Today I Made Pickles

Yummy Bread and Butter Pickles!

Hopefully this jar will last us a while! haha.

If you want the recipe, type it in the search box top left.

I got the big pickle jar at a garage sale last week....perfect timing!

♥

Gourmet Baked Beans

I thought I'd share this yummy recipe I made up

this summer.  It's so good you'll want to make this

instead of your regular baked beans from here on out!

If you give it a try, let me know how you like it.

Gourmet Baked Beans

1/2 package of bacon, cut with scissors into 1" pieces

1 lb 90% lean ground beef

1 cup chopped sweet onion

1/2 cup sliced celery

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 T yellow mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 16 oz can baked beans, undrained

1 16 oz can of butter beans, drained

1 15 oz can navy beans, undrained

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

A few dashes of liquid smoke

1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1 teaspoon worchestershire

In a large skillet cook the bacon until crisp.

Add the ground beef and cook through.

Add the onion and celery and cook until tender.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

Bake 350 uncovered for 30 minutes.

Add a little water if they are too thick.

A few hints....

Don't sweat the type of beans.  I've used lima beans,

navy beans, etc.  Just use a nice variety.

Don't sweat the size of cans or the draining of the

liquid.  If the liquid is thick, then leave it.

If it's watery, then drain it.

Enjoy!

♥

Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes

I only planted one teensy weensy cherry tomato plant this

year but it has given us an abundance of fruit!

It's much taller than me and has branched out

until it looks like a huge shrub!

Alex loves to pop them in his mouth and eat them 

like grapes!  But to serve with meals, this has been

a favorite this summer....cut in half and sautee in some olive

 oil or bacon drippings.  Add salt and Italian seasoning and

 garlic.  They are wonderful as a side dish to brunch or dinner!  

Yum!

♥

Monday, Fun Day

I spent the day in the kitchen today.

I decided the dirt, dust and mountain of laundry from

the weekend would just have to wait another day.

Housework is nice like that...and it waits for you..

and waits, and waits.  haha. Over-ripe bananas,

zucchini and peaches needed to be put to good use!

I made Lemon Zucchini muffins to put in the freezer...

A peach crisp for tonight's dessert....

Italian Zucchini and Tomato Bake for the freezer...

Tomatoes, onions, zucchini sprinkled with Italian seasoning,

garlic, salt, parmesan and pepper.  I layered the whole thing

with slices of romano cheese before putting it in the oven.

I only baked it half way, then let it cool before freezing.

And two loaves of banana toffee bread.

The recipe is here on my blog....just use the search box.

It's banana bread with pecans and toffee chips stirred in the batter

and sprinkled on top.  Heaven.  This is going in the freezer, too!

The muffins have been tested and baker approved. :)

♥

Betsy's Fancy Baked Beans

My sister-in-law gave me a baked bean recipe years ago

called Block Party Beans.  It's yummy and I hadn't made it

in years, so I pulled the recipe out this week.

I didn't have all the ingredients and wanted to add a few

of my own ideas to it, and this is what it turned out to be.

We'll definitely be having these again....

I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as we did!

Betsy's Fancy Baked Beans

1/2 package thick sliced bacon

1 lb ground beef, extra lean

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 15oz can tomoto sauce

1/2 c ketchup

2 Tablespoons yellow mustard

1/2 c brown sugar

A few dashes of liquid smoke

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce

2 16 oz cans Bush's baked beans (original)

1 16 oz can great northern beans

1 16 oz can navy beans

1 16 oz can black beans

1 16 oz can butter beans

(**drain any beans that are watery**)

In large pot brown the beef and bacon.

Add the onions and celery and cook until tender.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.

I'm sure the types of beans can be substituted

to suit your likes...I just wanted a variety in there.

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Enjoy.

Fried Green Tomatoes

I was disappointed in the last few recipes I've tried over the years,

so I just put together what I thought sounded good this time.

Yum!  A nice way to use the last of the season tomatoes!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Slice tomatoes a little less than 1/2" thick.

Dip into beaten egg, then dredge in a combination of

cornmeal, corn flakes crumbs (you can buy them already

 crushed) panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper and paprika.

Fry them in a skillet with about 1/4" oil over medium heat

turn when well browned to cook the other side.

Transfer to paper towel or rack.  Sprinkle with salt.

Continue the process, adding more oil to the skillet as needed.

Dipping Sauce

I whisked together equal amounts of mayo and sour cream.

Sprinkle in a little sugar, salt, pepper and add enough 

Sriracha to make it pink.

Yum!

♥

The Weekend

1. Blueberry smoothies
2. Brothers
3. Red buds
4. Sunny side up
5. Peach, who continues to hang around but is too smart to be tricked into a carrier....so far.....I'm not giving up!
6. Crab apples
7. More pretties in the shop
8. Waldorf slaw
9. Afternoon naps
10. Thanks, David, for texting me about the moon or I would have missed this!
11. Boneless, skinless and basted with a combo of peach preserves and pepper jelly. (8 oz, 2 oz)  Bake 30 minutes at 375.  Yum.

