*Eat garlic at onset of cold or sore throat or when you have been around someone sick. This will boost your immune system.
The infamous "they" say it keeps blood-feeding mythical creatures away too.
My friend Nen shared it from her friend Kim. I'm very excited to try it.
I used three large heads of garlic and put them in a 6 oz. jar. Fill the jar with the garlic first (my mother tried to tell me to put the honey in first---no, no, no, Mom!) and then pour the honey over the top.
Cover and flip the jar a few times a day for a couple weeks.
I put my in a ceramic compost crock instead of the cabinet. (Just easier to remind me to flip when I'm in the kitchen. We'll check back on December 3rd (Jeff & Nen's anniversary) to see how it turns out.
Let me know if you have any home remedy ideas. I'm wondering if honey and ginger would work the same way?
Growing up we always had “Shepherd’s
Pie” that was made with ground beef, corn and sometimes if we were lucky, a can
of peas would find their way mixed in with the corn, and then it was topped
with mashed potatoes with dollops of butter melted over the top.It was an old time favorite comfort
food.
As an adult, it was still always
one of my favorites, but Tall Cool ☺ne
didn’t care for it, needless to say it has not been on the menu over the years. This weekend we watched a video on one of my favorite YouTube channels and two things
came out of it.
1. I learned something new (I think you should learn something new every day if you can): Shepherd’s Pie is actually
made with ground lamb, (which makes perfect sense seeing how shepherds tend the
sheep). 2. I’ve now found a pie that can and will be added back to my favorite meals
menu.I kind of wonder why they don’t
call it “Cattle Pie”, “Heifer’s Pie”, “Moo Pie”, or “Bull Pie”.
I took the ingredients from the
video and used my own quantities (not from his list) so if mine don’t match Kent’s,
don’t hate me.
1¼ lb. ground beef
2 stalks celery, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1 orange pepper, shredded
1 lg. onion, shredded
2 tbsp. tomato paste
¼ cup beef broth
½ cup red wine (¼ for the pie and ¼ for the chef)
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can white hominy, drained
1 can chili peppers, drained
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used the whole head)
2 egg yolks
3 lbs. potatoes, peeled, cooked, drained, and mashed
½ cup cream (I used half & half)
1½ cups white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
¾ cup fresh parmesan, shredded
Seasonings: oregano, basil, salt, pepper, thyme (I don't have his original seasoning spice yet, but I ordered some for next time).
In cast iron Dutch oven, cook the ground beef and
drain off grease.Add celery, carrots
and onion and cook the moisture out of the veggies, but don’t let the veggies
get brown (5-6 minutes).Add the tomato
paste, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, wine, and stir to combine and let it
get a little bubbly.Carefully stir in
garlic and hominy. Remove from heat and set aside.
Prepare potatoes.Once they are cooked and drained and all the liquid is steamed out of
them, mash, mash, mash.Add some cream
(I used half & half) and the egg yolks.Mash, mash, mash.Add the cheddar
and jack cheese, then stir in the chili peppers.
Preheat oven to 400º
Transfer the beef mixture to a casserole dish.(I almost missed this tidbit of information.
Tall Cool ☺ne pointed it out to me). Can’t cook
this in the cast iron in a 400º oven or it would burn to a crisp.
Trowel the potatoes over the beef mixture.Make little plops with a spoon for aesthetics,
sprinkle with parmesan cheese.Bake for
45 minutes.Let cool 10-15 before
serving.
Tall Cool ☺ne brought home a half dozen or more summer squash. It wasn't enough to make squickles so I had to come up with something else. I borrowed this recipe that I found
in the Southern Living Magazine last month.
OMG, usually when I’m making recipes I find in magazines I have to tweak
them to please me or Tall Cool ☺ne (there
was no tweaking on this one that he would like….so forget about that). I really liked this recipe and enjoyed it
better cold. In fact two days after I made it I filled Romaine lettuce with and
called it Succotash Boats.
1 (3/4-oz.) habanero
chile, pricked all over with a fork
1
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black
pepper, plus more for garnish
1 cup halved cherry
tomatoes
1 tsp. coarsely
chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
Directions
Place bacon in
a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally,
until crispy, 12 to 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a
paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in
skillet. Save remaining drippings for another use.
Add onion to
reserved drippings in skillet; cook over medium, stirring often, until
softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook, stirring constantly,
until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Increase heat
to high; stir in green beans, squash, corn, habanero chile, salt, and
black pepper. Cook, stirring mixture occasionally, until vegetables are
slightly charred, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high, and stir in
1/4 cup water; cover and cook, undisturbed, until vegetables are tender,
about 4 minutes. Remove and discard habanero. Stir in halved cherry
tomatoes, fresh thyme, and cooked bacon. Garnish with additional thyme and
black pepper.
Grease
or spray inside edges if cast iron bread pan.
