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Pappaw’s sweet potatoes

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So Pappaw was Big Daddy’s grandfather.  His daddy’s daddy. He was a very big man in stature (very tall) but he had a meek, quiet demeanor about him that made him so lovable.  He had a way of laughing that was absolutely endearing and boyish.  He was a bossy fellow at times and yet always remained humble.  How that is even possible I don’t know.  That man was something else.  He was 94 when he passed away last Thanksgiving day and he is still missed so much.  He was a wonderful cook.  I spent a good bit of time with him and he taught me quite a bit.  I can still remember when his friend would bring him a big ole box of sweet potatoes.  Boy was he ever proud of those babies.  They were a certain kind and I cannot remember the name…I just know he would get very excited.  After he passed away, Big Daddy went up to the Lodge with his brother and brought back his sweet potato pot. That thing is probably one of my most treasured possessions.  But what I treasure more are the memories of the time when Pappaw would stand in front of the stove and cook his delicious sweet potatoes.  These sweet potatoes are in many ways just like Pappaw was…sweet, simple but yet just enough.  These sweet potatoes are not bothered that they are simple…they rather it that way.  They are equally at home on your holiday plate next to turkey and dressing as they are next to pork chops.  My precious mother in law took over making these when Pappaw finally relinquished his role well past 90 and she does a great job.  Still, Pappaw is missed.  We make them very much like Pappaw, but still…he is missed.  My kids absolutely love this side dish and request for nearly every holiday meal.  They are as much of a staple at our house as Momou’s mac and cheese.  I have always been a candied yams with marshmallows kind of gal because that is what I was raised on.  I still love them and I cannot promise you I won’t be making a small dish of these as well on Thanksgiving day, but Pappaw’s sweet potatoes are really something special.  I hope you will try them and smile when you think of Pappaw.  Such a great man who made such great sweet potatoes.  Pappaw…another one of the many blessings in my life.

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Pappaw listens intently as his great grand tells him all about it…

Pappaw’s Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

2 Tablespoons vanilla

2 sticks of butter (yes 2 sticks)

2 1/2 cups of sugar (Pappaw would say make sure the package says Pure Cane Sugar…I always do)

1 heaping Tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

In a big ole skillet or pot, melt your butter over medium heat. Add your peeled and sliced potatoes to the melted butter.  Stir in the sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.  Make sure the potatoes are coated with the butter, sugar mixture.  Over low fire, with the lid on, cook the potatoes until they are tender.  Stir the potatoes almost constantly to ensure they don’t stick.  When you can stick a slice with a fork and it breaks off, they are good and done, about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Serve hot.  Repeat every time you want a good heaping helping of down home cooking.  Oh and Pappaw always liked to serve these with purple hulls and  cornbread.

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Pappaw’s trusty sweet potato skillet…lots of delicious food cooked in there. I am so honored to have it.

Sides, Thanksgiving

Momee’s cornbread dressing

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I have already mentioned my feelings about Momee’s cornbread dressing but let me say this again…as far I am concerned this is the BEST cornbread dressing recipe in the world.  The woman who gave me the recipe was beyond the best. Momee was my mom’s mom.  Her name was Beulah Mae and she was beautiful and funny and kind and so many things all rolled into one.  I am so blessed to have called her my grandmother and know that part of her lives on in me and in my kids.  She was a diva before I ever heard anyone called a diva.  She was the hardest working woman I ever knew and always knew how to look on the bright side in any situation.  She passed away in 2002 and I still miss her every day.  But she wouldn’t like me dwelling on her absence and would fuss at me for even mentioning that, so let me stay focused.  She believed in looking ahead you, not behind.  I would like to believe she is the one who ingrained that in me.   She was a strong, feisty spirit who lives on through  my sisters and I, my cousins, their kiddos, my kiddos, my nieces and nephews, and every single time I make this most delicious cornbread dressing, something I know she would really like.  I actually had the foresight to ask her to write down her recipe many years ago and I have a framed copy hanging in my kitchen.  She is never very far from me.  When I am running around the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off, I can so hear her whispering to me “ma petite (which sounded like mop tit and my sisters and I thought that was what she was saying for years  until she corrected us lol!) calm down.  Stand up straight my baby.  Smile.  You’ll get this all done.  Take your time baby.”  That thought makes me tear up and smile at the same time.  So if you are looking for a wonderful cornbread dressing to make this Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years (we had had it at all 3…thank God) give this one a try.  Momee would like that.

