MAPLE  BANANA  BLUEBERRY  MUFFINS 
                     MY VERY OWN RECIPE                              

           

   

 I have tweaked my recipe until it is so delicious.             
My daughter and I really enjoy these muffins. 
Tell me what you think about the taste of them if 
you get a chance. 

1 3/4 c. plain flour 
2 1/2 tsps. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. salt 
Mix in a small bowl , set aside. 

1/2 bar real butter, cubed 1/4" cubes 
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla 
1/3 c. maple syrup 
1/2 c. evaporated milk 
Cream all together. 
Stir flour into the butter mixture Only 
until you do not see any flour anymore. 

2-3 medium, ripe bananas, mashed 
1 egg, lightly beaten 
Fold these into the batter, gently. 

1/2 c. blueberries 
1 T. flour 
Toss lightly to cover the blueberries. 

Very gently fold-in the blueberries. 
Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. 
Using a medium ice cream scoop, fill 
each cup 2/3 full and sprinkle brown 
sugar and bake 400 degrees for 12-14 
minutes or until golden brown. 

Turn the muffins on their sides to cool 
before you take them out of the muffin
pan. 

TIP: Sometimes, your local grocer will 
mark some blueberries down bcuz a few 
in the pack are not so great. 

 Keep an eye out for these.
 They put them out in the early morning.
 Ask the produce manager if he/she has 
 any overripe bananas or some blue-
 berries to mark down.

                  These are so very delicious. 

I do hope you will try these and I hope you
 enjoy them. ~Tami~ 

                            TAMI'S GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE 
                  WITH FRENCH FRIED ONIONS

               This is by far, the most delicious 
                   green bean casserole you 
                        you will ever taste. 

Ingredients:

3 16 oz. cans of blue lake green beans, drained 
Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, to taste 
8 oz. sour cream,(Not low fat/no fat sour cream)
12 oz. can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
8 oz. Velveeta Cheese or thick sliced Velveeta 
1 can Durkee French Fried Onion Rings 

Drain the cans of blue lake Green Beans and 
spread evenly in a 13x9'' casserole dish and 
season with Tony Chachere's Seasoning. 

Next, mix together the sour cream and cream 
of mushroom soup and spread over entire 
casserole dish of green beans. 

Next, slice the Velveeta and completely cover 
the casserole . 

Finally,sprinkle the Durkee French Fried Onion
Rings over the entire casserole .

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Bake casserole on the bottom 

rack of the oven, until 

hot and bubbly. 

 This is such a great casserole to serve 

for the Holidays , especially, 

Thanksgiving, Christmas & Easter 

or any time of the year, really. 

                         TAMI'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Almost everybody I know loves chocolate chip cookies ; very few don't like them.

I am known for my chocolate chip cookies and have been asked by many people for my recipe , men have even asked me for it.

I will share it with you. I used to be able to find chocolate chunks by Hershey's or Nestle' in the grocery store when I lived in Florida. They don't sell them here.
They make fabulous "Chocolate Chunk Cookies" .

Tami's Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1 bar butter
1/2 cup butter flavor Crisco shortening
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Cream all together.

Add:
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. baking soda (level teaspoon)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsps. of Pure Vanilla Extract (not imitation)
Beat well til creamed .
Add:
1 Lg. egg

Mix Only until well incorporated.
****Do Not overbeat .
12 oz. bag Nestle' semi-sweet chocolate chips
(I also love Hershey's and Ghiradelli's )

****Never use something that reads
Chocolate Flavored***it is fake 
and never use carob chips(they taste fake
and gross).



Fold-in the chocolate chips .

If  you overbeat your cookie dough , they will not rise well. 

Chill first, for best results .
TIP: I use a Med. size ice cream scoop to make the
cookies uniform. 
TIP: Do not flatten out your cookie dough balls. It is fabulous. 

Bake cookies on the middle rack of the oven for approximately 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees. They are wonderful. 
Once baked, let cool on the cookie sheet for about 
2-3 mins.,then, remove to a wire rack to cool . 
I like them a little bit gooey with a glass of ice cold milk.

