Got the munchies?

Heyyy!
Here in Texas you can get guacamole just about everywhere. Even at IHOP, although I don't really recommend that. You can also get good avocado's if you buy them several days in advance..yes they could break the windshield of your car if thrown, but let them sit for 3 days and they are perfection.
I have a true love for guacamole, year round we are inseparable friends. I put it on chili, I put it on taco's, I put it on omelets stuffed with crab and swiss. I use it as a dip, dressing, general all around condiment y'all. Taquitos and this guacamole are almost like poetry.
That being said, Mr. Wonderful thinks that tomatoes are the devil, so i have concocted a guacamole recipe that he says is the best he has ever had, anywhere anytime. Yes, this is part of the reason we call him Mr. Wonderful.
Without further ado.
Kelli's Guacamole
2 Avocados
Generous teaspoon of minced garlic
One small white onion; medium chop
One bunch of cilantro, stems removed and chopped
2 Limes
Salt to taste
Hot sauce (tabasco, tipatio, or the like)
Mash avocado against sides of a bowl with fork, add in the garlic, onion cilantro and the juice of 1 lime.
Taste the mix.
Add salt and hot sauce.
Taste again.
Add more lime, salt and hot sauce if needed.
Remember to consider what you are eating with the guac. when adding salt. If you plan to eat with salted chips, you might not want so much. If eating with Chili or on a chicken breast, you will want more.
Store in the fridge by covering with saran wrap over the actual top of the guac. No air between the guacamole and the saran wrap will keep it green until you serve this. The air is what will make it turn brown.
For tomato lovers such as myself. i will usually add along side a good pile of pico de gallo or salsa.
Isnt there a football game this weekend?
~thefoodlady~

banana bread

When I talked to Kelli last night she said a gal at work wanted a good Banana Bread recipe. I have a pretty good one, but I have to give credit to my sister, Erin. It's easy, and who doesn't love banana bread? But, it's one of those things that even though we use the same recipe, hers is always better than mine! I can't figure out why.... Try it and see how it works for you.

Erin's Banana Bread

1/3 C. shortening
1/2 C. sugar
2 eggs
~blend these together till creamy~
1 1/4 C sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
~mix into creamed mixture until moistened~
1 C. mashed bananas
optional 1/2 C. chopped nuts
~add the bananas and mix well, then nuts if you wish~

Pour into greased loaf pan and bake on 350 for 40-45 minutes, or when a toothpick comes out clean.

That's it. Easy enough, huh? Erin once told me she likes to mash the bananas before she even gets started on the rest so they have time to turn gooey and brown. It does make the bread browner and it looks more appetizing. Maybe one of the differences in our finished product is that I use butter flavor Crisco and she uses regular. I can't taste a difference, but hers is always taller than mine. Neither of us can figure out why that happens. I always try to do this when my baking soda and powder are new because that's the only thing we could figure out. But she'd get the blue ribbon and I'd get an honorable mention!

It would be a good day to bake in the midwest! It's polar bear cold here!! High today of 4... yes, FOUR! The wind finally stopped blowing though. It's been going at close to 30 MPH for about 3 days, and that just makes a person crazy. It was easier to deal with when the high was 34, though!

Hey, does anyone feel like baking cookies again this close to Christmas? I love to bake cookies and have some great recipes if anyone would be interested. Let me know when you're ready!
:)Mrs. Gravy

January kinda sucks huh?

It is just me? Or does January just make you want to hide? Stay inside, put away all the Christmas decorations that were "so fun" to get out...UGH. Weather, at least here in Texas, changes daily. Seriously. Today the high was 65. Beautiful. Thursday's anticipated high? 43. Now I know that to most of you, that seems like some sort of tropical heat wave, and I feel for you. I really do. I don't miss below zero and single digit temps. BUT, 20 to 30 degree changes every other day, wear me out. Sweater? Coat? Long sleeves? WHAT? 78 degrees? Short sleeves? Entirely too much thought has to happen in the short time that I have between stumbling out of bed, and getting dressed for work. If anyone could help me find a way to drink coffee simultaneously while showering, please share in the comments!
I really was making a point..and my point is this:
How about this weekend, Saturday or Sunday...or hell even both days...stay in, light a fire. Wear clothes that would be too embarrassing to get the mail in, but are so comfy you cant throw them out. Watch TV, read a book, sleep, play games with your family, whatever trips your trigger, and Make Beef Stew. My Grandma Wanda's beef stew. Super easy & super delicious.
I serve this with heavy buttermilk biscuits, butter and honey. The Pillsbury frozen, southern style biscuits are surprisingly yummy, and you can cook exactly the number you want.

