One of the great blessings in life is to have a wonderful mother. I enjoy visiting with my own mother and I also enjoy hearing her talk about her mother, my grandmother. I was fortunate enough to have my maternal grandmother on earth until I was in my early 30’s.

It is wonderful to have a mother and grandmother who love the Lord and teach His ways.

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:10-12 and 25-31(NIV)

It is  Sunday so we will join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday. Enjoy your Sunday and Happy Independence Day!

Today’s favorite post remembers my grandmother, Johnnie Lloyd – from July 20, 2009

Southern Memories

I was talking to my Mama about recipes that were handed down to her from her mother. Grandmother was a great home cook. Nothing complicated but a lot of goooood food. Grandmother knew how to stretch a dollar but still create flavorful meals.

Here are a couple of our favorites:

Hamburger Steak
Breaded and fried=down home goodness

Form ground beef (also known as hamburger meat) into thick patties. If you want to add chopped onion and Worcestershire sauce before you form the patties that is also good.

Mix together an egg and some milk in one bowl and put flour seasoned with salt and pepper in another bowl. Dip the hamburger patties in the egg mixture and then the flour mixture.

Fry the breaded hamburger steaks in hot oil until done.

Grandaddy Potatoes
These were Grandaddy’s favorite potatoes. We always call them Grandaddy Potatoes.

Boil small potatoes (either red or small russet) in salted water. Serve the boiled potatoes whole. Serve with butter and sour cream. You can mash them with your fork at the table and add the butter and sour cream and salt and pepper. Simple and good.

Plum Dumplings
My mother tells me that when grandmother canned plums that she saved the juice from canning to make these plum dumplings. Just in case you don’t happen to be canning plums, you can use this recipe.

Make the dumpling batter:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup milk

Stir flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients, using a pastry cutter or fork. Add milk to form dough. Set dumpling dough aside.

Prepare Plums:

1 lb of plums pitted and diced
1/2 cup sugar
spices to taste if you like (such as nutmeg or ginger)
2 cups water

Combine all of the above and bring to a boil. Drop dumpling mixture by tablespoons into the boiling plum mixture. Cover the pot and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.

Actually, grandmother rolled out her dumpling dough and cut it into squares. You could always do that if you like as well.

I love recipes that are passed down. My grandmother loved to cook for her family and I remember many happy times at her table. No, none of these recipes are fancy or complicated. They are just simple and good.

What a wonderful weekend we have had, celebrating our nation’s independence. We definitely need have some people to thank for our continued freedoms and that would be our military! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I have posted about my nephew (the Marine) before. It is a different kind of metamorphosis to be sure. But, it is an important kind of transformation. I wanted to post about him again, just in case you missed reading about him before. I am so proud of my nephew for so many reasons. I wish you could all meet him. He is a fabulous cook and makes his own wine. Quite the Renaissance man. So here I am posting about him again for:

Met Monday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

Pic of Bryan with me when he graduated from Marine boot camp (1996).

Today, I want to introduce you to my nephew, Bryan. Bryan is a Marine. He is not actively serving, but, I learned early on, “once a Marine, always a Marine.” The metamorphosis here is what happened to him at boot camp. They took a bright, energetic, clever boy and made him into a bright, energetic, clever man.

My sister, Tammy (his mother), and I went to his boot camp graduation. It was a life changing experience for me. We met with the drill instructors first. They spoke well of my nephew, which was a good thing. My sister and I were ready to take on the entire Marine force, if, for any reason, they didn’t have good things to say about him (which was unlikely). Luckily for us and for them, the drill instructors had nothing but good to say about him.

It was a goose bump moment when we heard the cadence from the young men as they marched towards us in the dark. You could hear them coming from a distance. Once they arrived, they stood at attention until they were dismissed to find their families. That was an awesome time. We saw him go in as as a young man and he came out a Marine!

The day he graduated from boot camp, I asked him what he had for breakfast. He said duck. I was surprised and said, “duck?” He told me that they had duck a lot. He told me that you duck your head and eat as much as you can before they kick you out. Never heard of that “duck” recipe before!

