Pecan Tassies

One of my childhood favorites at specail occasions was pecan tassies.  My Grandmother made them and they are mini pecan pies.  This is her recipe. Be prepared to double or triple this recipe.....your family will eat them faster than you can make them!

1 3oz cream cheese(room temp)
1/2 cup butter(room temp)
1 cup glour

Blend together cheese and butter, add flour.  Mix well and shape into 24 balls.  Press balls into mini muffin tins, covering bottom and up the sides of each opening.

1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon soft butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
2/3 cup chopped pecan

Divid pecans evenly between all 24 mini pie shells in muffin tins.  Stir together all remaining ingredients.  I do this in a large measuring cup.  Pour egg/sugar mixture into pie shells, dividing evenly between the 24. Bake at 350 until golden brown.

Grandma Sauce

Sunday dinner at Grandma Freida and PawPaw Speck's house was a family tradition.  It was always a big gathering, but Grandma never knew in advance how many people would be there....maybe just a few, maybe 30!  She just cooked, and there always seemed to be enough, it was always great and she never seemed to break a sweat!  More people showed up......she would just cook another cup of rice!  LOL!!!  Her stantard dessert was Sara Lee pound cake and her special sauce.  There was no recipe, she made it up as she went along and she had many variations.  Here is the basic recipe.  I watched her make it many times and had to practice and figure out the amounts because she NEVER measured anything. This is also the sauce I now use for my bread pudding....mmmm mmm good!

1/2 cup sugar
1cup milk
2-3T flour
dash vanilla

Cook all together, whisking constantly until the mixture simmers and thickens.

Some variations:
Use part/or all evaporated milk (Pet milk as she called)
add lemon or almond extract instead of vanilla
used part brown sugar/part white sugar

Aunt Ola Mae's Cookies

My gandmother made these cookies all the time and they are a family favorite.  So where did the name come from.....Who is Aunt Ola Mae?  Ola Mae was my grandmother's cousin, who was more like a sister to her.  She was a wonderful woman, always with a ready sweet smile, a gental spirit and I hold many special memories of her.  This is Aunt Ola Mae's cookie recipe, passed to me by Grandma Frieda.  This recipe makes A LOT of cookies, so it is great for holiday baking.  Be prepared to share....or they freeze beautifully!

1 cup sugar
1cup brown sugar
1 cut butter
1 cup oil
1 egg
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup quick oats
1-2 cups rice crispies
1 cup chopped pecan(or walnuts)

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add oil, egg and vanilla and mix well.  Mix in flour, cream of tater and baking soda, do not over mix.  Stir in remaining ingedients.  Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes until golden brown.

Crab Cakes

This is one of Stevie's favorites!

1 pound crab meat(white jumbo lump is best)
1c soft bread crumbs
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
2-3 green onions chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced very fine.
2T butter
1/2 cup mayo
1 egg
season with red pepper, black pepper, salt and garlic powder
panko bread crumbs
oil for frying

Melt butter in a small saute pan, sweat onions and garlic for a couple of minutes until soft. Mix together bread crumbs, cooked veggies, mayo, egg and seasoning and mix together lightly. Fold in crab meat that has been picked over and drained well. Line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap, then scoop crab mixture on to the sheet forming patties. The mixture will be a little mushy and loose, if it is too loose to shape into patties, add more bread crumbs. Place the cookie sheet with the patties into the freezer for about an hour. this will firm them up enough to handle. Once firm, dredge them in panko bread crumbs and fry in a shallow pan until brown and crispy.

Stuffed mushrooms

This a always a big hit!

3 pounds mushrooms, stems removed
1 pound crab meat
1 C pepper jack cheese grated
1 C mayo
bread crumbs....enough to make the mixture think enough to work with
old bay seasoning, red pepper

Mix all ingredients together and stuff into mushroom caps. bake about 30 minutes(time depends on size of mushrooms)

Another yummy stuffed mushroom idea is to use the spinach and artichoke dip recipe. Mix in enough bread crumbs into unbaked dip to make the dip workable and stuff into mushrooms.

