Cornbread Dressing

 

To view my video of the "how-to" of making delicious dressing, a/k/a cornbread dressing or chicken dressing, visit this link 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o4COphg5sM

Here are the step-by-step directions with a few photos to follow: 

 CHICKEN DRESSING

1 cup onions, finely chopped

1 cup celery, finely chopped

3 Tbsp. butter

4 eggs

6 cups crumbled cornbread

2 cups crumbled biscuits

1 Tbsp. fresh dried sage, crumbled

2 tsp. poultry seasoning

2 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt

1 can cream of chicken soup

chicken broth, amount needed to make a thin dressing mixtuture

chopped cooked chicken, amount as desired, up to 1 1/2 cups

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pressure cook chicken (don't use all breasts, not enough flavor). Remove chicken from broth. Melt butter is Corning Ware dish. Cook onions and celery in Corning Ware dish on stovetop till tender. Whisk soup in broth or eggs to mix well before adding to large bowl of all other ingredients. Add broth and  chicken and mix well. Pour into dish (will already be buttered from cooking celery and onions). Cook for 20 minutes and slide under broiler for final browning of top.  Delicious!

Boss Bros.

Boss' Store was having another special day to benefit Toys for Tots this time.  I'm sitting, Grandaddy's standing as we watch the police dogs show us how they catch the bad guys. I do know I wouldn't want to be the bad guy with that dog all over me. They were great. You can see some of the antique tractors in the background. They had locals selling fresh collards, homemade barbecue with all the fixin's. The rocking chairs were for sale also. Each year at this time they put out boxes and boxes of Christmas candy for sale - coconut bon-bons, chocolate peanut morsels, divinity, orange slice candy (love it!), and just about any old-time candy you can think of. We always buy enough to fill a platter during the Christmas holidays. We love the Boss family and we're so glad they're there as friends .

Pear Relish Recipe

Pear Relish is so yummy over dried beans. Another idea is to spread it over softened cream cheese and it's so good you can't stop eating till it's gone. The pear variety is Keiffer, sometimes known as the preserving pear because you make pear preserves with this pear. We have several trees that were loaded down this year. We fed most of them to our goats and donkeys; they absolutely love them. I also grow my own red peppers, which cost $2 each at the grocery.


PEAR RELISH

10 pounds prepared pears (peeled, cut into pieces)
6 red sweet peppers
fresh hot pepper to taste (I used Jalapeno, which is very hot and I only used about 1/2 of a pepper)
1 TBSP. each salt, celery seed and mustard seed
4 cups sugar
3 cups vinegar
2-3 medium onions, not Vidalias

Coarsely grind pears, peppers and onions. Mix other ingredients and cook 2-3 hours. Ladle into pint or half-pint jars, seal jars. Can process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes if desired.

Handy Recipe Holder

Here's a good idea I'd not used before to keep my recipe I'm using at eye level and nearer my stove and counters when I'm cooking. (Also keeps the recipe clean, without splatters). Use a clothes hanger that has clips that slide across (used in stores to hang skirts) to clip the recipe. Then hang it on the cabinet knob or cabinet handle. 

Money-Saving Tips - Seminar Part I

On March 15, 2012, I presented a seminar at Yellow River Baptist Church.  I shared money saving tips for the grocery store, how to find a bargain at thrift stores and household tips.  Hope you enjoy both Part I and Part II.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ibxDqWZEfM  - Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5D_IeLW5ZY&feature=relmfu – Part II

Blueberry Jelly - It's Easy!

