It's taken a year but I've finally found the best way to boil and peel fresh eggs! 

I've had such a time since we got our own chickens and started having sure 'nuf   FRESH  eggs.  When I would boil them and try to peel them the egg would just stick to the shell and it would just wreck the eggs.  A lot would end up going to waste and they didn't look very pretty if I wanted to serve deviled eggs or slice them with salt and pepper.

Here's the new method I use and have had great success.

Cover eggs with cool water in saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once it reaches a full boil turn off the heat and let them set right there on the stove for 15 minutes.  Then pour off hot water and run cool tap water over eggs, emptying saucepan and refilling a few times.  Next let the eggs set in the pan of cold water that you've added some ice to for 15 minutes.  Crack and peel eggs under cool running water.

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I think you will love this fresh tasting soup!  As you can see, the combination of ingredients and flavors makes it surprisingly different and it is so good for you too.  It's loaded with vitamin A and vitamin C and has very low fat.

Karen's Healthy Delicious Soup

2  12 oz. jars of marinated artichoke hearts

1 cup onions, small chopped

1 green onion, tops only, chopped

1 large stalk celery, minced

1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I use a couple of varieties)

2 tsp. salt

3 small red potatoes (about 2 1/12" diameter), scrubbed and thinly sliced

4 to 5 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. dried basil

4 cups chicken stock  (I use homemade chicken stock from my freezer) or 4 cups water for vegetarian soup

1/2 lb. spinach, minced or a 10 oz. package of frozen, chopped spinach, defrosted and drained

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup fresh or frozen green peas

fresh parsley, minced

2 cups cauliflower, small chopped

1.  Drain liquid from marinated artichoke hearts into soup pot.  Gently heat liquid

2.  Add chopped onion and saute' over medium heat for 5 minutes.

3.  Add celery, mushrooms, salt, potatoes, garlic and basil.  Saute' for 10 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.

4.  Add stock (or water) and bring to a boil.  Stir, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart.

5.  Add the artichoke hearts, spinach and cauliflower, lemon juice, black pepper and peas.   Cover and cook over low heat another 15 minutes or until cauliflower is tender-crisp.  Sprinkle a generous amount of  reduced fat parmesan cheese and  fresh parsley on top and serve.

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Karen's Shrimp~in~Love

12 oz linguine, uncooked

4-5 cups cleaned, medium fresh shrimp

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 cups (2 boxes) Cream Cheese

1 bag fresh, clean spinach, torn.....

{OR  3 boxes frozen spinach, thawed, drained}

3-4 large cloves garlic, minced

salt/pepper to taste

pinch red pepper

all purpose mixed seasoning to taste (ex: Tony Cachere's)

1 rib celery small diced

1 small onion small diced

olive oil to sautee'

Cook linguine as directed on package, being sure to add a good amount of salt to pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet on medium~high heat.  Add olive oil, onions, garlic and celery and sautee' for several minutes.  Add shrimp, tomatoes, cream cheese and seasonings to pan.  Cook and stir until shrimp are cooked through and mixture is hot and well blended. 

Drain pasta; place in a large bowl.   Add spinach and toss.  If using fresh spinach it will wilt slowly as it heats.  Stir in shrimp mixture.

Plate and serve with a green salad and french garlic bread.

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I love fresh, ripe tomatoes from my garden.  In the Spring each year I start craving them and then comes the long wait until there are some tomatoes that are red and ripe and ready to pick from the vines. 

 I want to be able to enjoy that flavor year 'round so once those gems start ripening by the bucketfuls I know it's time to preserve them.  I've been canning tomatoes for probably 25 years the same way that I was taught by my talented mother in law.   But this past year I altered the process ever so slightly and with fantastic results!  Who would've thought that snipping some large Sweet Basil leaves from my plants right outside my kitchen door would change the way I canned tomatoes from then on! 

Allow 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds very ripe, unblemished tomatoes per quart.  Wash tomatoes.  To peel, dip tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds or until skins start to split. 

Dip in cold water; core and skin.   

