What’s Cookin’?

[Necie]

Venison backstrap and hen of the woods mushrooms in french onion gravy on mashed potatoes. 
 

Backstrap harvested by DS2.

Mushrooms harvested and canned by me.

Homemade french onion soup with garden onions and home canned beef broth. 
Mashed potatoes from home canned potatoes. (DH makes them... my mashed potatoes from canned end up being like glue. His are perfect! )

 

 

[Jeepers]

Oh lawsy...

[Necie]

Yesterday was pan fried perch that I’ve been saving. We had one good bag from last fall when I got into a whole mess of them. Also jalapeño poppers. 

 

 

[Mother]

[Littlesister]

That looks really good Necie.   now I have to go fix me something for lunch. 

[Necie]

Chili last night. Had jars of beans and tomato juice in fridge that needed used. 

 

2# venison burger 

2 onions (garden)

bell pepper (garden— I chop and freeze in gallon bags, then break off and use whatever amount looks right)

1 qt kidney and 1 pt black beans out of fridge that hadn’t sealed.

1/2 qt and 1 pt tomato juice out of fridge 

3/4 pint spaghetti sauce 

1/2 gallon tomatoes 

 

Only things *purchased*:

salt and pepper 

granulated garlic 

comino

ancho chili powder 

 

Very quick throw together and eat meal. Made a big pot full. Kids are coming down today, so they can take some home or I’ll probably can a few jars.

[snapshotmiki]

Cooking lima beans with sausage and also garlic bread with cheese.  Still have ice cream cake from last weekend.

[Ambergris]

Lima beans with sausage and a nice crusty cornbread is one of my all-time favorite meals.

[Jeepers]

I was just looking up the difference between lima beans and butter beans this week. They say they are the same thing but my granny fixed them differently. I don't know how she did them. I don't think she added any meat unless it was bacon grease. But hers were creamy white and slightly falling apart with thick liquid in them. We ate them with corn bread for supper but as they were cooking, we would make an open face sandwich of regular bread with them for lunch. They were thick and and not a dry bean. Nothing like the green single lima beans. They were so good. 

 

I would love to can a few pints of 'butter beans'. 

[Littlesister]

I love butter beans.  My mom used to make them using the larger white butter beans. She would put them in a casserole dish add tomatoes and bacon layered on top.  She would cook them at 350* till bacon was crisp. They were really good. 

I also need to can some butter beans. I have a lot of them in freezer right now. 

[Ambergris]

First thing I ever "cooked" was those big old butter beans.  Actually re-warming them from the fridge when my mother was sick in bed.  I had to get on a chair to read the knobs on the stove and stir the pot.  I was not in kindergarten yet.  My older brother and I argued over which number on the knob was the three.  I don't remember enough to say who was right, but I was the cook.

[Jeepers]

Ambergris...

That would have been a cute sight. 

[Ambergris]

Oxtail with rice.  

[euphrasyne]

Easter luncheon was Ham, scalloped potatoes, peas, deviled eggs, banana creme pie.   This week is spring break.   I'm going to cook a whole chicken tomorrow and the rest of the week will be various leftover meals made with cooked ham or chicken.  

[Mother]

Easter meal for us was Wild Turkey, cooked fresh green beans, cooked fresh broccoli and cauliflower, potato salad, deviled eggs, and sweet potatoes.  Desert was bananas and blackberries with real cream and honey drizzled on top.  
 

Sounds like a lot of work for just the two of us but it wasn’t. The green beans and broccoli and cauliflower were from Basket and Bushel, a favorite company of precut pre washed veggies.   Not as good or as cheap as home grown fresh from the garden but almost.  They come in packages that cook them to perfection in three minutes in the microwave.  A bit pricey but at the sale price of $2.50 a 12 ounce bag with no work involved they were not much more than the fresh veggies I could buy this time of year.  Both types of potatoes were also done in the microwave, the Turkey was frozen and reheated leftovers from the wild Turkey we’d cooked months before and the potato salad was made from fresh boiled eggs, hot potatoes, bacon that I’d cooked and frozen a few weeks ago, cut up onion and pickles, and Mayo. Deviled eggs were thrown together at the same time I made the salad, and the fruit was big huge blackberries, also Basket and a Bushel brand, just dumped in a bowl with sliced bananas and the cream topping.  All told DH and I might have spent a half hour on the meal.  And the left overs went into four divided containers for meals later in the week.
 

