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. 

"My, My, My, I'm Once Bitten Twice Shy Baby!"

I bet you thought when you read this title "I wonder what in the world is SHE thinking!" 

If so…you are right! 'She' isn't thinking!

 She is just trying to come up with a catchy title for a mid week dinner blog post!

It's not always that easy to do but in this case…it sort of makes since. At least..to me it does!

You see…I always make TWICE the amount of sauce that any recipe calls for because my family might as well be called the "sauce hoarders". 

We may even be arrested one day for requesting or taking too much sauce to go with anything and everything! You name it…The Tavern's Honey Mustard, Chick Fil A's Polynesian Sauce, CPK's Ranch Dressing…I could go on and on! 

It's a bit ridiculous!

 So, when I found this recipe on my own Pinterest board that I had pinned a long time ago…I knew it would need extra sauce! I didn't make extra at first mind you…I just panicked at the end!
(you can see that recipe HERE!) 

Because I was too sore from Pure Barre yesterday I didn't go back this morning which gave me plenty of time to put this meal together before work so that I could just pop it in the oven once I got home. It looks yummy here and it was doing great in the oven. After 20 minutes I decided we needed more sauce! Go figure! So I made another batch and poured it on as I basted it. It couldn't have been any more delicious! I'm not sure I would make this again for the just the two of us…but I would definitely make it again to impress a crowd! It reminded me of being in Provence…it was very similar to a dish that we were served at the Bastide Rose. What a wonderful meal we had there!

I simply added mashed potatoes and green beans…so simple! The sauce is divine! Especially when it is doubled! "Once Bitten Twice Shy…or…I'm Just A Saucy Kinda Gal." Not sure which title should've been chosen. All I know is this meal was delightful! 
No wonder it won first place on The Chew!

 Try it and let me know your thoughts!

"The Chew's" Baked Artichoke Chicken

4 bone in/skin on chicken breasts

1 lb. button mushrooms, halved and rinsed

1 small to medium onion, sliced thickly

1 can artichoke hearts drained and halved

2 T brown mustard

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 C olive oil

1/4 C red wine vinegar

1/4 C white wine

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. dried tarragon

1 bay leaf

kosher salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place cut up onions, artichokes and mushrooms in the bottom of a medium sized baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place rinsed and dried chicken breasts on top of vegetables. Mix remaining ingredient together with a whisk and pour over top of chicken. Bake uncovered, basting often for one hour. ( this is where my extra batch of sauce came in handy. I would just pour it over gradually as it cooked as well as spooning some of the sauce from the bottom of the pan on top of the chicken and the vegetables.) You don't have to make extra sauce! I just wanted to! It was all delicious…especially with a side of mashed potatoes!

Yes....you CAN have Pot Roast, Miller!!!

 Ha ha!!! if only he was truly begging for it!!! It's always fun to make a pot roast, mashed potatoes, etc...and blame it on my boys!!! When in reality..I'm the one who is really craving it!!!! Don't ask me why...but when school starts back up I get the urge to cook "boy food"!!! Pot Roast, Meatloaf, you name it! It all sounds so good to me....which is exactly WHY  I made that Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits and even....FRIED OKRA!!

so...if you are craving anything like this...I hope you will give it a try!! It was so easy! And...you get to come home to the wonderful smell of dinner almost ready after a long day!!!

       Pot Roast

start with a 3 to 3 1/2lb.  English cut roast-sprinkle with lemon pepper

trim fat...not all, but a good bit of it

place in Slow Cooker....

add 1 bag of rinsed baby carrots

mix together in a bowl: 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix
1 Can Golden Mushroom soup
1 soup can water
pour mixture over roast and cover tightly with lid.
Cook on low 8-9 hours until desired tenderness.
Remove to platter and keep warm;
in a small bowl mix 1 T cornstarch and a big spoonful of liquid from the roast...wisk till smooth and add to slow cooker. Turn heat to high and cook 10 minutes or so until slightly thickened for the gravy.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes: 5-6 red potatoes, peeled and scrubbed and rinsed well. Cut into cubes and cook until tender with water or chicken broth. Drain well....place in pan with 1/2 stick light butter...mash with potato masher and add desired amount of salt. Add 3/4 C or more warmed buttermilk and continue mashing....keep warm in oven or on stovetop...when ready to serve...ladle gravy from pot roast over them. Divine!!!!!

Fried Okra!! ( Yes people!!!! there are some us who really do still fry okra!!!..just ask Sharon!! )

this is a tried and true recipe....sometimes I add a "little this and that" but when I need to give this recipe to a child...this is how I do it!!!

15 pieces medium sized okra...wash it...pat dry...cut off top and then cut into desired size to fry

place in shallow bowl and cover with buttermilk ( I use non fat in everything) not that it matters here, but I figure every little bit helps!!!!

let soak for about an hour

in another shallow bowl mix 1 C self rising flour, 1/2 C white cornmeal and 1/2 C yellow cornmeal and    one t kosher salt and a generous supply of pepper!!!

In a medium sized frying pan....I have a Scan Pan from Viking and it is worth it's weight in gold!!!!

add Canola Oil to about 1/2-1" in depth and heat on medium high till almost sizzling

dredge the soaked okra...that you've somewhat drained!!! in the flour mixture and add to hot oil and fry in batches until golden brown...drain on paper towels....sprinkle with a little salt to taste

i'm guessing that the fact that we had fresh green beans from my garden doesn't really matter after all of this!!!!

I do hope you will try it! and at least pretend it's for the men in your family or a special occasion such as the first day of senior year in high school!!!! 

I will cook until my face turns blue as long as my boys will eat...because that makes THEM happy which in turn makes ME happy!!! and we all know the saying....

"If Mama aint happy....NOBODY'S happy!!!!"

Happy Cooking!!!