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