Of King Cake and Family

Last weekend we celebrated Sophie's fourth birthday on Saturday.  On Saturday night we babysat these two munchkins.  Then on Sunday we celebrated the fact that Will is home for a week. 

We're a pretty rowdy crew and any excuse is cause for celebration.  Will works off-shore, usually on a 14/14 schedule, but he pulled an extra week to help out a friend, so this month we barely get to see him.  That said, Adam decided to throw a po'boy party on Sunday afternoon.  Which means we were able to get together, eat and visit.  

It's what we do.

French bread cut in half, baked turkey breast, pork loin and sausage made the base of the sandwiches.  Mayo, lettuce, tomato and pickles made the dressings, and chips, tortillas and homemade salsa created sides. 

Google images

For dessert...King Cake.  Raspberry and cream cheese filled. Green, purple and gold sugar.  Sticky, gooey and delicious!

Flikr photo

One of the best Sunday afternoons a momma could hope for!

Pin It Wednesday #45

Happy Thanksgiving!  I don’t have to cook tomorrow since our family celebrated early.  (Our oldest son works off-shore and is away right now.)  We’ll be visiting with Richard’s family.  

Here’s wishing you a wonderful day with family and friends. 

Family Fun Night

Editing note: For some reason, this post didn’t go out, so I’m resending.   Dinner was last night. 

Whew!  What a great time!  When someone calls and says please make a gumbo for us, it’s hard to resist.  When two sisters gang together, it’s impossible (not that I really wanted to say no to them).  Guess what?

photo from Google images 

A few of my sisters came by for gumbo with rice, sweet potatoes, and cornbread.  Yes we like our starches.  Actually, we like just about anything, but the more fattening it happens to be, the more we tend to like it. 

That means we had both pecan cake and bread pudding for dessert.  Oh, and one sister brought along real butter from the Amish store to slather on the sweet potatoes.  Can you say rich?  I can definitely attest to the fact that there is absolutely no more space in my system.  I am full , stuffed,  and moaning.  I should say we enjoyed the company as much as the food.

straight from the farm

Since I’ve shared my recipe for Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, I’ll share how we bake sweet potatoes.  It’s easy.  First choose your sweet potatoes.  They should, of course, be fresh and firm. Wash the potatoes in cool water and remove any small roots that may still be attached and cut off the tips on each end.   Set the potatoes on paper toweling to dry.  I like to pat the potatoes dry; then cover the outside with margarine or oil.  I simply use my hands to spread the margarine and try not to put too much on each one.  This helps to release the skin when the potatoes are completely done.

right to the table

Bake at 350 degrees for two hours.  I test the potatoes by sticking a fork into the largest ones.  The center should be soft and squishy.  The skin should be easy to remove.  I enjoy the potatoes without any condiments, but Rich always adds butter, sugar and cinnamon to his.   Any potatoes that are left over can be wrapped in foil or placed in freezer bags and frozen, so I always bake a large pan and freeze the extras individually.  They are easy to warm in the microwave.  And are just as good.  

Happy Thanksgiving,

Mary

Jambalaya Recipe

As Louisianans we are lucky to have a few "home-grown" products that are easily purchased.  Many of them are a vital part of our Cajun culture.   


Because we love our Cajun foods and traditions, we tend to build product lines around them.  It would be difficult to name all the Cajun food product lines, but there are a few that I especially enjoy:  Richard's meats, Tony Chachere's seasonings, Community coffee, Savoie's roux, Steen's syrup, Tobasco hot sauces, and Zatarain's seafood boil.

While I've mentioned some specific items, the businesses sell many, many different items in addition to these.  Plus, for every business there's a whole line of tee shirts, caps, bumper stickers and other items that cater to our huge tourism market. 

Louisiana Jambalaya
1/4 pound each--smoked sausage, tasso, bacon, smoked ham cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 pound chicken, deboned and cut into bite-size
               pieces(may substitute with pork or beef)
Slap Ya Mama seasoning
2 tablespoons Savoie's roux
1/4 cup each--onions, bell pepper, celery
1 clove garlic
3 cups rice
3 tablespoons oil
6 cups water

Heat oil in deep Dutch oven, add chicken and brown, remove chicken to platter.  Cook bacon in Dutch oven until crispy, and remove to meat platter. Pour out excess fat reserving 2 tablespoons, add sausage and brown lightly, add vegetables and saute until onions are clear.  Return meat to pot, adding remaining meats, stir.  Add 1/2 water and heat to boiling.  Stir in roux, rice, seasoning, and remaining water.  Mix well and bring to boil.  Cover with lid and lower heat to slow simmer.  Cook 30-45 minutes until rice is completely cooked.  Serve while hot.

