Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Look at that photo. Is your mouth watering yet? How about if I told you that you could make these amazing treats, serving them warm and golden to your family, with no knowledge whatsoever of yeast or dough, no special equipment other than what you likely have on hand, and have them done start to finish in under ten minutes, including prep time?

I sound like an infomercial, don’t I? I bet you’re half expecting me to cock one eye
“ShamWOW! You’ll just say, WOW!”

Seriously though, we Southerners (and humans in general), love our doughnuts. Mama says you always need to drink a diet coke with doughnuts because it cancels out the calories. This is what she and Aunt Sue did the time they were in Gatlinburg, and stopped by the Krispy Kreme. They got one dozen hot doughnuts (the ultimate in luxury!) and two diet cokes. By the time they got back to the hotel, they had eaten the entire dozen! They had the good sense to throw away the doughnut box (hiding the evidence) before they got to the room but then discovered their husbands were waiting on them so they could go out to eat. Still, by then there were stuffed (and feeling slightly ill) and couldn’t stand eat!

Now one of the great things about these is that you don’t have to run to Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ and you don’t have any evidence to hide! The most important thing though is that they begin with CANNED BISCUITS! Seriously!! No, they do NOT taste anything like a biscuit when you are done. They taste every bit as melt in your mouth good as they look!

Ingredients For Canned Biscuit Doughnuts

The ingredients are simple and as I said before, you likely have them on hand. You’ll need vegetable oil and canned biscuits for the doughnuts and margarine, cinnamon, and sugar for the coating.

For the biscuits, I get cheapie generic Texas style, but any style at all will do, just don’t get the flaky layers because they will absorb the oil whereas normal biscuits won’t if we get our oil hot enough before frying them. When I was done, you couldn’t tell a difference in my oil level from when I started!

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture

In a bowl, stir together cinnamon and sugar.

Melt a stick of margarine and place the margarine and cinnamon sugar bowls side by side so we’ll be able to use them as soon as the doughnuts are done.

Cutting out centers of canned biscuits to make doughnuts

Now you can go buy a doughnut cutter or some other fancy finagled device (which I actually have tucked away in the dark recesses of my kitchen drawers) but I like to show y’all how to do things the simple way. I’m a big fan of not over complicating a simple matter. For that very reason, we are going to just use a plain old bottle cap to cut the centers of our doughnuts out. I love y’all so much that I drank a Diet Dr Pepper just to have this for you. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my Southern Plate family!!

Cut out the holes in every doughnut, reserving them to cook along with the doughnuts.

Voila, our doughnuts are done!

These are my every day dishes, which I love. You always remember the dishes you ate on growing up. Ours had little green flowers going around the outside of the plates and my grandmother’s had little blue flowers. When I chose these dishes, I wanted my kids to remember a colorful rainbow. They just seemed happy and reminded me of what a childhood should be like, don’t you think?

Pour your oil in a skillet. You need a little less than a half inch. Heat your oil on medium to medium high for several minutes. We want it to be hot so that our doughnuts are instantly seared when they enter it. This prevents them from absorbing too much of the oil and being soggy.

Doughnut Hole sizzling

To test my oil, I put a doughnut hole in it. It should sizzle and bubble around the edges and then you know its hot enough.

Now I put all of my doughnuts in at once. If your skillet isn’t big enough you may have to do them in batches. By the time you have put them all in, some may already be ready to turn. It takes less than a minute for them to be ready to turn over.

This is how they look, nice and golden. Turn them all over and let them cook until the undersides are this way. All in all, this should take less than two minutes.

Remove cooked doughnuts from oil and place on paper towel lined plate.

Now do the same thing with the doughnut holes.

Here is our plate of cooked doughnuts, now lets add a little bit of heaven to them!

The doughnuts should have cooled slightly so that you can handle them but they will still be very warm.

Pick each one up and dip both sides in melted margarine…

The press them down into the cinnamon sugar on both sides. Repeat with all doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts Made With Canned Biscuits

Eat them warm. They will positively melt in your mouth, they are so good!

No one will believe you started out with canned biscuits so lets just keep that little tidbit to ourselves ~grins~

Melt In Your Mouth Doughnuts (Made With Canned Biscuits!)

1 ten count can Texas style doughnuts (or your preference, just not flaky layers)

1 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 T cinnamon

1 stick margarine, melted

Vegetable Oil For Frying

Pour oil into skillet to the depth of a little less than 1/2 an inch and heat on medium to medium high for about five minutes. In a bowl, melt margarine. In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.

Using a plastic bottle cap, cut the center out of each biscuit. Drop dough into hot oil, watching carefully and turning when golden. Once doughnuts are golden on both sides, remove to paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all dough is cooked, including doughnut holes.

Dip both sides of each doughnut into melted margarine, then press both sides into cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm.

