Do you need an appetizer for the upcoming Super Bowl?  Or a fruity sweet dish to serve at a shower or other party?  These Strawberry Pound Cake Kabobs are easy to assemble (especially with a store bought pound cake) and will disappear in no time.  For a lower calorie version, use angel food cake cubes instead of pound cake.

All I did here was take a pound cake from Publix’s bakery and cut it into cubes.  I washed 2 boxes (2 pounds total) of strawberries and skewered the pound cake squares alternately with the strawberries onto a kabob stick.  Then I melted a 12 oz package of semi-sweet chips in the microwave (a minute at a time, stirring after each minute until mixture is melted and smooth) and drizzled the chocolate over the kabobs.  To drizzle, I put the melted chocolate in a cake decorating bag and snipped a little bit of the end off.  I used the shorter 6-7″ sticks which makes the perfect serving size.  I allowed a little time for the chocolate to harden before serving.   To speed up that process the kabobs could be refrigerated. Simple. Tasty. Pretty!

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Like Strawberries, chocolate covered berries, or cream cheese and berries?  Then you are going to LOVE these cute stuffed strawberry appetizers.  These stuffed strawberries are perfect for parties, Valentine’s Day, or anytime you want a dreamy fruity treat.  And they are SO easy!  You will need:

• 2 pounds of fresh strawberries, washed and dried, stems removed and wide ends cut flat
• 1 8 oz package of cream cheese – room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 8 oz tub Cool Whip – thawed
• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate

Evenly cut the wide end with the stem off each strawberry so the berries will stand straight.  Then make a cut crossways across the top of each strawberry, and cut about 1/2″ to 3/4″ deep into the berry.  Now make a perpendicualar cut to the first cut, about the same depth.  Gently spread open the tops of the strawberries to prepare them for the cream cheese filling.

In a medium size bowl, cream the cream cheese using a mixer until it is light and fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat for a minute.  If the cream cheese is room temperature the sugar should dissolve into the cream cheese and not leave a grainy texture.  You can also let the mixture set 5-10 minutes and beat it again if needed.  Then fold in the Cool Whip.  Spoon the cream cheese mixture into a cake decorating bag that has a star tip in the end.  Use the filled bag to “stuff” each strawberry.

Melt 4 0z semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave a minute at a time, stirring after each minute.  When chocolate is smooth carefully fill a cake decorating bag that has a writing tip in one end.  Use the filled bag to pipe the chocolate onto the top of the mound of cream cheese filling of each strawberry. Refrigerate berries until ready to serve.  No need to worry about left overs. There won’t be any!

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Tags: Appetizers, party, strawberries

Coffee filters are relatively cheap.  Although they are inexpensive (roughly $1.00 for a box of 1000), my frugally minded friends may be surprised how many ways a coffee filter could make life easier.

Nick yourself shaving?  Tear off a small piece of a coffee filter, stick it to the cut to blog and stop the bleeding.

Coffee filters are lint free. Use them to clean mirrors, screens, and glass.

Line iron skillets with coffee filters to absorb moisture and keep them from rusting.

Use a coffee filter to serve a hot dog or a hamburger or taco. This is a perfect way to carry and eat them while on the go or in the car.

Coffee filters make great bowls for serving snacks or popcorn.  Clean up is EASY.

Make your own dryer sheets by placing a drop of fabric softener on a coffee filter and tossing it into the dryer.

Use a coffee filter to store Christmas ornaments or screws or nails or any small gadget.

Use a cone shaped coffee filter to pour oil into your car.

Use a coffee filter between plates or dishes to protect them while storing them away.

Is your internet slow? Use a coffee filter to clean your cable connectors.

Cover food before microwaving with a coffee filter to prevent splatters.

Run out of paper towels?  Use a coffee filter to wipe counters or clean up a spill.

Place some baking soda on a coffee filter and place in a stuffy drawer or musty locker to aborb odor.

Drain fried foods on coffee filters.

Use a coffee filter to polish shoes.

Line plant pots with coffee filters to prevent leaks.

