southern meal and the corn muffin topped it off! You could do cornbread if you like! I always use the Krusteaz brand now…it's much better for you than the way I used to make it and they are really good! So, if your'e in the mood to cook…if you have boys in your family that love a GOOD meatloaf…this is the meal for you! 

Hope you enjoy the recipes! Let's talk soon!

Barbecue Meat Loaf
5 lbs. lean ground beef
1 C oats 
( yes, they work wonders in meatloaf!)
2 pkgs. lipton onion soup mix (herb seasoned or regular)
1 can French Onion soup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2-3/4 Cup ketchup
1/8 Cup Pickapeppa Sauce
2 T worcestershire sauce
Mix ingredients well and place into two greased loaf pans or meatloaf pans. Meatloaf pans are wonderful because the grease drains so well! Top with some of the sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hours basting every so often with the sauce. Serve remaining sauce over the *mashed potatoes.
Sauce
2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
3 T white vinegar
3 T brown sugar
2 T dijon mustard
2 T worcestershire sauce
1/2 Cup water if needed to thin sauce. 
Whisk all ingredients in a medium saucepan until heated through and put on top of meatloaf.

*I like to use evaporated milk in my mashed potatoes…it makes a huge difference!

Fried Okra
12-15 pieces okra, washed and sliced
buttermilk to cover.
Pour buttermilk over the sliced okra and cover. Refrigerate for about an hour before frying. To fry, mix 1 part self rising flour with 1/2 part self rising corn meal. Salt and pepper to taste. Put enough oil in pan so that it's about 2 inches deep. I really do like the way the Coconut Oil fries okra. It tastes less greasy and is "lighter" if that makes since! Take handfuls of the buttermilk soaked okra and place in the flour mixture. Make sure they are coated well and place in the hot oil….be careful! Do this in stages…washing the flour mixture off of your hands in between batches. When brown, drain on paper towels and keep warm in a low oven.

Lady Peas
1 box of fresh lady peas, rinsed
equal parts of water and chicken broth to cover
1 T Ham base ( better than bouillon) 
1/2 T sugar
salt and pepper to taste
3 fresh sprigs of thyme
bring to a boil and then to simmer for about 30 minutes or until desired tenderness. Serve with chow chow if desired.

It really is so much fun to cook yummy meals for your family! I love this one because there are left overs that I can easily send back to Auburn with Miller or they can be frozen…the meatloaf freezes very well even uncooked as do the peas. 

When All Else Fails Make Pimento Cheese Cornbread!

Yep, you heard correctly! It was truly divine!! I would make this again in a heartbeat and I would take it to any sick friend for their comfort food! Since Miller is about to head off to Auburn again I've been trying to make his favorite foods this week. That means we've had meatloaf three nights in a row now! Granted, tonight was a fresh batch since sweet Sarah came to dinner! It was a menu of Bar-b-que Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Squash, Zucchini and Corn Casserole and Fried Okra right from the garden! Oh…and sliced tomatoes right from the garden as well! The best part of the whole dinner….besides laughing and talking with Sarah and Miller…was the Pimento Cheese Cornbread! 
Yummy doesn't even begin to do it justice! I knew we needed bread for tonights dinner and I knew I had a lot of left over pimento cheese that I had made a few days earlier. This afternoon I began to google recipes for cornbread, etc….and then it hit me! Pimento Cheese Cornbread! I thought it was pretty ingenious but I was still worried about it! I so shouldn't have been! It's truly one of the best things I've ever tasted! Now, I do believe you have to start with really good pimento cheese! Mine is made from 2 % cheddar, light jalapeno cheese as well as pepper jack cheese. One small jar of chopped pimentos drained and mashed, a dash of worchestershire sauce, garlic powder a dash of tabasco sauce, salt and pepper to taste and 1 C mayo! Make this just for your enjoyment to have for sandwiches, etc…and when you are tired of it…turn it into Pimento Cheese Cornbread!

