Homemade Hamburger Buns

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups white lily all purpose  flour (or your favorite brand)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
31/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup  butter ,soften
1 1/2 cups  milk, at room temperature (no buttermilk for this the taste just doesn't fit)
sesame seeds  (optional)
Directions
Mix together the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Add in the egg, butter, and milk and mix with a large wooden spoon until all the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a nice ball. You can veg.oil if the dough seems  stiff and unworkable, until the dough is soft and supple.
I dump the dough  onto a lightly floured counter top,(I usually wet the counter with dampened dish cloth then apply wax paper for easy clean-up) here you’ll do your kneading. Work for about 8-10 minutes, until the dough is soft and springy but not sticky. I test my kneading  by pulling off a  piece of dough, and stretching  it  if the dough stretches and holds its shape it’s done.

Then I form this into a loaf and cut 10 even size buns from this, patting each one out to about 3/4 of an inch  thick. then I take a 4 1/2 inch or (there abouts) plastic bowl and use it like a cookie cutter, cutting each bun into a nice round shape then cover and let rise for about a hour in a room of about 70 degrees f , (less time if warmer or more if cooler)

While these are rising  you can make your condiments you can find these over on the right side of the blog.

After the buns raise brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Pre heat oven to 375 and bake for 12 to 15 minutes till nicely brown.

Home Made Onion Rings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1  cup beer, room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 very large yellow sweet onions
• 3cups of lard  or olive pom ace oil  for deep frying

Preparation:

Combine flour and beer  in a large bowl with the salt and pepper, blend thoroughly with a whisk.batter should have consistency of pancake batter.  Cut onions into 1/4-inch thick slices then separate into rings. Heat oil to 400°. Using metal tongs, dip the onions in the buttermilk than into the batter. Then carefully place them in the hot fat.
Its best if you have plenty of room at the stove so you can set the batter and the onions close to the frying pan and then a extra plate on the other side with a paper towel to catch excess grease, this keeps from making to big of a mess and will allow for easier clean up later.  
Fry onion rings about 2 minutes, turning them once or twice until they're an even delicate golden color .

Onion ring dipping sauce:

Ingredients

• Dipping Sauce
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 tablespoons ground  horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• sprinkle with dried oregano
•   salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  Me, I Just Like Ketchup .

Fat Free Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

 

CRUST

 

8 large (2 1/2-x-5-inch) fat free graham crackers

 

2 tablespoons sugar

 

2 tablespoons fat-free egg substitute

 

FILLING

 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch

 

2/3 cup sugar

 

1 12 ounce can evaporated skim milk

 

1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute

 

1/2 cup of juice from key lime

 

MERINGUE TOPPING

 

3 egg whites, warmed to room temperature

 

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

 

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

6 tablespoons sugar

 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to make Key Lime Pie

  To make the crust, break the crackers into pieces, and place in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process into fine crumbs. Measure the crumbs. There should be 1 1/4 cups. Return the crumbs to the food processor. Add the sugar, and process for a few seconds to mix. Add the egg substitute, and process until the mixture is moist and crumbly. Coat a 9-inch deep dish pie pan with nonstick cooking spray, and use the back of a spoon to press the crumbs against the sides and bottom of the pan, forming an even crust.  Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, or until the edges feel firm and dry. Set aside to cool. To make the filling, combine the cornstarch and sugar in a 2-quart saucepan. Slowly stir in the evaporated milk, and place over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until the mixture is thickened and bubbly. Reduce the heat to low. In a small bowl, blend 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg substitute. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and cook, still stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not boil. Remove the mixture from the heat, and stir in the lime juice. Pour the filling into the pie crust, and set aside. To make the meringue, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat until foamy. Beat in the cream of tartar and salt, and continue beating until soft peaks form when the beaters are removed. Beat the sugar in slowly, adding 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the vanilla extract, and beat until the mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form when the beaters are removed. Spread the meringue over the warm filling, swirling it with a knife or spoon. Make sure that the meringue touches all edges of the crust. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, or just until the meringue is touched with brown.

Hunters Hog Heaven

Do You Know These Guys, if not Than you Probably Have never eaten Really good BBQ, From a Truck ,
Beside the Road. And then Like I said You Have Never Eaten Really Good BBQ.
As most Folks Know I love Food ,Then add BBQ Sauce and Throw it on a Bun top it With Some Cole Slaw , What else does a Fat Boy Need? Well some Napkins would be Nice 'Cause I had my good Shirt on Today.


You Driven Around And See
This Truck I Don't Care Where You at; Me Myself  I was in Lake Wylie SC Just South Of Charlotte NC
You need To Stop And Enjoy Yourself ,Get You a Big Pork

Or Beef BBQ Sandwich some sides like Baked Beans or Slaw , Onion Rings or French Fries, Them Boys even Got Fried Apple Pies.

