Food – Page 2 – Home's Cool!

In Honor of the Peanut Butter Thing…

Posted on January 24, 2015February 3, 2015 by Katharine

Today is National Peanut Butter Day?

So they say.

Well I decided to share with you my connection to the lowly peanut, and the butter we make from it.

Forty-five years ago (tomorrow!) I acquired a wonderful, brand new husband. Never looked back. However, it wasn’t long before we were sharing a tad of morning sickness and he had the cure!

It was not something I would have chosen to swallow that morning, not at all. It sounded gross.

But his enthusiasm (plus the fact that he could stand up without fainting and I could not) won the day.

I found myself eyeball to eyeball with a bowl of canned chicken noodle soup and the most amazing combination of foods I could ever imagine in a sandwich.

It was not even a good color combination, and the aromas from it were less than what a newly prego lady would want.

However, it all was served to me while I was still in bed, and with such youthful exuberance, I had to smile to myself at the awesome idea of this young man serving me, his young bride, breakfast in bed with such a hopeful expression, no matter WHAT the menu.

So I sipped on the soup, for starters. (Soup is supposed to be the first course, anyway, I remembered from home ec class.) The soup was fine. He actually knew how to open a can of soup, dilute it properly, and warm it without boiling it over; a factoid worth mental note, indeed.

And he was truly caring and attentive, I also noted, with pleasure.

But the sandwich!

It was time. I had to take at least one bite. How on earth could anyone be so callous as to ignore any part of this loving offering, right?

So I took a bite. I chewed.

The unbelievable flavor combination of white bread, peanut butter, and dill pickle awakened my taste buds to a new world.

And I’ve never looked back

Happy 45th, a day early, Sweetheart! ❤

Peanut Butter and Dill Pickle Sandwich — Counter-top breakfasting at its best!

'Tis the Season, Food, Recipes

The Organized Turkey!

Posted on January 12, 2015November 29, 2016 by Katharine

Okay, I’ve been working more on being organized because I got a good start when I froze leftover turkey from the holiday, in approximately one-pound packages.

I hope you did not throw yours out or force your family to eat turkey until it was coming out of their ears!

Anyway, I’ve had three pounds of frozen turkey to look at in the freezer and have been dreaming until I just could not STAND it anymore!

So I made turkey minestrone. Sort of. Except I am not sure what that is and I did not have eggs to make noodles with (after making two cakes in a row. Well, really four, if you count mistakes…)

Anyway, the more I thought about turkey minestrone, the better it smelled, in my imagination. Nothing like it to get the cooking juices flowing!

Turkey Minestrone

So, here is the final product, in all its glory, followed by a recipe, of sorts, because I actually just dumped whatever sounded good, and I truly don’t know what minestrone IS! 🙂

I am sure if you think and add what you like in a soup, yours will be just as yum as mine!

Turkey Minestrone

4 Tbsp. bacon grease or olive oil
2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 c. onion, chopped small
1 c. celery, chopped
1 c. carrot, sliced
1/2 c. chopped parsley
Any or all of the following, to taste: rosemary, oregano, sage, lemon grass, basil.
1 jalapeno pepper and brewing bag for easy removal
1 clove garlic, pressed (or more!)
2-3 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
2 gal. filtered water
1-2 lb. of frozen turkey, cut bite-sized
1 can cut green beans
1 can cannellini beans
1 c. raw brown rice

In a large, non-stick pan, fry all raw vegetables and herbs until caramelized, on medium-high heat, stirring often and watching carefully. Take care not to break the pepper. Vegetables should be browned, some, and somewhat soft. Pan drippings should be a golden-rosy brown.

Retrieve the pepper and place inside bag. Set aside.

Pour some of the water into the hot pan to loosen all the drippings and create a rich broth. Pour entire contents of pan into a large stock pot (12 quart or more). Scrape pan well, to get all the goodie.

Add the rest of the ingredients, including bagged pepper, and bring to boil. Simmer, stirring constantly, for at least an hour. Enjoy with cornbread, sour cream, cheddar cheese, etc.

Perfect for a cold day! Mmm!

Food, Homemaking, Recipes

National Biscuit Month, 15-SECOND Biscuit Recipe!

Posted on September 24, 2014February 27, 2017 by Katharine

National Biscuit Month, September

My family loves hot, homemade biscuits, and this is National Biscuit Month.

So, I thought I’d resurrect an old favorite recipe, just for you!

Although I’ve known the recipe handed down to me from my families, I’ve also never been satisfied just to do what everyone else is doing. I’m always thinking it might be even better if…

So one day I tried substituting real butter in the recipe I’d inherited, to replace the shortening. Oh, MY, did I notice a big difference, right away!

One thing led to another and I tried upping the fat content. Instead of the recommended 1/3 cup of fat, I tried a whole STICK of butter. Oh, MY, did I notice a big difference right away!

But then. Oh, then, I found a recipe for cream biscuits.

Phoo, those things are almost ALL fat, did you realize? Mmmm. No one can eat just one.

Several tweaks later, I invented the 15-Second Biscuit Recipe.

Yep.

If I hurry, I can make biscuit dough in 15 seconds, and so can you. Here’s how:

Combine equal portions of self-rising flour and heavy (or whipping) cream.
Stir very quickly with a fork.
Done.

