Baked Whole Vidalia Onions

I had a few Vidalia onions that I needed to use, and I remembered doing some whole in the oven. I went though the cabinets and pulled together a very tasty recipe!

Baked Whole Vidalia Onion

4 large Vidalia onions
4 beef bouillon cubes
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1-2 clove garlic, minced

Kosher salt
Black pepper

Trim the top and bottom of the onions. Peel onions, leaving roots intact. Core the onion with a very small paring knife or melon baller. Place each onion on a lightly greased square of foil. Insert one bouillon cube into the core and press butter into onions. Sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. Wrap in the foil then arrange in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 400 for about 1 hour.

This is basically what you need... 

 Core the onions with a small knife...

Pack with butter, garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

I was out of foil, so I put them in a casserole dish with a lid.

For Stuffed Onions:

1/4 onions, chopped

1 T butter

1/2 cup homemade croutons

1/4 cup of chicken stock

salt and pepper

Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Saute onions in butter until transparent. Toss in croutons, stock and seasonings. Place stuffing inside cored whole onions and bake as directed above. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven until melted.

I made homemade croutons... 

Saute onions in butter, add croutons, stock and seasonings. 

 Stuffed and baked...

MINE!!! Yum!

Good Tuna Salad... but it's not Pizza!

Well, the Memorial Day Weekend is over but the drama is not... 3 flat tires and 2 kidney stones!

We went to Florence on Friday for my appointment and as I figured, I have to do all the wonderful test over again... doctor says that it's close to being a year since the last anyway. So, it's just a little earlier than usual for me. We decided to go to Walmart and Sams, kind of window shopping, and wasting time until 5pm when Rebel Pie opened for business. I was so excited to go to this pizza place. I've heard so much about it from some of my foodie friends. But alas, it was not to be...

Fixing to leave the parking lot at Walmart...

a lady taps on my window and says, "Honey, you got a tire goin flat!" 

"Seriously, Mama?" 

Elliott calls this... multitasking :-) 

"Daddy's doin what he does best... supervision!" 

"Oh Lord! She's gonna post this on her blog!!!"

LOL

OK... tire changed! On to Rebel Pie in Timmonsville... I forgot toothpaste, so we stopped at Dollar General where I asked the clerk how to get to Rebel Pie. I had forgotten to write down the street address. The clerk wrinkled her nose at me and said, "I ain't never heard a such a thang!" Turning to the clerk next to her, she asked, "You heard of a Rebel... What was it? Rebel Pie?" No one knew what it was or where it was located. We rode around a bit and asked a few more people to no avail. Elliott needed a bolt for his dirt bike, so we stopped at Weatherly Hardware. I asked them about the pizza place nearby. Again, I got the frown and wrinkled up nose look. I was starting to feel rather stupid for asking, when a teenager seated behind us said, "I think I know what you're talking about..." He proceeded to give us directions. FYI... it's more in-between Florence and Timmonsville than "in Timmonsville". Make sure you make note of the street, and maybe Google the directions before heading out on a 1 1/2 hour journey like we did... I felt stupid because Timmonsville isn't that big, and I went to college in Florence. I am familiar with the area, and I couldn't find a "famous" restaurant!

Well, we now know where the place is, but I still have not gotten to try the pie! It was getting late and we had another tire that was going down! We had to abandon the pie idea, get to the store for fix-a-flat and head home. Upon arriving home, somehow the movie we rented had gotten knocked on the floor. Miley, the dog, thinks that if it's on the floor... it belongs to her!

She even ripped the case in half and ate the corners!

*Sigh* Oh well... didn't get my pizza... haven't gone grocery shopping because I expected to get to eat out! I made tuna salad.

I love this little gadget! I grated all the eggs

in less than a minute and cleaned it in about the same amount of time!

Tuna and eggs... 

... a squirt of mustard, a big spoonful of relish and salt and pepper. 

Don't forget the mayo!

Done! 

*SIGH*...but it's not pizza!

