Recent Days

Here's a little peek into what I've been up to lately.  A few weeks ago I called the butcher shop I dealt with last year to see if they had any pig fat I could pick up.  A week later I was hauling home 74 pounds of leaf lard home to render.  Just a heads up for anybody wanting to do this...don't get 74 pounds.  Period.  Ya know, maybe you could start with like 10 pounds or 15 pounds but don't get 74.  Wish me luck cause I'll still be doing this by next year...haha.  

This is the finished product after making it through about half or the lard. 7 quarts and 5 pints.  I am using this to replace all of the Crisco and canola oil in our house.  Once you render it, it has this gorgeous solid white color that is so rewarding.  My favorite way to use it is in pie crust, but I've also fried chicken fried steaks in it.  The possibiliies are endless!

I made this pallet thing around 3 years ago when we were living in Rhode Island.  It was unfinished and has been holding my wine glasses in my kitchen for the past year and a half or so.  I finally got it down the other day and sanded and stained it because I saw this awesome pin of a pallet cookbook and iron skillet holder.  Long story short...here's my copy of that pin.  Thanks whoever you are!  I'll try and find her site and tag it so you guys can follow her or him.  

That's really about it guys.  Other than trying to plan this darn wedding, I've just been crafting & cooking & being a good house-fiance!

Hope all is well in y'alls neck of the woods!  Til next time...........

Skillet Pot Pie

I found this recipe the other day over at OneHundredDollarsAMonth  & made it that very night.  It's one of those recipes that you see and you say to yourself "I have everything I need and it looks impossible to screw up".  Those are my kind of recipes and they always turn out the best.  

Do you ever notice how things like that happen?  I feel like if I spend hours looking over a recipe and try my best to make it perfect, it's a fail.  But spur of the moment recipes like this?  Piece. of. cake.  It's very versatile and you can add or take out whatever you like or don't like.  ( this is really off topic but that last little reminded me of a scene out of Fried Green Tomatoes...yes I can recite the. entire. movie. Don't knock me!)

Onto the pie:

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees, pop the skillet in while it's heating up.  Take it out after a bit and melt 1/3 cup butter.  Once that's melted and starting to bubble, whisk in 1/4 cup flour.  Slowly incorporate the chicken broth and salt & pepper & other spices until it starts to thicken.  Add in your chicken and veggies and give it a stir.  Top with a homemade pie crust and brush with a yummy egg wash.  Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Finished product!

Skillet Pot Pie:
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
1 can mixed veggies
2 cups chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
9" pie crust

Enjoy!!

Cheesin' on Tuesday

As I was cleaning out the fridge today, I spotted some broccoli I bought the other day and a little light bulb went off in my head. Joe LOVES broccoli cheese soup...and I don't.  Well I didn't think I did.  Until today!!

I was hoping and praying I would find a broccoli cheese soup in one of the Pioneer Woman Cookbook's I received for Christmas & I struck gold when I found an awesome recipe in her new Holiday Cookbook.  

Her recipes are so easy to follow and the pictures she shows during the process make any recipe foolproof.  I love you Pioneer Woman!  Now, let's get down to business.

1/2 stick butter
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
3 cups heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
broccoli heads, cut into florets
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded

Turn your dutch oven on medium high heat and throw in 1/2 stick of butter to melt.  Toss the diced onion in and let it cook for 3 to 4 minites, stirring occasionally.  Whisk in 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and whisk constantly for about 2 minutes.  Add in your heavy cream and stir until thoroughly combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste and the nutmeg and then the broccoli, then stir to combine.  Pop the lid on it, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for about 25 minutes.  When that's done cooking, add in the 1/4 cup of chicken broth and cheese and stir.  Make sure you taste to see what seasonings need to be added.  I love black pepper so I added more of that.

I am officially a broccoli cheese soup convert.  It will probably be on our weekly menu until spring hits.  Enjoy!

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to pick up the 40 pounds of pig fat I've been waiting on since last week...more on that later.  ;)

Do y'all have any favorite broccoli cheese soups?  Are you a non broccoli cheese soup lover like I was?!  

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from me, Joe, and the boys! I hope yall have a very Merry Christmas amd very Happy New Year!