Mexican Dip

This is a wonderful, hearty dip. I like to keep it warm in a small crock pot for serving.

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound fresh bulk sausage or Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage(my favorite)
1 small onion diced
1 pound Velveeta
1 can rotel tomatoes, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Brown ground beef and sausage, drain well and return to pan. Add diced onion and cook until tender. Add cheese, rotel and soup and cook until cheese is melted.

This also makes super nachos, it great on a baked potatoes and freezes well if you have leftovers.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This is my most requested dish to bring to any party....it's really good stuff!!

1 package chopped frozen spinach, thawed, drained well and chopped
1 can arichocke hearts, drained and chopped
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 C sour cream
1 C mayonaise
1C pepper jack cheese, grated
1C parmesan cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
red pepper, garlic powder, hot sauce and black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, spread into baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Bake until bubbly. Serve with crackers or toasted slices of french bread.

White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

My husband LOVES this cheesecake and it is so easy!! Tomorrow is his birthday....so cheesecake it is!!!

3 8 oz. packages of cream cheese(at room temp)
3/4 cup sugar
1t vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup of white chocolate chips(melted)
1 9oz(this is the larger size)graham cracker crust
3T raspberry jam(or strawberry or blackberry or what ever you like)

Heat oven to 375
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer until well blended. Add egg and mix. Pour chocolate and and stir until blended. Pour into pie crust.
Microwave jam until melted. Dot top and cheesecake with jam and swirl gently with a knife.

Bake 50 minutes, or until center is set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours before serving.

"Cuppa" Cobbler

So you are wondering....What is Cuppa Cobbler??? This is a recipe from my dear friend Loni, who got it from her Mom. I have made it from memory for so many years, this might not be the original recipe....lol!!! It is a supper simple recipe for a fast and yummy fruit cobbler, and I call it Cuppa Cobbler cause it uses one cup measurements. It is great with any fresh fruit, but canned fruit is great too. Top it with a scoop of ice cream and it is heaven in a bowl!!

1 stick of butter
1 cup of self rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 t vanilla
about 2-3 cups fresh or canned fruit
sprinkle of cinnamon

Melt the butter in a 11x7 or 8x8 baking dish. Mix together the flour, sugar, milk and vanilla. pour over the melted butter that is in the baking dish. Now arrange the fruit on top of the batter, sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. The fruit will sink to the bottom, the cake will brown and pull away from the sides of the dish. Serve warm, topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Suggie's Strawberry Pie

It is Spring time again, and we all know what that means.......STRAWBERRIES!!!! My Mom make the best strawberry pie in the world, you must try it!!! This recipe makes two pies, and I have tried to find a way to half the recipe, and it never comes out right. So make two and eat a lot, or find a friend to share with.....they will love you forever!!!

2 baked pie shells(I use the refrigerated roll type)
2 pints strawberries, stems removed, and cut in half
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
1 small package strawberry Jello
2 small or one large container of Cool Whip

Combine sugar, cornstarch, water and jello. Cook over medium heat until clear. Cool to room temp. Arrange strawberries in the baked pie shells, pour sugar mixture over the berries. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Top with cool whip and serve.

Mayhaw Jelly

Grandma Frieda ALWAYS had mayhaw jelly....ALWAYS!! It is simply wonderful stuff, if you have never tried it, you have been missing out. A few years ago, when Mayhaws became hard to come by, my Dad planted some mayhaw bushes out by the canal on the farm. They are now mature plants and are making mayhaws like crazy! The freezer was still full of mayhaws from last year, and the fresh mayhaws will be getting ripe in a month or so, so it is time to make jelly! I do not have Grandma Frieda's recipe, so I went on-line and got a recipe from The Mayhaw Association. It comes out just as good as hers! It is really easy to make the jelly...it's getting the juice that is the hard work!