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Such a beautiful lady…inside and out…

Momee’s Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients

1/2 stick of butter

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 boxes of corn muffin mix

1 onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 large bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 bundle of green onions (I say at least 5 or 6) chopped, green parts only *

salt and pepper to taste

sage, to taste

3 or 4 boiled eggs, sliced

1 pack of turkey wings (I usually have the best luck finding these at Kroger, in the frozen meat section)

Directions

Make up your corn muffin mix according to directions.  So to prepare three boxes, just add 3 of whatever 1 box calls for.  Got it?  Now, I am sure I don’t have to specify which kind of corn muffin mix I use…but just in case…Jiffy my friends.  I am not even sure there is any other kind.  Bake your cornbread in a prepared 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350 until done.  Set it aside.  (I like to do this at least the night before so that the cornbread can stale a bit before I put the dressing together.)

Fill a stock pot halfway full with water.  Add about 3 tsp. salt to the water.  Add your turkey wings and bring to a boil.  Boil until very tender and the turkey meat just falls off the bone.  Remove the turkey wings from the water and put them on a plate.* *Do NOT Discard the stock!!! Set aside the wings and let them cool.  When they are cool enough to handle, take all the meat off of the bone.  Discard the bones.

** SAVE the water.  Do NOT drain.  This is your stock for the dressing or will be when we are done with it!  Keep the stock at a low simmer until you need it.  Just put  the stockpot on a back burner and set the heat to low and just let it simmer away.  We will come back to that.

In a skillet, melt butter and then saute the celery, bell pepper, onion, green onions and garlic over medium heat until “wilted” (that is a Beulah Mae term..this means until tender). Add a pinch or two of kosher salt and a sprinkle of black pepper.  You can also add a little bit of Tony’s at this point too. *my best friend, Lolly, taught me to cut the green onions by using a pair of kitchen shears.  Her mother in law, Mrs. Fern, taught her this trick and she passed it on to me.  I am so grateful.  That trick has made things much easier as green onions can be hard to cut with a knife.  Hope that helps!!

To your simmering stock, add kosher salt and pepper to taste.  You want it to have a good flavor to it, but not too salty.  I will tell you what I do.  I add a tablespoon of turkey bouillon base to this stock to give a deep flavor.  It normally comes out perfectly.  My dear friend, Lisa, turned me on to bouillon base a few years ago for my gravy making, and I have never looked back.  It can usually be found near the cans and boxes of broth, and other soups on the very top shelf.  It is in a short wide glass jar and is some “good stuff” as Lisa is fond of saying.  Anyway, whisk in tablespoon of this base to your simmering broth.  You may want to use a little more, depending on your family’s tastes.  It is definitely optional, but you won’t regret it.

Now, you should have some cooked cornbread, sauteed veggies, some stock and some turkey meat.  Ya’ll ready?  Ok…now I take my big ole silver bowl and I crumble the cornbread into the bowl.  Now, add your sauteed veggies to this.  Now, add your turkey meat.  Ok, get your hands in this bowl, and mix it all up really well.  That’s it!  You’ve got it!!  Beulah would be so proud!!  Ok, now, little by little you are going to ladle some of your stock into the cornbread mixture.  Ladle until this is the consistency of cream of wheat.  It is not too moist, but not too dry.  Use your judgement.  You just want to make sure that it does not dry out when it cooks.  Now, season with rubbed sage to taste.  I really cannot tell ya’ll how much sage I use.  When I make my dressing in a few days, I will try to update this with an approximate amount.  I would definitely say at least 1 1/2 tablespoons of the stuff.  What makes this dressing unique is the sweetness of the corn muffin mixed combined with the savoriness of the sage so don’t hold back, unless you dislike sage…in that case, you may not like this.  🙂  Once you are satisfied with the moistness and savoriness of your dressing,  add this mixture/concoction to your prepared 9 x 13 pan that you prepared by spraying with cooking spray or rubbed butter all over.  Now lay your boiled egg slices all over the top of your dressing.  I rather it with the eggs.  I am not sure where this came from or if it is a Southern thing, but I love boiled eggs on top of my dressing.  Some of my cajun mama facebook friends and I had a discussion about this and it seemed pretty common to add boiled eggs to your dressing.  Of course, if this is not your thing, just omit this step.  Also, if you find the adding boiled eggs to your dressing odd please feel free to leave me a comment.  I would like to hear from you.

