BLACKEYE PEA SALSA

There are lots of recipes out there for bean salsas. This one is made with the blackeye pea, which just happens to be the legume with the highest content of fiber.

Here's the ingredients you will need.

blackeye peas

diced tomatoes

diced tomates flavored with basil, garlic, oregano

white shoepeg corn

onion

garlic

italian dressing

Drain the peas and corn. Rinse well

Add the two cans of tomatoes. I usually like the petite diced but I grabbed the wrong cans. Also if you have fresh tomatoes, they would work great in place of the can of plain ones.

I used one clove of garlic, use more if you like a stronger garlic taste. You can either dice it up or use a press.

Now chop up some onions. I had about 1/2 cup here. Add to your mixture.

Pour in about 3/4 cup Italian dressing.

Stir together and let it marinate together in the fridge for a couple hours before serving.

The scoop chips work great with this salsa but I like to use these black bean chips.
They have the same calorie count as the scoop chips but are packed with four times the fiber.

YUMMY!

BLACKEYE PEA SALSA

1 can blackeye peas

1 can white shoepeg corn

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes w/basil,garlic,oregano

1/2 cup diced onion

1 clove minced garlic

3/4 cup Italian dressing

Drain and rinse peas and corn. Place in mixing bowl. Add tomatoes, onion, garlic and dressing. Mix well and refrigerate for a couple hours to marinate. Serve with tortilla chips.

May the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. Psalm 68:3

BREAD PUDDING & VANILLA SAUCE

This is a dessert we had many times growing up. I think Mom made bread pudding because it fed all of us with not a lot of ingredients. When I hear the words "comfort food" this bread pudding definitely comes to my mind.

Start out by greasing a 9 x 13 pan with some butter. Hannah was more than happy to do this for me.
Take some old bread (check to make sure the mold hasn't started). Slice it into strips
Then turn and slice the other way to make cubes
You will need about 6-7 cups of cubes. Place them in the greased pan
Heat 2 cups of milk until scalded. Now you may be saying how hot is scalded. Use a low heat and heat until just before it boils. It starts making small bubbles around the edges. Pour the milk into a mixing bowl.
Add 1/3 cup sugar to the milk
Beat 4 eggs in a separate bowl and add to the milk
Add 1/2 tsp salt. I'm already teaching Hannah the art of guess measuring. Less dishes to wash!
And 1 tsp vanilla. I think she got a little carried away with the vanilla, more like a tablespoon went in but it was delicious.

Stir in a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Ok I hardly ever use just plain cinnamon since I started using this cinnamon plus blend from Pampered Chef. I use it in anything that calls for cinnamon. Its also great in place of pumpkin pie spice.
Now whisk this together really good.

Take about a cup of raisins (I like to use the golden ones. Don't ask me why, I just do). Sprinkle them over the bread cubes.

I was snapping pictures while Hannah was sprinkling the raisins and didn't see her do this until I was editing the pictures.

Give your egg/milk mixture another good stir

Pour over the bread cubes

Now get your hands in there and press the cubes into the liquid so they absorb it.

Sprinkle a little nutmeg over the top

And dot with some butter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes. Check to see if its done by inserting a butter knife into the center. If it comes out clean, its done. Otherwise give it another 5 minutes.

Hannah decided it was time for some summer so she went into the back room and emerged in this outfit. Not bad if it was 80 outside but the high today is -5. That's below zero for those of you who live to the South.

No details on the vanilla sauce but here's what it looks like when you add the butter and vanilla. A note to my siblings: Why was there never enough sauce to go around?

Serve it hot over the bread pudding.

This is comfort food at its best.

Bread Pudding and Vanilla Sauce

6-7 cups cubed bread

2 cups scalded milk

4 beaten eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup raisins

Place bread cubes into a buttered 9 x 13 pan. Combine milk, eggs, sugar,salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Sprinkle 1 cup raisins over bread. Pour milk mixture over the top and press crumbs in to absorb the liquid. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Check for doneness and bake an additional 5 minutes if needed.

