Peaches & Pecans

I'm still feeling super southern...and you don't get much more southern than peaches and pecans. I love this peachy time of year!

Go ahead and use up a few of those deliciously ripe peaches on this Peach Praline Pie. It's easy!

You need: about 3 cups of peach slices (approximately 4 peaches...I probably could have done 5), 1/3 cup of flour (divided), 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of butter, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.

Oh. And a piecrust. You can use a refrigerated piecrust since they're easier. I actually opted to try PW's piecrust one more time. That's how much I hate having to run to the store. I would rather make it myself than leave my house.

Anyway, go ahead and get your crust nested in your pie pan. Sprinkle it with a teaspoon of flour.


Now grab a mixing bowl and combine 3 tablespoons of flour, the white sugar, salt, nutmeg, corn syrup and eggs.


Beat for about a minute.

Then add 1/4 cup of melted butter and peaches.Have Homey mix it all up!

Now make your praline topping. My mercy, this just makes this pie phenomenal.

Combine the pecans, remaining flour, brown sugar and 2 tbsp of butter with a pastry cutter until it's crumbly. I love brown sugar.

Put the peach filling in the crust, and sprinkle on the topping.

Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes. After about 35 minutes, check to see if you need to shield the crust to keep it from overbrowning. Is that a word? Overbrowning? I'm gonna go with yes.




Perfection. I still can't make my pies pretty, but it surely is southern heaven on a plate. Especially since the AC was fixed while I was making the pie. Perfection!

Feeling Southern...Make Hot Tomato Grits

I love grits. I love having grits as a side dish for dinner almost better than I love having grits for breakfast. This is a fantastic recipe that you can serve at a brunch next to poached eggs and fruit (Yum!) or at supper like I did with oven fried pork chops and fresh green beans.

Here's what you need:

A cup of grits, 2 cans of chicken stock, 2 tomatoes (peeled and chopped), 2 cups of cheddar. (I hate grating cheese. Quit judging me).

Oh, and you'll also need your neighbor's kitchen because your A/C is out. Two dishes on the stove and one in the oven would make you cry without A/C in late June. But the show must go on...we'll just cook down the street.

Bring the 2 cans of chicken broth to a boil.
Add the grits, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low.

After about 10 minutes, toss the tomato in. Just let everyone hang out in there for a few minutes. Give it a taste, and add some salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

Now you're ready to dump in the cheese.Are you even kidding me?! Delicious.

Oh. Know what? I completely forgot one ingredient. Crumbled bacon!!
Out. Of. Control.

Delicious.

Now pull out the radio flyer wagon, and load up your hot pans and pots. Return to your stifling, hot house.


Enjoy!

The Three D's

This crazy house...This charming and endearing house...There are some rooms I'm happy with, some rooms I can deal with for now, and some rooms that have to be dealt with on some level immediately. These are the rooms that are Dirty, Dingy, and Dated.

At first I can handle the crazy rooms...all the while collecting ideas from magazines, gaining inspiration for the day that I have the time, energy, and money to actually fix the room.

I'm about to show you the absolute worst room in my house. It's horrible, and I can't even believe I'm going to show you...the only reasons I am willing to share are as follows:

1. Most of you have seen the horrible room.

2. I'm confident that my quick fixes will make a huge difference, and afford me the patience to deal with the room until we can rip it off the house and rebuilt it.

Because ripping the back corner off the house is really what needs to happen to this room. Our luxurious master bathroom...

Since we have no business ripping off the corner of our house, some quick cosmetic changes and some storage solutions will have to do for now.

Here's the before pictures. Prepare yourself for the awfulness.

The blue walls. Awful. Jack and Louise were huge fans of Williamsburg Blue.Awful! Still trying to figure out what I want to do with that mirror to the medicine cabinet. And the vanity...still undecided. (Oh! And we found Weezy's teeth in that medicine cabinet. Example number 32 of why you do not comply when the husband says "Close your eyes and hold out your hand". I don't think so, buddy...).

The laundry section. This room really is freakishly large, just a big ol' waste of space...Wastes of space really tick me off....



Why? Why is there a door there? (Leads to the fireplace room of all places! Why?!). Why is there a random piece of cabinetry there? Why, Jack? I have lots of questions! Ugh, I'll be so glad when it doesn't look like that anymore!

Another big, fat WHY:
This, my friends, is my back door. My. ONLY. Back. Door. It makes me cry to think about why anyone thought this would be a good idea. Seriously.

Now, as I complain about it, I will also say that I can deal with this until we rip the house apart in 20 years. We don't do formal entertaining, so I'm not upset about having to meander through the back of the house to get to the yard. Also, Thing 1, Thing 2, and Jake can really do a number on floors, so it's not so bad having this Holding Station to get everyone cleaned up. If it's super bad, I can just throw the beasts into the bathtub. Rather handy!

So, as long as I give up the "luxurious master bath" idea, this room isn't so bad. It's my laundry room and mudroom that just so happens to be my back bathroom, too. And its form and function can't change right now, but Williamburg Blue and wonky storage can change immediately. Stay tuned to see my progress!

