When Jim makes salsa burgers – he always makes a lot. I have to figure out how to use them in recipes because I get tired of them. Chili has been done. Sloppy Joe sandwiches, and so on. With just a few left, I remembered a meal my best friends mother use to make for us kids when we were younger – there were six of us and her 4 – she served this with buttered bread and it was so good.
I only have 3 ingredients here:
Jim’s salsa burgers
Campbell’s Pork & Beans
sauteed onion
Mix together and heat. Jim had never had this before. He ate it all and said, “more please” So, I bought some hamburger, mixed in taco seasoning packet and the onion and beans. Super Easy.
Delicious! We like this hot. You can do hot or cold. Jim asked me to save some for him when he gets off work.
This is what I am sipping on today after a big walk. This is so good. I followed the recipe, and then I added my own spices at the end (rosemary/garlic salt; Italian blend; green onions)
I will be making this often. I’m including photo of recipe and the book it came from.
My husband chose gouda for this dish, and the homemade bread is for him, as he is not on Keto. This is yummy, but the cheese was too much for me. I removed the cheese, and ate the chicken.
Hash Brown Ham quiche in the cast iron skilled, and if the skillet is seasoned well; the quiche slides right out of it on to a platter
My 24 year old son, Alex said, “Did you put each piece of ham in an exact spot, while I was talking to you?” I laughed and said “no, I sprinkled them here and there “
He said, ”Wow! It looks like you did!” I said, “I do things instinctively, from years of cooking, I don’t even pay attention “.
But that was funny he thought that
I did review this, it was easy to put together and delicious
The shining star for this entirely homemade meal was the TOH Dessert! My college son said it reminded him of these little moist muffins he used to have for breakfast while between classes. He is trying to guess what the special ingredients are.
My husband said he wants more but will hold back and have another slice for breakfast. This was so very easy to create. I would not change anything.
The recipe now has a big star next to the recipe in my TOH Annual Recipes 2014 book, Page 224. Yes, I will definitely make this again.
Years ago, I printed a Frozen Texas twister margarita drink from fineliving.com. It looks like they are no longer around, but I was able to find this one, which is the same. My printed recipe is very stained.
The bread recipe came from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. I shared the recipe on here this past week.
The pictures are not attractive but this is so good! My husband thought it was perfect and ate it all; I was thinking maybe a pinch of the pepper flakes next time as there was quite a bit of heat for me, but Jim said don’t change it.
Someone on my page asked me what the cracker mixture underneath the dish was; I make the Cracker Party mix often and play with a variety of cracker. Here is the basic recipe, but I play with the cracker combo and today I also added Chex mix. I do 1 heaping tsp of the dill weed, because we like it. At the 15 minute mark, I pull the pan out and toss everything; I then add a bit of salt over all, and put back in oven for 5 more minutes. We do not buy chips; the guys just let me know when they are craving this. When these crackers go on sale, I stock up for the next time.
If you like a heavy garlic flavor, you might want to add more garlic to this – this was just right for us. Easy, fun snack
Cracker Party mix
1 package (12-16 oz) oyster crackers
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk dressing mix (dry)
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 to 1 cup veg. or olive oil
(I used slightly less than 3/4)
Preheat oven 250
Mix the ranch mix with oil. Add rest of ingredients. Pour over oyster crackers which I had spread out on a cookie sheet and stir/toss. I do this part on cookie sheet because I use a large spatula to toss the mixture and scrape /scoop ingredients off the bottom of pan to toss with crackers.
Bake 15-20 minutes
This has a light garlic taste -if you like heavy taste of garlic, you will want to add more. This was perfect for us for snacking and it would also be good added to a bowl of tomato soup.
A neighbor gave us several jars of tomatoes from his garden last year (20 jars) I am finishing them up so I can hand them back to him; my husband goes over and helps him pick and can the tomatoes. Last night I made a tomato soup dish Jim’s grandmother taught me over 20 years ago, which takes brandy. So I’m using the bottle of Brandy she gave me. I wanted to show you the vintage bottle holder her husband made out of metal for her. I adore the look of this bottle holder – it sits proudly on top of my refrigerator.
Grilled Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas were made from a recipe I found in a Better Homes and Garden Ultimate Mexican 20011 magazine. (recipe in photos)
They are delicious!
Mammah’s Tomato Soup
2 jars of tomatoes (probably about 28 to 32 oz each)
½ cup broth (I have used vegetable – this time I used chicken)
3-4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1-2 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp Brandy
½ – 2/3 cup heavy cream (taste it after ½ cup and decide)
(If you do not have cream, tear up 3 slices of bread, crusts removed. Add this with the sugar)
Drain tomatoes in colander set over bowl, press lightly to release juice. Pour tomato juice and chicken broth in large measuring cup (this should measure 4 1/2 cups) Set this to the side for later. Set tomatoes to the side.
Melt butter (I used a Dutch Oven) over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until soft. Add ¾ of the drained tomatoes, bay leaf, and brown sugar. Cook stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. If tomatoes brown before 15 minutes, move on to next step.
Add tomato paste and flour to pot and cook, stirring until paste begins to darken, about 1 or 2 minutes. Stir in reserved tomato juice broth mixture, the remaining tomatoes, baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and Brandy; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. When soup has cooled a bit, puree soup in blender (I scooped out enough to fill blender ½ way, pureed, poured in the large measuring cup I had used previously; did this until I had it all pureed. Return the soup to the pot. Stir in cream.
In a skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Stir in the tomato sauce, broth, parsley, pimientos, hot sauce, onion salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in shrimp, cook 5-7 minutes longer or until shrimp turn pink.
Serve with rice
I used a green pepper and a red pepper – next time, I’ll add yellow and orange peppers also.
I winged it on the rice. I just made a large batch (figuring I’d make more when needed)
Every time we go to the ocean – I buy a community cookbook – I enjoy trying new seafood dishes that are not common in our area. This recipe is from a spiral bound community church program called Along the Shores of Florida
If you don’t like spicy – cut back on the hot sauce –
Papas Cutting Board 