Buttermilk Waffles

This recipe is out of The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. I've had this cookbook for years and have enjoyed many good recipes. This morning we made buttermilk waffles.









1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp double-acting baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups butter milk
2 eggs

Preheat waffle iron
In a large mixing bowl add all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredient to the dry mixture.
Pour batter into waffle iron (approximately ½ - ¾ a cup)
Cook according to manufacture’s directions.

Irish Beef Stew

When the weather starts to cool off I get a hankering for stew. My favorite is Irish beef stew. I have the ingredients listed below with a rough estimate of how much to use since I'm not really one to measure.

Ingredients

1/8 cup olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces coated in seasoned flour
6 large garlic cloves, minced
3 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons flour

water
Optional:
1 cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of red wine

I like to season my my beef with salt and pepper before I dust with a little flour. Next I heat my oil in the skillet and brown my meat adding the garlic right at the end. Then I add the beef stock simmering the meat for an hour before I add the potatoes, onion, carrots, and additional seasonings. I add several cups of water bring to a boil before I turn the heat down, cover, and simmer all afternoon.

Serve with sour cream and crusty bread.

Tomato Sauce for later

I don't know about you but, our tomatoes have been prolific this year. So I decided it was time I learned to can. Now, like anyone who doesn't have a clue, I ask the wise folk around me how to go about canning and here's what I came up with after listening to many people.... Canning is a long, time consuming process, but if done right the benefits are enumerable. I agree with the time consuming part so if your ready here goes.

First you need to start will a whole bunch of tomatoes.

Something like five pounds. Don't expect to get a lot of sauce in return.

Boil a large pot of water, cut a shallow X on the bottle of the tomatoes like this.

Then dunk the tomatoes in the boiling water for 30 seconds or so until you can see the skins start to split.

After we pealed and seeded the tomatoes we put them in a food processor and pureed them

Since there is a lot of water in the tomatoes we decided to not only season the sauce with fresh herbs we let the puree cook down until there was little if any water left in the pan.

Next we add a 1/2 tsp of fresh lemon juice to insure safe acidity and a touch of sugar to counter act the tartness.

Now keep in mind I've never canned before and I'm inclined to follow directions on this one people even if the directions seem a bit odd.

Then we strained the sauce as we poured it in to our ever-so-clean canning approved jars getting out any seeds that were left behind.

I maybe a smart ass about it, but you really do need to have your jars prepared by washing with hot soapy water or by putting them in the dishwasher.

Leaving a ¼-inch head-space, we wipe the jar rims and adjust lids. Then we processed the jars in a Boiling Water Bath for 40 minutes.

Here's one that my Ladybug plans to enter in the fair next month.

Fried Green Tomatoes

As you may have already figured out, we in the south fry everything.

If you haven't figured this out yet, everything we in the south cook is good and I meant really good.

Here a simple one to add to your recipe box.

All you need is is a little cooking oil, some white corn meal, salt, pepper and a nice firm green tomato.

Slice up you tomato about 1/8 inch thick salt and pepper then dip in corn meal. You will fry it in about 1/4 inch of oil until golden brown on both sides.

Trust me it's delicious!

Squash Casserole

I got ya a new squash casserole recipe. This one is for a yummy little casserole. All you need are:
2 cups of sliced squash,
a medium onion, diced
a 1/2 cup mayo
2 tablespoons butter
1 fresh egg from the chickens bum
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
some bread crumbs
Boil the squash in salty water until tender (don't let it over cook, there's nothing worse than mushy squash) and saute the onion in the butter while the squash is boiling. Drain the squash and mix in the onion, cheese, mayo, and egg. Salt and pepper well then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Cook at 350 for about 40 minutes.
I'd share a nice little picture except I left my camera at a friends house, oops! I'll post one later...

Southern Fried Okra

My favorite husband will tell you he never knew how truly good fried okra tasted until he had it in the south. You may have tasted that breaded fried okra out of a freezer bag or in one of those big ole buffets, but until you fix it (the right way) at home you can't say you've eat fried okra.

There's a long list of ingredients so get out a pen a paper, this is gonna take a while.

1) fresh okra

2) white corn meal

3) salt

4) cooking oil

Okay, got all that. Now ,here's what you have to do.

Slice up your okra into about 1/4 inch pieces, cutting off the stem.

Place it in a colander and rinse with water.

Salt first then just pour your cornmeal over the okra.

(I just toss it around in the colander over the sink until it's lightly dusted)

Place one layer in a skillet with about an inch and a half to two inches of hot oil.

DO NOT stir it.

As it begins to brown, just turn it over and let it brown on the other side.

When you take it up let it drain of any excess oil. You may want to salt again.

Now start eating!

The Best Garlic Bread You'll Ever Eat

Now doesn't this look simple?

I bet your saying to yourself, "Why do I need a recipe to make garlic bread?" Well, the answer is simple, this is the best garlic bread your ever going to eat and your not gonna want to forget it! Now, let move on.

Take a stick of room temperature butter and a cup of Parmesan cheese, mix well.

Then add a little (or a lot) of garlic, your preference.

If you really want to jazz it up mix in a bit of dried parsley flakes.

Next slice your bread (I like to use different breads; sour dough, french baguette, just use whatever you like) and spread a generous helping of the butter mixture all over your bread.

If you want to make it look real purty like you can it sprinkle with some paprika.

Pop it into a 375 degree oven until toasty brown and there you have it, the best garlic bread this side of the Mississippi.