Sour Cream Cornbread

This afternoon and evening were full of experiments in the kitchen. The first experiment was intentional. I wanted to use up some peaches in my pantry and blueberries in my freezer. I decided to play with my mama's banana pudding recipe and make a pudding with the berries and peaches. I will be sharing that recipe soon. Today, though, I want to share the cornbread recipe that I made.

After completing the pudding, I got busy making my chicken, broccoli, and rice soup that Mr. Husband requested for supper. Just as the soup was in its final few minutes of cooking, Mr. Husband walked in the door. He heartily inhaled the aroma wafting from the pot and asked if I was making cornbread. 😳 "Umm...yes, dear. I am." Uhhh...making cornbread was the furthest thing from my mind. He had no clue I had been in the kitchen making a surprise dessert before making supper while he was outside in the horrible heat and humidity waging war with ants. I scrambled around the kitchen gathering ingredients only to realize I didn't have milk. Heavens to Betsy! Not making cornbread was not an option! Mr. Husband won't eat soup without cornbread. We have been married right at twenty years. When will I ever remember this!? But who makes cornbread without MILK?!?! My mind raced. God surely knew my heart and caused me to remember our favorite Sour Cream Muffin recipe that uses no milk. It only has flour, butter, and sour cream. Without taking time to second guess, I decided I was just going to have to jump in head first and try my best to make the cornbread work using the same method.

I commenced to tossing and stirring ingredients into my bowl until the batter looked right. I held my breath and patted it into my greased cast iron skillet. I was sweating it nearly the whole time the cornbread was in the oven.

When the cornbread finally decided to turn golden along the top, I pulled it from the oven and checked to make sure it was done in the middle. I breathed slightly better when I realized I had passed the first hurdle. It was done and soft! When it turned out onto a plate beautifully, breathing was even better. It looked very different than my normal cornbread, but it was beautiful.

I clenched my jaw when Mr. Husband walked by and looked at it. He asked what was wrong with my cornbread. 😆 I had to fess up and tell him what I did. He wasn't sure, but he watched as I cut a test slice. Oh goodness, y'all! IT WAS SOOO GOOD! Mr. Husband loves the sour cream muffins, so he had to have a bite to see if my reaction was exaggerated. He was not disappointed! In fact, he said I might have to make this new one from now on! 😳😳 I ran to my notepad and wrote down everything I did so I can make it again.

I hope you get a chance to try it. It is so soft and tender! The flavor is amazing!

Sour Cream Cornbread
2 c self-rising cornmeal mix
8 oz sour cream
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted
1/4 c butter flavored Crisco
1 egg

Preheat oven to 425°. Grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet. To a mixing bowl, add the cornmeal mix. Add the Crisco. Cut the Crisco into the cornmeal until it resembles small peas throughout the cornmeal. Add all other ingredients. Mix well, but mix lightly, being careful not to over mix. Pour the mixture into the greased skillet. Place the skillet into the oven. Turn the heat down to 350°. Bake the cornbread 25 minutes or until the top turns a light, golden color. Remove the pan from the oven, immediately turn the bread onto a heat-safe plate.

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Canning Potato Wedges

Good day, reader friends! It's been another busy day here in the meadow of simple blessings.

As the sky began to grow with light this morning, the song of the whippoorwills gave way to the calls of bobwhites and song birds. My four-legged child made sure we made our morning trip out the door. I figured I might as well water my flowers by the house since I was already there. After I had taken care of my first baby and flowers I ventured up to the garden to get my watering chores done there before the sun had a chance to rise above the trees. It is always so peaceful in the garden so early in the morning. Even in the middle of the summer, mornings there are still usually cool enough to be incredibly pleasant. I love spending quiet moments there talking with my Lord and enjoying His creation. These are a couple pictures from my time there this morning.

