Sweet Spiced Figs Recipe

These Sweet  Spiced Figs are an excellent addition to any charcuterie board, or you can serve them as an appetizer with cheese.   Sweet Pickled Figs The original recipe was called Sweet Pickled Figs, but we now refer to them as Spiced Sweet Figs to better enhance the true flavor profile.  These have a unique taste and will surprise you.  They have become one of the recipes we so look forward to making every year.   Jim's Mother had the fig tree, and as soon as the figs were ready to be picked, we would gather 3 quarts to make sweet spiced figs.    Since then, Jim's mother has passed away.  However, we still enjoy fresh figs from my daughter, Jennifer's growing fig tree.   This past week, we picked enough plump figs to make several jars of sweet, spiced figs. The recipe is simple with few ingredients. You start off by cooking them with vinegar, sugar, and pickling spice for 10 minutes, three consecutive days.   These ...

Perfect Green Beans

Perfect Green Beans have to be fresh, crisp in texture, and seasoned perfectly.  These Green Beans have all of the above, making them perfect. How To Cook Green Beans Perfectly My recipe for these sauteed green beans is easy to make with only four ingredients, and it cooks in under 10 minutes, so you can whip them up just before serving.   My foolproof recipe for cooking fresh green beans perfectly begins with a hot skillet and two tablespoons of olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper, and toss them often to coat with the oil as they release their juices.   Next, reduce the heat to medium-high, cover them with a lid, and toss occasionally until tender.   Just before serving, add a couple of tablespoons of butter, and season with the perfect seasoning,  Grill Mate Montreal Steak Seasoning . Green beans are a reasonably inexpensive vegetable and make a great side dish.  They were a great accompaniment to my Stuffed Bell Peppers ...

Blackberry Dumplings Cobbler

Blackberry Dumplings Cobbler  features luscious, juicy blackberries layered between three layers of buttery, flaky crust, with a rich syrup of butter, sugar, vanilla, and water poured over the entire cobbler. Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler Blackberry Cobbler is a timeless, old-fashioned dessert inspired by my mother's recipe.  She liked to layer pie crust between layers of blackberries.  This is where all the magic happens when the dough in the center forms pillows of tender dumplings. I know you're thinking, 'Why am I posting a recipe for blackberries, a summer berry?'  Well, we love blackberries and eat them throughout the year.  I missed the window for posting the recipe this summer and thought, why not?   When I was young and newly married, blackberries were only in the grocery stores and, better yet, on the vines during blackberry season in the summer.  The produce these days has changed so much.  We now see blackberries all yea...

Chicken Terrific With A Surprise Twist

For an easy family meal, try cooking this delicious chicken casserole.  The surprising ingredients make it truly terrific. Chicken Spectacular Casserole   The Chicken Casserole is sometimes called Chicken Spectacular, featuring wild rice, water chestnuts, and French-style green beans, giving it a twist on a classic chicken and rice casserole.  It is generously topped with buttery herb stuffing. My daughter introduced me to this recipe several years ago.  Chicken Terrific is a favorite casserole on her dinner table and has become a favorite of mine as well.   The dish makes a lot, and with five growing boys, she wants a dish that gives leftovers.  Now that her family has grown, she makes two.  This is not your typical casserole.   The ingredients might surprise you, including wild rice, water chestnuts, French-style green beans, and a buttery herb stuffing that elevates it to the next level. In fact, it's even better the next day when al...

Stew Okra and Tomatoes

This stewed okra and tomato recipe is as classic as it gets for a summer dish in the South, featuring fresh okra.  However, don't worry, frozen okra saves the day during the winter months. Southern Stewed Okra and Tomatoes Southern Stewed Fresh Okra, a humble but beloved Southern favorite, has spicy Creole flavors for a mouthwatering side dish.  This recipe calls for fresh or canned vegetables, so no rules.  Use what is in the pantry or refrigerator. Since I still had plenty of okra leftover from the last blog post, I decided to make my Mother's Creole Okra. Her recipe starts off with bacon. How yummy can you get it?  Then, it comes together with the flavors of onion and tomato, and she continues to layer on flavors depending on what she has on hand. This recipe I added onion, bell pepper, celery, tomatoes, and minced garlic. Growing up, this delicious dish often made center stage on our dinner table, serving it with rice or cornbread.

