Apricot Onion Chutney

Sweet and savory kounry fresh apricots chutney with onions taste so good on pork and chicken and plus good as a side dish for spreading on foods..go wild and have some fun with chutney.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups dice white onion

salt to your taste

1 pound ripe apricots

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons bourbon

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon whole grain mustard

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions,salt and cook until soft and translucent.

add the garlic and cook about 1 minute. Stir in the bourbon and cook 2 minute.

Stir in half of the apricots, the honey, mustard and vinegar. Cook  until the apricots start to soften, about (30 seconds depending on the ripeness of the apricots). Remove the skillet from the heat and allow chutney to cool.

Stir in the remaining apricots. Season with more salt, if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate the leftovers in a covered container.

Peach Pound Cake

I love to eat a sweet peach...I love baking a great peach cobbler.I thought how about a peach pound cake that has all the same as a sweet peach and the great peach cobbler as well.

Recipe

2 stick sweet butter- room temperature

1/2 crisco shortening

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

1 3-oz box kroger peach flavored instant gelatin

1 teaspoon vanilia extract

31/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

4 medium peaches peeled and chopped


Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spay a Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. in a bowl use a stand mixer, cream the butter, shortening and sugar. add the eggs one at a time, and then add the gelatin and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the butter mixture and stir well.

Stir in the peaches and pour the batter into the prepared pan.


Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean, 1 hour. transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before inverting onto a serving plate.

Adding Peach glaze on top

Recipe

1 big can peaches... I love kroger peaches!!!!

1 cup brown sugar

1/2  cup sugar

1 table lemon extract

1 stick butter

2 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup water

In sauce pan add butter and sugars cook until melted. adding peaches blending all together. mix water and cornstarch together and a bowl. pour in to the peach mixture until it get thicken. add lemon extract and stir well. let peach glaze cool. adding peach slices and glaze around the pound cake.

Funnel Cake

Funnel Cake

3 eggs beaten

2 cups of whole milk

1/2 cup of sugar

3 cups of self-rising flour not plain flour

1 teaspoon of vanilla

canola oil for frying

powdered sugar for dusting

cinnamon sugar for dusting 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon



Get a large bowl, cream together the eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla. Add the flour a little at a time mixing well. The batter will need to be thin enough to run through a funnel.

In an 8 inch and about 3 inches deep skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees

Hold your finger over the bottom hole of a funnel and pour 1/2 cup of batter into the funnel. Hold the funnel close to the oil and remove your finger.

Move the funnel in a circular motion so that the batter is spread around in the skillet. when edges start to brown turn the cake over with a metal spatula and brown the other side. This will take less than a minute.

Drain on paper towels and dust with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar or top with your favorite pie filling!

Soulfoodqueen.net.... Yellow Squash And Sliced Red Potatoes

So simple and southern to bring to your country table this summer.

medium yellow squash 1/2 pound clean free from dirt leaving skin on

medium red potatoes 1 pound clean free from dirt leaving skin on

1 yellow medium onion slices

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 ounces goat cheese

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

thinly sliced basil or thyme leaves added after baking

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease casserole dish with a drizzle of olive oil.

slice the onion, squash and potatoes into very thin slices. toss the sliced vegetables olive oil in a bowl.

layer half squash,potatoes,squash just spread evenly  then season with salt and pepper. Top with half of the goat cheese, scattered evenly in large chunks. Repeat onion , squash potatoes seasoning again with salt and pepper and topping with the other 1/2 of the goat cheese. Finish by layering on the final of the vegetables and seasoning with salt and pepper.

Pour the milk over the entire dish. Top with the parmesan cheese. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until the top browns.

Soulfoodqueen.net... Strawberry Pie

Strawberry, strawberry, and more strawberries are here this season and you can make a pie.if you like a cool cake too...Got recipes for you.

For the Filling:
pick over the berries and measure out 2 pounds of the most attractive ones. Add the berries to the bowl with the glaze and fold gently with a rubber spatula until the berries are evenly coated.

3 pounds fresh strawberries taking the little green hats of and gently rinsed and dried.

One bake pie crust

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1½ teaspoons Sure-Jell for low-sugar recipes (the pink box)

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Select 1 1/2 cup misshapen, overripe, or not so cute berries, In a food processor, process the berries to a smooth state, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, Sure-Jell, and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in the berry puree, making sure to scrape the corners of the pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a spatula, and bring to a full boil.

Scoop the berries into the pie shell, piling into a mound. If any cut sides face up on top, turn them face down. If necessary, rearrange the berries so that holes are filled and the mound looks attractive. Refrigerate pie until chilled, about 2 hours. Serve within 5 hours of chilling and add topping.

Try this cool cake

Strawberry Shortcake Dessert

Get Recipe It's a Good One
http://www.themotherhuddle.com/strawberry-shortcake-dessert/

Smoke Pulled chicken

There are so many wonderful ways to serve this wonderful  pulled chicken. It is marvelous just piled warm and steaming on a plate with no sauce. Many people make the mistake of dumping a bottle of sauce over the meat smothering it to deaf. Please don't. The taste of hot flavor from the smoker is unmatched.