And last but not least – use a coffee filter to MAKE COFFEE!

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Here is a recipe that has been a kids’ favorite around our house for a long time. These are the best brownies I have ever tasted. Be careful! They are very rich, but they will be a great way to top of your Super Bowl menu.

Brownies

In large bowl mix

• 2 sticks of soft butter
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of cocoa

Add 4 eggs and beat

Add

• 1 cup of plain flour
• ½ tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of baking of powder
• 2 Tsp vanilla
• 1 cup of nuts (optional)

Pour in a 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes

Icing

In a bowl mix the following until smooth

• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 stick of butter
• ½ cup of cocoa
• 1 tsp vanilla

Printable Recipe

End Zone Brownies

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Tags: Brownies, End Zone Brownies, Super Bowl

Looking for some macho food for the playoff games? Search no more. These mini burgers will be a winner in the hearts (and stomachs) of your family!

I attended Highland Heights elementary school in the early 70’s. The building was incredibly old (it had a fallout shelter in the basement) and pretty scary to a first grader. But I will never forget the aroma pouring from the cafeteria on burger day. We had some of the finest southern cooks in the cafeteria, many who were African American. Those ladies would make yeast buns every Friday for the hamburger patties. Those awesome yeast buns helped me overcome my fear of the school basement back then. Today, my memory of school yeast buns is my inspiration for mini burgers.

You will need:

• 1 pound hamburger meat (I use Laura’s Organic Beef)
• McCormick Smokehouse Pepper
• Salt
• Butter
• 1 Sweet Onion cut into straws
• 1 package Sister Shubert’s yeast rolls (the large ones in a pack, not the small ones in a pan)
• Square cheddar cheese slices, cut into quarters

I love Laura’s Beef because it’s organic, and once it is browned – there no gross, yellow grease to drain. It seems so pure and natural. I also like the fact that it comes in a square shape.

When making burgers I simply cut the square into fourths when making ¼ pounders. When I make mini burgers, I simply half the quarters into eighths.

First I heat my skillet to med-high, add about1/3 stick of butter and let the butter melt. Next I place the halved and quartered meat into my frying skillet. I hate to touch meat, so I simply smash the halved and quartered hamburger meat flat with my spatula.

Next I add this new spice McCormick makes. It is called Smokehouse Pepper. You could use regular pepper too. Then I sprinkle each patty with salt and top each patty with a few onion straws. I place the lid on top and let the burgers cook for a good 5 minutes – but I also watch the pan and reduce the heat if needed. Burnt beef isn’t pleasant.

After the burgers brown on one side, I carefully flip them along with the onions. I let the burgers cook another five minutes. I like my beef well done, so I repeat the flipping process again, giving each side another 1-2 minutes to cook. When burgers are done, I remove the skillet from heat. Then I top the burgers with a couple of cheddar cheese quarters while the burgers are still in the skillet. If I’m in the mood for really melted cheese, I will place the lid on the skillet and let the cheese melt while I prepare the yeast rolls.

While the burgers are cooking, I heat the Sister Shubert’s rolls according to package directions. I like to cut mine through the middle while the rolls are partially frozen. I have found my serrated knife works best for this job.

When burgers are done, simply place a burger between the top and bottom of the yeast roll, and add those tasty, buttery onions from the skillet.

These are excellent served with Must-O-Naise.

Printable Recipe

playoff-miniburgers

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Tags: burgers, football playoffs, mini burgers

Take a look at this salad.  I recall making this last summer.  I did not have a recipe to follow.  I just got in the kitchen and threw some things together that I thought would be tasty.  I remember making a saucy dressing and that I served it chilled.  Looks like I put some olives, and green onions, and tomatoes in there.  I’m pretty sure that’s fresh grated Parmesan on top for garnish.  And I recognize the fresh basil. Oh how I LOVE fresh basil.  Could someone please tell me how I made this because I want to eat it again and I did NOT write down the recipe.  Does anyone out there have a great recipe for orzo salad served cold with a creamy dressing/sauce and lots of fresh chopped veggies?

