Roasted Broccoli, Cauliflower and Red Onion

I know many of you have seen me mention PBC on my Facebook page. Most of you know that that's my home church, Pinewood Baptist Church, and I feed our Wednesday Night Supper crowd. We have recently grown to a group of about 75 or so. This past Saturday, the youth put on a Sweethearts Banquet, serving Steak/Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Salad and Desserts. When I got to the kitchen today, there was all kinds of leftovers in the frig. There was broccoli, cauliflower and red onions left over from the salads... already cut up and ready to go! I tossed them with enough oil and melted butter to coat them and sprinkled them with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I spread them out on a cookie sheet and roasted them at 425 degrees, until they were nice and caramelized!

 Before...

After Roasting!

Homemade Beef Jerky

This first time I made this was for Christmas gifts for the guys to take hunting... In turn, they brought me venison to make them some more! LOL  It must have been pretty good! I like making it in the oven better than a dehydrator. Basically, you put it in the oven and walk away... Your nose will remind you it's in the oven!

2 1/2 pounds lean round steak

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons liquid smoke

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

Place the meat in the freezer for a couple of hours to make it hard and easier to cut into thin strips. Cut long narrow strips about 1/8” thick.

For the marinade, combine the remaining ingredients in a gallon plastic bag. Add meat slices to the bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Remove meat from the bag and drain. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place wire racks on top. Place meat slices on the racks, leaving a little space in between each slice.

Place racks in the oven and prop the door open with the handle of a wooden spoon. This will allow the air to circulate. Bake for 6-8 hours. 

The meat will lose about half its weight and will be dark brown. It will be dry to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Store in an air tight container. 

This recipe makes about a pound of jerky. :-)

Skillet Fried Corn with Bacon

I have the most wonderful BFFF (Best Foodie Friend Forever!) Mary at All Things Food - Cooking with Mary and Friends did a "foodie drive-by" at my house Monday morning! Bi-Color Corn is on the menu for tonight! Yay!!! I've had some before that Mary got from the Kershaw County Farmer's Market, so I know it is awesome corn! Thanks Mary!

I used The Southern Lady Cooks Skillet Fried Corn recipe as a guide last night with my bi-color fresh! I added some garlic, added the bacon back to the corn and left out the sugar, because this variety is very sweet, and OMGoodness! It's like food crack!!! My husband and I could not stay out of the pan! Luckily, my son ate before he came home! LOL Definitely a keeper!!!

Click on The Southern Lady Cooks

link above for the full recipe!

Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

I don't know what it is about the taste of fresh corn... on the cob! There is nothing like it! I've never grilled or roasted corn. Our grill is on the fritz again, so I decided to try oven roasting some. I left mine in a little too long so watch yours closely. 20 - 25 minutes should be plenty of time. 

4 cobs of fresh corn
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 tsp of you favorite seasonings per ear ( I used garlic powder, onion powder and basil)

salt and pepper
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 °F.

Remove husks and silk from corn and rinse off. Place ears on foil sheets, dot with pats of butter, and sprinkle with seasoning, salt and pepper (and cheese if you want). 

Bake for 25 minutes, or until soft and steaming.

Southern Style Green Beans

Usually in the South, when you see green beans on the holiday table, they are in the form of a casserole. You know the one... cream of mushroom soup with the crunchy french onion topping. I never liked the french onion stuff. I changed the casserole to a cheese topping with the cracker and butter crunchy topping, but it seems that my kids kind of skip over the casserole. When I serve them plain, just heated through with salt and pepper, they don't get much attention either. Sooo, this time I dumped them in the crockpot and let them simmer all morning. These turned out to be the best green beans I've ever fixed! (I would have used fresh beans, but I didn't have any available. Use fresh whenever you can.)

2 family-size cans Green Beans, with juice
4 slices Bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
2 tbsp of reserved Bacon Grease
2 beef bouillon cubes or 2 tsp beef bouillon granules
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Kosher Salt

Combine the above ingredients in a crockpot and set on medium. Simmer beans for 2 or 3 hours or until the beans take in the flavor of the seasonings. The juices will darken as they cook down. This juice is awesome with a chunk of cornbread!

Pizza Tarts

Most kids like pizza, but my son likes anything that resembles the flavor of pizza. I made a pizza dip last night and had plenty of stuff left over. He requested that I make these tarts!

1 can refrigerated biscuits (10 biscuits per can)
Spaghetti Sauce
Cheese, (I used Colby/Jack)
Pepperoni
Basil
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Flatten out each biscuit and put them into a muffin tin. Top with a teaspoon of sauce, cheese, the seasonings and finally 1 or 2 slices of pepperoni. I added a tiny bit more cheese on top. Bake for 10 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Remove from the oven and use the tip of a knife to transfer the biscuits to paper towels to absorb any grease from the pepperoni.

Seasoned Potato Wedges

My family loves potatoes. The hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I love to bake and fry potatoes. We actually had potato wedges for lunch today... the hubby is home with a backache. This was the perfect treat for him. I like to try and get more flavor when frying, so I made up this simple coating. It turned out awesome!