C.W.'s Beef Stew
2lbs Beef stew meat (not browned)
8 Carrots; cut thick
1 Cup celery pieces
3 Large Russet potatoes; cut in chunks (peel em if you like, or not)
1 #2 Can whole tomatoes
1 pkg onion soup mix
4 to 8 oz of sherry (this is a key ingredient)
3 Tablespoons tapioca (dry. yes, like the pudding.)
2 slices of white bread;cubed
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
Dash of pepper, thyme, marjoram, rosemary
1 Pkg. frozen peas
Combine all ingredients except peas and potatoes. Place in a greased baking dish. (i use my turkey roaster pan). Bake covered in 250 degree oven for 6 hours.
Add potato cut in chunks 1 and 1/2 hours before done.
Last 20 minutes add frozen peas and bake uncovered.

Take this out of the oven, throw the lid back on and cook your biscuits...the stew will still be plenty hot when ready to eat. This dish freezes and reheats well. Your house will smell so good!
You might even change your mind about January after all!!!
-The Food Lady

Happy New Year Y'all!

Happy New Year!!!!
All of my best wishes go out to everyone for 2009 dreams to come true!

It was a beautiful sunny day here in North Texas. Got a fridge full of leftovers, and a healthier eating plan right around the corner. So, what to do?

THIS.



Ham and White Scalloped Potatoes-
Plenty of leftover honey baked ham
3 large russett potatoes
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
4 left over green onions sliced (or yellow onion if you have it)
3 heaping wood spoons of flour
3 tablespoons of butter
3/4 pkg of 16 oz swiss cheese, shredded.
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375.
Melt butter in sauce pan.
Add green onion and cook until onion is soft.
Add flour and stir to make a paste.
Slowly add half and half, then milk whisking out any lumps.
Add salt, pepper and nutmeg, (a good sprinkle of each, although light on the salt because of the ham.)
Cook whisking almost constantly until thick and bubbly. Set aside.
Butter an oblong baking dish.
Peel and thinly slice the potatoes.
Layer half of potatoes in bottom of dish. Scatter the ham on top. Pepper the layer, add half the swiss cheese, and then do another layer of potato, ham, pepper and cheese.
Pour sauce over all and put a sprinkle of nutmeg on top for color.
Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

This is super easy and can use as much or as little ham as you have left. Also budget friendly right after christmas. Trust me on the nutmeg. Especially if you have a honey baked ham...the sweet spices on the ham, with the cloves will cook down and the nutmeg will really enhance that too. Sleep fat and happy after this meal!

Happy New Year!! Almost anyway... just a few more hours!!
Kelli wanted me to post the Sangia recipe and since I just made some last week for Christmas day at my sister-in-law's and again yesterday for a party tonight, it's easy enough to remember. I make a gallon at a time. It's easy enough to add or subtract, depending on how much you'd like to serve.

SANGRIA
1 navel orange, thinly sliced
1 lemon, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 C. sugar (see note to follow)
1 C. orange juice (I like pulp-free)
1/2 C. triple sec
1/2 C. brandy
red wine (see note to follow)
Club soda or 7 Up

