Sausage Casserole

This is my brothers dish, so I give him the credit. You will need..

1 lbs sausage

1 small onion

1 cup corn muffin mix

1 egg

1 1/2 cup cream corn

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

8x12 baking dish



In a skillet, brown the medium onion with some butter. I added some chopped garlic to the mix. When caramelized, remove from pan and set aside


Next, while the pan is still hot, brown the sausage. In a separate bowl, mix cream corn, corn muffin mix, fried onion, and egg. spoon into greased baking dish



Spoon sour cream over raw mixture, and add cooked sausage and cheese

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30minutes. I put the broiler on for about 5 minutes after that to brown the cheese a little. Give it a try and tell me what you think !

Sweet Potato's

Sitting at the bus stop yesterday waiting for my son to get home, the guy who lives up the road a little stopped by and handed me a bag of sweet potato's. I knew right then what I was having for supper

I got this recipe last year off the net, and luckily I found it again...

6 large sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 1/2 quart baking dish.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, orange juice and vanilla until smooth. Pour into prepared dish.
Bake in preheated oven 40 minutes.

I add some chopped walnuts to the mix, and top it with more walnuts and some shredded coconut.

Potato Soup

A cold rainy day here for me, and that means potato soup. Have you ever made it ? My Uncle made it this way when I was a kid, and I have done it like this ever since

Wash and cut into big chunks a 5lbs bag of potatoes. Put into your pot and boil for about 20 mins.

cut the heat down to a simmer, and crumble in 2 cans of corned beef. Trust me

Chop a small onion and add to the soup

Add some cut celery

Take your peeler and and add some carrot slivers into also. Add salt and pepper to taste

Let it simmer for about 30mins, and then add 2 cans evaporated milk. Regular milk will work OK if you do not have any

Depending on your taste, you can leave it a little thin, or I use instant potatoes to thicken it up some

Fry some grilled cheese sandwiches up and you have a great dinner. Also, do not worry about the remaining soup, It gets better as it gets older so the leftovers always get eaten

Is It Cake, Crunch, Crisp, Or Cobbler ?

I don't know what to call it , but it is fantastic. I have never made this before, but I'm glad I did. The whole name thing started when my cousin posted the recipe for this in her weekly newspaper column, and she called it Pumpkin Crisp. My brother told me it is called Dump Cake. My neighbor ate a piece, and he said his mom calls it Pumpkin, or whatever base you use, Crunch. Let me tell you how to make it, and then you can tell me.
First, for your base, you need 1 large can of pumpkin pie filling. You can also use apple, cherry, peach, etc.
Add in 3 eggs, 3/4 cups of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Mix well and pour into a 8 X 10 cake pan
Over the top, shake on 1 package dry yellow cake mix and cover filling, but leave loose
pour 1 stick melted butter over the top, and add chopped walnuts and shredded coconut to the top if you like, you can be creative here.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour

Now you can eat this warm, like my wife and I did last night, and it is great. I refrigerated it and we cut some tonight, and it was even better cold. This stuff is easy to make, and it tastes like you really put some time in it. Give it a try and tell me what you think

Birthday Time !

My youngest turned 4 yesterday, and for the party we always buy a decorated cake. The last one we bought was back in February. I cannot believe how much they have gone up. The cake you see here is just a single layer with the whipped cream frosting was $19.00. at the price club

I did check at Giant food for a cake with the picture and decorations, and they started at $29.00.

My favorite kind is the ice cream cake from either Carvelles or Dairy Queen, But they run around $30.00, so I did not even bother with stopping in

Our economy is affecting everything, that's the main reason we do not eat out as often. Oh well, at least we all know how to cook some great stuff at home

Hot Dog's, Tea, And Orange Chicken

I had a few friends over the last couple days, cutting up trees that Hannah knocked down this past weekend. We all use firewood in the colder months, so they were happy to help. We ate lunch together, which consisted of hot dogs and chips which brought us to our first argument. I fry or grill my dogs, Always. A couple of the guy's said boiling is better. at the end of my post, leave a comment with your preference please




Our next issue was with iced tea. I make mine in the coffee pot

I make a pot with 5 teabags, and pour it in my gallon pitcher with about a cup and a half of sugar.

My grandma boiled 4 or 5 bags on the stove, and made it the same way as me, except she used gallon milk jugs. Once again, one of the guys thought that was strange, and never heard of that either. Tell me what you think at the bottom please.

