It comes on moving day for us, and I was browsing Janice Duplantis’s site looking for a recipe to feed the moving crew. I have moved a lot of times, and this is just another in a string of more. My Rosie is a bit of a gypsy, and so we move around a bit. Seems she is never satisfied in one place for long…

So the old Coon has taken the license to borrow a recipe from Janice (with her courteous permission, of course) to feed the moving crew. I will put a big cast iron skillet in the oven at 450 degrees until nice and hot, and pour in the batter for my world famous jalepeno cornbread. It’s a great recipe - those of you old enough to know what rat cheese is will know the age of it - and is one of the best I have ever eaten. Man, do I love good cornbread!

I kinda feel I am a bit too old to be moving, so I have whined enough so that the kids are coming, and a friend or two, and we have 2 Men & a Truck coming Saturday morn at 9 AM. I plan on going into hibernation for a bit after the move, along with a bottle of Captain’s and a few good cold Rolling Rocks, and do a big cook fest. Winter is upon us…

Enjoy…

Potato Corn Chowder
6 bacon strips, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 med. onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
¼ c. all-purpose flour
1 qt. light cream (half-and-half)
4 med. potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 (10 ¾-oz.) can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 (10 ¾-oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 c. thinly sliced carrots
½ c. thinly sliced green onions
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp. ground Cayenne pepper
1 (14¾-oz.) can creamed corn
1 (14¾-oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained

Cook bacon over medium heat in a large Dutch oven until crisp.
Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels.
Drain fat from Dutch oven leaving 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings.
Sauté onion and celery in drippings until tender.
Sprinkle in flour and stir until blended.
Gradually add cream; stir in potatoes, undiluted cream of celery and cream of mushroom soups, carrots, green onions, salt, black pepper and Cayenne pepper.
Bring to a slow boil and immediately reduce heat; cover and simmer until potatoes are fork tender (approximately 30 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Stir in corn and cooked bacon; gently warm throughout. Yields 12 servings.

About the Author: Janice Faulk Duplantis, author and publisher, currently maintains a web site that focuses on Easy Gourmet and French/Cajun Cuisine. Visit Bedrock Press today!
Janice also publishes 2 monthly complementary ezines: “Gourmet Bytes” and “Lagniappe Recipes”

Look for more good recipes real soon. I am launching my ezine this month, and it is gonna be a real winner, with lots of recipes, book reviews, and a ton of goodies for my readers.

Peace,

Charlie~

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My Mom died in September last year, and my sisters and I have been going through the depressing process of taking care of all her things. I read this article today, and thought I’d share…

My Mom was a great cook. She made the best baked beans I have ever ate, and no one has ever been able to make them like she did after all these years. Missing Mom, I went through her cookbook last week, looking for some of her fabulous recipes to post. I was very surprised to not only find Mom’s recipes all mixed together in a box, but also found my Grandma’s old Spotlight Cookbook. This is a real treasure to folks that appreciate these things…

The cookbook is a compilation of recipes taken from different church groups and local folk, and the following article by Rachel Paxton really brings it all home.

Enjoy…

My Mother’s Recipe Box
by Rachel Paxton
Remember the days when cookbooks weren’t so readily available, and you or your mother relied on only one or two different cookbooks for cooking all of your family’s meals? I still have my mother’s old cookbooks, as well as my grandmother’s. Each one is worn from age and use–if you flip through the tattered pages it is obvious which recipes were turned to time and time again. These cookbooks will always number among my most precious treasures.

When our mothers wanted to try new recipes, they most likely didn’t run out and buy new cookbooks. They often didn’t have the extra money to spend, and often there weren’t very many to choose from. So where did they get new recipes? From each other.

When I was a child I remember my mother exchanging recipe cards with friends and relatives and bringing them home and filing them away in her recipe box. I always loved going through her recipes (although she often got mad at me for getting them all out of order!)

All the years while I was learning how to cook I went through her recipe box time and time again, pulling out my favorite recipes and preparing them again and again.

Seeing who the recipes were from made them all the more special. I also love looking back at all the recipe cards I prepared myself while I was in 4-H and spent much of my time learning how to cook. I still prepare many of the recipes I used back then. To this day, all I have to do is open my recipe card box, and I am instantly transported back in time.

My mother hasn’t exchanged recipe cards with anyone in more than 20 years. I have very few of my own (although I hope to inherit hers someday!) But even to this day there is no better place to find favorite family recipes than in my mother’s recipe box.

Twenty years from now, I look forward to going through my recipe box with my own daughter, telling her stories about where all of my different recipes came from.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who publishes the Creative Homemaking Recipe of the Week Club, a weekly newsletter that contains quick, easy dinner ideas and money-saving household hints. To subscribe send a blank e-mail message to FreeRecipes-subscribe@egroups.com. Visit Creative Homemaking and in the Home and Garden section of Suite 101.

Provided by ArticleFeeder.com

Peace,

Charlie~

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The other evening, Rosie made red beans and rice, which is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. She uses Kielbasa sausage sliced into 1/2″ pieces, and it is a very satisfyng meal, indeed.

Here is another fine recipe from Bedrock Press. I have been featuring Janice Duplantis’ recipes lately because of my interest in Cajun food, but also because Janice has a great newsletter that keeps my family fed.

Enjoy…

Cajun Spicy Rice & Sausage

1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 lb. smoked sausage (see Recipe Note)
1 (10-oz.) can diced tomatoes and chilies, do not drain
1-1/2 c. canned chicken broth
1 (10½ -oz.) can condensed French onion soup
1 c. uncooked long grain white rice

To prepare sausage and rice: Heat cooking oil in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
Slice smoked sausage into 3- to 4-inch pieces and cook in hot oil, turning often, until evenly browned (10 to 12 minutes).
Add canned tomatoes and chilies with liquid and cook over high heat until tomatoes are well sauteed and liquid has reduced (approximately 10 minutes).
Stir in chicken broth, undiluted French onion soup and rice.
Tightly cover skillet and cook over medium heat until rice is fully cooked (approximately 20 minutes).
Remove from heat and (leaving skillet covered) allow sausage and rice to “rest” for 15 minutes before serving.
Freezes beautifully. Yields 4 generous servings.

Recipe Note: As a matter of personal taste, smoked hot or mild pork, beef, turkey or deer sausage may be selected to prepare this recipe.

Recipe Variation: This recipe may also be prepared by substituting sausage with 4 lean pork chops (cut approximately 1/2-inch thick).

Peace,

Charlie~

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