Cheesy French Bread Slices

This has been a cold, clear, beautiful day in South Georgia and a good time to have a hot bowl of vegetable soup and hot bread.  I had been reading recipes about pull apart cheese breads but didn't want to buy bread for I had just purchased a loaf of french bread.  Thinking about how I could modify the recipe, I tried this method and it is very good a and I hope you enjoy it too.

CHEESY FRENCH BREAD SLICES

• 12 slices (enough to fill a loaf pan) french bread
• 12 slices of cheddar cheese ( I sliced my own using a mandolin)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line loaf pan with aluminum foil with several long enough to cover loaf after taking it out of the oven.

Place the bread in the foil lining the loaf pan and place a cheese slice between the slices of bread.

Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese between the slices.

Generously brush the top of the loaf with melted butter and sprinkle with some of the mozzarella cheese. 

Bake in preheated oven until toasted on the top and cheese has melted - about 20 min.

Remove from pan using the foil to lift and serve immediately, while hot.

Ready for the oven

Hot and ready to serve

 Nice addition with a hot bowl of soup

Additions or substitutes - fresh Parmesan, sprinkle with parsley or Italian seasoning after brushing with butter.  

I hope you enjoy this bread as much as we did and let me know how you liked it.

The Georgia Peach

Chocolate Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

 

Good morning and come in for a muffin(s) and coffee or cold, sweet milk.  I was going to do my Pumpkin Applesauce Muffin but decided to add a few ingredients and it worked wonderfully well.  You will enjoy this easy and delicious recipe and if you try it, let me know what you think.

Chocolate Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins or Cupcakes

• 1 Spice Cake mix
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup chunky, homemade applesauce (I use my crock pot applesauce)
• 1 can pumpkin – not pumpkin pie
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 tsp. Black walnut flavoring

Makes 12 -14 cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with cupcake liners or spray with cooking spray

Mix cake mix and cocoa and add the other ingredients as listed. Stir until well mixed. You don't have to beat. Fill cupcake liners or muffin tin cups 2/3 full and bake until top springs back when lightly touched – about 20 – 25 min. This is a dense dough so you can fill your muffin tin cups to the top. Remove from muffin tins and let cool on rack.

Hope you will try this recipe and enjoy.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Grilling on the Stovetop Grill

Good evening and come on in on this hot 4th of July.  I hope you have had a good day and enjoyed your friends and family and remembered our military past and present.  Thanks to them we have the freedom to enjoy this day and thanks to our Lord that we live in this wonderful country.

We were going to grill outside today but with it being about 100 degrees we decided to grill inside.  I grilled all our supper except the meatballs shown below.  After watching a commercial about the 10 minute grill, or something like that, I thought I could use my little waffle maker to make some meatballs. 

As you can see, I don't have the meatball maker grills so I used the little donut baker.  This leaves indents in the center of the meatballs but that holds in the juices and I also thought about putting a dab of salsa in the center when I served them as snacks.  Using them with pasta and tomato sauces are another option and I sure plan to make some more.

I had made out some hamburgers and I made some little ones to put in the waffle maker and they are really good.  Freezing some to use later was my first idea but after my husband finished eating a number of them, I may just leave them for snacking.

For supper we had grilled chicken breasts, onions, green beans and peaches. I will give you the recipes and I hope you enjoy them also.

Grilled Chicken Breasts

4 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lemon - juice and zest
1 clove garlic - grated
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the marinade in large plastic bag , add the chicken breasts and toss in the marinade.  Put in refrigerator and turn the bag with the chicked several times and marinade for at least 2 hours. 

Spray or brush the griddle with olive oil and when hot but not too hot, place the chicken on the grill.  Cook until done and this will depend on the thickness of the breasts.  While they are grilling brush the tops with soy sauce, olive oil and additional lemon juice.  If they brown too quickly and are not done in the middle, remove from grill, wrap in foil and place in warm oven until done.

After the chicken breasts have cooked for a few minutes, place quartered onions on the grill and spray with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill on both sides.  Don't overcook them but about 5 - 8 minutes should be plenty. 

Grilled Green Beans

2 cups tender, young, green beans

olive oil

salt and pepper

Snap the ends off the green beans with the strings.  Wash and dry well with paper towels.  Place in shallow bowl, add enough olive oil to coat and salt and pepper.  Marinate for about 10 minutes.  Place on the grill and turn often to grill on all sides.  Grill for about 10 minutes or tender crisp.