The best way to eat a pulled chicken is a great sandwich.

Use two forks to tear away the meat.

Use your favorite sauce

You can used chicken leg Quaters

You can smoke it on a grill for about 6-10 hours

This the best way to get that really good favor is to smoke it.

You can place in a oven on 350 about 3 hours or more you can add liquid smoke.

Last you can put it in a crock pot and leave it for 8 hours. no smoke taste just good and tender meat.

Always remember to add your favorite spices

Sweet Potatoe Pie

Sweet Potato Pie has to be my all time favorite dessert. I can make it any day of the week and absolutely love it. I like the regular pie crust not the graham cracker crust. Sometimes it’s hard to find a good sweet potato pie.


Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes or yams (I like yams better)

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

1 can of evaporated milk (use less if you what your pie thick)

1 1/2 stick of unsalted butter

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon lemon extract

1 tablespoon  nutmeg

dash salt

1 1/2 cup of white sugar

2 deep dish pie crusts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425° F. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and roast (skin on). Bake until soft. Remove from oven. Allow to cool . Remove the skin carefully. Or boil potatoes with skin on in water until fork tender. Place sweet potatoes into large bowl. Sprinkle salt and butter. Mash with a potato masher until  smooth. Mix nutmeg and add sugar. Mix well. (you may use a  mixer, on low speed this will help make the pie smooth) Add the whole eggs first and mix, now add the egg yolks and mix well. Slowly add evaporated milk, vanilla, lemon extract.Mix until a smooth .cut the oven to 375° F. Place pie shells on a baking sheet. Pour sweet potato mixture into pie shells evenly making some peaks. Bake on center rack for 45 minutes or until peaks are dark brown. Allow to completely cool.

Beef Liver And Onions

My mom used to cook a wonderful beef liver. The liver was calf liver, it was tender and very tasty. I request the liver dinner for her to cook when she came down to my home in Mississippi. My mom passed away that year and went  home to be with the Lord. That meal will always be with me forever.I love you Mom.

8 tablespoons bacon dripping

2  Large onion, sliced

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 pound calves' livers

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste


Directions

In a medium skillet melt bacon over medium heat.

Stir in onion and saute until softened. Stir in sugar and continue to cook until onion caramelizes set a side.

Rinse liver and remove thin outer membrane and beat liver with a pounded until tender

I like to buy

Heat bacon dripping in a medium skillet over medium heat

Dredge liver slices in flour and salt and pepper to taste

and brown in melted bacon dripping for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side.

Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve liver smothered with caramelized onions.

Smothered Beef Liver Recipe -

Use the same direction as above when the onions is caramelized set aside in a pan

add mix beef gravy and pour gravy over the liver and onions.

add caramelized onions and simmer about 5 mins and serve with hot cooked rice.

How to Pick A Watermelon

Watermelon is one of the best ways to cool off in the summer.

How to pick the perfect watermelon

When you walk up to a watermelon bin give the watermelon a good shake. If you hear water or juices running around, put that one down and go to the next one. This means it isn't as dense as it should be, and will not be as flavorful as a better specimen.

Give the watermelon a thump. The transfer of sound and vibration should be very satisfactory, the thump should be audible and less like a pulse. A "pulse" like tone means that there is more water in the melon than there is melon.

A lopsided watermelon will have underdeveloped seeds, which means less sugar and less flavor. Turn the watermelon over and look at its belly, the spot where it sat on the ground. If it's white, find another melon. You want yellow, the color of butter.

Now look at the stem, which should have a black ring around the base. That blackness is crystallized sugar. Sometimes you find beads of black crystallized sugar on the rind as well.

A Watermelon Treat...

Watermelon Sorbet Recipe

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup or light agave nectar (the syrup or nectar makes the resulting texture quite smooth)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
3 fresh mint leaves
3 pounds watermelon, rind and seeds removed, cut into chunks


DIRECTIONS
1. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, corn syrup or agave nectar, lime or lemon juice, and mint to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool.
2. In a blender, puree half of the watermelon chunks. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining watermelon.
3. Add the slightly cooled syrup to the watermelon and mix well. Place in a 2-quart container, cover, and freeze for 3 to 4 hours.

Flake the mixture with a fork scoop it up and serve.

Twice Baked Bacon Cheddar & Chive Potatoes

Twice Baked Bacon Cheddar & Chive Potatoes

Thanks to Tom Topham, cook for Shift 3 at the Natick Fire Department for the inspiration for this recipe.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves: 8 

4 large baking potatoes, scrubbed.

1 stick butter or margarine

1 pkg (12 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup reserved for topping

8 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and chopped into 1/4” pieces

3 TB chopped scallions or chives

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375. Stab at the potatoes a few times with a fork to keep them from exploding in the oven and bake the potatoes for an hour. Potatoes are done when the fork sinks easily in through the skin.