Now. You must realize the benefits of this recipe that go beyond the race with the clock:

These biscuits are almost like cake, but without the sweetness.
You won’t believe how tall and tender they turn out.
If you want, you can make only one biscuit. Just use 1/4 cup, each, flour and cream.

If you prefer whole wheat biscuits, as I do, you can easily create your own whole-wheat, self-rising flour.

Enjoy!

And share with us your favorite type of gravy for these golden orbs!

What’s THAT stuff?!

Calamari = squid.

Squid served at a restaurant

The body can be stuffed whole, cut into flat pieces or sliced into rings. The arms, tentacles and ink are edible; the only parts of the squid that are not eaten are its beak and gladius (cartilage). I’ve seen it battered and fried like onion rings. It’s supposed to taste sweet.

I’ve eaten rabbit before, and it is sweet, so squids and rodents taste similar?

Groans.

You can hardly find a stuffed mushroom in a restaurant, anymore, except those with squid squirted into them. That’s just wrong.

However, there was a time when my brother took us all out to eat al fresco, on a breezy summer’s eve, to a lovely place near his home just outside Jeff City, Missouri. We ordered the stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer and I became so enamored with this dish.

They were creamy and savory and warm and I’d never eaten anything I liked so much that wasn’t sweet.*

I mean, I wanted to eat everyone’s serving.

I mean, I had to remind myself to behave.

However, there on a flagstone patio, noshing over a wrought iron table, I began analyzing.

And I never stopped until last year, when I figured I knew how to make those mushrooms.

And today, I publish my recipe for the first time, ever, over at Dining with Debbie.

Go there.

You’ll be glad.

* And it’s NOT squid!

Food, Funny, Recipes

I got mad at Betty.

Posted on May 13, 2014May 16, 2014 by Katharine

I’ve been baking furiously, here, trying to get a cake for 60 or so people ready for this coming Sunday, when our church will host a baccalaureate for our seniors.

I am used to baking and decorating larger cakes, have done several for various showers and weddings. I love doing it.

However, cakes have a way of failing when you are making them for a special event. I’ve had many mix cakes fall, and occasionally, a scratch cake will fall for me.

This time around, I chose to use a mix because I have the following activities in my life the same weekend:

Helping host the Arkansas Home School 2014 Graduation in Searcy
Helping a newly widowed woman move into town
Preparing and printing the brochures for our baccalaureate
A camp rally at our church’s camp near Mena
Cleaning and decorating our church for the baccalaureate

So, you can see, I really did not have time to make scratch cakes and although I never prefer it, I bought mixes and hoped and prayed they’d turn out.

Well, they did not fall.

But when I attempted to turn the first one out onto a rack to finish cooling, it stuck.

It was firmly IN the pan, so firmly it left parts of itself behind and nearly broke in two as I wrestled with it.

As I complained about how they just don’t make cake mixes like they used to, I sort of pieced it together and started on the next cake, determined to really slather the pan with oil and flour, so this one would not stick.

I reached for the other pan and, lo! it was already oiled.

It was the pan I’d prepared for the first cake, but I’d inadvertently poured the first batter into an unprepared pan.

I said a lot of mean things about you, Betty, and I apologize.

It was all my fault.

😉

____________

UPDATE!

The final product, I am so glad to say. Doing this was like watching a scary movie! Seven pounds just in the frosting. Aren’t we amazing!

My Spaghetti Farm Guest Post!

I have never shared my spaghetti sauce recipe with anyone but my own children.

Today I break that practice. I hope you enjoy!

The reason is that I have again been allowed the amazing privilege of guest posting at Farm Bureau’s blog site, thanks so much to Arkansas Women Bloggers!

I share there, how to make lasagna pasta in one, simple, easy-to-manage sheet. You will not believe how much more often you will feel like pleasing everyone with a sumptuous lasagna supper, once you eliminate the cost, inconvenience, and grief of store-bought, pasty-white, lasagna noodles.

Since most folks make red lasagna, using regular marinara or spaghetti sauce, I thought: why not go all the way and make the entire dish from scratch, beautifully and deliciously natural, whole, and health-giving!

So, here is my recipe, a rare, costly, never-before-given gift, from me to you. All I ask in return is that you go to my guest post , leave a thankful comment, and share it everywhere you can think of!

My Secret Spaghetti Sauce

2 Tbsp. olive OR coconut oil OR bacon grease
1 lb. lean, ground, American beef or venison (opt.)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 to 3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 c. fresh, mixed Italian herbs, chopped OR 1/4 c. dried Italian herbs
1 dash cayenne powder
1 qt. whole tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1/4 c. catsup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. corn starch, stirred into 1/2 cup water (if not making lasagna)

Brown meat (if desired), onions, and garlic in oil or grease, stirring often, until meat is crumbly and vegetables are clear, to slightly browned. Stir in Italian herbs and cayenne, and warm for a few minutes in the meat and/or fat. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, and catsup, until well blended. Heat through and simmer on low, covered, until ready to serve. At the last minute, stir in Worcestershire sauce, and cornstarch/water, if desired. Heat through again, stirring constantly and it is ready. Yields enough for one 9″x13: lasagna, or six servings of spaghetti with salad.