But anyway, I want to tell you what I made for dinner tonight. I saw this guy, Alton Brown, the other night on TV, and he was making some kind of BBQ. I heard him say something about marmalade and chili powder, but missed the rest. Well, today I pulled some boneless chicken breasts out of the freezer and laid them in the sink for dinner. All day today, all I could think about was that marmalade and chili powder. So when the work was done, and the 5:30 hour rolled around, I decided to create

I fried the sliced chicken in my electric skillet, and then drained it

In my big measuring cup, I added i jar ( 18oz ) of orange marmalade, 2 tablespoons of chili powder, 2 drops of liquid smoke, and a teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Mixed it all up, poured it over the chicken, and covered it up to simmer for a bit

While it simmered, I made some rice and broccoli because my wife came in and yelled about me dirtying up so many dishes, and said it smelled like the orange beef we get from take out. I removed the lid, and let the concoction I created to cook down until it looked like gravy, and then yelled for everyone to come and eat. I thought it was great

The family must have thought so too, because this is all that was left. I'll wrap it for lunch tomorrow. Please don't forget about the hot dogs and tea, just a short note about how you make them

Eat More Porcupine

When is the last time you ate some porcupines ? I have to admit, it has been a while here at my house. Serve them up with some mashed potatoes, some good brown gravy, some fried corn and biscuits and you will have a hard time getting up from the table when you're done. Let me tell you how to make them

First off, make a standard meatball recipe without using the bread crumbs or cornflakes. I use 2 lbs ground beef, chicken, or turkey. I have used half sausage/half ground beef before, and it was OK, but I am partial to the turkey meat. Add 2 eggs, 2 tbs Italian seasoning, 2 tbs pepper, and half med. chopped onion. Since I am using ground turkey, I also add 1 pkg instant turkey gravy. Mix well, and let set for a couple hours.

now on to the dirty part. Reach in the bowl and grab a handful, and then take a pinch of rice and add to the center, then take a little more to cover the rice so it is in the center. Roll it around a little to make a meatball and place on a broiler pan.

I bake them at 375 for about 35 to 40 minutes. You will know when they are ready because the rice will poke out in all directions. That's why we call them porcupines.

They are even better leftover for lunch the next day. I have 2 growing boy's at my table, so there was not much left tonight. I know these go by another couple names, so if you have had these before, let me know what you call them

Banana Split

The end of summer is here, but you don't have to stop enjoying summertime treats. I got this recipe from my cousin's newspaper column, and tried it out. I think you will like it.



Banana Split Dessert
9 Honey Grahams,finely crushed (about 1 1/2 cups crumbs 1 cup sugar,divided 1/3 cup butter, melted 2 8-oz pkgs cream cheese, softened 1 20-oz can crushed pineapple in juice, drained 6 bananas, divided 2 cups cold milk 2 small pkgs Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding 2 cups thawed Cool Whip, divided 1 cup chopped pecans, opt.
Mix graham crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the butter; press onto bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Freeze for 10 minutes. Beat cream cheese and remaining 3/4 cup sugar with electric mixer until well blended.Spread carefully over prepared crust; top with pineapple. Slice 4 of the bananas and arrange over pineapple. Pour milk into a large bowl;add dry pudding mixes and beat with a wire whisk for 2 minutes or until blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping; spread over banana layer in pan. Top with remaining 1 cup whipped topping and refrigerate at least five hours. Slice remaining 2 bananas and arrange over dessert just before serving. Sprinkle with pecans if desired. Store leftovers (if any) in refrigerator. Makes 24 small servings. Note you can also use the fat free, sugar free pudding and Lite whipped topping to save on calories and fat grams.

Ham & Cabbage

A wet and rainy day here, but I was prepared for it. I was ready for some ham and cabbage. Not your traditional, everyday meal, but a treat at my house. Let me tell you how I do it. I start off with my 2 1/2 gallon pot and usually boil a ham bone, but I did not have one saved from a Sunday dinner, so I fried 4 salt ham steaks. for those of you who do not know, most of the ham sold is sugar or honey cured. Salt ham is rubbed with salt, hung in a dark cool place, and left to rot for a little while. When you are ready, you cut off the mold, wash it, boil it, and then bake like a regular ham. I had some cooked ham steaks in the freezer, so I fried them crispy, sliced them, and then poured the ham, grease, and all into the pot. I then washed 5lbs of red potato's and added them whole to the pot, filled it half way with water, and set it to boil. I took 2 heads of cabbage, pulled the outside leaves off, cut the stem out and cut into quarters. when the water and potato's come to a boil, turn the heat down, add about 2 tablespoons of pepper, and then drop in the cabbage. Keep it on low and covered for about 30 minutes

Which is about the time it takes to bake a pan of cornbread. Yeah, I know, I should bake it in a cast iron skillet, but it was still dirty from frying the ham. A little trick with the cornbread if you are using the instant kind like Jiffy or Martha White, add a teaspoon of vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons of sugar to the mix. When it's all done and on a plate, don't forget to add some seasoning salt, ( we just call it red salt ) and some butter

Herbs and Vitamins

I do a lot of writing about food and recipes, and talk about some ingredients that many of you do not know much about. Today i want to tell you about a different use for ingredients, other than cooking.

Herbs are now used as remedies for all kinds of ailments. I know first hand that they can help with diabetes, bone loss, memory, and many other things. I am a user of Everflex for my back injuries, along with my physical therapy, and have noticed an improvement. I have a link here where I get my supplies www.mynsp.com/kay07 I found it and took the free Health Analyzer test to find out what would help me. Stop by there and check it out, They have some great stuff, and it does work. If you are into the herbs and natural thing, leave a comment and tell me what worked for you

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Olympic Food

Here in the US, when we attend a ball game, or a race, or an amusement park we are content with the food the vendors offer. Hot dogs and corn dogs, pizza, pretzels, and such. What is available to spectators at the Olympics ?