These are addictive and very good.  Kind of like chips - you can't eat just one.

I grilled peaches for dessert and you just cut in half, remove the pit, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, a little lemon juice and place cut side down on the grill and flip once.

Completed supper - and it is delicious and easy.  I let the chicken breasts rest a few minutes on the cutting board and sliced on the bias and served in slices.  It was moist and tasty. 

Let me know if you like these and I will try some more ideas on the grill.

Ya'll come back to see me and Happy 4th of July.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Grilled Dinner

Good evening and come in for a cold drink on this hot, hot summer day. The gnats are also out in full force today and I can take the hot but the gnats are horrible. I have got to find my insect repellent and apply heavily.

Last week I cooked a great dinner on a griddle like the one below. I forgot to take pictures so you will just have to use your imagination. We had grilled salmon fillets, grilled corn on the cob, and grilled peaches for dessert. The salmon fillets were frozen and I thawed them out in cold, salty water which thaws and hydrates. Place them on paper towels and dry them, place them on a plate, rub with olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Generously spray the grill side of the griddle with  olive oil and when hot, place the salmon on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes on each side.

The salmon is ready when it is flaky when pierced with a fork.  The color will change but you don't want to cook it until it is tough. I flip mine with a spatula about 3 times to be sure there are grill marks on both sides.  Serve with additional lemon slices and cocktail sauce.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Remove the shucks and silks from the corn.
Wrap each cob in plastic wrap
Microwave about 2 minutes per cob

Remove the plastic wrap, rub with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and place on hot griddle which has been sprayed with olive oil.  Turn with tongs until there are grill marks on all sides.  These were delicious and we added a little more butter before eating. I cut off the kernels from the leftover cob and added it to my salsa recipe.

Grilled Peach Halves

Wash the peaches but do not peel.  Cut in half and remove the peach pit or seed.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar on the cut side, place cut side down on grill and cook for about 5 minutes.  They are ready to eat when they have grill marks, the sugar has partially caramalized and are heated throughout. You can eat with the peeling left on or peel it off.  It will slip off easily after they are grilled.

I wanted a grilled flat bread to eat with the meal and did not have any so I used sandwich thins.

Grilled Sandwich Thins

Divide the bread into the 2 halves
Spray generously with olive oil
Sprinkle with dried Italian seasoning which you have rubbed between your palms

Place cut side down on hot grill which has be sprayed with olive oil and grill until hot - flipping so grill marks will be on both sides.  These were very good.

I served this meal with fresh, field peas and a tossed salad.

This is the corn and black bean salsa I make to serve as a condiment or as a dip for taco chips.  We like the "dipper" style for it holds lots of salsa.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 large jar salsa- mild, medium, or hot
1 can black beans, drained and washed until the water is clear
1 can niblet corn - drained
1 clove garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice - about 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup finely chopped green tomato (optional but it is good)
Salt and pepper to taste and you can add chopped, fresh cilantro if you wish

Mix the salsa, black beans and corn.  Grate the garlic over the mixture, add the lemon juice and chopped green tomato and combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Store in glass jar or plastic container. 

A good snack is to place the dipper chips on a baking sheet, place about 1 Tablespoon of the salsa in each chip, sprinkle with grated cheese of choice and place under the broiler for a few minutes - until cheese is melted. 

Try these and let me know what you think for we surely enjoyed them and did not have to stand outside in the hot weather to grill.  These griddle/grill combos are great.  Also, I put my olive oil in a spray bottle and it is so easy to spray pans, baking sheets or food with an even coat. 

One other recipe I tried today is really good. I found it on Pinterest at this site and we enjoyed it.  It is ice cream with 1 ingredient - bananas and you can add unsweetened cocoa and or peanut butter.  I used the chocolate.  This is the link to the recipe and it is scrumptious.
http://userealbutter.com/2010/08/12/single-ingredient-ice-cream-recipe/

Come back to see me and happy cooking and good eating.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Rustic Peach Tart

Good evening and come in for a delicious piece of peach tart.  Peach season in South Georgia is my favorite time of the year for peaches are my favorite fruit.  They are so versatile in that you can eat them raw - I don't even peel them sometimes, you can use them in jams, jellies, pies, breads, and tarts just to name a few.  Mama used to make pickled peaches and can many jars. 

We mostly eat them with cereal, in smoothies or peeled and sliced to eat as a dessert with whipped topping or ice cream.  I plan to make a peach pound cake next week and will be sure and share it with you. 

