I had a wonderful time at Great Day Houston a few weeks back when I went to film a segment on Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas for Southern Living. Below is the segment if you’d like to see it. After that, be sure and scroll down for easy and inexpensive ideas for some homemade gifts that would be great for children, co-workers, faculty, and more!

To see the full list of recipes I used in this segment and more photographs of the crafts we made, click here to visit my blog on Southern Living.com.

Want more Homemade Christmas ideas?

I did a whole series of posts back when I first started blogging. Check out the great recipes along with package ideas below!

Note: I took these photos three years ago. I have now set a personal goal to take better photos this year  

S’more’s kits

These are so much fun to make and cute as a button to gift! They are economical enough to allow your child to make one for every member of their class. Also great for co workers, grandchildren, and anyone else who has a love of chocolate and marshmallow goodness! Includes printable tags.

Chocolate Gravy Mix 

We make these assembly line style and let the kids pass them out to every member of faculty at their schools!

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix and Snowman Soup Kits (Includes printable tags) – Homemade Hot Chocolate mix is easy and DELICIOUS! Plus, this post is just too precious because I wrote it two years ago and my kids just look so little! 

These are just a few of my homemade gift ideas you might enjoy. There are plenty more on SouthernPlate.com and more to come this season! 

Gratefully, 

Christy 

Goodness gracious almighty! Is it just me or are the holidays coming up on us faster than a freight train? At first I was trying not to mention them on Southern plate because, you know, there are holiday police out there waiting to pounce if we mention the holidays “too early”, but then my mother called this morning and said “You know our Thanksgiving is this coming Sunday” and I just had to blink.

So I’m just gonna come on out with it and tell ya – My house is decorated for Christmas and I’m thrilled to death. I know, some of you are thinking “But Thanksgiving is first! You can’t decorate until after Thanksgiving!” Well that all depends on what you’re giving thanks for. The thing I’m most thankful nowadays is the entire meaning behind Christmas, and I’m thankful for that with every breath I take, so what better to give thanks for at Thanksgiving than the meaning of Christmas? ~grins~ Ya just gotta decorate for that… 

My in laws came to visit this past weekend so they could attend my Holiday Cooking Show (I’ll post a recap of that with photos soon!) and while they were here, we put up all of my Christmas decorations.

Is it too early to decorate? Not for me! I’m in the Christmas spirit 365 days a year so getting to take off my hat and let my elf ears show is always a welcome change. So I had my mother and father in law were here for a whole weekend. I’d been traveling some, under the weather for a while, and kinda feeling snowed over with all the work I had on me and I thought “HEY! They can help me with the Christmas decorations!”

With all of us working together we got the halls decked and trees trimmed in no time flat. I was on a roll so to top it off I even made Christmas cookies and the kids had a wonderful time decorating them with their grandparents. We had a great weekend before the folks had to head back to Georgia and we would have missed out on all of that had I stuck to any one person’s plan or ideal time frame as to when holiday activities should happen.

We even got the lights up on the house, so I can heave a sigh of relief that we got through one more year without my husband falling off the roof – I always worry about that. Now little Teaaspoon (our kitten) is enjoying the wonder of a Christmas tree. We have yet to explain to her that it isn’t her personal chew toy or kitty winter wonderland themed obstacle course. I think we need to post before and after pics of our trees when we have cats…

Speaking of trees, we got a new tree this year. It is somewhat smaller, not as big in girth, but still pretty tall and just fits in our den a little better. I went all over tarnation looking at trees before settling on this one. It came from Hobby Lobby (oh my, they have beautiful trees). The display model was on a revolving base and it was just beautiful. I had every intention of getting that base until I found myself gazing at the tree on my third visit to the store standing next to a sweet lady who said “I sure do love that base, but my cats would have fits”. She had a point ~Watches at Teaspoon eyes a sparkly ornament hanging just out of her reach…~

Artificial tree? Yup, it sure is. I’ve always loved real Christmas trees but the winter before I started college (when I was 23) I was in the midst of a mad dash to make as much money as I could in order to make it through my first semester and took an evening and weekend job at a Christmas tree farm. I worked in a credit union during the day and then headed out to Greenbriar, Alabama to hand out saws and explain the finer points of tree cutting for all of the days leading up to Christmas. I’ve never been so cold for so long in all of my life. Just looking at a live tree now makes me want to find an electric blanket and a few more pairs of socks. As a result, I’m one of the few people whose heart (and toes) feels considerably warmer around an artificial pine

So as we head on into the final stretch before Thanksgiving, I thought I’d bring you a quick and easy skillet supper. This is one of those meals that just makes your stomach feel good when you eat it. I could eat this every day of my life and be happy as a lark so I hope you get to try it soon. My son was feeling under the weather when I made it yesterday and I took him a plate and said “Here baby, try to eat this.” He saw what it was and said “Don’t you worry one bit Ma, I’ll SURE be eating all of that!”

**Note: To make this vegetarian, just use cream of celery soup in place of the cream of chicken and ask your hens to lay off the worms before their “big day”.

Just kidding…:)

~Giggle~

You’ll need: Chicken breasts, a can of cream of chicken soup (I’m using fat free*), a package of ranch dressing mix (dry), a bag of frozen vegetable blend (your choice), and some egg noodles.

You’re also going to need a little bit of milk, just 1/2 a cup.

I forgot to put that in the photo because … well when the day arrives that I only have to think about one thing at a time I’m just sure I’ll remember to put everything in the photo them. Unfortunately that isn’t today and as they say tomorrow isn’t looking good either .

*Occasionally I grab something like fat free soup just to show y’all that you can use it and it won’t make a difference. If fat free makes you happy or if that is what you have on hand, knock yourself out. It’ll be just as good. If you don’t have fat free, please don’t go out buying it just for this recipe. On a normal day (one in which I was just doing whatever I wanted and not trying to prove a point) I’d just use regular cream of chicken soup.