♥

The Weekend

1. Daffy Down Dilly has come to town....
2. Four of my five men in church this morning.
3. Alex looks like he's praying for it to be over. ha.
4. I took this pic of Cocoa on Ash Wednesday.  With that feather centered perfectly on his forehead, I asked him if he had converted to Catholicism. ha.  Well, if he did, I'm sure he's happy today is Easter and he can return to catching mice or whatever it is he gave up for Lent. :)
5. Easter Ham.  I love to cut through the top and add a glaze before baking.  
6. This year I mixed up a combination of mustard with horseradish, raspberry jam and brown sugar.  It was delicious!
7. I hadn't seen Peaches in a week.  The last time he couldn't eat solid food as if something was hurting inside his mouth.  I told The Mister after 6 days that I think he went off somewhere to die...he just looked so bad.
8. The next day, The Mister called to me, "Hey, Peachy is out here!" He still had trouble eating but I was prepared with bottled kitten milk and canned pate style cat food mixed with a little water, which he managed to eat just fine.  I have the carrier out on the back porch and hope to catch this little stray before too much longer so he can get some medical care.  He came two days in a row but I haven't seen him since Friday night now.
9. Mr. Grackle.  Love these shiny, bright-eyed birds!  They are such good parents, too.
10. Asparagus baked with bacon and topped with parmesan and panko.
11. Mr. Moon.
12. Key Lime Bars.  An Ina Garten boxed mix.  Tasted like scratch...but you did add your own butter, eggs and lime juice.
13. This little Tufted Titmouse has been my delight today.  Aw. What a cutie!  I love how her little grey gloves match her Easter coat and hat. ha.

♥

Fried Green Tomatoes

It was on my Fall Fun To Do List, so I thought this weekend

would be a good time to make some and have a taste 

of the south!  And when I looked online for a recipe

I decided that nobody would know southern

cooking better than The Neelys.  I love to watch them

cook together on their Food Network show, too.

These did not disappoint...crunchy and full of flavor!

The recipe I used is here.

Next time I'll do a little tweaking to the recipe, like

adding cornmeal and more paprika to the dredging

 flour... and cutting the recipe in half. 

 Other than that it, was quite tasty!

♥

Bread and Butter Pickles

I made Bread and Butter Pickles from some cucumbers

out of our garden this past week.  They turned out great

and we've been eating them on burgers, sandwiches

and paninis!  This recipe was a keeper and easy, too!

Today we had them on Balsamic Pork Tenderloin Sliders.

 I think this was my favorite so far.

Just slow roast a tenderloin 6 hours at 250 that you've

smothered with brown sugar, garlic, soy sauce,

balsamic vinegar, olive oil and kosher salt.

Seal pot with foil and let it turn into melt-in-your-mouth

yumminess while you play all day. :)

Then we washed them down with blueberry smoothies.

Mmmm.

Bread and Butter Pickles

source

5½ cups (about 1½ pounds) thinly sliced pickling cucumbers
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1½ teaspoons mustard seeds
½ teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1½ hours. Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl and toss with the cucumbers.

2. Combine the granulated sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

♥

The Sweet Corn Farm

I stopped at my favorite sweet corn farm today.

It was a perfect day to be out and about!

Low humidity, cool temps...30 degrees cooler than last week!

I got the Silver King variety.

Yeah, it's good enough for a royal name. :)

If you're local, this is Fairhaven Farm on Jasper Road in Xenia.

It's the best.  And it's a drive-thru.

Perfect.

How do you like your corn?

Butter and salt?

Sometimes I like to add flavored butters....fresh herbs,

spicy spices.....how about on the grill?

I'll take it any way it's served.

Gotta get some in the freezer, too.

It's become a yummy tradition to have summer corn

on the Thanksgiving table!

♥

Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I've never liked brussel sprouts.

I've made them 2 or 3 times and couldn't even swallow. haha.

That is until this time!  I made up this recipe which is very similar

to the way I roast asparagus.

Everyone loved these and I think we all could have finished off the

pan alone!  

Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Cut fresh brussel sprouts in half and arrange in a greased pan.

I used a large bag, about 36 sprouts.

Liberally sprinkle with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and brown sugar.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Layer on 1 package of bacon, cut in 1-2" pieces.  

Layer on 1 small onion, sliced thin.

Roast in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour, stirring occasionally,

until tender, well browned and bacon is crisp.

Enjoy!

♥

Potato Pancakes

Just stir in a beaten egg, some flour, garlic and onion

powders, salt and pepper and a little baking powder.

Place large spoonfuls in a skillet at medium high heat with

some oil and butter, press into pancake shapes and brown

well on both sides until dark and crispy.  Yum.

So, what do you do with leftover mashed potatoes?

I grew up on these and they always remind me of my

childhood when I make them.  Are they a Hoosier thing?

I have no idea, but they are yummy with ketchup, if

you really want to feel like a kid. :)

♥

Cranberry Sauce and Turkey Leftovers

I know there are a bunch of ways to enjoy leftovers after Thanksgiving!

We usually just heat up a plate of food that looks like a repeat of the

original dinner!  But when it comes time for something light, like a

sandwich, we tried this. ... Turkey, Jarlsberg Cheese Dip,

 and Cranberry Sauce on wheat bread.  Yum.  

The cranberries were also good with the jarlsberg dip and crackers!

Such a pretty looking snack and very tasty! 

 It would make a great holiday appetizer or hor dourves!

I got the cranberry sauce recipe from Susan Branch.  Yes, the

Susan Branch.  Do you visit her blog?  You really should.

She and I are kindred spirits, I'm telling you.  Today she posted about

hanging bird feeders outside her kitchen windows.  She has a cat

named Jack that is very much like ours of the same name, in fact

that is where I got the idea to name ours!

Anyway, her recipe is so simple and wonderful.

I will be making it again!

Cranberry Sauce

1 package of fresh whole cranberries.

1 c sugar

Spread berries in a greased 9x13 pan.

Pour sugar over them.  Do not stir.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, stirring part way 

through to make sure sugar is dissolved.

That's it!  Serve room temp.

♥