~Happy New Year everyone!! Be sure you pick up your Southern Plate cookbook to have more Southern Plate recipes as we enter the new year! Information at top right of the page!~

Thank you for starting the New Year out with Southern Plate! My email subscribers, stay tuned for an email flurry of printer friendly recipes as soon as I get caught up! I’m also working on a letter of gratitude to all of you which will be emailed out as well! If you’d like to subscribe via email, there is a box just beneath my Foodbuzz ad on the right side of the page!

Gratefully,
Christy

I’m going to start the new year off with some “real” food that is real easy! A quick and easy meal, with a little bit of a tweet to up the ante. I LOVE Sloppy Joes, but this recipe adds that extra oomph that is sure to please!

The first time I made these (right after I got married over a decade ago), my husband took one bite and his eyes got really big, then he took another, and his eyes got even bigger! They were almost inhaled after that. I’ve found the same reaction whenever I serve them so watch your family for those bulging eyes and you’ll know you’ve got a winner!

I like to make a double recipe of this and freeze the other half for a super quick meal on one of my busier days! Why cook just one meal when the same effort and time can produce two? This is on page 61 of the Southern Plate cookbook.

You’ll need: Manwich Sloppy Joe Sauce, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, French Fried Onions, and browned ground beef.

My ground beef is always pre-browned and waiting in the freezer when I need it so I just popped out two bags to get about two pounds.

Now you know I normally don’t get specific with brands but I have to stick by my Manwich sloppy joe sauce. I have tried several generics and they don’t even come close (some are quite horrid!). I really suggest you get this kind, unless you already have a favorite out there!

Place your ground beef in a skillet. I am using two pounds, even though the can says to use one pound. If you don’t precook yours, you’ll need to cook it and drain it before this step. Add sloppy joe sauce….

Then add 1 Cup of cheddar and 1 cup of French Fried Onions.

Stir that all up and make sure it is heated through.

Now we need to toast our buns! I just put mine in a skillet and turn the heat on medium high.

after a minute or so flip them over. Toasted buns make the BEST sloppy joes!!!

For my fries, I prefer crinkle cut and usually get name brand if they aren’t too outrageously priced. these were actually just a little over 4 cents an ounce! The smaller package of the same thing was 14 cents an ounce! Get some cooking spray and seasoned salt.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. I seldom if ever deep fry my french fries. I prefer to bake them. I actually don’t do this for health purposes (although you are welcome to think that if you want!), I just hate dealing with all of that oil when I can bake these suckers up and they taste just as good!

I just put a layer of fries on my pan and sprinkle them liberaly with seasoned salt. I started to make my own seasoned salt for y’all and put a little recipe up and all…but this stuff costs 1.38 for a huge shaker of it so I just see no sense in complicating matters by making my own - and spending more money.

Sure, I could make a five gallon drum of it cheaper but do I really NEED a five gallon drum of season salt when I can get plenty for 1.38? Nahhhhh

Put your sloppy joe mixture on the toasted bun and top with more french fried onions. This little crunch and flavor is so good with sloppy joes!

Serve with lots of ketchup and sweet tea!

Not Your Average Joe Sloppy Joes

2 lbs Ground beef, browned and drained

2 cups french fried onions

1 pack hamburger buns

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can manwich sloppy joe sauce

To cooked ground beef, add sloppy joe sauce, cheese, and 1 cup french fried onions. Heat until bubbly. Toast buns and top with sloppy joe meat. Sprinkle more onions on top. Serve with fries.

Makes about eight sloppy joes.

~Happy New Year everyone!! Be sure you pick up your Southern Plate cookbook to have more Southern Plate recipes as we enter the new year! Information at top right of the page!~

Thank you for starting the New Year out with Southern Plate! My email subscribers, stay tuned for an email flurry of printer friendly recipes as soon as I get caught up! I’m also working on a letter of gratitude to all of you which will be emailed out as well! If you’d like to subscribe via email, there is a box just beneath my Foodbuzz ad on the right side of the page!

My mother and father in law are coming today to stay the weekend so I will remain a wee bit behind for the time being because I’m having fun getting to cook BIG meals! Ham is in the oven, navy beans are in the pot, yeast rolls are rising and the ingredients for my apple cake are sitting on the counter! I serve slices of it warm with homemade whipped cream on top, so the cream melts a bit and soaks down into the cake as you eat it. This is an apple recipe I haven’t brought you yet so look for it soon!

Gratefully,

Christy

P.S. If you enjoy reading Southern Plate, please tell your friends! Thank you!

I have always loved greens. Turnip, collard, or mixed, I just adore them. Among the greens I like, my Grandmama’s ranks the absolute highest. No one can make them like her. However, I did learn that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing…

When I was working on my degree, I lived with my grandparents for a while. Grandadddy passed away while I was living there and it was just me and Grandmama. You can imagine how very different life was for the both of us with Grandaddy gone. Being a southern lady, Grandmama needed someone to take care of - because thats just what southern women do. I had mentioned before how much I enjoyed Grandmama’s greens and she was off to the races with a cause!