Today I made a Rustic Peach Tart which I will share with you.  I have a recipe for a Rustic Pear Tart at this link so I decided today to try a peach tart.  I enjoy making the rustic tarts for they can look "rustic" and that is OK for sometimes I just can't seem to make a neat pie crust. 

After searching on the 'Net for a recipe for me to adapt to our tastes I found this one http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/rustic-peach-tart-10000001213028/index.html which sounded delicious but we don't care for the taste of ginger and I like to use some lemon juice and butter with peaches.  After some changes to this recipe this is my version.
Rustic Peach Tart
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I use the nutmeg nut and grate generously over the peaches)
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 8 peaches peeled and sliced
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 refrigerated pie crust (such as Pillsbury) or homemade
  

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425° F. Rinse the peaches and pat dry. peel them. cut each one in half, discarding the pits. Slice the fruit into wedges about 1/2 inch thick. In a large bowl, combine the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Add the peaches and toss.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Arrange the peaches in the center of the dough. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the peaches, and dot with butter. Fold the outer edge of the dough over the peaches, allowing it to fall into pleats, leaving the center of the tart uncovered.
3. Lightly brush the dough with water and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 350° F and bake until the juices bubble and thicken, about 30 minutes more. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing
   

*Source of original recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/rustic-peach-tart-10000001213028/index.html

Before Baking

I hope you will try it and let me know what you think.  Find a farmer's market close to you or a farm which sells fresh fruit and vegetables for it is so much better than the supermarket.  Having it picked ripe rather than green to ship  makes a great difference in the taste. 

Come back and enjoy.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Chocolate Milk Mix and other trivia

Strawberry Time in Georgia - by frances robson

Good evening and come on in for a visit.  As you can tell from the pictures strawberries are ready in Georgia and we have several farms in the area where we can buy them picked or pick them yourself.  At our age, letting them pick them is the way we go for after all there are some perks to getting older.

We have one farm about 25 minutes from us which has now added a new market store which is beautiful.  The new store and website can be found at http://www.rutlandfarms.com/index.html.  I like to buy my berries there for they pack them so beautifully and you surely get your money's worth.  

These 2 pictures show all the berries we got and I found 1 bad strawberry!  I froze some, sliced and frozen in muffin tin cups for our smoothies, some in bags for the freezer and I have a half gallon jar in the fridge with fresh ones to eat as snacks.  If you leave the stems on and don't wash, you can keep them in a glass jar with a tight lid for several days.  As you can tell we like strawberries and those picked fresh from the farm are so much sweeter than those you buy in the supermarkets. 

This farm also has blackberries, blueberries, peaches, pecans and vegetables plus honey from their own hives.  This year they have added pecan oil and I sure plan to get some to use in salad dressings and stir fry.  I have not used pecan oil but it sounds interesting and I will let you know how it tastes. 

On another subject, we drink smoothies most every morning and like chocolate in it.  I have been using a bought chocolate milk mix but is was getting quite expensive so I began to look for a recipe to make my own and remembered mama's chocolate milk and found one like hers.  I make ours with Splenda so it has no sugar but you can use sugar if you like.  This is the recipe and you can use it in cold chocolate milk or in smoothies.  Enjoy!!

CHOCOLATE MILK MIX

1 c. cocoa
1 c. sugar or Splenda
1/2 tsp. salt
Combine ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Put mix in jar and store for handy use. I put the ingredients in a plastic bag and shake well and store in the plastic bag or put in glass jar.
Use 2-3 tablespoons of mix with 8 ounces of cold milk for a delicious chocolate milk. To mix the chocolate into the milk put just a little milk into blender, add chocolate mixture, pulse a couple of times to combine then add the remainder of the milk. Another method is to put the chocolate in a glass, add a little milk, mix into a roux mixture and add the remainder of the milk and the little whisk that comes with hot chocolate mix does a great job of mixing. If you like, put into a jar with a tight fitting top and shake well. If you like it more “chocolately” add additional mix. This is really good and you know what ingredients are in it and costs much less than the bought mix.

I hope you will support your local farmers and find a farm with fresh fruit and vegetables and eat healthier and cheaper.  I love my farmers!!

Ya'll be careful going home and come back to see me.

Nuff said,
The Georgia Peach

Yogurt Whipped Topping Sandwich

First Daylily of 2012

Good evening and come on in for a visit.  I was so glad to see my first daylily last week for this means Spring is here and I am looking forward to watching my others bloom.  It is a blessing to have a good friend who loves or is obsessed with daylilies and shares with me.  This means we have lots of colors and types and I will share them with you as they bloom. 