Fill clean, hot, sterile jars with whole or halved tomatoes, pressing to fill spaces with juice.  Add bottled lemon juice:  1 tablespoon for pints, 2 tablespoons for quarts.  Add salt, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon for pints, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon for quarts.  Leave a 1/2 inch headspace.  Run a knife down the sides of the jars to release any air bubbles.  Then add the freshley cut, large Sweet Basil leaves to each jar (I use 2 or 3 per jar), slipping them up against the side of the jar so they can be seen.  Apply sterile lids and rings to jars being careful not to apply  lots of unneccessary pressure to tighten.

Place in pressure cooker filled to manufacturer's directions with boiling water.  Cover and process.  For  a dial gague canner use 11 pounds of pressure; for a weighted gauge canner , use 10 pounds of pressure for 25 minutes.  Turn off heat and let canner set, undisturbed until cooled down and gague then lid can be removed. 

Remove jars and set on towel in a place where they will not be disturbed for 24 hours before storing.

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This recipe uses honey instead of sugar.  Yum!   

                            HONEY PECAN PIE

1 CUP HONEY

1/2 CUP BUTTER, MELTED

3 LARGE EGGS, LIGHTLY BEATEN

1 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT

1/8 TSP SALT

1 1/2 CUPS CHOPPED PECANS

1 UNBAKED 9" PASTRY SHELL

COBINE FIRST 5 INGREDIENTS; STIR IN PECANS.  POUR INTO UNBAKED PASTRY SHELL.  BAKE AT 350* FOR 30-40 MINUTES.  LET COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE CUTTING.

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After reading all about cooking with cast iron on the Front Porch I decided to show a picture of a couple of pieces from my collection.  My well seasoned cast iron is the only thing I would even think of using to make homemade corn bread!  I think the little one that has what look like ears of corn for corn stick molds is adorable.  It even has little indentions that look like the corn kernels. 

Steve and I can never eat up a whole batch of corn bread but I never throw it out.  I put it in freezer bags and freeze it. Then when it's time to make dressing I just pull it out and crumble it up. 

I think I have several recipes for different types of corn bread or corn muffins in my archives. Also, click through the pages of the recipes and you'll find my recipe for Southern Corn Bread Dressing that I fix for holidays.  There's even a Squash Dressing recipe that's simple and sooo good!  After my sister tried it for the first time she never went back to making regular dressings or stuffings for her holiday meals.  It's also great during the Summer when you have a bumper to bumper squash crop.  Just click on the recipe button to the left to get to the recipe pages. (You'll find lots of other delicious recipes there too!  And I'm adding new ones all the time.) 

 This is the recipe for the corn bread you see above.  It is really good too.

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cornmeal  (I use stone ground, yellow)

2 to 3 tbsp sugar

21/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

2 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup cooking oil or melted butter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.  In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2.  Add the 1 tbsp butter to a 10" cast iron skillet (or a 9x11/2" round baking pan if you don't have cast iron).  Place in a 400* oven about 3 minutes or until butter melts.  Remove pan from oven; swirl butter in pan to coat bottom and sides of pan.

3.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine eggs, milk, and oil.  Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened.  Pour batter into hot skillet or pan.  Bake for 15 to 20 miutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean and the cornbread is browned nicely.

~You can also prepare the same way but fold in 1/2 cup  whole kernel corn into batter.

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Have you ever tried Southern Fire & Ice pickles?  So easy!  So good! 

 Start with a large 1 gallon  jar of sliced dill pickles.  Down here, we use Cajun Chef  sliced hamburger dills 3/16" smooth cut.  Empty the pickles into a strainer and drain off pickle juice.

Gather up the empty pickle jar, the drained pickles, a 6 oz bottle of hot sauce, (we use Louisiana brand), and 4 cups sugar.

Add a fourth of the pickles back into the jar, sprinkle 1 cup suger over the top then a fourth of the bottle of hot sauce.

Repeat process 3 more times.

Close jar tightly.

