Collard Greens With Cornmeal Dumplings

All this about Greens, I mean collards greens down south in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia where the greens grow. This is a new twist in cooking collard greens, with cornmeal  dumplings.

Meaning bread in the pot! Cornbread that is already to enjoy. You can choose the meat you like, whether it is ham hock or salt pork, you cannot go wrong in the South. enjoy the pot liquor of the collard greens in the cornbread dumplings.Yum!!!!

For the collard greens:

Dutch oven or a large pot add water,oil and ham hocks and Cook 45 mins. add collard green stirring occasionally, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, chiles, and measured salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the collard is tender.

For the dumplings:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour


1/3 cup yellow cornmeal


1 teaspoon baking powder


1 tablespoon unsalted butter


1/2 cup whole milk

whisk together flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then blend in butter well with your fingertips. Stir in milk until just combined. Let dough stand 5 minutes.

With wet hands, roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls. Gently place dumplings on top of greens. Cook, covered and undisturbed, over low heat until greens are very tender and silky and dumplings are puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes.


[Dropping the dough in heaping tablespoons about 1/2 inch apart into the simmering greens]

 Sprinkle the greens with the reserved bacon and serve immediately.

Collard Green Dip

Talking about southern hot nights....Here a creamy hot dip, you need to serve at your next party.
It will WOW THEM!!!! Collard Green Dip.

Ingredients

2 slices bacon

1 small sweet onion, chopped about 1 cup

1 medium red sweet pepper

1 pound fresh collard greens, trimmed and coarsely chopped about 6 cups

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 8 ounce package cream cheese cubed and softened

2 ounces  Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 1/2 cup

1/2 cup light sour cream

1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning optional

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Thin bread sticks or vegetable sticks
Directions

In a 12-inch skillet cook bacon until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towel. Remove and save bacon dripping for another recipe but use 2 teaspoons of bacon drippings from skillet and add onion and sweet pepper to skillet. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat or until vegetables are just tender, stirring occasionally. Add cut collard greens and garlic; cover until tender, stirring occasionally. You can add a little water if becoming dry. Remove from heat.
Add cream cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, and seasoning to the collard mixture, stirring until combined. Crumble remaining bacon and add to collard mixture.  
Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes or until warmed through. Serve with vegetable dippers or bread sticks.

Jamaican Brown Chicken Stew

Jamaican Brown Chicken Stew....How soul can you get??? This stew base on the curry powder and the spices that goes in this stew. I call it goodness of hot soul.

1 medium chicken, cut into 8 portions

salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 onions chopped

1 chilli pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 teaspoon thyme

4 cloves garlic chopped

2 teaspoon curry powder

pinch allspice

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2  cup chopped green bell pepper

4  cups chicken stock

1 nice size butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite- sized cubes

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized cubes

2 1/4  cup Basmati rice, cooked in coconut milk

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan until really hot. Add 4–5 pieces of chicken to the oil and fry gently skin-side down for about 5 minutes on each side until the chicken is browned all over,remove the chicken and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Carefully pour out most of the oil, leaving just 2 spoonfuls in the base. onions, chilli, garlic, thyme and peppers, and stir briefly.

Add chicken to a big pot adding spices, squash and potatoes. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes until the liquid is reduced to a rich gravy. Serve with the coconut rice.

Meat Balls In A Big Pot

Meat Balls Come And Get Them

My mother always cooked a big pot of meat balls.We ate as many as we wanted. My mother did  not serve them with pasta.... we ate them with creamy mashed potatoes.

It's seem like that red thick tomato gravy just give those creamy mashed potatoes the best taste ever.

When the meat balls was gone from the pot, we did not care too much because we had the wonderful meat ball gravy to do some serious slopping with bread.

Here We Go!

Adding water and two teaspoon salt to a big pot filling almost full to the top and let boil.

In a bowl at 2 pound ground meat

3 Beaten  Eggs

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup water

Chop very fine 1/2 cup each green onion, red and green bell peppers.

Spice 1 tablespoon each onion powder, garlic powder,salt and black pepper.

