Crab Pie and Best Friends

Photo from my friend Brian at Hot Sauce Daily

Here's another one of the recipes from my book, "Mama's Cookbook". As I wrote the other day, Mama loved seafood, but didn't have it very often growing up because of the cost. Unless you lived on the coast and caught your own, seafood was impractical and definitely a luxury item that struggling families could not afford. Mama made friends with a new girl in school. She was Catholic and Mama didn't know about their rites and rituals. The first Friday that she spent the night at her friend's house, they had shrimp for supper. She was in love with seafood! She loved her new best friend, and Fridays were a treasured meal with her!  I was named after her best friend, Lynda! So, the few recipes of Mama's that include seafood, I certainly do treasure! I hope you enjoy this one! Notice the note at the bottom. If you are not familiar with my cookbook, Mama jotted notes down for me on recipes before giving them to me. They are a treasure trove of memories!

Crab Pie

1 Pie Pastry, uncooked

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

1 cup Crab Meat

3 Eggs, beaten

1 cup Heavy Cream

½ t salt

¼ t Pepper

½ t Lemon Zest*

Arrange cheese evenly over bottom of pastry. Top with crab meat. Combine eggs, cream, salt, lemon peel and pour evenly over crab meat. Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes.

Notes: “Your Daddy likes this…Cool or the cheese will burn you!”

*When I make it now, I add some Old Bay Seasoning, green onion and a mixture of cheeses that I have on hand. I use Swiss and Cheddar or Colby Jack. It just depends on my mood. 

Marmalades of the Food in Jars Mastery Challenge

A group of us are participating in the Food In Jars Mastery Challenge hosted by Marisa at Food in Jars and the first challenge was MARMALADE. It was so fun to participate and the results that the other participants came up with were awesome! Check out the recipes and pictures below!
If you would like to try your hand at making marmalade and not sure where to start, check out Marisa's great tips on Marmalade Troubleshooting! 

My friend Mary also joined in the fun. She is the Canning Queen around here! In her blog post Marmalade ~ January Challenge on Cooking with Mary and Friends, she stated:

"We all learned a few things from the others too, and everyone cheered on everyone else as their trials and tribulations were acknowledged. Everything from how adding liquor makes the marmalade take longer to jell and set up, to burning the pot ruining a batch happened, but no one got discouraged; they just tried again!"

YES! 

I was the one that burnt the batch and nearly ruined my pot! 

Check out the Pictures, 

and pick one to make yourself! 

Sloe Screw Up Against The Wall Marmalade

A traditional Seville Orange Marmalade with a Twist

Sue Harris - Jams 'n Pans

Caramelized Onion and Pear Marmalade

Anne Marshall-Candeloro

Cherry Marmalade

Mary Marshall - Cooking with Mary and Friends

Cinnamon Fig Orange Marmalade

Sue Burns - It's Ok to Eat the Cupcake

Drunken Cherry-Lemon Marmalade

Diane Baker - Canning and Cooking at Home

Lemon-Fig Marmalade

Lynn Elliott Vining - Southern With a Twist

Cranberry Onion Marmalade

Veronica McLaughlin Gantley - My Catholic Kitchen

Gin and Lime Marmalade

Nikki and Phil Carriere

Cherry Marmalade

Nikki and Chris Carriere

Strawberry Orange Marmalade

Julie Posigian

Strawberry Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Sara De Leeuw - My Imperfect Kitchen

Ruby Red Grapefruit Marmalade with Sage and Saffron

Pamela Gram - The Pit Stop BBQ, LLC

Thanks to Marisa at Food in Jars! 

Cornbread Pudding

I wanted some cornbread pudding, but I didn't have exactly what the recipe called for. I came up with a second version, and it's even better than the first! Yay!

1 can Corn
2 small Onions
2 Eggs
1 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 stick Butter, melted
1 package Jiffy Cornbread Mix
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Stir in cornbread mix and seasonings. Pour into a greased 13X9 baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center. Serve warm. 

Corned Beef Brisket and Reuben Recipes

For some reason dozens of my friends are talking about Corned Beef this week. If you've been around me at all, you know that my favorite sandwich is a Reuben! I am so ready for some corned beef to use in all my Reuben recipes!

Normally, I would cook a corned beef brisket in water on the stove with some cabbage and potatoes. This time I wanted to roast it and slice it thin for Reubens. So, I drained the liquid off and cooked it according to the roasting directions on the package...

350 degrees and 1 hour per pound...

then let stand for 15 minutes...

I actually let it cool more to be

 able to handle it and retain the juices.

loaded up on my slicer and

sliced as thin as possible...

All sliced except for that one

chunk and I have plans for it :-)

Buuuuurrrrrrppppp! Yum, that was good!

