Baked Veggies

We enjoy oven baked veggies at our house. Now is a good time to start making vegetable dishes as the gardens are coming in and fresh vegetables are always better than frozen. Hope you will try this recipe and let me know if you like it or have any suggestions for improvement. Just put a comment at the bottom of the page.

Place veggies in a single layer in the baking pan.

Yum!

Baked Veggies

Place the following veggies, except asparagus, into a mixing bowl:

2-3 small potatoes, cut into small to medium chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
½ cup carrots, use whole if small, otherwise cut into small pieces
1 sweet pepper (I used an orange sweet pepper)
2 ears fresh corn, cut kernels in one pass. Do not scrape the cob.
10-12 stalks asparagus
Salt and pepper
Herbs of your choice
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Add salt and pepper.and the herbs of your choice. This time I used parsley, basil and dill. Drizzle a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil on the veggies. Mix well so that the veggies have a slight coating of olive oil on them. Spread veggies in a single layer in a baking pan. (I cover my pans with tin foil so that the clean-up is easier.) Place 2 or 3 pats of butter on the veggies.

Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree over for 30 minutes. Mix the asparagus into the veggies and continue baking for about 20-30 additional minutes.

Other veggie combinations are good as well. Generally what I have on hand is what goes into this dish. Try it with broccoli, cabbage, zucchini, and other vegetables.

Maggie

p.s. If you like my blog, please share it with your friends. Thanks.

Potato Patties

I love potatoes and must, I say must, have some every few days. It doesn’t really matter how they are cooked—boiled, baked, mashed, fried, potato salad, scalloped, etc. Today we’re talking one of my favorites, mashed potatoes.

Have you ever wondered what to do with left-over mashed potatoes? Well, the answer lies in potato patties. These are wonderful tasting little patties that go well with about anything you put on the plate.  My husband and I love these so whenever I make mashed potatoes, I always make extra to use the following day. So simple to make.

Potato Patties ready to fry

Potato Patties ready to eat

Put the mashed potatoes in a mixing bowl and add about ½ cup flour, salt and pepper. Mix together gently so that you have a flour coating. Squeeze off a small portion and shape into a round. In a frying pan, heat a tablespoon or so of canola oil. Place the patties in the pan and brown on both sides. This will take at least 5 minutes each side using medium heat. Set finished patties on a paper towel covered plate to soak up any oil.

If you want to be more creative, add one small sweet onion or scallion, diced into small pieces to the mixture. Diced sweet pepper is also good. Have any left over bacon? Crumble and add to the potato flour mixture. How about some shredded cheese? I have tried this a number of ways and love them all.

Try it, you’ll like it!

 Maggie

Veggie Pasta

Sometimes you just want pasta and today is that day. You may ask why I bake this pasta recipe  in the oven and my answer is that I want to read or play games on the computer or a dozen other things that do not involve standing over a hot stove. Just set the timer and show up when the timer bell rings. Lazy right! No, I tend to think of it as multi-tasking. lol

One day when the larder was low I thought, what can I make for dinner with what is available. I made a simple pasta and over time continued to include or exchange veggies. At any rate my Sweetie and I enjoy this and I hope you will as well.

Veggies

Ready to eat Veggie Pasta

Veggie Pasta

For two. Increase quantities for additional people.

1 can (14.5 oz.) Chicken Stock
1 cup penne pasta
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
3-4  small tomatoes, cut in small pieces
1 small yellow, orange or red sweet pepper, chopped
10-12 stalks asparagus, cut in 1 inch pieces
2 shakes each of oregano and parsley, (I use fresh oregano and parsley when possible)
½ cup or more shredded four-cheese blend

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Use a container that can be transferred from stove top to the oven.

Cook pasta in the chicken stock (medium heat) for 3 minutes. Then add onion, garlic and peppers. Continue cooking 3-4 more minutes. Add tomatoes and stir. Transfer container to the oven. Continue baking for about 20 minutes. Add asparagus, stirring into the mixture. Continue baking for additional 10-12 minutes. Top with cheese and continue baking until cheese has melted and is bubbling.

Don’t like asparagus—substitute zucchini. 
This pasta goes well with a side salad or garlic bread.

Maggie

Pork Chops

There are a number of good recipes for cooking pork chops, including grilling, frying, baking, etc. This is a recipe that I like because it is simple and the chops will be fork tender.

Pork chops, salted and peppered prior to baking

Pork chops ready to eat

Oven Baked Pork Chops

4 Center cut pork chops
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place tin foil in a shallow baking pan with enough foil for a cover.