4 potatoes, (I used Yukon Gold) cut into wedges
1 cup flour
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Oil for frying

Heat oil to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour and seasonings. 

Add potato wedges and toss.

Remove from flour and gently place in hot oil. The oil must be up to temp or the coating will boil away.

Cook until golden brown and floating on the surface of the oil.

Yummy!

Garlic Brats... Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches Kicked Up... Off The Chart

Last weekend I had a party for 30+ people. I made my families famous BBQ and my Daddy's BBQ Sauce. Everyone was excited about that rare treat, but they left talking about my new favorite sandwich...

Recently, I had the good fortune to visit Sunny Cedars Farm and pick up several different pork products. The sandwiches that I made for the party were made with kielbasa and pork sausage. This time I used the Garlic Brats that Russell of Sunny Cedars (Facebook) suggested I try when I was shopping around his display case. Oh man, were they awesome!!! Don't be shy! Hit those links up there and see how to get some of Russell's pork products!!!

Garlic Bratwurst

Onion, sliced

Bell Pepper, sliced

Mushrooms, sliced

Soy Sauce

Butter

Parmesan Cheese

Garlic powder

Basil

Salt and Pepper

Squeeze the brats out of their casings and brown.

Remove sausage. Leaving the drippin's.

 Melt about a tablespoon or two of butter.
Add a few shakes of soy sauce, about a tablespoon.
Add the onions, peppers and mushrooms.

Cook until a little color appears and the vegetables have softened.

Return the sausage to the pan.

Mix about a 1/2 cup of softened butter with

1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese. Add seasonings to taste...

I scoop the inside of the bread out to give the filling a place to sit.
(Makes them easier to eat, also... and I'm all for that!)

Spread some of the butter mixture on the top and bottom pieces.

Load it up!

Oooops! I almost forgot the cheese... Monterey Jack Cheese!

Wrap them up and stick them in a 350 degree oven for about

10 or 15 minutes, until warmed through and the cheese is melted!

In the meantime, fry up some zesty seasoned fries!

Hot and fresh out of the oven!

It's ready for it's close-up! OooooLaaaaLaaaa!!!

MINE!!! 

 OMGoodness!
The hubby says, "Naaa! It's not any good! Go away! Nothin' to see... ummm eat here!"

Dilly Ranch Crackers

I changed these up a bit the usual recipe is...

Oyster Crackers (12oz bag)
1/4 cup oil

1 package Ranch Dip Mix

1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dill weed

I added 1/2 tsp lemon pepper for a kick!

Mix ingredients in a plastic container with an air tight lid.  Shake crackers and flip container every 10 minutes or so. I make these a day ahead for the oil and flavors to set.

Round Acacia Wood Salad Bowl, 12" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Cooking Pork Chops Like a Steak

I don't have a grill right now, so I have to cook all my 'grill' recipes in the oven. Well last night, the choice for supper was fish or pork. My son says, "Steak Mama!" *Sigh* OK... that wasn't on the menu! Well he tells me to 'just cook it like a steak'! Well... I'll try it once and see what we get.

I sprinkled them with salt, garlic powder, onion powder and a little lemon pepper. I dotted about a teaspoon of A-1 Steak Sauce on each chop with a brush. I put them in a casserole dish and cooked them in a 400 degree oven. I let them bake just until they were 160 degrees internally. (A good meat thermometer is a must until you get used to the touch of doneness.)

They smell heavenly and taste to yummy. They were moist, tender and cut with a butter knife! I forgot to take a picture of mine before I started eating... luckily my son hadn't come in to eat yet and I got a picture of his for the cover shot on this post! LOL

Okra Chips

If you have ever been to the Farmer's Market in Charleston, SC, you have probably seen a funny looking bag of green fried stuff called Okra Chips. The majority of people that buy a bag, come back for more. They are really like chips... you can't eat just one!

I started out just like I would if I were making regular fried okra. I mixed up the flour, bread crumbs and seasonings in a plastic bag... but I prepared the okra totally different. I tried to remove as much of the seeds as possible...

I cut the tender cooked okra right under the cap (stem end)

 and slit it down through the end.

I turned it and cut it again leaving four dangling 'legs' on each pod.

I then took the knife and scraped out the seeds.

16 oz bag of frozen okra, thawed
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Oil for frying

Heat oil to 350 degrees.
Mix the bread crumbs, flour and seasonings in a plastic bag. Place the okra in the bag, in batches. (The okra is pretty slimy at this point and does not require an egg wash.) Seal the bag and shake to coat. Only coat as much as you are frying in one batch. I pulled each pod out by the stem end and shook off the excess coating and even wiped some around in the coating to separate the four strips so they would fry up nice and crisp. Make sure the oil is up to temp before adding okra, or the coating/breading will fall off. Gently place the okra in the oil. Cook until browned and crunchy. Remove from oil and place on paper towels or butcher paper. I used popcorn salt to season since regular salt basically bounces off the crispy coating!