That wasn't why I started this post, though. I came here to tell you my husband can completely relax about all my potatoes he was worried were going to go bad. When I came in from the garden and had finished devotions, breakfast, and coffee, I got busy taking care of the last fifteen pounds of potatoes. I got them peeled and cut into wedges. I canned them just the same as I did the potatoes in the post from yesterday except I added a quarter teaspoon of pickle crisp to each jar. I have read that it helps potatoes keep more of their firmness for making french fries or potato wedges with the canned potatoes. I guess time will tell for that one.

This is a picture of what pickle crisp looks like in the store.

And added to the jars 😁

These are the little white balls that are supposed to hold the crispness of vegetables hostage until the cook is ready to used said vegetables.

My nine pounds of potatoes today yielded 11 quarts of wedges (ahem...make that 10. I lost one in the canner. 😣) with a handful of wedges leftover which I threw into the pan of chicken that's in the oven for supper tonight. The canner and chicken will soon be done, so I guess I better get started on those beans!

I hope you have had a beautiful day today, my reader friends!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Canning Potatoes

In my last post, I explained how I came to be the owner of a fifty pound bag of potatoes. Well, for about a week -at least- my husband has been stressed about me doing something with the rest of the potatoes before they go bad. Today, between Tae Kwon Do, piano, shopping for a trip, dusting the house, and washing clothes, I decided it would be a great time to get some of the potatoes canned. Surely, they will be done before the family demands supper, right???

Naturally, while I wait on the canner to come up to pressure, it's the perfect time to tell you how you can can some potatoes for yourself, too! 😊

First, you want to peel your potatoes, remove any bad spots, and dice them into chunks. I used ten pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes. Make sure to keep peeled potatoes in clean, cold water to prevent browning.

Then, place a large stock pot of water (or chicken broth) on the stove to heat to boiling, and get your canner ready for canning.

When your water in the stock pot is just about to boil, fill wide mouth quart jars with potatoes, leaving one inch headspace. My six pounds of potatoes was divided into seven quart jars with a remainder of three chunks. 😁 I also added one teaspoon of canning salt to each jar.

When the water in the stockpot is boiling, fill one jar at a time with the boiling water, leaving one inch headspace, remove air bubbles, wipe the jar rim clean with a wet paper towel and seal with a lid and ring.

Place each jar in the hot canner as each jar is finished. Can the potatoes for forty minutes at 11 lbs pressure for a guage canner or 10 lbs for a weighted canner. Make sure to make proper adjustments for your altitude.

There you have it, my reader friends! Potatoes are very quick and easy to process. At this point in the post, my potatoes are already half way done! I hope you get the chance to can your own!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!
*To ensure the safety of your food, be sure to follow safe canning guidelines issued by the USDA. Don't take my word for it! 😁

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

In my previous post I described how I became the proud owner of an unexpected fifty pounds of potatoes. After spending an afternoon turning fifteen pounds of those potatoes into Potatoes O'Brien, I still had supper to cook. Desperate to use up more of the potatoes, I decided to make scalloped potatoes.

This recipe is comforting and easy enough for any weeknight meal, but it is also elegant enough to accompany any holiday or special occasion meal. A mandolin makes this job much easier and quicker, but it is not required if you are handy enough with a knife to cut potatoes into thin slices.

Ingredients:
3 T butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped or sliced finely
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c all purpose flour
3-1/3 c milk
1/3 c cream
1/3 c water
2 t Orrington Farms Chicken Broth Base
      Powder
1 t salt
1/2 t seasoning salt
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t black pepper
1 pinch thyme
4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, divided
4 lbs potatoes, thinly sliced
Parsley flakes

Directions:
Slice potatoes, placing in cold water until ready to use. Chop onions and mince garlic, setting aside. Preheat oven to 400° F.

Gather all needed ingredients and begin melting butter over medium-high heat.

Once butter is melted and hot, add onion and cook until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook and additional 30 seconds to one minute, until garlic is fragrant. Stir in flour. Stir continuously while cooking one to two minutes. Pour in milk, cream, and water that has been mixed together slowly, stirring constantly. Quickly add in all the spices, stopping to stir occasionally to keep the sauce from sticking to and burning on the bottom. Monitor the heat carefully. You don't want it to come to a full boil. Small bubbles around the outside edges is about right. Add half of the cheese. And continue to stir. The mixture will eventually thicken up. I promise!

