I developed a recipe that tastes like Cracker Barrel's Cornbread....

 ~Warning~ ***these cornbread muffins are Not figure-friendly by any means....maybe Cracker Barrel Restaurants' cornbread muffins are less fat than mine.  lol  
ps  These are great for a "treat" once in a while.


I love Cracker Barrel Restaurant and everything about the place.
I think that they make the best cornbread around.
So, I developed a recipe that comes mighty close to tasting just
like theirs.

Here is the recipe:

TAMAR'S ORIGINAL RECIPE: CRACKER BARREL CORNBREAD

1 C. White, plain cornmeal
1 C. yellow, plain cornmeal
1/2 C. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 T. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
Mix all. Then add:

1 egg
1 1/2 C. buttermilk
3 T. butter, melted
3 T. shortening
1/8 C. oil
Mix well.

Heat 1/8 C. oil in a black cast
iron skillet, til smokin' hot.
Pour mixture into hot oil .
Bake 400 degrees 25-30 minutes til
it cracks.
Enjoy !

I could never find a more delicious recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole than this one...

I love Traditions; well, some traditions. I love
baking and cooking and roasting all kinds of wonderful
foods for Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter.

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful Holiday.
Don't get me wrong, we are always thankful,all day, each
and everyday for all that God does for us, but,there's
something so wonderful about knowing that people all
over this nation and even around the world, are giving
thanks and sharing a feast together with some of the ones
they love,even if it's not with their immediate family.
(I know that there are families that don't get along
with one another and some wouldn't get together at all
if it were not for this holiday (and two other wonderful
holidays),but,I'd like to think that some are taking
advantage of the opportunity to reconcile during this
holiday while they still can.)

One very special Thanksgiving. a friend from church
made this Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Praline
Topping and it was so delicious that I passed up all
the cakes and pies just to have a second serving of it.
As with every Thanksgiving, we ate til we were stuffed
and we thought about and prayed for all the starving
children in India and felt guilty for eating such a
marvelous and enormous amount of food, but everything
was so delicious, but, that dish deserved a standing
ovation.

It is a true Tradition in our home for Thanksgiving
and Christmas, and sometimes Easter. It's the cream cheese
that makes it different and makes it so fabulous.
I will share the recipe with you...

THE BEST SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE EVER


4 large fresh Sweet Potatoes,peeled and cubed
1/4 C. pure lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
water

Boil til tender. Drain.
Mash, using a mixer.

Add:
1 8-oz. bar cream cheese
2 C. sugar
1 bar real butter
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 eggs
pinch o'salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
5 oz. can Pet Evaporated milk

Mix all with and electric mixer. . Spread in a lightly buttered 13 x 9 Pyrex Baking Dish .

Topping:

1/2 C. flour
1 bar real butter
2 C. brown sugar '
2 C. pecans, finely chpd.

Mix all and sprinkle on top of the sweet potato mixture.

Bake 350 degrees for til set. approximately 30-45 mins.

I am sure that you will love this recipe.
Let me know what you think.
I pray that you and your family are blessed this Thanksgiving!

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Best Blueberry Muffins
America's Test Kitchen is a cooking show on PBS television.
They test and perfect each and every recipe that they publish.
Just copy and paste this link and click the eggs and breakfast category on the left side of the screen.
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/

MOM'S CAJUN CORN SOUP with BEEF

On cold Winter days, my Mom used to make this soup with fresh frozen
corn that she and Daddy and I had shucked, cleaned and cut off of the cob
during the Summer.
Mom always make 2 cuts(or passes)on the cob;kinda like you would for
creamed corn. It wasn't whole corn kernels.
Canned, store-bought corn would never do. This soup has a distinct flavor
from the fresh corn. I love this soup and I crave it. I like to douse my
bowl of soup with about 10-12 hard shakes of Louisiana Red Hot Sauce to
kick-it-up a few notches. I like to drink ice cold milk when I eat this
soup; it relieves my mouth from the burn of hot sauce.
Ha.
No kidding. I am so looking forward to Autumn.

Mom's Cajun Corn and Beef Soup

Look for meaty soup bones in the meat market. The are also referred to
as marrow bones. Also purchase a small beef roast or stew meat already
cut up.
Season well with Tony Chacherie's Creole Seasoning and garlic powder.
Boil in a large pot of water, about 1-1 1/2 gallons.
Dice 2 large onion and 1 large bellpepper and add to the pot.
Add salt,pepper and my favorite, Tony Chacherie's Creole Seasoning to
the water.
Turn the temp. down to about med.-low and let cook for about 30 minutes.
Peel and cut potatoes into 1" cubes and add to the pot along with peeled
and cut carrots into 1" pieces. I use about 6 or more large potatoes and
about 6-8 large carrots.

MY TIP...you can use small new-potatoes and just cut the
peelings off around the middle, leaving the peelings on at both ends.

Add 1 small can of tomato paste.
Stir well.
Let cook for about 20 minutes on Medium High.
Add the equivalent of about 1 regular ziploc bag of fresh cut corn;maybe
about 6 or more large ears of corn. The amount of corn you add is up to
you. It adds to the flavor of the soup.
When potatoes are tender,taste the soup and add more seasoning if needed.
I like to cut the meat into smaller pieces at this point.

