November 8, 2010

Good Morning !

I hope that all of you are having as beautiful weather like we are here in East Texas.  It is gorgeous outside !  Cool in the mornings then warms up in the afternoon.  I'm loving this weather.  I know it won't last forever then it will start turning really cold, so I'm enjoying it while I can.  Fred has been taking advantage of the beautiful weather too. He is working on our Fall Veggie Garden. I can't wait until we start getting some of the yummy Cabbage and Broccoli. We love Cabbage, just about any way you can fix it.  Cabbage Rolls are some of our favorite ways to cook it.  There are so many variations of Cabbage Rolls, I think that everyone can find their favorite recipe for them. 

Before I really get started with this blog today, I wanted to let you all know I have a concern about my blog.  This particular blog has a feature called "Stats", that allows you to see basically how many people visit your blog, it also has the "Comment" feature as well.  I'm not receiving as many "hits" or comments as I did in the beginning.  I do hope the blog is as interesting to all of you as my regular visitors, but to new visitors as well.  So, if there are particular types of recipes or topics you would like to see here, please let me know.  I would love to continue this blog because I do love chatting about cooking and recipes but I also want to make sure what I post is of interest to you also.  I look forward to your comments and would love to share any recipes you would like to post here.  So, as long as everyone is still interested in this blog, I will continue to blog my little heart out !  OK...enough of that...thanks for listening.

We will be having Thanksgiving Dinner here at our house this year.  I absolutely love having all the kids and grandbabies here for the holidays.  My house is very small and it does get crowded and crazy here during that time, but as I've said, I wouldn't have it any other way.  We will be having the traditional Thanksgiving meal, Turkey, Dressing, Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Baked Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Fruit Salads, Deviled Eggs, Relish Trays etc., etc.!!  I always tell the kids to let me know if there is a particular dish they would like to have or if there is a dish they would like to make themselves.  We always end up with way more food than we need or can eat !  But that's OK...what we don't have for leftovers later in the day, I start sending it home with the kids are share with friends and neighbors.  Then of course, we have the Dessert Table !!  Oh my.....I usually have a table that is set up just for Desserts and it is always full.  I start making desserts and goodies that can be frozen ahead of time.  I have already made a Fudge Pie, Snickerdoodle Blondies, Peanut Butter Fudge Pie, Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies, Blonde Brownies and Cream Cheese Truffles . These are things that can be frozen, then all I have to do is pull them out of the freezer when Thanksgiving gets here.  My only problem doing this is, I tend to get carried away and forget what all I have in the freezer...LOL.  But I guarantee you, they will be eaten ! 

Yesterday for our Lunch/Supper, I made Chicken Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Buttered Corn.  Fred and I both really like dark meat, so I use boneless Chicken Thigh meat.  I've also used the boneless Chicken Breast too.  It is just whatever your preference is.  I batter my chicken with Milk or Buttermilk, Egg and Flour.  It makes a really good crust.  If you ever have a recipe that calls for Buttermilk and you don't have any, just add a tablespoon of vinegar to about a cup of milk and let it stand for a few minutes and Wa-Lah!!  You have buttermilk.  I have found myself in that position a lot of times and it works out great.  As you know by now, when I cook I always seem to have leftovers.  I have never figured out how to cook for just two people.  That is really hard for me now matter how hard I try to cook for two.  Not only did I raise four children, I have cooked in restaurants for years and prepared buffets, so cooking for just two is something I have real issues with !  OK...back to the leftovers.  Sometimes when I have leftover Fried Chicken, whether it be with the bone or without, I pull the batter off of the chicken and make Chicken Salad.  When I worked in ther restaurant and we had a Salad Bar, I also made what I called "Fried Chicken Salad".  I would just leave the batter on the cold chicken and just cut it up in small pieces then make my regular Chicken Salad.  My customers loved the "Fried Chicken Salad".  They would say they had never had Chicken Salad made with Fried Chicken, including the batter.  By leaving the batter on the chicken, it added a little "crunch" to the salad.  It is really good that way, you should try it !  Speaking of Chicken Salad, I like to stuff a large tomato or an Avacado half with chicken salad...very good !

So, let's talk Thanksgiving again !  I am still waiting on all of your good recipes.  Thanksgiving is a time that we all want to fix something different or special.  I would love to hear what you are preparing for your Thanksgiving meal and see what kind of special recipes you have.  Please start sending them to me and I'll post them here on the blog.  Like I've told Yall before, I'm not one of those cooks that keeps my recipes a secret.  I love to share my recipes and hope that others will do the same.  So, start sending those Yummy recipes my way so I can post them.  Over the years I have thought I probably have collected every type of recipe there is out there, but I always find out that isn't true at all.  Everytime I turn around I am finding another recipe I have never tried and I've also found out that most people have their own little "twist" to an old favorite.  So that is why I am constantly looking for new recipes, we never have enough recipes...LOL.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Yall have up your sleeves !

Well, guess I had better get back to my baking.  I'm already running out of room in my freezer because of the goodies I'm making, so I have to do some moving around.  I do hope you all have a great day and "Happy Eating"

Muahhhhhhh ♥

Chicken Fried Chicken w/Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Buttered Corn