Ok, now you cover your pan of dressing with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes.  It may take about 50 minutes or so, depending on your oven.  I would definitely check it after 30 minutes or so.  Once the dressing is almost done enough, you can uncover it so it gets nicely browned.  Cook it about 5-10 minutes uncovered then remove from oven and let cool.

Get ready to slap hands and “tasting spoons” away from the pan.  My cousin Robin and I would sneak as many bites as we could before Momee noticed and shooed us out of the kitchen.  Momee’s kitchen on Thanksgiving morning was warm, full of love, and smelled like cornbread, turkey and sage.  Some of my best memories were made in there.  Every Thanksgiving just about, Robin and I manage to text each other and say “hey making Momee’s dressing and thinking about you.”  I think Momee would love that.  No, I know she would.  I hope your kitchen is full of warmth, good smells, and lots of love on Thanksgiving morning.  May you have many blessings to count and many memories to be shared and made.  Love from Cajun mama’s kitchen to yours. ~AMB

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I cherish this almost more than I do the picture above.  It is like she is right here with me.  

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Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

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Ya’ll know I love soups already right?  That is a well established Cajun Mama fact at this point.  Split pea and ham soup, vegetable beef soup…I LOVE SOUP!!!  Know what I love more?  Soup that cooks in the crock pot.  And french onion soup is probably my favorite of them all.  Outback Steakhouse had the best I had ever eaten, but it seems like last time I went they didn’t have it anymore.  Then darkness fell all around me.  Mostly I am kidding, but I do love me some french onion soup.  I have never attempted to make it before…until last night.  I came across a recipe on pinterest for a version made in the slow cooker and I just could not pass it up.  I am very glad I didn’t because it is simply AWESOME my friends!!!  So I will end the chit chat and just give up the goods.  AKA the recipe.  I know that is all ya’ll want anyway.  Right?

First, a few things about this recipe.  I halved it.  It made plenty for me and Big Daddy.  There is enough for at least 4 or 5 nice sized servings with the recipe cut in half.  Also, I need some individual crocks or oven safe soup bowls for the next time I make this.  I made do with what I had, but to get that beautiful brown baked in color on the top of the cheese you need to stick this in the oven before you serve it.  Just a suggestion.  So I will give you the recipe cut in half and you can double it if necessary.  Also I used my 4.5 quart crock pot for this.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Adapted from http://www.getcrocked.com)

Ingredient List

3 sweet yellow onions or Vidalia onions if you can find them, thinly sliced

1/4 cup of red wine (I used what I had which was some sweet red and it was perfect)

1/2 stick of butter (or 1/4 cup)

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

2 cans of beef broth

kosher salt and black pepper

1 cup of water

1 French baguette

4 slices Swiss cheese

Directions

Now…melt your butter in your slow cooker.  Just put your stick of butter in the slow cooker and turn it on high, put on the lid and let the butter melt.  This took about 20 minutes for me…I suppose you could just melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl and then pour it into the slow cooker.  Duh.  Lol!  I just thought about that.  Anyway, once the butter is melted,   whisk in the sugar and then stir in your thinly sliced onions and stir to coat the onion slices with the melted butter.  Now cover the slow cooker and let the onions cook for about 2-3 hours on low.  They are basically going to caramelize in the slow cooker and will be a beautiful golden brown when you are done.  Next, stir in the flour into the onion juices.  Then stir in the red wine, beef broth, water, Worcestershire, garlic, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.  Give it a stir and return lid.  Let this cook on HIGH for about an hour and then switch it to low for another hour.  Now, I just left it on low for about 2 more hours and it was all good.

Cut 4 1 inch thick  slices of bread from the baguette.*  Toast the bread on a baking stone or baking sheet at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the bread slices are a nice toasted brown.

Ladle soup into 4 oven safe bowls.  Place a piece of toasted bread on top of the soup.  Next lay a slice of cheese on top of the bread.  Bake in 425 degree oven for 10 minutes or just until cheese is melted and bubbly.   You can put all of the soup bowls on a baking sheet and transfer them to and from the oven that way if that makes it easier.  Definitely keep an eye on them, you will know when they are ready.

I cut 8 slices because my baguette was really thin.  I couldn’t find anything thicker.  I used 2 slices of bread per soup bowl.

