Turnip Green Soup

What a spin on a southern classic. It probably does not sound very good to most, but after hearing some co-workers talk about how good it was, I found a recipe!


Very easy. 16oz bag of frozen turnip greens (or fresh), 2 cans of northern beans, 4 cups of water, 1 can of diced tomatoes(these could be optional), s&p to taste, 1 pkg. of Knorr vegetable soup mix, and 1 lb. of sausage- I used deer sausage because we had some... and I just 'eyeballed' it, probably not quite a pound. Heat in large pot and simmer for 1-2 hrs. It smells so very good while it is cooking :)
You could probably use a crock-pot as well...

Life as a Coaches' wife

Wow. So there is a long road ahead of us. For the past 7 years I have watched my husband take on the role of becoming a coach.... from elementary volunteering to now being the youngest coach in the MAIS (formerly known as MPSA). I have had the opportunity also to watch 4 of the boys from Wes' very first 5th grade team play up until now, their senior year, I cannot believe how fast the time has gone and how different these boys play and act now. Everything is a learning process.. even for me, I have to learn to be a coaches' wife! It is not without difficulty that I sit in the stands for each game. Plenty of other coaches' wives have told me that they have to isolate themselves from the fans because of ongoing 'bashing of their husband' during the games. As of now, I don't do that... for now. I like to be behind the bench cheering the team (and my husband) on. Last night I had the pleasure(insert sarcasm here) of hearing a.... we will just say "fan" bash my husband's coaching ability after a loss of 2 or 3 points in which the TEAMmate that this "fan" was watching did not play enough. This "fan" chose to speak these words within my earshot. Thankfully, I was able to give a quick glance and a smile without saying a word in order to NOT give this person the reaction they wanted. Although, I would have loved to share my thoughts.
Wes, of course, is a big TEAM builder. Let's face it, this is basketball. Absolutely nothing that happens on that court happens because of one person. I imagine that even the amazing Lebron James could tell you that. If it is individuality you are looking for, then maybe you can go find that in the game of golf or tennis, not basketball. On this team it is about TOGETHER. Not everyone is going to understand that, I know. But I like to think of it in this way: When you try to live your life without seeking Christ within it. We can make plans, dreams, goals, etc. all day long, but does anything ever really work out perfectly?? Why do we (myself included) try to do things on our own, without HIM, when with Him we can accomplish so much more TOGETHER? In this way, the game of basketball cannot be played by one person alone. So much more can be accomplished by the coaches and players TOGETHER as one.
"You don't understand because you don't have children." This is probably the number one phrase that I cannot stand. It has been fed towards Wes and I so so so many times. You're right. I don't have children... God has not chosen to bless us with those yet. But I will tell you right now what I do understand... teamwork. I do not understand those parent's that encourage selfishness over teamwork.. never will... children or not. And this goes in all aspects of life, not just sports. It is together that battles are fought and goals are accomplished.
Colossians 1:17(NIV) and 1 Corinthians 12:19-24(The MESSAGE) read them or look them up on Biblegateway.com! Wow.

Christmastime is here at The Prather's

Spinach stuffed chicken

Going through the cabinets and fridge trying to materialize something out of not much of anything creates a challenge... a challenge that I won! This is what I decided to make for supper tonight with a few modifications:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Stuffed-Chicken-Breasts/Detail.aspx

This sounded great, but when I scrolled down to the nutrition facts I let out a gasp at the 40g of Fat and 500+ calories. Blah. No wonder it sounded so good.... Anyways, I did not have any feta cheese at the house so for the spinach mixture I used 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese instead. I omitted the mayo completely (didn't have mayo anyway) and used 1 egg mixed with the spinach and cheese. I also used 7oz. of mushrooms and 1tsp of garlic, which I chopped in my food processor and mixed it in as well. I followed the directions for stuffing the chicken except I didn't butterfly... b-c all I had on hand were thin cut chkn breasts...so I just rolled it over the mixture. I wrapped them with prosciutto instead of bacon (again to cut down on fat content) and used a toothpick to hold them together. I sprinkled some pepper and EVOO on top and baked in oven as directed. Served it up with instant mashed potatoes and english peas. Quick & easy:) Cannot believe I just got my husband to eat spinach! =Success.

Tailgate for two? Yes, Please.

