Over the past weeks, I had reasons for wanting to blog and then went to type and never blogged. Some of my thoughts for titles over the month were as follows:
Posting recipes
Posting my eating plan
Random Emails and Quotes
Sermons I had heard
Scriptures I had read
The mid term election
Halloween
One at a time...
I don't cook much and I don't have a favorite recipe... I just like to eat. My most favorite recipes are from my mother. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays my mother make two of my favorite dishes... Cranberry Salad and Christmas Casserole. Cranberry salad is side dish... a mixture of chopped apples, cranberries, oranges and nuts in a fancy jello mold with homemade mayonnaise, to die for!! Christmas Casserole is a main dish... baked grits, cheese and sausage casserole with butter running all through it... another to die for dish.
CRANBERRY SALAD
4 Cups (1lbs) fresh cranberries
2 medium apples, peeled
1 tbsp grated orange rind
11/2 cups diced fresh oranges
2 cups sugar or equivalent
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 envelopes unflavored gelatine
3/4 cup cold water
Wash cranberries. Soften gelatine in cold water. Place over hot water to melt. While gelatine is melting, put through a food chopper along with apples, using the medium blade. Stir in orange rind, diced oranges, sugar and pecans. Mix well. Stir into the cranberry mixture. Turn into a 2 quart mold which has been rinsed in cold water. Chill until firm. Just before serving, turn out onto a serving plate. Garnish with a salad green as desired. 6-8 servings.
To empty salad onto a plate. Put hot water in sink about the heighth of the salad mold. Have the plate you want to put it on right at hand. Hold mold in hot water until you count to five. Then put plate over mold and turn it upside down. Salad should fall out onto plate. Put in refrigerator immediately to re-gel. Be careful how long you leave the salad in hot water, so it won't melt too much. Better to leave it too short a time and have to do it again for a few seconds, than to leave it too long and have it melt!
I have discovered that when I make this with Splenda I have to use one extra package of gelatin and a full extra 3/4 C water.
CHRISTMAS CASSEROLE
4 cups quick grits (1 C grits to 4 C water)
Seasoned salt to taste (1 tsp or so)
2T dried onions
1 stick butter
8-10 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, cut in little squares
1 LB hot sausage ( I like Rudy’s – less grease)
4-6 eggs
While grits are cooking, put sausage on, and stir with fork until pieces are fairly small. While sausage is cooking, put eggs in blender and cut cheese into about ½ “ cubes.
Drain sausage on paper towels. When grits are done, remove from heat, add butter and mix. Blend eggs and add a little of the grits to the eggs. Then add the eggs to the grits and pour into casserole, sprayed with Pam. Mix in sausage and cheese. (can be frozen at this point) Cook, lightly covered with foil, at 350 for about and hour+, or until the center is not runny. Serve with yummy bread and juice and/or fruit and you’ve got all your breakfast – OR dinner on Sunday!
The reason I call this Christmas casserole is that I prepare it way ahead, put it in the freezer, and take it out as I’m going to bed on Christmas eve. I set the over to come on about and hour and a half before I’m ready to eat, and the casserole is ready when we get up.
To increase the recipe I make an extra cup of grits, add a couple of Tbs of butter, two more eggs and seasoned salt to taste.
Enjoy!!
Questions, comments?? Until next time... GOD BLESS!!
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