Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal bread with Cranberries, Pomegranites, and Walnuts...

An amazing Fall comfort food to enjoy time and time again... I pretty much used the same recipe as my Bananna baked oatmeal bread, except I used two cans of pumpkin instead of banannas in the bananna bread recipe... Then added one table spoon of cinnamon and two tablespoons of honey, a half a teaspoon of nutmeg, a tablespoon of brown sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, a teaspoon of baking soda, 2 eggs, 4 cups of milk 5 cups of old fationed oatmeal, and finally a bag of dried cranberries, dried pomegranites, and chopped walnuts... Put in a lightly greased pan, covered with foil, and cooked at 350 on the middle rack for an hour and 10 minutes, then uncovered for another 10 minutes until browned and done... It's great with a little milk, or egg nog, and whipped cream... These make great Muffins too... A wonderful dish for Family and Friends to enjoy...           

Catfish En Papillote, with Carrots, Celery, and Green Onion...

Catfish En Papillote... A wonderful savory dish that will be enjoyed time and again... To start off peel and cut carrots and celery in halves or quarters. Then cut green onion into thirds... Take some parchment paper on a cookie sheet (make parchment paper twice the length of the cookie sheet) and layout the vegtables in segments in two rows (an upper and lower)... Douce vegtables with olive oil and season (go lightly on the seasonings)...Season Catfish (I used my White Rub) and douce with olive oil... Put one Bay leaf under each Catfish and put a little butter on each Catfish... Now fold over the Parchment paper and fold over each edge twice (on all sides)... Then fold again at about a 35 or 45 degree angle along the sides starting from the back and continue on connected sides to the back on the other side, then tuck the back corners underneath the pouch (this process might be difficult till you get the hang of it)... You can use toothpicks, or a straight pin will also work, but I've found that this method of folding and tucking the corners works really well... Then take a knife and poke 6-9 holes in the top of the pouch (be careful not to puncture the bottom of the pouch) and put in oven on lower rack... Bake at 325 for an hour and a half till the fish is at least 180 degrees... Immediately after you take it out of the oven, open the pouch as much as possible to let the fish brown... Then take a spoon and baste the fish with the juices from the bottom of the pan (you will be glad you did, trust me)... and serve... One thing you will find out is that this is one of the most succulent ways to cook vegtables... A great dish for a special night or occasion... Enjoy...8)...

Smoked Chicken Salad...

One of the best things about smoking a chicken, ham, or turkey is the leftovers... Growing up my mother and grandmother brought to my attention of ham, turkey, and chicken salads... Always and only homemade salads, which required me as a kid to help them grind up the meat, chop the celery, pickels, hard boiled eggs, nuts of choice, and fruit of choice... Adding celery salt, pepper, mustard, and mayo... but they always told me never to add too much mayo, because it would lose the flavor of the meat and only taste like mayonaise... And when it was cold enough to eat she would either make a melt or a cold sandwich for helping her... These salads will always have a special place in my heart with warm memories of my mother and grandmother... One I know you will enjoy sharing with family and friends...

Bbq Smoked Rotisserie Chickens...

Bbq smoked rotisserie chickens... First I marinated my chickens for a day and a half, with my red and white rubs, and olive oil, then tied the wings and legs down... then soaked my wood chips for a couple hrs prior to smoking... I used hickory, apple, and cherry woods... It is also important to soak the wood chips for at least an hour prior to using them, because if you don't it will cause the meat to turn black from the soot deposits that will burn off... It is important to use an adequate supply of charcoal so the fire stays hot long enough to cook the birds... I made a parallel fire which is coals on both outer sides of the grill, if you need to when pouring the charcoal make two sides on the grill to see how much you have on both sides and if it is going to be enough... Then put two drip pans with water and marinade in the middle for basteing... It is important to add water every half hour so the pans won't dry out, burn, or catch fire. Producing unwanted taste or smell to the food... Every half hour add wood chips and water to the pans... After an hour, start basteing the birds... It should come up to 165 or so after an hour and 15 to an hour and 30min... When up to temp, cover and let rest for 15 to 20 min... Enjoy...8)...

 

Blackened Talapia... It's a beautiful thing....

Blackened Talapia... one of the prettiest and simplest foods to make... Although most people are confused on what temperature to cook it... I've found that the best temperature is a notch under medium heat for best results... Simply start out with butter and olive oil, place fish into pan... Season with your favorite seasoning on the first side and cook til the fish is white, half way up the side. Then turn the fish over and season the other side, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes... Then turn off the heat and flip the fish again... The residual heat in the pan should be enough to finish cooking the fish to 180... If the fillets are large, simply cover with a lid till 180 with the heat on low... Remember, when you cover with a lid it is actually steaming, not frying, so it is important to uncover and brown the spices before serving... And most importantly, Do not, burn the spices, it will ruin the taste...

Blueberry Banna nut bread, Baked Oatmeal

Lets face it...Blueberry Bananna nut bread, Baked oatmeal with Walnuts is one of the most comforting of comfort foods in the fall... In my house it is anyways... The recipe is simple... use your favorite Bananna bread recipe add the oatmeal ingredients, (I used 5 cups of Old fationed oats, 4 cups of milk, and 2 eggs), 1 teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of vanilla, 1 tablepoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of honey... Mix all of these ingredients, then add the blueberry's and chopped walnuts and mix in... Then add mixture to a lightly greased pan... Cover with foil and bake at 350 for an hour, then uncovered for another 15 minutes or until golden browned... Also makes great Muffins... Enjoy...8)...