To get your juice, cook mayhaws in just enough water to get them going. Cook until the berries pop and release their juice. Smash the mayhaws as they are cooking, so you can get as much flavor out of them as possible! Once they have been cook and mashed, it is time to start straining. (this is the yucky part) I start with a collander over a large pot, ladle in the juice and berries, pressing down as you go to get has much of the juice out as possble. This step will remove all the large pieces, skins and stems. Now we strain again, this time through a wire mesh strainer, to remove any last bits of skins and stems. Now we strain again, this time through a wire mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth. You can also do this step with cone paint strainers. Now let you juice cool over night in the refrigerator and all the impuities will stettle to the bottom. Ladle off the juice trying to get only the clear juice at the top of the container. The part at the bottom can be strained again through cheese cloth. You goal is to get clear juice with as few impurities as possible, that way you will have clear sparkling jelly!!

There are other methods for getting the juice, this is just what I have found works best for me. My grandmother used what she called "a chinaman's cap". It is a large cone shaped strainer. Other people use a "hanging bag method". All the cooked fruit is poured into a large muslin bag, which is tied closed and hung over a pot so that the juice seeps slowly out of it, keeping all the impurities in the bag.

Now to make the jelly....

5 cups mayhaw juice
5 cups sugar
1 box sure jell
1/2 t butter

Stir sure jell into the juice, add butter. Bring to a full roiling boil, skim off any foam that forms(foam will make your jelly cloudy). Stir in the sugar and bring back to a full rolling boil. Boil 2 minutes. Ladle into steralized jars, and seal according to lable directions.

Twice baked Potatoes

I have used up all my frozen twice baked potatoes, so I am making a big batch to freeze. I have found a super way to get the potatoes baked.....do it in the crock pot!!! Just wash your potatoes, wrap in foil, stack them in the crock pot and cook on high in your crock pot for about 3 hrs(adjust time for size of potatoes). You can also cook them on low and have them ready to go for dinner after work!!

4 baked potatoes, cooled
4 strips bacon
1/2 onion chopped
4 green onions
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 stick butter, room temp.
season with salt and black pepper to taste

Bake potatoes and cool. Once cooled cut in half lengthwise, and scoop out the flesh, leaving a small bit along the peel. Place potato flesh into a mixing bowl and crumble. In a skillet, cook the 4 strips of bacon until crispy. Remove from skillet, cool and crumble into bowl of potato. Now cook chopped onion in the bacon dripping until onions are soft and clear, add to potato bowl. Mix in all remaining ingredients and stir together well. Now divide the potato mixture evenly among the potato shells, pack in well. You can freeze the potatoes at this point if you wish. I freeze them on a cookie sheet and when frozen solid I put them into a zip bag. When ready to bake, place on a Cookie sheet and top with a bit of grated cheese if you wish and bake at 350 until golden brown....about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. In a hurry....heat them in the microwave until hot and then pop in the broiler for just a couple of minutes to brown the tops.

I have also made this as a casserole. Boil your potaotes and then follow the rest of the recipe. put potato mixture into a casserole dish and bake...yummy and fast!

It is also very easy to double or even triple this recipe. My family loves these and they are so easy and quick to add to a "not so special dinner" and make it a "WOW dinner"!!!

Spicey Garlic Meatballs

It has been a long week, with NO cooking and very little home time. I was having withdrawls from the kitchen and the blog!!! So today, I am playing catch-up....getting a couple of things cooked, and getting a game plan together for next week.....in case it all goes down hill again!!!! So I had a pound of ground beef in the fridg, that was supposed to be Shepherds Pie on St Pat's Day, but that never happened....so I decided it needed to be cooked, would not want the meat to spoil!! So I decided to make some meatballs and freeze them. I can pop them into some spaghetti sauce(I have some frozen already) one night next week for a quick supper! So spicey garlic meatballs it is!!!

1 lb of ground beef
1 egg
1/2 a small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated parmasan cheese
season with salt, black pepper, red pepper and red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together lightly, and shape into balls. Place meat balls in a baking dish with a small amount of water in the bottom of the pan. Bake at 425 until brown. Mine takeabout 50 minutes, you will need to adjust your time according to how large you make your meatballs. Cool. Now you can drop them into sauce or pop them into a zip bag and into the freezer.