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French onion perfection…

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Southern Chicken salad

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So apparently today is National Sandwich Day so the fact that I was already planning to post a recipe for the MOST DIVINE chicken salad under the sun is simply a coincidence.  A wonderful coincidence, but anyway…this chicken salad is heavenly.  I have made it twice in the past 4 days and both batches disappeared in less than 24 hours.  This stuff is magnificent.  Poor Big Daddy, yesterday he calls me after an appointment and says “I think I have my mind set on one of those chicken salad sandwiches”.  I had to say “babe sorry, there is no more”.  The disappoint in his voice was pitiful but he forged ahead and I promised him I would make more.  And I did.  And now it is all gone again.  So just in case I have any fellow chicken salad lovers out there, I figured I would make this hump day/National Sandwich Day an extra special one.  Ya’ll ready for this?  Yeah I figured.

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So pretty, don’t you think?

Southern Chicken Salad (adapted from Debbie Lawrence @ http://drmommyonline.com)

Serves 6

Prep time 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup Duke’s mayonaisse (she didn’t specify this…that is mine because its the best! But feel free to use whatever kind you want)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 1/2 cups diced, roasted, or boiled chicken

1 cup finely diced celery

1/3 cup chopped pecans (I added about 1 cup total because we really like them)

1/3 cup diced red grapes (again I put more…it makes it even better)

Directions

In a medium sized  bowl, whisk together mayo, lemon juice and kosher salt.  Add in the diced chicken and give it a good toss to let the mayo mixture coat the chicken.  Then fold in pecans, celery and grapes.  That’s it.  Your done.  I served mine on a bakery croissant with a leaf of romaine lettuce.  Perfection!!!

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You want one too, don’t you?  

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Mammaw’s Spaghetti and Baked Meatballs

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Now I am quite certain there are many of you out there who have their own tried and true spaghetti and meatball recipe.  I am also quite certain it is absolutely delicious.  This is not your traditional Italian spaghetti and meatball recipe, I wouldn’t think, as neither Big Daddy or I have any Italian roots in our family….just about everything else…just not Italian.  Growing up, my Momou made spaghetti and meatballs for Sunday lunch when we would go visit and my mama made them pretty regularly too.  It was always a big event and my daddy was always, always so excited.  We had these big ole bowls he would eat spaghetti and meatballs from and he did it just right…twirling his pasta in the spoon with his fork.  He taught me and my sisters how to do it as well.  My mama and Momou could sure enough make up some spaghetti and meatballs.  So when Big Daddy and I started dating, his Pappaw passed on Mammaw’s spaghetti and meatballs recipe to me.  I gave it a try as my Momou could never verbalize exactly how she made hers. Magic, I suppose.  🙂  She did try though and I knew there was sugar in it and I had watched my mama enough to know kind of sort of how to do it.  Remember though, I was in college.  I was 19 and needed a dang recipe.  Lol!  So I got Mammaw’s and I got to it.  Well, turns out, her recipe and Momou’s and my mom’s must have been very similar.  It definitely hit the spot.  So for the most part, when I want to do a big spaghetti and meatball dinner, this is the recipe I always use.  My kids absolutely love it, even my oldest picky child.  He nearly licked the bowl clean the other night.  So I wanted to share this recipe with ya’ll just in case you are at a loss how to recreate your mom’s or grandmother’s spaghetti and meatball recipe.  Or you need a good recipe for this in your recipe box.  I hope you enjoy this.  I have definitely shortened it and simplified it to some extent.  I don’t think Mammaw would mind me taking liberties with her recipe as she was a very sensible woman indeed.  She would be a fan of “ain’t nobody got time for that!” if she were here today.  So make up a big pot of Mammaw’s spaghetti and meatballs and share them with someone special.  Sit around the table and laugh while you twirl your spaghetti in the spoon with your fork and then pile it into your mouth.  Just don’t forget the napkins!!!

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Big Daddy, Mammaw and Pappaw making sweet memories….

