THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A BOWL OF HEARTY BEEF STEW!

I used to cook lunch for our small church school and I developed this recipe for Beef Stew which everyone loved. I serve it over rice with hot, buttered cornbread . 


BEEF STEW
1 3-5 lb. beef Shoulder Roast, seasoned
TONY CHACHERIE'S CREOLE SEASONING
GARLIC POWDER
OIL for searing the roast
Season Roast and brown on all sides over high heat in a heavy Magnalite Pot,
then, reduce heat to low and pour 1-2 cups water around the roast.
Add:
2 envelopes of LIPTON BEEFY ONION dry soup mix
Sprinkle over the roast.
1 very large Onion, chopped fine
Spread chopped onion over the roast
Let simmer for 2-3 hours on low.
Remove roast to a platter, trim any fat and cut meat into large chunks and refrigerate overnite.
Remove fat from pot after chilling overnight and discard.
Cut meat into bite size pieces and add 2 more cups of water and cook on Med. High.
Add:
2-3 envelopes of Brown Gravy Mix and
1 cup cold water
Stir until dissolved.
Add to the pot and stir while adding.
Meanwhile, peel and chop potatoes and carrots, as many as desired,and boil until almost tender.
***Parboiling the potatoes and carrots in another pot cuts down on the gassiness
of the potatoes.***
Drain vegetables after parboi;ing and add to the pot of beef.
Boil the stew on high, stirring constantly,until thickened.
Serve over rice.
Serve with cornbread.
***The Beef Stew will taste even better after refrigerating it for one or two days before serving it.***
Enjoy!
Tamar

THE MOST DELICIOUS CHICKEN SOUP I HAVE EVER HAD!

I first tasted this wonderful chicken noodle soup at a Soup and Chili luncheon at our church last year. It was so delicious that I chose to skip dessert to have 2nds, after I made sure that everyone had eaten all they wanted.
It is called Mama Mandolas' Chicken Soup.

MAMA MANDOLAS' CHICKEN SOUP (like Carabas' Restaurant)
Ingredients:
5 celery ribs
4 medium carrots, peeled
1 large yellow onion
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 large green bell pepper
1 can (14-ounce size) imported Italian plum tomatoes
1 (5-pound size) hen, washed and cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 quarts water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
(the soup I tasted had several shakes of Louisiana Red Hot Sauce in it,but,it wasn't enough to make the soup "hot".)

Dice celery, carrots, onion, potatoes and bell pepper into 1/4-inch pieces. Chop tomatoes; reserve all juice. Place vegetables, tomatoes with their juice, chicken pieces, parsley and garlic in a 10-quart stockpot. Add water. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly bring soup to a boil over low heat. Skim off foam that rises to the surface; may have to skim 2 or 3 times. Partially cover pot and simmer 2 hours. When soup is finished, remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon. Let cool.

Meanwhile, mash a little bit of the vegetables**(if you desire the soup to be a little bit thicker) in the bottom of the pot with the back side of a large cooking spoon or a potato masher. When chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove skin and bones and chop into bite-size pieces, then return meat to soup.
Enjoy!


Notes: Soup is best served the day after it is made. Refrigerate and remove fat that solidifies on the surface of the soup. Serve soup with rice or small, stubby pasta such as Farfale(mini bowties),pastina or tubetti. For better flavor,pratially cook the rice or pasta,drain well,then finish cooking the rice or pasta in the soup when reheating. You may need to add a little bit of chicken broth or chicken bouillion cubes to sustain the flavor of the soup. Add freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired.

This recipe from CDKitchen for Carrabba's "Mama Mandola's Chicken Soup" serves/makes 1 .5 gallons

********You can add corn and sweet peas,and maybe even short-cut green beans,and small white navy beans just to increase the volume.********
You will enjoy this soup.
Tamar   

MOM'S CHRISTMAS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Every Christmas,my family got so excited when Mom would make her fabulous Mahogany Cake. It tastes great on the 1st day, but,as it sits, it gets more and more delicious.

It is not overly sweet,not overly chocolately, but it is so delicious. It does not need Icing. It has cherries and cherry juice in it. I love any dessert that has cherries and cherry juice in it.

We ate the cake "A'la mode"; with a scoop of Vanilla or French Vanilla Ice Cream.

I have never met anyone who had ever heard of Mahogany Cake. My Sweet Momma is in Heaven now and I want to pass on her legacy to my Daughter and I pray that she will pass it on to her children and to her childrens' children.

