Picking a Baking Sheet
Baking pros advise buying heavy, durable rimmed aluminum baking sheets. These are also known as half sheet pans. Try to find heavy-duty, restaurant quality aluminum pans. Cheap baking sheets start to warp at 300 degrees.
Good morning grocery lovers! We are looking for some more cooking tips for our blog and cookbook and we know you have some good ones. Please share them with us. What cooking tip did your mother pass down to you? What tip have you learned from your friends over the years? What tip have you figured out while cooking in your kitchen? We can’t wait to hear from you and test your ideas in our kitchen. Hope you all have a great weekend!
This recipe is made from your leftover greens and black eyed peas from New Years day. It has been a tradition of ours to make this soup the day after New Years. This soup is sure to bring you plenty of luck, progress and prosperity.
New Years Soup
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of butter
1 large Vidalia onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound of smoke pork sausage, sliced into bite size pieces
5 cups of collard greens (or any greens), stems removed (can use leftover greens)
2 cups black eyed peas
32 ounces chicken stock
Several dashes Louisiana Hot Sauce
Directions:
Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery and garlic to butter and sauté until onions are translucent. Add sausage to onion mixture. Cook for 5 – 7 minutes. Add cooked or fresh greens, chicken stock and peas and cook for an additional 20 – 30 minutes.
Growing up we always had baked ham for holiday meals. Around our house we tried not to waste anything. Our Mom would take the leftover ham and ham bone and make the best soup. The ham bone makes a wonderful broth. She would use the leftover vegetables and put them in the soup. Mom always made pimento cheese sandwiches (recipe follows) to go with the soup. It was so yummy. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have in the freezer, fridge or pantry. This recipe is very versatile.
Big Bo’s Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
1 large ham bone (leftover ham, diced)
1 large onion, chopped
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic
3 dashes Worcestershire
1 14 ounce can beef broth
1 16 ounce bag frozen vegetable soup mix
1 14 ounce can corn
1 14 ounce can cut green beans
¼ cup rice or 1 cup pasta sea shells
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large soup pot, place the ham bone, onion, diced tomatoes, garlic and enough water to completely cover ham bone. Bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Add remaining ingredients and cook until rice is cooked and vegetables are warm.
The Sweet and Savory Sisters love some pimento cheese. Growing up our mother made this for us a lot. She would make a huge pot of vegetable soup and serve pimento cheese sandwiches with it. Pimento cheese sandwiches are even better grilled. We like to add bacon and tomatoes to ours before we grill it. It’s also fabulous on a hamburger.
Pimiento Cheese
Ingredients:
4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
3 cups monetary jack cheese, finely grated
¼ cup grated onion
2 4 ounce jars pimiento with juice
1 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1\2 teaspoon white pepper
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Check out this video of Nathan preparing the perfect pomegranate. Nathan is the son of my best friend Claire. He does an amazing job! Just click on his name and enjoy! It is really so good!
White Chili
3 – 4 cups leftover turkey meat
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin
1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 16 ounce envelope spicy ranch seasoning mix
1 4 ounce can green chilies
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
2 cans great northern beans
1 can white kidney beans
32 ounces chicken or turkey broth
4 ounces cream cheese
Directions:
Cut turkey into bite sized pieces and sprinkle with cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven; add onions and sauté until onions are translucent. Add turkey meat ranch packet, green chilies, Rotel tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, beans, salt and pepper to taste and chicken broth. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Cut cream cheese into little chunks. Slowly add cream cheese to soup stirring constantly. Garnish with cheese, spring onion, sour cream, etc.
We like to serve our chili with tortilla chips or beach bread.
Beach Bread
½ stick of butter
1 clove of garlic minced
¾ cup of ripe tomatoes (drained)
Cajun seasoning (Slap ya Mama)
½ cup of mayonnaise
3/4 cup of Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese (or any of your favorite cheese)
3 Tbs. fresh parsley
1 loaf of French bread
Preheat oven to 350 degree
In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat, add garlic and tomatoes cook for a few minutes
Season with Slap ya Mama
Mix mayo, cheese and parsley
Combine all ingredients
Cut loaf of bread in half and then cut bread lengthwise
Spoon mixture on bread and bake for 5 minutes
Then broil for an additional 3- 5 min. Watch closely
Cut bread into individual portions. Use bread for dipping and sopping
Having a hard time scooping ice cream out? This tip makes it much easier. Microwave the hard pint or quart on high for 10- 15 seconds. this will soften the ice cream without melting. Our mom taught us this tip.
To shape salad greens into tall stacks, toss greens lightly and then pack the greens in a pint size plastic container. Invert the container on a salad plate and gently lift container off. You will have a salad that looks like a pro did it.
Seasoning a Cast Iron Pot
Do you have a new cast iron pan you need to be seasoned? This process doesn’t take too long. Use a paper towel to spread a generous amount of canola oil all over the inside of the pan. Set it over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan and wipe with a clean paper towel. Repeat this at least twice.
Sass! 