Place a little bit of oil in the bottom of your skillet and heat over medium heat.

Add your chicken breasts and cook over medium heat, turning as needed, until lightly browned on both sides.

Once your chicken breasts are browned on both sides, add in the cream of chicken soup, dry ranch dressing mix…

and milk.

Stir that up a bit as best you can.

Note: Your chicken breasts won’t be done at this point, just browned on the outside. That is okay because we’re fixin’ to finish cooking them.

This is our chicken with our little sauce we made all stirred up.

Now cover and reduce heat to simmer for about ten minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

After about ten minutes of simmering this is what you’ll have.

That sauce is absolutely delicious and we’re about to toss some veggies into it to make it even better.

I like the California blend of veggies that has carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli in it but you can go with whatever you like here.

Pour your frozen vegetables into the skillet and stir them up a bit to coat them.

Continue cooking this whole shebang until the veggies are tender.

Voila! Dinner is done

Salt and pepper to taste if you like, but I like it just as it is.

The ranch dressing mix gives it a fantastic, well seasoned flavor and the cream soup and milk join in to make a delicious gravy, perfect for serving over cooked egg noodles.

Like this.

I’m a talkative person, but it’s not a conversation unless I hear back from you!

Please leave a comment below  

Thank you! 

Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy,

is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

~Calvin Coolidge

Towards the end of the week I’ll be giving away an

ENTIRE Set of Calphalon pots and pans!

Be sure to stay tuned to Facebook and Southern Plate for information on when this great giveaway starts!

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/11/creamy-chicken-skillet.html/feed 102 http://www.southernplate.com/2011/10/14-favorite-soup-and-stew-recipes.html http://www.southernplate.com/2011/10/14-favorite-soup-and-stew-recipes.html#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:09:16 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=17253 Pin it

I returned from Houston last night just in time to sit down to supper with my family! It isn’t really fall there (yet!) but it sure is here in Bama, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite soup and stew recipes with you today.

If you’re on Facebook, I sure would appreciate it if you’d click that little “like” button above! If you’re an email subscriber and received this in your inbox, please forward it to any friends you think might enjoy Southern Plate! Have a wonderful Wednesday
Gratefully,
Christy

BBQ Joint Stew (Commonly Called Brunswick Stew)

At the first sign of chill in the air, BBQ joints around here start cranking out this delicious stew. It helps them use up any leftover shredded pork and chicken that they may have. By mixing in their signature bbq sauce (my No. 5 signature bbq sauce recipe is in my cookbook in case you need one) and whatever vegetables they have on hand they can turn out a flavorful and filling stew unlike any other.

My Favorite Potato Soup 

Includes lots of ideas to customize this classic and make it your own!

Chicken Tortilla Soup 

Full of flavor thanks to the Enchilada sauce, this soup is a cinch to throw together!

Christy’s Slow Cooker Chili

Any southerner worth their salt has a great chili recipe, preferably a signature one. This is mine

Ground Beef Stew (with a secret!) 

Here is a  fuss free, economical, and delicious beef stew to warm you from the inside out. I just love stew weather! To me, this tastes a lot like Cracker Barrel’s Vegetable Beef Stew, but with more goodies inside! 

Our Family’s Chicken Stew Recipe

This stuff is good, you really need to make it!

Simple Tomato Soup 

With a few ingredients and a few minutes, you can have an outstanding tomato soup. Can you say Grilled Cheese?

Shortcut Senate Bean Soup

Oh my goodness is this ever good. Warm, soothing, filling, and with shortcuts to save time!

Tina’s Corn Chowder

This corn chowder is a great meal for vegetarians. Simply substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth and you’re off to the races!

Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup is the absolute favorite of my son and all of my nephews!

“Free Soup” – Dieter’s Best Friend! 

This recipe is one my mother and I have used for over twenty years, and we still love it. Many diets have “free” vegetables, which are basically vegetables that are allowed without restriction. What this soup does is combine those vegetables in with a richly flavored broth and serves them up as the perfect anytime dish to fight off the munchies, serve as a quick and easy lunch, or a filling side dish with your evening meal.

Tomato-less Rustic Beef Stew

I worked up this recipe especially for my Aunt Sue, who makes the worlds best pound cake but can’t eat tomatoes. How are those two related? Well, beyond me just putting them in a sentence together I reckon that’s about it, but you can get her pound cake recipe in my cookbook ~winks~.

Spaghetti Lover’s Soup 

So if you love Spaghetti…

Taco Soup

World’s Easiest Supper – Nuff Said!

 If you’ve made any of these recipes I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

Which of these recipes is your family’s favorite?

(I’m trying to decide which one I want to make for supper!)

My Facebook Good Morning Post for the day (I hope you’ll join us on the Southern Plate Facebook Family Page soon!)

‎”We can always be a little nicer. We can smile a little bigger and more often, instead of passing by folks on the street quietly we can greet them with “Good Mornin”. We can be the bigger, nicer person to the persistent grump at work. In time, you’ll be amazed at the people you can soften through the simplest kindnesses but you’ll be even more amazed to find that each little act removes another brick over a huge fountain of joy within you. Eventually, you’ll have a geyser.”  ~Christy
P. S. Good Morning!

It’s the end of August, still one of the most sweltering times of year where I live. Summer is giving it’s last hoorah and showing off what it can do here in the South while most of us natives are flipping wistfully through fall clothing catalogs at pictures of folks walking atop hills in chilly breezes while snuggling up in their cozy sweaters.