MAHOGANY CHOCOLATE CAKE
4 CUPS OF SUGAR
4 CUP FLOUR
1 CUP COCOA
1 CUP BUTTERMILK
4 EGGS
2 TSP. VANILLA
1 CUP OIL
1 CUP OF BOILING WATER
2 TSP. BAKING SODA
1 TSP. SALT
2 JARS OF CHERRIES AND JUICE
1 TSP. OF CINNAMON
Mix all ingredients in a "Magnalite pot" and bake at 300* until a wooden
skewer inserted in the center, comes out clean.
Let cool in the pot and serve it from the pot.
I know you will enjoy this cake.
Tamar

ORANGE ALMOND CAKE with CREAM CHEESE ICING

My dear Momma was a caterer. She and her best friend were fabulous cooks.  They used to make Orange Almond Punch for celebrations such as Wedding Receptions, Graduation parties,Baby Showers, Retirement parties, etc. It was so delicious that I developed a cake to taste like it . I will share the recipes for both; the cake today and the punch another day....
                                In Loving Memory of My Mom, Dorothy LeBleu Landreneau....                           
                                          
                                                                

                                                   Sorry, I only have a picture of a layer cake.

Tamar's  ORIGINAL RECIPE:  ORANGE ALMOND CAKE
1 box Betty Crocker "Butter Recipe Cake Mix,(dry mix)but follow these instructions:
add:
1 bar real butter,room temperature
2 teaspoons Pure Almond Extract
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 Tablespoon orange zest, or more if desired
1 Box Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix(just dump-in the dry mix)
3 large eggs

Mix all, in the order given. Add eggs last and only beat on medium
speed, just until they are incorporated. Don't over beat.
Bake in a greased and floured Bundt cake pan, approximately 38 mins.
on 350 degrees.
Let cool in the pan for about 5-10 minutes,then,cover with a cake plate
and flip gently. Let cool completely.
Frost with cream cheese frosting. Recipe follows.

***I will share the recipe for the Orange Almond Punch later .
~Enjoy~  Check my blog for the Orange Almond Punch recipe....


CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

1 bar real butter, room temperature
1 bar cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon Pure Almond Extract
**orange zest is optional in the frosting.
I added 1 Tablespoon of it to the frosting.
Mix all and refrigerate til firm enough to frost with.

LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SAVE $ ON PAPER TOWELS

Are you hungry? I cooked some fried chicken and curly fries in my deep fryer and we have some sweet tea....

I am always trying to find more ways to stretch my dollars and to save money. Here is
one way that I save from using paper towels .... I use brown paper bags from the market, to drain anything that I fry :
FRIED CHICKEN
FRENCH FRIES
ONION RINGS
BATTERED VEGETABLES such as: FRIED MUSHROOMS,ZUCCHINI,GREEN TOMATOES,YELLOW SQUASH
BACON

SAUSAGE
When I'm done, I just fold it up in half, then again and it holds all the crumbs and I put it into the garbage bag and am free of any greasy mess.
TAMAR

MY VERY OWN APPLE CINNAMON PECAN CAKE RECIPE

I adore Autumn and the colors of the trees here in East Tenn.and I love apples (which are an Autumn fruit). I live the whole year waiting for the 1st sign of Autumn. I love all the spectacular colors of the leaves and the cool crisp feeling in the air that is so invigorating. It is so beautiful here. It puts me in the mood to bake pies and cakes and to cook great big pots of beef stew and cornbread. I developed a recipe for cornbread that tastes almost identical to "Cracker Barrel's" cornbread. I'll share it on another day. I have made a list of my Favorite Recipes that I intend to share on this blog. I have 19 or 20 ; the Best of the Absolute Best of my collection; my most Praised and most Requested recipes.


Today, I am sharing my :

APPLE CINNAMON PECAN CAKE

1 Betty Crocker butter recipe yellow cake mix,
Mix according to pkg. directions,
FOLD IN:
1 large red delicious apple, chopped
2 Tablespoons cinnamon(yes, I put 2 Tablespoons of cinn., NOT teaspoons):
***nobody has ever complained that it was too delicious***
1 box of vanilla instant pudding (dry)
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup chpd. Pecans

Pour batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan.
Bake as directied on the pkg. .
***I bake it for 38 minutes on 350 degrees and check it
with a toothpick.

I like to frost this cake with the Traditional Cream Cheese Icing
or a Praline (prah-leen) Icing. I will share the recipe for the Praline Icing
in another blog.
A pic with the Cream Cheese Icing:


I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Tamar 

LIFE IS JUST SO BUSY...

Life seems to be getting busier and busier as time goes on. So much to take care of, to do, so much to remember, not to mention trying to keep up with appointments and meetings and grocery shopping, and cleaning and cooking and, well, that's more than enough.