Making homemade jams & jellies is easy!  By following the easy instructions on the Sure-Jell box or other pectin brands, you can make delicious old-fashioned jams and jellies.   Serve the jelly on homemade, fluffy biscuits, using my biscuit recipe.  Check out my youtube video "Making Blueberry Jelly with Granny.  You can also find the link to my biscuit recipe in another section of my blog.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nbq6NBdLog

Grandaddy's Birthday Cards

Fruit Salad

Newest Additions to Laid Back Farm - Baby Goats

Video of our most recent additions to Laid Back Farm. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im5hIwFRdAM

Blackberry jelly-making time

Yesterday, Kay and I put up 21 pints of blackberry jelly.  Enjoy the following videos:
Starting the process of jelly making:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duECvnbtC2U
Admiring our final product:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk1NYXH-Qj8
Grandaddy - The official "taster":   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORulvTDeKqQ

This is actually Kay posting on Granny's blog.  In late May, our daughter, Kaitlin came from Montana with her two small children for a visit.  Hudson is three and Ellie was born this year on March 16.   Visiting Laid Back Farm was quite a treat for Hudson.  We celebrated his third birthday at Granny's and Grandaddy's.  Hudson loved picking and eating blueberries fresh from the bush and he loved the miniature donkeys but most of all, he loved the baby goats. 

Baby Goats

We have 8 new baby goats. Most are all white since the Daddy is a registered Kiko, but we also have a chocolate brown, brown with black spots and black and white spotted. Oh, to feel as good as a baby goat feels, jumping and springing up in the air and running. We've had several families with children come to see the goats and the farm. The blueberries are ripening and the plants are loaded down. And sweeter than they've ever been.       Flowers blooming now are hydrangeas (they're blue when planted in the ground here but you can make it have pink blooms with the addition of lime) and they're so beautiful. Daylilies, zinnias, May Night salvia (blue) and Knockout roses are very pretty. I have Knockout red, pink and yellow and they don't get blackspot on the leaves like most other roses. Easy care/no care is what I need. The grapes are loaded down and will be picking in July for bunch grapes and September for muscadines (a Southern grape) The tame blackberries are producing well also and we'll be picking lots of figs soon. Busy, busy. Granny

Spring Flowers

You've not heard from me lately because I've been out in the yard working and having so much fun in the yard. I think I have at least one of every plant, but a gardener is always thinking about the next plant and next year and the changes we'll make. I was finally able to identify the snowball-type plant with white blooms as large as a soccer ball. It's a Chinese snowball. I bought a large 3-gallon size marked down at Lowe's and popped it out of the pot, divided it in half, repotted each half and the two will be ready to put in the ground early spring next year. I can't wait. I also bought two burgundy-leafed lorapetalum plants and did them the same way. I have plans for them. We're in a severe drought right now so I'm watering my pot plants but not the ones in the ground. We have a well but there is limitation on how long the water will last. The irises are blooming beautifully and the daylilies will be next. The roses are absolutely breathtaking this year. The clematis are blooming and budded. I could go on forever, but I'll give you a break and let you know that if you have any questions about gardening, cooking, housecleaning, just contact me and I can help. Granny

GRANNY'S SOUTHERN CORNBREAD RECIPE

The video demonstrating how to make this delicous cornbread is posted below beneath the recipe and is also available on youtube. Cornbread is a staple of any southern dinner table and I know you'll soon be making it a regular addition to your family's meals as well. Enjoy! Granny

Preheat oven to 500 degrees
Ingredients:
3 cups White Lily cornmeal mix
1 egg
1/2 cup shortening (can use bacon grease as part of measurement, if desired)
1 cup buttermilk

Spray iron frying pan with pan spray. Place small amount of bacon grease or shortening in pan. Put pan on stove eye and turn on high while mixing ingredients.(Pan should be hot, nearly to smoking, when cornbread is poured in.If it starts to smoke before batter is ready for pouring, turn stove eye off). Mix ingredients, adding extra buttermilk if necessary to make a thin batter. Pour into very hot pan (will sear and make a crisp bottom crust), place in oven. Cook 15-20 minutes till brown on top. Pour out onto cake cooling rack to keep it crisp. Place rack over a bowl or pan for air circulation till cool. Place on plate, slice into 6-8 generous portions.

Let me know how your recipe turns out and how your family likes it.

Here's the video: http://youtu.be/rR_vwbNjE24