Bring the spuds out of the oven (leave the oven on), and slice them in half lengthwise (cool for a few minutes if necessary, or use an oven mitt so you can handle them). Use a spoon to scoop the potato out of the skins (careful not to damage the skins). Put the scooped-out potato in a bowl. Add the butter and mash with your fork or masher until you get to the consistency you like (you can beat them if you like fluffy potatoes). Stir in the cheddar cheese (reserve 1 cup of the cheese), the bacon, the scallions/chives, and salt and pepper to taste; Spoon this mashed potato mixture back into the potato skins on the baking tray, top with the reserved cheddar, and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

https://www.phantomgourmet.com/recipe/twice-baked-bacon-cheddar-and-chive-potatoes

Hot Wings Flavor Chicken Breast

My family love when I serve these breast of chicken when we have an event. Sometime did not have chicken wings and plus chicken wings are good but not enough meat on them and they are costly. in other words I will get out a package of chicken breast and season them up and WOW!!! So meaty and full of hot Bar B Q flavor.

4 boneless chicken Breast

salt and black pepper and garlic powder to your liking

Flour coating

Or non flour coating add about 1/4 cup canola oil to a frying pan

Brown on both sides

pour in a bowl

 1/2 bar b q sauce and 1/2 Louisiana Supreme Chicken wing hot sauce. Dip chicken in sauce and coat very well. add to perheated oven and bake about 10 mins.

Soulfoodqueen.net...Turnip Greens And Turnip Bottoms

Turnip greens are most often prepared by cooking them in boiling water. You can flavor them in a variety of ways, but the simplest way to season turnip greens is with dry salt pork. Here's an easy way to fix these greens.( you can use meat of your choice).

Dry salt pork is a good taste for these Greens. add cut up pieces to a  pot and adding a 4 tablespoon bacon dripping cook until lightly brown.

 Add about 2 pounds of  clean and cut up Turnips Greens. Don't worry they will cook down.

(You can mix Mustard Greens with Turnips Greens) and 2 cups of water to salt pork and bacon dripping and cook about 30 mins on med heat.

Adding 2 cups cut up Turnip bottoms on top of cooked greens and cook for 10 mins or fork tender. adding salt to taste.

Serve with Cornbread

Okra...

Fried Okra, a Soul Food Classic! A great dish in the south. I love Okra you can prepare it so many ways.I got recipes for you to try yourself.

1 pound of okra cut 1 inch or lengthwise

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1/8 caynana pepper

1 egg

2 cups of yellow cornmeal

1 cups of self rising flour

1 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning

Deep fryer and  canola oil
Instructions


Preheat the fryer to 375 degrees F, or if using a skillet heat the oil.

Whisk together the buttermilk,egg. set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the cornmeal with the flour, salt and Cajun seasoning.

Dip the okra into the buttermilk, let excess buttermilk drip off and then dredge in the flour mixture. Fry in batches for 3 or 4 minutes, or just until golden brown; don't overcrowd! Sprinkle with additional salt if desired; serve hot.



Fried Okra Patties

1 pound fresh okra, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large green tomato, diced

1 onion chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removes and sliced

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup milk

1 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions:

Combine okra, tomato, onion, garlic & jalapeno.
In separate bowl combine eggs, salt, pepper, milk.
Pour egg mix over vegetable and toss to thoroughly coat.
Gradually add cornmeal until liquids are all soaked up and the mixture is evenly mixed. Mixture will be a gooey.
Heat oil in saucepan until very hot.
Spoon mixture evenly into pan.
Reduce heat.
Cover and fry till underside golden brown, 10-15 minutes.
Invert onto plate, then carefully put back into pan with the un-browned side down.
Cook uncovered until golden brown.
Remove from skillet to paper towels to drain excess oil.
Serve hot.

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

2 lbs. okra

3 tablespoons oil

1 tbls. all-purpose flour

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

2 med. stalks celerey, shopped

5 fresh or 1 large can tomatoes

1/2 corn whole corn

Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
Instructions:

Wash okra, cut and fry in 2 tablespoons oil until it is not sticky (DO NOT USE CAST IRON POT).
In a skillet, make a medium dark roux with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon flour. Add chopped onion, bell, and celery and simmer until wilted.
Add tomatoes and simmer for 5 mins.
Add okra, season well with Tony Chachere’s and reduce heat. Cook for 1 hour.

Smother Okra

4 tablespoon bacon dripping

2 lbs fresh okra sliced thin

1 cup onion chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground mace

1/4 teaspoon chill

2 teaspoon creole mustard

Add bacon dripping to a pan and saute the cut up Okra and onions and add spices.cook until tender.

Boil Okra

 qt. tender okra with 1/2 inch stems

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

4 tbsp.butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the okra in a pan with cold water to just cover. Bring to a boil and add the vinegar. Do not stir okra while cooking. Boil until fork tender. Add butter and salt and pepper to taste. Lift okra from pan carefully to serve.

You can serve Boiled Okra stems on top Butter Beans....