Homemade Breakfast Hot Pockets

 

You can make your own hot pockets and control your ingredients. No preservatives or processed cheese sauces. Simple four ingredient recipe!

Ingredients:

Crescent Roll Dough
Sliced Ham*
Cheddar Cheese
3 Eggs, scrambled

Scramble 3 eggs in a little butter and set aside.

Take two piece of crescent dough and pinch the seams together to make a rectangle. Layer one half with ham, eggs and cheese. Fold the dough over to make a square and pinch the edges closed.

                            

Bake them at 375 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes. Enjoy!

*I used deli ham and heated it in a frying pan to remove some of the water content. 

Homemade Ketsup

I have never made my own ketchup. I've made mayonnaise and many different salad dressings and sauces, but not ketchup. It's so easy just to buy it. Well, I have so many friends that are into fresh, clean, healthy and truly organic foods. They are into canning and preserving and putting up their own foods. I thought I'd give ketchup making a try. I researched a lot and found many recipes. This is what I came up with today.

1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, crushed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

In a medium saucepan, combine the onion, carrot, celery, thyme, mustard, cayenne, cinnamon, tomato paste, honey and salt. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. 

Add the crushed tomatoes and vinegar.

Simmer until the sauce is very thick and flavorful,

about 20 to 30 minutes.

Let cool and place in a blender or

food processor and blend until smooth.

Strain to catch any chunks or un-processed pieces.

 Jar and process according to

canning instructions, or refrigerate.

The hubby says that it tastes like Heinz to him, but I plan on adjusting the seasonings to fit my taste. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 to 3 cups, so you can afford to make a couple of batches to make it what you want or like.

Mama's Southern Slaw Dawg!

It's the perfect weekend to grill out. Throw some hot dogs and hamburgers on and have a party! My Mama's favorite was a good ole Southern Slaw Dawg! We used to go to the mall in Sumter and visit Orange Julius (at the time... now closed)... a great excuse to get a slaw dog! I never could get them to understand that chili on a slaw dog is a good thing! They always asked me to repeat my order! It was always delicious, but NOTHING compares to Mama's slaw on a hot dog! 

In order to get all the toppings on the hot dog

and still be able to fit it in your mouth... 

scoop out the bread from the top of the bun,

leaving a shell to cradle the dog! (as shown in the picture above)

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. 

You can't even see the dog in these two pictures!

The picture above is traditional chili with beans.

The picture below is hot dog chili without beans!

4th of July at "The Cabin"

The Elliott family always has a big BBQ for the family reunion on the 4th of July. Years back it was held at "The Cabin", way back in the swamp behind my parent's and Grandparent's homes. Oh, the memories that it all brings back. The men would get together early in the morning and BBQ a whole hog over live coals. 

That's what we call a "Pig Pickin"!

The women would bring the side dishes. 

I remember Mama and I rolling lemons and making the fresh lemonade.

  At the end of the meal, you could hear

Cousin Mac yelling, "Ice Cream! Come get your ice cream!"

Cousins:

Some of this was before my time or I just missed out on the fun. My cousins, Kathy, Deepy and David remember most of this. I do remember the cabin and the hill going down to it. The hill was so steep that you couldn't see down it until you had crested the top. That hill could be fun, especially if it rained. More than once after a good rain storm, a car would come sliding sideways down it. One year, the kids were sliding down the hill. It was Deepy’s turn to slide. He started down the hill and Kathy noticed a car coming and hollered at Deepy to lay down. He did and the car ran over Deepy. One year, Cousin Kenneth was driving Uncle’s El Camino. He had Tommy, Deepy and David on the tailgate, when he hit a mud hole and threw them out the back.

There was Uncle Louie, who fell out the boat. 

He had to be towed back to the bank because

he was too big for them to pull back into the boat.

There was Cousin Ann trying to teach Kathy how to smoke...

