Shane's instead of Paula Deen

Wednesday...and church night does not work well with a big cooked supper. Zach shared his testimony about Albania at prayer meeting...so I didn't get anything cooked...After church we opted for Shane's rib shack right at the corner of our street and Gam and Pop went too... I had my usual a 1/2 barbeque chicken sandwich with fried okra and fries...I always split this with Shek...he gets the fries and the other 1/2. Everyone else had their usuals too.

Tonight we are having Pork loin and I need to get it in the oven. I will not be using a recipe from a book, but rather from an old friend, Christy. She puts her porkloin in the oven on high for a couple of hours with barbeque sauce over it cover it with tin foil...after two hours on high...put it on 250 for several hours...It's always yummy, a family favorite, and EASY to fix....Don't know what side items yet.

I'll get back in the cookbooks tomorrow...School starts Monday...the kids want to go somewhere today...But where? It's raining last time I looked. What can you go do in the rain?

Cooking continues...school starts next week.

The chicken casserole from last night was pretty good...I didn't understand why the cream of mushroom and cream needed to be cooked separately and served as a sauce on the side. I think just adding it to the casserole would have been just as easy and tasty. I may try that next time. Everyone liked it and the boys ate some of the green beans.

Tonight's recipe!?!?!? I don 't know! YIKES...I have a pork loin in the fridge, but I should have already put it on to cook before now...SO, I guess we are grilling chicken or maybe having low-fat hotdogs. Zach has to share his testimony in church tonight about Albania...he shared it this morning at the midday Wednesday night prayer meeting. As for supper this will probably be a hotdog night! LOL

School starts next week! I have all the "epuipment" ready for school. Zach says he is nervous about his senior year...I asked him while he helped me fold clothes...have you missed going "to school"...he laughed and said it's a little late now...HAHA .He has 3 courses to take to graduate plus he has added going to the gym everyday as part of his routine...He has a lot to do this year...taking the act or sat...looking at potential colleges...senior portraits...school work.. teaching guitar lessons...taking voice lessons.. taking tuba lessons... going to band practices...and a variety of church work...CALGON!!!

Karlie is looking forward to dance class at HOME, and Shek is looking forward to keyboard class...he also wants to sign up for flag football at church, but so far I have not done that yet...I have so much to do...and here I sit at the computer... She has been requesting a desk for over a year...and I have been trying to find a nice one on Craig's list. So far...I have not found just the right one at the right price...but I know we'll find it soon...maybe after the garage sale in September....then she can have some money to work with to find the one like she really wants...

I hope the hotdogs are a hit with the family...Karlie has been requesting mozzarella cheese sticks from Kroger...tonight's meal will not be a Paula Deen Spectactular...but as Shek says it'll be edible.

One good meal a day!

Yesterday the roast and potatoes were a hit with the family. Except with Shek, he thought we were having mashed potatoes and he did not think the nip it in the bud spuds were mashed potatoes because they were in a casserole dish all golden on top...so I think he barely tasted them...so sad...mashed potatoes are his favorite. We did not have the stringbeans...we had carrots instead. The roast was good...the stewed tomatoes added an extra little flavor and added to the gravy the roast cooked in. I think this was a thumbs up meal...Of course Karlie had her typical grilled cheese instead of my good cooking.

TOnight's recipe is Chicken Casserole from Paula Deen's Lady and Sons recipe book. I have already calcualated the ww points. 7 points per serving. I have infact already put it together and it waits in the fridge to be cooked later this afternoon. I think we will have the canned stringbeans tonight seasoned with cooking spray, lite salt, and splenda. (String beans have 0 points).

Here's the Recipe:

Chicken Casserole

The Lady & the Sons

2 c cubed cooked chicken

2 c bread crumbs

1 c cooked rice

1c fat free milk

1 (2oz) jar but I used 4 oz jar of pimentos

1 1/2 t salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

4 eggs beaten

1 lite mushroom soup

1 c half n half

in a large bowl combine chicken, breadcrumbs rice milk and pimentos salt and cayenne. Stir in the eggs. Pour mixture into a buttered or sprayed baking dish and bake 325 for 1 hour. FOr the sauce, in a small saucepan stir together the soup and cream and heat until bubbly. Serve the sauce on the side.

What's for Supper?

After pouring over several cookbooks and Paula Deen Magazines, I have decided to make Roast and potatoes and a side of canned stringbeans. I have plugged in the recipes to WW etools and I think I have the points estimated correctly.

Today's recipes are My Famous Roast by Andrea Daggett this recipe was published in Paula Deen's magazine(March/April 2009). Also, we are having Nip it in the bud spuds from Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook.. I have modified this recipe with lite or fat free versions.

Roast

1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes, cut intoo 1 inch pieces, juices reserved

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1 envelope of dry onion soup mix

1 boneless beef chuck roast

Mix ingredients and pour over the roast in a 5 to 6 qt crock pot. Cover and cook for 8- 10 hours.

6 servings WW points 10pts.

Nip it in the Bud Spuds

3 lbs of potatoes, peeled, cooked and hot

1 8 oz package cream cheese (fat-free to be ww friendly)

1/4 c lite butter

1/2 c fat free sour cream

1/2 c fat free milk

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/4 c chopped onions

1 t salt

dash of pepper

In a large bowl mash the potatoes until smooth. add the cream cheese in small pieces and the butter. beat until well blended. stir in the sour cream. In a separate bowl combine the milk eggs and onions. stir in the potato mixture, salt and pepper. Beat until light and fluffy. place in a casserole and refigerate for several hours or overnight bake in a 350 degre oven for 45 mins. until the top is lightly browned. serves 12 ww points: 3 per serving

The string beans will have 0 ww points...and are simply cooked and seasoned to taste.

Recipes

Growing up, my grandmother, Honey cooked everyday all day it seemed...she had a cookbook from a local tv cooking personality out of Monroe LA from the KNOE tv station...in the margin of her cookbooks Honey always wrote a handwritten not that would say Excellent, Fair, Good, or forget it! We still have that cookbook and am glad for the reminders in the margin about her rating for each recipe. I can still remember the smells from her Mississippi kitchen...she still cooks today, and even cans a few veggies,but she does not cook to the extent that she used to, but she is in her 80's...lol She has a rum flavored(out of the spice bottle not the alcohol bottle) pound cake that is out of this world..and a zuchinni bread recipe that my Karlie requests every summer when the zuchinni is fresh in the garden... I will have to post some of her long time favorite recipes as well, but I will have to find them first.

Do you enjoy cooking with a recipe or without? I have lots of cookbooks, but usually cook with out a recipe...when I cook that is. I can cook I just enjoy eating out. However, lately I am tired of the mediocre food, service, and high price...so I have decided to break out the cookbooks and try something new everyday and go by the book...This will be a new adventure for me since I usually just wing it, so I am looking foward to the challenge. Karl and I found two Paula Deen cookbooks...and I hope to start with a new recipe from her book each day or either her magazine...since I have a subscription to it. I'll post the recipe and the outcome each day...(like those movie previews from the movie Julia). Also, since I am supposed to be doing WW...I will put the recipe through etools and calculate the points...Karl says he just wants some hearty food...so let's see what happens...