It just so happened that on the same day I bought a package of cubed steaks, I saw a recipe for Sour Cream Cubed Steaks. I gave it a bit of a whirl even though I came up with my own version. But the Sour Cream Gravy is what caught my eye. Cubed steaks are always asty. How can they miss being round steak pounded into oblivion and round steaks are always flavorful? But they can get dry and tough. … [Read more...]

I made some Blue Cheese Dressing last week and it was so good, I decided to try my hand at another family favorite – Thousand Island Dressing. It turned out infinitely better than the standard Kraft-type dressing. The origin of Thousand Island Dressing remains a matter of dispute to this day. One theory is that the name came from the Thousand Islands region along the St. Lawrence River. A … [Read more...]

I never cared much for Blue Cheese Dressing – until I tried some at Sting Ray’s Restaurant near Cape Charles. The homemade dressing was a house specialty, and it was delicious. It was so good, in fact, we bought a pint to take home. Recently, I had another good Blue Cheese Dressing experience, this time from Texas Roadhouse, which also makes their own in-house dressings. If they can do it, … [Read more...]

  I confess. I am a crack addict. Praline Crack Grahams, that is. These sinful treats show no mercy. One bite and you are overwhelmed with desire for more. No matter how hard you resist, you will eat another and another and another until all the Pralines are gone or someone straps your arms to your sides with duct tape. Some cooks make their “Crack” with saltines as a base. I prefer … [Read more...]

I had a bag of Cajun Shrimp Fry Breading that I was itching to use. I love Fried Shrimp, which I ordinarily only get at restaurants, but now was my time to shine. I went to Aldi’s to check out their frozen shrimp supply and found a 1-pound bag of Tiger Shrimp for about $11 and snatched it up. Tiger Shrimp have – by far – the best flavor of all the shrimps. They make for great Shrimp Cocktails and … [Read more...]

We were getting together with our close friends, the Tigner’s, and decided on an evening of Hot Dog binging. All of us love our “dogs, and at least annually we devote an evening of feasting on an assortment of skinny Nathan’s and big fat Ball Parks. But no Hot Dog Feast is complete without the full gamut of condiments – cole slaw, spicy mustard, sweet, chopped onions, relish, possibly cheese … [Read more...]

I really enjoy ground pork – not ground sausage, ground pork. I may even prefer it to pork chops because unlike chops, you really don’t have to worry about ground pork being dry or tough, and it’s not time sensitive with temperature. It is also absurdly inexpensive - under $5 a pound and zero waste. I bought some this week and decided to experiment a bit. I decided to make some BBQ Ground … [Read more...]

Recently I saw a recipe called Mississippi Mud Cake and I had to try it. Afterall, who wouldn’t like Mississippi Mud? But the “mud” is chocolate, and everybody likes chocolate, so I baked the cake. However, instead of baking a chocolate cake base from scratch, I used a mix – Betty Crocker’s Devils Food Cake. Betty knows how to make cakes, so I let her do the hard part. About 4 minutes … [Read more...]

I made a fun dish last week. I made lasagna, but not ordinary lasagna. I whipped up a dish called Chicken Broccoli Lasagna and it turned out well, a nice change of pace. So, instead of using ground beef or ground sausage as the meat base, you use chicken. I used 2 chicken leg quarters. Since they were frozen, I decided to boil them until they were falling-off-the-bone tender. I shredded the … [Read more...]

During the life of most every church in America, at some point the ladies of the church gather and print their special recipes in a spiral bound cookbook. I have a number of these, and they are among my most treasured books - the old recipe collections from churches of my past. I have a recipe book from the Centenary United Methodist Church in Clemmons, NC. This church was founded in large part … [Read more...]