Mammaw’s Spaghetti and Baked Meatballs

Ingredients

For sauce you will need…

olive oil

3 cans tomato paste

6 cans of water

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced,

sugar (about 2-3 Tablespoons depending on taste)

salt and pepper (about 2 tsp. of each give or take…I use kosher salt)

2 bay leaves

For meatballs you will need…

1 pound ground chuck

1 pound ground pork

1 tsp. each of  salt and pepper

2 tsp. dried parsley

milk

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove of garlic

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a big wide pot or a deep one (I use my big blue wide pot) over medium heat.  Add finely diced onion and garlic in the olive oil and saute this for about 5 minutes or until onions are tender.  Add in cans of tomato paste one by one, giving a good stir in between each one.  You want to incorporate the onions  and garlic into each can of paste.  Gradually stir in each can of water.  Add bay leave, some salt and pepper and about 1 tablespoon of sugar to start with.   You can taste it and add more if you want at this point or wait.  Now, the sauce should be bubbling a bit at this point, so turn it down to low and let it simmer.  Ok, put the lid on and let this simmer for about 2 hours.  Stir occasionally and adjust heat if needed.  Mammaw made sure to note on her recipe and Pappaw made sure to reiterate to me…”the secret is in long slow cooking!!”…to me that means two hours.  LOL!!

While sauce is simmering, you can go ahead and make your meatballs.  Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Put your meat in a large bowl.  Add in your salt, pepper, parsley, grated Parmesan,  a splash of milk and minced garlic.  Mix it up really well with your (clean) hands.  Really get in there and work that seasoning in ya’ll!  Good times!!  ha ha!!  Ok, once you have your meat well seasoned (feel free to add in more seasoning if you think you need to.  My measurements are approximate). Now, take about 1 heaping tablespoon of meat and roll it gently into a ball.  You want uniformity more than anything so that they will cook evenly.  Put the meatballs on a rack inside of a baking pan (this allows fat to drip away from the meat).  Mammaw called for pan frying the meatballs in her recipe.  I changed it up because baking the meatballs makes them more moist to me, plus it is a healthier way to make them.  Put your baking pan on the middle rack in your preheated oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes.  They don’t have to be completely done as they will cook a little while in the sauce.  You just want most of the pink gone.

Add your meatballs to your sauce one by one.  Give them a good stir and then return lid to pot and let the sauce continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.  Serve over cooked pasta of your choice and you are golden!!  Sunday supper for real!!!

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Big bowl of love!!

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chicken piccata stuffed mushrooms

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I am a traditional girl at heart.  But then I’m not.  I love my roots but I love my wings.  I just don’t use my wings to stray very far from my roots…so to speak.  I may live in Shreveport and I have grown to love it here, my last name is Bowlin, but I will always be Aimee Marie Mayeux deep down. I like to mix who I am now with who I will always be and make this life my own.  Staying stuck in the past is never fun because then we cannot grow, change and adapt…that makes life too hard.  It is all about balance my friends.  This all carries into my cooking.  Everything Thanksgiving, no matter how many wonderful dressing recipes I come across or try, I will make without fail my Momee’s cornbread dressing.  I absolutely love it.  But also, when I make it, my kitchen kind of smells like her’s used to when we walked in on Thankgiving morning.  It is like my cousin and one of my best friends, Robin, is right there with me with a spoon and we are sneaking bites behind Momee’s back.  But I will try new things too.  I may make another dressing recipe, but it will be served alongside Momee’s recipe because any other way just feels wrong.  When I have a Christmas get together or any party, I like to mix my favorites with new things.  This recipe I bring to you today is one of those new things.  I found it in a Paula Deen Christmas magazine and made it for my ornament exchange.  They are a wonderful, flavor filled addition to any festive party spread.  I love chicken Piccata and I love mushrooms, so it stands to reason these would be high up on my list.  The capers are optional but ya’ll, I call them necessary.   I will be honest and say I don’t know what capers are…and I am ok with not knowing.  They are delicious.  The only thing I would alter about this recipe the next time I make them is to give the chicken a few pulses in the food processor.  I think it would make for a better texture for the filling and certainly make it easier to put the filling in the mushroom caps.  Also, sprinkling the tops with some panko crumbs and then brushing the tops with a little melted butter to give them a little color.  I tried these on a whim and I am so happy I did.

Chicken Picatta Stuffed mushrooms 

(a recipe from Paula Deen magazine Christmas edition)

Ingredients 

2 pounds button mushrooms (white mushrooms)
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup minced green onions
1 tablespoon minced capers *(it says optional on the recipe but without the capers these will not taste very picatta-ish (is that a word? Lol)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon  kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cooked chicken, finely diced, or chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine (cooking wine is fine)
4 oz. cream cheese (that’s half a block)
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (half a stick) of butter, melted

Directions 

So preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Remove stem from mushroom caps and set caps aside. Dice enough stems to equal one cup and discard the rest.
Melt the 6 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a skillet.  Saute the diced stems, green onions, capers, salt and pepper and thyme.  Saute this for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stir in chicken and wine. Cook another 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add in cream cheese and Panko and stir until combined.
Fill each mushroom cap with a tablespoon of the mixture.  Bake in oven for about 20 minutes.
Serve hot.  Get ready to watch those babies disappear.  It is truly a festival for your mouth!!  You will be the star of any get together when you set these out.