Wes was super excited to use the grill so we decided to stay at home, grill BBQ chicken, and watch the Bulldogs play!! The Chicken was marinated in a special Italian dsg. made from scratch then covered with a dry seasoning and settled for at least 2 hours. The BBQ sauce was homemade (a recipe that I got from my Neely's cookbook) and it was fine. Towards the end of grilling the chicken was brushed in some of the BBQ sauce. Yum! Wes also grilled some fresh corn on the cob. This was the best, yet simple meal that I have had in a long time. Usually chicken on the grill tends to get dry easily, but this was still juicy. And a little extra sauce on the side= Perfect. :) With a meal like this it was still a good night even though we didn't win the ballgame.

Catching up

I am a little behind on posting, time has really started to fly by! We had a beautiful, relaxing, and fun trip to the Smokies for our third anniversary. We went to Dollywood, Eagle Rock, Townsend, and Cades Cove. We spent our first day in Cades Cove hiking to Abram's Falls. This was not an easy hike... and I was wearing my Chaco's instead of tennis shoes :(

It was well worth it to get to the end and see the waterfall and stick our feet in the cold water. Another day we waited until about 5PM to go to Cades Cove and ended up driving through this time twice. It was a little quieter at this time of night so we took our time and rode with the windows down. There was also a good bit more animal activity. We saw two separate cubs. One we saw in a field from a distance... he kept popping his head up like he was playing peek-a-boo with the crowd. The other we got quite close to. He was walking up through the trees when we spotted him so we pulled over and walked over to get a closer look. Did not capture any great pics of the bear.... I tried though.

The bear started to walk towards us and that is when me and Wes headed back to the car... I am sure that 'Momma bear' was not very far. Thank goodness we did not see her! ;)We also ate at some very very good places around town! Wes has all the food pictures on his phone....so I don't have access to them right now. Calhoun's was a great place to eat. We probably could have shared a meal it was so much food. Everything we put in our mouth was delicious... I felt like a cook on tv saying "Yum" after every bite. And of course there was the Pancake Pantry. There are only hundreds of pancake houses in Gatlinburg, but we heard the pantry was the best... and it was real good. Wes had banana pineapple pancakes and I definitely ordered the blueberry! Yum!

We stayed at the Highlands condominiums (above is our BEAUTIFUL view). Just up the mountain from Gatlinburg... we could see the Ober Gatlinburg from our balcony.

Homemade peach and blackberry cobbler

I had to post about this one! Decided to try out a recipe for peach and blackberry cobbler with a biscuit-like topping. It was very good warm and topped with ice cream! Yum. I bet it is good with blueberries too ;)

3rd times the charm!

After having a craving for a good old country fried steak and seeing a recent show on Food Network, I decided it was time to try out this Southern classic! I have made attempts at gravy before (both have been unsucessful), so I was a little scared to try this. I even went ahead and bought packages of gravy mix.... not very confident in myself am I? Ha. But to my surprise the gravy turned out delicious and without lumps! yay. That is except for the diced potatoes which were included in this recipe. I cannot believe how good this menu was considering it was my first time to make anything like it. The gravy had a slightly different taste to it because the recipe called for it to include diced potatoes, minced garlic, and chopped red onions! Yum! The cream corn was DELICIOUS. Although, probably not very healthy...sorry! ;) It was a recipe, once again, from my Neely's cookbook. I did learn to save the steaks for last. The soaking in the egg and flour mixture takes about 20 minutes, but the actual frying time takes 5-7 minutes when the oil is hot and ready. Luckily I was able to wrap mine in foil and they remained warm while waiting on the gravy.
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds cube steak, cut into individual steaks
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
Vegetable oil, for frying (I used a Smart Balance oil with canola, soy, & olive)

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the steaks, stir to coat, and let sit 10 minutes. In a paper bag, combine the flour, cornstarch, a few pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the steaks from egg mixture and put into the paper bag. Roll the top of the bag to close, and shake until the steaks are evenly coated. This may be done in batches. Let the coated steak rest on a sheet tray lined with a rack for 10 minutes.
In a deep, heavy-bottomed skillet add enough oil to reach 1/2-inch up the sides. Heat the oil over medium heat to 370 degrees F. (When a wooden spoon inserted into the oil creates tiny bubbles, the oil is ready.) Fry the steaks, in batches if necessary, flipping only once when color is golden and a poke releases no red juices, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a serving platter and serve with Diced Potato Gravy.