 Each day turn the jar over and let set, then next day turn the jar over the other way and let set, etc., repeating for a total of 7 days.   Leave the jar out on the kitchen counter

 No need to refrigerate these.  We keep a jar sitting on our kitchen counter.  You can remove the lable or just turn the jar around if you just want the pickles to show.  (I kind of like the way this particular lable looks in my kitchen.) 

You can't eat just one!

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I've never been a fan of Bread Pudding.  Seemed like each time I tried it it was really dense and not very flavorful. THEN everything changed when I ate THIS Bread Pudding!!!!!!!  Oh my gosh!!! 

Each year our church choir combines with another church choir to do a Christmas musical.  Well, we were at the other church and after having a dress rehearsal we had a fellowship. (which means visit and eat!)  There was this delicious looking Bread Pudding on the dessert table with a yummy looking white sauce in a bowl next to it.  Many ate it and so did I.  We all were raving over this recipe!  I'm not kidding, it was high and light as a feather and that sauce poured over it sent it over the top.  I never thought I'd be able to get the recipe until we were leaving and a friend said, "Oh, look, here's some copies of that Bread Pudding & Sauce recipe stacked here."  And sure enough, on the table next to the door leading outside, someone had run off copies and placed them there for those who wanted them.  Turns out I wasn't the only one amazed at this delicious treat.  Others had been asking for the recipe!  I don't even know who to credit it to because there was no name on the sheet.  How easy this recipe is!  Most ingredients  you've already got in your kitchen!  This is my new favorite dessert recipe!

BREAD PUDDING & SAUCE

1 cup milk

6 slices white bread

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 stick butter

cinnamon

raisins (optional)

Tear bread into small pieces.  Pour sugar, milk, egg and vanilla on top; cut butter into small pieces and mix all together with a spoon, not a mixer.  Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake at 350* for 1 hour.

SAUCE

1 egg yolk

1 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp flour

1 tbs butter

1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar and flour in small pan.  Add egg yolk, milk and butter; bring to a boil on medium heat; strain and add vanilla.  Place in a bowl next to pudding when serving and spoon on top of each serving.

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Here's a tried and true recipe that everyone seems to love and I often see it at church dinners.  It's simple to make and quite economical.  In fact, it's what's for supper tonight!

Chicken Crescents

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts that have been boiled until tender. (I  like to season the water with a general, mixed seasoning blend)

1 can Crescent Rolls (I use reduced fat)

1 cup chicken broth (from the cooked chicken)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

Mix the broth and 2 soups together while heating in a pot on the stove.  Wrap chicken individually in crescent rolls and place in a greased baking dish.  Pour the soup mixture over crescent wrapped chicken.  Put a pat of butter on top of each piece then bake for 20 minutes at 350*.  So easy but so good!

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This is what I'll be cooking up for supper tonight.  This recipe is sooo absolutely delicious!  I first tasted it many moons ago when my first child was born.  A friend of my mother's brought it over to my house after we came home from the hospital.  I got the recipe and fix it for special occasions.  Trust me, you want to try this!

Seashell Provalone Casserole

3 medium onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/2-2 pounds lean ground beef

1 (15 1/2 oz) jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1 (16oz) can stewed tomatoes

1 (4oz) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1 1/2 tsp.  garlic salt (along with any other seasonings you like)* (see note)

1 (8oz) pkg. provalone cheese, sliced

2 cups sour cream

1 cup (4oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

12-16oz pkg. large shell macaroni

Saute' onion in butter in a large skillet just until tender.  Add ground beef; cook until browned, stirring to crumble meat.  Drain.  Add the spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic salt to meat mixture; * I think adding some basil and some italian seasonings is great here.  Stir well and simmer 20 minutes.

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.

Place half of macaroni in a deep 4 quart greased casserole dish; layer with half of meat sauce, half of provolone ahd half of sour cream.  Repeat layers and top with mozzerella cheese.  Cover and bake at 350* for 30 minutes; uncover and bake for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly and slightly brown on top.  Let dish set for 30 minutes or so before dishing any out.

I'll be making a big salad and some garlic french bread to go along with it.

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