Down Home Kitchen

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?

There aren’t many veggies, coming out of my garden, lately.  The heat is killing everything, and making the plants that are trying to produce, grow stunted veggies.  The okra, is small and the blackeyed peas, dry on the vines, before they even make…….the summer yellow squash, are drooping so bad from the heat and can’t produce, a thing.  I have to go to the store for some of the veggies, we need………but, eating out is easier, because the heat makes it too hard to cook inside.  the air conditioning, is really running up the electric bill.

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

Celery    1 Stalk
Peas
Grated carrots   (4)
Black olives     1 small can
Shredded lettuce
Mayonnaise or salad dressing
Large elbow macaroni   ½ bag
Chicken breast     2-3 boiled and cooled off (shredded)

Directions:
Mix shredded chicken and macaroni, salt and pepper to taste
Mix in veggies, in mayo…. Be sure to add enough to be very moist

Note: This is the best macaroni salad I have ever tasted.

2lbs Carrots
1/2 cup Water
2 Tblsp Butter/Margerine
2 Tblsp Honey
1 Tsp Minced Ginger (optional)
1/2 cup Orange Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

1: Cut carrots diagonally in 1″ thick slices

2: Place water, butter/margerine, honey, ginger (optional) in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil.

3: Add the carrots, cover and simmer for 5 minutes

4: Remove lid and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes until all water has evaporated.

5: Add orange zest and orage juice to pan tossing with carrots and simmer for another 5 minutes until carrots are all tender (But still resistent when bitten).

**Add Salt and Pepper to taste**
Note: Allowing the sauce to stand for a minute or two after cooking will allow the sauce to thicken a bit.