You must try Keftethes!

Greek meatballs, that is. So delicious...flavorful meatballs in a delightfully light tomato sauce. Make it. Just do as I say and quit asking questions! (Oh, I've been hanging out with Homey a lot apparently!)
For the meatballs proper, you'll need 2 lbs of ground beef, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, 2 cloves of garlic, a pinch of cumin (generous pinch here...I love cumin!), 2 pinches of oregano, and salt and pepper.

Just take your rings off and mix all that together in a bowl. Per Greek tradition, form elongated meatballs...
Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and throw those meatballs in. Don't burn 'em! This is where I get rammy...I'm not great at dealing with meat in general. I think I had my pan a little too hot.


But it all turned out okay. Just cook them in batches until they're all done (it makes a lot of meatballs, dude.)

Now let's make the sauce. I'd never made a sauce like this before. I texted Tracy earlier in the day to ask "Have you ever grated a tomato?" The reply I got back was "You've gone insane." So I guess she's not used to grating tomatoes either. But that's what we're going to do!

First, find a charming husband that's willing to play sous chef. Have him grate said tomato.
Excuse the pre-meal adult beverage next to the sous chef. That's just how we roll...

According to Mr. B, you're going to want to grate the tomato from top to bottom. If you do it from the side it'll all fall apart...a sad and messy story. But this is what you're going to end up with:

Dump that in the skillet you used for the meatballs, and season the tomato with salt, pepper and just a bit of sugar.

Once it's warmed through, add the meatballs to the sauce. Let them simmer for 5-10 minutes.

This. Is. Making. Me. HUNGRY! My mercy, can you see that pan of spanakopita behind it? I can't even stand how good this meal is.

Keftethes, served with homemade spanakopita and homemade tzatziki sauce. And Homey's head trying to pose with the meal...

I think this has to be the most perfect meal ever. Especially since Homey loved it and declared that Mommy is the "best cooker ever. Daddy is the best driver, and Mommy is the best cooker" (Insert big broad Homey smile...it's good to know she's proud of our strengths, heehee!)

It's Treat Week!

Well, at least, per me, it is! I've deemed it Official Summer Treat Week. It's really just because I wanted ice cream while we were out and about heading to the library. And since I approved the necessary legislation right there in the car, I didn't have my camera on me to document Day 1 of our weekly celebration. Oh well...I'll be on top of it going forward.

It just occurred to me that we're doing a lot of great summertime stuff, but we really haven't enjoyed all the delicious treats that make summer great.

Today was Baskin Robbins day. Homey chose the Wild n Reckless (heh, fitting) Sherbet. I had to have Pralines and Cream, but had a very hard time deciding.

Tomorrow we'll be making our treat here at home...stay tuned. It's too die for! And I'll show ya how to make it.

If you have any favorite summer sweets...let me know because I'm not sure I have 5 ideas!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

On some Sundays, I love to pick up an 8 piece fried chicken from Publix. Their fried chicken is amazing! Then I'll go home and make all the traditional sides from scratch. Delicious meal! But it never fails that the 3 of us can't really eat more than half of the chicken, leaving a ton of meat to use up somehow.

There was a time when I wasn't huge on leftovers. I must have been living in the lap of luxury back then, thinking I didn't have to use every bit of what was in my fridge!

Now I have to use up everything...stretch it into just...one...more...meal! It's tricky sometimes, but I was pretty pleased how this next idea turned out. It was a huge hit with Homey and Mr. B also! It's not gourmet, it's not even an actual "recipe". It's just an idea. And actually, it took away a craving for a restaurant buffalo chicken sandwich! (Another part of when I was living in the lap of luxury...I would just run around the corner and spend $8.99 for a chicken sandwich from a restaurant. Lunacy! Now we just figure out to make make it ourselves!) Here we go...make this...it's delicious.


Get out your Publix fried chicken, and take it off the bone.

Add bleu cheese dressing.



(For those of you repulsed, disillusioned, or confused by bleu cheese, just use ranch. But don't be hatin' the bleu cheese, people!)

Add hot sauce:
(Homey's not a fan of spice, so I left it off of hers).

Put the chicken mixture on your bread of choice. Use whatever bread you have on hand...This is a really handy way to get rid of the extra hot dog buns before they go bad, though.




Top with provolone cheese.


Throw those bad boys in the oven (either on broil or just preheated to 350...we're just looking to melt the cheese and warm up the chicken a little).

Mmm, delicious and melty!


Add some lettuce and tomato, serve with tater tots! Or whatever else you need to use up. It's all about using whatcha got!

More than coupons and tracking sales, I find I can keep my grocery bill manageable by meal planning and getting creative with leftovers. I have more ways to turn leftovers into one more exciting meal! I'll try to share one idea each week!

Happy Father's Day!

What Is A Dad?

A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off,
and lets you try again.

A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.

A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules,
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you even when you fail...

Happy Father's Day to Our Hero!