I am so proud of my nephew, then, and now. After boot camp, he was assigned to the presidential guard. He served in Washington D. C. and then at Camp David. He served in Kuwait during the initial invasion of Iraq.

He is no longer actively serving in the Marines but he still has that Marine attitude. He is a truly wonderful man that I am proud to have as my nephew. He is now married to a wonderful young lady and is still making me proud every day. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful young man as my nephew, and, we as a nation, are blessed to have so many like him who serve our nation so we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our heads.

Thanks Bryan and to all of the other Marines for all they have done and continue to do for our country!

Today’s Lagniappe: Mussels with Garlic, White Wine and Butter
My nephew has become quite the connoisseur. He makes his own fine wine and is quite an accomplished cook. On one of our trips together, he ordered mussels. He loved them. Here is a recipe that I’m sure he would love.

• 3 pounds mussels
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 leeks, white parts only, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Rinse the mussels under cold running water while scrubbing with a vegetable brush. Remove the stringy mussel beards as you wash them. Discard any mussels with broken shells.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables cook down, about 5 minutes. Add the mussels and give everything a good toss. Add the white wine. Cover and steam over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until the mussels open. Stir occasionally so that all the mussels are in contact with the heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and a drizzle of olive oil to the sauce remaining in the pot and stir to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the parsley. Serve with hot crusty French bread.

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday!
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! You have seen my favorite post for today many times. I was thinking this past week that I need to write another “Daddy-isms” post. My dad had a lot of great things to say that have stuck with this daughter even now, nearly 18 years after he died.

One that keeps coming back to me is:

“If your problems can be solved by money, you don’t really have problems.”

This has been going through my mind this week as I watch the tragedy of the oil spill on the Gulf Coast and after our local community lost a wonderful lady who was a leader and who gave very generously of her time and talent.

It is true, lost lives and a lost way of life can’t be recovered by any amount of money. Money problems are tough, no doubt about it! But, life and health are very precious and are worth more than gold!

Okay, on to my Sunday Favorite. One more time for Southern Daddy-isms – originally posted January 26th, 2009:

Since I posted Mama-isms, one of my two beautiful sisters requested that I give equal time to Daddy-isms. My Daddy died in 1992 at the age of 54 of cancer. Daddy was a big, lovable man, full of integrity and loved by all who knew him. He laughed a lot and smiled a lot and I am very blessed to have had such a great Daddy. He was a very optimistic and positive man who had sayings that deserve equal time as well as a few funny memories.

When asked how are you his response was invariably, “If I was any better I couldn’t stand it!”

You can’t go through life looking in the rear-view mirror.

About anyone who was a good cook – You’re a good cooker.

About Marriage – Love is important but commitment is equally important.

The Bible is a book that is meant to be understood by reading.

When we were kids, my younger sister had a slumber party on March 31st one year. The following morning, my Daddy woke all of the sleeping girls and told them to be calm but to hurry outside because the house was on fire. When they were all safely outside he called to them from the door “April Fools.” He loved to pull April Fools jokes but that was one of the best.

Daddy loved to swim and he made sure we all had swimming lessons. He would take us to the pool and delight us by throwing us high in the air. We would wear him out by begging him to throw us again.

He would wake us up in the morning by turning on the light and singing (loudly)

Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
We’re all in our places
With bright shiny faces.
For this is the way,
To start a new day.

If we didn’t wake up after the singing, he would stand at the end of the bed and say chop, chop, chop (as he was falling forward) to give us time to get up before he said TIMBER and fell on top of us. To my recollection, he never actually fell on top of any of us.

I could go on and on. As you can see, Daddy was a fun guy.

Today’s Lagniappe: Recipe for Spinach Madeleine or Crawfish Spinach Dip

I spent the afternoon yesterday with my friend Darlene planning our upcoming Mardi Gras party and it put me in mind of something with a little New Orleans’ Flavor. This is copied from Chef John Folse & Company Website. If you don’t have the River Road Cookbooks, look for them, they are great.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 5-6 Servings

Comment:
This traditional Louisiana recipe was first presented in River Road’s cookbook from the Junior League of Baton Rouge. It is safe to say that this single recipe made the book world famous. In the late 1990s, Kraft foods did away with their jalapeño cheese roll which was originally used in the recipe. Recently, an alert customer informed us that Kraft’s Velveeta line introduced a similar Mexican cheese.

