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Strawberry Bread

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May 162013
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Strawberry Bread

When I make this bread it gets really quiet around my house. That means I make it often! Quiet around this place is SACRED! Usually there is a dull roar. But a roar none-the-less. And at times it is louder around here than a rock concert. So if I make something where everyone just sits around savoring the goodness and doesn’t say a word, I am going to make it often and just enjoy the silence that comes with it.

When I bake this bread it makes 3 loaves…1 large, 2 smaller. And those 3 loaves never last more than an hour.

Seriously, it is just that good.

You have to go make it now…and when it comes out of the oven and you cut into it, just sit back and listen. Listen to the silence. I will sit here and wait for the thanks…

ingredients for strawberry bread

To make this wonderful bread you are going to need self-rising flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, eggs, oil, and strawberries.

I am using frozen strawberries but you can use fresh and it will still work just fine.

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Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

Then mix the two bowls together.

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Grease and Flour your pans, pour the mix in and bake.

It is that easy! Even your kids could make this…perfect for Mother’s Day!

Strawberry Bread

3 cups self-rising flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

10 ounces of frozen sliced strawberries, thawed (or 1 1/2 cups fresh sliced strawberries)

Mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a LARGE bowl. Then mix the eggs, oil and strawberries together in a separate bowl. Combine the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, stirring until mixed well. Grease and flour 2 large or 3 small loaf pans. Pour batter into pans until they are half full. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

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Strawberry Bread

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 7:12 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Iron Skillet Pork Chops With Muscadine Glaze

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May 152013
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Iron Skillet Pork Chops with Muscadine Glaze

Recently when I was at the National Cornbread Festival I came across a booth that was selling Muscadine Juice. Not wine…JUICE! I was so thrilled…and then I tasted it. OhhhMyStinkinHeck, that is the best stuff I think I have ever put in my mouth. As a kid I can remember being at my grandparents house picking fresh muscadines off the vine, popping the whole thing in my mouth and sucking the fruit out of the shell. Once we would do that we would always such the juice out of the shell and just relish in that little bit of heaven. See, that was the best part. Don’t get me wrong, muscadines are great, but that little bit of juice left in the shell after you remove the grape, you just can’t get much better. And THAT is exactly what this juice tastes like! I came home with 4 bottles of it…and I know realize that wasn’t enough. You can read more about Post Muscadine Juice HERE, and no, this isn’t a sponsored post, it is just really that good. Anyway…a few days after I got home I was on the phone talking with my friend Chef Lewis and telling him about my find. As I was happily telling him that it is 100% Juice AND alcohol free and how all I had ever seen before was Muscadine Wine and I sure had missed Muscadines because A.) My grandparents both passed away years ago and I no longer have access to the vines and B.) I quit drinking 16 years ago so I don’t drink the wine variety…well, his wheels started turning and immediately went to food…as most of our conversations do. He said that I should find some Muscadine Jelly and make a reduction sauce out of it and some of the juice. Ohhh, what a genius idea that was…and I had to try it.

ingredients for iron skillet pork chops with muscadine glaze

The juice is going to be hard to find, unless you scored some at a recent festival or live in Arkansas, but if you drink, you can use a muscadine wine and if you don’t you could just use grape juice. The jelly came from Delano Farms in Delano TN. Delano Farms in a community farm run by Mennonites and they have a market on site that you can buy their fresh grown produce, baked items, canned goods and handmade items. Along with the sweetness of the muscadines, add a little spice with some seasonings of your choice. I used Luzianne Cajun Seasoning.

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Add a tablespoon or two of oil to an iron skillet, sprinkle the chops with the seasoning and brown on both sides.

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While your pork chops are browning get your sauce reducing.

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Once they chops are browned, reduce the heat to a medium low and baste with the Muscadine Glaze. Turning and basting several times until completely cooked through.

Plate and baste with any glaze still remaining.

Iron Skillet Pork Chops with Muscadine Glaze

Pork Chops (enough for your crowd)

Cajun Seasoning

Muscadine Juice or Wine

Muscadine Jelly

Season both sides of pork chops with cajun seasoning. Brown the chops in an iron skillet on medium-high heat. Once browned reduce the heat to a medium-low. Baste the pork chops with the muscadine sauce, turning and basting several times until the pork chops are cooked through.

Muscadine Sauce

1 cup muscadine juice or wine

1 cup muscadine jelly

Bring the juice/wine and jelly to a  boil, then reduce heat to just a simmer. Allow it to simmer until it is reduced by half.