Saturday... I had to take Elliott to Sumter to work. When I went to pick him up that night, my tire (that Craig said he "fixed") blew out... luckly about 100 yards from the driveway of the farm where he was working! Now I'm not going anywhere... 3 flats means that there can't be a spare! Elliott looks in the back and says, "Mama, this tire is fine! It was leaking because Daddy didn't have the cap on it!" 

DON'T get me started on that!!! My Daddy would have a HISSY FIT if we ever lost the caps to the valve stems on the car tires. All mine are missing off the van, which caused many discussions with the hubby. He says, "It doesn't make any difference! That's not the problem!" My response is...(Daddy's voice ringing in my ears!)... "If it doesn't make any difference, then why do they have caps????? Put my caps back on and leave them on!!!" 

Elliott changed the tire and it has been fine... with the cap on it!!!

Sunday... Craig and Elliott go to the lake to work on a boat they are getting basically for free. They have to get it running to move it and we have no trailer for it. They come back, 'madder than a wet settin hen' because the motor is locked up... which means a lot of wasted time and no boat! So we had southern slaw dogs and watched the Charlotte Race that night...

Yummy! But still not pizza!

Monday... Craig told me to go to town for the groceries for Wednesday Night Supper when he got home from work. The tropical storm that came through was supposed to be at its worst on Tuesday. While unloading the groceries after my trip. The church phone rang... When I answered it, it was Elliott telling me he had called an ambulance for his Daddy! Oh Lord what now?!?!?

When I got home, he was moaning with tears in his eyes. Long story short... (too late! LOL) he has two kidney stones! One is still in the kidney, which is swollen, and one has dropped and is too big to pass (5mm). Ouch! He is in misery...

Elliott and I went to the hospital and when we went in... he looks at me and says, "That tuna salad! I'll never eat tuna salad again!"  I said, "It was not my tuna salad that did this! I ate it and there's nothing wrong with it!" He says, "Yeah! But you didn't have to taste it when it came back up... NASTY!" I said, "Yeah... it wasn't pizza!"

Southern Slaw Dog... with Chili

It's the perfect weekend to grill out. Throw some hot dogs and hamburgers on and have a party! Take a dip in the pool and enjoy a slice of cool watermelon (that has been floating around and chilling in the pool), while the kids see how far they can spit the seeds!

A Good Ole Southern Slaw Dawg!

I started watching Mama make this slaw when I was little and graduated to helping. She never measured. It was always a splash of this or a sprinkle of that. So, I hope this describes enough for you to follow. It just takes practice to get the taste right… And the picture is how I like to eat it! Yum! 


Mama's Slaw


1 Head Cabbage, grated
2 Carrots, grated
Mayonnaise
Lemon
Sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste


Grate the cabbage, then grate the carrots. I usually look at the color to know how many carrots to use. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. (Probably about a teaspoon or so) Sprinkle with lemon juice. I usually put two fingers over the mouth of the bottle and sprinkle about three or four shakes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add enough mayo to bind it together. It will get soupier as it sits. Taste and adjust your seasonings.

Italian Herb and Cheddar Loaf

Have you ever read somebodies blog, post or tweet and gotten so inspired that you felt you could do what they were talking about? Well, I have and I did... I LOVE reading Joy the Baker. Her style of writing and story telling is great and funny and charming... etc. She had a post the other day about an Italian Bread that she made, and I was bound and determined to make it. I went to the grocery store and looked for the "bread flour" that she talked about to no avail. They had cake flour and several other things, but not being a baker (I think I've said that before... I am NOT a baker! LOL) I'm not familiar with all the varieties of flour and baking mixes. I have a big ole bag of All-Purpose flour in my kitchen and that's all I use. I bake cakes and biscuits and a few other things when I need to, but I don't dream about baking. As a matter of fact, I kind of gave up on the idea of making the bread until I spied a box... Italian Bread Mix.

Fleischmann's Simply Homemade
No Knead Bread Mix
Italian Herb................... Just Add Water
................................... Less than 1 Hour

 Hmmm! That box has ME written all over it! I can fake that one! Ha! And if it turns out good, they have 3 other flavors too! Don't judge me... I said I'm not a baker!!! I look for any shortcut I can find when baking... I don't know why!

