Cooking Without Photos – Spicy Orange Pecan Muffins

February 2, 2026 / The Plot Twisted / Leave a comment

This week we travel all the way to the west coast and Santa Ana, California. Santa Ana first started out as a parcel of land that was given to Jose Antonio Yorba. The land changed hands a few times. In 1869, William H. Spurgeon purchased the land and founded Santa Ana.

In 1871, Santa Ana’s First Baptist Church was built. During a time when the country was still in uproar, the First Baptist Church began building a community of hope. Governed by California’s own set of Jim Crow laws, folks weren’t allowed to worship together and were made to stay seperated whites and blacks.

By 1923, members of First Baptist worked with members of Santa Ana’s black community to found the Second Baptist church. Today, the Second Baptist Church is the oldest black church in Orange County

Church Historian Milana Oyunga described:

“They helped them get started with the down payment of $150, a Bible, and the first pew, which we still have on our premises. … With that initial help they had given us, they have been a friend and support to us all these years, that culminated to today.”

During the Jim Crow era, First and Second Baptist often collaborated, fundraised together, and welcomed each other’s congregations.

With attendance declining in its later years, First Baptist found refuge in the home it helped found for others, spending its last three years of operation worshiping at Second Baptist. After 148 years of serving the community, First Baptist ceased operations in 2019.

When I discovered, “Cook Book” from First Baptist Church of Santa Ana, I knew it was special. Written in 1974, this book had been around the block a few times The cover was coming off, there were notes written throughout, and pages were stained with wear. It didn’t disappoint.

Flipping thru, I found the recipe for Spiced Orange Pecan Muffins. I picked this recipe even before I found out that Santa Ana was in Orange County. It was obviously meant to be.

Couple of things:

Actually just one…to me, there is enough sugar in the muffin because there is so much sweet in the topping. You may decide you like a bit more sugar in yours.

That’s really all I would change. They bake up pretty. My crew liked them and went back for more.

Hobo Skillet MMMmmmmm

April 5, 2015 / The Plot Twisted / 1 Comment

So, I’ve been under the fog that everyone knew what a Hobo Skillet was. Apparently, it was only a “thing” at my house growing up. Surely, there’s another name for this yummy goodness of a meal but a Hobo Skillet is what my family called it. I mean no disrespect to real hobos. They can call it a Trinity Skillet for all I care:) Wanna hear it? Here it go.

Hobo Skillet

Ingredients:

3 Tbs Oil
28 oz package Ore-Ida Potatoes O’Brien with peppers and onions
9.6 oz package Jimmy Dean precooked turkey sausage
7-9 eggs
Salt to taste

1. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat.

2. Add potatoes and cook until halfway done. (about 7 minutes)

3. Pour in sausage and stir.

4. Make wells for eggs

5. Crack eggs into said wells

6. Cover and reduce heat to somewhere between simmer and medium heat. I’m going to call it “smedium”.

7. Cook 12-15 or until eggs are done to your liking.

8. Add salt

P.S. This is a dumbed down version of what my Mom made. If you want a “non box” recipe, you’d substitute the Potatoes O’Brien package for about 6-8 small peeled and cubed red potatoes, one small onion, 1/4 green bell pepper and 1/4 red bell pepper. Then, substitute the precooked sausage with a package of breakfast sausage.

Do Not Eat This

February 20, 2015February 27, 2015 / The Plot Twisted / 6 Comments

I’m pretty sure that I only have like 4 people that follow my blog, at this point. That being said, it is 4 more people that I will be able to warn about this horrible box meal.

This week we’ve only gotten to go to school one day. I’ve made “comfort food” for us until we are just about comfort fooded out. I decided it would be a good idea to try this Banquet Morning Bake. Apparently, I was on drugs at the time of purchase because this was a horrible idea.

Do not eat this! I repeat, DO NOT EAT THIS!!!

The. End.

Breakfast Pizza MMmmmmm

February 1, 2015 / The Plot Twisted / 2 Comments

I’ve been perusing Pinterest lately and came across a few recipes for breakfast pizza. It got me thinking about the breakfast pizza in our cafeteria when I was in grade school. It probably isn’t served anymore…don’t get me started… Anyway, I found a few recipes and decided to give it a go. I gave it my own twist to pay homage to the cafeteria ladies of yore. And here we go!

Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients:

Crescent Rolls (2 tubes)
6-8 Pieces of bacon (cooked and crumbled)
1 C Cheddar shredded
6 Eggs
1 Can Country Gravy

1. Start by preheating the oven to 400°. Take the crescent rolls out and put them on a non stick jellyroll pan. Lay them close together and press the seams so they make one continuous piece of dough. You could probably use one can but we do like our bread so I used two. Also, I used a store brand and the quality wasn’t so great. I’d probably use the more expensive brand next time. It sounds like Pills-Berry. Anyway, bake the crust about 5-7 minutes,

2. Fry your bacon. I used really cheap bacon because I knew it was sliced thin. I wanted to crumble my bacon all over the top, so using the cheaper stuff was the way to go. Once you are done frying, create a shout out to your Mom and then crumble your bacon into tiny little bits.

3. When the crust comes out, spread the gravy over the top, leaving about an inch edge around the perimeter. Top with cheese, bacon and eggs. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

I ended up baking ours longer trying to get the middles done…because someone, who shall remain nameless, in our house doesn’t like runny middles! What?! I know… Next time I think I’ll scramble the eggs and see how that turns out. I hope the lunch ladies would be proud:)

And there you have it! Ta Da! *Twirls and throws glitter*

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