Spring is springing all over everywhere down here in South Georgia and I am feeling the need to dig in the dirt and plant something.  Easter has now come and gone so according to our daddy we can now plant tomatoes, peppers, and other warm weather vegetables.  The raised beds are ready and I hope to begin setting out plants next week or at least the tomatoes for I love them. 

The recipe I wanted to share today is for an easy "ice cream sandwich" which is delicious, low calory and low fat.  It is based on a recipe that Weight Watchers has and I modified it a bit - as usual for me.  Children also like them and it is healthy and they can help make them. Here is the recipe and let me know what you think.





Yogurt Whipped Topping Sandwich

Low Fat yogurt – strawberry, blueberry, or flavor of choice

Fat Free whipped topping

Graham crackers – chocolate or plain

Combine equal parts yogurt and whipped topping until mixed but not beaten. Folding in with large spoon works well. Break graham cracker into the 2 halves, put about a tablespoon of mixture on one cracker, place the other half on top BUT DON'T PRESS DOWN. Gently wrap the sandwich in plastic wrap and freeze. Great “ice cream” sandwich that is low fat, low sugar and delicious. If you have some fresh fruit, chop and mix a little into the yogurt and topping mix before making the sandwiches.

I freeze this same yogurt/topping mixture and use it for a snack or dessert. For dessert, place a couple of scoops in a bowl and top with fresh fruit and sprinkle with cookie crumbs.

You can use a variety of flavors and types of yogurt and topping to make a good snack.

You can add fruit, sprinkles or whatever you would like before you put the top on and if is use strawberry or peach yogurt I add finely chopped, fresh fruit to the mixture.  Let me know what you think and enjoy.

Come back to see me and stay cool.

Nuff said,
The Georgia Peach

Pancake Muffins or Puffins

 Puffins or Pancake Muffins

Good evening and come in for a visit and try a new recipe.  I found this one on Pinterest, which is addictive, and tried this morning for breakfast.  The ones I made today were made with strawberry syrup, milk and sandwich ham which I chopped and browned before adding to the top of the muffin.

We ate them with peaches and strawberries which I had frozen, thawed and microwaved for about 5 minutes with sugar and cinnamon to taste.  They are quick, easy and I have all kinds of flavors and ingredients running around in my mind which I plan to try.

These will be a quick breakfast or snack and great for breakfast on the go or to pack in a lunch box.  I am going to try freezing some and then warming them in the microwave and if they are good I will post it. 

This recipe was originally a Bakerella recipe which has been adapted and changed by many people but the link is for the original idea.

Some the combinations I want to try are blueberry syrup with fresh or frozen blueberries on top, toasted pecan syrup with cooked bacon or sausage, maple syrup with bacon, cane syrup with fresh peaches, and on and on I could go.  I also thought about baking them in the mini muffin or muffin top tins and doubling the recipe for holiday breakfasts or brunches. 

You can Google pancake muffins and access many different recipes and some use pancake mix and some use pancake from scratch

Pancake Muffins or Puffins

Preheat oven to 350
Grease or spray 6 cup muffin tin

1 c pancake mix – I use the whole grain mix or whole wheat but use your favorite mix
2/3 c milk or fruit juice of choice
1/2 c syrup – cane syrup, maple syrup, strawberry, blueberry, or the flavor of your choice

Mix together, pour in greased muffin pan. Top with banana, blueberries, chocolate chips, pecans, sausage, bacon....etc.
Bake for 12-14 minutes and serve.

Be sure and try these and ya'll come back to see me.

Nuff said,
The Georgia Peach

Jekyll Island, GA by frances robson

Good evening and come on in for a visit and a new recipe.  I wanted to make something sweet today and the only mix I had was a German Chocolate so that was going to be the main ingredient.  I checked on Pinterest for recipes using this mix and found one called Apple German Chocolate Cake ,

It sounded so good but the only can of pie filling I had was cherry and when you live out in the country, you don't jump in the car and go to town for a can of pie filling so cherry it would be.  I didn't have walnuts either but I always have pecans for this is the South and pecans are necessary for our cooking.  This sounded like a good combination so I tried it and it is delicious.  It makes a moist, light cake and the cherry pie mix and pecans are really good so try it and let me know.



