Cocktail wieners wrapped in bacon

Everyone has had cocktail wieners, and for the most part they are just OK!  We just got home from my youngest daughters teachers wedding. They had some really good things to eat, but much to my surprise the thing I liked best was the cocktail wieners wrapped in bacon! They were awesome!!

I didn't ask for the how too, but I looked like they cooked it pretty much like you normally  would. In a crock pot with a little bit of BBQ sauce, but they wrapped a strip of bacon around the wiener.  It was great!! The next time we have a party I'm going to make some. You Should too!!

Or you could just wrap the bacon around The wiener and put it strait in the oven.

Tuna patties

When I was a kid, my mom and dad liked to make tuna patties. They are really easy to make, and good too.

1 can of tuna
1 sleeve of soda crackers
2 eggs
salt and pepper

Just mix it all together and form it into patties.  Spay a little cooking spray in the bottom of your pan and cook it until it's dry.

Give it a try!! Its really good!

Cheese ball

I really like cheese balls with good crackers. They are really easy to make, and great to take to party's.

Start with a bar of cream cheese. Add a half pound of cheddar and a half pound of pepper jack. Add some green onions, garlic and onion powder and mix it together in your kitchen aid. I have mixed it by hand before and it really stinks. Scoop it out on a piece of plastic wrap. You can put slivered almonds on the out side if you want. Form it into a ball and put it into the refrigerator. Serve it with your favorite crackers or veggies.

Give it a try!! It's really easy!

BBQ grill pizza

My wife came up with this idea. She would make her dough. Let the kids make their own little pizzas, putting the toppings they like on them. You may want to help them with the crushed tomatoes. Then she would put them on the grill and put the lid on. It doesn't take long to cook them, so keep an eye on them. The secret is not to make them very big. Play with it a time or two to get the temperature right.

1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of pineapple cubes
cheddar and  mozzarella cheese
mushrooms
pepperoni
ham
bell pepper
onions

 I like to put a little salt and onion and garlic powder on the sauce.


Pizza dough recipe

3 1/2 cups of flour
1 T spoon and a little yeast
1/4 cup of sugar
1 t salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups warm water


Mix the yeast, sugar and 1 cup of water. Let the yeast start to react then add the dry ingredients and oil. mix it all together and let it raise.

Grandma H's goulash

I spent the summer at my grandma and grandpa's. My grandpa always had a big garden. Grandma's goulash was what we had every day for lunch. Grandma would go to the garden, and pick tomatoes, onions, okra zucchini, summer squash, green beans, carrots and jalapenos. Then she would take them in the house, and clean them. Next she put about a half pound of bacon in a pan and let it cook of a little while. Then she would cut up all the veggies and when the bacon was about half cooked she would drain the fat, and put the veggies in the pan. Let it cook for a few minutes and put the lid on the pan. Cook it until everything is tender. It makes kind of a thick stew. The jalapenos made it spicy so if you are making it for the faint of heart skip the peppers.

If you are wondering what to do with all your veggies this summer, give grandmas goulash a try!!

Fried green tomatoes

When I was a kid, my mom and dad made fried green tomatoes and I really didn't like them. Now fast forward many years and I like them a lot!! I saw a guy selling green tomatoes today. Cant wait to fry them up. We eat them buy them selves and in sandwiches.

First slice them like you would a normal slice of tomato. Next season them with salt and pepper. Dip them in flour and then in eggs. Finally dip them in bread crumbs. Have a pan with hot oil ready, and fry them until they are golden.

3-4 green tomatoes
1 cup of flour
3 eggs
2 cups of bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Give them a try!! They are really yummy!! 


 

Has anyone tried anything yet?

Let me know what you think!! I like things that are easy to make and taste good. Has anyone tried any of my recipes yet? I would like to know what you think!! Please make suggestions, or what you liked or didn't like!! I know most of this stuff has been around for ever. Please make suggestions if there is something you like that is different than mine. Thank you!!