This and a Drink For Around 5 Bucks This Sandwich Is
Legendary. The Only Thing I Can Say Is I Gotta Go Back
And I Gotta Try The Beef Next Time. If You Don't Have
These Guys with in Driving Distance Of Where You Live
You Should Be Very Jealous of Those Of Us Who Do.

THAT'S A SANDWICH

 

15th Annual National Cornbread Cook-Off

MARTHA WHITE® AND LODGE® CAST IRON IN SEARCH OF
 NATION’S BEST CORNBREAD RECIPES

                                                     http://www.lodgemfg.com/cbcookoff.asp
 It might be from growing up country, it might be my age, it might be 'cause I live in the South, But does this  sound like a good time or what. The Cook-Off grand champion will win the coveted cast iron skillet crown and receive a $5,000 cash. Pretty good pay-out for one corn bread recipe. Check out their website for all the rules and requirements. And good Luck.

The Original Idea for this Post was my Jalapeno Corn Bread Recipe, Though not award winning by no means and I am almost ashamed to post it here now, It is very good and has been requested on numerous occasions.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Martha White Cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the corn meal,flour,sugar,baking powder ,salt,soda and shortening. loosely combine these ingredients before adding in the eggs and buttermilk, stir this until moistened. Stir in jalapenos. Pour into a greased 9-in.cast iron pan.
2. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minute.
3. Serve this with any southern or tex-mex meal.

Growing Herbs in Containers

Here in the South Mother Nature is teasing us with warm weather
as she does every year about this time. Every year I fall for it, I get spring fever and want to start
planting in the garden, I know its to early but still I dream.

It is getting time to start seeds inside and talk to neighbors about how great the tomatoes were last
year, Tell of how hard you worked getting rid of this bug that beetle and so on. Its kind of the pre-game
warm up. This year as every year before we will grow our "Special Garden" on the deck and front porch,
This is the garden that grows the very best of everything, it has the plants that get special attention for these are the veggies that go straight into the kitchen for those meals that can't get any better.

One of the key players to this garden is the fresh herbs, they are really pretty easy to grow and the more you cut from them the more they produce.

We are going to grow our herbs in a container garden on and near the front porch.  Herbs originated in different parts of the world there for they can have different watering requirements, and some are more tricky to than others, so do a little research and try to put herbs that require similar care in the same pot.
Light
Most herbs need full sun – from 4-6 hours a day. That means here in the south containers can really bake on a hot day, so if you live somewhere where temperatures soar, your herbs may need to be shaded during the hottest part of the day.  
Soil
Use  high quality potting soil because most herbs need good drainage. Also make sure that you have containers that have drainage holes so you don’t drown your herb container gardens.  
Fertilizer
It is very easy to over-fertilize herbs. Most don’t require any, and some herbs will die if you fuss with or over feed. Some, like thyme and oregano like being neglected and won’t be at their best  if they are given too much attention, water or food.  
Choosing Containers
You can use anything from coffee cans to expensive ceramic pots , though make sure whatever you choose has good drainage. You can get away with smaller containers because most herbs don’t have large root systems.  This is especially true of the herbs that don’t mind drying out between watering.
Planning Your Herb ContainerYou can grow as many types of herbs in one container as you want, as long as you make sure that all the herbs in a single pot share the same sun, water and soil preferences. For example, rosemary likes it hot and dry while parsley needs steady moisture. They wouldn’t be perfect in the same pot (though to be honest, I have pushed this envelope and put unmatched bedfellows together, fairly successfully). I also like to grow pots with one type of herb and then group the pots.
Plants Per Container
I like the looks of crowded, Yet healthy container gardens. I put in as many plants as I can and most do fine. Particularly since herbs thrive if you keep pinching them back and harvesting them, you can usually keep them from strangling each other. Though basil is not a fan of over crowding because it needs good air circulation. Also, if you're trying to save money, and can start early like in the house, start some plants from seed and let them fill in the container.
Herbs in Container Garden Design
Herbs make for a very decorative element in any container garden. They not only look fantastic they also provide a great texture and scent mixed with annuals or perennials.
Choosing Herbs
Grow what you like to cook with or what you find appealing as a plant. I grow sage mainly for the way it smells and looks. But rarely use it for cooking  I use lots basil for cooking and like to grow enough to share, its one of those herbs I think everyone loves plus any extra can be frozen and use through out the year. I also grow lots of  parsley, its also great for sharing. Rosemary really looks good growing so I got to have a lot of it.
Harvesting Herbs
The great thing is herbs love to be cut back so the more you use the better they grow.
Give a herb garden a try this year, for the most part its easy the kids will love to  help and your food will love the freshness.