I’m so ready for fall. I’m ready to wear the sweaters that are never quite appropriate where I live (it never really gets wool-sweater cold here but the models in that magazine make them look so comfy we can’t refuse). I’m ready to bake apples and rake up leaf piles and look for pumpkins. I’m ready to pull my jeans back out and lace up ye olde hiking boots on a crisp Saturday morning to head up to Monte Sano Mountain with the kids. I’m ready to drink my coffee without it making me sweat . (Apologies to my dear mother. You are right, Mama, ladies do not sweat, we glisten. But I wanted to make sure folks understood my point here so I had to be blunt).

…and I’m really ready for fall food. We have a completely different menu in the fall than we do in the summertime and I’m sooo ready for that.

So today, I’ve decided to break my own rule about keeping foods somewhat in season because, honestly, who makes the rules around here anyway? I keep forgetting that little technicality.

So turn down the a/c, put on a fuzzy sweater, grab a cup of coffee and come with me as we mentally fast forward to fall and make one of my very favorite versions of potato soup!

To make this soup you’ll need: 4-5 medium russet potatoes*, instant potato flakes, Heavy Cream*, 2 cans of Chicken Broth, a small yellow onion, cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper.

Now we need to talk substitutions because there are a ton you can easily make when it comes to this soup.

For the Potatoes - if you don’t want to peel and dice the potatoes, just grab a 32 ounce bag of frozen cubed hash browns. You know what, the shredded ones will work just fine, too!

For the Whipping Cream - the cream gives this a rich and delicious flavor so it is my favorite to use. As a substitute though, I suggest canned evaporated milk, because it also has a very rich flavor that you just won’t find in regular milk.

For the chicken broth - I usually don’t use chicken broth but I bought it special just for this tutorial – because I love you that much! Normally, I’d toss in a few chicken bouillon cubes with some water. The package usually says one cube per cup of water but I usually add an extra cube or two for more richness. I buy them in bulk at Sam’s and they save a lot of money over buying chicken broth. You can also use homemade broth, vegetable stock, whatever cranks your tractor.

These ingredients create a great base for your soup but feel free to add the flavors that you enjoy as well. Garlic powder or a little minced garlic would be great. Some fresh or dried parsley would be a good addition, too. You might even want to add additional vegetables and just change it to a creamy veggie soup at this point.

Today I’m making more of a pure potato soup but with a few key ingredients to really up the flavor.

You’ll also need: Some smoked ham. I’m using smoked pork chops.

This is another thing I’m using to really add some body to my soup. Any type of smoked ham will do, though. I like these smoked pork chops because I use them in my freezer friendly twice baked potatoes and since I’m about to make some of those to freeze (they make such a quick side dish or easy lunch) I needed them anyway.

This will add a really nice smokey ham flavor in with our potatoes.

To begin with, pour your broth into your soup pot and put it over medium heat.

Peel and dice your potatoes…

Oh look, I did one of those tight shots of the diced potatoes. I think this is supposed to make them more appetizing or something. Maybe it is just supposed to show that I know how to zoom…

Dice your onion

 And your smoked chops or ham…

Add all of that to your broth and season to taste with salt and pepper, but stay on the light side because we’ll season it again right before serving.

I’d add about 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt now and maybe 1/8 of a teaspoon of pepper.

Bring that just to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender.

This will take anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes, depending on how big your chunks of potato are.

Now add in your instant potato flakes and stir that up.

I love instant potato flakes as thickeners for soups and stews and making the crust to my Mama’s Taco Casserole. I don’t use them other than that, though. My Grandmother’s mashed potatoes were just too good.

Now add in your cheese and pour in your heavy cream.

Stir that up and cook for just a few minutes until heated through.

Like so.

Top with your favorite toppings, such as:

• Chopped Green Onions
• Fresh Herbs you like
• Bacon
• Cheese
• Sour Cream, etc

A note about Serving Amounts

I sometimes get questions from folks asking me how many servings a recipe has and I usually respond with a smile that “It depends on how hungry you are!”.

In general, I feed a family of four and if I have leftovers I freeze them or use them for lunches throughout the week. If you are new to cooking for a family, in time you’ll get used to how much food certain things will make, for example, a 9×13 casserole.

In my cookbook there are servings listed for most of the recipes but on SouthernPlate.com I just cook like my mother did and make sure I have enough for everyone, making good use of leftovers if any exist. However, I figure this makes four generous servings. That is all relative, though. Your version of generous may be different from mine, you may be hungrier than you realize or not as hungry as you thought you were, so the relative state of servings sizes has about as much value as one of those cardboard sleeves they slip onto coffee cups. Goodness, reckon how much they spend on those things each year?

As always, serve to someone you love.

What are you most looking forward to this fall?
Tell me about it in the comments below!

Excellent advice from a teacher!

This is from Sherri, who was kind enough to submit it on our Give A Penny Page:

This isn’t original, but it is so very true. I am a school teacher, and I try my best to remember this when teaching my students:

“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/08/my-favorite-potato-soup.html/feed 161 http://www.southernplate.com/2011/04/great-recipes-for-leftover-ham.html http://www.southernplate.com/2011/04/great-recipes-for-leftover-ham.html#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:11:52 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=14586 Pin it

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I’d love to hear what you had for Easter dinner in the comments section below!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter holiday. We had a great day at my mother’s on Saturday, complete with dyeing Easter Eggs, egg hunts, and a wonderful Easter meal (starring Ham, of course!). Then we came back here for our flashlight Easter Egg hunt in the back yard before turning in and waiting for the bunny. Easter morning was filled with the kids going through their treats and a really great service courtesy of Pastor John Dees. It doesn’t get any better than that!

So here it is Monday and I have a care package of ham in the fridge thanks to my Mama. What to do? In case you have the same bounty, here is my list of favorite leftover ham recipes. Have a WONDERFUL Monday!

Gratefully,

Christy

Ham Salad

I love ham salad, and this is my absolute favorite recipe for it!

