Southern People

 

 

 

I saw this posted on facebook and had to share it.  I hope it makes you smile!

 

 

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

    I know it's really early to even be thinking of Christmas, but I've been looking at easy recipes to give as simple gifts for family and friends.  Here's one that's a favorite of mine.

    Buy some small cellophane bags, tie with ribbon and you have a little something to give away.  Homemade items are always a big hit no matter how easy or complicated they are!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

1 package almond bark - 1-1/4 pound
1 -12 ounce bag mini pretzels

Melt chocolate in double boiler until completely melted.  Put about 3/4 bag of pretzels into melted chocolate.  Stir to completely coat pretzels.  Pour over wax paper. (Try to separate the pretzels a little.) Let cool. 

 

I would recommend giving most of these away- otherwise you may be tempted to eat the whole batch in a couple of days!

 

 

S'mores in a Minute

     Do you ever get so hungry that you need a snack NOW????   You know, like when your blood sugar is dropping or it's that time of the month...That's how I felt recently and just had to have something chocolate!  So I started digging through the snack drawer and figured out a shortcut to make s'mores.  The whole process took about a minute.  What could be simpler?

This is all you need:

2 graham crackers
mini marshmallows
hazelnut spread

 

 

 

Put marshmallows on one side of a graham cracker.

 

 

                           Melt the marshmallows in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.

Remove plate from microwave and spread the hazelnut spread on the 2nd graham cracker.  Put that cracker over the melted marshmallows.  It's okay if you break the graham cracker like I did...

 

 

You end up with a gooey, delicious s'more...  This is a great after school snack the kids can make for themselves! 

Crab Stew

    
What to do with leftover boiled crabs?  Make crab stew!  It's basically a tomato gravy.  Of course, it wouldn't be Cajun without a little roux in it. 

 

Onions and bell peppers

Rest of ingredients

 

3 Tablespoon roux
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 can tomato sauce
8-12 ounces frozen tomatoes
1 chopped bell pepper
1 chopped onion
2 cups water
boiled crabs
season to taste

To prepare crabs: Take everything off of bodies like legs, shell, etc.

Brown bell pepper and onion in a little oil on medium fire.  Add can of tomato sauce and sugar.  Let cook about 15 minutes.  Add roux, water, and frozen tomatoes.  Let cook 30 minutes.  Add crabs.  Don't season until after you add crabs and taste. Gravy will be thin. 

I heat the crabs just until warm.  If you cook them too long in the gravy, the crabmeat will be mushy inside.  I prefer it to be firm meat, but either way is okay depending on your taste.  Serve over cooked rice.

Words of wisdom- there are NO neat ways to eat these crabs...  Just be prepared with PLENTY of paper towels!

Bread Pudding

     This is a wonderful way to use the extra bread you have hanging around your house.  I have used hamburger and hot dog buns, sliced bread, etc.  Of course, it is delicious with French bread.   Give it a try and see if you like it.  We even eat this for breakfast sometimes!



Bread Pudding


8-9 cups bread, cut into 1" cubes
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups milk (I used whole)
5 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)


Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon


Put cubed bread in large bowl.  Mix all ingredients together in different bowl until blended.  Pour liquid over bread as shown.  Stir until bread is covered in liquid. You can let the mix soak for about 5 minutes, but I prefer to put it right into a baking pan.  This recipe will make a 13 x 9 pan (spray with cooking spray).  Sprinkle top with cinnamon-sugar topping and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  I like the top to be a little crunchy!

 

 

 

 

Bread pudding can be eaten like this or on the side  add vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or top it with a caramel sauce. 

Enjoy!

Shrimp Season

    Shrimp season recently opened here...looks like it's going to be a good one!

Husband went shrimping with friend- came home with

 three ice chests full of beautiful Louisiana shrimp!

 

 

 

 First, we rinsed them while they were in the ice chest and let the water drain out. Next we had to take the heads off of ALL of this shrimp before we packaged them for the freezer.

 

My mother-in-law told me how to package them like this.  After taking the heads off of the shrimp, use a four cup measuring cup, fill with shrimp and pour that into a one quart Ziploc bag.  Seal it and then put that bag into another quart size bag.  (It's called double-bagging.)

Now that my freezer is full, I can start thinking of how I will cook them.  There are so many possibilities!  I will be sharing recipes soon....

Louisiana Boiled Crabs

     It's that time of year again...boiled crabs from Louisiana!  My husband went with a friend to the Vermilion Bay in south Louisiana the other day and came home with about three dozen crabs. That's enough for about three people....what can I say, we LOVE our seafood!

 

Don't they look delicious?

 

Here's the recipe:

3 dozen crabs
1/4 jar of Zatarain's Crab Boil
1 box salt
whole potatoes and onions - optional

Put water in a LARGE pot (fill about 1/2 way) and add seasoning.  I would add the potatoes and onions now.  How much depends on how many people you are serving.  I put three potatoes and three onions (one potato and one onion for each person).   Cover pot with lid.  On high heat, bring to boil.  When steam is coming out of the top, add crabs. Once the water comes to a boil again, cook the crabs for a full twenty minutes.  Drain the water or take the crabs out with tongs.    That's it!

 

I call these the necessities!  Oops, forgot the potatoes...

Another necessity down here: This boiling pot has a basket inside - fuel is a bottle of propane.

 

Note: If you only have a dozen to boil, you can boil them in a large pot on the stove.  That works too!

 

 

 

All things considered, this is a pretty healthy dinner...Enjoy!