Once the sauce is nice and thick, drain the potato slices well and add them to the sauce. Carefully stir them into the sauce, coating them well. 

Layer half of the mixture into a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle on half of the remaining cheese. Sprinkle on desired amount of parsley flakes.

Repeat with remaining potatoes. Pour any sauce remaining in the pot over the potatoes, and add remaining cheese. Sprinkle on desired amount of parsley. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook 30 minutes or until potatoes are done. Place foil back over the dish loosely if the top begins to get too dark before the potatoes are done. Remove your beautiful scalloped potatoes from the oven and enjoy!

For a delicious one dish meal, try adding in cubes of ham! What is your favorite way to enjoy scalloped potatoes?

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Homemade Potatoes O'Brien

Recently, a friend asked if I could use a few potatoes. Why would I turn away free potatoes? I said yes, and a couple days later I found a fifty pound bag of potatoes on the freezer by my door! My eyes about popped out of my head! After the initial shock of the sight of that huge bag wore off, I was so amused and still laugh about it.

I'm not one to back down to a food challenge, so I started pondering ways to add the spuds to my life before they went bad. That's how Homemade Potatoes O'Brien came to be in my life.

The process to make these potatoes is quick and easy, so I thought I would pass the process along to you- you know...in case a fifty pound bag of potatoes happens to show up at your doorstep. 😄 Just kidding! You don't have to have that many potatoes.

First, set two stockpots of water on the stove. Turn the eyes on to bring the water to a boil.

While the water is heating, prepare the potatoes by weighing out two pounds,  washing them well, and removing any eyes that may be trying to form in them.

Slice the potatoes into slices of desired thickness. Then, chop those slices into relatively similar sized cubes. I love my little chopper for this job! Make sure to add the chopped potatoes to a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloration while you are waiting on the water to boil.

My daughter helped me, and we had two batches to get us started and continually had a batch or two in process until we were done.

Once the water comes to a boil, drain the waiting potatoes and add them to the boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, time them for three minutes.

When the potatoes have boiled for three minutes, drain the potatoes ( I used a strainer over a large bowl so I could reuse my water without wasting water or the energy needed to heat new water.).

Immediately, submerge the hot potatoes into cold water to stop the cooking process. This completes the process known as blanching.

Stir the potatoes around a bit to make sure the middle cools. Once the potatoes have cooled, drain them, and spread them out to dry. I place mine on a clean towel.

You may need to pat them dry with paper towels or the dry edge of the towel, but once the potatoes are dry (not wet with soaking water), add them to a gallon sized freezer zip top bag.

To the bag of two pounds chopped potatoes, add one chopped onion and one cup of chopped bell peppers. Thankfully, I already had bags of one cup servings of chopped bell peppers in my freezer.

The bag should be sealed, removing as much air from the bag as possible, and then the bag should be placed flat in the freezer until needed.

That, my friends, is how I made Potatoes O'Brien. These are wonderful cooked in a little oil in a skillet with some spices or added to sausage, eggs, and cheese for a breakfast casserole.

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Quesadilla Goodness

Good evening, friends!

I hope this post finds you well! It' been a while since I have posted, so I wanted to drop in with this quick and easy recipe I cooked up last night.

Ingredients
4-5 c Fresh spinach leaves
8 oz. Sliced mushrooms
2 pints canned chicken
   (or 3 cans store-bought chicken), drained
   of any liquid
6 slices Bacon, chopped
1 t Cumin
1/2 t Garlic powder
1/4 t sea salt
1/4 t seasoning salt
1/4 t chili powder
1 package flour tortillas
1 stick butter

Directions
If you want your mushrooms to be supercharged with vitamin D, sit them in the sun for an hour before you are ready to begin. No, really! I promise I haven't fallen off my rocker! Look it up; it's really a thing!

