tuneful recipes

In the comments to my last post, both by email and on the blog several of you asked about the recipes for my soup and pie.

The more or less basic recipe for the Portuguese Bean Soup can be found on Diane's Recipe Blog here. Mine isn't just like her "recipe"...matter of fact, neither is hers as she & I share the cooking trait of never making things the same way twice! And don't ask cuz I have NO IDEA what I did to that pot.

As for the sour cream and raisin pie, that's easier. Because Subvet made it and he almost ALWAYS go exactly according to a recipe.

This recipe can be found in one of our Heirloom Cook Books....This particular book, based on its age was probably first my grandmother's. I got it from my mother when we moved into our house. Hubby has used it many times and always with very good results! Some things just can not be improved upon! Although he does say that some of the recipes use things that are hard to find such as a potato ricer or cake flour.

I took the kids back to the fountain park on Monday....AND I took my new camera too! So stay tuned for some fun pictures in a day or two!

In the meantime, I'm linking my Lafayette, La post to GrandmaK (aka Cathy)'s weekly linky fun Adventure Tour Express! Looking for a new place to visit? Just been somewhere fun you'd like to share? Come on down and link up too.



This would be perfect for people like LINDA who are always traveling around and blogging about the fun places they've been. ;-)

Off to bed before another 2 nights of work! Y'all enjoy your soup and pie......just remember, every fart must be followed by the acknowledgement that "I squashed a duck!"

sausage talk.

What will you do for good sausage?

This evening found me driving 20 min to the next town over.....through ever worsening snow (damn that global warming!) in search of decent sausage to make my New Year's Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya with.

I was dismayed to find that the little butcher in town does not carry Andouille sausage.....matter of fact the poor woman behind the counter didn't know WHAT Andouille was........when I said it was a Cajun sausage she said, "well tomorrow we'll have some Boudin."

ayup. I knew I was in the wrong place!! To quote my cousin's facebook comment "Boudin is not sausage. Boudin is in the boudin category all on its own."

So, a quick call to my step-mom for a viable NE Texas alternative to Andouille and there I was driving through snow at sunset on a sausage run.

All because I just couldn't stand the idea of making Jambalaya using Kielbasa. Just doesn't seem right somehow... But now I am the proud owner of 5lbs of decent (yet not Andouille) sausage and here in a few minutes the Jambalaya making will commence.

Gonna have to make myself a nice long shopping list before my next trip to La.....

What's your traditional New Year's meal??

In case you were wondering I have to make it tonight as I'm working the 30th, 31st, and 1st so I won't get another chance to cook before New Year's Day.

Limited Time Only!

There are only a few hours left to play Thesaurus Thursday! There are only 3 entries so far...and 3 prizes so go on and give it a try!!



I tried a new recipe tonight. Well, after breaking a spatula and having to call Subvet in to do some emergency greasing to the pan I'd say it turned out quite nicely. :-) Warning, if you try this recipe, the crispies set up quickly so use a STURDY utensil and pregrease your pan!! (For those of you who are wondering....yes, this was my first ever time to make rice krispie treats.

Thanks for the recipe ellen.

Yummy-O!!


So, how many steps does it take to work off a chocolate/butterscotch iced peanut butter rice krispie treat??

Also, folks, I will be working Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday nights. So, suffice it to say you probably won't hear much from me till later next week. I'm working on prewriting a few posts tonight just so's you won't forget me......

And if you see that I've linked to a Mr Linky post (like Show and Tell or Tiny Talk) but haven't put my name on the list it probably means I prewrote that post. Please feel free to add me on. Thanks.

Show and Tell (Part B)

So, I will show you the making of my first batch of Mama's Sauce!

Step 1, assemble all necessary equipment:



The Dr. Pepper and Bon Jovi are my secret ingredients!
The chorus to the title track of this album says

"Oh, If there's one thing I hang onto
That gets me through the night
I ain't gonna do what I don't want to;
I'm gonna live my life
Shining like a diamond,
Rolling with the dice
Standing on the ledge,
I'll show the wind how to fly
When the world gets in my face,
I say...
Have A Nice Day!
Have A Nice Day!"

aaahhh, some days the rebel comes out ya know?






This goes in almost everything I cook, along with garlic and Lea & Perrins.




the front burner has mixed vegetables and broccli coming to boil, the back burner has an onion and garlic sauteing in butter. Lea & Perrins stands at the ready.

Well, now I know how to make fake vomit! Mixed veggies and tomato sauce in a blender! I mean it...at various stages of the puree this was positively revolting!

For Mr Alligator to eat it, this had to be as smooth as ketchup. He'll pick out anything he can. Therefore I spent some time at the blender. I actually dumped the whole thing in 1 pot, the took about 1/3 blender at a time and pureed smooth, then put into a different pot till there were no chunks anywhere.




Then I started seasoning it. I kept taking small cups out to the boys as I'd go and kept at it till Gator would eat it WITHOUT grimacing.

I divided this in 3 parts, froze two of them and we're eating the third.



Our first meal, pasta with Mama's Sauce





SUCCESS!!

Veggies in every bite. You just can't beat that!! Next week I'll braise some chicken legs in it and see how that turns out. Basically this can be used just like you would Barbecue sauce.

Now, let's see if I can remember the recipe....yes, I took (scant) notes.

2lb bag mixed veggies
1lb bag chopped broccli
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
3 Tbs butter (I use the real stuff)
2 29oz cans tomato sauce
2 cans water (separated)

Cook veggies till tender then drain, saute garlic and onion in butter till soft.

start adding veggies, garlic and onion to the blender, add some tomato sauce or water to each blender-full so it will puree easier. if you run out of tomato sauce or water before you've gotten all the big chunks out then add back some of the already pureed sauce.

3 heaping Tbs Italian Seasoning
3 or 4 good shakes of Tony's Creole Seasoning
maybe 1/3 bottle or so of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

I actually got it too hot and spicy for the kids so I then added

1 tsp sugar
3 dollops of milk

note:

sugar cuts saltiness...and vice versa.
Tony's is the best, but it has a fair bit of salt in it so don't add any other forms of salt (garlic salt, table salt, etc) without taste testing.

milk cuts spicyness.

Once all was said and done, I let it simmer on the stove for about an hour or so, stirring regularly. This helps to blend all the flavors into one sauce and makes it better overall.

So, there you have it folks. Works for me! It took quite a bit of doing though, however, just knowing that he's now eating veggies again was more than worth it! Once he's old enough to understand we'll go to the "you don't get down from the table till you've had some veggies...and no I won't bring you a pillow!"....but till then here we are.

Scroll down for Show and Tell part A and don't forget to place your entries in Thesaurus Thursday for a chance to win one of the prizes!