Mac and Cheese

As requested....Mac and Cheese! I do not have a formal recipe for this dish....It is one of those "till it looks right" and "make do with what you have" dishes. So this is how I make it...

Melt about 1/2 a stick of butter in a sauce pan, when melted add about 1/2 a small chopped onion and cook until tender. Then stir in 2 heaping spoons of flour, stir until completly combined. Then add enough milk to make it a thick sauce.(I would guess about 2 cups...but I just pour until it looks right) When thick, add any combo of cheese you have on hand. I always put in some velveeta and then add what ever else you have on hand(pepper jack is a favorite of ours). Season with black pepper and red pepper and salt. Place cooked pasta into a buttered bakin dish, top with cheese sauce then with a little grated cheese and/or bread crumbs. Cook until bubbly and brown around the edges. Yummy hot out of the oven...or reheated the next day! Works great as a freezer dish......freeze before baking!

Grandma Frieda's Brunt Sugar Fudge

I get more phone calls from family for this recipe at Christmas time than any other recipe. Grandma always made this for Christmas, she cut it in little tiny pieces, packed it into tins and passed it out to everyone. I think she could make it in her sleep. She even kept track of who liked pecans in it and who didn't. Everyone one of the cousins knew they had become an adult, when they got their very own little tin of burnt sugar fudge for Christmas. I loved to watch her make this. She used an old pressure cooker, the lid was lost long ago and I don't remember it ever having a handle. She would stand there stiring with an old wooden spoon, that was worn down and burnt black from YEARS of use and hundreds of batches of fudge. It did not surprise me when that old broken down pot was the most asked for thing from her kitchen when we cleaned out her house.

3 cups white sugar
1 lg can evaporated milk(or pet milk, as Grandma called it)
1/2 cup light Karo
small pat of butter
1 t vanilla
optional: 1 cup of chopped pecans

In a small heavy skillet melt 1/4 cup of the sugar. When brown add 1/4 cup water(be careful, this will splatter everywhere) and cook until the consistancy of syrup. At the same time, begin cooking remaining sugar, milk, and Karo in a large heavy sauce pan. When sugar syrup is ready, pour it into the milk and sugar mixture as it cooks. Cook to soft boil stage. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla, beat until creamy. (Grandma would say "beat it until you think your arm is going to fall off....then beat it 3 more minutes" When thick and creamy add pecans, if you wish, and pour into a 8x8 buttered pan. Let cool completly before cutting. Cut into tiny little squares and pack into little tins with love.

Creamed Corn

Let me start by saying.....I HATE creamed corn!! But this stuff is unlike any other creamed corn I have ever eaten. It is quick and easy to make, and has become a holiday favorite with our family over the years. This recipe makes alot, I usually make a 1/2 recipe.

2-20 oz bags of frozen corn
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1t salt
2 T sugar
pinch pepper
2 T melted butter
2 T flour

Combine all ingredients except the last 2, bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Blend flour and butter together, add to corn. Mix well, bring back up to a simmer and remove from heat.

This reheats beautifully!

Chicken and Dumplings 2 ways

My husband and I cooked Chicken and Dumplins together on our first date, so you know this must be a favorite! But we soon learned that we make two very different styles of Chicken and Dumplings. His is made with a boiled chicken, the way his Gram did, so the gravy is white. Mine is made by browning the chicken first, the way my Grandma Frieda did, so it has a light brown gravy. I think mine is better.....he thinks his is....so I will let you be the judge!!!!

We both make the actual dumplins the same....so here is the recipe for that.

Dumplins
2 cups self rising flour
4 tablespoons butter
milk(enough to make a soft dough)

Cut butter into flour until it is the size of small peas. Add enough milk to make a soft dough, don't stir too much. Turn out on to a waxpaper lined counter top and roll thin. I cut into rectangles, Steve cuts his into triangles, and let dry on counter top while your chicken cooks. Flip dumplings over after about an hour, so they dry on both sides. This will keep your dumplings from falling apart so much as they cook....makes a firmer dumpling. If you want puffy dumplings, make right before dropping into broth.