                       
               
  APPLE CINNAMON PECAN CAKE 
      WITH PECAN PRALINE ICING 
            MY VERY OWN RECIPE 

I adore Autumn and the colors of the trees here in East Tenn.and I love apples (which are an Autumn fruit). I live the whole year waiting for the 1st sign of Autumn. I love all the spectacular colors of the leaves and the cool crisp feeling in the air that is so invigorating. It is so beautiful here. It puts me in the mood to bake pies and cakes and to cook great big pots of beef stew and cornbread. I developed a recipe for cornbread that tastes almost identical to "Cracker Barrel's" cornbread. I'll share it on another day. I have made a list of my Favorite Recipes that I intend to share on this blog. I have 19 or 20 ; the Best of the Absolute Best of my collection; my most Praised and most Requested recipes. 
Today, I am sharing my :

APPLE CINNAMON PECAN CAKE :

1 Betty Crocker butter recipe yellow cake mix,
Mix according to pkg. directions,
FOLD IN:
1 large red delicious apple, chopped 
2 Tablespoons cinnamon(yes, I put 2 Tablespoons of cinn., NOT teaspoons): 
***nobody has ever complained that it was too delicious*** 
1 box of vanilla instant pudding (dry)
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract 
1/2 cup chpd. Pecans

Pour batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan. 
Bake as directed on the pkg. .
***I bake it for 38 minutes on 350 degrees and check it 
with a toothpick. 
I like to frost this cake with Praline (prah-leen) Icing, Vanilla Buttercream Icing or the traditional 
Cream Cheese Icing .

Praline Icing :
1 bar of real butter , melted 
1 cup of white, granulated sugar
1 16 oz. can Evaporated Milk
1 tspn. pure Vanilla Extract
Pecans chopped for garnishing
Melt the butter in a large heavy pot , 
then, add the sugar and stir for 1 minute, 
until the sugar begins to melt,stirring 
constantly with a wooden spoon over 
medium heat.  Add Evap. Milk slowly, a
little bit at a time, until incorporated . 
Cook, stirring until the color begins to 
change to a light, caramel color.
Remove from the heat and add the pure
vanilla.  Stir vigorously . 
  
When it begins to thicken, test it in a cup
of ice cold water; if it has reached the hard 
ball stage, it is ready to pour over the cake.

               

          MAMA'S  MAHOGANY CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE

To me,  this is the most precious of all of my dear, sweet, 
late Mommas' recipes .  She loved to bake Christmas cookies
and she would make all sorts sweets like homemade fudge, divinity,
Turtles (pecans, caramel and chocolate) and Mounds candies (coconut
filling then, dipped in chocolate). And, then there is her signature cherry
chocolate cake, "Mahogany Cake " .It is so perfect; it's not too sweet,
not to rich and not too chocolatey.  It's just perfect and it gets better each
day that it sits at room temperature. The third day is amazing, if your family
 can resist eating it all before the 2nd and 3rd day.

 She made this every Christmas . 
I have such fond memories of her and our family enjoying this
delicious cake together; it was a "tradition" in our home and she 
served it with vanilla ice cream. 
Please forgive me if I have blogged about this recipe 
before, it is just so wonderful.

ps   I don't know where she got this recipe, but, nobody,
outside of my home town of Mamou, has ever heard of a
Mahogany Chocolate Cake.  

MOM'S MAHOGANY CHOCOLATE CAKE   
                
 If you love chocolate and maraschinos cherries , you will adore this cake.

Dry Ingredients:
4   C .sugar 
2    t. baking soda
1    T. cinnamon
1    t. salt 
1   C. cocoa
4   C. flour

Whisk all the above ingredients, in the Magnalite Dutch Oven (Magnalite is
the brand of cookware used in south Louisiana).. Then, whisk-in the cherry juice and remaining
liquids, leaving eggs for last.