Mash and muddle the fruit and sugar in a gallon pitcher. (note on sugar: sometimes I don't add it because I plan on using 7 Up instead of club soda at the end.)
Add the OJ and mix, shake or stir well.
Add the liquors and mix again.
Add the red wine to about 3 inches from the top of the pitcher.(I like to use Franzia's Chillable Red...yes, in the BOX. I've used Cabernet, which is good, Merlot, which is a bit heavy and Shiraz, which was worst of all! Chillable red is kind of light and works well.)
Mix again and chill until ready to serve. Right before you serve it, taste it to see if it's as sweet as you like. This is where the 7 Up comes in. If it's sweet, use club soda... if you want it sweeter, use 7 Up. (Actually, I like diet 7 up or Sprite Zero. Who needs the extra sugar?)
You can add the club soda (or 7 Up) to the pitcher or pour it in the individual glasses. Just make sure it's as chilled as the wine.
Great over ice in the summertime! Actually, it's good anytime friends and family gather... like Christmas and New Years! And like my chili, it's really best served the next day. Let all those flavor "marry" and the fruit soak up the wine... it's very pretty, too.

A quick note about the chili while I'm here... It's very thick and chunky and SPICY! (It would be good in a bread bowl, Alene!) I like to serve it like the schools chili we grew up with, a cinnamon roll on the side! Kevin has since turned me on to putting shredded cheese on it, too. Never could do that growing up because my Dad made chili SOUP! If you like soupy chili, do like Dad did and add tomato juice.
Happy New Year again, kids! Hope 2009 is the year of the promised CHANGE.
Love to all, Mrs. Gravy

the people get what they want!

pictures? ok!
i put up a pic near the recipe....

right back at ya!

Well, here I am....a few days early.
To add to Shannon's post, we ARE the country mouse, city mouse.

I received my "food lady" title from a good old, long gone, never to be forgotten dog. 12 pounds of black and white dog named Lucky. Lucky was a stray and was starved when he came to belong to me.
All I ever wanted to do was feed that dog. Whatever his heart desired. Cheeseburgers? check. Biscuits and Gravy? check. Soft taco's? check. The dog ate everything and never got fat...and he loved me more than any creature could. I was HIS food lady.
And so it goes, he is gone, but the name lives on....

Mrs. Gravy and I have been fast friends for better than a few years.....(a girl never reveals her true age) but we can safely say that we were somehow switched at birth and should have been in the same family...hers or mine, doesn't matter. We think alike, we love alike, we laugh and cry alike. We are two peas in a pod.
Ask us some questions because we CAN and eventually WILL tell you some stories...whew...
However, Mrs Gravy is right. We don't always eat alike, which will give all of this some variety....
A few days ago, I made the following:

Oyster Soup ala Kelli

one half pound bacon
1 white onion chopped
garlic, in a jar, minced..a good spoonful
3 cups of milk
white pepper
salt
cayenne pepper
one container of fresh raw oysters
one stick of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
2 green onions sliced
fresh thyme however much you feel like dealing with, stems removed
1/2 cup heavy cream
chopped parsley

OK....so what you do is this:
Brown the bacon in small chunks until crispy in a 2 or 3 qt sauce pan.
Drain most of the bacon grease, but not all, leave about 2 tablespoons in the pan.
Melt the stick of butter in the bacon grease, add the onion and saute about 5 minutes or until onion is soft, add the garlic and saute for another 5 minutes or so.

Sprinkle the flour into the butter stirring to make a good paste.
Let this brown a bit, about 5 minutes.
At this time you could add about a half cup of dry white wine if you want and let that cook for about another 10 minutes.
Add the juice from the container of oysters and bring back up to temperature, wisking to keep smooth.
Slowly add the milk, again whisking so that there are not lumps.
Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. (this is pretty bland so don't be afraid of the cayenne)
Simmer, stirring frequently for about 15 to 20 minutes.
When you are almost ready to sit down and eat:
Add the heavy cream and the oysters.
Allow to cook until the oysters have ruffled edges, about 10 minutes on a medium to medium low heat. You don't want soup to scald or boil.
Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with green onion and parsley.
Serve with oyster soup crackers. A good white wine doesn't hurt to have along with this. We like either a good, sweet Riesling or a clean crisp white like a fume' blanc.

YUM!
This soup was also good as a reheated leftover.

Trust me kids, what we really want to know from Mrs. Gravy is her Sangria recipe.