Yesterday was spent with Joe and I going to see a movie, then coming home to open presents and do absolutely nothing else.  We spent the previous weekend with my parents and my brother and his super sweet family. Today was spent doing a ton of housework and cooking a delicious ham. Sounds fun, right? 

I love spending time with family, I really do. But it's nice to have some alone time in the rush of the holiday season. I'm thankful for everything I have with Joe and our boys and quiet holidays like this give me time to realize how much I really do have.

Have a good holiday y'all!  I'll include my super yummy ham recipe in a few days.

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

Joe and I decided that we would not travel this year for the holidays due to extensive travel throughout the year. Instead, we decided to keep a low profile and have a few of his co workers over for a late Thanksgiving dinner. We had a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner with an oven baked turkey, buttermilk mashed potatoes,  crockpot dressing, crockpot sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry pomegranate sauce, and a sweet potato pie.  I get full just from reading that list!

I'm not one that likes cranberry sauce... I'm also one that has never actually tasted cramberry sauce...Joe makes fun of me for this. I know, I know...you can't not like something if you've never tried it before but, hey! Its my party and I'll cry if I want to. 

I remembered at about 2 o clock on Thanksgiving Thursday that I hadn't yet gone to the store for cranberry sauce and I was not about to leave then and go. I'd watched the Thanksgiving Live show on the Food Network earlier in the day which made it about the 4th time I'd watched it  since that previous Saturday.  You could say I was a professional by this time when it came to Thanksgiving....haha only kidding!  I remembered seeing Alton Brown's recipe for homemade cranberry sauce and decised I'd give it a shot.  The only ingredients I had that he called for were cranberries and honey so I'd have to improvise...I didn't try the main recipe but I think this one is much better!

          Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

1/4 cup cranberry-pomegranate juice
1/4 cup apple cider
1 cup honey
1/2 bag cranberries (I think its a 12oz bag)
Arils of 1 pomegranate

Mix together both liquids and honey in a medium saucepan amd bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce to a medium-low heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Add cranberries and pomegranate arils and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the cranberries burst.  Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a mold of choice ( I used a pint and a half mason jar ans it was the perfect size) and refrigerate for 6 hours up to overnight.

I could have eaten this stuff straight out of the jar on crackers it was so good! Make it for Christmas and enjoy all the compliments you'll get!

Easy Nights

For the past week and half or so we've had pretty low temperatures in the 30's.  I had some pepper plants outside that I was trying to let ripen completely before I set them out for seed drying.  But...since I was late planting them and they clearly weren't hitting their fully ripe stage, I went ahead and snatched them off the plants before frost hit.  I put them on my kitchen windowsill in hopes that they will ripen.  

If y'all have any tips on this, please share!  

Agave, bamboo, and another plant I'm not sure the name of!  Getting everything inside before cool weather really hits.

Baby red bells & cayenne peppers

Tobasco peppers waiting to be turned into homemade tobasco sauce

This morning I had all intentions of coming home after work and spending the day mastering meatloaf....but that didn't happen.  Starbucks & Jason's Deli sounded like a better idea so I decided on making an easy dinner instead.  Ever have those days?  I have them about 3 times a week (and I usually cook 5 out of the 7 so it happens more often than not.)  

With the chilly temperatures we've been having, I figured a comfort food was in order.  Joe will be excited to see that chili is on the menu instead of meatloaf.  He wasn't too thrilled when I told him that's what I had planned for the evening.  

Now, chili is one of those dishes that everybody makes different and I think you like whatever you grew up on.  I'm a simple person so I like simple dishes.  When it comes to chili, I don't want to spend my time throwing in veggies, curing the sauce, using a bunch of herbs or whatever else it is that people put in it.  Okay so it may not be too complicated, but I like eating what I grew up on and veggies were not in it!  

My chili has tomato sauce, chili beans, homemade taco seasoning, extra chili powder, and ground beef.  I brown the ground beef and drain it, add it to my pot of tomato sauce, chili beans, and seasonings, and let it simmer for about 45 minutes.  Voila!!  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  Add a pan of homemade buttermilk cornbread and a big ole' glass of milk and you've got a delicious and easy supper.  

Chili Ingredients

2 cans tomato sauce

1 can chili beans

1 pound ground beef (or ground deer)

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 tablepsoon chili powder

I'd love to hear your variations on chili and what you grew up on!