We are in the middle of a dreary winter here in Middle Tennessee.  I am dreaming of spring gardens and summer harvest of ripe tomatoes, green onions, fresh herbs and the like.  And I WANT this salad!  I suppose I will simply need to recreate it soon.  Until then, let us all be tormented by this beautiful photo that our son took on a warm, breezy summer day last year. Excuse me while I go nurse my cold, take some medicine, and drink the umpteenth cup of hot tea.

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Are you worried about providing a healthy meal in as little time as possible?  Here’s a recipe loaded with vegetables, AND V-8 Juice and is our younger son’s favorite soup.  The juice gives the soup an amazing flavor and the soup can be ready in under 30 minutes.  Or all the ingredients can be tossed in a crock pot for a day of slow cooking.  Either way, everybody wins!

• 1 large can V-8 juice
• 1 pound Laura’s organic ground beef
• 1 10 oz package frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Brown ground beef in a large dutch oven.  Add the V-8 juice, frozen vegetables, peeled cubed potatoes, onion powder and pepper.  Heat soup to a low boil and let it simmer until potatoes and veggies are tender, or approximately 30 minutes.  Serve will grilled cheese sandwiches or cornbread.

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Tags: Beef, soup, vegetable

Back in 1969 when Sam Walton was incorporating his company, local businessman Dan Evins was giving serious thought to changing the way people traveled.  The late 60’s was a time when our country’s interstate system was still young.  Goods and services along the highways were hard to come by and fast food chains were more common than a place to “set a spell” and get a hot home cooked meal.  Dan viewed mealtime as a special time to visit with family and friends and share food and conversation.  He also thought of a place where one could purchase things that make you feel good, like jars full of candy, and homemade jelly or jam.  Dan recalled  the places he used to visit as a young boy – the country store.  Evins thought maybe folks traveling the new highways might prefer a relaxing and comfortable place to stop in for a good home cooked meal, AND some unique shopping that would remind folks of our Amerian heritage.

In September 1969, the first Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was opened right here in Dan’s home town (which just happens to be mine too)  Lebanon Tennessee.  The original Cracker Barrel was right off Interstate 40 at Hwy 109.  I was just a kid when this store opened, but I have fond memories of dining there on a Friday night with my family.  This store was 5 minutes from my childhood home.

Here is a photo of the original store which was later relocated a few miles east right off the Lebanon Hwy 231 exit.  Since Evins opened this store over 40 years ago, America’s highways have welcomed over 600 Cracker Barrels in over 40 states to accomodate locals and weary travelers. The home office is located right here in Lebanon TN and has employed hundreds of local residents.  My husband was blessed to work for Cracker Barrel for over 18 years and was employed there during the company’s growth years.

Dan Evins passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer.  I would like to extend deepest sympathy to his family on behalf of our community.  He made a difference in the lives of countless individuals he chose to help and his business made such a positive impact on our community.  America should thank Dan for the dream he made into such a successful reality.  Although the time has come to say farewell to a visionary, Cracker Barrel shall remain an American icon.  Thank you Dan for bringing the South to the North and the East and the West.

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Yesterday I posted about 4 of my top cookbook picks.  Today I want to mention a few more favorites.

My fabulous cooking friend Karen was able to compile a family cookbook.  Her in-laws, the Eatherlys, are known in this community for being some of the finest southern cooks around.  I was thrilled when Karen finished her cookbook and presented me with my very own copy.  I treasure her friendship and her recipes. I have shared her New York Style Cheesecake and Mango Salsa here on this blog.  YUM!

Over the past 4 years, I have spent a lot of time gardening, traveling to the Mennonite farms, and cannning and preserving.  My canning Bible is the Ball Blue Book of Canning.  It gives step by step instructions for using a pressure canner to can green beans, as well as how to and what to can using a water bath method.  This past summer I canned 48 quarts of green beans and close to 60 quarts of tomatoes.  Thanks to my neighbor Cindy, I have more quart jars than I will probably ever be able to fill.