MY TIP...this soup gets better after it sits in the frige
overnight or in the freezer. I remove potatoes before freezing;they don't
freeze too well.
ENJOY!
Tamar   

ERIC'S chicken cream cheese hors d'oeuvres

My Neice's husband,whom I call my Nephew-in-law, created fabulous "hors d'oeuvres"
cooked on the grill,for us when we had dinner at their home. We ate so many that we were almost full before dinner was ready. Eric could win a contest with these little gems. I have not been able to forget about them since that day.

ERIC'S CHICKEN CREAM CHEESE hors d'oeuvres

lg. boneless chicken breasts, cut into 3 sections
cream cheese, cut into stips (1"x2"x1/4" thick)
pickled jalapeno peppers, cut into strips 1/3" wide
bacon stips, cut in half
toothpicks to secure the bacon

cut the chicken, season well.
cut the cream cheese into thin long stips
cut the jalapenos into stips
cut the bacon stips

place 1 cream cheese and one jalapeno stip on
each piece of chicken, them wrap the short strips
of bacon around each and secure with 2 toothpicks

Cook on the grill,turning to grill on all sides.

It is so fabulous. 

AUNT LOIS' AMAZING BREAD PUDDING with PECAN PRALINE SAUCE

I love my Aunt Lois'. I have been close to her since my birth. She is just
so sweet and loveable and so very hospitable. I try to visit her in South
Louisiana, every year when I make mu annual trip. You'd love her too, if you ever met her. She is an amaxing cook. Like my precious Mother who is now in Heaven,about whom this phrase was said,Aunt Lois,I believe,also,"Could take an Old Shoe and cook it and make it taste good and make a fabulous gravy with it.

Aunt Lois' is Famous for her bread pudding with pecan praline sauce on top.

AUNT LOIS uses hamburger buns because they give the bread pudding
so much flavor. She toasts them in the oven til golden brown.
This recipe is so amazing. I suggest making it for a church dinner
or for a group of friends, because it is hard to resist going back
for seconds when you make it, and it'd be better to have plenty
people to share it with.

AUNT LOIS' BREAD PUDDING

8 whole lg. hamburger buns, toasted until golden , then broken up
6 eggs
2 c sugar
1 lg. can evaporated milk (not condensed)
4 reg. milk
1 bar butter, melted
1 pint pears(fresh canned) with the juice (you can use canned figs,peaches or you can add raisins if you like.
(Aunt Lois' used just her canned pears.)
1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Bake 350 or 375 Degrees 35-45 mins.


PRALINE ICING

1 lg. can evap. milk
1 c sugar
1 bar butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 c chpd. toasted pecans

Cook 15 mins til hard ball stage . Remove from heat and stir in toasted pecans .

MY TIP...if you heat the butter and add the sugar and heat it til it starts to dissolve, then, add the evap. milk and cook it til it start to thicken, about 15 minutes,until it reaches the Hard Ball stage...it will go alot faster than putting it all in at once and stirring for an hour.....because the sugar reaches
a high temperature sooner.

You add the pecans at this point.

Pour the thickened Praline Sauce over the Bread Pudding.

Serve warm.
O.M.G.
Please let me know what you think about this work of art.

Baking Christmas Cookies with friends is so much fun.

This is a Tradition that I love; baking Christmas Cookies and sharing them with others. My best friend, Tracy and I and our daughters, get together to bake Christmas
cookies and it is so much fun. We cut out sugar cookies and bake them and and decorate them. Then, we eat some. Tracy and I enjoy doing lots of things together;
like sewing,baking, canning,watching new and old ones,crafts, and so on and so forth.
I am so ready for Autumn and Winter. I am over this heat. I am praying for Cool weather. Can you tell?
My favorite cookies are Snowball Cookies (my Mom used to make them every Christmas since my birth;
she's in Heaven now, so I bake them in her honor and memory.),





and Chocolate Chunk Pecan cookies,












Oatmeal Raisin cookies, Butter cookies,and Sugar Cookies using Snowflake cookie cutters.



MOM'S SNOWBALL COOKIES
(also known as Russian Tea Cakes and Mexican Wedding Cookies)

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
additional powdered sugar

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fully mixed. Add flour with salt to creamed mixture, blend throughly. Add nuts and mix well. Chill dough for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400F. Shape into 1-inch balls and bake 8-10 minutes. Do not brown. Cool, then roll in powdered sugar.

Do not over bake or they will be crumbly and break
when you try to remove them from the cookie sheet.

I hope you have fond memories of Traditions made
with your Mom and Dad .
Make some memories today with your family.









Children love Traditions, husbands do to .
It gives us something to look forward to and
something to reminisce about.
Do something "sweet" for them today.

Enjoy.
Please share your Traditions and fond Holiday
memories with me.

How about a slice of Hummingbird Cake and a cup of Coffee? and maybe a good movie like "Pride and Prejudice"?

Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting




It is one of my favorite cakes and it goes so well with coffee.  .

For the Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained

1 cup chopped pecans

2 cups chopped firm ripe banana

.

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into mixing bowl several times. Add eggs and salad oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple and 1 cup pecans. Stir in the bananas. Spoon the batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes,or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 pounds confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Frost the tops of all 3 layers, stack and then frost sides. Sprinkle top evenly with the 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans.

I am sure you will like this cake.
Plan a "ladies night" with your best friends and try this recipe.