Nanny's Heavenly Hash (aka Ambrosia, Fruit Salad,etc)

Pint whipping cream, whipped and set aside in fridge. You can make this the last step, but I like to do this first, since the whipping cream is absorbed into some of the fruits I add, so I want to control consistency.

Apples
Raisins
Coconut
Walnuts or pecans, rough chopped
Mini Marshmallows
Maraschino Cherries, drained

Chop apples into bite sized pieces. If I am making this for Christmas, I leave them unpeeled and use green skinned apples, such as Granny Smith...or mix those with a red skinned. If you only have one kind, it's fine... the cherries are red, so it looks festive with the Granny Smiths.

Take whipped cream out of fridge, put into a larger bowl and add fruit, nuts,and add cherries to taste. Stir it up, then add HALF of the marshmallows you think you will need. The marshmalllow and sometimes the raisins will absorb some of the moisture of the whipping cream, so go light on the 'mallows. Refrigerate.

Before serving, check consistency and if you like add marshmallows at that time. I usually use half of a bag, total, but I also use almost a quart of the whipping cream.

This is a sweet that you can eat and benefit from. No added sugar, except for the marshmallows, and the raisins, nuts and apples just pair well with the sweet marshmallows and cherries. The whipped cream adds a dessert feel, making it taste more like dessert than a similar dish made with mayonnaise, minus all that fat. I like it in the summer, but my grandmother always had it for me at Christmas every year as I grew up. Sometimes, I omit the coconut, and as I said, this dessert can be changed up.. add bananas that have been sprinkled with lemon juice, pineapple,drained mandarin oranges, etc. The only limitation is your imagination. I have mixed half whipping cream with cream cheese and it was great with Pineapple and oranges, coconut, nuts and raisins.

2015 Greetings

It's been a while since I posted. I know, I'm a terrible blogger. But, in my defense, I've come up with new recipes while I was gone, so I hope I'm forgiven. I created a Soup Swap, starting on Facebook, and it has become a great outlet for my need to cook. We don't just exchange soup. Some are bakers, some make great soup, some make great cassseroles, so each month, we change what we exchange (did you see what I did there? HA!)
I'm making a pot roast as I sit here on this cold January day typing my thoughts, just to have something to do, and my house smells HEAVENLY! Can't wait till Gary gets home, so we can devour it. I usually make a pot roast with Onions sliced into the broth and meat, then I take the broth and thicken it with flour or cornstarch and it becomes a gravy for my mashed potatoes. Sometimes, I put carrots and onions and new potatoes in the pot and it becomes a meal in one pot. CHuck Roast is extremely versatile, so I cook it about once a month.
Today, simply because it is cold and I am an oppositional kind of gal, I am craving, and  I mean CRAVING smoked ribs. Next weekend, the plan is to put some ribs on the smoker, maybe drive over to Cherokee and either hit the casino for an hour or two or try that tubing park just across from where Ghost Town used to be, come home and eat ribs and pretend it's spring. Gary and I have found a new smoker we intend to buy before it gets too warm. It is electric ( I know, I know... I like wood and wood only, myself, but this one is for the house, not for hauling around, so I compromised) and it uses less space than the three other electric ones I have, which will either be given to my girls or sold in a yard sale. At any rate, this one has a LOT of smoking room, for several differnt meats at once or for doing lots of ribs. I can't wait to post what we've cooked on it this Summer.
For the next few weeks, I will be posting Comfort type foods, such as One pot dinners, crock pot suppers, etc.
Hopefully, I will be better about posting regularly, but at this point, I'm not making any promises.
One exception... my grandmother made a wonderful version of ambrosia, which she called Heavenly Hash, and I am posting this recipe in her memory today. This is a recipe that even an inexperienced cook can make their own, simply by changing up the fruits included.
For now, I apologize for taking so long and I can promise this... it won't be this long again. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Sandwiches Are Food, Too

Okay, I know. Some of you are saying "Duh, stupid title" right? Well, not so much if you realize that I believed that if I didn't actually "cook" the food, I was not a good Wife, Mom, Grammy/Mimi... so this, for me anyway, is a revelation! 

I have learned to make sandwiches an integral part of my food repertoire and I am loving it! So much so, that our meals this Summer will be mostly Sandwiches, Salads and Grilled dinners, so that I can spend more time living and less time working! 

So, here are some of my favorite Sandwich ideas..

1. Cuban Panini (without a panini machine!!!!)

I love Ol' Farmers Brand Ham and get it from the Deli case,sliced about like you see the meat at Subway sliced. 