Soy sauce chicken ***** Here is another one from Grandma Johnson*****

This is another one of my favorites. It is also really easy to make!!


Mix:

3-5 chicken breasts
1 Cup of soy sauce
4 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of water


Cut the chicken breast into smaller pieces, maybe 1/3's. Put the chicken into a casserole dish, and pour the soy sauce  mixture over it. Bake it at 375 for about 45 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake it for another 45 minutes.

Cook a pot of rice and enjoy!!



 

Sweet and sour sauce

This is really easy!!

2 T spoons of corn starch
1 1/4 cup of pineapple juice
2T spoons of white vinegar
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of ketchup
1 T spoon soy sauce


Combine the cornstarch and about 1/2 cup of pineapple juice. Stir it till all the starch is dissolved. Cook it over medium heat until it is slightly thickened and and darker red.

Eat it with egg rolls, wan tons, pork or chicken. It is really yummy!! Give it a try!

Drop biscuit pot pie

This was a dish my mom liked to make when we were kids.

Start out making the stew.

Cut up a large onion, 4-5 potatoes and 2-3 carrots. I like to put it in a pan with a just enough oil to keep the potatoes from sticking. fry it for a little while. then add enough water to fully cook the potatoes. Then add a pint jar of your home canned chicken. Season it with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and chicken bullion. Taste it, if it need something else just add it.

Next make the biscuits.

2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
2 T sugar
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t salt
1/2 c shortening, butter
1 cup of milk

In a bowl stir in all the dry stuff. Then cut in the butter or shortening till it is mixed evenly through the flour. Make a hole in the center and stir in the  milk until the dough starts to stick together. It should be a little gooey.

If you make the stew in a stainless steel pan or cast iron skillet that can go in the over. Spoon the biscuit dough out over the stew.  Bake in the oven at 400 till the biscuits are done.

Its easy to make and good to eat!!

20 or less minute chicken noodle soup

Who doesn't like chicken noodle soup on a cold day?

Start with hot water from the tap. It will boil faster. Boil a pot of water. Add egg noodles, I like the twisty kind. Cook until they start to soften. Add a can of your home canned chicken. Next add salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder and a chicken bullion cube. Let it cook for a minute or two and taste the broth. If it tastes the way you like it its done. If it needs more flavor toss in another bullion. It only takes a few minutes to make a meal people would think you spent hours making.

1 pack of egg noodles
1 can of home canned chicken   (or store bought)

Give it a try, its easy!!

20 minute chicken stew

I make this sometimes when I need food fast. The longest part of making this meal is waiting for the water to boil. Peal 3-4 potatoes. Dice them up real small and throw them in the boiling water. It will only take a few minutes for them to cook. When the potatoes are soft, add a jar of your chicken you canned your self. :) Next add a can of green beans, a can of carrots (if you want). I like to add a can if diced tomatoes. Then season it to taste. I like onion and garlic powder!! If it needs it you can add a chicken bullion.  Its that easy, and it tastes like you slaved in the kitchen for hours!


1 jar of home canned chicken  (or yucky store bought) :)
3-4 potatoes
1 can of green beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of carrots


Give it a try some time when you need food fast and your not sure what to make.

Chicken salad from your own canned chicken

I made some chicken salad for lunch out of some chicken I canned my self. I gave the how too on a different post on how to can your own chicken. Its really easy to be a home caner!! The good news is I canned it in May of 2009 and it tasted just as good today as it did then.

My wife makes the best chicken salad, but mine isn't bad. It isn't very hard to make chicken salad. First I opened a can of chicken, saving the broth for something else. Then I added about 4 scoops of mayo and about 1/2 a can of pineapple. I added salt, pepper, onion powder and celery seeds. My wife puts grapes, almonds and other good stuff. I used what I had and it tasted pretty darn good!! Especially on home made bread!!

Please look at the can your own chicken post. If you have a jar of chicken, you can make a meal fast.