Ingredients:

* 2 packages chopped spinach, frozen
* 4 tbsps butter
* 2 tbsps flour
* 2 tbsps chopped onions
* ½ cup evaporated milk
* ½ cup reserved spinach liquor
* ½ tsp black pepper
* ¾ tsp celery salt
* ¾ tsp garlic salt
* 6 ounces Velveeta Mexican cheese, sliced into ¼-inch cubes
* salt and red pepper to taste
* 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Method:
Cook spinach according to directions on package. Drain and reserve liquid. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour, stirring until blended and smooth, but not brown. Add onions and sauté 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Add evaporated milk, spinach liquor and Worcestershire sauce slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook mixture until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Add seasonings and cubed cheese. Stir until melted and combine with cooked spinach. This may be served immediately or put into a casserole and topped with buttered bread crumbs. The flavor is improved if the latter is done and kept in refrigerator overnight.

This traditional dish can be spruced up for the holidays by adding ¼ cup diced red bell peppers when the onions are sautéed.

There are other great dishes that can be made with this versatile recipe, such as:

Crawfish Spinach Dip: Add 1 pound of Louisiana crawfish tails when you add the cheese and serve warm with tortilla chips or crackers

It is another beautiful Sunday here in my neighborhood! I’m so thankful for a day of rest. Things have been so crazy busy around here, it is good to rest and re-charge. It is also time for:

with Chari at Happy to Design. Hope you have a great Sunday morning. This is a favorite from last year called

Southern Retro

Back in the late 80’s my little sister got married. Before her wedding, my Grandpa’s wife, Betty, hosted a beautiful bridesmaid luncheon in their home. Betty is a wonderful person and a most gracious hostess. For this luncheon, she served this unbelievably delicious chicken dish. Recently, I asked my sister if she still had the recipe. She told me she had made it many times and she sent it to me with her notes.

CHICKEN DELIGHT

4 chicken breast, cooked and cut into small pieces (I usually use 5)
1 2oz. Jar pimientos
1 8 oz can sliced water chestnuts
½ cup slivered almonds
¼ tsp. Celery salt
dash of pepper
2 TBsp. Lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cream of chicken soup (or mushroom)
1 3 oz. Can onion rings

Mix chicken, pimientos, water chestnuts, almonds, celery salt, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and chicken soup. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with onion rings and bake for another 20 minutes. (Serves 4)

This is a really good recipe if you are cooking for a luncheon.

Here are some pics from the shower (remember, this was around 20 years ago!).

Here I am (on the left) with my little sis

And here with both my sisters (from left to right: me, Linda and our big sis' Tammy)

How do you love the big hair?!

Alright, I’m outa here. Headin’ to Vicksburg, Mississippi this weekend. My husband attended All Saint’s Episcopal School there and we are going to meet with some people about a reunion planned for the fall. Happy Weekend everyone!

Want to find some great recipes? Head on over to Foodie Friday with Designs by Gollum!

Today’s Lagniappe: Linda’s Holiday Chicken Salad
My sister, Linda also sent me the recipe for this casserole that she says is wonderful. Haven’t had a chance to make it yet, but, trust me, if she says it is good, it is!

Stew 4 chicken breast ( I usually do 5) reserve broth

Combine ½ cup melter butter
seasoning packet
2 Stove Top Stuffing mix ( I use wild rice)

Combine 2 cups sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup
1 ½ cups broth

In 9 X 13 dish:
1. put layer of crumb mixture
2. chicken
3. liquid mixture
4. remaining crumbs
5. top with slivered almonds (don’t add until ready to cook, if your freezing)

Bake at 350 30 minutes

Happy Mother’s Day!

“Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee,” Exodus 20:12.

This is the 5th of the 10 Commandments. It has been said that the fifth commandment is pivotal, for it is between the commandments teaching us to love our Creator, and those admonishing us to love our fellow man.

