Something a little less Southern a little more south of the border!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a few weeks, things have just been a little crazy! lol

I tried a new recipe the other night that I really love and my husband even likes it, which surprises me because it doesn't contain any meat! :) It is called Mexi-Vegi Casserole.  I had a celebrating home party a few weeks ago and this was the recipe my consultant made at the show, I loved it so much, I made it again! 

          ~Ingredients:  1 cup cooked rice, 1 cup picante salsa (whatever heat index you like), 1 can black beans drained, 1 cup whole kernal corn drained, 8oz sour cream, 8 oz shredded chedder cheese, 8oz shredded colby jack cheese, and 1 can diced tomatoes with peppers.

          ~*You can do this recipe one of two ways, in the microwave (in a covered stoneware dish such as, The Pampered Chef's Deep dish covered baker, or Celebrating Home's Bean Pot) for 8 minutes or in a 9x9 casserole in the oven for 30 minutes.

          ~*Put ALL ingredients in pan (make sure rice is cooked first), except the 8oz of shredded Colby jack cheese, stir mixture until all ingredients are mixed well, top with 8oz of shredded colby jack cheese, cover with baker lid, or if using over cover with tin foil, pop in oven for 30 minutes or in microwave for 8 minutes. Serve as meal, or serve as dip with tostitos scoops and Enjoy...
(Please remember there are two cooking methods for this recipe and do not but tin foil in the microwave)

BBQ RIbs

Have you ever heard the saying "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach"?   Well, about 6 years ago I met a guy who I wanted to make a place in his heart so I decided to cook him dinner one night... that romantic dinner for two shortly turned into a dinner for five as my family and his dad joined us this particular night,  I was in the kitchen working on dinner when my then boyfriend came into the kitchen, asked what's for dinner?, and said "well, you know if you cook for me, your never gonna get rid of me?"  and not missing a beat replied, "that's the plan!"

What might you ask was for dinner that night?  BBQ Ribs, homeade mac and cheese, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, and baked beans.

So here is how I make fall of the bone ribs... 
            *Start with a 9x13 pan, Line with tin foil to reduce clean up (aka. Aluminum foil), wash rack of ribs, and cut in half so you can fit in pan. lay ribs in pan
            *Pepper meat and drizzle with vinagar (don't salt cause it causes meat to shrink)
            *Bake in oven for about 4 hours at 250degrees (slow cooking is key)
            *Take out of oven and pour on any BBQ sauce, I personally take the easy way out and buy store bought sauce, but if you make your own, go for it! :) I like KC masterpiece southern style, but anything will work. Cover back up with tin foil and continue baking at 250 for at least another hour.
During the last hour I make the rest of the fixin's for the meal. I always check tenderness before serving, but it is usually falling off the bone. Serve. Enjoy.

If you are wondering how well this meal worked... we have been married now, 4 1/2 years and have a wonderful 2 year old daughter!  But Warning only use this recipe on men, you want to keep around. LOL :)

Fried Squash

Tonight my husband requested one thing when I asked "what do ya want for dinner?" His reply, "I'd love to have some fried squash" Instead of telling him I didn't know what I was doing, I decided to just go for it... I mean really, how hard can this be?  Actually kinda tricky. 

I love my grandmothers fried squash and I remember watching her make it once, and noticed she used cornmeal.  Since I have never bought cornmeal in my life, I decided to use some fish fry mix I had in my pantry. First I poured the pouch out into a plate, then I thinly sliced my squash.  I took my large skillet out and placed it on the burner. Scooped out two big spoonfuls of Crisco, and waited til they heated up (med-high heat) and melted.  After the crisco was fully melted, rolled around each slice of squash in the cornmeal mixture, coated on both sides and placed in frying pan.  Once the squash gets the desired color on bottom, flip over until 2nd side is also brown. Then take out of pan with fork and put on a paper towel (on a plate), this drains off excess grease.

While I was cooking tonight, I caught myself saying something I NEVER thought I'd say, "honey, I'll get it in a minute, I got my hand in the fryer!"

Southern Bread

Southern Bread is a blog I am writing to document my journey through southern cooking and living.  I was born and raised in Small Town, North Carolina, and although I was raised in the south.  My way of living was not typical Southern living or Country living.  My family ate takeout every night, we had a lawn boy to mow our yard, bought our canned goods at the local grocer and never went hunting, fishing, camping or hiking. We never had a garden, never did any canning, and didn't cook at home enough to know how to fry anything.

When I was 21, I started dating my next door neighbor... soon there became a running joke in my family and his, that even though we were raised across the street from one another, we were from two completely different worlds.  I was from the "city" and he was from the "country".  In the past 6 years I have taught myself how to cook (with the help of Rachel Ray), I have became pretty good at fishing, and planted my first garden.

Also in the past 6 years several things have changed, we got married, had a daughter, who is now 2, and are getting ready to purchase our first home.  Since our wants and our needs keep growing we have decided that we need to use our resources more so we can go out less and save more dough.  Which brings me back to my Southern Bread Blog. I have decided to document my journey of Southern Living... Join me won't you. Hope you enjoy!