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I am telling you…these are delish!!

 

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I am a little older now, but this girl still lives in my heart…try new things, but always keep your favorites close.  I think I wore that dress out.  I loved it!

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Cajun Mama Special Potatoes

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Pregnancy can do some crazy things to a woman.  4 pregnancies in 5 years can really do some stuff.  Those 5 years were full of many things.  Joy, tears, worry, excitement, anticipation, love, laughter, tears, snuggles, cravings, chaos and oh yeah…potatoes.  Not just any potatoes my friends…my SPECIAL potatoes.  These special potatoes were an evolution of sorts.  This recipe came about long before Cajun Mama Cooks and back when I didn’t cook as much as I do now.

I have always loved twice baked potatoes and in college I used to buy the…gasp…frozen kind.  I know.  Yikes!!  But I liked them.  And then we got married and I started cooking more.  Money was tight and I figured I would give it a try making them on my own.  So I would bake potatoes and scoop them out and make the filling and then put it back in.  They were pretty good but then I got pregnant and then pregnant again.  And again.  My morning sickness was constant and severe and potatoes seemed to make me feel better.  I wanted to swim in a big ole bowl of stuffed potatoes.  Big Daddy really got into grilling and we loved those potatoes with whatever he grilled, but all that scooping and filling was not my bag.  Plus with a bunch of little precious darlings/minions running around, who had time for that?  Not me.  So one day, I was going to make mashed potatoes so I peeled and cut up a bunch of potatoes and boiled them.  But being an impulsive, hungry, pregnant (again) woman…I decided to make what is now affectionately known as my special potatoes.  Oh ya’ll…they are so good.  The beauty of these potatoes is that they are the perfect side dish.  They are laid back enough for barbecue but pretty enough to go on the side of prime rib roast.  They go so well with either.  Or maybe I say this because I have found a way to cook them all year round, regardless of the season.  Oh well…they are really good and 3/4 of my kiddos love them, making them miraculous potatoes in my book.  And I have picked up a few short cuts and tweaked this recipe a bit to where they are almost perfect.

My old neighbor and dear friend , Stacie,  LOVES these potatoes and when I made them I would  bring her some leftovers to take for her lunch at work the next day whenever I could.  She is still my loyal and wonderful friend  after all these years, even though she has seen me through 2 pregnancies and been there with all 4 kids crying at the same time…so maybe these are magical potatoes.  She still comes around even though we have moved.  They really are that good.  So give them a try and at the very least your kids or husband/wife or both might just go into a carb coma after they eat a bowl of these.  You will get some quiet time.  Magical potatoes indeed.  No really, make them.  You will be so happy you did.

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I want to grab a big ole serving spoon and gobble them up!!!

Cajun Mama’s Special Potatoes

Makes about 8-10 servings, depending on size of serving.

Ingredients

1 package of Ore-Ida steam and mash potatoes (found by frozen french fries) cooked according to package directions

OR

6 medium sized potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled until tender then drained. (I use the steam and mash whenever possible.  If you have not bought these before you should try them…takes all prep work out of mashed potatoes but they are real potatoes…not boxed)

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 stick butter

2 green onions, chopped (green parts only)

5 slices of bacon, fried and then crumbled ( I have used real bacon crumbles before when pressed for time…just keeping it real folks. 🙂

kosher salt and black pepper

Tony’s seasoning

2  cups cheddar cheese, evenly divided

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Cook your potatoes, whichever kind you decide to use.  While they are still hot, dump them into the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl.  Add sour cream.  You can add more or less depending on your taste.  Add salt and pepper and tony’s, about 1/2 tsp. of each.  You can more later to taste if you wish.  Mix on low speed until well combined.  Add more salt and pepper, tony’s  or sour cream if you want at this point. Add green onions, crumbled bacon  and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and mix until this is all combined.

Taste for seasoning and add to it if you wish.  Add in some Tony’s at this point too.  Again, according to your tastes.

