Down Home Kitchen

This is good to serve on a cold day, with crusty bread………..
2 T olive oil

1/2 c. finley diced onion

1/2 c. finely diced turnip

1/2 c. finely diced carrot

2 t. mince garlic

4 c. veg. or chicken stock or canned broth

1.4 c. tomato paste

3 c roasted plum tomatoes with cooking juices

1/4 c. chop fresh basil leaves

1/4 c. chop fresh parsley

Heat oil in lg. saucepan over med. heat, saute onion, turnip,carrot & garlic till soft.  Stir in stock/broth, tomato paste and tomatoes with jusices, cover bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer 30 min.  Stir in basil and parsley, serve in soup bowls.

To Roast Tomatoes:

Pre-heat oven to 325*F.  Cut 24 lg. ripe plum tomatoes in half, crosswise.  Place on lg. roasting pan, drizzle with 2 T. olive oil, sprinkle 1 T. chop basil & 1 T. oregano.  Roast for 45 min., let cool remove skins and cores, & coarsely chop flesh.

Well, as you can tell ………there was plenty of food…..  ….front and center was my dressing……..right next to it on the right sliced turkey and then just to the right of the turkey, Mom’s sliced ham……..above the dressing…….is green onions…..the creamed potatoes and to the right of them is the sweet potatoes, topped with melted, marshmallows……….over on the left is some dishes that my sister left covered that she brought, they kept getting cold for some reason………..Above the potatoes were her deviled eggs and banana pudding, which you can’t see, because they are covered…….too………. she was supposed to bring a fruit salad, which she forgot……..

Oh I kept my giblet gravy on the stove……..since there wasn’t enough room for it on the table and was able to re-heat it ever so often and keep it warm…… 

Hope all of you had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving…….

4 to 6 potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 stick butter
3/4 c. milk or half & half
salt & pepper to taste
In lg. pot place potatoes, with water to cover, bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer till potatoes are tender. Drain, place in lg. bowl, add butter, salt & pepper, mash together. Add milk and cream together. Serve hot.

For extra flavor you can add 1 sm. tub sour cream & chives.

3 to 4 Ham Hocks

2 to 3 bunches Collard greens

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 sm. onion sliced

Rinse greens and strip leaves from large stems. Place in lg. pot with seasonings, onions and hocks. Put enough water to cover and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, checking on water ever so often. Serve with meal.

Most people you talk to, can’t stand the sight of liver & onions, much less the smell. Once they take a taste, for some it’s even worse.
Then you have the die-hard liver & onions…….lovers, who will pick it every time it’s on a menu at a restaurant.  I am one of them and it’s quite a highlight of my day to find it offered. I also cook it very often, when I can catch a good looking grade of beef/calves’s liver at a store.  I love to baste my liver in flour, and brown in in oil, along with sliced up onions.  I fix the brown gravy the easy way, by using the package mix adding water and heating until it thickens.

I usually serve the liver & onions, with an assortment of veggies, and if I in a cooking mood, hot rolls or biscuits.  Nothing gets better than that on a cool evening………

I’ve started thinking about my grocery list for Thanksgiving.  How about you all?  I already have the turkey and just need to get the rest of the fixings.  Guess I’ll make my homemade pecan pies again this year, my spouse said he wants one.  I was seriously thinking of being lazy this year, but it looks like I’ve started something that I can’t change, unless some one else can do it better………either way, I’ve got to do the cooking again and will be plenty exhausted when it’s over.

Have you ever had a disaster happen to your cooking on a holiday?  If so, tell me about it and I will be glad to print it, with your link.

1 med. chuck roast

2 ribs celery cut up

3 carrots cut up

1/2 green bell pepper cut up

1 med. onion cut up
3 med. potatoes cut in quarters

1 c. water

salt, pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder for seasoning

Place all ingredients in slow cooker except potatoes.  Set temp. on high and cook for three hours.  Put in potatoes and cook another hour.  Remover to serving dish, reserve stock for making gravy.

I put some pork country ribs on the grill yesterday evening, and let them smoke for a while.  It sure smelled great, when I would go in and out to turn the meat.  I threw a few pieces of onion on the grill with them to flavor the meat.

I’ve been trying to cut back on  eating fried foods and putting seasonings on my meat that’s going to just add calories.  So I put some garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, parsley & basil in a shaker to season with.  The smell was outstanding and so was the taste.  I had a few ribs, with a sliced tomato, drizzled with salad dressing……..and that was the extent of my meal.  NO bread or anything fattening, like I normally do………Now, if I can just get me to walking and exercising, to get rid of this unwanted FAT!

These salads as quick and easy to assemble, on a hot day, cutting time in the kitchen.  Entree Salads are a good choice for warm evenings and make a good meal.  This is a great way to use left over meat and is very filling. 
I like to use tuna or salmon, with these salads, when I want something cool and not heavy.  Your choice of salad dressing can compliment and enhance the flavors.

Since the growing season is over here in Texas, about all that’s left of the veggies is okra……..the okra only grows well when there’s plenty of rain and get fertilized.   Lately we have had several rains, and I’ve been getting some pods of okra.  The growth is sparse, so I gather what pads are mature and save them, until I can get some extra one’s later.  It takes about 2 to 3 weeks to get enough to make fried okra or okra gumbo.  Me and my spouse, like both dishes, so I enjoy making them.  Which do you like best…okra gumbo…or fried okra?