I have been blessed to have a wonderful mother! Love you Mama and Happy Mother’s Day!

Today’s Sunday Favorite is a post that Mama did about her memories of the porch.

From April 15, 2009:

Mama’s Southern Porch

Here is another great “guest” post from Mama. Today, she tells us about her memories of the porch.

After reading all the comments about porches it brought back memories of my childhood. We had a big cement front porch, a porch swing and two views of the two streets since we lived on a corner.

Many summer mornings and afternoons my friends from the neighborhood would come and play jacks on the porch, swing on the swing, play house or whatever. We would sometimes play cowboys, annie over, rover rover, swinging beauty, or maybe just go to the library and check out books,ride bikes or skate up and down the sidewalk but we would eventually end up on the porch resting and planning what to do next.

When I reached my teens the porch was a “meeting place” for boyfriends to sit in the swing or on the steps with me. We were, of course, under the watchful eye of my parents who were in the living room with the windows open, and could(and often did) appear at any moment to join us. I had many a goodnight kiss on the front porch.
I now have a screened-in porch which we enjoy immensely. Two of our granddaughters love to come and swing on the glider and play and of course the backyard is just outside the screen door so it is like being outside but protected from the wind, bugs, sun, etc.
It seems sad to see so many homes with closed doors, no porches and many times no communication with neighbors. How can we ever get any problems solved, without porches?

Today’s Lagniappe: Sweet Tea
In the South when you order tea, it is either sweet or unsweet. Southerners love sweet tea. Here is a recipe to make your sweet tea to drink with a friend on the porch.

Around 3 quarts water
2 cups Sugar
4 Quart size tea bags.

Bring water to a rolling boil, add sugar. (Stir to dissolve)
Add 4 tea bags. Stir. Let sit around 20 minutes
Pour up into gallon jug or container. Fill the rest with cool water.

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday!

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday!

It is Sunday so that means a past favorite and something for the soul. I’m very blessed to have a talented, creative, Christian mother. Last March, she wrote a guest post telling about how she got a great recipe for poppy seed rolls. If you would like the poppy seed roll recipe, it was from an earlier post, HERE.

From March 13, 2009:

Mama’s Southern Guest Post

A couple of days ago I posted a recipe that my mother gave me for poppy seed rolls. Mama called and was telling me about how she got the recipe and that she should leave that as a comment. I thought a better idea was for her to write a guest post. So . . . here it is – enjoy:

My Mother, Carrol Ward

The bread recipe on Christi’s blog (3/11/09) has an interesting beginning for us:
My husband, Chester and I were in Monticello, Utah last September doing a revival for a church there. The Pastor’s wife invited us for dinner one night before church. The meal was delicious but when she set the bread on the table, I thought it looked soooo good, I was sure it was dessert. Well, of course, it wasn’t but it looked so pretty and tasted so good it could have been. She also served some of her home canned apricot jam with it. Well, I could have skipped church that night because I thought I had died and gone to heaven already.

I have since shared the recipe with several people. I fixed it one night, along with a roast dinner for my next door neighbors. The wife has MS and so her husband does most of the cooking, which he is learning to do, so they really did appreciate the meal. He especially liked it and asked for the recipe. He has sent it to several family members and friend all across the country.

The trip to Utah was also memorable for another incident which happened to us:
One afternoon The Pastor and his wife took us to the top of Abajo Peak which is 11,000 ft, located in the Blue Mountains. It was a beautiful site and you could see forever. They have two ATV’s and often ride on the mountains around Monticello. They suggested that my husband use them one day and even had one of the members of the church go along as a guide (thank goodness, we would probably still be there without him).

It had been at least 30 years since I had ridden an ATV and my husband had never ridden one. So, we purchased some sweat suits at Alco, layered our clothes, starting with our pajamas, and put on the warmest clothes we could put together and met our guide at 7:30 one morning. After a brief overview of how to operate the machines we took off. Everything went great until our guide took off on what he called a trail, with lots of deep ruts, sheer drop-offs, low hanging tree branches and I don’t know what all. But, we kept up with him and it was fun. We had reached about 10,000 ft.when the trail (if you can call it that) became more of challenge.