Transfer the potatoes to your greased dish.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of cheese.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and all bubbly.  Serve on the side of whatever meat dish will ultimately pale in comparison to these special delicious wonderful fantastic potatoes.  I really love these potatoes if I have not made that clear.

Hope ya’ll love them as much as I do.

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PW’s meatloaf and BB’s honey carrots

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I love meatloaf.  I love meatloaf sandwiches.  I am speaking out today on behalf of meatloaf lovers everywhere.  This post is for you. My mama always made cheese stuffed meatloaf and I always loved it but when I moved out, I could never quite make it as well so I found other recipes and tried them out.  They just didn’t hit the spot.  Then I had kids and meatloaf making kind of went by the way side for a few years.  Then they got a little older and my oldest and my pickiest eater loved meatballs, burgers, and hamburger steak so I had a hunch he might like meatloaf.  I found a Paula Deen recipe and he loved it.  Definite winner.  Sadly, when we moved last year, I lost the magazine that the recipe was in and I have tried to find it again but I can’t.  I have googled it, searched pinterest for it.  Nothing.  To be honest, he loved that recipe, but I could go either way on it so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to branch out and find some new meatloaf recipes.  Boy did I find a good one.  Oddly enough, I have Pioneer Woman’s cookbooks and I know I have seen this recipe but I never made it until Big Daddy told me he had a hankering for meatloaf the other day.  So I set out and sure enough…this recipe came up when I googled best meatloaf recipes.  Yep, apparently google knows good meatloaf.  Big Daddy almost made himself sick on this meatloaf.  I am not lying.  It went so well with some mac and cheese and BB’s honey carrots (as my kids call them and BB is what they call her).  Now, my oldest did not try it.  He decided to pass, which is not unusual for him with a new dish.  The majority of the fam liked it so I considered it a win.  I think he found the bacon on top off putting.  None the less, whether or not you or your family care for meatloaf, if you are just wanting to experiment and are wanting an awesome meatloaf in your repertoire, this is a great place to start.  Oh and the leftovers make a delicious sandwich for lunch the next day.  Can’t beat that.

I made a few additions to this recipe and I have a few suggestions for what I will do next time, but this recipe can be found on The Pioneer Woman’s website/blog and in her cookbook.

Pioneer Woman’s favorite meatloaf 

2 lbs. ground chuck

1 cup whole milk

6 slices of white sandwich bread

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

3/4 tsp. Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup flat leaf parsley (I omitted this as my kids tend to find any “green stuff” in their meat off putting)

*I add some Mexi-cajun seasoning to mine.  My friend Shelley makes it and it is so good.  I put about 1/2 tsp. in my meat

4 whole eggs, beaten

10 slices thin (not thick cut or center cut) bacon

1 1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 brown sugar

1 tsp. dry mustard

a few shakes of Tabasco or LA hot sauce or to taste

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium size bowl, pour milk over the bread slices.  Allow the milk to soak in for a few minutes.  Prepare your 9 x 13 baking dish by covering the bottom and sides with aluminum foil. Trust me on this. If you have a rack that fits in your baking dish or pan, use it.  It will allow the fat to drip down.  Again…trust me.

In a separate bowl, add your ground chuck, Parm, seasonings and milk soaked bread.  Pour in the beaten eggs.  With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined.

Lay bacon slices over the top.  Tuck the ends of the slices under the meatloaf.

Make the sauce:  add ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard,and hot sauce in a mixing bowl.  Whisk this together.  Pour 1/3 of this mixture over the top of the bacon.  Spread with a spoon.

Bake the meatloaf for 45 minutes and then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top.  Bake for another 15 minutes.  Slice and serve with the remaining sauce on the side.

BB’s Honey carrots (an all star side if there ever was one.  Tasty and sweet, but still carrots and your kids are eating carrots so that makes them healthy…ish…healthier than say french fries…so score one for you!!  And they have honey for the main ingredient and how can that be bad?)

Stuff you need~

1 pound bag of carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2-1/3 cup of honey

2-3 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon butter, optional (this just makes them a little richer but not necessary at all)

Add carrots to a medium sauce pan.  Cover with water plus a little more.  Add honey and sugar and butter if you are using it.  Bring to a boil uncovered.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and let them cook until fork tender and some of the water has evaporated out.  Perfect.  These goes great with baked chicken and rice and gravy as well.  Just saying.  Enjoy.

 

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Is your mouth watering?  Mine is and i just ate the rest last night.  You won’t be disappointed.