• 3 cups sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup hershey’s cocoa
• 1 1/2 cup milk

Mix together until lump free

Bring to boil then reduce to medium heat.

Stir continuously until it forms a ball when dropped into cold water

Remove from heat and add the following:

• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 (heaping huge) tbsp peanut butter (may be piled as high as 2” on the spoon)

Stir until it starts to lose its gloss.

Spread on buttered platter or tray and let harden.

*The more peanut butter you add the creamier it will be.

**If you aren’t at sea level or at least really close to it, this recipe may require quite a bit of trial and error. I haven’t made this since I moved to Colorado, I really suck at adjusting for altitude! :)

Daddy’s peanut butter fudge

let’s hope I can figure out how to make it properly at this altitude!

Carol was my mom, self taught cook, self taught pianist and organist for her church from the age of 7, and sorely missed. Love you Mama!

• 1 can tiny shrimp
• 1 can lump crab meat
• shredded cheese (any kind you like)
• mayonaise
• mustard (I like spicy brown, but any kind works)
• black pepper
• salt
• smoked paprika (the sweet kind will work,  but I just don’t think its as tasty)
• cayenne pepper
• Tabasco sauce
• Hard rolls or a loaf of French bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Hollow out the rolls or loaf and set aside.

Combine all ingredients except bread, season to taste, using enough mayonnaise to coat everything. Stuff it all in the bread, if using rolls then place them in a baking dish with the bread opening up, if using a loaf just put it on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

These freeze wonderfully and keep forever if frozen. The mixture can also be made into a dip.

but it wasn’t so good either. oh well, there’s always next time. I did manage to salvage it by topping it off with some feta cheese.

basilbrain:

Just in case you haven’t been keeping up:

DON’T FREAK OUT.  I DO NOT KNOW ANYONE NAMED EARL, NOR AM I HAVING A BABY.  Rather, I am making yet another pie from Waitress!  This one looks super delicious.  I am so disappointed, though; neither of my housemates are going to partake because one is a vegetarian and the other doesn’t eat pork.  I’m going to take it to work (and further reaffirm their suspicions that I have gone pie-crazy).

I DON’T WANT EARL’S BABY PIE

INGREDIENTS

1 pie crust

3 slices ham

8 green onions

1 cup brie cheese

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

4 eggs

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover pie crust with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes more. Remove crust and reduce heat to 325 degrees. Julienne ham. Chop green onions. In skillet, saute ham until brown. Remove and set aside. Saute onion until tender. Remove with slotted spoon and combine with ham. Spread on bottom of pie crust. Slightly melt brie, then spread  over ham mixture and sprinkle with cheddar. Combine eggs, cream and nutmeg; pour over cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until set. Cool slightly, cut into wedges and serve.

It is absolutely delicious.  Having one piece also happened to put me one step closer to having a heart attack.  At least I can say I ate well?

this is a really new project of mine, so only a couple posts yet, but with the holidays just around the corner there will be more :)

Coming soon:

• Mama’s Cajun cornbread dressing
• How to turn baked beans out of a can into something yummy
• what to do with the 10 metric tons of leftover turkey

Enjoy!

Laura and Carson

ok, here goes!

Simple, flavorful, but never boring.

Cooking is an adventure, and while I may start with a recipe that appeals to me, I’ll almost never follow it to the letter.

any questions?

So I’ve been cooking since I was old enough to sit next to the stove and stir a pot for my mom. She taught me everything I know about cooking really. It wasn’t until I was much older that I learned to really enjoy cooking. It started when my son showed interested and real talent for it. He could taste a dish and tell you exactly what was missing before he was 10. No formal training here,  none for my mom either.

I grew up surrounded by a huge family and every occasion centered around food and as long as my dad’s mom wasn’t cooking,  it was damn good food too. Fish frys, crawfish/crab/shrimp boils, mother’s day, thanksgiving, easter, when you’re southern everything is about food. Not just southern either,  but Cajun on top of it.

I know this post is a little incoherent, I’m afraid its the best I can do right now, getting a little choked up… more to come later since this doesn’t really tell ya anything does it?  lol

2 tsp butter

2 pounds roasted, peeled and diced pumpkin (or two cans pumpkin puree)

2 tsp. diced Chile pepper (or cayenne)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp tumeric

5 cups chicken stock

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup heavy cream

2 cans lump crab meat

In a large stock pot combine all ingredients except cream and crab. Bring to a boil. Take heat down to medium and let cook for about 30 minutes. Using an immersion blender puree the pumpkin if you didn’t start off with pumpkin puree. Add cream and bring back to a boil. Add crab meat. Let cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.