In
large bowl combine dry ingredients and whisk to combine. In large measuring cup, combine sourdough
starter and beer, then pour into flour mixture.
Stir until moistened. Spoon or
scrape into cast iron bread pan. Pour melted butter over the top.
Cook uncovered on back rack of grill for about an hour (depending on how many time your
husband opens the grill to check the meat he’s cooking) this will determine how
long it takes for the bread to cook.
He
likes to have a pan of water on the grill to keep things moist. I love this bread. It’s crunchy on the outside and moist on the
inside. I’ve been eating it for
breakfast with fig preserves. I even
tried making bruschetta with it and it was outstanding. A definite keeper.
This
weekend Tall Cool ☺ne is
smoking some baby back ribs, so I’m planning to do a smoked version of the
sourdough. Stay tuned for more recipes.
So
I have this really cool donut tin but I never use it because I every time I try
to make baked donuts they disappoint me.
But the tin is so cool I wanted to use it for something. So I decided to make Donno-muffins. We found
some blackberry vines in the back yard (never saw them in the almost 9 years we’ve
lived in this house. I had about a cup
of them and figured what the heck, let’s have some Donno-muffins.
2
cups all-purpose flour
½
cup sugar
2
tsps. baking powder
¼
tsp. salt
1
egg, slightly beaten
½
cup sour dough starter “hooch” (not fed, aka: the throw away stuff)
¼
cup vegetable oil
¼
cup almond milk or non-fat milk
1
cup blackberries
Preheat
oven 400º. Spray muffin or donut tin
with cooking spray. (6 large or 12 small)
In
medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour.
In
another bowl, combine, egg, milk, hooch, and vegetable oil. Stir to combine and
then pour into the well in the flour mixture.
Stir just to combine, it will be lumpy.
Fold in berries.
Spoon
into muffin/donut tins. Bake 18-20 for
12 tins, 23-25 for 6 tins.
Roll
out pizza dough to desired thickness.Spread with BBQ sauce. Sprinkle with cheese blend.Layer with chicken, spinach and fresh
herbs.Toss on the bacon and red
onion.Shake some parmesan cheese on and
drizzle the chipotle sauce over the top.
Bake
at 425º for 21-23 minutes.
** I thought I had a recipe for the BEST PIZZA CRUST EVER but apparently I was keeping it a secret. I will share here now. It is made in the bread machine, so it is super easy!
Ingredients:
1 12 bottle beer
½ cup sourdough starter (hooch)
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1½ tsp. salt
4¼ cups bread flour
2 tsp. bread machine yeast
Select dough setting, wait 1½ hours, remove from pan and proceed. This makes two normal size pizza crusts. This recipe works wonderfully for freezing. The above pizza was made from a frozen dough.
I
found this recipe in an AllRecipes magazine.They took it from a TikTok hack.I don’t do TikTok, but I do read magazines.I have made this breakfast a few times and we
really love it.It’s versatile because
you can put whatever you want in it. I
changed the name to Gilligan’s Island Bagel Rafts, because maybe if they had a
raft they wouldhave got off the
island.(I used to love that show!)
2
Bagels
2
Eggs
2
tbsps. garden vegetable cream cheese
2
tbsps. shredded Colby Jack cheese (whatever kind you like)
2
tbsps. crumbled bacon (any kind of cooked meat)
½
tsp. fresh ground pepper
1-2
tbsps. fresh herbs, diced onions, diced green or red pepper (options are
endless)
Preheat
toaster oven to 350º
Split
bagel and hollow out each half with a spoon. Save for another use, or toast
them with the rafts and enjoy a crispy snack.
Whisk
together the eggs, cream cheese and shredded cheese and pepper.
Divide
the egg mixture into the hollowed-out bagels and then top with meats, veggies
and herbs.
Place
on foil-lined pan; toast in preheated toaster oven for 10-12 minutes or until
eggs are set. Serve with your favorite
hot sauce!
It’s almost summertime and who doesn’t
love a fresh made pasta salad? It’s one
of my favorite summertime meals and both my kids love it too and make it themselves
now that they are grown. I found this
new condiment (Olive Muffalata) while we were shopping at Costco, that I
absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE! I see that it is also available on AMAZON if you don't have a Costco membership or friend to take you there! OMG, I could eat
the whole jar in one sitting. You gotta try it.
2 cups colored pasta, cooked
and drained
1 cup chopped ham
1 cup chopped cheese (I used cheddar this time)
½ cup chopped green pepper
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup slice black olives
1-2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
¼-½ cup Olive Muffalata
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper
Fresh parmesan cheese (optional)
Cook pasta al dente and drain and cool. Combine pasta with all of the
vegetables, cheese and ham; toss to combine.
Fold in olive muffalata, olive oil and Italian seasoning. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and salt and
pepper. Add parmesan if desired.