Red Beans and Rice

Have mercy, this is some good food right here. Good old poor people food and you know poor folks have always known how to cook good food because we know how to make do with what we have and we can season a dish from start to finish with salt, pepper, a ham bone, and hope.

Top to Bottom Ham and Cheese Bread

Just use leftover sliced ham in place of deli ham in this recipe and dive in!

Shortcut Senate Bean Soup

Love this stuff – and my recipe makes it super easy.

Loaded Potatoes – Make ‘em and Freeze ‘em

These are great to keep in the freezer as a last minute heat-and-eat side or a quick lunch!

Pintos and Cornbread

A Southern Classic

“Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it sweet.”

― Sadie Delany

Submitted by Beverly (thanks, Beverly!). Submit your quote or browse hundreds of others by clicking here.

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

Mama used to say “If Christy gets it in her head to do something, she’s gonna do it or die”. Of course, nobody knows me like my Mother does and I have to admit that she is right on that one.

I don’t mean to be that way, it causes me far too much strife on any given day. I’ve lost a great deal of joy over the years simply based on the fact that I get an idea in my head and then turn it around and around until it ends up controlling me instead of me controlling it. That was pretty much what happened this past weekend – which led to an epiphany – which led to this post. Sit down and get comfy, this train is about to leave the station and I’m gonna take you on a little ride.

It is spring time, the sun is shining, the grass is green, and I decided this was the year I was finally going to find those planters I wanted for my front porch.

I decided – that was where this whole thing went south from the get go. People often say if you want to make life laugh, wake up and make plans.

Ricky needed some parts for our lawn mower so we loaded up the family and headed off to Lowes. I just knew they’d have what I wanted. The boys went to look for the parts while Karo and I went towards the garden section, both of us excited to get planters and flowers for them. I was looking for larger-than-small rectangular white planters for the front porch. Katy and I looked and didn’t see anything even close to what we were looking for so we looked again. I had them pictured so vividly in my mind that I just knew they had to have them. Still no luck. So we circled again...nothing. I decided to go pick out flowers and then come back, feeling that once I had the flowers I wanted the planters would somehow be there. Of course, I had decided that I needed periwinkles and that no other flower would do. Wouldn’t you know it, not a periwinkle was to be had.

~sighs~ So we went back to where the planters were and circled again….

This is where Ricky found us about half an hour after we entered the store.

Feeling slightly agitated and very disappointed, we headed out and I had Ricky swing by a nearby garden store only to find that they didn’t have what I wanted either and if they had of there was no way I could have afforded it anyway.

We went home and had lunch. I got a post up and did several online searches for what I was looking for, finding the exact thing on more than one occasion but at prices far above and beyond what I was able to pay. We did some house and yard work before I decided to set off again, this time on my own to make it quicker to search from store to store. Three stores later, I could feel the stress and anxiety welling up inside me. I was frustrated, I was a little mad, and I was very disappointed.

Mostly though, that stubborn streak of determination had me running around in circles and was so steadfast and strong in its hold on me that the chances of me finding anything to make me happy was going downhill pretty fast.

As I stood there with the knot of agitation having full hold over me I mentally went over where else I could go in hopes of finding what I looked for. I had asked on facebook and been given some wonderful suggestions, in various parts all over the county and beyond. I came up with a mental list of five more stores, ten miles in this direction, fifteen in that…and wondered how much larger that anxiety was gonna grow with each store.

Then a quote came into my head that I had read just a few days earlier on the Front Porch from Deb:

“You have circled this mountain long enough. Go North.” (Deut 2:3).

It hit me that, in that moment, I was fighting a battle that simply was not worth fighting.

How often do we do that? How often do we wake up in the middle of a perfectly good life and decide to create a little anxiety and stress for ourselves?  We spend days, months, years, and sometimes lifetimes circling mountains that we built up in the middle of an otherwise green meadow. Negative attitudes, unnecessary drama, things that for whatever reason we decide to circle around and around and around instead of enjoying the good things.  I do it far too often, I know.

So this past weekend my family was at home on this beautiful sunny eighty degree day, out playing in the yard and enjoying each other’s company. My children were laughing and riding their bikes, picking four leaf clovers, and playing with bubbles. And here I was out on my own circling a mountain, stepping away from a joyful day in my life to go on an anxiety filled quest for something as silly and inconsequential as a flower pot.

With the realization that I had circled this mountain for no real reason other than to be circling it, I went north- or in my case, home. I left the goose chase because I really didn’t need the goose anyway, and I went back to my sunny green yard with the kids riding their bikes in the driveway.

There won’t be a perfect rectangular planter filled with flowers on my porch this year. I’m no longer going to look for it, even if you told me it was right down the road. But there also won’t be a day or more wasted of my life seeking it out as if it is going to provide some type of fulfillment that I don’t already have.

Life moves quick. Every second little joy filled moments are floating through the air like bubbles waiting to be plucked and experienced and every second we circle our seemingly important mountains they are drifting right on by.

I’ve spent a great deal of my life circling mountains that I created in the middle of peaceful valleys. I hope to do less of that as I learn and grow older.

Sometimes we gotta stop circling and go north. Go home. Give up the quest for flowers or other silly things that you only think you need and watch your family bloom instead.

~tucks away her soap box and takes a deep breath as she smoothes back her hair and ties on her apron before looking back up at you with a smile~

Alrighty then, how about we make us a casserole now?

This is one of those recipes that I had to beg my mother to try. She said it just didn’t sound good. So I made a big batch and showed up at her house. She took one bite and her eyes got big as dollars. “This really is good, what did you say was in it?”. It has become one of her all time favorite meals. I hope you get to try it soon. If there were such a thing as a recipe being too simple, this just might be it. But it’s oooh so good!

You’ll need: about 2 lbs Ground beef (already browned, with onion in it if you like), Cream of mushroom soup (can use fat free), frozen tater tots, and some milk.