Homemade gravy

Homemade gravy is something we ate a lot when I was a kid. We ate hamburger gravy once a week for dinner, and we loved it. We ate it with biscuits, mashed potatoes, cornbread, baked potatoes, rice and toast. My favorite breakfast food is biscuits and hamburger, sausage or bacon gravy and hash browns.Best of all gravy is cheap and easy to make.

Every time I see people buying canned or powdered gravy mix I ask my self, WHY?

All you have to do to make really good gravy, is cook what ever kind of meat you like. Drain most  of the grease. Mix about 1/2 cup of flour in the meat and let it brown a little. Then add milk and stir in all the flour. Let it boil until it thickens to the thickness you want and remove it from the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. If it still needs a little help you can add some beef bullion.



If you are cooking a Sunday roast or a turkey and have broth you want to thicken to make gravy. I like to thicken it with corn starch. Put a rounded table spoon or two depending how much gravy you want to make in a small dish of water and whisk it in real good. If it isn't mixed good enough it will be lumpy. whisk the mixture into the gravy and stir it until it thickens.

Before you buy another can of gravy or a package of gravy mix. Give the old fashioned way a try. You'll be glad you did!!

Homemade corndogs

The kids were hungry as usual, and I didn't have much to give them. So the specialty of the day at daddy's restaurant was corn dogs. I have never made them before, so I made cornbread batter. Then I cut the hotdogs in half. I had to make two packs because 3 kids only like cheapies and the rest of only like all beef. I dipped them in the cornbread batter and put it in a pan  of hot oil. I fried them until they were golden. The kids loved them. They finished the rest for dinner. I used the corn bread recipe listed a couple of entries ago.


It was really easy to make!! Give it a try!

Tamale pie

When I was a young boy tamale pie was my favorite food. I haven't had it for a long time, so guess what we ate for dinner last night? Yep, you guessed it tacos. Just kidding, we had tamale pie. My son loved it! he had thirds or fourths. The good thing about tamale pie is that it is good and real easy to make.

I fry a pound of hamburger. I put three cans of tomato sauce and a can of cream corn with the meat once it is cooked. I add salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder and a lot of red chile powder. The same chile powder that you would use in your chili. Then put your cornbread batter on top and cook it until the cornbread is fully cooked.


1 pound of hamburger
3 cans of tomato sauce
1 can of cream corn
season it to taste   *****Make sure you use chile powder*****

Cornbread batter   **** Use the cornbread recipe from the prior post it you don't have one of your own.****


You can use beans or even chicken, but I like it simple. The way my mom makes it.


 

Cornbread

Cornbread goes good with lots of things. Beans, stew, gravy and chili. I love to eat it with butter and honey. It goes great with jam too!! When I was a kid my dad ate it as cornbread and milk for breakfast. I still enjoy it like that. My wife makes the best cornbread and I use her receipt.


1 and 1/4 cup of cornmeal
1 cup of flour
1 table spoon of baking powder
1 tea spoon of salt
1/2 cup of sugar      ****we like it sweet****
1/2 cup of oil or butter
1 cup of milk
1 egg


Combine the dry ingredients first. Then add the wet stuff, and mix it all together. Put it in a greased pan and cook it at 375 until you can put a butter knife in it and nothing sticks.

Its really easy to make!! Give it a try!

Sunday roast you have to try!!

Make your Roast like you usually would. I like to put salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, a little oregano and just a little pepper flakes. I make little slices in the roast so the seasoning can penetrate through.  What I want you to try is wrap it in bacon. Fry it on all 4 sides just long enough to sear the sides. Use a pan you can put in the oven like cast iron, or stainless steel. Put a little water in the pan with the roast. The juices will make your gravy soooooo good. If you cant use the same pan, you can bake it or crock pot the gravy just wont be quite as yummy.

Its easy, just one more step, but I promise you will like the flavor the bacon gives the roast.