Well, I made the bread and being the 'dump cook' that I am (for those of you who are new here... a dump cook is one who just dumps stuff in a pot and cooks it! No measuring... no weighing!) I had to add some stuff in the mix...

I added about 1 1/2 cups of cubed sharp cheddar cheese.

 I cut 3 slits in the top and brushed it with olive oil.

I sprinkled it with Kosher Salt

and Cayenne Pepper for a kick!

DONE!

Breaking bread... It smells AWESOME!

Look at that cheese ooooosing out...

Tastes even better!!!

Nice trip! Walk much???

I was "chatting", on the computer, with a sweet friend that is overseas working for a while. My friend asked if I slept well... let me back up and say because of the time difference, I say good morning and my friend says good night :-) My answer was, "...not really. I fell last night, and I'm kind of sore!" This was met with genuine concern and an inquiry as to whether I was alright or not... I tell you that to tell you this...


Yesterday, the hubby gets home and lets the horse in the back to graze... of course the goat follows and the dog whines and barks to go out and play... This goes on for a while, so I let the dog out to play, which can be a pain, because it can be hard to get her back in and away from the goat who is totally harassed and tries to head but the dog over and over again to no avail. ANYWAY! I get the dog back in after an hour of play and go about my night. It's getting late (dark is about 8:30pm now) and I check my email one last time before retiring to watch the rest of the Celebrity Apprentice that the hubby taped from Sunday night... (I wanted to watch Frasier reruns.) ANYWAY! I'm checking my emails and hear a BIG SIGH!!! This is what I see beside me at the back door...

I can tell by her expression that she is tired of waiting on Daddy to come put her up and feed her! I tell the hubby to put her up and he says, "...in a minute." Time goes by and he's going to bed, so he yells down the hall, "You still have your shoes on! How about go put Tilly up!" I respond, "WHAT??? It's past 10pm! Why is she still out???"... Silence... So I get her feed and a flashlight and head out the door. The path to the stall is not the best. There are weeds, branches and I have to cross a wire fence. I turn on the only working flashlight to find a dim yellow hazy glow, which is no help at all. Walking under dense cedar trees, the path is dark even in broad daylight. So, at night it becomes blind man's bluff! And of course, Miley the dog, is right on my heels! "Where's the goat? Where's the goat?" as she's sniffing and zig-zagging around the path... I can hear Tilly trotting up behind me blowing and snorting for her food. I get her in the stall and lock the barn door behind her. She's already at the feed bucket where we have a window cut so we can pour her food in from the outside... I step up on the concrete block and pour in the feed. I go to step back and didn't realize that Miley has come back around and is standing beside me. I step to the side and Miley cuts my legs out from under me... down I go! At this point, she is sitting by me looking at me with her head cocked side-ways as if to say, "What are you doing down there???" Apparently, dead cedar needles are very abrasive because I have what looks like road rash all down my left arm!


As I relay this to my SWEET friend, I get a reply back... "I would have love to seen that...lol...sorry but it sounds funny..." I replied back, "Yeah! That's what my husband said... except WITHOUT the sorry part."


The last time the stupid dog did that to me, I was putting the gate up in the hall so she couldn't get in the bedrooms, and she got between me and the gate. Well, we got tangled up... I wound up falling backwards into the bathroom. I had to just lay there and laugh... with the dog looking at me with her head sideways! She has a habit of getting under my feet!!!"

Even right now... you can't tell, but her feet are

up against the leg of my chair!

She can be a little intrusive... 

This isn't a food story, but because of being sore, I'm not doing a bunch of dramatic cooking or recipes today! LOL This is about all I feel like making right now, but I sure would love a big ole steak and cheese sub and Greek salad from Tony's Place!!!

Multi-grain sandwich round, mayo, ham, lettuce,

tomato slices, cheese and a little mustard

and sweet pickle relish on the bottom!