I like to brown my beef ahead of time and keep it in the freezer to make meals like this one a breeze to put together. I have browned as much as thirty pounds of ground beef in one day and then store it in zipper seal baggies. I generally put about a cup in each bag and then get out one or two bags depending on how much I decide I need.

Pour your cream soup in a cup and add about a cup and a half of milk to it.

Stir well.

It will still be lumpy but as long as you put forth the effort to give it a good stir it’ll be fine.

Place your tater tots over the ground beef.

Pour your soup over all of this.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about thirty minutes.

A lot of recipes don’t have you covering it and I used to do mine that way but I’ve found it is even better if you cover it up a bit. If you’d like your tater tots nice and browned, uncover the last ten minutes of cooking.

Enjoy.

If you have any leftovers, this taste even better reheated!

Do you make tater tot casserole for your family? I’d love to hear about it!

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped, optional
• 1 package frozen tater tots (about 1 pound)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (can use fat free)
• 1 cup milk

Instructions

1. Brown beef and onion together until done, drain off any grease (I brown my beef ahead of time and store it in the freezer to make this quicker). Place ground beef mixture in bottom of 8x8 baking dish. Top with frozen tater tots. In small bowl stir together cream soup and milk. Pour over tater tots. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for thirty minutes.

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Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Friday, April 15th is the deadline to order the Southern Plate 2011 Mother’s Kindness basket and have guaranteed Mother’s Day delivery.

Click here for details.

“Life is just a chance to grow a soul.”

~Powel Davies. Submitted by Carol Prince. Submit your quote by clicking here.

 

I’m giving away over $500 in toys this Sunday! To enter, click here and leave a comment!

Have you ever heard of Antoine Dodson? He is our latest hometown hero from Huntsville, Alabama and I gotta tell ya, I love that man. I love his attitude, I love his grit, and I love his spirit. If you don’t know who I am talking about a quick google search will enlighten you plenty. There was a big news story a while back about him rescuing his sister from an attack in their home, which happens to be in what is known as the projects of Lincoln Park.

I have a point to this. You see, there are a few parallels between Antoine and me. He is from Huntsville, Alabama, so am I. I also have connection to Lincoln Park. Those projects have fond memories for me, though. You see, my great grandmother got to live there right after they were built. I say “got to” because that is how she viewed it and always talked about it. In her whole entire life of sharecropping and living in little shack houses provided by the land owner, her little home in Lincoln Park was the first one she could call her own and she sure was proud.

Growing up, we lived just a few streets over from those projects, in a tiny little house in a tiny neighborhood dotted with other tiny houses – but at the time our house and that neighborhood seemed big as the world. The kids in that neighborhood were plentiful and most of us lucky enough to have bicycles, with the common sense to put them up at night lest you find it with a new paint job and under someone else’s ownership the next day. I’ll never forget when my brother had his bicycle stolen from our front yard, it broke my Mamas heart not to be able to replace it immediately. She ended up selling some silver coins she had collected since she was a little girl to be able to buy him a new one.

The irony was that my dad was a Huntsville police officer and his patrol car was parked in the driveway at the time, but I guess some kid had just wanted a bike for too long and too hard and his parents didn’t have the raising themselves to be able to teach him right from wrong.

I think thats how things like that start. I wouldn’t be surprised if that kid ended up in the back of my daddy’s patrol car later on in life, probably one of the ones my dad took through McDonald’s drive through and bought supper for before taking them to the jail at night because my dad had spent so much of his childhood going to bed hungry that he couldn’t stand the thought of some other kid having to do the same.

All in all though, it was a good neighborhood. One of those where everyone was on a level playing ground, nobody worrying about the haves and have nots, because we were all have nots, and all we cared about was getting as much fun and adventure into each day as we could.

We’d roam from yard to yard, news traveling along the neighborhood grapevine when Miss Sandy was making popcorn and passing out paper bag fulls of it at her back door or when My Mama had made a new gallon of kool aid and would meet all of us in the yard with stack of cups and an old milk jug filled to the brim with whatever flavor she’d come across first. We were like little torpedos, running here and there, playing kickball in the one empty lot on our street or learning to climb fences to get from one yard to another even though there was a gate that worked perfectly well. I have a four inch scar on my leg from climbing those fences, thats when Daddy took it as his personal mission to bend all the spikey tops down on the chain link ones near our house.

Living next door to us was Mama’s Aunt Myrtle and her husband, Tip Tipton. Gosh those were good people. My sister Patti and I used to go swing on their porch in the afternoon, Tip would sit there in his rocking chair and greet us with his deep voice as we walked up for a visit. He called my sister “doughbelly” because she was pretty young at the time and still had that cute little toddler belly about her “Hey there, doughbelly, you come to see me?” It was always said with such affection that we’d grin and nod, making our way to stake a claim on their swing.

Patti had my dad’s thick hair and Mama would braid it going down her back almost every day. My hair was fine like Mama’s and would be put up into two pony tails, one on each side of my head. Our Papa Reed and Tip would always say that they were gonna cut my pony tails off and put it on their ponies and cut my sisters braid off to put on a pig. We thought that was hilarious and I used to try to picture what my hair would look like on a pony, deciding that even though it was fairly long it would be far too short to look right and Patti’s hair would never be the right color for a pig because it was brown instead of pink.

Those days flew by but we got every single second of goodness out of each one. We lived life at full speed, full of curiosity and energy and a need to run and play.

I can’t imagine having a richer childhood.

I go back there a lot, whenever I am in that part of town I just can’t seem to resist. As I drive my car down the road I go at bicycle speed and roll down my windows if its warm, taking the time to stop on the road in front of that little house. I know this sounds crazy but I think it remembers me. I’ve always wanted to take a picture of the house but another family lives there now and I don’t feel I have the right to so I just stare at it a minute- and I can still see my seven year old self running up onto the porch and barreling through that front door to tell Mama about my latest adventure or ask if a friend can come for supper.