 

Chicken wings

I love chicken wings!! I don't make them often, but they are easy to make.

Use a turkey fryer or camp stove. The best thing to cook them in is a dutch oven, or at least a deep pan. Cook them out side because of all the hot oil popping. Get the oil really hot. Put a dozen in the pot and cook them until they are fully cooked. I like them a little crisp. Put Louisiana hot sauce or Sweet Baby Rays in a bowl put the wings in and shake and move around until they are all coated. Let them cool a little because they will be really HOT!

They are sooooo good!! And they are really easy to make! Let me know what you think.

Yummy brussel sprouts?

Is that possible, yummy brussel sprouts?

My wife makes them really yummy. Wash and cut them in half. Put them in a frying pan with a little oil. Let them cook for a little while stirring regularly. Add some almonds and raisins and about a table spoon of sugar. Put the lid on the pan with a little water so it can steam. Let it steam till the brussel sprouts are soft.

They really are good!!

Lime and chile shrimp bites ***appetizer***

My wife and I went on a date at a local Mexican food restaurant in AZ. We ordered the yummiest appetizers. Its making me hungry just thinking about it.

They used a big corn tortilla chip with guacamole and a piece of shrimp on it. We came home and made something that was just as good.

Start with the shrimp. Juice about a dozen limes and shake in some red chile powder. Marinate your shrimp in the mixture. You can add cilantro, but you don't need too. Put the shrimp on squires and cook them for a few minutes on the grill. It doesn't take very long to cook shrimp.

Next make your guacamole. Get 3-4 avocados a little sour cream and a little salsa, and salt and pepper.

Put the guacamole on your chip and a piece of shrimp on top. Lay them out on a plate and enjoy!!

Hummus

Hummus is another easy thing to make. We eat a lot of hummus at our house. Its good, and it makes you feel like you are at a restaurant, best of all it cheap!

Once again you need a food processor. Start with a good splash of olive oil. About half as much lemon juice, 2-3 cloves of garlic, salt and a couple of big spoons fum
ll of tahini. Takini is the secret to making hummus. You can find it in a lot of supper markets, but for sure at most Asian or Indian markets. Mix it until the garlic is all chopped up. Just add a can or two of garbanzo beans, or chick peas (they are the same thing). Grind it up again, it may need a little more olive oil and or lemon juice. You want it to grind up smooth.

Serve it with Pita bread, cucumbers, tomatoes or what ever you like. I like it on lunch meat sandwich's and lunch meat wraps


It's really easy, and good!! Make it for dinner today!

Garlic dip like Pita Jungle's

My wife and I heard about a new restaurant that was in Tempe close to ASU. She went with a couple of her school friends and liked it so much she and I went again a couple of days later. That was about 15 or 16 years ago. The food was awesome. It was mostly vegetarian, but they had one or two things on the menu with chicken. We loved the food it has so much flavor. We Always ordered garlic dip with a couple of extra pitas along with our meals. I tried lots of times to make it. they wouldn't give me the recipe. I finally figure it out.

 You are going to need a food processor. Start with a good shot of olive oil. next about half as much lemon juice. Then peal and add 5-6 cloves of garlic and maybe a tea spoon of salt. Mix it in the food processor until the garlic is all mixed up. Then add 2-3 cold boiled potatoes and process it again. Serve it with pitas, cucumbers and tomatoes. It is good with grilled chicken too!! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

It is really easy to make!!

Shrimp scampi and rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.

Here is another quickie.

Who doesn't like Shrimp? OK, OK I'm sure there are a few of you out there.

It couldn't be easier to make shrimp scampi. Like everything else the way I make it may not be the right way, but its the easy way and it still tastes great!!

Start with a pound of shrimp. Melt 2 cubes of butter in a pan. Put 2 spoons full of your Brazilian garlic salt in the butter and add your shrimp. It only takes a few minutes to cook shrimp. Have your rice or mashed potatoes ready and enjoy.

Its that easy!!