Side view :-)

Classic Greek Salad

2 heads romaine lettuce, torn into chunks*
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 pepperoncini peppers (or more)
12 kalamata olives
1 cucumber, sliced and cut in half
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon oregano (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon sea salt

For the dressing: combine vinegar, minced garlic, oregano and lemon juice, slowly whisk in olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

For salad: layer romaine, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and top with pepperoncini peppers.  Whisk dressing and drizzle over the top.

* Mama's notes: Never cut lettuce... lettuce should be torn into chunks!

Celebrating Birthdays!

My beautiful Mama would have been 68 years old today!!! We always kind of combined Mother's Day and her birthday and had one long celebration. She finally bought a time share at the beach for her birthday. During the week of her birthday, she spent it at the condo at the beach, or should I say ON the beach! She eventually bought a more permanent lot with a trailer on it so she could pick up and go to the beach anytime she wanted! She spent her life doing for others, and now it was time to spend a little time just for Judy! Of course, she took me with her a lot! :-) We all liked spending time at the beach, even tho it could get pretty crowded at times! Mama could make any time or place into an event to be remembered! The last time I talked to my Mama, she was getting ready for a meeting to discuss our small town festival (The Possum Trot!) and it's events... She was forever planning a party!

Mama and Daddy in the early '80s

I found a note (below) to me in Mama's recipes. Mama always had the opinion that you do what you need to do and take shortcuts when you need to, to get the job done... That doesn't mean that you tell everyone your shortcuts!

                                                        

When my Grandmama Elliott turned 80 years old, Mama hosted a surprise party for her. She had me and my cousin, DP run to town and pick up two shefflera trees for the the dinning room where she had the food set up. "Miss Ruth" came over to Mama during the party and commented on the beautiful trees. Mama looked at her and said, "Actually, I owe those beautiful trees to the hard work and care of Lynn and DP!" Miss Ruth was flabbergasted, "You're kidding!" I looked at Mama with a puzzled look I guess, because she leaned over and whispered, "Just say... I just did what I needed to do! Because that's the truth!" She backed up and smiled and winked at me before she returned to the party.

My cousin, DP (or as Mama spelled it Deepy!)

The buffet table behind DP was actually a pull out table

that seats 12 people! Neat!!!

Mama's Note to me...

Judy’s Homemade Mayonnaise 

"Duke's Mayonnaise at Piggly Wiggly!"
"Not worth the trouble to make, in my opinion."
"But if you have to try it.......this one's not bad...."
Pour 1/4 cup oil into blender. Add 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 egg, dash salt, and 1/4 tsp dry mustard. Cover and blend. While blender is running, remove cover and add another 3/4 cup oil in slow steady stream. Remove to jar and refrigerate.

Mama's table... I still have those lace table cloths

and the actual table also!

One of the trees, in the dining room, in front of the windows...

"Surprise!!!"

From left to right...

Uncle Rentz, Aunt Margaret (Grandmama's daughter)

Cousin Touton, and Cousin Mac 

My Daddy on the right (Little Billy) then Uncle Dargan (eating)

Cousins Michael and Tommy (2 out of 4 of Aunt Margaret's boys)

 Grandmama Elliott sitting in the living room beside

one of the trees that DP and I went to town to pick up!

Pretty Flavored Butters

Strawberry Butter

2 sticks Butter, softened
1 cup 10X Sugar
16 oz fresh Strawberries*

Blend in a blender or processor until very smooth. Store in refrigerator.
*Remember to always taste your berries for sweetness. Some may need more sugar than others.

Orange Butter: Beat 1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter, 1 tsp grated orange peel and 1 tbsp orange juice until fluffy.

Honey Butter:
Beat 1 stick (1/2 cup)

 softened butter
and 1/2 cup honey until fluffy.

Pumpkin Butter

29oz can Pumpkin

1 1/2 cups Apple Juice

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1 1/2 t Cinnamon*

Pinch of Ground Cloves

Whisk ingredients together. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

*Add 2 t for more intense cinnamon flavor.