Fire Crackers!!!

A friend of mine made these the other day and I couldn't believe how wonderful these were! Seasoned saltine crackers that are simple to make and are unbelievably delicious! I just had to have the recipe! So here it is!

Fire Crackers

Ingredients:

1 lb. unsalted saltine crackers (4 sleeves)

1 cup canola oil

1 ounce packet ranch dressing mix

2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

Line crackers on ends (like dominoes) in an air tight container. In a small bowl, mix oil, dressing mix, peppers and garlic powder. Stir until ingredients are well mixed. Continue to stir to prevent the pepper flakes from settling on the bottom of the bowl.Spoon mixture evenly over crackers. Close lid tightly and flip the container over every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes. Lightly shake back and forth to make sure all the crackers are coated.

Store in a ziplock bag. They will keep for about a week, but trust me, they won't last that long!

Fresh Bloody Mary Mix

This time of year there is an abundance of tomatoes and making your own tomato juice is so simple and tasty! Then adding a little horseradish, Tabasco, lime juice and a few other ingredients, you have the perfect Bloody Mary! 

Fresh Blood Mary Mix

Ingredients:

6 pounds ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped

6 ribs of celery, chopped

2 cups flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons fine sea salt, divided

2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons bottled horseradish

2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons Tabasco

2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lime juice

lime wedges for rims of glasses

16 oz. vodka

fresh ground pepper

Garnish: pickled green beans of pickles

Instructions:

Place tomatoes, celery, parsley and 1 tablespoon sea salt in a food processor until smooth. (You will have to do in several batches) Transfer to a bowl and chill at lest 1 hour. Force through a food mill or a mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids (You'll have about 10 cups of juice) Add horseradish, Tabasco and lime juice.

Mix remaining tablespoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon finely ground fresh pepper on a small plate. Moisten outside rim of each glass with lime wedge, then dip rim in salt and pepper. Fill each glass with ice and 1 ounce vodka with about 2/3 cup juice.

Cheeseburger Pie

This pie comes together pretty quickly. You use refrigerator pie crusts that you simply unroll and fill with ground beef, onion, garlic and crushed tomatoes then topped with cheese! 

Cheeseburger Pie

Ingredients:

1 box Pillsbury Refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on the box

2 pounds ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 14 1/2 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

2 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium high heat. Drain, leaving about 1 tablespoon of fat. Add chopped onions and peppers. Cook until peppers and onions are tender. Add garlic, cooking for about 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. While sauce is simmering, place 1 pie crust in a 9/12 inch glass deep dish pie plate, as directed on the box. Place meat mixture in the crust-lined pie crust. Bake for about 10 minutes, remove from the oven and top with cheddar cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Let stand a few minutes before serving. 

Baked Tomatoes With Goat Cheese

Baked Tomatoes With Goat Cheese

These are so delicious, especially if you have home grown tomatoes! Slice the tops off the tomatoes, scoop out the seeds and some of the flesh. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and fill with crumbled goat cheese.

In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons each olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil. 1 finely grated garlic clove, 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Sprinkle mixture over tomatoes and cheese.

Bake at 450 degrees until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

How To Can Fresh Tomatoes

Canning Fresh Tomatoes

Our tomatoes from our garden this year have been doing so well! We have had a great crop! Hopefully you have too! Here's a wonderful way to preserve your tomatoes so you'll have them readily available for this winter to make spaghetti sauces, lasagna, chili or any kind of tomato based sauce.

This method is  so easy, ANYONE can do it. It's very easy and a  great project for your kids or grandchildren! 

Here's what you'll need:

2 - 2/3 lbs. tomatoes per quart jar

1/2 teaspoon Ball citric acid or 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each hot quart jar or 1/4 teaspoon Ball citric acid  or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each hot pint jar. 

salt, 1 teaspoon to each quart jar or 1/2 teaspoon to each pint jar (optional)

Preserving jars with lids and bands

Instructions:

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. DO NOT BOIL! wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.

Wash tomatoes. Dip in boiling water for about 40-60 seconds, then immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water. Slip off the skins. Trim away any green areas or bruises. Cut out core.

Cut tomatoes into quarters to measure about 2 cups. Transfer to a large stainless steel saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Using a potato masher, crush tomatoes to release juices. While maintaining a gentle boil and stirring to prevent scorching, quarter additional tomatoes and add to the saucepan as you work. The remaining tomatoes do not need to be crushed, as they will soften with heating and stirring. Continue until all tomatoes are added, then boil gently for 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 teaspoon citric acid or 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each hot quart jar, or if using pint jars, add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to the hot jars.

Pack hot tomatoes into hot jars to within a  1/2 inch of top of jar. Press tomatoes into the jar until the spaces between them fill with juice, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add 1 teaspoon salt to each quart jar or 1/2 teaspoon to each pint jar, if desired. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot tomatoes. Wipe rim with a paper towel. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes for pint jars  and 45 minutes for quarts. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours.Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed. 