After Daddy put in the pool at the house, we made it a tradition to go back to the house after the reunion and go swimming. Mama used to make a big plastic gallon pitcher full of her poolside lemonade in the summertime. She would put it in the freezer and it would turn to slush. It was like a lemon-lime daiquiri, but slushy not icy. She’d get her raft and a big glass of ‘Lemonade’ and float for hours.

One hot summer afternoon, Deepy and Charlie were swimming. Mama was floating on her raft soaking up the sun. Her lemonade was over by the side of the pool. Everybody was enjoying the water and the lemonade. About that time Charlie said, “Hey, Uncle!” Mama looked up and Uncle (Dargan, who never drank) was walking over to her glass. She paddled as hard as she could, but he already took a gulp. He set it down and said, “Now, that’s the best lemonade I’ve ever tasted! Got any more?” Mama said, “Well, thank you! But Sorry! That was the last glass!”

Mama in the poolhouse... Notice the yellow pitcher

in the freezer, that's her lemonade!

Judy’s Poolside Lemonade

1 12oz can frozen Lemonade Concentrate

1 6oz can frozen Limeade Concentrate

36 oz 7-Up

1 fifth Bacardi Rum

Mix ingredients in gallon pitcher. Freeze until slushy (at least 24 hours).
To serve: Stir with large metal spoon (mixture will freeze on top, but the center will be soft). Spoon into plastic glass.

Judy's Poolside Lemonade... perfect!

Elliott's Strawberry Ice Cream Pops

A while back, I wrote the post on how to make Homemade Ice Cream in a bag. My son, Elliott loves the way it tastes and loves to make it himself. I thought by now my 14 year old son would think that this is no longer cool to do... Last night, he got out the strawberries (which he wrote on his part of the grocery list) and decided to make his own ice cream.

Of course he turns away!

He's "churning" the ice cream.

What you need:

• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
• 6 tablespoons Rock Salt or Kosher Salt
• 1 pint size plastic bag
• 1 gallon size plastic bag
• Ice

What you do:

Put sugar, milk and vanilla in the small bag and seal it good and tight. Fill the big bag half way with ice and the salt. Put the small bag inside the big bag with the ice and salt. Shake and roll the bags around for about 5 minutes. Wipe the salt water of the top of the small bag and open carefully. Voila! Ice Cream

Tip:

The ice and salt gets really cold, so give the kids oven mits or a towel to handle the bags.

Next, he cut up the strawberries... 

Taking the ice cream bag

out of the salt and ice bag... 

Make sure you wipe off the bag

so you don't get salty water in the ice cream.

He layered the popsicle mold

alternating strawberries and ice cream.

He piped in the ice cream

by clipping the corner of the bag.

To the freezer...

Strawberry Ice Cream Pops... by Elliott!

Sooooo Ready for the Christmas Season!

A Christmas Tree in Every Room!

When I was growing up, each year we had at least two Bar-B-Ques, one at Thanksgiving and one at Christmas. The Bar-B-Que at Thanksgiving was on Saturday and was for all the employees and business associates of Mama and Daddy. The one at Christmas was on Christmas Eve and was for family and friends. We had about a hundred people at each. We would spend all week getting the house ready and two days getting all the food ready. Mama would take some of the guys from the shop (Central) and put them to work at the house. One year, Al Miller (a young black guy that worked at Central) told Mama, “You’ve owned slaves before, Haven’t you?” It was always a busy and exciting time.

At one of the Christmas Bar-B-Ques, someone came out of the bathroom and I heard, “Oh my goodness, she even has a Christmas tree in the bathroom!” Mama had a Christmas tree in every room. The kitchen... living room... bathrooms... bedrooms... everywhere... We kids even had our own trees in our rooms. The trees ranged in size from 2 feet to 6 feet. Mama had a tree with seashell ornaments. One had dove ornaments. One had all homemade ornaments. One had all Victorian ornaments. One had all red and white ornaments. One had all Santa ornaments. She had a tree made of holly decorated with ornaments. She even decorated some of the houseplants!