Every day for lunch, we had turnip greens. Every day for supper, we had turnip greens. There might have been a day or two in there in which we only had them once, but they always made a show before the sun went down, carried to the table by a very pleased looking Grandmama as she bragged on how much I loved to eat them. I DID love them and hers WERE the best but…y’all can just imagine. I ate every bite, every day, at every meal she served them at. After a month or two, I half expected to look in the mirror and find my skin had turned green. At one point I went to get blood work and the doctor was impressed with my iron levels, her exact words were “You must eat a lot of greens and such”. If she only knew.

I laugh now, just as I did then, about Grandmama making me greens so much. I did get a little weary after a while, but the thought that was behind them still made them delicious and to this day I still count them among some of my favorite dishes.

Greens are a critical part of our New Year’s Day meal in the south. According to our tradition, the amount of greens you eat is directly proportionate to how much money you will have in the coming year. Even my brother, who has picky eating habits to rival the most obstinate toddler, has been known to manage a bite or two on New Years day!

You’re going to need some greens. You can use Collards or Turnip greens, or a mixture of both. I am using Collards because that was what was available to me. This is what a bunch looks like. The bundle I bought had three of these and that is the amount I’ll be making today.

I start by chopping the end off like this.

Then I put them in my pot and run cold water over them to start washing them. Washing your greens is extremely important as they do have dirt on them and you want to remove that.

I also pick up each individual leaf and run that under the water, too. Then I place washed leaves in a clean bowl or dishpan.

These little ones that have clearly been feasted on by little critters just get thrown away. I don’t mind them though, I don’t fault a little buggy who has a taste for some fresh greens!

Now we need to get that big old tough spine out of them. If you fold the leaf in two and hold it, it will easily tear right off the spine. If you can’t manage this, just tear it off or cut it off, whatever works for you is just fine!

You just want to end up with a nice bowl of collard leaves like this one.

Now take a bunch at at time and just coarsely chop them up a bit. Don’t worry about making them too small, they will shrink a lot when cooked anyway. We’re just going for big pieces rather than huge leaves here.

Once that is done, put them in a large pot. In your pot, pour about two quarts of water, 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 cup of salt. You may put more or less salt to taste but I would wait and let them cook a bit before you decide. If it is too salty, drain some of the water and add fresh, unsalted water. If it isn’t salty enough, just add a bit more. This isn’t rocket science so don’t fret over whether or not  you are doing it right. If it tastes right to you, its perfect :). Cook these on medium heat for about two hours, or until tender.

Notice how they aren’t covered  with water? There is already two quarts of water in that pot, they are just kind of piled in there but see what happens after about half an hour…

Now they are all sunk down in the water and cooking nicely. These still have over an hour to go. If your water starts getting too low, add some more while these are cooking. If you REALLY want some good greens, add you in a ham hock or some country ham slices while these cook and then shred it up and put it back in after the collards are done. I don’t have any ham hocks today so we’re doing these this way…

Now lets make some pepper sauce..I LOVE the pepper sauce!!

You’ll need: Vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, hot peppers, and salt.

In a pot, place all of your ingredients (recipe at the bottom). Give it a stir and bring it just to a boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer until it is cooked down by about half. By that I mean, look at the level it is at now and when it is half that amount (thanks to evaporation), your sauce is done!

Drain greens and place in a serving bowl after cooking them for about two hours. Drizzle individual servings with the pepper sauce… This sauce is great for so many vegetables!

Decide how rich you want to be in the new year and eat greens accordingly!

Collards

3 bunches collard greens

3/4 C cider Vinegar

2 quarts water

1/4 C salt

Ham Hock, Ham bone, or pieces of country ham, optional

Rinse greens well. Remove spines and chop coarsely, place in pot. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until collards are tender, about two hours, adding more water if needed. Serve warm with hot pepper sauce.

Hot Pepper Sauce

3 C water

1 C white vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

4 hot peppers from jar, whole

1 tsp minced garlic

Combine all in pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until amount is reduced by half. Drizzle over greens or other vegetables. Refrigerate remainder.

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Enjoy Southern Plate? I sure would appreciate you helping me spread the word by telling your friends and family! You can even subscribe here! Scroll down to subscribe by email and I’ll send you an ecookbook of my reader’s favorite slow cooker recipes plus each week’s Southern Plate recipes in printer friendly format!

Don’t forget to buy your Southern Plate Cookbook! I have free shipping on two or more if you order before Jan 1st. Use the form at the top right of this page.

Thank you all and Happy New Year!

Gratefully,

Christy

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I am quite honored to be writing for Southern Plate’s audience today and at the same time rather nervous.

I have been a fan of Christy’s blog for sometime now and have been thinking about what to post for a few weeks.

Within this post, I would like to cover two topics. First, I will discuss ways to deal with kids who are picky eaters. This is taken from experience as my oldest child is very picky so I have been pulling out all the stops to sneak in a veggie here or there.

Secondly, I would like to share an old classic recipe that utilize some of the techniques of sneaking in vegetables as well as using leftovers to the fullest.