Cherry German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) German chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or regular chocolate chips chopped

Directions

Place pie filling in a blender; cover and process until the cherries are in chunks. Pour into a large bowl; add cake mix and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips.
Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Yield: 12-15 servings.

This is a quick and easy dessert that you will enjoy so try it and let me know what you think.  I am going to try the apple pie mix with a spice cake mix next time and I think that will be good also and will be sure and post it for you.

Ya'll be careful going home and come back to see me.

Nuff said,
The Georgia Peach

Smoothies

 First Sign of Spring - Wild Forsythia by frances robson

Come in on a hot, March afternoon for a cold coke and some freshly baked cookies.  They are really good and I post the recipe one day next week.  Today I wanted to share an easy way to make a good smoothie.  We drink these most every morning for breakfast and I have developed several good recipes but the one I am going to share today is our favorite.

I use frozen fruit in it from the fruit I freeze in the summer - peaches, strawberries and blueberries.  We grow our own blueberries but we buy the peaches and strawberries, fresh, from farms nearby.  I keep the fruit frozen until I use it and the other day I read an idea to cut the time in using it for smoothies. 

They were using fresh fruit, which I will use this summer, but you can also use the frozen fruit.  I took a quart of frozen peaches and a quart of frozen strawberries, partially thawed them, mixed them together and filled muffin tin cups with the fruit.

Cover with plastic wrap and freeze.



Remove from freezer and turn the tin over and run cold water over the bottom to loosen the fruit.  Keep it turned over and tap it lightly over a clean cutting board or other clean surface.  Next time I am going to line the cups with plastic wrap and lift them out and wrap in the plastic.

 This the frozen cups of fruit ready to put in a plastic bag

Place them in a sandwich size zip lock bag, write the name of the fruit and the date on the bag with a permanent marker and put in freezer. 

If I freeze them in plastic wrap and seal them in the wrap, I will put several in a larger zip lock bag.

When you are ready to make your smoothie, pour your milk in the blender and then add the fruit with the remainder of your ingredients and give it a whirl.

This is the recipe for our favorite smoothie but you can make whatever is your favorite.

I don't really measure when I am making them so this is approximately what I use.

2 cups low fat or skimmed milk

1 cup frozen or fresh fruit - peaches, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, or a mixture of any fruit which you like

3 tablespoons Nestle Nesquick

2 cartons yogurt with fruit

I just fill the blender with whatever fruit, juices, yogurt and milk that I have.

Blend and serve

Optional: fruit juices - we like mango or orange juice

You can put whatever you like and if you are lactose intolerant you can use soy or almond milk or juices. 

Having the fruit already divided and frozen makes it quick and easy for you and your children if they like to help.

I am going to put a couple of these in the blender and chop and blend to make a slushy for lunch and I will let you know how it tastes.

Hope you will try these for it will surely cut your time and make it easier.  These would also be good to use in punch or lemonade - thinking of all kinds of ways to use these. 

Ya'll come back.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach



Easy Biscuits and Sausage Patties

 7-Up Biscuits

Good afternoon from down in South Georgia on a beautiful, spring day.  We have ridden around the farms around us on the EZ Go and saw lots of fresh green grass, wild forsythia climbing the trees and trees budding out everywhere we looked.  Lovely way to spend a little time and know that God is showing us His created beauty and that new life comes from life that looked dead but was only sleeping.  Spring always brings me hope.

I wanted to share a really, easy biscuit recipe I found on Pinterest - which I am now addicted to - that anyone can make and bake.  They rise beautifully and are delicious and are good to split and toast the next day with a little butter spread on them. 

These will be nice and delicious for sausage and biscuits so I am going to share with you my way of having cooked sausage patties ready to eat anytime.  Split one of the biscuits and add a sausage patty with a little jelly and you will "slap yo mama" for another one.

The biscuit recipe can be found at this website: http://www.plainchicken.com/2010/04/7up-biscuits.html which has many good recipes you will enjoy.  I did not have 7 Up but had Sprite which I used and it worked just as well for you don't really taste it but it adds a little bit of sweetness and makes a light, fluffy biscuit. This recipe only has 3 ingredients so are also inexpensive and you will love them.

A couple of tips to remember when making biscuits is not to stir too much or beat the dough.  I mix mine with my fingers and gently knead to combine the ingredients.  When all the ingredients are incorporated it will be a little crumbly but put your dough on a lightly floured surface and gently knead until mixed.  Pat them out with your hand into a circle and cut with biscuit cutter and don't twist your cutter but flour, press down and pick up.  This will help them rise higher and be flaky.