I started writing myself notes a long time ago, to help me kind of keep it all straight. I purchased a hard cover notebook with an elastic strap attached, at the Dollar Tree. I just love the Dollar Tree. I write grocery lists in my note pad that I take with me everywhere,I even categorize my lists according Which store has what I need on sale and the sale price;
I.E. : Food City, IGA, Ingles, Dollar General,Walmart

I also list any appointments coming up, such as Doctors appointments., dental appointments and any meetings I have to remember.

Another way that I keep up with things is that I keep a "stash" of items we use regularly, that you can't afford to run out of such as :
toilet paper,toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo,feminine products and soap, etc.

I put away 1 roll of toilet paper so that when we get to what we think is the last roll, that is my cue to go to the store,but, I have one roll hidden in the cabinet.
When the toothpaste tube is about 3/4 of the way gone, I put it in the cabinet and take out a new one. I do the same with feminine products, shampoo and conditioner and deodorant and soap. When possible, I buy in bulk when the items are on sale.

It may sound strange, but then, I have always been a strange kind of person and this works great for me. Try it.
Tamar

A DOLLAR SAVED IS A DOLLAR EARNED

It used to be a penny, but, it's up to a dollar now.
My dear, sweet friend Tracy told me that she makes her own laundry detergent and gave me the Recipe. Before I could get the 3 items needed to make it, my dear, sweet friend Kimberlynn told me that she makes her own laundry detergent too and the method she found on the blogs adds water and makes it into a Gel.
Kim said that she has been making her own detergent for over a year and she prefers the Gel to the powder. She said that the gel dissolves better whenever she had to use cold water to wash some of her laundry.
It resembles lemon curd dessert. Just stir it up with the 1/2 cup laundry scoop every time you use it.



I made some and was quite pleased as soon as I poured the mixture into the detergent bucket I had saved. It had already begun to gel. One batch filled the 32lb. bucket 1/2 way, so I hurried and made another batch and stirred it all together. I washed a load with 1/2 cup of detergent and it did great.

Altogether, I think it cost me $7.oo for the supplies, however, I only used a very small portion of the Box of Borax and a small portion of the box of Washing Soda.
So,I think I do believe what they say that, it costs about 1 cent per load to do laundry when you make your own detergent.

Recipe For Laundry Detergent

large pot for heating water
2/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated
6 cups water
then,
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda, not baking soda.
then,
4 more cups hot water
stir.
then,
1 gallon plus 4 cups of Cold water
stir.


You combine the grated soap with 6 cups of water and heat on Med. til grated soap melts.
Add Washing Soda and Borax and stir til dissolved.

Meanwhile, heat 4 cups water in the microwave.

Pour the 6 cups hot water/soap mixture into the bucket along with the 4 cups from the microwave, into the bucket and stir.

Now add 1 gallon of cold water plus 6 cups cold water into the bucket and stir.
****you can add 1 oz. of scented essential oil fragrant to the mixture at this point, if desired.

Let soap sit for 24 hours, with lid snapped-on tightly on bucket to gel.
ps I marked the date on the bucket to see how long this gel will last. It is a whole lot cheaper than the bucket of detergent that I bought at Sams' Club.

****You can substiture Ivory Soap or Castile Soap for the Fels Naptha Soap.
All three of the items mentioned can be found at your local grocery store, on the detergent and soap aisles.

UPDATE: I have been using this homemade laundry soap for almost 3 months and I am very well pleased with it. MAY 5-JULY 23.
Tamar

The Most Delicious Chocolate Cake from a mix

Chocolate is my friend. It just takes you away to a magical land of happiness.
Ha! Just kidding. I'm usually happy without the aid of chocolate, but, it doesn't hurt.

God dreamed up chocolate for us women. We need it when those crazy cravings rear their ugly heads and nothing else will do. I have tried other candies and it is a useless waste of my money, my time, my energy, my gasoline, not to mention all those empty calories. Dark chocolate has antioxidants that fight cancer. How great is that?

My favorite and most loved by everyone, and most homemade tasting cake from a mix,  is Hersheys',Betty Crocker  "Butter Recipe Chocolate " cake mix; with pudding .
 I make the Hersheys' (magnificent) chocolate frosting from the back of the can.*** See the recipe at the end of this entry....( contact Betty and tell her to bring back that flavor cake mix .http://customerservicenumbers.com/listing.aspx?id=general-mills  and copy and paste the title of the cake mix  listed above when you click on the above mentioned link, leave a comment.