10 Tips for Picky Eaters

It is really common for kids to be picky about what they eat and to turn their nose up at healthy foods. These 10 tips will help even the pickiest eater enjoy healthy meals.

1. Get them excited about healthy food:

Let them smell, touch, taste, ask questions and try fruits, veggies, yogurts along with other healthy foods in the kitchen. Ask them what they think of the foods and let them know their opinions count.

2. Get them involved in the kitchen:

Let them help you with jobs in the kitchen such as mixing ingredients, putting away plastic dishes, turning on the blender etc. Be sure to thank them for their help.

3. Give them a say in what they eat:

Help your kids make the right food and drink choices from an early age. If they have a say in decisions they will be more excited about what they eat. It’s a great way to get them to take charge of their health.

4. Take them grocery shopping with you:

Get your kids involved in shopping decisions. It may take a little more time in the supermarket but it will help them understand the food groups and the value of eating healthy.

5. Remove the junk food your house:

Your kids can’t eat unhealthy snacks if you don’t buy them. Kids will moan at first but soon they will get hungry and reach for the apple instead of the chips.

6. Add healthy food when you can:

Find ways to add healthy foods into foods your child already likes. You can put blueberries in pancakes, chopped fruit on cereal, or small pieces of broccoli in macaroni and cheese. Or add leftover veggies from the night before into your next meal.

7. Help them learn:

Encourage your kids to draw or doodle pictures of healthy foods or write a poem. Post it on the fridge and make sure they know you are proud.

8. Sit down together:

Try to set aside your meals as family time. Turn off the TV and enjoy eating together.

9. Keep healthy snacks on hand:

Bring healthy snacks where ever you go, and at other times when you know their stomachs will be grumbling.

10. Make healthy food and meals fun:

Try cutting up food into fun shapes or making faces out of fruit and vegetables (One I have tried in the past is cauliflower popcorn - It was a hit). Putting healthy snacks such as oatmeal cookies or dried fruit into a fun bag can turn healthy foods into a cool snack for your child.

Next time you are in the kitchen thinking about meal time or even simply talking to you children - try and incorporate some of the tips listed above. They have helped me along the way and hopefully they can help you deal with picky eaters at your table.

Homemade Turkey Pot Pie

On Christmas day, for as long as I can remember, we’ve always had a large turkey dinner. With that comes a lot of leftovers in the form of vegetables, gravy, turkey etc. Sometimes I have a craving for an old fashion turkey pot pie to utilize some of those ingredients.

Below is a simple little recipe that tastes great on its own or with a quick and simple garden salad on the side.

Ingredients

FLAKY TENDER PIE CRUST (makes enough for two pies 9″ diameter)

• 2 – 4 tablespoons ice water
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
• 1/2 cup Crisco shortening
• Egg wash of 1 yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon water

PIE FILLING

• 1 cup of gravy
• 1/2 cup cooked carrots (chopped or sliced)
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 cup peas
• 3/4 cup chopped turkey meat (cooked)

Method

1. In a large bowl, stir together one cup of flour, sugar and salt. With a hand-held pastry blender, cut butter into flour until butter is dime-sized.
2. Add shortening, cut into mixture til dime-sized. Lightly stir in remaining flour. Sprinkle with half the water. With a full palm, squeeze flour together against side of bowl.
3. Rub hands together to drop damp flour into mixture. Add just enough water to hold together; the less water the better, dry crumbs on the bottom are good.
4. Refrigerate. Preheat oven to 375F.
5. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Cut dough in half, return second piece to frig. Sprinkle dough with flour. Working in just one direction, roll dough into an oval the diameter of the pie plate plus its sides. Slip a bench knife beneath dough to loosen, turn 90 degrees. Roll again to form a circle. Brush off excess flour. Brush off excess flour.
6. Bake bottom crust until golden brown.
7. Prepare filling in a bowl by adding gravy, corn, peas, carrots and turkey. Mix together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Roll out top crust. Fill bottom crust with your filling. Gently flip top crust over filling, brush off excess flour. Trim excess pastry, then turn under and press to form and seal the edge. Crimp decoratively. Slice top to vent. Brush top (but not edges) with egg wash.
9. Bake 35 minutes or until top crust is golden brown and juices inside are bubbling.
10. Let cool for 5 minutes prior to slicing.



11. ENJOY!

I really hope you enjoyed today’s guest post. I had a lot of fun creating it. If you do like what you see, by all means come over to zestycook and browse around and get in touch with me through comments, email or by subscribing. I look forward to seeing everyone.

Take care

zesty

New Year’s day hosts the most important meal of the entire year for Southerners. Deeply rooted in tradition, superstition, and hope for the future, we have definite must have dishes which even those of us who might not be as superstitious as others dare not shirk on this day.

I’ve told this story before, but it certainly bears repeating in reference to this meal. Back in the days of civil war, Union troops swept through the south, confiscating crops and livestock to use as provisions for their troops. Southerners who weren’t off fighting were left with precious little, save for peas and greens. You see, Union soldiers considered “field peas” and greens to be fit only for animal fodder. These dishes became cherished and appreciated as what saved many a family from starvation during those times and the tradition of celebrating these dishes on the new year was born.