My Grandma Freida's Chicken and Dumplins(brown gravy)

one chicken, cut into pieces
one onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
4 cups chicken broth(homemade is best, but canned will do)
salt, red pepper, garlic powder, and black pepper

Brown seasoned chicken peices, in a small amount of oil, in large Magnalite roaster. When good and brown add chopped onion and about 1/2 a cup of broth. Cook down until most liquid has evaporated and there are browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Repeat. Now add the rest of the chicken stock and the garlic. If the broth does not completly cover your chicken pieces, add water to cover. Season, go easy on the salt, you can add more at the end of the cooking as needed. Cook covered, on low, until chicken is very tender and starting to fall apart(a couple of hours). Remove chicken from broth and let cool a bit. Remove chicken from the bones, the meat will be added back into the pot once the dumplings are done.

Now we cook the dumplings! Bring the broth to a full rolling boil. Drop dumplings into broth, a couple at a time, so they won't stick together. Stir very gently, lower heat to low, cover and let cook 20 minutes, Add chicken meat back into the pot and it is ready to serve!

Steve's Gram's Chicken and Dumplings(white gravy)

One whole chicken
salt and black pepper
water or broth

Boil seasoned chicken in water or broth until falling off the bone. Remove chicken from the pot and remove meat from the bones. Cook dumplings in the method listed above. When dumplins are done, add chicken back into the pot. Make sure you use plenty of black pepper, it is the main seasoning in the dish.

As you can see, Steve's is easier....but mine is BETTER!!! But I have to admit, even my mother likes Steve style dumplings better!! This recipe does not make for good left over...it tends to turn to goo. So eat up...enjoy them while they are hot!!

Grandma Frieda's Chicken Salad

I learned to make this from my grandmother, it was her old standby that she brought to every baby shower, wedding, and family reunion. She made hers by using this giant old metal meat grinder that PawPaw Spec would bolt to the kitchen counter. There was no recipe, I had to watch and guess at measurements. I have made it for so long myself that I make it with no measuring. So this is my best guess at measurments. You just have to make it like Grandma said...."till it looks right"

About 1/2 a cooked chicken, chopped VERY fine
2 eggs chopped very fine
1-2 green onions chopped very fine
1 heaping spoon dill pickle relish
1 good squirt spicey brown mustard
1 good squirt ranch dressing
enough mayo to make it a good spreading consistancy
red pepper and black pepper to taste

Mix well and let sit over night in the ice box....but I can never wait that long! this is not a chunky crunchy chicken salad.....it is a good sandwich spreading chicken salad. It is simple, but oh so good!!

Green Chili

This is, hands down, my most asked for recipe.

2 lbs pork, cut into 1" pieces
2 large onions
3 cloves garlic
6-8 med size tomatillos(not tomatoes!!!)
4-6 assorted peppers(anaheim, bell, banana, jalapeno, whatever you like)
2 cans roasted chopped green chilies
1 small can green salsa
2 cans green enchilada sauce
4 cups chicken broth
Season with red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, salt and cumin
Searve with sour cream, grated cheese and warm flour tortillas

Place peppers and tomatillos(paper skins removed and washed) on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 450 until skins are charred. Let cool and then peel away skins and seeds of peppers and chop peppers and tomatillos. Brown cubed pork in a large pot, after browned add onions and a small amount(about a cup) and cook, stirring often, until all moisture is gone and the drippings are nice and brown on the bottom of the pot. Add remaining broth, garlic, all canned ingredients and the roasted peppers and tomatillos. If there are any bones from your pork, throw them in to cook with the chili, they add lots of flavor, but remove before serving. Season with the listed spices. The peppers you use will determone how hot your chili is, so season to taste. Let simmer, covered, for at least 2 hours or until the pork is starting to fall apart, add water as needed through the cooking process. The end result will be the consistancy of a thick soup. I sometimes thicken the chili with a little cornstarch and water if it is too thin. Serve topped with a spoon full of sour cream and some grated cheese, use warm soft flour tortillas as dippers.