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 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 9:45 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Onion and Herb Roasted Potatoes

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May 072013
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Onion and Herb Roasted Potatoes

We love potatoes. Of Any Kind. But these, ohhhh, these potatoes…they are a big favorite in this house!

This is one of those simple, easy to make recipes that requires few ingredients, is economical yet packs a punch of flavor that you won’t soon forget! Another great thing about this recipe is that it is easy to double if you feed a crowd like I do.

Onion and Herb Roasted potatoes ingredients

All you need are some potatoes, dry onion soup mix, Italian seasoning and olive oil.

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Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut into chunks.

Add the olive oil, dry onion soup mix and mix well.

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Then I top with the Italian seasoning and mix it in…you can do this with the other ingredients but I never measure the amount of Italian seasonings that I use, I just add until it looks right to me. If you are one of those folks that needs exact measurements though, I would guess I use about 1-2 Tablespoons.

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Bake on 400 degrees for 1 hour.

Onion and Herb Roasted Potatoes

2 pounds of potatoes

1 package dry onion soup mix

1/3 cup olive oil

Italian Seasoning

Wash and peel the potatoes and cut into chunks. Place the potatoes in a 9 X 13 baking dish, top with olive oil, dry onion soup mix and Italian seasoning. Mix well, Bake on 400 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Just check the potatoes to see if they are fork tender to make sure they are done.

I always double this recipe, so if you need to feed a larger crowd it is easy to double and the cooking time only increases by about 15 minutes.

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 8:57 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Southern Ranch Fried Chicken

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Mar 212012
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Yep, THE number one staple to any Southerner’s picnic, family gathering, church social, funeral, reunion or party of any kind.

southern style fried chicken

Fried Chicken

There are so many different ways to cook fried chicken and they are all correct. It just depends on what region you live in and how your Momma and Grandmomma done it as to which you probably use in your home.  Growing up I didn’t care to much about cooking. My Daddy was always in the kitchen cooking up something and while I remember it being a passion of his I didn’t hang out with him in there too much. Now, I regret that and I wish I had made a pest out of myself and made him show me what he was doing. So many of his recipes went to the grave with him, lost forever. So, when I started looking for a fried chicken recipe I went to my Great Aunt Ruth. With both of my Grandmomma’s and my Dad gone I had to look somewhere. My Momma didn’t like to cook a lot when we were young and since my Daddy did it was usually his job.  Ya’ll have heard me talk about my Aunt Ruth many times and she is one of the best cooks I know…and I have ALWAYS loved her fried chicken.

Ruth told me that the trick to any good fried chicken is to marinate it in a mix of buttermilk and egg for at least several hours, preferably overnight.

chicken soaking in buttermilk and egg

After your chicken has marinated you want to gather your other ingredients.

fried chicken ingredients

 Flour, Salt and Pepper.It doesn’t really matter if you use self-rising flour or all-purpose flour. Just flour.

I know you see the ranch dressing up there, I am getting to it…

…you see, we have experimented with adding many flavors to the mix and the one that is requested the most is Ranch Dressing mix. We also like adding some cayenne pepper or chili powder and cajun seasoning for a spicy fried chicken. Or add a little powdered sugar for a taste more in line with Chick-Fil-A chicken. We also like to add dry Italian dressing. Or just Italian seasoning. You can also do lemon pepper seasoning. See where this is going? The possibilities are limitless.

bread chicken for frying

Mix all your dry ingredients together and dredge your chicken in it.

 Cast Iron Deep fryer

Ruth also told me to always fry my chicken in Peanut Oil.

So that is what I use. Heat your oil in a heavy pan on medium-high, then drop your chicken in, just be careful of oil splatters.

 southern style fried chicken

Remove it from the oil and place on a paper towel to drain when it is golden brown.

 Fried Chicken

Chicken  (I use chicken tenders)

Buttermilk

1 egg

Flour

Salt and Pepper to taste

Seasonings of your choice (Ranch was used in this batch)

Directions:

Whip one egg and add to buttermilk. You will use enough buttermilk to cover your chicken and marinate at least 4 hours, preferably over-night. Heat oil in a heavy pot on medium-high heat. After chicken has marinated mix flour, salt, pepper and seasonings of choice together. Dredge chicken in the flour mix coating well. Place chicken, one at a time, in oil. Fry until golden brown.

If your oil is too hot your chicken will cook too quickly on the outside and be raw on the inside so make sure not to use too high of heat.

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 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 9:59 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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