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Nov

fiesta bean dip and chips ~menu idea

Here is another of our great menu ideas. It is frugal, and yummy at the same time, you will get my my Fiesta Basics ebook for the recipes.

You will need

Prepare your refried bean however you like, adding optional items if desired. For each serving, add beans then cheese then each topping as desired, usually after the cheese we add onions, sour cream, salsa then a spoon of guacamole and some cilantro. Remember anything fresh and green makes it look gourmet. We serve this with corn tortillas that have been cut in 1/4 ‘s and fried in hot oil and are served still warm.

This dish is a meal in itself.

This is just a menu idea would you like to see it made into an ebook with step by step instructions and pictures?

Category: bookstore, frugal meal, main dish, menu idea, mexican style, vegetable Tags: beans, chips, mexican food, refried beans 2 Comments

Nov

creamy cheesy potato soup

Penny

When it is cold or windy or rainy, ok I guess anytime except a hot summer day, I love soup!! My ultimate comfort food, well except for some dark chocolate. We have been working an a new soup book for my bookstore, a compilation of yummy soup techniques. This is what we did yesterday.

To our large crockpot we added

diced raw potatoes
chunks of broccoli tops
1 package of cream cheese cut in chunks
a package of cooked bacon pieces
enough whole (at our house fresh) milk to cover it all
a dash or two of soul seasoning (healthy seasoned salt sort of)

we turned it on high and ran out the door to go get a horse, about 3-4 hours later we returned and served it up with a half cup grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream topping each serving. It was INCREDIBLE!!! I cannot wait to make it again and will probably add more veggies.

This is just a menu idea would you like to see it made into an ebook with step by step instructions and pictures?

Category: big family meal, bookstore, main dish, side dish or snack, southern cooking, vegetable, vegetable dish Tags: cheese, potato, soup One Comment

Nov

spaghetti feast ~ menu idea

Penny

This is another menu idea rather than an exact recipe. I will try to share our homemade spaghetti sauce in another post.

Basically you will need

your choice of cooked pasta it doesn’t have to actually be spaghetti
your choice of sauce, homemade is better
Italian blend grated cheese
Parmesan cheese, the grated kind in the cooler is better than the ground up stuff in the can
bread homemade is best, slice it thick
butter
olive oil
finely chopped fresh garlic
fresh prepared salad

Prepare a spread for the bread using butter, olive oil, grated Parmesan and the garlic. Spread on each slice and broil just lightly.

On each plate add some cooked pasta, the top with sauce. Add some grated cheese, then sprinkle some Parmesan on top of that. If you have some fresh oregano or even parsley sprinkle a bit of it diced up on top. Green stuff always makes it look gourmet. Add your bread and a side salad, and prepare to be pleased!

This is just a menu idea would you like to see it made into an ebook with step by step instructions and pictures?

Category: big family meal, bookstore, italian, main dish Tags: garlic bread, Italian meal, spaghetti Leave a Comment

Nov

breaded chicken breasts

Penny

Lately Georgia has been doing chicken a bit different. We don’t eat a lot of fried food but when we do it is homemade. I want to know exactly what is in it. She has perfected a chicken breast technique that can be used in lots of ways. These can be used for

chicken sandwiches
chicken biscuits
sweet and sour chicken
bbq chicken
and more

She starts with boneless chicken breasts. Not some strange meat by-product that used to resemble a chicken, but real chicken breasts. If they are thick she will pound them out with a meat tenderizer. Then she cuts them in the desired sizes, sometimes she wants half a breast or sometimes just bite sized pieces.

She has two bowls already prepared, one with beaten eggs and one with seasoned flour, we like to use a local seasoning called soul seasoning, it is basically a seasoned salt with no msg.

She takes each piece of chicken and places it in the egg, then the flour then the egg again then the flour again, then fries in hot oil till golden brown.

It is incredible just like that and better than any chicken restaurant anywhere. But you could also place in a covered container with either sweet and sour sauce or bbq sauce and shake to coat. I love these on biscuits or with rice on the side.

This is just a menu idea would you like to see it made into an ebook with step by step instructions and pictures?

Category: big family meal, bookstore, main dish, menu idea, southern cooking Tags: biscuits, chicken Leave a Comment

Aug

Creatively Simple – How to Make Homemade Chimichangas

Penny

We moved from Southern California to Tennessee in the late fall of 1993. It was a wonderful new place except for one thing. We had grown up on Mexican food. Not American style fast food Mexican but authentic, miles from the border California style Mexican food. There was no good Mexican food in Tennessee. So I made it myself. Then I taught my daughters. Then we had more daughters and they learned to cook better than me. And they got better and better. And now that there are plenty of Mexican restaurants in Tennessee, we still can’t find one that tastes as good as our daughters cook. So I followed Georgia around the kitchen with my camera just to get this incredible information for you!