Mama loved it. Holidays were another reason for parties, gifts and food with family and friends! Christmas was especially magical. Mama went all out. I remember one year Mama came home with Christmas sweatshirts. Mine read, ‘I Believe in Santa Claus.' Mama’s read, ‘I Want It All.' Charlie’s read, ‘Bah Humbug!’ Mama’s one requirement for Christmas morning presents was that you believe in Santa. Mama and I even had our picture taken with Santa.

One year when Charlie was about 6 years old, he came in and told Mama that there was no Santa Claus. She questioned him and then called everyone in the room. She said, “Listen up! Charlie has come in with the idea that there is no Santa Claus! That is not true! There is a Santa and anyone who does not believe in him...well, Santa won’t bring them presents. Is that clear? And I mean it! Clear?” Well, later Mama pulled us (except Charlie) aside and said that it didn’t matter who Santa Claus was or where the presents came from. It was the love and giving of the Christ-mas season. But the presents did come and as long as we said we believed we’d get presents. It didn’t matter if we were married or 50 years old, Santa would always come for us. What a concept! And she meant it. Jim and I got married (now my ex-husband) and she told him the same thing. That first Christmas, Santa brought Jim a recliner! The next year Jim told Mama at Christmas time, “I believe!”

Ice Box Fruit Cake

My Mama made this every Christmas! I can remember sneaking in the frig and cutting a sliver off. It is so rich all you need is a thin slice... so this 'cake' goes a long way!

1 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers, crushed
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (4 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained and halved
2 cup chopped pecans

In a medium bowl, stir together the pecans, cherries, condensed milk and vanilla wafers. Dough will be very thick, you will need to use your hands.

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and place dough inside. Refrigerate overnight or until the cake is set and all the milk is absorbed.


Colonial Hot Buttered Rum
This recipe is hundreds of years old... dating back before Colonial Times!

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 pinch salt

2 quarts hot water

3 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves
2 cups rum

1 cup whipped cream
ground nutmeg to taste

Combine brown sugar, butter, salt and water in a 5 quarts slow cooker. Add cinnamon and cloves. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Stir in rum.

Ladle from slow cooker into mugs and top with whipped cream... dust with nutmeg.


Eggnog Cake

You've got to have some eggnog handy for this one at this time of year!

Some of the famous Rimini Eggnog would make it even better! Illegal but better! LOL

1 (18.25 ounce) yellow cake mix

1 cup eggnog

3 eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Glaze:

2 cups 10X sugar

2 tbsp eggnog

In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Mix. Pour into a greased and floured 12-cup fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack. Remove from pan; cool completely.

Combine sugar and eggnog. You may need to add more eggnog to get it to the consistency you want. Spoon over cake.

Judy's Red Velvet Cake

There is no getting away from making this cake that Mama made famous in these parts. This is the most flavorful, moist and delicious cake I've ever made. I will say that to make this like Mama, you HAVE to follow the directions word for word... FOLD do not beat with a mixer at the end. It makes the cake dense and hard.

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cocoa
3 tablespoons red food coloring
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs. Mix well. Mix cocoa and food coloring in a cup. Add to eggs and sugar. Add vanilla. Sift flour and salt. Add, alternating with buttermilk. Add soda and vinegar. Let foam and FOLD into mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Icing:

1/2 cup butter, room temp
8-ounces cream cheese, softened
1 box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whip together until creamy. Spread on cake. Garnish with chopped pecans if desired.

Easter Dinner from my Blog...

My friend Laurie at Food is Love has thrown down the gauntlet! She has challenged me to make the Easter Holiday meal from dishes I already have on my blog. No pulling out Mama's old notes on the traditional Easter Feast this time! (Unless I've unwittingly already got it buried in all these posts :-) Soooo... Ok Laurie! I'm on it! Let's get ready to rumble!!!



Yes! That's me in the polka dot pants!!!

When I think of Easter, I think back to Easter Hunts with all my cousins, family and friends. I also think of a big ole whole picnic ham that has been cooked to perfection by my Mama, of course... green bean casseroles, brown rice, potato salad and someone always brings the Watergate Salad that most Southerners, that don't care for it much, refer to as "that Green Stuff"! No meal would be complete without Mama's macaroni and cheese. We also loved to churn ice cream and Mama always had a cake or two on the counter.