Fluffy Angel Roll Biscuits

Fluffy Angel Roll Biscuits are light and fluffy, melting deliciously in your mouth.  The yeast gives them fluffiness, and buttermilk keeps them fluffy. FLUFFY YEAST BISCUIT ROLLS These yeast biscuit rolls are soft and airy, similar to a dinner roll, but the addition of baking powder and baking soda gives them the structure  of a sturdy biscuit.   Since yeast was introduced to the baking world in the late 1950s, it is no surprise that they have been popular ever since. Angel biscuits stir many memories of my youth.  I learned to make these biscuits in my Home Economics class as a junior in high school.  Wow!  That will age you thinking about Home Economics.   I cut the shortening into the flour mixture in a large bowl for years with my trusty old wire pastry blender, the first step of most biscuit recipes. However, in the last few years, I have adapted the recipe to use my electric mixer with a dough hook.   Since I started blogging,...

Creamy Jalapeno Corn Casserole

Creamy Jalapeno Corn Casserole , featuring cream cheese and whole kernel corn with a hint of kick from jalapenos, makes this an inviting casserole for any meal. THREE-INGREDIENT CREAMY CORN CASSEROLE The Creamy Corn Casserole recipe is a budget-friendly side dish that requires only three ingredients and can feed a crowd, making it perfect for potlucks and family gatherings.  Our Thanksgiving menu is done, and this  Creamy Jalapeno Corn Casserole  is one of our favorite side dishes.  It is easy and quick, with a great combination of flavor and crunch from the jalapenos and corn.     The jalapeños in the dish give an incredible kick in flavor, but not too much heat.   This makes it nice for everyone to enjoy, including the children.

Baked Crispy Chicken Drumsticks

Baked Crispy Drumsticks are brined first and then baked at a high temperature, resulting in crispy, crunchy, and incredibly flavorful chicken drumsticks. CRISPY SEASONED BAKED CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS Each drumstick is bursting with flavor, delivering a delightful combination of crispy texture and mouthwatering taste that will keep you coming back for more.   After the holidays, I like to purge my freezer of the food that needs to be eaten.  I usually have some idea of what is in my freezer, but some meats get pushed to the back, and I have to pull them to the front to eat first.   I realized that what I thought were chicken wings, which I kept pulling to the front, were actually a package of chicken drumsticks.  I had been saving the chicken wings to make our  Texas BBQ Hot Wings  for our Super Bowl weekend. But hey, why not make crispy chicken drumsticks instead? Ha ha!   The drumsticks sounded so good, and I had had this recipe in my head f...

Heavenly Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

These Heavenly Homemade Cinnamon Rolls take only minutes to rise.  Bake for 15 minutes, and then ready to eat.  Don't forget to drizzle lavishly with powdered sugar icing. THE BEST HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS These are the most straightforward cinnamon rolls from scratch. They are perfect for yeast beginners because there is only one 30-minute rise.  This is the best cinnamon roll recipe you will ever make. It only took a little nudging from the family for me to make my homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast this Thanksgiving morning.   Over the years, I have tweaked this recipe from my Mother's recipe for Angel Biscuits . I think each time I make them, my daughter, Jennifer, says, "Mom, these are the best ones you have ever made." From the Grandchildren and Jim asking me to make them, they just keep getting better and better every time.  This is a light dough, yet loaded with lots of butter, sugar, and cinnamon and lavishly drizzled with heavenly icing. ...

The Best Cranberry Orange Muffins

Cranberry orange muffins are incredibly moist, packed with cranberries, and enhanced with a splash of concentrated orange juice. CRANBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS BAKER STYLE These cranberry orange muffins have all the styles of a bakery muffin, a delicious streusel topping, vibrant cranberries, and intense orange flavors.  They are bursting with the best flavors of the holidays. These cranberry muffins are my favorite muffins.  When I'm at the grocery store or a coffee shop, my first choice for a muffin is always cranberry and orange.  My second choice is a chocolate chocolate chip, who doesn't like chocolate chip anything. Cranberry orange muffins have the purest flavor of almost any other muffin.  I want to taste the authentic taste of orange juice and fresh cranberries, not artificial, as the package says, "Cranberry Orange flavor." Talking about the authentic taste of orange juice, well, that is why I use orange juice concentrate in this recipe.  Remember, it is con...