I was riding behind the guide and in front of Chester when I came to some ruts. The left wheels of the ATV kinda slipped into the ruts and began to “fall” over and . . . I began to pray! ” Lord don’t let this thing fall on me!” I was yelling “Help!” but no one could hear me for the noise the ATV’s make. Chester could see something was happening to me and the guide stopped and looked back and later said that I just didn’t look right. Well of course I didn’t look right, I was slipping off the ATV!
When I got off the ATV to the ground, unhurt, the machine righted itself. After we decided that I was alright we remounted the things and took off again.

We were riding along enjoying the scenery which was beautiful and I began to thank God for letting me see all this and taking care of a 70 year old woman who didn’t have sense enough to take care of herself. But I believe life is to be enjoyed and shared. Good recipes should be shared as well.

Today’s Lagniappe: Also from Mama – Pear Relish
This recipe for Pear Relish is one of Christi’s favorites)

Pear Relish
16 -19 pears (fairly firm, not soft) cored and ground.
6 medium onions, ground
8 green peppers, ground
4 sweet red peppers, ground
6 cups vinegar (5% acidity)
6 cups sugar
3 Tbs. mustard seeds
2 Tbs. pickling salt
1 Tbs. ground tumeric
1 Tsp. ground allspice
1 Tsp cinnamon
1 Tsp. ginger

Let pears, onions and peppers stand in separate containers for 1 hour. Pour boiling water over each; drain very well. Combine pears, onions, peppers, vinegar, sugar, and seasonings in a large kettle. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered, 30 minutes.
Pour hot mixture into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 in head space. Remove air bubbles; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids and screw on bands. Process in boiling-water bath 20 minutes. Remove jars from hot water carefully and place on cloth to cool. When the jars are cool enough to handle move to a cool place and let set for 1 month before opening. Yield about 10 pints.

This is especially good with chicken and dumplings or pinto beans and corn bread.

Christi’s note: I think I have mentioned this before – my father died in 1992 of cancer. My mother has since remarried a wonderful man, Chester Ward. Chester is a minister who serves as Director of Missions for Kay Baptist Association in Oklahoma.

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday!

Today, is my wonderful Grandpa’s 94th birthday! I wrote this post last year for his birthday. What a wonderful blessing to have such a wonderful man in my life! Grandpa has lived quite a life. Sadly, he has seen the loss of his oldest son, my father and two of his grandsons, my brother and my cousin. But, he is a very resilient man who loves his family and always has a wonderful positive attitude.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He,
I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:4

My Grandpa will be 93 tomorrow. I wish everybody could have a Grandpa like mine. Grandpa has always lived his life with a passion. Whenever I think about Grandpa, I think of him with a smile on his face. He has the best stories of anyone I’ve ever known and his life would make a great movie.

From Grandpa, I learned a great work ethic. When I was in high school, I worked for him in one of his businesses and I remember being 7 minutes late one morning. He told me if I was ever late again he would fire me. I learned at a young age the value of being on time.

Grandpa has always been so full of life. He always worked hard and played hard. He loves fishing. He used to go fishing in Canada and Mexico a lot and has wonderful stories from those times.

He always has the most beautiful lawn around and he is an expert on growing green lush grass. He used get the Wall Street Journal. I remember, he would give his old copies to me. He told me three columns to read so that I could carry on an interesting conversation with anyone.

Happy Birthday Grandpa! I love you.

Today’s Lagniappe: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

This is one of Grandpa’s favorites. It was also a favorite of my Daddy’s. Grandmother Dicus and Mama used Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise for this recipe but you could use either one.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

1 cup sugar
1 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise
2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoon soda
4 teaspoon cocoa (Mama used a little less)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together sugar and miracle whip. Add soda and cocoa to warm water and then to stir it into the sugar mixture with vanilla.

Bake 325 for 20 to 30 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan. Let cake cool then spread with chocolate fudge frosting. Place pecan halves all over the top of the cake.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar (Mama uses regular sugar)
1/2 cup hot milk
2 tsps. vanilla

In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter; add cocoa, stirring constantly until smooth and slightly thickened. Remove from heat, set aside to cool slightly.