Now please don't laugh when I tell you I used a box mix to start with! I am all for easy these days! And I've always been one to make great use of leftovers! Just ask my kids! It's really sad that we aren't still in the grocery business…I really miss it! Anyway, we used to represent this Krusteaz brand as well as Jiffy. Either would be fine but Krusteaz has a lot less fat to begin with…we aren't worrying about the pimento cheese part of it! LOL! Just enjoy!
Pimento Cheese Cornbread
1 box Krusteaz Honey Cornbread mix
3/4-1 Cup  homemade pimento cheese or a really good store bought brand!
prepare cornbread mix according to package directions. Add in the pimento cheese and mix well. Heat a cast iron skillet with vegetable oil until steaming on 375 degrees. Remove carefully and pour in the cornbread batter. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden. 
Serve immediately! It melts in your mouth!

Thank heavens we have some left for tomorrow night! 

*If you would like to make the Squash, Zucchini and Corn Casserole you can find that recipe HERE! 

Cooking For Two!

Funny how when you can't eat…it's all you think about! Why is that I wonder?

We always want what we can't have I guess!

My sweet son can't eat all day today because of a test he's having tomorrow so of course I've been thinking about food all day long! And so has he, bless his heart! So, to satisfy that craving of mine I thought I would share this post with you on my first attempt to begin cooking for two since I will be doing this next fall anyway!

 ( I hope this doesn't seem cruel!)

Anyway, when we returned home from vacation in Hilton Head my green beans were hanging off the vines like crazy! That's the way I like to see them growing! I wish all of my veggies were doing that! My green bean recipe is exactly what my mother has always done and you just can't beat it! Of course, we didn't eat all of these…I froze ALOT of them which will be nice later!

Fresh Green Beans

click here and then scroll down to the fresh green beans!

Squash Casserole
click here and scroll down to the Old Fashioned Squash Casserole

 I made the squash casserole by trial and error! How many squash does one cook for a casserole for two? I sure didn't know! So I just made my normal recipe but only put some in this small casserole dish for the two of us and saved the rest for later! I don't like reheated squash casserole so I thought this was the best idea. You can find the squash casserole recipe here. I did the good old fashioned kind for this meal and not the Soul Food Squash Casserole that is also very yummy! You can find it here.

Cornbread

 As for the cornbread…I simply made a normal recipe which can be found here and did it in a cast iron skillet..I've done it before in muffin tins which would actually be more practical for two people! I'm learning as we go! We will eat what we want and freeze the rest for later! I have a feeling I will be using my seal a matic freezer gadget a lot next year when Miller heads to Auburn in the fall! 

Cooking for two is not nearly as much fun as cooking for a crowd but I'm sure I will get the hang of it before too long!

Then comes the Blackened Tilapia!

 Now this was pretty darn easy and incredibly good if I do say so myself! We've been having it a lot lately and it's very easy to adjust this recipe for two people! 

I hope you enjoy it and if I have any leftovers I feel certain my son will gobble them up tomorrow when all is said and done!  

Blackened Grilled Tilapia

INGREDIENTS

• 4-6 Tilapia
• 2 Tbls. Paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1.5 tsp garlic powder
• 1.5 tsp ground red pepper
• 1.5 tsp dried, crushed basil
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• !/2-1  cup unsalted butter, melted

Heat grill on high 5 minutes. Mix all seasonings in a bowl. Dip fillets in melted butter and coat with seasonings. Place filets in a fish basket or in a cast iron skillet like I did. Make sure your skillet is hot and place prepared fish down for about 3 minutes on each side or until done and flaky. If grilling it will take a bit longer but it's just as good! I also did mine on the burner on my grill outside to avoid the smell in the house! I'm funny about that!


We like to serve this fish with homemade cocktail sauce and tartar sauce. I don't always make the tartar sauce though so that's when I buy the Old Bay brand…it's really good!
I hope you will at least try this fish! Talk about quick and easy! 
Especially for two!