Serves 8.  Freezes well in zip-top bags and can be reheated in microwave.

Bread Pudding

I've played with a couple of recipes for making bread pudding, but I've found "the bomb," as the kids say.  This recipe is unbelievably delicious--sweet, crunchy, and flavorful.

I thought that since I love this recipe so much, I would share it with you.  Warning: It's good, but it comes with the price of calories!

Bread Pudding 

• 10 slices white bread
• 2 c granulated sugar
• 2/3 c packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 c butter or margarine
• 5 eggs
• 2 c milk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp rum extract
• 1 c chopped pecans

Directions:

Spray 9X13 baking dish.  Cube the bread and spread in the baking dish.  Using electric mixer, blend sugars and margarine until fluffy; add eggs one at a time.  Pour in milk; add extracts mix well.  Sprinkle pecans over bread cubes.  

Carefully pour sugar mixture over bread cubes and allow bread to soak up mixture.  (I speed the process by pouring the mix into the corners and the center, then stirring the bread around so all of it gets to the puddles.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  

Pot holder tutorial

Since I left one of my two oven mitts at a son's house--and am not getting it back--I decided it was time to invest in something to protect my hands while handling hot pots.


Can you believe that pot holders and oven mitts run upwards of $3 each?  And those were the cheap ones!  I simply did not want to pay that kind of money for something I could easily make.  So instead, I bought dish towels and smaller dish cloths. 

$10 for everything...not too bad.  

I really like bar mops because they are absorbent and come in a variety of sizes and weights.  I tossed in one striped dish towel that matched the stripes on the bar mops.  When I got home, I tossed the bar mops into the washer and brought the striped towel to the studio.  


The Plan:  Make two or more pot holders from the one dish towel and whatever I happen to have on hand in the studio.

I cut off the hem, which I could have ripped out but it simply was not worth the extra work.  I then cut the dish towel evenly into thirds.

To determine how large I needed, I simply measured my own hand with the fingers spread apart.    

Fold each piece in half, and add three layers of quilt batting. 

Sew around the three open sides, leaving an opening to turn right side out.

Turn right side out and using a blunt object, push out the corners.  (I have a small dowel rod that I used for this purpose.)

Turn the raw edges in and pin in place.  

Sew opening closed and continue completely around the pot holder.

To make sure that the batting does not shift when I wash these, I stitched in straight lines using the stripes as my guide.  First in one direction.....

then in the other direction.

I want to be able to hang these pot holders, so I found a shoe lace that wasn't being used and happened to be a good color for the project.  I cut it into three 8 inch pieces and tied the ends into small knots.  

Stitch onto one corner for a hanger, but be careful--I broke two needles doing just that!  

And we're ready to get cooking....now if only I could get rid of the crud as easily!  

The Result: three pot holders for the $1.45 dish towel, batting scraps and an hour of my time.  For less than $10 we now have five dish towels, eight dish cloths, and three pot holders....all color coordinated, clean, and put away!  Considering that three pot holders alone would have cost $9, don't you think it was worth the effort?


Only three days left to enter the Red, White and Blue Giveaway!  Click on the link to get the details and leave a comment to enter a chance to win.  Good luck and Happy Quilting,
Mary

Spring Break!

and thank goodness, because I was getting tired.  We've been busy with state testing, and field testing, which is pretty serious.  Add to that the fact that I'm also getting ready for a principals' pow wow in the library.  It's to be held there for the purpose of showing off the work we've done this year, so I feel compelled to make the place shine!  But for now, some time off, yay!  


I started my day late (I did need the rest) but then got right to the 28 pints of strawberry preserves that were waiting for my attention.  I told you in an earlier post that the strawberries are driving us crazy.  Well, they continue to produce, more in fact.  Cooking and stirring, washing jars, filling and sealing all take about two hours. See the boxes in the background?  Yes, they are full.  I counted over 70 pints of strawberry preserves....all from our garden!

That done, the puppies and I took a walk in the yard.  Mostly I chased Candy.  She loves to run away from the cat and from me.  She goes farther and farther playing with the cat, and when I call or go after her, she runs even farther.  By the time I managed to get around her, we were at the lake.  


I was a bit put out, but on the way back, I noticed the catabla trees are in bloom.  That put me in a better mood!   I love the look of the flowers on the ground, like popcorn tossed out for the birds.  The flowers are snow white except for a touch of purple in their throats.  Imagine clusters of  white orchids, and you can envision them in the trees.


It helped to get over my aggravation by coming in and fixing a plate of very light pancakes, smothered in fresh strawberry sauce!


Then to the studio for an afternoon of play!  But my sewing endeavors will have to wait for another day......the grandkids have a movie started up and are vying for my attention.
Happy quilting,
Mary