Playing Catch-Up ... A Recipe and a Loss

Dear Reader,

I can hardly believe I have been "away" from the blogging world for almost 2 months!

I have been busy

....working....baking....growing things...watering...organizing....spending more time with family....painting....creating notecards from my paintings....napping....walking....trying to grow in my walk with God...reading...cooking...Taking my entourage (not sure I spelled that correctly) of Parading Chicks to the Saturday morning market in downtown Columbus, GA....

but didn't realize I had been "away" quite this long.

On a sad note,

those of you who have been "visiting" my blog for a while may remember

Harry

Harry is no longer with us....

He was run over by a speeding car on the country back road on which we live.

Hubby found him .

Knowing Harry, he was probably completely absorbed in some strange small bug

or smell that he found in the middle of the road and never saw what hit him.

We had him for 6 years.

He is buried in the pine forest behind our home

with Bear, Blue, Sir Francis, Kate One, and Hamp...

 Our other dogs (Sapp, Kate Two, Bud, and Maggie)

 acted sad for several days after he died...as if they knew.

We all miss him very much...

Hmm...I didn't intend to "talk" about Harry when I started this post. 

I had every intention of giving you a wonderful recipe I found in Better Homes and Gardens magazine for fancy baked beans ...I took it to a family gathering at my sister's home ... It was quite a hit:)

Not sure how I deviated to Harry.....

Oh well...here's the recipe ....

might be just the thing to go with your Fourth of July Barbeque!

CALICO BEANS

Serves a crowd.

1 (15-oz) can green lima beans

1 (15-oz) can large lima beans (or butter beans)

1 (15-oz) can black beans

1 (15-oz) can red beans

1 (15-oz) can great northern beans

1 (28-oz) can pork and beans

½ lb. bacon (cut into 1-inch pieces)

2 medium onions(chopped) (I used one large)

¾ cup brn sugar (I only used about ½ cup)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup vinegar

½ cup ketchup

Fry bacon pieces.  Just as bacon begins to crisp, add the onions and fry together.  Then add all the other ingredients (except for the beans) and simmer for about 5 minutes. 



Meanwhile, drain the cans of beans, reserving the liquid, and put them in a large casserole dish.



Pour the frying pan mixture over the beans and mix thoroughly. 

Add enough of the reserved liquid to barely cover the beans

and bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 1 ½  hours,

checking periodically and adding more liquid as needed to keep the beans from drying out.

ENJOY!!

Have a lovely day!

-Mug

P.S.  It's good to be "back"....I'll be visiting all my blog friends over the next few days:)

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI for Supper Tonight!

Dear Reader,
     This is what we had for supper tonight (I know, I know ....most people today seem to say "dinner" for the nighttime meal, but I still say supper .....

CLASSIC CHICKEN TETRAZZINI

8 - 10 servings

 (freezes well)

12 oz. of vermicelli pasta

1/2 c. butter (I used Smart Balance Butter blend)

1/2 c. all purpose flour

4 c. milk (I used fat-free)

1/2 c. dry white wine

2 Tbs chicken bouillon granules

1 tsp seasoned pepper

2 c. grated parmesan cheese

4 c. diced cooked chicken

1 small jar sliced mushrooms, drained

3/4 c. slivered almonds (I didn't have any, so I omitted this)

4 stalks chopped celery (not in original recipe; I added this on my own.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pasta according to pkg directions.

2.  Meanwhile, melt butter in Dutch oven over low heat;

whisk in flour until smooth and cook about 1 min. 

Gradually whisk in milk and wine.  Cook over medium heat,

whisking constantly for 8 to 10 minutes or until mixture bubbles and thickens. 

Whisk in bouillon granules, seasoned pepper, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and chopped celery.

3.  Remove from heat; stir in diced chicken, mushrooms, and hot cooked pasta.

4.  spoon mixture into lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

(I used 2 smaller oblong glass baking dishes and froze one for a future "supper".) 

Sprinkle with slivered almonds and remaining 1 c. Parmesan cheese.

5.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes until bubbly and browned on top.

Enjoy!



Have a lovely suppertime!