(I am not interested in a time consuming job of scrubbing baking pans, so I use tin foil and am  rewarded by a quick clean-up of the pans. This lets my baking pans remain bright and shinny).

Place the chops in the pan, salt and pepper; fold the foil over the top for an enclosed pan. Bake in the oven for 1½ hours. The time will depend on the thickness of the chops.The thinner the chops, the less cooking time.

This goes well with corn-on-the-cob and a salad.
Enjoy!

Maggie

Bumper Stickers

For sometime, I have written down bumper stickers that were cute, funny, political or religious.  Many years ago, cars were covered with stickers from vacation sites such as “Visit Rock City” or “Carlsbad Caverns,” etc.  Today it seems an oddity if you see bumper stickers at all. Whenever I see a car with bumper stickers, mostly they are older cars.

During the past two presidential campaigns, it amazed me that so few vehicles had political stickers touting favorite presidential/vice presidential candidates. I have surmised that a factor is because of the racial implications that might arise from neighbor to neighbor.  (I had a few stickers but kept them on my desk)

When former Governor of Alabama George Wallace ran in the 1968 presidential election in the American Independent Party, I remember my brother-in-law was very opposed to his platform. Each time we would see him, he was very verbal about his political views and his favorite candidate. Once at a family gathering at mama’s house, my sister Ginny sneaked out and stuck a George Wallace sticker on the brother-in-law's car bumper. We all had a good laugh!

Anyway, I thought I would share a few of my favorite bumper stickers with you.

My mind works like lightning, one brilliant flash and it’s gone
I didn’t ask to be a princess but if the crown fits...
Stupidity is not a crime so you’re free to go
Learn from your parent’s mistakes...use birth control
Mothers with teenagers know why animals eat their young
A man and his truck; it’s a beautiful thing.
Can’t feed em? Don’t breed em!
Adoption—a beautiful choice
Mean people produce little mean people
I do what the voices in my head tell me to
Not all who wander are lost
Don’t drive faster than your guardian angel can fly
I have a lot of friends, you just can’t see them.
I live in my own little world. But it’s ok...they know me here.
Well behaved women rarely make history
I proudly pledge allegiance to one nation under God!
Remember who you wanted to be
I’ll keep my guns, freedom and money. You can keep the change.
First God created man, then he had a better idea
AMERICA-Love It Or Leave It!
Graduate of Road Rage Driving Academy
Easy to be pro-choice when you’re not the one being killed
Be nice to your kids...they’ll choose your nursing home.
Love your enemies and you will not have any
And, my all time favorite:
    Next time you think you’re perfect, try walking on water.

Maggie

Couponing and Blackberry Cobbler

My daughter, Elizabeth, has become a world class couponer. Today I went shopping with her to find great bargains using store coupons, double coupons at Kroger, internet coupons, etc.  We shopped CVS, Walgreen, Target and Kroger. Elizabeth has the coupon business down to a fine art where she gets things free or for very little green.  I’m not sure I was meant to be a coupon lady but we’ll give it a try and let you know later.

The following is an easy recipe for blackberry cobbler.

Gather the ingredients

Ready to bake

Baked and ready to eat. Yum!

Blackberry Cobbler

4 cups fresh blackberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Place washed berries in a shallow 8x8 baking pan. Sprinkle lemon juice over berries.

Mix together the flour, sugar and egg until it forms small pebbles. Sprinkle mixture over the berries. Drizzle melted butter over top. Bake in oven about 35 minutes or so.

This cobbler is good served hot with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Obviously blackberry pie or cobblers are taste better when using fresh picked berries. I remember, as a kid, my sisters and I would go blackberry picking and come home covered in the sweet juice and plenty of chiggers. I think the itch of the chiggers was worth the sweet tasting fruit and the fun we had picking berries.

This recipe can be found on page 126 of The Callie King Cockman Cookbook.

Maggie

Blogging and Simple Soup

May 14, 2013 is the first day I have published on the blog.  Some days I will post family recipes and other times I will post a joke or some small tidbit of information which you may find interesting or not. I will add photos to make it more interesting, but not today!

Simple Soup

1 14½ can chicken broth
2 small potatoes, diced
2 carrots, sliced in thin rounds
½ small onion, diced
1/16th teaspoon dill (or a few shakes from spice jar)
1 tablespoon butter

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer until veggies are done. Taste for salt and pepper. (When using chicken stock, you may not need to add salt or very much salt.)

This recipe will feed one or two people.  It goes well with cornbread.