Karen’s Opinion

Our daughter sent her dad a package that held his Father’s day gift. Well, the box the gift was packaged in was about the same size as the ones in which we often get our carpet samples. Thinking the box held boring old carpet samples, hubby gave the box a big heave, ho to throw it where he wanted it to land. Then he looked at the label. It was a package from our daughter. She happened to call that evening and told him that he shouldn’t wait until father’s day but to open the box in case the gift was shattered. He was lucky! This is what was in the box…

and this is how we used them

I have read Sara’s blog, Red Pine Mountain for awhile now. If you want to read an uplifting account of caring for animals and building a life in the beautiful mountains of Vermont, her blog is for you. You might even win something by entering her giveaways. I won a fantastic cookbook, The Settlement Cookbook 1903. I started to say, new cookbook, but it is, as described on the back cover, a cooking and homemaking primer for newly arrived immigrants. It has old fashioned recipes that use the most basic recipes. This will probably become one of my favorite cookbooks! Of course, my regular readers know that it is my husband that does the cooking in our house so it might become his favorite cookbook. We shall see! Thanks Sara!

I have been wanting to make these…

Mint Julep
Large Thin Julep Glass-Dissolve one teaspoon fine sugar in water, one dash Maraschino, one glass whiskey or brandy, as preferred four or five sprigs mint held to side of glass, leaves up. Fill up with fine ice and do not bruise the mint. Trim with fruits. If prefered mint can be bruised, but above is the regular Southern julep.

It is that time of year again. Time to think about what kind of pie to make for thanksgiving dinner. In my case, the pie will be for dessert later in the evening since we are going out to eat at a restaurant this year.

I don’t have any great pumpkin pie recipes so I am going to share my chicken pot pie recipe. It might not measure up to the pot pie my mom had in Houston but it is still yummy.

Ingredients

* 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cubed
* 1 cup sliced carrots
* 1 cup frozen green peas
* 1/2 cup sliced celery
* 1/3 cup butter
* 1/3 cup chopped onion
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
* 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
* 2/3 cup milk
*
* 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

While visiting Houston, we ate at the Grand Lux Cafe, the sister restaurant of the Cheesecake Factory. I don’t think I have ever eaten a more delicious pulled pork sandwich than the one I ate at the cafe.

It was moist and full of barbecue sauce, just the way I like it. It was topped with coleslaw, which I am guessing is a southern thing. The coleslaw had macadamia nuts in it! The whole meal was wonderful.

The rest of my family liked their food too. Look at the size of my mother’s pot pie.

I told you in my previous post, how fall weather makes me think of baking. It also gets me in the mood for soup. I love a big bowl of chili or vegetable soup. Do you put noodles in your chili? I like to add macaroni noodles to chili when it is just about finished cooking. Nothing is more inviting than sitting in a big comfy chair, looking through the Internet for promo codes for new fabric and eating a big bowl of hot chili.

Another soup that has become a favorite with my family is Taco soup.

Taco Soup

2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chilies
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chilies
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

I like to serve cornbread with this soup. I cheat and use two boxes of Jiffy’s cornbread mix. I add an extra egg to make the bread fluffy.