There are three things every southerner must eat on New Years day, Black eyed peas, greens, and hog jowl or fatback.Black Eyed peas are said to bring luck in the coming year, with many traditions holding that you must eat at least 365 of them. We never had a number, but the more you ate, the more luck you were supposed to have so Mama always makes plenty!

Hog Jowl is very tough and extremely salty, it looks just like a thick slice of bacon but is more difficult to chew. As one of the cheapest cuts of meat, it rose rapidly in popularity during the depression era of the South. Eating this is said to ensure good health in the coming year and I must say, it is delicious.

Greens can be either turnip, collard, or a mix of greens or a “mess” as we call them. They are said to bring wealth in the new year and as with black eyed peas, the amount of wealth you have is directly proportionate to how much of them you eat! Tomorrow, I’m bringing you a greens tutorial.

Just as I did with my pinto beans, you need to sort through your beans. Sometimes there are little stones in there so you want to just pour them into your hand before you put them in the bowl and check a handful at a time.

After they are all in a bowl, cover them with water and then about two inches. These will need to soak overnight. There are quick soak methods as well but I find the greatest success when I soak mine overnight. If I ever forget to soak my beans, I’d rather wait until the next day instead of doing the quick soak method.

This is how they look the next morning. Drain off this water and discard it, then place peas in a large pot.

Add an ample amount of water so that they don’t cook down.

We’re going to cook these for a few hours at least. You can let them simmer all day if you like.

Now we need to season our peas. Normally, I would put in a ham hock or a large piece of country ham, maybe even a ham bone with a little meat left on it. For this tutorial, though, I am leaving that out in order to make this a vegetarian dish for my friend, Jennifer ~waves at Jennifer~.

So instead, we are going to add one tablespoon of sugar….

About a tablespoon and a half of salt..

I prefer two tablespoons but I am giving you this measurement as a rule of thumb. When salting beans, it really needs to be to your taste. Start with a tablespoon and a half and taste them when they are close to being done, adding more if you prefer.

Add about a tablespoon of pepper.

Add two tablespoons of vegetable oil.

Stir that up and turn on the stove eye. Bring it to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for two to three hours (or more if you like).When the peas are tender, they are done! You can now serve them as is, straining out your peas into a serving bowl. If you are going to serve them like this, i really suggest you putting a piece of ham in them at the start and then shredding it up into them before serving (unless you are vegetarian. In that case, I really recommend you don’t do that!).

Now, how about we make us some Hoppin’ John? Hoppin’ john has been around for ages in the south as well. Classic soul food, it was yet another way to piece meager rations together and make a filling and nutritious meal. It is believed to have originated in African cuisine and carried over to the states, where it was eventually adopted as a southern staple.

You’ll need: White rice, chicken broth, onion, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper. There are oodles of variations on this dish and you can feel free to add or take away as you will. I have seen bell pepper, garlic cloves, tomatoes, and even Ro-tel added. The southern way of cooking allows for making do with what you have and so I am making a more classic Hoppin’ John which happens to utilize what I have on hand.

You’ll also need some hot sauce, which I will show at the end of this tutorial.

Place two cups of chicken broth in a sauce pot, add rice.

I seldom keep chicken broth on hand but happened to have it this time. Normally, I keep bouillon cubes in my pantry and just make my own broth using one cube per cup of water. Alright, I usually add an additional cube to make it richer, there I fessed up! You happy?

Add 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.

Add 1/2 tsp salt

Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat and cover, simmering until Rice is tender and all brother is absorbed.

This is your finished rice

(say “hello, rice”!)

Now chop up your onion and saute it in about 2 T of margarine until tender.

Like this!

Now strain off your peas and put them in a large bowl, add your onions…

and your rice.

Stir all of that up…ooh look at the steam!

And add about two tablespoons of hot sauce, such as Texas Pete’s or…

Wal Mart’s generic version ~grins~. Personally, I add more to mine but I do it once I have my serving on my plate so it won’t be too hot for the kids. Two tablespoons doesn’t really add heat so much as it adds flavor.

Black Eyed Peas

Dried black eyed peas

1/2 T of salt

2 T vegetable oil

1 T sugar

1 T black pepper

Ham hock, piece of country ham, or ham bone with some meat still on it (optional - obviously you need to leave this out for vegetarians)

Sort beans and soak overnight. Drain off soaking water and pour into pot, covering with water and leaving enough extra to prevent peas from cooking down. Add all other ingredients and cook for two to three hours, or until tender.  Remove ham from pot and shred. Drain off peas and stir ham in. Serve hot. These are find if made the day before and reheated for your meal!