Ahh yes, Alast, ...Wings...

Ahhh yes, my wings... It has become an addiction to most of my friends, as well as people I don't know that have tried them... My methods for these are simple... First using fresh wings, cut wing tips off and seperate wing from drumette, then dry with paper towell laying wings and drumette's separate from each other... Spice with seasonings, I divide mine in three sections... I use my white rub, red rub, and red rub with chipolte on each section spicing heavily on both sides... Then I mix my seasonings with the flour, a quarter cup seasoning to a cup of flour... I use my white rub in for the wings I spiced with my white rub and red with the wings I spiced with my red rub and red rub with chipolte (making two flour dredges)... Then dip the wings into flour and matched seasonings and back onto the tray layed out in 4 sections of twelve... Cover with foil and back to the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes... Then heat oil to 375 degrees and cook 12 at a time for ten minutes a batch, I've found that cooking at 375 brings a better flavor out of the seasonings, as well as cooks all around better than 350, making the skin crispy... Then cover for 15min. to rest... This is my simple methods on how to cook my wings... enjoy...8)...

Low sugar Peanut butter candies

And yes, I make candy too... The only sugar in these are in the peanut butter and honey I used... Which seem to be completely safe for Diabetics... I was very thankful to come up with this recipe, because of my family and friends that are Diabetic... I also make them with sugar as well... but the people who have tried these said that they could not tell the difference... Maybe someday I will share this recipe... but not just yet...

I just recieved my 100th page view... Thank you to all of you who are reading my blog, I hope that you find it enjoyable... feel free to share or comment on my posts at any time...

Italian Salad

There's nothing like a good Salad to ease and warm the soul... This one, which was inspired by my Mother and her wonderful salads, has many of the most loved and cherished ingredients any salad should have... And is sooo addicting... It is an Italian salad of sorts, starting off with Spring mix lettuce with Honey ham, Cotto salami, Sun dried tomatoes, Red onion, bacon pieces, Jalapino black olives, Vined ripened tomatoes, and Garlic butter croutons... one thing is missing though, some Pepperoncini's... And of course your favorite Dressing...8)... Give it a try...

Here's something I tried a little while back... It's a Catfish, Spicerubbed with my White rub, stuffed with Velveeta cheese, wrapped in bacon, with Burbon Bbq sauce broiled on... It was actually really good, something different from the norm, but very tasty...

Here's some boneless chicken breasts done the same way, except I used Pepperjack cheese... Only a couple things to remember when making this. One is when cutting a pocket for the cheese, to make an angled cut from the highest point of the meat so the cheese doesn't spill out.It is inevitable that cheese will seepout, but easily solved by coating the bottom of the pan with Olive oil (not alot, a little will do)... Two, is when wrapping with bacon, to wrap with the skinniest side of the bacon is always on bottom. It makes a nicer presentation when done. It also allows the bacon to be fully cooked underneath the meat... Cook at 375 till done... Then cover with Bbq sauce and finish with broiling til sauce appears thick and shiny...Enjoy...8)...

Baby back ribs

As far as cooking Baby back ribs, I use the same process as the Beef ribs. Except I remove the membrane. The only difference is that I actually Broil the underneath side to render out the fat which makes for a better cooking process. Although I still brown both sides at 375 - 400. It usually takes 20 minutes or so. Another thing I've found is that adding Apple or Peach juice instead of water makes a great substitute when cooking pork ribs... To add there is no sauce on these ribs... I used my White rub on half, and my Red rub on the other half...

A rack of beef ribs

When making beef ribs I have found that leaving the spices sit on the meat for about 20 minutes before putting it in the oven seems to help the flavors come out a little better. Althought marinating with a wet marinade or a dry marinade for a few days in the fridge helps, this process of steaming, basteing, and letting it rest after cooking does the trick just fine... first step, since removing the membrane from beef ribs is very difficult. I've found that just cutting through it between the bones works fine. Then coat the ribs generousely with your favorite spice rub ( I used my white rub), on both sides, cover with foil and let sit for 20 minutes. Add a little butter, douce with olive oil, and add a little water to the bottom of the pan. Then put in the oven at 350 for 2 hours, basteing every hour. Then uncover, flip over and cook uncovered at 375 or 400, while basting, til browned on each side. You could use the broiler, but in my opinion browning this way makes it taste better. After cooking cover, and let rest for 15 minutes before eating so the juices and flavors permiate back into the meat... This recipe was a savory recipe, but if you want Bbq sauce, simply coat the bottom side first and stick under the broiler til the sauce is thick and shiny. Then repeat the process on the other side... Enjoy...8)...

Spice rubs

As one of the things I love to do is cook. Which has made me develope many spice rubs over the years. I have about 15 different rubs, and 3 potato rubs. This is a picture of my White rub (on left) and Red rub (on right). Someday I hope to start making and selling them for the world to enjoy, It has been such a blessing to have and enjoy with friends and family over the years...

New Blog

Yes, I am finally starting a blog... After reading my sisters blog it has inspired me to start my own... These blogs are going to be about the wonderful experiences in life. Blogs about family, food, music, and fun... I hope all of you enjoy them, as it is a new experience for me...