Sour Cream Raisin Pie

So…It’s been a while… Life here has been busy as usual with homeschooling, daily activities, a couple of minor surgeries and birthdays. My baby girl turned a year old in December! She is such a sweet little girl! I can’t believe she is getting so big already! My other kids are all chomping at the bit waiting for spring. They are ready to spend their days outdoors, riding their bikes and playing. And while I enjoyed  winter, I am ready for spring too!

Lately, I have been making a lot of the foods that I grew up eating. Today I made a Sour Cream Raisin Pie.  I love this pie because not only is it delicious but it is very simple to make!

You will need:

1 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups raisins

1 unbaked pie shell

Combine all ingredients

Pour into uncooked pie shell.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes.

Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. A little whipped cream on top makes it extra yummy! 🙂

Jello Cream Squares

I hope that everyone is enjoying their Labor day weekend! 🙂 We are spending our weekend  laboring, hehe. My husband and dad are in the process of turning one of the basement rooms into an office! Perhaps I will share more on that later. 🙂

Today I wanted to share an easy treat: Jello Cream Squares. These things are very addictive!

You will need:

3 (3 oz.) boxes of Jell-O (any colors you like) I used 2 orange and 1 strawberry

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

Prepare the Jell-O using 1 cup of hot water per flavor in three separate containers. Chill for 4 hours until the Jell-O has set up. Cut the Jell-O into pieces (they do not have to be uniform).

Place Jello pieces in a 13×9  pan. (Keep them  in the refrigerator until ready to add the white layer). In a separate bowl mix the 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup cold water. Add 1 1/2 cups of boiling water and stir until dissolved.

Mix in the sweetened condensed milk.

Allow the milk mixture to cool and then pour over the Jell-O cubes.

Chill for 4 hours or overnight.

After the mixture sets up cut into squares and serve.

I chose red and orange for fall colors, but the color combinations are as many as there are flavors and colors of jello. I think I will make red and green for Christmas! 🙂

 

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Snappy Lunch Pork Chop Sandwich

Here in NC the Andy Griffith Show is a big favorite. Most of us that live here have grown up with Andy, Opie, Barney and Aunt Bee as if they were part of the family. The show still airs every week night. 🙂 Though we were all saddened by Andy Griffith’s recent passing he will always be legendary in this part of the south!

The Andy Griffith Show was set in the fictitious Mayberry, NC which was based on Andy Griffith’s home town Mt. Airy, NC.

Many of the places mentioned on the show are real places in Mt. Airy. One such place is the Snappy Lunch Diner. The Snappy Lunch is famous for its pork chop sandwich. Check out this Southern Living video about the Snappy Lunch. If you make it over  to Mt. Airy, be sure to stop in the Snappy Lunch and order a sandwich. For those of you who would like to try it now, here is the recipe.

You will need:

Thin cut slices of pork tenderloin

Oil (for frying)

1 cup flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

Burger buns

Yellow mustard

Coleslaw

Canned chili (no beans)

Tomato slices

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Whisk the eggs and milk together.

Add milk and egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth

Heat about 1/2 inch of oil on medium heat Dip the pork into batter and then place into heated oil.

Cook until golden brown on both sides.

Spread mustard on bun

Place cooked pork chop on bun

Add a large spoonful of chili

Add tomato slices

Top with coleslaw

Enjoy the sandwich, y’all! 🙂

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Owl Cupcakes

The summer has really flown by! As much as I love summer, I’m ready for my favorite season: fall! If only it wasn’t followed by winter! 😀

These little owl cupcakes look perfect for a fall party! They are really easy to assemble, too! 🙂

You will need:

Cupcakes – any flavor you prefer (I choose orange butter cake)

Oreos (or Oreo style cream filled cookies)

Frosting (I used a standard chocolate)

Reese’s pieces

Frost your cupcakes with a thick layer

Separate the cookies. Try to keep the cream in the center intact.

Place the cookies on the cupcake center, cream side up

Cut the cookie pieces with no cream in half. I found it easiest to gently saw it with a small serrated knife. This keeps the cookie from shattering.

Place the cut cookie pieces at an angle above the cream filled cookie, rounded side out.

Stick the brown Reese’s pieces in the center of the cream for eyes (I used a bit of frosting on the bottom so they would stick). Place  the orange and yellow Reese’s vertically  for the nose.

Now go surprise your kids with some cute little owls!

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Ranch Oyster Cracker Snack Mix

It’s back to school time and if your kids are anything like mine, they are ALWAYS hungry! Here is an easy snack mix idea that only takes a few minutes to mix up.

You will need:

10 0z. bag of oyster crackers

1 oz packet ranch dressing

1/4 cup oil

3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

Mix oil, ranch dressing packet, Parmesan cheese, onion powder, and parsley flakes together in bowl.

Add in oyster crackers and thoroughly coat.

Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 15 minutes stirring every 5 minutes.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

These are perfect for after school snacking and also a great party mix! Easy and yummy, too! 🙂

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Cornbread Sausage Casserole

I can’t believe how fast summer is flying by! Right now we are preparing for the new school year. This year I have a child in second grade, one in first grade and a preschooler…I think we are going to have a fun and exciting year! My seven year old just started piano lessons this week and has amazed us with how quickly he catches on. I also have lots of fun projects and some new subjects that we will be introducing this school year.