Last time I was there I saw a bicycle parked out front. I hope that kid puts it up at night…and I hope he or she knows how lucky they are to be able to start their life in that little house.

From humble beginnings comes great things, whether it be lives, memories, or food. Today I’m bringing you some humble food along with my story, but its another family favorite. This recipe came from a Huntsville firefighter named Phillip Lee, who made it for us one night when we were volunteering at the Fraternal Order of Police lodge thirteen or fourteen years ago. I’d never had beef stroganoff before and I asked Phillip how he had made it. He looked at me with a grin and said “Well Christy, I’m gonna tell ya, it’s one of those real difficult recipes..” ~snickers~. I hope you enjoy the simplicity of this as much as I do.

You’ll need: Cream of Mushroom (you can use fat free if you like), egg noodles (you can also use spaghetti, rice, or other noodles), ground beef, and a little bit of milk.

I cook up batches of ground beef and put them in little baggies in the freezer so that cuts out an extra step right there.

Place your cream soup, milk, and ground beef in a sauce pot.

I like a good bit of pepper in mine but you can pepper to suit your taste.

Remember, your guests can always add more pepper but they can’t take it out so it is best to under season if cooking for someone you’re not used to cooking for.

Stir that up good and cook over medium heat until nice and bubbly.

This won’t take long at all so go ahead and get your noodles cooking and rolls a browning! I am using brown and serve rolls for this but Jordan Rolls go great, too, if you want to make homemade!

Serve over egg noodles, rice, or whatever pasta you have on hand.

Enjoy and be thankful for the simple things in life

Gratefully,

Christy

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Quick & Easy Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (can use fat free)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pound (or so) ground beef, browned and drained
• Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Stirring often, cook until bubbly. Serve over egg noodles, rice, or whatever pasta you have on hand. Enjoy!

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People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.

Thank you to Rebecca Roy for giving me this quote. I’d love for you to submit your quotes by clicking here.

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/01/quick-easy-beef-stroganoff-and-where-im-from.html/feed 133 http://www.southernplate.com/2011/01/simple-strawberry-soup-cinderellas-favorite.html http://www.southernplate.com/2011/01/simple-strawberry-soup-cinderellas-favorite.html#comments Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:25:25 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=13118 Pin it

There is a restaurant in Disney World located in the Grand Floridian Resort whose specialty is Strawberry Soup. This is the stuff of legends and the legend is so big that it has reached all the way to North Alabama ~grins~.

Now on our recent trip to Disney, we did not stay in the Grand Floridian, I wanna make that clear. It is a gorgeous hotel but I would’ve had to mortgage a kidney or sell one of the kids to be able to afford to stay there. We DID, however, eat at 1900 Park Fare (free, as a matter of fact, but I’ll talk about how we did that in an upcoming post).

When I told Mama we were going to eat at 1900 Park Fare she said “Oh! Are you gonna have the strawberry soup?”. I got the same question from two other people so I got to thinking that you might like to have the strawberry soup in your neck of the woods as well.

Most people don’t realize that Disney gives out any recipe served in their restaurants if you ask for it. In fact, many of the standards are already pre-printed on cards to hand out whenever someone requests them. If you ask for a recipe that is not immediately handy, they take your email or mailing address and the chef will get it to you. So I got the recipe for Strawberry Soup (it is also several places on the internet) and I tweaked the ingredients and recipe itself to make it a little less fussy.

Strawberry Soup is lightly sweet, rich, thick, and just makes your tongue wanna dance. It’s sort of like a Strawberry Smoothie, only better – and prettier.

And LOOK who endorses this recipe!

When I asked Cinderella if I could pose with her and the strawberry soup I said “I promise I won’t spill it on your beautiful dress” and she said “Well now, strawberry soup is my favorite, I wouldn’t mind one bit if you spilled it on me!”

Now that is seriously some kind of good!

Lets get to making it-

Hang on tight because this one is gonna go fast!

You’ll need: Frozen sliced sweetened strawberries (thawed), Heavy Whipping Cream, and Sour Cream.

You can get light sour cream if you like. Some folks will say “Well why bother if you’ve got the fat from the whipping cream and sugar from the strawberries” but I think most of us will fall on they “Hey, every little bit helps” category here.

The original recipe was in ounces, which is something most of us aren’t used to, so I translated it into our usual cooking measurements. It also was a little too fussy for my taste (Like I’m really going to go buy plain yogurt just to use two ounces of it in a recipe?) so I made it a little lower maintenance for us, too. I think the best things in life are really simple, but we as humans tend to want to complicate matters. This is especially true of food.

I hope and pray my sense of taste never becomes so sophisticated that I can discern between a recipe that has eight ounces of sour cream versus a recipe that has six ounces of sour cream and two ounces of plain yogurt. The day that happens, I’ve gotten entirely above my raising.

Place your thawed strawberries in a blender. Add your sour cream.

Pour in your whipping cream.

Don’t blink because we’re almost done. I know this has been terribly taxing, right?

Blend until smooth and thick.

Now you’re done. Seriously.

Serve your guests and don’t tell them how easy it was!

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Simple Strawberry Soup (Cinderella’s Favorite!)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups frozen sliced strawberries in sugar, thawed (it maybe 1/4 cup or so more in the container and that is okay too)

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth and thick. Chill well before serving. Serve cold. Refrigerate any leftovers. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.

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A smile is the light in the window of your face

that tells people you’re at home.

~Author Unknown

Submitted by Stephanie. Submit your quote by clicking here (thank you Stephanie!)

Since we got done with that so fast, we have some free time and the lovely Katy Rose has graciously provided a short “craft”.

This is her invention, a handy dandy apple holder.