Mixing all together

Rolling into a ball

Place them on a sheet pan

Than drop them one by one in the boiling water. Cook 10 mins.

Draining meat balls and place in another pot

Pour four Jars pasta Sauce and add bay leaf.cover pot and let simmer on med heat for 30 mins.

You can also make a Meat Ball Sandwich

    

 

Meat Loaf With Stuff Mashed Potatoes

Meatloaf Time!!! "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" is the first single by the American musician Meat Loaf in his solo career. It is a track off his 1977 album" Bat Out of Hell', written by Jim Steinman.

I know this singing group has nothing to do with a meatloaf recipe. I just give the group a plug and added it because it's one of my favorite singing group of all times.

Back to meatloaf  recipe..... Did you know in 2007, meatloaf was voted the seventh-favorite dish in the United States according to Good Housekeeping?

During the Great Depression, cooking meatloaf was a way to stretch the food budget for families, using an inexpensive type of meat and ingredients like bell peppers, eggs, onions and bread crumbs to  give it superior binding and consistency.

The meatloaf is normally served warm as part of the main course, but can also be found sliced as a cold cut. Meatloaf can also be considered a typical comfort food and is served in many diners and restaurants today with brown gravy and peas.

It seems everyone has a recipe for meatloaf, but the best one, is the one you prepare for your family with love and care.

The meatloaf, I am posting today is garnished with lots of crispy bacon and stuffed inside with buttery mashed potatoes and fresh parsley.

Meatloaf maybe also garnished with plain ketchup or a meatloaf sauce. my mother garnished her meatloaf with mashed potatoes, drizzling it with a small amount of butter and cheese and place in oven to brown.


Potatoes Recipe:

2 large white potatoes cut into chunks

2 cups water with 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook potatoes to tender and pour water off and place in a medium bowl

Mash them and add 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4 cup warm milk and set aside
  
Meat Loaf  Recipe:

1 1/2   lb  ground beef { 80% lean}
  
3/4    cup Progresso Italian style bread crumbs or plain bread crumbs
  
1/2    cup tomato juice

1/4    cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup green bell pepper

1/4 cup red bell pepper

2    eggs   beaten

4 slices cooked chopped bacon

Salt and black pepper to taste...you can always test a pinch of raw meat or meatloaf mixture for seasoning.

By placing it in a micowave oven about a second or two... with this method you can add more seasons if needed.{ I like a lot of black pepper in mine}


Heat oven to 350°F.

Make potatoes as directed.  In large bowl mix meat loaf ingredients until well blended. Firmly press half of beef mixture into pan add spoon potatoes over beef mixture about 1/4 inch edges adding fresh chopped parsley on top of potatoes.

Spoon remaining beef mixture over potatoes; press gently bacon on top.   Bake 60 to 65 minutes or meat thermometer inserted in center of loaf reads 160°F. Let loaf stand 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

 

 

 

 

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Everyone love chocolate cake. I am truly one that love the icing and the rich chocolate taste that it bring to your mouth. That creamy taste of moist chocolate cake is very unforgettable. My kids will always say....." Mum" please make a chocolate cake...I just could say no! because it's my favorite too!

Chocolate cake is made with chocolate it can be made with other ingredients, as well. These ingredients include fudge, vanilla creme, and other sweeteners.

The history of chocolate cake goes back to 1764, when Dr. James Baker discovered how to make chocolate by grinding cocoa beans between two massive circular millstones.
  

Recipe For Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1¾ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1½ cups sugar

1¼ cups mayonnaise

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Frosting

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

¾ cup sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature

¾ teaspoon salt


Cake: Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly coat cake pans with nonstick spray and line bottoms with parchment

 paper; spray again.

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs and sugar until pale and doubled in volume, about 4 minutes.

Add mayonnaise and vanilla and beat until just combined.

With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with 1⅓ cups lukewarm water in 2 additions, beginning

 ending with dry ingredients.

 Scrape batter into pans, dividing evenly.

Bake cakes, rotating halfway through, until a tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool 20 minutes before turning out onto racks. Let cool completely.

Frosting

  2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

  6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

  6 tablespoons butter

  5 tablespoons evaporated milk

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions

 In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporate milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.