Hoppin John

Black Eyed peas, fully cooked (the above recipe, with 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes added to the cooking water)

1 cup uncooked rice

1 small onion, chopped

2 Tbs margarine

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

Hot sauce

Combine broth and seasonings, cook rice in this until tender. In a saute pan, saute onion in 2 Tablespoons margarine until tender. Place rice, peas, and onion in large bowl. Stir to combine. Add 2 T hot sauce, stir again.

I love this, its a great side dish, but it really does need ham (I tried, Jennifer! I did make it vegetarian and my son ate two bowls of it by itself!). If you cooked your peas with ham, this is going to be awesome.

Boiled peanuts have been popular in the south since at least the civil war when our troops used to carry them  as a large part of their rations. With salt being a natural preservative, the boiled peanuts could be carried and eaten for up to a week, providing a quick nutritional source on the go and helping to make up for the piteous lack of meat in the southern soldier’s diet.

The first time I ever had boiled peanuts was when I was a girl, not more then seven or eight. My family and I took the first of many trips to the Smokey Mountains with a set of grandparents, my mother’s father and stepmother whom we called Papa Reed and Cornetha. (I’ve told y’all I had thirteen grandparents when I was born, remember?). We were driving up these winding roads through the smokey mountains and Cornetha saw a roadside vender and wanted to stop. I was curious as to what would get her so excited and when she bought a cup of wet peanuts, my curiosity was piqued. They had steam coming from them and the most delicious smell that set my stomach to grumbling. Cornetha shared them with me and likely ended up sharing a lot more than she got herself after I had a taste of my first one!

Y’all know I just had to have them again, but how to get them? I can cook them myself, as I show here, but I still love getting to pull over at a stop sign and trade a few bills for a warm steaming cup. Problem solved: I just married a Georgian so we could go visit his family and I could get them then! (alright, I might have married him for a few other reasons, but lets try to stay on point here, shall we?).

I have always been jealous of Georgians. Not the country, but the state (although I am sure the country is lovely as well). Georgians have it made in a way that us North Alabamians can never have. You see, as soon as the slightest chill hits the air little tents, trucks, and roadside stands start setting up on street corners for one purpose - to sell boiled peanuts to fortunate passerbys. With over 45% of the country’s peanut crop grown there, its no wonder boiled peanuts are in such abundance, but the fact that I have not once seen them in my neck of the woods is a shame worth crying over!

For those of you who don’t want to marry a Georgian (or who may not have single Georgians readily available), here is how you can have this southern delicacy in the comfort of your own home - while still maintaining a relationship with your non-Georgian spouse.

You’ll need: Raw or green peanuts and salt. You can’t make boiled peanuts with roasted peanuts, they have to be raw, or green as they are sometimes called. I got a pound package. You can use a larger amount and just add a bit more salt to taste. If this is your first time with boiled peanuts, start with a cup and then taste it after a few hours, adding a few more tablespoons if you want a saltier peanut.

For the salt, just use plain old table salt. Southerners don’t get fancy with this stuff. Its part of our charm :).

Place peanuts in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the peanuts, although they will float to the top for now anyway. Add 1 cup of salt and stir.

Cover the pot with a lid and cook on about medium heat, until it comes to a good boil, then simmer it. These are going to need to cook for about three hours but can cook longer if you like. I cook mine most of the day. The texture you are going for is just slightly firmer than a cooked bean.

After they are done being cooked, if they are too salty for you (Personally, I don’t believe in such a thing as “too salty” when it comes to these!), simply add a few more cups of water to dilute the cooking water and cook for half an hour more or so. If they are not salty enough (You go, you!), add a bit more salt and give it a half hour as well to get good and incorporated. The amount of salt I am listing here is what I have found perfect to replicate the roadside peanuts I love so much.

Now how to eat a boiled peanut!

The way you eat a boiled peanut is EVERYTHING!!!

Place the entire, uncracked peanut shell in your mouth. Yes, I am serious. Don’t get all fretful about germs and such, my goodness you just boiled them for several hours. Now do like I said and pop that entire peanut in your mouth, With your mouth closed (unless you want to squirt your neighbor in the face with salty peanut juice), crack the shell open and drink the juice out of it. Then open it the rest of the way and take the shell out of your mouth, while eating the soft peanuts inside. After a few of these,  you’ll understand why the roadside vendors always give you a plastic bag or cup to hold your shells!

My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Boiled Peanuts

1 pound raw or green peanuts

1 cup salt

Cover peanuts with water, add salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about three hours, or more if you like. Place entire peanut in your mouth to eat and then crack open with your teath, drinking the juice and eating the peanut while discarding the shell.

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Throughout my childhood, this was our one must have cookie for Christmas. Mama would make a huge batch so we all had plenty to decorate. She cut them in shapes of trees, stars, and reindeer and each of us got our own platter full. She mixed up red, green, and yellow icing and always had plenty of sprinkles to go on top! They will be “wet” right after icing and decorating but if you wait an hour or so they will dry enough to be stacked in a cookie jar.

If you don’t have time to make cookies from scratch, just use a store bought dough or decorate Graham Crackers! Santa loves them all…

He told me so!

