Mom Mc's Oyster Dressing

Oyster Dressing

On our first Thanksgiving together, I learned that Bill liked Oyster Dressing.  At that point, I had never even tried an oyster, and well, had no desire to.  My mother-in-law, however, made Bill Oyster Dressing for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and one of our family members has an "Oyster Fry" each year.  Needless to say, I don't mind fried oysters, but don't you dare feed them to me raw.

With all of that being said, I learned to make Oyster Dressing for my husband, from his mom.  Although, I am calling this recipe "Oyster Dressing" I want you all to know that I make the entire recipe without the oysters first, so I can have my own batch, and then add the oysters to the rest of the dressing mix for Bill.

Here is the recipe:

Oyster Dressing

Ingredients:
1 loaf of white bread
1 pint of oysters
Parsley, fresh or dried, to taste
1 t poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Turkey and/or chicken broth
1 onion, diced
2 eggs
1/4 t sage

1 T butter

Directions:
READ ALL DIRECTIONS BELOW FIRST BEFORE ADDING ANYTHING TO THE BREAD.

Add ingredients as follows: bread, eggs, onions, parsley, poultry seasoning, sage, salt/pepper, oysters and broth.


Break up the loaf of white bread the night before.  Cook turkey for broth the night before or use canned chicken broth. 

 

Clean oysters by dumping them in a strainer and running cold water over them.
I usually cut mine in half. 

Dice onion and fry them in butter (about 1 Tablespoon of butter) to soften. 

Dice fresh parsley or use dry parsley to your liking.




Break eggs into mixture one at a time, working them all in.

Next, add the poultry seasoning.

 

Then add the sage.

 

Add enough of the broth that you get a good moist consistency.
At least 2 cup fulls, more if needed.

Once everything is mixed, pour into two greased pie plates and bake at 350 degrees until your desired done-ness.

 

Judy's Oreo Pie

My wonderful co-worker Judy has a dish called Oreo Pie, that all of us want her to make on our birthday's.  This dish is made the night before and I promise there will not be any left regardless of where you take it.

Oreo Pie

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c milk
1 lg box instant vanilla pudding
1 (12-oz) container of Cool Whip
1/4 c melted butter
1 (8-oz) package softened cream cheese
3 T powdered sugar
1 package of Oreos, crushed

Directions:
For base, crush Oreo's, reserving about 1 dozen for the topping, and combine with 1/4 c melted butter and press in bottom of a 9x13 dish. Combine the remaining ingredients (a mixer or Kitchen Aid is perfect for this task) and pour the mixture on the Oreo base. Top with remaining crushed Oreos. Place in refrigerator and serve the next day.

 

Step 1: Crush about Oreo's and place

in the bottom of a casserole dish.

 

Melt 1/4 cup butter and pour over the crushed

Oreo's to make the base.

 

Let the cream cheese come to room mixture

so it is easy to mic.

 

 

You will need one large box of instant

Jell-O vanialla pudding.

(Sometimes I use sugar free)

 

 

If you have a Kitchen Aid, utilize it for the mixing.

I actually find that I like using my mixer.

I usually mix the cream cheese with about 1/4 cup

milk to get started, then add the pudding mix, powdered

sugar and the rest of the milk (a little at a time). 

 

Next, add the whip cream.

I usually you light.  Again, use your mixer

or Kitchen Aid to really blend the ingredients

 to make a good creamy base.

 



 

Pour the base on top of the crushed

Oreo base.

 

 

You don't need these, but I like having extra

Oreo's on mine, so I added the bite size pieces.

 

 

Add the crushed Oreo's to the top.

 

 

Put in fridge and chill overnight.

Home-made Blueberry Muffins

Home-made Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
1/4 c butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 c sour cream
1 1/2 cups flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 c milk
1 c fresh (or frozen) blueberries

Directions:
In a small bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the egg and sour cream, mixing well.  Combine the flour, baking powder,  and salt.  Add these ingredients to the creamed mixture.  Pour the milk in a little at a time stirring as you go.  Fold in the blueberries.

Fill 12 paper lined muffin cups about 2/3 full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until done.  Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan.


***You can also add 1 cup (chopped) fresh or frozen rhubarb to this recipe in addition to the blueberries.

Not Grandma's Goulash

Super Cheesy Goulash

My Grandma Mae loves goulash and makes it quite frequently in the winter months.  I learned to make the recipe from her.  Being the experimental person that I am, I began looking at different recipes and ways to spice up the main ingredients.