There is nothing more satisfying than being able to bring a holiday meal together in minutes without going to a store.

 

(Okay, I admit, the fresh stuff was delivered to our door.   ) 

 

Hope you all had a pleasant Easter! 
 

 

[Littlesister]

Sounds really good Mother. 

 

It was just me and GS who had been called into work early. Went in a 2 pm and got home at 10 last night. 

So, I grilled minute steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, sauteed onions, and Brussel sprouts.  GS heated his up after getting home last night, ate and then went to bed after we got all the groceries put away. He never buys groceries so that was a surprise. He did good. 

[Necie]

DS2 brought his new smoker/grill down and made “kicking’ chicken” thighs and “Texas twinkies” (bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers) on it. DDIL and I made cheesy bacon broccoli and Buffalo dip inside. We were all stuffed with leftovers enough for everyone.

[euphrasyne]

Last night was crock pot carnitas (pork, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, seasonings) over either buttered rice or tortillas.  Flavor liked all around.  

Tonight: Crescent rolls, olive oil, cilantro lime salt.  flavored feta, leftover carnitas from above, salsa, a slight sprinkle of Monterey jack cheese.  Family Favorite.  We like ethnic and more so fusion.  If you have a set spice pattern for food, try to branch out.  Other things can be great!  It is also good to be able to make whatever is available in an emergent situation.  Using what is available from pantry/garden/hunting/slaughtering is a big thing for us.  I like hearing from people who do the same.  

 

I have half a door that my aunt's In-laws used to slaughter hogs on.  I use it as a huge cutting board.  Some people view it as horrific.   I view it as family using what they had and using everything they could. If you are going to eat it, use all parts of it.  That is my philosophy.  Respect what you use and do not waste it.  

Edited Tuesday at 10:35 PM by euphrasyne

[Mother]

14 hours ago, euphrasyne said:

If you are going to eat it, use all parts of it.  That is my philosophy.  Respect what you use and do not waste it.  

👍 My philosophy exactly. 

[Littlesister]

euphrasyne, can you teach my grandson that dumping food in trash because you really didn't want that so dump it and get something else like door dash. I have all but given up on his wasteful habits. His grandfather used to tell him if you fix it or order it you eat it. Times like that I really miss him. GS remembers those days and when DH spoke, he did as he was told. He ate it all. But now that he is grown. he doesn't care what I say. I'm only the grandmother, when I say that it doesn't count.

[Necie]

The other night I made stuffed jalapeños. Cream cheese, fiesta cheese and chopped shrimp... wrapped with prosciutto. Also threw on some seasoned chicken thighs. It was YUMMY!! 
 

Tonight, I used the leftover stuffing, added more cream cheese, shredded parmesan, spinach, artichoke... topped with the leftover prosciutto. DIP. It was ok. Not as good as hoped. Needs more cheese. 
 

pic of stuffed jalapeños and chicken

 

 

[euphrasyne]

That looks yummy.  I need to make some stuffed peppers.  I'm thinking maybe mini bell peppers with leftover carnita pork mix, mushroom and onion.   

Edited Thursday at 10:38 AM by euphrasyne

[Littlesister]

Stuffed peppers sound good. Haven't made those in a long while. I haven't thought about dinner for tonight yet. GS is at work, so just me for dinner. I think I still have some leftovers in the fridge so will just heat something up. 

[snapshotmiki]

Having chicken salad, again.  It turned out great and is even better today!