-Mug

*recipe from Southern Living magazine (September 2010)

A day with Aunt "Mug" & Uncle "Fug" ...... Part One

Dear Reader,
     A niece (age 7) and a nephew (age 5) visited us today.  Husband decided to work at home today in his upstairs home office, so he was able to enjoy the visit also.  This post is Part I of a 3-Part Post.

The first thing we did was to bake cookies with Aunt....Mug :)  

And this is what they made:

LOW FAT OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c. brn sugar

1/4 c. fat free plain yogurt

2 Tbs canola oil

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 c. oatmeal

1c. raisins or dried cranberries or cherries

1/3 c. chocolate chips

Preheat Oven to 350
Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper or cooking spray.
Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
Combine brown sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, vanilla in a large bowl.  Add flour mixture and mix.
Stir in oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.
Bake 10-12 minutes until very lightly browned.

Have a lovely day!

-Mug

Sausage Pinwheels .....

Dear Reader,

This is a very simple recipe that a teen-ager in our church brought for 5th Sunday Breakfast one month.  Simple enough for a Saturday morning breakfast at home ...nice enough for a brunch with the ladies

 They freeze well either before baking or after so that it is an easy "something" to keep on hand.

   
There are only 3 ingredients:

Refrigerated crescent roll dough

cream cheese

ground sausage

Fry the sausage and drain to get the grease out

Unroll the crescent roll dough pinching perforated edges to keep it intact as one long piece.

Spread with a layer of cream cheese.

Sprinkle cooked ground sausage over cream cheese.

Start at one end and roll dough up tightly.

Use a sharp knife and slice.

(The roll may be frozen and allowed to thaw enough to slice before baking)

Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

YUM!

Have a Lovely day!

-Mug

MAMIE'S RUM CAKE .....

Dear Reader,
This is one of those scrump-diddly-umptious, but oh, so easy recipes that needs to be shared.  I've never met its creator, Mamie, but for some reason I have a vision in my head of a woman who looks just like Ethel on I Love Lucy cooking merrily in a 1950's kitchen :)

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

1/2 c. chopped pecans

1 box Golden or Butter Recipe cake mix (Duncan Hines)

1 (31/4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding

1/2 c. light rum

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. oil (I used Canola)

4 eggs

Grease and flour a Bundt pan.  Crumble nuts into bottom:

Mix rest of cake ingredients with electric mixer until well mixed.

Pour into pan and bake at 325 for 50 - 60 minutes.

Hot Rum Glaze:

3/4 c. sugar (I used a little less)

3/4 stick (6 T) butter (I used Smart Balance butter blend)

1/4 c. rum

1/4 c. water

Boil glaze ingredients for 2 to 3 minutes. 

Remove cake from oven and immediately pour hot glaze over hot cake in the pan.

*Note* Hot glaze will cause cake to settle, but don't be alarmed. 



Cool cake in pan for 30 minutes and then remove.

Freezes well and OH SO GOOD!.  

I like to make mini loaves to give as little "just because" gifts.  Wrap them in clear wrap. Tie red rafia around the loaf and attach a tag with the name of the cake and the ingredients listed.

Hap-pug Va-lug-tug's Dug!

(Our family sometimes speaks the "Ug" language....

Hence the term of endearment of .....Mug :)

Hope your day has been and continues to be ...."lug-ly"!

 -Mug :)

P.S.  Recipe is from Friends and Family spring 2008 quarterly magazine put out by Alfa Insurance

Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies.....YUM!

Dear Reader,
     The only thing I like about getting our Alabama Power bill every month is the recipe that comes as a part of every bill.  This recipe was in last month's bill, and it is scrump-diddly-umptious! 

(Tiff used scrump-diddly-umptious to describe her rendition of the chicken pot pie recipe I posted,

and I just had to add it to my vocabulary!

 -Sounds like something from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, doesn't it?-

Thanks, Tiff, for this addition to my vocabulary:)

In case you can't quite make out parts of the recipe, here it is again:

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes

2 sticks butter (softened)                            2 c. plain flour (I used 1 1/2 c. whole wheat instead)

3/4 c. sugar                                                1 t baking soda

3/4 c. brn sugar (firmly pckd)                      3/4 t salt (I used sea salt)

2 eggs                                                         2 c. flaked coconut

2 t. vanilla extract                                        12 oz. package milk chocolate chips

1 t. almond extract                                       1 1/2 c. almonds (finely chopped)

Cream butter and sugars.  Beat in eggs and extracts.  Combine flour salt and baking soda.  Add to creamed mixture.  Mix well.  Stir in coconut, chocolate chips, and almonds.



Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pan about 1 minute; then move to wire cooling racks.  Makes about 4 dozen cookies.   



ENJOY!

Have a scrump-diddly-umptious day!

-Mug



P.S.  Farmgal over at 4Bushel Farm makes her own vanilla extract.....I thought about that homemade vanilla extract when I was baking these:)

The BEST Chicken Pot Pie...

Hubby deemed this

the BEST chicken pot pie he's EVER had!

He went on to talk about how much he liked chicken pot pie in general....

Hmmm...now we've been married for 33 years...

so why didn't I know he liked chicken pot pie that much...Hmmm?

Anyway, he was FULL of praises for this particular pie.

THE MENU:

Canned chicken(2 cans) 

(I was lazy, but I did check the sodium content to be sure i was choosing the one with the least (Tysons won)

chicken broth

fresh vegetables

(I used 2 small potatoes, 1/3 red bellpepper, 4 carrots, 3 stalks celery, onion, broccoli)

cornstarch (2 Tbs)

red pepper flakes

garlic

sea salt

2 pie crusts

(I used Publix brand readymade)

Simmer the chopped fresh vegetables in about 1 cup chicken broth about 20 minutes.  Season with salt, garlic, red pepper flakes.  In another cup of broth mix the cornstarch and pour in with vegetable mixture.  Add the canned chicken.  Mix and pour into 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish lined with one pie crust.  Place the 2nd pie crust on top and press to edges.

Bake at 375 for 30 - 50 minutes (until browned and bubbling)

Enjoy...and have a lovely day!

-Mug

P.S.   New in my Etsy Shop...Pearl's New Hat

http://www.etsy.com/listing/67240334/pearls-new-hat-4-x-6-original-acrylic

Hatchechubbee Mahi...

Dear Reader,
     Husband loves to play with his backyard cooking toys and, in doing so, has created a huge variety of recipes...none of which are ever exactly the same because he doesn't write anything down and is forever trying to better whatever he did the last time!
     He is extremely proud of this Mahi Mahi recipe...so much so that tonight he insisted I watch him so I could see EXACTLY how to do it in case I ever had to cook it...Heaven forbid I ever DO have to because we all know MINE would never match up to HIS!
     Anyway...If I'm going to WATCH, then I'm going to take PICTURES, am I not?!

He lined his ingredients up in order of use...

For someone who doesn't write down his recipes, he was VERY specific about what I should write down...but, lucky for you I streamlined them for this blog post.

             MahiMahi fillets (1 per person) 

               steeped in                

Lemon Juice

then sprinkled with

Sea Salt

rubbed liberally with

Smoked Paprika

patted on all sides with

Dried Thyme and Rosemary

(make sure the above herbs "stick")

Now...in between the fillets pour a small amount of

Marsala Cooking Wine/Sherry

and "mop" up the wine with the fillets (flipping and turning and rubbing them across the plate.Hubby likened this motion to wiping the counter with a wet rag (shudder)..You may have to add a tad more wine)

Now you are ready for the backtard "play"...

Cover the bottom of a cast iron frying pan with

Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil and heat until steaming.

Place Mahi in hot oil...

Beware...the wine basting may cause the Mahi to burst into flame...

but have no fear (according to Hubby) just pour a little of your Heineken beer into the flame. 

It will flare up briefly and then go out leaving behind a bit more flavor steamed into your MahiMahi.

Hubby does this step each time the fish is flipped (or if oil seems too hot) to steam flavor into the beer as it is browning.

Needless to say, the beer was not a chosen ingredient the first time...it became one when the wine baste flared up and Hubby used the beer he was holding as a fire extinguisher :)

Be careful...this fish does not take long to cook..

Delicious served with buttered white rice and fresh spinach sauteed in light olive oil, garlic pepper sprinkle, and sea salt.

Enjoy your fish AND your day!

-Mug

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ParadingChicks