Here is what I came up with:

GOULASH
(enough for 5-6 people)

Ingredients:
1pound of ground beef
1 can of tomato soup, undiluted
1 small can of mushrooms stem & pieces, undrained
Velveeta to cover the top (I used the slices of Velveeta)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of diced onion (depending on your preference)
1-1/2 cups of macaroni noodles, cooked and drained
salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet.  Drain grease and place in a medium bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Use salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer contents to a casserole dish and cover the top with cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until heated thoroughly.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

 

 

Soup seems to be good for the soul and satisfying to the tummy, especially in cold weather.  This past week, I tried my hand at Broccoli Cheese Soup.  It's a recipe I've made before, but just a little different as I took it from an older cookbook.  Give it a try and see what you think!

 

Ingredients:

4 chicken bouillon cubes

1 c diced onion

2-1/2 c diced raw potatoes

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 quart of water

20 oz of frozen broccoli and cheese

 

***Note if you don't have broccoli and cheese together, you can use 20 oz of broccoli and then 1 pound of cubed Velveeta cheese.

 

 

Directions:

Combine bouillon cubes, onion and water.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Add potatoes and frozen broccoli and cheese and cook for an additional 30 minutes.  Add soup and stir to blend.  I took a masher and  mashed the broccoli and potatoes until it was no longer lumpy.  Heat to taste.

 

 

Barn Quilts

Barn quilt in Fleming County, KY

I love to visit my parents in Kentucky and to look at all the beautiful barn quilts on barns.  I keep thinking that I will put one on our barn, but which one?  I love them all!  Then I started wandering why these beautiful pieces of art were put on barns.  After some research, I found a great answer...

According to Marilyn Carrigan, Executive Director of the Truman Museum, "The history of the barn quilt begins about 300 years ago with the arrival of immigrants from the Rhine region of Germany. They came for religious freedom. These groups included Amish, Mennonites, Lutherans and other Reform groups.  Many settled in Pennsylvania, especially in Berks, Lancaster and Lehigh counties.

Today, octagonal and hexagonal star-like patterns are seen on the Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutche) barns.  Prior to the 1830s, most barns were unpainted because of the cost of paint. As paint became more affordable, the Pennsylvania Dutch began to paint and decorate their barns."

Not only are the barn quilts popular in Pennsylvania, but in several other states as well.  I have a treasured quilt at home that my great aunt made for me when I was just a little girl.  The quilt is a symbol of family, heritage, comfort and craftsmanship.  I suppose taking that image and putting it on a barn that symbolizes tradition, labor, ethics and agriculture go hand in hand.  If nothing else, it makes for a striking display and looks much better than the tin stars. 

If you are interested in purchasing a barn quilt, check out this website: http://www.americanbarnquilts.com/





Source:
http://fairmontsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/506370.html

Corn Casserole

Do you ever have a certain item that you just love to make?  At my house, it would have to be "Corn Casserole."  It is a wonderful side dish to make for holidays or gatherings.  It is not hard to make and feeds several people.  It also freezes easily and it wonderful as a leftover.  I guess that you could say it's flawless as far as food goes!

Ingredients:
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can cream style corn
1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
1 8-oz container of sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar (depends on how sweet you like it)
salt and pepper to sprinkle on top
1 stick of butter

***Try adding the following to change the dish up a little: bacon, cheddar cheese, green chilies or a green/regular onion. 
Directions:
Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Add other ingredients, mixing well.  Sprinkle top of mixture lightly with salt and pepper and bake in a greased 9x13 casserole dish uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Here are some of the ingredients that you will be using.

This is what it should look like when it comes out of the oven.

Lasagna Roll Ups

Love me some pasta!

This week instead of making old fashion lasagna, I decided to try "Lasagna Roll Ups" instead.  We were not disappointed!  This dish with some garlic bread was delicious!  To save time, I prepared the recipe the night before and then stuck it in the oven when I came home from work the next day. 

Ingredients:
2 jars of 28 oz spaghetti sauce (I like a lot of sauce and one jar just didn't cut it with me)
1 pound container of Ricotta cheese
2 bags of 8 oz Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of salt
1 Tablespoon of parsley
8 lasagna noodles

***Other options: adding hamburger, onions, spinach, etc!  If you add hamburger, I would cook 10 noodles total instead of 8.


Directions:
First, cook the noodles according to the directions on the package, drain and cool. 
Next, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Pour one jar of spaghetti sauce in a casserole dish.  In a medium sized bowl, mix the Ricotta cheese, one bag of Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt and parsley together.  Spoon the mixture over a single lasagna noodle, distributing evenly.  Roll the noodle up tightly and place it in the pan, seam side down.  If you have extra cheese mixture, you can add it between the rolls ups in the pan.  Pour the other can of spaghetti sauce over the noodles and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes (or until heated through) and then bake uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.  Let cool for 15 minutes and serve with garlic bread and a small salad.