In large mixer bowl combine sugar and milk, beat until smooth. Add chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Cool at room temperature to spreading consistency, about 1/2 hour.

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday.

Today, January 3rd would have been my daddy’s 72nd birthday. Many of you who have read my blog know that my daddy died at the age of 54 of cancer. I wrote this article last January about him and it will always remain one of my favorites.

Just before daddy turned 50, he and my mom sold everything they had and moved from the small town, where they both grew up and raised their family, to Fort Worth, Texas where my dad entered the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He had felt called to do this and I so admired him for taking this huge step to follow the will of God. He received his Masters of Religious Education in short order. Unfortunately, it was not long after that when he died. Here is my favorite post for today from January 26, 2009:

Southern Daddy-isms

Since I posted Mama-isms, one of my two beautiful sisters requested that I give equal time to Daddy-isms. My Daddy died in 1992 at the age of 54 of cancer. Daddy was a big, lovable man, full of integrity and loved by all who knew him. He laughed a lot and smiled a lot and I am very blessed to have had such a great Daddy. He was a very optimistic and positive man who had sayings that deserve equal time as well as a few funny memories.

When asked how are you his response was invariably, “If I was any better I couldn’t stand it!”

You can’t go through life looking in the rear-view mirror.

About anyone who was a good cook – You’re a good cooker.

About Marriage – Love is important but commitment is equally important.

The Bible is a book that is meant to be understood by reading.

When we were kids, my younger sister had a slumber party on March 31st one year. The following morning, my Daddy woke all of the sleeping girls and told them to be calm but to hurry outside because the house was on fire. When they were all safely outside he called to them from the door “April Fools.” He loved to pull April Fools jokes but that was one of the best.

Daddy loved to swim and he made sure we all had swimming lessons. He would take us to the pool and delight us by throwing us high in the air. We would wear him out by begging him to throw us again.

He would wake us up in the morning by turning on the light and singing (loudly)

Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
We’re all in our places
With bright shiny faces.
For this is the way,
To start a new day.

If we didn’t wake up after the singing, he would stand at the end of the bed and say chop, chop, chop (as he was falling forward) to give us time to get up before he said TIMBER and fell on top of us. To my recollection, he never actually fell on top of any of us.

I could go on and on. As you can see, Daddy was a fun guy.

Today’s Lagniappe:  Recipe for Spinach Madeleine or Crawfish Spinach Dip

I spent the afternoon yesterday with my friend Darlene planning our upcoming Mardi Gras party and it put me in mind of something with a little New Orleans’ Flavor. This is copied from Chef John Folse & Company Website. If you don’t have the River Road Cookbooks, look for them, they are great.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 5-6 Servings

Comment:
This traditional Louisiana recipe was first presented in River Road’s cookbook from the Junior League of Baton Rouge. It is safe to say that this single recipe made the book world famous. In the late 1990s, Kraft foods did away with their jalapeño cheese roll which was originally used in the recipe. Recently, an alert customer informed us that Kraft’s Velveeta line introduced a similar Mexican cheese.

Ingredients:

* 2 packages chopped spinach, frozen
* 4 tbsps butter
* 2 tbsps flour
* 2 tbsps chopped onions
* ½ cup evaporated milk
* ½ cup reserved spinach liquor
* ½ tsp black pepper
* ¾ tsp celery salt
* ¾ tsp garlic salt
* 6 ounces Velveeta Mexican cheese, sliced into ¼-inch cubes
* salt and red pepper to taste
* 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Method:
Cook spinach according to directions on package. Drain and reserve liquid. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour, stirring until blended and smooth, but not brown. Add onions and sauté 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Add evaporated milk, spinach liquor and Worcestershire sauce slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook mixture until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Add seasonings and cubed cheese. Stir until melted and combine with cooked spinach. This may be served immediately or put into a casserole and topped with buttered bread crumbs. The flavor is improved if the latter is done and kept in refrigerator overnight.