You just have to try these and even a novice biscuit baker will have a wonderful, hot, and delicious biscuit.  Let me know what you think.

Because these will be so good with a sausage patty tucked inside, I want to share with you how I have found is an easy way to always have them in the freezer and ready to heat and eat.

We like to buy our sausage from a local butcher who makes his own sausage or buy deer sausage from another butcher.  It is usually in 1, 2 or 3 pound packages so as you can see, I use my ice cream scoop to make the sausage into large balls.

Take a small bowl, place on top of the sausage ball and press gently to flatten.  Twist the bowl slightly and lift.

Preaheat oven to 375 degrees, line a baking pan with foil, and I place a cookie cooling rack on the top of the pan and place the patties on this.  All the grease drips into the pan and they will cook evenly and shrink less.  When they are done, you can turn on the broiler and let them brown if you like.

As you can see they brown evenly and pat them with a paper towel and place them on a paper towel to remove most of the fat.

Eat them while they are hot or put some of them in a plastic bag, seal, and freeze.  Reheat wrapped in foil in a 350 degree oven or microwave for about a minute.  They are also good to reheat, place on split biscuit and cover with pepper gravy. 

I buy packages of sausage when they are on sale and cook and freeze for later to save money and for a quick and easy meal.  If you can find a local butcher who makes sausage, you can usually get better sausage and seasoned as you like. 

I hope you enjoy these 2 ideas for we surely do.  Write me a comment and let me know what you think and thanks to Plain Chicken blog for the great recipe.

Ya'll come back to see me and have a great weekend.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Snacking and Crafting

Rainy Day in Georgia by frances robson

Good rainy day in Georgia.  We are having a "frog strangler", raining cats and dogs", "It's A Rainy Day in Georgia",  "Singing In The Rain", and any other rain sayings or songs which you know.  It has rained most of the day and both ponds are full and running over and I have a new river running through our front yard.  There have been several tornadoes in the area, flooding, and lots of wind damage but thank goodness we have been safe.  The water deficit is gone , I hope.  There is more on the way and prayerfully there will not be any more damage in the area.

I have a recipe to share with you for a quick and good snack that you or your children can prepare and if you have teens, they can do it by themselves. It is based on a recipe I found on Pinterest using sandwich thins which we always have and after making a batch, I changed the recipe some and I liked it better so try and enjoy.  It will not be written like a recipe usually is written for the ingredients will depend on how many you are making and what you have in the pantry and refrigerator.

Sandwich Thin Pizza

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Take the sandwich thin and divide into the 2 halves.
Place the halves on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with olive oil
Bake in the preheated oven about 3 -5 minutes to crisp the bread but not browned.
Spoon 1 Tablespoon of marinara sauce, pasta sauce or pizza sauce from a can or bottle.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, a little salt and pepper.
Optional: Pepperoni slices, Canadian Bacon, chopped ham, or any other toppings you like. 
Sprinkle generously with grated cheeses - cheddar, Parmesan, mozzarella, or your favorites.  Use at least 2 for a better pizza
Place in oven for about 5 minutes or cheeses are beginning to melt.
Turn on the broiler and finish melting the cheeses and crisping the bread.
Serve whole or cut into halves or quarters. 
These are really very good and you can use whatever ingredients you like or have in the pantry. 

Painted Bobby Pins for Bow or Flowers

I have been making bows and flowers for our granddaughter, Miss Josie, for she has to have one or the other in her hair each day.  The bigger the better pleases her and I am making her some new ones and we like to use the bobby pins rather than the clips.  The brown or black ones are OK but I wanted something a little more glitzy and this is what I did to the pins.

I found nail polish in several colors, including gold and silver glitter at the drugstore on sale for $1.00 to $2.00.  There are many colors of nail polish available including reds, pinks, oranges, black, silver, gold and many others and will stick to metal, plastic and most any other surface.

Paint pens are another good choice for these pins for it will paint metal, glass and plastic and being in a pen, minimizes the mess and no brushes to clean. 

I removed the bobby pins from the card and inserted over a piece of thin cardboard which I cut from a cereal box.  Place this over another piece of cardboard so you can paint the ends of the pins and begin painting. 

The paint pen covered the metal better but I also liked the nail polish for most of the pin will be covered by the bow or flower.  I have a gold glittered one in my hair now without a bow or flower and it looks very pretty so you can use them alone.  The bobby pins were bought at the Dollar Tree, the nail polish was on sale and the paint pens were not that expensive and they last a long time. 