~Side note~
My favorite cake pan is the bundt, but, I also make the 9" round sometimes, too.
***

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Special note~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 This is my baby.  I love her so much.  This is my Gift from God.  I had burned up e hand mixers and 1 stand mixer, because I bake for people alot.  I prayed for 6 or more months, that God would bless someone so much that they could buy me this one.....My Sister, Jan, had no idea that I even needed a newer mixer, but, she called me and said that God told her to bless me with this for Christmas, 3 years ago...She told me to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond....and that they were expecting me.  A nice lady gave me a coupon , and Kitchen Aid had it on sale, with a rebate....OMG. I got my socks blessed off .  I love my red mixer. She is so strong and good.  I love the free attachments I was able to get with the rebates.  I can slice potatoes thinly for potato chips, grate cheese in a flash....knead bread dough, gently mix up biscuit dough...and I now have a meat grinder and sausage stuffer......I plan to make some homemade "Boudin" ; it's a French type of sausage stuffed with ground pork, cooked rice, chpd. yellow onions, cut green onions and lots of tasty seasonings. 

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Insider tip~
You know how the cakes on the commercials always are taller than in real life, after using the mix....and forget using a tub of their icing to frost a 2 layer cake. It'd have to be a very small cake, to be able to cove it and have had an adequate amount of frosting to use between the layers. On the commercials, they use more than one box of cake mix and they make the layers thicker plus, they slather on the icing and you know that, from looking at the circumference of their cake, 1 tub of frosting would only cover one layer of their cake.

I once watched a documentary on "How" they fool the eye ( they, meaning the ad. agencies that create the  illusions ) when making commercials and they do things to make you feel like you have to have a piece of cake or a bowl of cereal, or some fruit or vegetables.....or a burger.....you get the idea.
It's called lust.

They increase the height and portion of the slice of cake, they spray oil, not water, on the veggies, they wax and polish the fruit, they use good old Elmers'  glue instead of milk, when shooting a scene or picture  of cereal and milk..."That way", they said, "the cereal doesn't get soggy and sink and the "milk" looks so rich and so white. For burger commercials, and steakhouse commercials, they use larger portions of meat than what you would actually get and they spray oil on it just before they shoot the commercial or picture. They said that " it is meant to make your mouth water"  and it does make it water.
 ***

~ My Secret ~
To the Betty Crocker  Hershey's "Butter Recipe Chocolate " cake mix, I always add 2 teaspoons of Pure Vanilla Extract and 1 regular size box of chocolate pudding, without increasing any  of the other ingredients listed and my cakes rise tall and bake up super moist and delicious. I adore my chocolate cake, but, I can only eat 1 or 2 pieces in a week, so I always send someone home with the remainder of the cake if there is any cake left. They are always happy and I am too because I don't have to waste a divine chocolate cake.
 I could freeze individual slices but, that would be too tempting, just knowing that it is as close as my freezer and as easy to thaw as just taking it out of my freezer.  

***

                                           .

~TIP~
***Tap the cake pan on the counter to release any air bubbles.

~TIP~
***I let my cake "rest" in the bundt pan for 10-20 minutes, then, I place a cake plate over it
      and flip it......Then, let it cool completely.   The hot cake has too much steam that needs to be released
      or the cake will be too heavy and collapse because of it.      If you don't let it cool completely, you will           experience one or both of these problems:  the cake will break and collapse and the frosting will melt  if        it  is  the least bit warm.  Trust me on this one.... I speak from experience .

   Here is the Hersheys' Fudge Icing   recipe:

                                                     1 bar butter, melted, but, not hot!
                                                     2/3 cup of cocoa
                                                     Mix well, til smooth and creamy.
                                                     Measure:
                                                     3 cups powdered sugar
                                                     1/3 cup Pet Evaporated Milk

                                                     Gradually add sugar and milk in 3rds,
                                                      alternating each of them.
                                                      Beat til smooth.
                                                      Add 1 teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract**
                                                      Beat to incorporate.
~SECRET~
***I always use 2 teaspoons***
I love Vanilla.
After the cake has cooled, frost it

~TIP~
***If you get the butter too hot and add the cocoa
too soon, it will seize up on you and become
clumpy. You can salvage it by adding all of your
milk and beating it a long time to make it creamy.

PS If this happens, you can just make it into
a "fudge" icing and "pour" it over your cake.
I have done this once or twice and it was
beautiful and tasted great. It just was not
a spreadable icing. ha!

~THOUGHT~
***Make a Chocolate Fudge Cake wi/Homemade Fudge
Icing Today for someone you Love. It will
make them feel special.

ps   I'm sorry that I don't have a pic of the frosted cake , maybe
next time I bake one.  
Tamar  

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Got Milk???