You’ll need: Milk, Shortening, Baking Powder, Vanilla, Salt, Sugar, Flour and Eggs.

I am making a double recipe. One recipe will yield about two dozen average sized cookies. I tend to make  mine a bit larger though.

Combine sugar, shortening, milk, and vanilla in mixing bowl.

Cream together.

Add eggs and mix well.

until it looks like this!

In a separate bowl, place flour and add your baking powder…

And salt.

Whisk that together until combined. The recipe says to sift but I don’t like to have to deal with getting my sifter out so this is my way

Add the dry mixture to your creamed mixture.

Mix until well combined.

Divide dough and chill for at least one hour. I made a double recipe so I just put mine in three sandwich bags. If you are in a hurry, pop it in the freezer for about fifteen minutes and it will be just fine.

Whenever I make cut out cookies, I like to line my counter top with waxed paper for less mess. Dust waxed paper lined counter top with flour.

Place a portion of your chilled dough on top. Dust the top with flour again. With a little bit of flour in your hand, run it over your rolling pin to keep it from sticking to the dough.

Roll the dough out to about 1/8 of an inch (I prefer mine to be about 1/4 of an inch - I’m such a rebel!)

Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cut out cookies…

Be careful not to tear them when you pick them up. I use this really thin cookie spatula I have.

Place on greased cookie sheet.

The dough scraps can be balled up together and rolled out again. I usually only do this once and after the second cutting I throw that dough away. If you keep balling it up and rolling it out, it will get “piece-y” and you’ll start having layered cookies. Just try it a few times and you’ll see what I mean!

Bake for 6-8 minutes. They will still look a lot like they did when they were uncooked, but puffed up slightly and if you look you’ll see just a hint of browning around the bottom.

This is only a teeny tiny portion of my sprinkles and sugars collection. I have an entire storage bin of them!

Gather together some sprinkles and colored sugars for decorating.

Place 1 T of margarine or butter (well softened) in each of three bowls (if you want three different colors of icing). We ALWAYS had three different colors because there were three of us.

Add confectioner’s sugar, milk, and flavoring.

Cut that together with a fork. You are really just mooshing it.

until it is smooth and creamy. Feel free to add another tablespoon of milk if you need to.

My mother recommends using squirt butter for this but if you dont have that just use regular margarine like I did. Since this is a poured icing, you can melt the margarine a bit in the microwave if it is too lumpy.

Dye each bowl and stir until the colors are even.

What I do is lay out a sheet of waxed paper for everyone and put cookies on top of it. Then I give everyone three spoons so they have one for each icing color.

Just drizzle your icing on the cookie with a spoon, spread it around and sprinkle!

I let my kids pretty much do whatever they want with their cookies. This isn’t a time to produce a “perfectly” decorated cookie, its a time to let kids do it their way and be proud of their creations! They LOVE This part!

Kinda like this. Allow cookies to sit out for an hour or two, until they are completely dried. Then you can store them in a cookie jar or other airtight bin, stacked on top each other.

Arrange on a plate and get ready for Santa!

Now for fun, go see this video…it always makes me think of these cookies! I LOVE Veggie Tales! This video is especially funny because it is a child’s show but they inject some really cute humor in it aimed at adults (see the IRS man at the end).

Cut Out Cookies

2/3 C shortening
3/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
4 tsp milk
2 C plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg; beat until fluffy. Stir in milk. Sift dry ingredients; stir in and blend. Divide dough in half, chill 1 hour.

On floured surface, roll half of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Keep remaining dough chilled until ready to roll. Cut into shapes. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 for 6-8 minutes. Cool slightly, remove from pan. Cool and decorate with cookie icing.

Icing

1 C confectioner’s sugar                 1 T softened butter or margarine

2 T milk                                             1 tsp vanilla or butter flavoring

In bowl, mix all ingredients together with fork. If too dry, add a little more milk. Once mixed, add a few drops of food coloring.
*Mama always made three recipes of this so there would be three different colors. She prefers to use squirt margarine in place of butter for easier blending.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Don’t forget to put out Reindeer food! Mix Oats with glitter or decorating sugars. They smell the oats and the glistening of the glitter or sugars helps them to find a place to land! Toss a good handful out on your lawn right before you go to bed!

Here is what I would do for a meal for a gathering.  The best part is, you can start making it today! My timetable begins preparations three days before the event, and leaves you relaxed and with a clean kitchen when your guests arrive!

(Simply click on recipe title to be taken to the recipe and tutorial on how to make it!)

2 to 3 days before the gathering:

Shop for all groceries, make dessert. Refrigerator cakes are wonderful for large gatherings because they can be made so far in advance and rather than getting dry, they actually get better as the days go by. On the day of your event, simply open the fridge and dessert is served!

Personally, I would make one cake per ten to twelve people.

My recomendations are:

Coconut Cake

Butterfinger cake

These two are crowd pleasers!