Diced Potato Gravy
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 large russet potato, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley, for garnish
In a large straight-sided skillet heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour, stirring to combine with the butter. Add the bay leaf and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, then add the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are tender and the gravy has thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the parsley.
Recipe from Sunny Anderson's Cooking For Real

"Get Yo' Man Chicken" Gina Neely

The title of this recipe instantly made me want to try it out, after all the way to a man's heart is partly through his stomach.

This is one the recipes that Gina made for Pat when they were courting. She states, "The key to the dish is the scent it gives off while simmering on the stovetop. The minute your man walks in the house and gets a whiff, well, it's game over....We're not courting anymore, but I still turn to this recipe when I need to get Pat around to my way of thinking-- like when he discovers that shopping bag I've splurged on! Ladies, handle your business and rule the house. Your man will never look at you the same." Gina Neely in Down Home with the Neely's- A Southern Family Cookbook

When I scanned the ingredients I decided not to get my hopes up on "getting my man" with this one. He did not grow up on really packed-with-flavor food and I am still getting him used to it because you know I am going to be cooking with onions, tomatoes, garlic, wine, and all other kinds of ingredients that make flavor pop, whether he likes those ingredients or not! ;)This recipe called for celery, onions, crushed tomatoes, white cooking wine, red wine vinegar, thyme, parsley, etc. I caught him looking at the recipe with an expression less of enthusiasm for this meal(and he loves anything that calls for chicken and rice). But let me just tell you this meal left him saying "Mmmmm.... Mmm...Mmmmmm" the entire time he was eating it!


He decided to take this picture of his plate afterwards. This meal was definitely a hit and was not difficult to prepare.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinless (or breasts)
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in thick puree
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon of honey
This serves 4-6. Obviously I only made this for two and 'eye balled' a lot of ingredients to scale. I left out the rosemary in mine... just because I am not a big fan of rosemary.
Directions
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, meat-side down first, and turning once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to reserve.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan.
Add onion and celery to the pan and saute until tender, roughly 3 minutes. Add the stock and wine and stir, scrapping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to high and reduce by half or about 3 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, honey, vinegar, and add the dried herbs. Return to a simmer. Add the chicken thighs back into the pan turning to coat. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Remove cover increase heat to med. and cook for another 10-15 minutes to reduce sauce. Serve over hot buttered rice with sauce ladled on top and garnish with fresh parsley.
from Down Home with the Neely's

Lately

Well my intentions for this blog were not that it be an exclusive "food blog" but rather a general blog. However, my attempts to consistently post general material have failed. Summer is flying by and so far we have only let Maggie & Gus goes swimming in the lake once. They deserve it because it is extremely hot out there. This was the first time Gus had been swimming since he was just a small puppy. He was still a little scared but went out on his own much farther this time.


Maggie quickly got tired and just swam to 'sit' in Wes' lap....

It was so cute! She just sat in the water in his lap. After this, they both got baths and were pretty much passed out the rest of the night. Love these kind of days! :)

The Mother load

Well... at the moment I am "Mom" only to two very spoiled dogs, and this Mother's day I was in the mood to slap on an apron and spend my time in the kitchen. My husband was the one receiving the royal treatment. I started off the morning with some homemade buttermilk biscuits. I have never made biscuits from scratch before, but they turned out to be pretty good. Next time I will be sure to not roll out the dough quite so much, therefore giving me a slightly thicker biscuit.

For supper I made a common household dish (one of Wes' favorites), a rigatoni Italian sausage bake. It has in it: Italian sausage, rigatoni pasta, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, crushed tomatoes, dry red cooking wine, and several cheeses. It takes a while to cook... about 75 minutes total, but it is not difficult. We ate it with a Caesar salad and it was all delicious. Plenty of leftovers.

For dessert, I found a recipe for strawberry cake. It uses a strawberry cake mix. You add 1/4 cup of flower and 3 eggs. After baking and cooling, you mix sliced strawberries with sugar and 2 tbsp. of cognac and let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile I poked holes in the top of the cake with a straw and prepared one package of strawberry jello by only letting it chill in fridge for 20 min. Just until thickened, not solid. I ended up putting it in the freezer for a few minutes because the fridge did not seem to thicken it enough, and I was pressed for time. Anyways, the jello is then poured on top and I covered the cake with the sliced strawberries topping it with whipped cream. It also is suppose to chill for at least 4hrs. after that so that it will not be soggy. Very yummy!!