This traditional dish can be spruced up for the holidays by adding ¼ cup diced red bell peppers when the onions are sautéed.

There are other great dishes that can be made with this versatile recipe, such as:

Crawfish Spinach Dip: Add 1 pound of Louisiana crawfish tails when you add the cheese and serve warm with tortilla chips or crackers

My husband and I and our little dog and cat have been traveling the last few days. We spent a couple of days with my mother and her wonderful husband in Oklahoma. The day after we arrived, a blizzard blew in! It made for a beautiful white Christmas, but unfortunately, many people were sliding off roadways and involved in accidents. According to the radio, this was the first blizzard in Oklahoma in 25 years. It started with icy sleet and then was followed by snow.

We stayed in and had a wonderful time and sent up many prayers for those who were not home safe and sound.

The day after Christmas, we headed to my Grandpa’s house. Grandpa will be 94 in January and his beautiful wife, Betty turned 84 the day before Christmas. Grandpa’s home is in a beautiful area and he has a lovely pond where the geese land and put on a show.

He made two bird feeders that hold 50 lbs. of seed each. The cardinals around the bird feeders and were beautiful!

The area behind the pond had gotten a little overgrown so one of Grandpa’s friends suggested that they get some goats to help clear the area out. Well . . . they did! They now have around 40 to 50 goats. It is hard to count them because they won’t stand still.

Here is where the metamorphosis comes in, Susan. While we were there, the goats were delivering babies. Not just one or two but more like 8 or 9 (from different mothers). One of the sweet little babies was rejected by his mother. I’ll spare you the picture of the poor little thing laying in the hay outside the barn where she left him without cleaning him up. He was just laying there shivering and wet.

We picked him up, wrapped him in towels and took him to the house (by the way, I did remember how to drive a 4-wheeler). When we got him to the house, we cleaned him up and then Betty bottle fed him. Before long, he was able to stand up on his own and even take a few steps. Here are a few (3 or more) pics of the sweet little baby:

Betty getting ready to bottle feed the little boy goat.

He is now doing well and should make it, but now Betty has to take over for the mother. She has done this before and still continues to feed a couple of the babies she had to take over.

So, that was my adventure with the goats! It was a lot of fun. My husband insisted that I could not bring a goat home!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Today’s Lagniappe: Salad with Warm Goat Cheese
You knew I had to get a goat product in here This one is from Ina Garten.

• 1 (11-ounce) log plain or herbed Montrachet (goat cheese)
• 2 extra-large egg whites, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Fresh white bread crumbs

For the dressing:

nocoupons

• 2 tablespoons good cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons good Champagne vinegar
• Pinch sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 extra-large egg yolk
• 1 cup good olive oil
• Enough mixed salad greens for 6 servings
• Olive oil and unsalted butter, for frying

Slice the Montrachet into 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices. (The easiest way to slice goat cheese is to use a length of dental floss.) Dip each slice into the beaten egg whites, then the bread crumbs, being sure the cheese is thoroughly coated. Place the slices on a rack and chill them for at least 15 minutes.

For the dressing, place the vinegars, sugar, salt, pepper, and egg yolk in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and blend for 1 minute. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube until the vinaigrette is thickened. Season, to taste.

Toss the salad greens with enough dressing to moisten, then divide them among 6 plates.

Melt 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat until just under smoking. Cook the goat cheese rounds quickly on both sides until browned on the outside but not melted inside. Top each salad with 2 warm rounds and serve.

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More Tuesday

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from A Southern Life. Hope you have all had a wonderful holiday and the weekend  will be peaceful and joyful!

We have had so much fun here with all of the family. My sisters and I enjoyed singing together with my mother.

My sisters Linda and Tammy and my niece Brenden

My other niece Taylor and Mama

Brenden with Thanksgiving buffet.

Today’s Lagniappe:  Black Friday Cocktail
Something to enjoy after a day of shopping (in the stores or online) and my contribution to Foodie Friday.

Add 2 shot glasses of vodka
Add 1 shot of vanilla vodka
Add ½ shot of Crème de Cacao
Add 1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup
Add ½ oz. of half and half
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into chilled martini glass.

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