The red and white ones were done with the paint pens and the others with nail polish.  After one side dries, flip and paint the other side and I put a final coat of clear polish on all of them.  Think they turned out pretty well and I am looking forward to adding the bows and flowers for our "little princess."

If you try this, let me know what you think and send some pics.

Ya'll stay dry and come back to see me.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Tangy Hot Chicken Salad

Tangy Hot Chicken Salad

Good evening and come on in for a visit and a cold drink for it is almost 70 degrees on a February night.  We have rain coming and thank goodness for we need every drop but I hope we don't get the wind and hail like we did last weekend.  We had 3 leaks in our great room where the rain blew in around a vent and the roofer could not find the hole where it was coming in.  We finally decided it was the strong wind blew it under the vent flashing and now we will have to paint our ceiling but it needed anyway so this will just speed up the process.

Have you ever tried to buy a winter coat in February?  Don't try for they are not there and I looked in 5 stores in Valdosta and could not find a wool, dress coat.  You see I lost my winter coat!!  Don't ask me where or how for if I knew it wouldn't be lost, would it?  I looked everywhere I had been or remembered where I had been and I could not find it.  It just disappeared.

It was not a disaster for I had grown dissatisfied with it but since it was still presentable in public, I wouldn't get a new one.  Now was my opportunity to get what I wanted - a gray, walking length, fitted, wool coat.  It seems according to the fashion experts that a slightly fitted waist makes you look slimmer and I need all the help I can get other than liposuction and a tummy tuck.  The fitted waist coat will be a whole lot less painful and tremendously less expensive so the search began.

After the 5th store and not finding any dress coats at all I just gave up and decided to try the Internet.  That was not very successful either until I remembered there was a company that had "coat" in its name and I thought that sure they would have what I wanted and sure enough I found one, ordered it, it came today and IT'S TOO LITTLE - awwwwww. 

Now I have to go through the process of returning it and that is always a hassle plus I have to pay the postage.  Have you mailed a package lately?  It is outrageous and I have to mail it back, order another size and when they get the coat back they will remove the charge from my credit card.  What a hassle but I am determined to get that coat for it is supposed to make me look slimmer, chic and beautiful - good luck, right?  This is a little difficult to achieve with a dumpy, short, older, white haired lady who wants to look slim, tall and younger.  I want to try though and I WANT THAT COAT so I will jump through the hoops and play the Internet return game and hopefully the next coat will fit.  When it gets here, I will post a picture of how lovely I look in it - time to laugh now.

I cooked a casserole yesterday that I haven't cooked in a long time.  While shopping in Sam's the other day I sampled some chicken salad which gave me a craving for some but I wanted something hot.  I remembered  that I used to make hot chicken salad so I dug out my recipe but wasn't quite satisfied with it so I found another one, took what I liked from both and added my twist and it is really good.

It called for slivered almonds and I wanted the crunch so I toasted them and added chopped carrots for an additional vegetable and increased the finely diced onion to 1/2 cup.  To lower the fat and calories, I used 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup mayonnaise which also added a little tang which I like.  The addition of the freshly grated Parmesan gives it a little tang also and a twist to the flavor.  The carrots, toasted almonds and celery added a little crunch and texture and since I didn't have any pototato chips I used Cheese Nips for my crumb topping.  I know this tastes better than the chips for there is an additional layer of flavor.  Try it and let me know what you think.

Tangy Hot Chicken Salad

Ingredients :
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 cup diced celery
1/c cup diced carrots
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 cup cooked chicken meat, cubed (can use 2 cans of canned chicken)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese divided into ½ cup portions
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup crushed Cheese Nips
Paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, celery, onion, carrots, toasted almonds, salt, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream and1/2 cheese. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the crushed Cheese Nips and ½ cup cheddar cheese and Parmesan Cheese on top. Sprinkle with paprika . Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

It was good, cold the next day as a sandwich with a toasted bun.  I am going to try freezing some to see if any of the ingredients break down but I don't think it will.  You can also prepare it the day before leaving off the crumbs and cheese on the top and bake it the next day after adding these.  Enjoy.

I will let you know how the saga of the coat ends and hopefully it will be with me having a gray, walking, nipped in waist coat before next winter.  Not getting my hopes up.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Slow Cooker Apple Cake

New Growth from the Old

Good evening and come on in.  It has been a beautiful day here in South Georgia and we have enjoyed it immensely.  We are enjoying the mild winter here and I don't miss the cold a bit and hope it stays warm for I do dislike the cold weather. 