Almost everbody I know loves chocolate chip cookies ; very few don't like them.

I am known for my chocolate chip cookies and have been asked by many people for my recipe , men have even asked me for it.

I will share it with you. I used to be able to find chocolate chunks by Hersheys or Nestle' in the grocery store when I lived in Florida. They don't sell them here.
They make fabulous "Chocolate Chunk Cookies" .


Tamars' Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 bar butter
1/2 cup butter flavor Crisco shortening
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Cream all together.

Add:
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. baking soda (level teaspoon)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsps. of Pure Vanilla Extract (not imitation)
Beat well til creamed .
Add:
1 Lg. egg

Mix Only until well incorporated.
****Do Not overbeat .
12 oz. bag Nestle' semi-sweet chocolate chips
(I also love Hersheys' and Ghiradelli's )
****Never use something that reads
Chocolate Flavored***it is fake
and never use carob chips(they taste fake
and gross).
Fold-in the chocolate chips .


Chill first, for best results .
TIP: I use a Med. size ice cream scoop to make the
cookies uniform. It's the Pampered Chef one.
TIP: Do not flatten out your cookie dough balls. It is fabulous.

Bake cookies on the middle rack of the oven for approximately 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees. They are wonderful.
Once baked, let cool on the cookie sheet for about 2-3 minutes , then remove to a wire rack to cool.
I like them a little bit gooey with a glass of ice cold milk.

I have a medium size Parrot who Loves Cookies and Milk. She doesn't like
homemade cookies, only Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies. She gets so excited if
she hears me open the cabinet, or even more so, if she hears me open a bag of
Chips Ahoy . She shreiks at the top of her little lungs,"Cookies??Cookies??",
"Want Cookies??" "Cookies and Milk??"
I don't let her eat the chocolate chips.
When she is full, she wipes her beak and walks to the back of her cage. She is so funny.

Treasures of The Heart

The Bible tells us not to lay up treasures here on earth where moth and rust destroy , and where thieves break-in and steal . Our Treasures are to be stored in Heaven.

However, we can and should enjoy making our homes a cozy , comfy place for our family to dwell.

It is not that we cannot or should not desire to have things that are nice and pretty, but, rather that we should not use those things to make us Feel like we are above others or to show that we have arrived at a status of "keeping up with the Jones' " as the old cliche' goes.

The Bible says that God will give us the desires of our heart, if we serve Him and live for Him.
The desires of our heart should always be for our family, friends and church family to be Saved and to be blessed and have all that they need and be healthy and prosper, even as their Soul prospers. We also have desires and tastes and preferrences in all walks of our life. Some prefer certain color-families that others have never even considered, some like overstuffed comfy furniture , whereas others like straight , square, hard furniture and black-and-white decor.

I have always desired to have an "Old Trunk" . One like the Treasure Trunks you see in one of my All- Time-Favorite movies , "The Count of Monte' Cristo", or the pirates movies .
Well, let me start by saying that the ones I've seen were over $300 . Ouch! Too expensive for my frugal spending.

But, when I least expected it, I found one on the side of the road by the garbage cans , in a very wealthy neighborhood. I put it in the car and was so very happy to take this Treasure Chest home with me. I t is a standard size of about 3' across and 2' tall by about 1 1/2' wide .

God promises to give you the desires of your heart too. It's ok to ask Him for something you really really want . Ask believing, ask according to his will for you , and Ask In His Name; then, start thanking Him for it ahead of time.

Who'd have thought that I would find a Treasure Chest on the side of the road , for free. God did.
Jesus is my real Treasure and my most important Treasure Chest.
Tamar 

Inexpensive Decorations

In this picture, there is a black fry pan that I purchased at Goodwill for $1 several years ago and I painted a rooster and some grass on it . It kinda resembles the pic of this rooster that I found 2 days ago on the net.

There is also a copper skillet that I purchased for $1......I love copper .

I collect copper items , tea kettles, tea pots, and pitchers and anything with roosters on it.

I bought the pretty little antique pitcher for $2 at a garage sale ( it's on the top shelf).

There is a 3'' stuffed fabric chicken on the top shelf that I bought at the Goodwill for $.50 , a couple of years ago. It resembles the rooster below . Ooops, I accidentally stretched their necks .

The rolling pin was $1 at Second Source Thrift store.
On the 2nd shelf, there is an old-timey "spool" for thread that I paid $1 for at a garage sale.
Be sure to protect your young chics.

What do you collect?
Tamar