NOOO! I didn't eat it all! (OH! I did eat the crumbs on the plate! I am human ya know! :-) I plan on trying lots of Reuben Recipes this week... I'll start with sandwiches! :-)

 One regular Reuben Sandwich...

... and one toasted Reuben Sandwich!

...and a Reuben Appetizer. Cocktail Reubens!

36 slices party rye bread (1 mini loaf)
Thousand Island salad dressing
2 pkgs (4oz each) cooked, sliced corn beef
German spicy mustard
1 cup sauerkraut, drained
6 slices of Swiss cheese

Spread each slice of bread with salad dressing. Top with 2 slices of corn beef. Add mustard, and then 1 teaspoon of sauerkraut. Cut each cheese slice into 6 pieces; place 1 piece on each appetizer. Broil at 425 degrees 4 to 5 inches from heat, for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Lemon Fig Marmalade

I am participating in a year long Food In Jars Mastery Challenge hosted by Marisa from Food in Jars and the January challenge was marmalade! I have never made marmalade. I have made all kinds of jellies, jams and preserves. Marmalade is basically the same, but they have a citrus base of orange, lemon, lime or other citrus fruit. I chose lemon to pair with the figs I had in the freezer!

6 cups fresh figs
3 lemons (scrub well)
6 cups sugar*

Cut the stems off the figs and cut into quarters.
Cut the rind off the lemons and slice into small strips. Add the juice and a little water to a pan and simmer until the zest/rind is soft.
Pour the figs into a heavy based preserving pan. Add the lemon mixture and simmer until the figs are soft and break down a little.

Add the sugar and let it dissolve before bringing up to a rolling boil.
Boil for about 30 minutes or until it has reached the setting point (220 degrees).
Carefully ladle into sterilized jars and put on the lids. 

Place jars in a boiling water bath (this can be a large stock pot with a rack on the bottom) and cover completely with water to 2" over the top of the jars.

Cover stock pot with lid and bring water to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce heat some, but maintain a boil and process jars in the boiling water 10 minutes.

Remove jars from boiling water bath and allow to sit undisturbed on a kitchen towel on your counter-top 24 hours.

Store in a cool pantry for up to a year.

*The amount of sugar may vary according to the sweetness of your fruit. My figs were very ripe and very sweet when I froze them this summer.

Pennies

I was thumbing through a few old church cookbooks and an old Hometown Recipes book and came across my Aunt Dot's recipe for "Cheese Pennies". They are much like cheese crackers or cheese straws. I decided to make some and make more of the family recipes in these books! It's fun seeing the names under each recipe and remembering these women and a few men too!

1 lb extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans *
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix grated cheese with room temperature butter. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Divide dough into 4 balls. Roll each ball into a 6"- 8" log about the diameter of a penny. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Slice into pennies and bake on parchment paper for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Yields approximately 12 dozen.

* I don't use nuts in mine, but I wanted a little crunch so I added 1 cup of rice crispy cereal.

Shared on Meal Plan Monday 

Homemade Chili

It's cold outside, and it actually snowed in the midlands of South Carolina this morning, for about 15 minutes! Wow! That was a close one! LOL Needless to say, there isn't a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk left in the stores, so I won't even try to venture out to the store! I found some beans, onions and tomatoes in the pantry, and I had some hamburger in the freezer! Good time for a giant pot of chili! 

For the Beans:

1 lb dried Red Kidney Beans

4 cups water, or stock

1/2 tsp dried, minced onion

1 tsp minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and drain the beans several times. Add the water, onion, garlic, salt and pepper to a large pot and cook for a few hours or until beans are tender.

To finish the Chili:

1-2 pounds ground lean beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cans diced tomatoes, drained

4 tablespoons of chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

2 tablespoons ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Cook hamburger and onion until meat is done. Drain off fat. Add tomato and stir. Add to the beans. Add the seasonings and stir until dissolved and mixed well. Simmer until chili is the thickness you like. I usually let mine simmer for about 45 minutes. Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream and cornbread!

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

This is another of my baby brudder's specialties. If he ever asks me, "What can I bring?" This is it! The hubby hates liver, but he eats these by the handfuls!

1 lb. chicken livers
Approximately 8 oz. bacon (not thick cut)
Teriyaki sauce, Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze
Kebab skewers

Wrap bacon around chicken liver, stretching the bacon to fit, if needed. Secure with a skewer. Repeat until skewer is full. Repeat with remaining chicken livers and skewers.

Pour teriyaki sauce over skewers, reserving about 1/4 cup. Marinate skewers for at least 4 hours, but no more than 8 hours.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place skewers on grill and baste with reserved teriyaki sauce. Cook until bacon is done about 7 minutes and flip skewers. Baste again with teriyaki sauce and cook for another 7 minutes making sure not to burn the bacon.