Today I spent time organizing our home school drawers and getting our materials together. Since I have been very busy all day, I wanted something easy to make, but filling and tasty too. So, I whipped up this sausage and cornbread casserole and it was a big hit!

You will need:

1 lb sausage roll

1 onion

1 green pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 oz. can large black olives, pitted, drained and chopped in half

2 cups salsa

2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix (8.5 oz)

2 eggs (for the corn muffins)

2/3 cup milk (for the corn muffins)

8 oz. bag shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese

Chop the onion and green pepper.

Fry the sausage, onions, peppers and garlic on the stove top

When the sausage is fully cooked add in the olives and salsa

Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with 1/2 of the cheese

Mix the corn muffin mix according to the package. Spread corn muffin mixture on top of sausage mixture

Sprinkle evenly with the rest of the cheese

Bake for 25 -30  minutes (or until toothpick comes out of corn muffin batter clean) in preheated oven (400 degrees).

Mmmm…comfort food at its best! 🙂

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TN Family Trip

Earlier this we week made a trip to TN to see family.  I got caught up in visiting and neglected to take pictures, so we only have a few. I have been making mental notes to do better in that regard.

We had a wonderful (if limited) time with family, and that was the important part. I got to see two younger cousins that I haven’t seen in a long while and got to know their spouses and kids. I found that I am quite proud of the people they have become as adults! I wish that we could have spent more time with everyone, but we were limited in what we could do since a couple of the kids got sick with really bad allergy attacks.

We did get to spend a day at a local park. What fun! Here are some relaxing pictures of the kids playing in the creek. Thanks goes to my cousin Kendalyn for pulling out my camera and snapping away! 🙂

Grandma Reed’s Chicken and Dumplings

This week we have been in TN having a wonderful time with family! Of course one of the things we like to  do on vacation is eat and try new foods and recipes. 🙂 There are a lot of phenomenal cooks and bakers in our family and it is always a blessing when they share recipes that are special to them!

My cousin Kendalyn wanted to share a recipe with you that is special to her: Grandma Reed’s Chicken and dumplings. She remembers her mother making this meal often on Saturdays spent around the house. As the broth for the dumplings slow simmered, they would fill the house with a delicious aroma that is a comfort to Kendalyn and her family as they continue the tradition of making this meal.

To make this you will need:

1 whole chicken

Bisquick

1 cup buttermilk

1 onion

3 celery stalks

3 medium carrots

3 bouillon cubes

Salt, pepper and sage

Sprinkle the entire chicken with sage, pepper and plenty of salt

Place the chicken, onion, carrots, and celery into a large stock pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil then lower to simmer for at least an hour until the chicken is cooked.

Remove the chicken and veggies.

Strain off fat then reserve 4 quarts of broth. Add bouillon cubes to broth and salt to taste. Cut a small amount of the veggies boiled in the broth into small pieces and pull the chicken off the bones into spoon-sized pieces. Return them to broth then bring the broth back up to a good simmer.

Fill a 16 oz Pyrex measuring cup (approx. 20 oz) to the top with Bisquick

Then measure out just under 1 cup buttermilk (to make this extra special you can double the dumplings)

Combine the Bisquick and buttermilk into a thick dough

Drop by large spoonfuls into the broth

Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes (occasionally ladle broth over the dumplings as they simmer).

I love sharing family food traditions, especially when they are foods that are warm, hearty and remind you of home!

Thank you, Kendalyn, for sharing with us! 🙂

 

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Campfire Pockets

What a busy week we are having! Right now we are preparing for a vacation and also our upcoming school year. I’m still trying to keep meals as simple and healthy as possible. These campfire pockets are a kid favorite here and I like them because they are easy, healthy and don’t require me to heat the house up.

The ingredients you need are based on how many people you are serving and personal taste.

We used:

1 potato per person

Several yellow plumb tomatoes per person

Several slices of onion and green bell pepper per person

1 hard boiled egg per person

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced

1 lb ground beef, divided between 7 pockets

Onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper sprinkled into each pocket

Peel potatoes and chop into thin strips

Cut boiled eggs into quarters

Chop other veggies into thin pieces

Fold foil into pockets: Fold in half then double fold both of the sides.

It should look like this (below)

Layer veggies  in pocket

Add meat and sprinkle in spices.

Fold top. Carefully shake a little to mix the contents.

Place packets on grill until potatoes are tender and meat is thoroughly cooked

The best part is you can eat it straight out of the pocket which means NO clean-up!

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Red Fried Tomatoes

Summer is in full swing and gardens are producing tomatoes like crazy! It’s always at this time of year that I start craving fresh tomato sandwiches and fried tomatoes. My mom always makes fried red tomatoes…one of my favorite summer dishes! It’s so simple to make!

You will need:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

3 eggs

Several medium tomatoes

Oil

Whisk the eggs

Mix the Parmesan cheese, flour, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders together in a bowl big enough for dredging

Slice up your tomatoes

Dip the tomatoes in egg mixture

Dredge through flour mixture, coating both sides. Preheat about 1/2 inch oil in a pan on medium heat.

Place tomatoes in preheated oil

Fry for a few seconds on both sides until golden brown

These make a great side dish or lunch!

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