Now... let's see what I can come up with from previous posts that could come close to my Easter Food Memories!

First of all, what can I replace the ham with... I cannot believe I haven't covered something as simple as ham! Ok, let's go with Chicken Cordon Blue that has some ham and, you might think, is a pretty fancy holiday kind of feel, but wait, remember this is 'with a twist'! This an easy version that is turned into a casserole! So, it's perfect to fix for a large family get-together. Whew! Main course... check! Now let's find those sides!

There is Mama's Macaroni and Cheese and the green bean casserole. Instead of brown rice, let's go with Grandmama Bradham's Greasy Rice.

I can't believe I don't have my potato salad on here either. So, we'll go with my new popular Cornbread Salad. We always have to have some nibbles lying around so, I'll put out some Dill Pickles, pickled okra, pickled carrots and Bread and Butter Pickles. And no meal is complete without Mama's Short Biscuits. Oh and don't forget the Green Stuff!

Now, desserts... As I said, we loved to churn ice cream. So, I'd like to have some of Mama's Orange Pineapple Ice Cream and, I had already bought the ingredients to make the kids an Italian Cream Cheese Cake.

Well that's the Challenge... My Easter Meal from my Blog...

Thanks to Laurie at Food is Love! This was a fun challenge! So it's my turn to challenge some of my foodie friends. Here goes...

The Southern Lady Cooks

Rich Fletcher's Good Food Revolution

Cooking with Libby

Check out Laurie's Challenge Results too at Food is Love!

Canning Veggies and making Jelly

I had a lot of fruit and veggies left from my back-up for catering the wedding this past weekend. Not wanting them to spoil, or throw them out... I canned them!

Getting started making Dill Pickles

Dill Pickles

1 pickling mix package
7 1/3 cups water
3 1/3 cups white vinegar
1/8 tsp dill weed per jar
1/2 tsp chopped garlic per jar

Boil mixture. Pack jars with dill, garlic and sliced pickles. Pour mixture over cucumbers leaving 1/2 inch. Then follow canning instructions.

Ready to sit for at least 24 hours

I also pickled some carrots. Turned out yummy to me!

I also did a quart of tomato sauce (on the left)
and 3 pints of strawberry jelly.

Strawberry Jelly

4 cups mashed strawberries
1 cup sugar (taste for sweetness)
1 packet of strawberry jello

Boil mixture, and follow canning instructions.

My son, Elliott opened a quart of the pickles tonight
 to try them, and this is what's left :-)

Ever wonder what it takes to cook meatloaf for 100 people?

First... the ingredients, which includes 30 pounds of hamburger...

30 pounds hamburger
30 eggs
10 cups bread crumbs
10 packages onion soup mix
ketsup
mustard
worchestershire sauce
house seasoning
pepper

Mix everything together... To make it easier, I did it in 3 batches.

3 pans... 2 loaves each

About done!

Pimento-less Cheese

I found out a long time ago that I cannot eat bell peppers of any kind. Even the smell brings on a level of heartburn that is miserable. I do however, love the flavor of a lot of the dishes that contain them. I have had to re-invent recipes to satisfy my craving for these dishes. Lately, I've seen many recipes for pimento cheese and read the raves on the wonderful tastes. So... I decided to make a pimento-less or 'mock' pimento cheese spread. I think it turned out really well! However, if you are a die hard pimento fan... add it in and you'll be very pleased!



Ingredients:
2 cups cheddar cheese
8oz cream cheese
2 T sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
4 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt

Cream cheese goes in...
This recipe gave me a chance to use my new Cruisinart
PowerBlend Duet... "free" from the Pig!
"Free" means they made me pay the taxes on it :-(

The roasted garlic left over from
the chicken night before last.

Add the garlic, cheese, sour cream, lemon and seasonings...

Process until well combined...

I toasted it and made a sandwich!