This is Grammie Averill's old fashion zucchini bread
2
cups zucchini, shredded
2
cups sugar
3
eggs, slightly beaten
1
cup vegetable oil
3
tsp vanilla
1
tsp salt
3
tsp cinnamon
3 cups flour
1
tsp baking soda
1
tsp baking powder
½
cup raisins
½ cup walnuts
Preheat
oven 350°
Grease
two 9x5 inch bread pans.
In
medium bowl combine zucchini, sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla; set
aside. In large bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and
baking powder. Mix well and create a well in the center of the
mixture. Pour zucchini mixture into well all at
once. Stir just to combine all ingredients. Fold in
raisins and nuts. Pour into prepared bread pans.
Bake
350° for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Enjoy♥
This is part of the A-Z blogging challenge. Don’t forget to visit some of the other bloggers
in the challenge and also check out Crackerberries!
When talking about foods that begin with a Y, Tall Cool ☺ne said YOOHOO was a food. I debated that with him for a bit and then decided to consult with a trusted family member. Our granddaughter Ella L♥ve says YOOHOO most certainly is a food and here are the pics to prove it.
There really isn't much going on for Y unless you want Yams, which are sweet potatoes and I've overworked them so much in the past I really wanted something different. I have Sandor Katz Wild Fermentation book that that has a recipe in it for yogurt but I haven't tried it yet. Yellow potatoes, but a potato is a potato. There are yellow-eye beans which are really yummy and I'm actually placing an order from Green Thumb Farms today. (Okay, no I'm not...the shipping is too expensive.) I'm trying to grow some red kidney beans in the garden this year, but they probably won't grow as well as they grow in Maine.
This is part of the A-Z blogging challenge.Don’t forget to visit some of the other bloggers
in the challenge and also check out Crackerberries!
I am sorry for the delay and I appreciate you checking back. We had company so I was a little behind today.
¾ cup fat free
milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
4 tbsp. butter,
cut into small pieces
2¾ cups all-purpose
flour
1/3 cup white
rice flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground
cloves
2½ tsp. bread
machine yeast
2/3 cups dried
cranberries
¾ cup
confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. lemon
extract
2 tbsp. half
& half
Place first 10
ingredients in bread machine hopper, in order shown. Program for the dough cycle. Pres start and let cycle through.
Line a baking
sheet with parchment paper. When the
machine beeps at end of cycle, power off the machine and immediately turn the
dough out on a lightly floured surface.
Pat dough into large rectangle.
Sprinkle with dried cranberries and press in. Fold the dough into thirds and knead a few
times to incorporate the fruit.
Divide the
dough in half and roll each portion into a 10” log. Cut six equal portions and form each portion
into a ball. Place buns two inches apart
on baking sheet. Cover with dish cloth
and let rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).
Preheat oven to
375º
Using a sharp
paring knife, gently cut a cross into each bun.
Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
While buns are
baking, prepare the icing. Whisk the
confectioner’s sugar, lemon extract and half & half together in a small
bowl. Beat until the icing is smooth and
firm.
Remove rolls
from oven and place on cooling rack.
Place the icing in a pastry bag, or I use a zip-lock bag (throw away and
less clean up) and pipe a cross over the top of each indentation where the cut
is on the bun. Let stand for about 20-25
minutes to set before serving.
Okay I'm cheating. (This is actually my grandmother's version.) To be honest, I think hers is way better than the original Watergate Salad. I've also included a copy of her original recipe
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup sugar
Dash salt
1 cup whipped cream
1 large can fruit salad, drained, reserve liquid
7 cherries, halved
1 can orange mandarin, drained, reserve liquid
1
small can pineapple chunks, drained, reserve liquid
1-2 bananas, sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice
10-15 grapes, halved
1 pkg. small colored marshmallows
1 cup chopped walnuts
½ cup coconut flakes
Heat juices, eggs, sugar and salt in sauce pan; cook until thickened and bubbly. Stir often. Cool and fold in cream. Set
aside. Combine remaining ingredient and gently mix well. Pour dressing over top and fold the fruit in to blend. If
desired, sprinkle with tinted coconut, and scoop a dollop of mayonnaise tinted with cherry juice and flavored with honey on top of the salad before
serving.
Enjoy♥
This is part of the A-Z blogging challenge. Don’t forget to visit some of the other bloggers
in the challenge and also check out Crackerberries!
¼ cup black beans (today I used leftover rice because I didn't have beans)
Sriracha sauce
In a small skillet sauté zucchini and mushrooms for about 2 minutes, add beans(or rice) and place spinach over top. Cover and let steam about 3 more minutes. Crack egg in center, cover and let steam about 2 minutes. Slide on to plate, top with sriracha sauce and serve with your favorite beverage.
Enjoy ♥
This is part of the A-Z blogging challenge. Don’t forget to visit some of the other bloggers
in the challenge and also check out Crackerberries!