Wet Ingredients:
2   sm. jars of cherries, (pour cherry juice in oil, set cherries aside in
     a bowl for last step)  

1   C. cooking oil 
1   C. boiling water
1   C. buttermilk
1   T. Pure Vanilla

Pour wet ingredients into the whisked mixture and stir until well blended

Add: 
4   lg. eggs , slightly beaten
Stir in slightly beaten eggs just until there is no sign of raw egg and it
is just incorporated enough.  This gives the cake leavening .
*do not over beat after adding the eggs.

Drop cherries, one at a time, starting in the center, working outward,
placing them about an inch apart from one another.   

           

                MAMA MANDOLA'S CHICKEN BOWTIE SOUP

                 aka Carraba's Chicken Soup

I first tasted this wonderful chicken noodle soup at a Soup and Chili luncheon at our church last year. It was so delicious that I chose to skip dessert to have 2nds, after I made sure that everyone had eaten all they wanted. 
It is called Mama Mandolas' Chicken Soup.

MAMA MANDOLAS' CHICKEN SOUP
(like Carabas' Restaurant) :

Ingredients:

5 celery ribs
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled
1 large yellow onion
1 large green bell pepper

2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 can (14-ounce size) imported Italian plum tomatoes
1 (5-pound size) Hen, washed and cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
6 quarts water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

The soup I tasted had several shakes of Louisiana Red Hot Sauce in it,but,it wasn't enough to make the soup "hot".


Dice celery, carrots, onion, potatoes and bell pepper into 1/4-inch pieces. Chop tomatoes; reserve all juice. Place vegetables, tomatoes with their juice, chicken pieces, parsley and garlic in a 10-quart stockpot. Add water. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly bring soup to a boil over low heat. Skim off foam that rises to the surface; may have to skim 2 or 3 times. Partially cover pot and simmer 2 hours. When soup is finished, remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon. Let cool.
ps I added some fresh cut corn to the soup. 

Meanwhile, mash a little bit of the vegetables**(if you desire the soup to be a little bit thicker) in the bottom of the pot with the back side of a large cooking spoon or a potato masher. When chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove skin and bones and chop into bite-size pieces, then return meat to soup.
  
                        Enjoy!  ~ Tami ~

              THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A BOWL                                    OF HEARTY BEEF STEW!

I used to cook lunch for our small church school and I developed this recipe for Beef Stew which everyone loved. I serve it over rice with hot, buttered cornbread . 

BEEF STEW

1 3-5 lb. beef Shoulder Roast, seasoned TONY CHACHERIE'S CREOLE SEASONING 

GARLIC POWDER

OIL for searing the roast

Season Roast and brown on all sides over high heat in a heavy Magnalite Pot,

then, reduce heat to low and pour 1-2 cups water around the roast.

Add:

2 envelopes of LIPTON BEEFY ONION dry soup mix 

1 bell pepper , chpd. 

1-2 med. large onions, chpd. 

2-3 garlic cloves , minced fine 

2 ribs celery, chpd. fine 

4-5 large potatoes , peeled & cut into chunks

½ 16oz. bag baby carrots 

2 packets of Brown Gravy Mix, for thickening

½ cup frozen green peas , just before serving 

Season well with Tony Chachere's  Seasoning . Sear the roast in 1/8 cup of vegetable oil.
Sprinkle 2 packets of  Lipton's Beefy Onion Dry Soup Mix over the roast . 

Once seared on both sides , add remaining seasonings . 

Add chopped vegetables , except for carrots and potatoes . 

Simmer on low , for about 2 hours , until tender , covered . Add water 2 cups of water . 

In a separate pot , boil the chopped potatoes and carrots . 

When almost tender, but, still a little firm, drain

them and add to the pot of stew 

finish cooking the vegetables 

in the stew broth . 

To thicken the stew, mix 2 packets of brown gravy 

mix in 1 cup of ice cold water and stir until 

dissolved , before adding to the pot .

Stir well, until thickened . 

Add frozen green peas just before serving. 

Serve with hot, buttered cornbread.
( the recipe for the cornbread

will be in another 

post ) 

This beef stew gets better after sitting in the 

refrigerator for a day or two . 

~Enjoy !~ 

~Tami ~