She says the people who read Southern Plate are going to LOVE this and asked me to PLEASE put it on the website.

See how nifty it is? I know sometimes when I’m holding an apple, I find my mind drifting to better and more stylish ways I could be presenting that apple to my mouth. Katy Rose, you’ve saved the day! It’s pretty, too!

Katy says you could make several of them and give then to someone like flowers. I love that idea, Karo!

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/01/simple-strawberry-soup-cinderellas-favorite.html/feed 56 http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/tomato-less-rustic-beef-stew.html http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/tomato-less-rustic-beef-stew.html#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:50:49 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=6275 Pin it

I worked up this recipe especially for my Aunt Sue, who makes the worlds best pound cake but can’t eat tomatoes. How are those two related? Well, beyond me just putting them in a sentence together I reckon that’s about it, but you can get her pound cake recipe in my cookbook ~winks~.

Doesn't he look blissfully unaware?

Y’all, I’m nesting. As we get ready for the book tour, I’m having little minor moments of panic. The good news is that they are minor moments of panic as opposed to significant episodes. While I should be focused on the book and the tour, I’m a mother and so with that, you know full well what I’m thinking about. My poor husband is gonna have his work cut out for him. Y’all might wanna pray for this man, he has no idea what he is getting himself into…

His mother (that sainted woman) is going to be over some to help but there will be times in which he is completely on his own- so I’ve set to fretting at warp speed.

Since I can’t run the house and take care of the kids long distance, I’ve taken to worrying about the little things that I can manage ahead of time. Last night I got to thinking about juice boxes. Sometimes we use as many as four a day, one for each lunch and one for each snack (I think it is cool that my kid’s school has snack time).

So I got to fretting over what would happen if Ricky ran out of juice boxes in the morning. With getting two kids ready, he’d hardly have time to go out and buy any and still get the kids to school on time. Even if he did, he might get the ones with sugar in them and then the kids might end up getting in trouble because they were too hyper. Next thing you know my kids are spending time in prison as opposed to college and the shrink eventually traces it all back to their mother going on a book tour and their father introducing additional sugar into their lives to compensate for her absence..this is how my thought process works.

No worries though, I put that fear to rest right away. Bought fifteen cases of juice boxes.

~exhales~

Then, I passed the paper aisle and got to thinking of all of the possible scenarios of us running out of bathroom tissue while I was away – I’ll spare you those, but let me now put your mind at ease by letting you know that we are the proud owners of 100 double rolls of bathroom tissue.

We also have a fully stocked medicine cabinet, each child has new socks, and enough ground beef is cooked and in the freezer to feed an army. Since nothing I send for snacks has to be refrigerated, this afternoon I’m going to go ahead and make sixty snack bags and put them in a laundry basket so they’ll just have to grab and go while I’m away. I’ve even made up treat bags for their Halloween parties at school. Of course, I am supposed to be home then and I’m not sure if they will even have Halloween parties this year but hey - just in case.

These little things are making me feel a little better about leaving them, something that I could never truly feel good about. Still, I’m making headway, getting a few trivial things done to help me rest a bit easier at night and know that I’ve done what I could to look after my babies when I’m not here. I know it will be a lot easier than I expect it to be and once I get on the road time will pass quickly and everyone will be alright. I also know that in the end we’ll even have more appreciation for one another. This is just part of the journey.

I can’t tell you how much it helps to know that I’ll be spending time with some of you, in person, each day that I am gone.

But now the real challenge awaits me: To teach an engineer how to fix ponytails for a five year old….

To make this stew you’re gonna need: Stew meat,  carrots, potatoes, pearl onions (you can use regular), Dale’s Sauce* (substitution below), and beef broth.

You’re also gonna need a little flour, some black pepper, Thyme, and salt if you use my substitution for Dale’s Sauce.

If you don’t have thyme, don’t sweat it. Just use Italian Seasoning in it’s place and your stew will have a bit different flavor but still be wonderful. If you are new here you may not realize that I pretty much think you could save the world with a $1 bottle of dry Italian seasoning. I love that stuff. Oh, also, if you are new here, welcome! We sure are glad to have  you as part of our family!

~watches as everyone scoots down to make room for another place~

Dale’s Sauce is a marinade available in my neck of the woods but a lot of y’all may not have it near you. If you can get Moore’s Marinade, that’ll work, too. I use the two interchangeably depending on which one is cheapest and I’ve never been able to tell the difference (although I’m sure the Dale’s and Moore’s folks will disagree with that). However, if you can’t get either of them, you can easily whip up my homemade version by using the recipe here.

If you use my recipe, you’ll need to salt your stew a little to taste,because my homemade version isn’t nearly as salty as Dale’s and Moore’s. They give new meaning to the term “salty” so most folks think that is a good thing.

Place your stew meat in a bowl and pour about a cup of flour over it.

Stir it well to coat.

Now place this in a large skillet with a tablespoon or two of oil and cook over medium heat until lightly browned a bit.

We’re not trying to get the meat completely cooked here, just browned. The flour will act as a thickener to our stew as well.

If you decide you want your stew to be even thicker, you can add a few tablespoons of instant potato flakes, one of my favorite thickeners.

There ya go! all ready.

Wash your potatoes and chop them up in whatever way you’re in the mood to.

Cooking is very often about what I’m in the mood for at my house.

Here is where the stew gets it’s “rustic” name. I wasn’t in the mood to peel my potatoes when I did up this recipe so we just leave the skins on, call it rustic, and if we were serving this in a fancy restaurant we could charge double for it just by doing that alone!

This is proof that the world is crazy. Except for Southern Plate folks that is. We just got good horse sense.

Pour your pearl onions over that.

The bag I used had about a cup and a half of them. If you don’t have pearl onions don’t worry about going out and buying them. I make this a lot using just a chopped up vidalia. Whatever you have on hand is fine.