Today I covered a footstool and the seat of a small wooden chair to update them a little.  The stool was made by my grandfather and the little chair came from a restaurant owned by Roy's grandfather.  It has to be over 100 years old and the footstool is getting close to that.  As I was tacking the fabric on the chair I realized I was using a little upholstery hammer which had once been Roy's grandfather's.  Lots of memories in this little chair and footstool.  I will take pictures and show you what I did later.

I tried a crock pot cake recipe for the first time last week and it is delicious.  It is like the dump cake I have been making for years but so easy to do in the crock pot or slow cooker.  I never know which one to call it for I see both terms used but I like crock pot or as Roy says "crack pot." 

Of course I had to play with the recipe a little bit for I didn't have some of the ingredients and I think mine is very good and Roy said worth posting for you to enjoy too.  Let me know what you think.

Slow Cooker Apple Cake

Cooking Time: 3-5 hours
Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 3½-4-quart
Ingredients:
6 cups fresh apples, peeled and sliced
½ cup apple juice
½ cup dried cranberries
18¼ -oz. pkg. Carrot cake mix – or spice cake mix
1 stick (½ cup butter), melted
1 cup pecans, chopped
1. Spray interior of slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Spoon apples and apple juice into slow cooker, and sprinkle cranberries over the apples. Spread evenly over the bottom.
3. Sprinkle with dry spice cake mix.
4. Pour melted butter over dry mix. Top with chopped pecans.
5. Cook on Low 3-5 hours, or until a toothpick inserted into topping comes out dry.
6. Serve warm from cooker with whipped topping, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Refrigerate what is not eaten. Warm and serve – even good cold.

Ya'll have a good weekend and enjoy the cake - delicious and easy.

Nuff said,
The Georgia Peach

Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Red Bird and Dove pictures I took in my back yard this morning.

Good morning and come on in for a hot cup of coffee and a little conversation.  The pictures above were taken this morning from my sunroom and I cut off flash and took them through the glass.  They came out pretty well I thought.  The redbird was sitting in a rose bush by the window but the dove was out in the yard with 5 others.  These were taken with my close up lens and then cropped.  If I had opened the door, they would have flown away so I use this method quite often and like the results.  I am using a Nikon D40 and it is easy to use and makes good pictures.

I have a new Christmas decoration peeve!!  I am so tired of seeing the inflatable Santa Clause cemeteries in front yards.  The icicle lights which hang from the eaves year round are bad enough but now many of their yards are littered with "dead" Santas, reindeer, sleighs and other holiday "blow up" decorations.  It is bad enough when they are inflated but deflated and lying the yards is just plain tacky. It looks like someone with a rifle came through and had target practice - I have been tempted.

This is right up there with flamingos, toilets full of plastic flowers and beds of silk flowers surrounding the house.  I just can't understand why they would leave these kinds of tasteless objects in their yards and seem to enjoy living with them.  Whatever happened to the beautiful white lights, wreaths with red bows, gold accents and a spotlight or two to highlight the front of the house?  If you are one of the guilty, please bury your "dead" decorations. My good Southern Mama would have a real hissy fit over the lack of "good taste" as she would say.  Enough about that and on we go.

I am sharing another quick and easy breakfast idea that I baked last week and they are very good.  I am calling them Pecan Cinnamon Rolls but I also stuck a few raisins among the pecans (pe-cahns not pee-cans).  This another of my pet peeves for those of us from Alabama and Mississippi usually say pe-cahns and the pee-cans go under the bed for emergencies.

Enjoy this quick easy breakfast and I served them with a fresh orange and grapefruit fruit bowl.  We are enjoying picking our own citrus for they taste so good.

Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

1 can cinnamon rolls (I used Pillsbury Grands)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup raisins

melted butter

Pre-heat oven according to instructions on the can

Spray a round cake pan with non stick spray

Open the can of rolls and unroll them and loosely re-roll them.  Tuck the chopped pecans and raisins in the rolls and sprinkle some of the pecans on the tops.

Brush with melted butter and place in oven and bake until slightly browned on top.  Remove from oven and spread with the provided frosting. 

They are quite good and an easy way to make something good delicious.

Let me know if you try these and how you liked them.

Ya'll have a good day and come back to see us and I most always have a pot of coffee ready to share.

Nuff said about my pet peeves,

The Georgia Peach