The final book I want to share is Dining With Pioneers.  I got this book as a wedding present and I cherish it.  All of the contributors names and home towns are mentioned, which makes me feel like I’m related to them somehow.  These recipes are tried and true family favorites from across the heartland of America. The recipe for Hershey Bar Pie can be found in this book.  A recipe that should be tried by every southern cook!

Well that just about sums up my favorite southern cookbooks. Perhaps you have heard of a least one of these. Maybe you own your own copy.  I hope to publish my own someday.  Until then, I will keep posting my favorite recipes here.

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Thinking back, I do not recall my mother owning a single cookbook when I was very young.  Her treasures were scrawled on oddly shaped bits of paper.  Her muffin recipe was scratched on a note size orange paper with a smiley face.  Sometimes a recipe was simply torn out of the newspaper. Some recipes were “mimeographed” at school and distributed to teachers – purple print on 8×11 paper.  Family gatherings were large and a hit recipe might be written on the back side of a used envelope. And many times with Mom, the recipe was simply “in her head.”  I remember being 6 years old, and thrilled to be at the counter learning to bake brownies (from scratch of course).  Mom had baked enough brownies she didn’t have to look at a reicpe. It did not take me long to memorize her recipe. And yes it is still with me today.

Fast forward 40 years, and I honestly get overwhelmed with all the information on recipes available to me.  I have more cookbooks than I have shelves in the kitchen to place.  I’ve saved oodles of magazines.  I’ve got 2-3 recipe boxes with hundreds of filled cards (I said filled, not filed :), and then there are the cooking shows and the cooking blogs, and the facebook pages, and let’s not leave out PINTEREST!

But often the most treasured recipes are traditional southern favorites.  I wanted to share some of my favorite cookbooks with you.  I’m pretty sure some of these won’t even be available for purchasing but they contain recipes created and shared by people here in my own home town or state.  Someday I hope to see my own cookbook in print so I won’t have to drag my laptop to the kitchen and log onto this site to recall how to make a favorite.  But at least I have the following cookbooks at my fingertips in my cookbook shelves in the kitchen.

Before anyone ever heard of Paula Deen here in the south, there was Miss Daisy King.  Oh how I love her recipes.  I would have to say that she is my GO TO gal for the best authentic southern recipes.  I can count on her recipes to always turn out to please a crowd. She’s been called the First Lady of Southern food, a title she certainly deserves. My all time favorite cookbook is Miss Daisy Celebrates Tennessee.

My #2 favorite cookbook is an another one by Miss Daisy King – The Tennessee Homecoming Cookbook.  Miss King traveled the state collecting the best of the best recipes from southern cooks and compiled this cookbook in the 80’s.  It was given to me as a wedding gift and I treasure it.  It contains favorites of mine like Carrot Cake, Prune Cake, Hoppin’ John, and Hash Brown Casserole.

#3 on my list is this gem Friendly Fixin’s from Friendship –  printed on a TYPEWRITER in the late 70’s by Friendship Christian School where I happened to attend (and also met the man I would later marry).  I believe these cookbooks were put together and sold to raise money for the school.  This copy was probably my mother’s copy since I would not have purchased one myself in 7th grade.  But I’ve given it lots of love.  And some of the contributors are still alive today.  My mother-in-law was one of the typists and contributors.  And some of the best cooks I know attended the church where I grew up and also contributed fabulous southern recipes.

#4 At the Table is another cookbook I treasure.  My aunt Patricia complied this cookbook by herself. It has over 400 pages of southern recipes that originated across 4 generations of our family.  My great grandmother’s recipe for Tea Cakes can be found in this book along with tips on how to cook a squirrel.  Aunt Patricia has done a painstaking job recording how things were “done in the good ole’ days” like hand cranking ice cream, to sharing the best family recipes created in modern times.  This gem is more than a cook book – its a cooking history book and I treasure it so much.

I have more books to share in a follow up post.  Until then, please let us know what some of your treasure are in our comments section.  Happy Cooking!

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Tags: daisy king, favorite cookbooks, southern cookbooks