Miss Cindy's Sausage Gravy

Miss Cindy's Sausage Gravy Recipe (For Biscuits and Gravy)

The weekend is almost here...and there's nothing better than on a Sunday morning to make up a big breakfast!. Here's my recipe for my good, old fashioned Southern Sausage Gravy. My mother-in-law is a Southerner, she taught me how to make this wonderful, tasty, decadent gravy many, many years ago. It's a quick and easy breakfast for your family!  Just toss a can of biscuits in the oven, and maybe fry or scramble  some eggs and you have a quick and easy breakfast! All you need is a pound of pork sausage, flour, water and milk.

Just crumble up a pound of sausage in a skillet.

I like to use my pastry cutter to get the sausage crumbled up nice and fine. You might need to add a bit of vegetable oil if the sausage is lean. You'll need that grease to create your roux.Once the sausage is browned, sprinkle about 4 tablespoons of flour over the sausage.

Stir the sausage around until it absorbs the flour.

Cook until the flour is slightly "scorched" --that's the key because it gives it a good flavor.

Next add 1/2 cup of water, stirring constantly. Then slowly add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of milk.

Stir! Stir! Stir!

Add fresh ground pepper and salt too taste! If it gets too thick before you are ready to serve it, just add a little more milk.

Serve over hot biscuits and enjoy!!! I loves me some good ol' Southern Sausage Gravy!!

Clam Chowder

Monday, August 17, 2015 10:39 a.m. by Cindy Rippe

Clam Chowder

Canned clams work just fine with this recipe! It's so delicious and really easy! 

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon

2 celery ribs, chopped finely

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

3 small potatoes, peeled and cubed into small 1/2 pieces

1 cup of water

1 8 oz bottle of clam juice

3 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/3 cup flour

2 cups heavy cream (divided)

2  (6 1/2 oz) cans chopped clams, undrained

Instructions:

In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel lined plate. Set aside. Saute celery and onion in the drippings until tender. Add garlic, cook for 1 more minute. Stir in potatoes, water, clam juice, bouillon, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

In a small bowl, mix flour and 1 cup of the heavy cream until smooth. Slowly stir mixture into soup. Bring to a boil, cooking and stirring for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in clams and remaining cream. Heat through (do not boil) Crumbled the cooked bacon and sprinkle over the top if desired.  

Cheeseburger Casserole

Here's a quick dinner idea that comes together easily and everyone loves it! 

Cheeseburger Casserole

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 small can of black olives, drained and sliced

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

salt and pepper

1 8 oz. can refrigerated crescent dough 

1 egg, slightly beated

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef until cooked through and no longer pink. Reduce heat to medium low and drain off fat, leaving 1 tablespoon in the pan. Saute onion until caramelized and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. 

Add olives, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Combine ingredients. Transfer to a 9 x 13 baking dish. 

Unroll crescent roll dough and roll it out into a large, thin rectangle that's big enough to cover the baking dish. Place over beef and trim off edges with a sharp knife. Cut 3 to 4 slits in dough so that steam can escape. 

Combine beaten egg and water. Brush over the top. Sprinkle with dried parsley flakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. 

Pico De Gallo

This is such a delicious recipe! You can eat it alone with chips or serve it with tacos or fajitas! It's so fresh and full of flavor! You'll want to serve it will all of your Mexican dishes.

Pico De Gallo

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 large red onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic

Juice of 1/2 a lime

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: 

In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with chips or over tacos or fajitas.

Tomato Bacon Pie

Tomato and Bacon Pie

This was my first time to make this wonderful dish! It's a southern dish and it's so delicious, especially if you use fresh tomatoes from your garden or from the farmer's market! I like it even better after it's chilled in the fridge. It is even great for breakfast! 

You start with a pie crust (I use the refrigerated kind that you simply roll out) Make sure to prick the bottom of the crust. And trim the sides.

Then bake it for a few minutes at 400 degrees. 

Then layer sliced tomatoes on the bottom.

Next top the tomatoes with chopped onions and basil.

Top with crumbled bacon....bacon ALWAYS makes everything taste better!!

mix 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 3/4 cup mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, spread mixture over the top evenly. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese.

Now it's ready for the oven! Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

SOOOOO YUMMY!!! 

Ingredients:

5 tomatoes (Roma work really well)

10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 cup red onion 

1  9 inch refrigerator pie crust

6 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

2 cups mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese 

salt and pepper 

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, cook pie crust for about 6 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Place sliced tomatoes in a colander in the sink in 1 layer. Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for 30 minutes. Use a paper towel to pat dry, making sure that most of the excess juice is out, because you don't want a soggy pie.

Layer the tomato slices, basil, onion and bacon in pie shell. Season with salt and pepper. Combine grated cheese and mayonnaise and Italian seasoning. Spread the mixture over the top of tomatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

Serve either warm or chilled.