Take a loaf of good, crusty bread, slice it as thinly or thickly as you like, on an angle, so it looks longer, and spread REAL Butter on one side of each slice. 

Place two or three slices of ham on one piece of bread, topping with provolone cheese. Spread mustard on the other piece of bread, put some dill pickle slices on the cheese, cover with the bread that has the mustard, and put in a pan on med/high heat. 

Now, to get the panini effect, you need any of the following items..A brick, wrapped in foil, a heavy cast iron skillet, a really heavy pan...

Press the heavy object on your sandwiches, press and cook about 2 minutes, move the heavy object, flip the sandwich over and cook the other side. Brown to your preference and serve.. YUMMMMM!

2. Cajun Beef and Swiss (or Pepper Jack)... do this the same way you did the Cuban Panini. I don't heat mayo or horseradish sauce, so I usually put the cheese on the bottom of the sandwich, top with the meat, using pepper jack or Swiss cheese , and then when I've cooked the second side, I can just take the bread up and spread my sauce on without taking the chance of food poisoning... who wants THAT in their day? 

3 Bacon, egg and Swiss Bagels. Toast a bagel, scramble an egg, use that leftover bacon or microwave a piece or two and stack together. The heat from the bagel, the egg and the bacon will melt your cheese. It's a quick, easy and delicious breakfast, one I love to make and eat on the deck poolside with my grandchildren!

I love to experiment with sandwich meats, spreads and breads.. nothing is better (in my opinion) than a sandwich of Pimento Cheese with potato chips on the bread. (hey, don't knock it until you've tried it!)

Comment on this post with your sandwich recipes.I'd love to try new ones...I/m fairly new to the sandwich game.. even my hubby's lunch was always reheated food from last night's dinner...

Homemade "Heath" Bars (aka Christmas Crack)

I love these. They are just rich enough to keep you from overindulging. LOL.. who am I kidding?

Preheat oven to 350

Line a large cookie sheet with 40 saltine crackers. YES, Saltines.

Now, in a pan, boil together 3 minutes
1 Cup REAL butter, (unsalted if you have it. Ive used salted, though and it's fine)
1 Cup Brown Sugar
Pour this over the crackers and bake for 5 minutes.
Removed from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes, until the mixture stops boiling.
Pour a package of milk chocolate chips over this and as they melt, spread them gently to cover the whole thing. I have used Semi sweet chips and they are good, but nowhere as good as milk chocolate... use what YOU like.
Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Cornflake Candy

I got this recipe from my friend Cindy Burns Adams Sexton when she brought it to a party years ago. Her mom made it and she took it to all the parties at Church, etc., and once I had it, I could understand why it was so popular!
Now, it is so popular with my family that I am expected to have it every year at Christmas. It is SOOOO easy, you'll wonder why you didn't come up with it yourself. I know I did..

Boil together for one minute:
1 cup sugar
1 cup Light Karo Syrup
Add
1 1/2 cups Peanut butter
Stir until well blended and pour over 6 cups of corn flakes.
STIR until all are coated and let cool a bit, but not too much or it will be one HUGE ball.
Break off into bite sized pieces and roll into balls. Store in an airtight container. Will keep several weeks.


I make several batches at one time and keep them through the Holidays, then when I have a guest, I put a few in a gift box or tin and they LOVE them! I believe some of my Holiday guests come just to get this candy, rather than to visit.

Enjoy!

Apology to my Readers

It seems that in July of this year, someone anonymously posted some vulgarities as a comment on one of my posts. I didn't know it until today, November 26th. I am so very sorry, and I will try to keep a better eye out for things like this in the future. I think I know who did it and I have dealt with her. But I am sorry my friends and family had to see that filth. It is NOT something I ever thought I would have to deal with on a cooking blog, for goodness' sake.
Please know that if you see something like that on here again, I want to know all about it, so that I can delete them.
Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Key West Chicken (And Shrimp)

3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil (I use a LOT of EVOO...this does NOT work with this recipe... too heavy)
2 teaspoons Lime Juice ( I use half a lime or more. I don't use bottled juice when I cook, given a choice)
2 teaspoons minced garlic

Marinate chicken breasts, strips, chunks for kabobs, etc. for at least two hours. 

If I am making a dish similar to Cheddar's Key West Chicken and Shrimp, I reserve about 1/4 of this marinade and put it on the shrimp. 

I put this chicken, my Pineapple Pico de Gallo (recipe on this blog) and the shrimp together and dip them in a Bourbon Honey sauce that I buy from a place in Crossville. It is very similar to the Jack Daniel's Dipping Sauce at TGI Friday's. Serve over your favorite rice recipe.