1-2 Days Before Gathering

Set table completely. Make sure you have hot sauce and crackers. If you are serving Chili, make sure you have shredded cheese, sour cream, and any other toppings your family likes.

Make your main course. Stews and Chili are great this time of year. More filling than soups, their warmth and meal-in-one convenience can’t be beat for serving a crowd! Whats more, to multiply this chili or stew recipe, all  you need to do is double all of the ingredients EXCEPT the meat! The same amount of meat will be just fine if the recipe is doubled, making it very economical. A double recipe will feed at least ten to fifteen people.

Chicken Stew. This is my personal favorite. Also easily customizable if you are feeding one or more vegetarians. Simply use a can of vegetable broth and mix up a separate pot with all the other ingredients except chicken!

Soups, Stews, and chili are wonderful if left in the fridge a day or two (they actually tastes better!) as the flavors have time to develop and blend.

My Crock pot chili can easily be made in a pot on the stove or just fire up the crock pot a day or two before.

Allow stew or chili to cool and store in the refrigerator.

Day of Gathering:

Heat up stew or chili. Make bread, I suggest:

Dixie Cornbread

or

Southern Hoe Cake

Both of these are always hits with my family and friends. I would make about a pan of bread for every eight people or so. This is the only thing you have to bake on the day of the gathering and it is quick! You can even assemble your dry ingredients in a plastic bag a few days ahead of time.

As your guests arrive, your house will be filled with the aroma of your stew or chili, your kitchen will be spotless, your table set, your bread warm, and they’ll wonder how you did it all so effortlessly!

ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY!

Gratefully,

Christy

For all of the recipes I have posted in the Holiday Baking category (including gift mixes), click here!

This is my Dad’s favorite cake at Christmas time and its just divine beyond compare. Another great refrigerator cake, it can be made three days ahead of time and then left to sit in the fridge as it just grows moister with every passing minute.

Coconut around Christmas time is a tradition in the south, especially coconut cakes! Back in the old days that was the only time of year you could get such an exotic thing as coconut in these parts (well, in Alabama anyway!). Stay tuned later today when I am going to post a Christmas menu that will let you entertain a house full of guests with no virtually cooking and no takeout!

Y’all, this tutorial is what my photos look like when I bake after dark! Sun makes the best light and without it,  you get…well this! However, I think you can still tell how yummilicious this cake looks so use your imagination and let the rest be well lit and high grain!

For the complete listing of all recipes I have posted to the Holiday Baking Category

(including gift mixes), click here!

First,  you’re going to need to bake a yellow cake. Just get  a boxed mix like I do or use your favorite recipe. The cake isn’t that important as the icing is our key player here. I used a yellow boxed mix and made it according to package directions.

Now, while that is warm, we need to assemble our icing. You’ll need: Coconut, whipped cream, sour cream, and sugar.

Place all icing ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Mix until well blended.

Poke holes all in warm cake with a fork.

Let cake cook for about ten minutes and then pour icing over it (it will still be warm).

Spread over, cover, and refrigerate! You can make this as a layer cake but I find it is much easier to deal with (and store in fridge) as a sheet cake.

YUM!!!!!

Daddy’s Coconut Cake

1 box yellow cake mix, prepared according to directions in a 9×13 inch pan

2 Cups Sugar

1 1/2 C whipped topping

16 ounces sour cream

12 ounces coconut (you can use frozen, bagged on shelf, or canned)

Prepare cake mix according to package directions in a 9×13 inch pan. Combine sugar, sour cream, and coconut. Blend well and chill.

Poke holes all over top of warm cake and pour icing  mixture over cake (after it has rested in pan about ten minutes).

Cover well and refrigerate 1-3 days before serving. Store in refrigerator.

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I am behind on emails, comments, and sending recipes out! I wanted to thank  y’all for being so understanding! So much to do and this is the only time of year a lot of these things happen. The kids are having a great time and I’ll get caught up after Christmas! Love y’all!

Merry Christmas!

Gratefully,

Christy

We have our winner in the Southern Beauty Magazine Beauty Basket Giveaway worth over $200!

Counting the blog entries and the comment entries, I generated a random number at random.org and the number was:

TEN!

SO This is the winning comment!!

Heather said:

“Hi” to Shannon Lindsay! This is the first I’ve heard of this publication, and from the looks of the site it’s a good one! Oh you better believe I’m jumping on this one! I’m off to feature this giveaway/link on my blog right now, so put me down for a couple more entries, haha!

I think it’s so awesome that you do these giveaways, Christy!

Heather
http://theadventuresofheather.blogspot.com

Congratulations to Heather of theadventuresofheather.blogspot.com! Special thanks again to Shannon Lindsay at Southern Beauty for offering this amazing giveaway, I know Heather is going to enjoy it! The rest of you can still cash in on the special offer to Southern Plate readers of buy one, get one free magazine subscriptions and be sure to tune in to Southern Beauty Magazine for the Green Issue coming up where I’ll be included among the columnists!

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Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

10

Timestamp: 2008-12-20 19:58:24 UTC