Peel and chop up your carrots a bit and add those.

Add your stew meat and pour in your beef broth.

Pour in your marinade (Dale’s, Moore’s, Christy’s

and thyme.

Bless it’s heart, this is an ugly little herb. As my grandmother would say “God love it”.

and your pepper.

Now cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Every time I see the end shot of a good meal I go all Doctor Seuss..

Yum diddy dum dum yum yum YUM!

I like this best with Jordan Rolls but it goes great with cornbread, too!

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Tomato-less Rustic Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup Dales (or my recipe, plus salt to taste if you use mine)
• 1 tablespoon thyme (can use Italian seasoning instead)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 32 ounces beef broth
• 1-2 pounds stew meat
• 5-6 medium potatoes, unpeeled and chopped
• 4 large carrots
• 1-1/2 cups frozen pearl onions or 1 large onion, chopped

Instructions

1. Place stew meat in a bowl, pouring flour over. Stir to coat. Please a tablespoon of oil in large skillet and heat on medium heat. Add coated meat and cook, stirring often, just until browned. Place meat and all other ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4.

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“I like flaws and feel more comfortable around people who have them.

I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.”

~Augusten Burroughs. Submitted by Sandy (thank you Sandy!). Submit your quote to our page by clicking here.

Thank you SO MUCH for your pre-orders! We’re at day six of being the #1 Southern book on Amazon.com!

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/tomato-less-rustic-beef-stew.html/feed 76 http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/chicken-tortilla-soup.html http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/chicken-tortilla-soup.html#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:53:08 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=9971 Pin it

You know, some people are really organized. They plan, they plot, they write things down and take notes. They prepare ahead of time and they know exactly what they are going to be doing on any given day at any given moment. I know this because I am the daughter of one of them and married to another.

As for me, though, I couldn’t be further from that whole “organization” scenario. I wake up and I think “Hmm, what am I in the mood to write about today?” Posts are never planned or written ahead of time, even though I really should. Sometimes I photograph them ahead of time and then just let the photos sit there until I’m in the mood to write about it. Sometimes I forget I photographed something and end up photographing the entire recipe twice before I actually bring it to you – which just gives me a chance to laugh at myself. You know, you just can’t go wrong having a good laugh at yourself from time to time.

Occasionally I have folks who want to know my blogging schedule or when I plan on running a particular recipe and such, and I guess they just have to live with the same thing my husband has to live with. Eventually people I work with “get” me and come to see that I’ve figured out how to make who I am work.  I do feel for them though! The great thing is that it takes all kinds of people to keep the world spinning and just as folks like me would be lost without the organized folks, I think we just might keep things lively for the more structured among us. It is what is and you are who you are. Give yourself a break and enjoy being you!

So today, in my “What do I feel like writing about today” moment, I found myself wanting wanting chicken tortilla soup something fierce. Thankfully, I already had it photographed so I can bring it to you and then head on up to the grocery store and get what I need to make it for supper tonight.

I hope your day is sunny and bright. If not in weather terms, at least in terms of your disposition. Have a great day and if you have a minute, let me know what you’re cooking for supper tonight in the comments section! That’s always a fun conversation that inspires everyone!

Now don’t go running away at how many ingredients this has,

I promise it is going to be VERY easy to make!

You’ll need: Water, Chopped green chilies, enchilada sauce, crushed (or diced) tomatoes, chicken broth, corn, onions, chili powder, minced garlic, ground cumin, and some cilantro.

Whew, that really  is a long list but seriously, it’s easy. I’m using frozen corn because it is what I had but canned is just fine. I use crushed tomatoes often because my husband is not so much a fan of tomato pieces in his soups and stews. Just work with this and make it fit your pantry and whatever you have on hand. The one thing you really are gonna need is the seasonings and the enchilada sauce to give it that flavor.

You’ll also need some cooked, shredded chicken and some corn tortillas.

A lot of times when I’m here by myself during the day I’ll run to the grocery store and grab a rotisserie chicken to eat a bit of for lunch. I cut off a little for me and then shred the rest to use in making a recipe like this for supper. A cooked rotisserie cost about the same as an uncooked fryer so it works out to be a pretty good deal!

Now comes the easy part.

We’re gonna dump everything in a pot.

Corn, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, green chilies…

Cumin

chili powder

cilantro

garlic

also toss in your chicken and your onion and..yeah so you get the idea.

Basically we are throwing everything in but the toppings.

Everything.

Dump it.

In a pot.

See? Easy!

and stir it up.

Place this on medium or  medium high heat and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for thirty minutes.

Now we need to have our tortillas cut into strips and I’ve found the easiest way to do this for me is to just stack a few of them up and have at them with my pizza cutter.

We’re using corn tortillas here which some of y’all may remember I don’t particularly care for, but they are very good in this! This and the King Ranch casserole are the only times I go near the things, bless their little vegetable hearts.

Toss those in

and stir again

Now cook for about another ten minutes and it’s ready to serve!

Top with sour cream and cheese if you like (and I like!).

Serve in a pretty Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf bowl (okay, that isn’t a requirement but still..)

Enjoy !

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 14 ounce can chicken broth (or 1 1/2 c water and two bouillon cubes)
• 29 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 11 ounce can enchilada sauce
• 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
• 2-3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (can use more if you like)
• 2 cups frozen corn (or 2 cans corn, drained)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4-5 six inch corn tortillas
• Toppings: cheese, sour cream, etc for toppings

Instructions

1. Dump everything except toppings and corn tortillas in a large pot. Place over medium to medium high heat and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer thirty minutes.
2. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut each tortilla into thin strips. Place in soup and cook ten minutes more before serving.
3. Serve soup with desired toppings. Great if made a day or two ahead of time to make get togethers easier!

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A smile is a light in the window of the

soul indicating that the heart is at home.

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