I've done some crazy things
in my life, but this feels
plumb nutty!

While your mushrooms are enjoying the sun, you can use the time to gather and prepare your other ingredients. Wash and chop your four or five cups of spinach and chop up the six slices of bacon. When the time is up for your mushrooms, toss them in the food processor and chop them really fine.

I finally got to use the spinach
from our garden! Eeek!

To a hot skillet, add the chopped bacon. Cook until done, but not crispy.

Add in the processed mushrooms. 

Continue cooking until liquid is cooked out. 

I know it doesn't look too special at this point. Just trust me, and keep going! You won't regret it, and you won't even realize the mushrooms are even in the quesadillas in the end.

Add the spices and the drained chicken.

I use my own chicken that I can. It is already seasoned some. You may find you need to add more seasoning to your chicken if you use store bought canned chicken.  (You would probably be okay doubling the seasonings, but just start with one and a half times the amount of spices called for. If it is still not up to par for your taste, then go ahead and add in another half of what the original recipe calls for.) Cook, stirring often, until the the chicken is heated through. 

Add the chopped spinach.

Cook and stir until the spinach has wilted.

Now, this filling would be good for tacos or burritos topped with avocados, tomatoes, lime, and/or lettuce, but since my little, rural grocery store specializes in less than desirable produce, I opted for plain quesadillas in my pinch for time.

To make the quesadillas, I set out my tortillas and topped half of the tortilla with the filling and cheese. 

Use whatever cheese makes your heart sing! Fold the tortillas in half. Butter a hot (but not too hot!) griddle or skillet. 

Place the quesadillas on the griddle or in the skillet. Cook until desired doneness. Flip the quesadillas over and repeat. We like our tortillas with a little crunch, so I cook mine longer than most people would cook a traditional quesadilla. How fast it cooks depends on how high you have the temperature. I keep my griddle at about 250°F. I start checking them after two or three minutes.

Once your quesadillas have reached your desired doneness, they are ready to be served. I cut ours in half. They are wonderful served with homemade guacamole and pico de gallo, but again, my rural grocery store.... I had to opt for Mexican corn and sour cream.

I hope you get to try this recipe and enjoy it! Have fun with it, and make it your own! Let me know what you come up with! I always enjoy learning from others!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed! ❤️

Elderberry Syrup

Good day, reader friends!

I trust you had a blessed holiday season! We did here, but now I have been gearing up for gardening season. In between garden projects today, I made a batch of elderberry syrup that I wasn't able to get to at the end of 2018.

I posted a picture of it on my Facebook page a few minutes ago. I have been lots of questions, so I thought I would do a quick write-up for all of you, my friends.

This syrup was so easy to make! It isn't hard, and it doesn't take long. The hardest part was probably gathering the ingredients.

I hope this helps and gives you confidence to try it!

Ingredients
4 c water
1 c dried elderberries
1-2 one inch chunks fresh ginger, peeled
1 t ground cinnamon
1/8-1/4 t ground cloves
1 c raw honey

To make your syrup, combine all your ingredients except the honey in a small sauce pan. You don't want to add the raw honey because the heat will kill off any beneficials in the honey.

Don't say I did warn you! This smells devinely scrumptious simmering on the stove! Ahhh!! Let it simmer for about thirty minutes until it has reduced by about half.

Remove the pan from the heat and prepare to strain the solids from the liquids. You can use cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve. I used both over a large glass measuring bowl.

I spread the cheesecloth over the sieve and carefully poured the contents of the pan into the cheesecloth.

Once this is cool enough to the touch, mash or squeeze the berries to release as much liquid as possible. Don't leave that goodness behind!

Once the liquid has returned to room temperature, add in the raw honey. Raw honey is best for the extra health benefits. Once the honey is mixed in well, transfer the syrup to a sealable jar. 

This syrup can be used during cold and flu season or it can be used on pancakes and waffles!

However you wish to use this syrup, I hope you enjoy it!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!