Broccoli Potato Soup

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 18, 2014

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This has always been a family favorite of ours, perfect for this January weather...

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3 boiled potatoes, cubed
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh basil or 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • Sliced mushrooms
  • Flour to thicken, approximately 1/4 cup

Directions

  • In a large saucepan, sauté broccoli, mushrooms and onion in butter until tender.
  • Stir in flour to make a roux, then add milk, basil and pepper; heat through. Add
  • cheese; stir until melted. Yield: 4 servings.

Amish Fried Chicken

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 16, 2014

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I’m on a fried chicken kick this week and this Amish Fried Chicken is a recipe I’ve made several times with good results.  The seasonings are really good, the dried marjoram gives it a different flavor.

This is the recipe I made, from Food.com with just a few adaptations to the spices.  I used garlic powder instead of garlic salt, and also added a teaspoon of onion powder.  I also added a teaspoon of paprika for a nice golden color.   I also soak it overnight in sweet milk, I think that milk makes chicken more tender, and gives it a nice flavor.

This is so easy because you bake it instead of fry it, it’s really delicious.  ~ Jan

Photo courtesy of Midwest Living

Mom's Fried Chicken in a Black Iron Skillet...

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 15, 2014

 

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The food of your childhood is always the best, and my mother’s fried chicken was absolutely world class.

We had chicken every Sunday, and it didn’t come from a store, but from our own backyard.  It was a gruesome task, dressing a chicken, but we were country people and lived off the land.  The meat was amazing, you simply can’t get farm raised chickens now unless you find a grower and pay a premium price, but with a few tips as to how Mother made her chicken, I’m sure that yours will turn out very well.

The first thing she did was to soak the chicken pieces overnight in buttermilk.  She always cut the breasts so that there was a “wishbone” and it was the most tender, coveted part of the chicken.

She would heat lard in a black iron skillet, which is a tricky thing, because iron heats so quickly, that when you put your chicken pieces in to fry, you turn it down to medium or even medium low, or your chicken will brown too quickly and by the time it’s cooked it will burn.

She would salt and pepper the chicken, wet from being soaked in the buttermilk, and then put it in a brown paper sack and shake it until coated, then drop it piece by piece into the hot fat.

Here’s how she cooked it, resulting in the best chicken you’ve ever eaten:

She always let her fat get really hot before putting in the chicken, if you don’t, it will stick to the skillet and the crust pulls away from the chicken.

She never put a lid on it when it was frying, this steams the chicken and results in a soggy, not crisp crust.

She turned it often, very often, like every 5 minutes, taking the wings and legs out first and blotting them on a folded paper sack, we didn’t have paper towels in those days.

She cooked the breasts for approximately 35-45 minutes until a deep golden brown, remember, keep turning

Gravy:

The best part, drain the skillet of all but 2-3 tablespoons of fat drippings, stir in 2-3 tablespoons of flour,  salt, pepper and cook until a very light brown, then stir in milk, approximately two cups, stirring constantly so that it doesn’t lump.  Today we use a whisk, she always used a wooden spoon.  Cook until thick, add more milk if needed, or if the gravy  seems thin, just cook it down to the right consistency.

Black iron continues to cook after it’s removed from the heat, you may need to add a bit more milk to the gravy before stirring.

And that’s it, the recipe for the best fried chicken you will ever eat.

Enjoy… ~ Jan

Sausage Balls

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 14, 2014

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Even they aren’t trendy, sausage balls have been around forever, and they’re still one of the most requested recipes on Betty Crocker’s site, people love them, and even if they aren’t tres chic, they are absolutely delicious.  I’ve blogged about these before, but some things are definitely worth repeating.

There are lots of variations, but I never deviate from the original, sometimes you just don’t mess with the classics.  Super Bowl Sunday will be here soon, pick up a box of Bisquick in your local market, put together this recipe and you’re in for a treat.  It’s an oldie, but definitely still a goodie.  ~ Jan

3 cups Original Bisquick Baking Mix
1 pound pork sausage (I like Bob Evan’s Hot)
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 
12 cup milk
12 teaspoon rosemary leaves, crushed
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or 1/2 teaspoon parsley blakes

Barbecue or chili sauce, if desired

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease bottom and sides of jelly roll pan.

2.  Stir together all ingredients using hands or spoon.  Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place in pan.

3.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brown.  Immediately remove from pan.  Serve warm with sauce for dipping.

Photo and recipe courtesy of You Sweet Talker, Betty Crocker :-D
 

Pioneer Woman's Favorite Kitchen Tools

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, December 12, 2013

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Ree just posted her favorite kitchen utensils and links to them, but thanks to dear hubby, I already have a couple of her favorites. I mentioned often that I loved her flat whisk and her slotted (fish) turner and last December he actually called Ree’s assistant to find out what they were, and he ordered them both for me, the Stainless Steel Flat Wisk and also the LamsonSharp Pro Slotter Turner.  I meant to blog about it, totally forgot, but you can imagine how thrilled I was to think that he took the time, actually made several phone calls, eventually getting to the right person to find out what they were.

So now I’m looking at the rest of the things she loves, and I’m thinking that I really need her offset spatula.  *grin*  And the knife, heart be still, but dang, it’s pricey!

I continue to be such a fan of Pioneer Woman.  She’s just the best!

Here’s the link to the tools, and you can also enter her win them, along with the other 1,478,972 people who are trying to get them.

Oh, I do love what he got me, in case you’re interested, they’re just awesome!  ~ Jan

Food Tv's No. 1 Most Requested Recipe, Alton Brown's Baked Mac and Cheese

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, December 08, 2013

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 large egg
  • 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh black pepper
  • TOPPING:
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente. 
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf. 
Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Source:  Food Network

Perfectly Perfect Low Carb Hot Chocolate...

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, November 18, 2013

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This just might be the best hot chocolate ever.  No more nasty chemical laden Swiss Miss at my house, this is so easy to put together, it tastes sinfully delicious and this is under 40 calories a cup.   I adapted this recipe from Hershey’s Cocoa, it’s SO good, just the perfect finish to a cool winter evening. ~ jan

1 cup Unsweeted Almond Milk (I use Silk, 30 calories, <1 carb per cup)
2 Tablespoons Splenda
2-3 teaspoons Hershey’s Cocoa
dash salt
1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Microwave your milk in a mug until hot, mine takes about 1.5 minutes.

Meanwhile stir the rest of the ingredients together, except for vanilla.  Add to mug of hot milk, and whisk to blend, then stir in the vanilla.  Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Note:  The first time I made this, I added a splash of half and half, the next time I didn’t.  Of course it was a bit richer with the half and half, but still amazing without.  You can also add just a dash of cinnamon to make Mexican Hot Chocolate.

This is a keeper, Almond Milk rocks, I will never look for another hot chocolate, this one, as Hershey says, is perfectly perfect...

Carb count - 5-6 carbs 

Photo courtesy of Hershey’s Chocolate

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