Vanilla Sauce:

1 cup sugar

2 cups waer

2 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar, water and cornstarch. Bring to a boil on low heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve hot over pudding

Don't be afraid for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isiah 41:10

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

I learned how to make chicken this way from my mother in law. She's always been known for her tasty chicken dinners. We raised our own chickens for many years, I even cut their heads off and gutted them! The girls all remember having to help butcher chickens. I think it was the highlights of their summers. However the last few years I have bought them from an organic farm.
Start out with a chicken, cut into pieces. I have a chicken and a half here because we had company for supper and needed a little extra.

I like to fold the wings like this when I freeze them. They are easier to fry this way.

Warm your frying pan to a medium to medium high heat. I started using these black cast iron pans and absolutely love them. Put about 2 Tablespoons of butter into the pan.

Now a good glug of olive oil. Let this heat up until its ready to start smokin. You want the pan good and hot before you add the chicken.

Place some chicken in a shallow dish and pour buttermilk over them. You can use plain milk if you'd like.

Turn the pieces over to coat them in the milk.

Now dredge the pieces in flour in another shallow bowl.

Fill the fryer with a single layer of chicken. Sprinkle on some pepper.

And toss on some salt. I like using the coarse sea salt when I'm cooking meats.

Brown both sides just until they start crisping. Remove to a plate to do the next panful of chicken. You can see the chicken is still raw on the inside.

After browning all the chicken pieces , place them all in the fry pan. Put the biggest pieces on the bottom. My fry pan is very deep so they all fit. Otherwise you can put them into a roaster.

Pop it into the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half. Keep it covered because this gets the chicken done to the bone. Remove the cover for another half hour. This makes the chicken crispier.

Yummy! Tyler and Hannah love eating the drumsticks.

And this stuff left in the pan? This makes the best gravy ever. Drain off any grease, add some water and cook on a burner until the yummy pieces let loose.

Thicken it up with some roux and you've got chicken gravy like no other.


All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us...When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

CRUSTY FRENCH BREAD

This bread is great with spaghetti, lasagna or anything really. I like to make the dough in the bread machine and then shape it and bake on a stone.

Ingredients: water, olive oil, sugar, salt, egg, flour, yeast. And of course an assistant if you have one available.

Pour 1 1/2 cups water into breadmaker pan.

2 Tablespoons of oil

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

And one beaten egg. No picture for that but check out the video on Poyda Postings of Hannah beating the egg to the tune of Twinkle Little Star.

4 1/2 cups of flour, you may need to add another 1/2 cup or so if your dough is sticky

And finally 1 Tablespoon of yeast

Put the pan into the breadmaker and set on the dough setting. You'll have to watch it for about the first ten minutes and add flour if your dough is sticky.

The dough setting on my machine takes an hour and a half and this is what it looks like when I take it out.

Remove it from the pan and work it a little on the counter to get the air out

Now shape it into a long shape, this one is about 14 inches long and 4 inches wide. It could be longer but my baking stone isn't long enough

Place it on the baking stone or sheet.

Now we cover it with a preferably clean towel and let it rise until almost doubled in size. When the girls were little they always said the dough was sleeping and thats why I had to cover it.

Now beat an egg white and 1 tsp of cold water

Spread this over the dough. This is what gives it a nice gloss and crunchy crust.

Get yourself a nice serrated edge knife

And make diagonal cuts across the top. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Yummy!!!!!!!!!!

CRUSTY FRENCH BREAD

1 1/2 cups water

2 T olive oil

2 T sugar

2 tsp salt

1 beaten egg

4 1/2 - 5 cups flour

1 T yeast

Put ingredients into breadmaker in order given. Set to dough setting. Remove dough and shape into long loaf. Let rise until doubled. Brush dough with a beaten egg white and 1 tsp cold water. Make diagonal slices across top of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. John 6:9