Potatoes

Cooking Without Photos – Chunky Ham And Vegetable Soup

/ The Plot Twisted / Leave a comment

This week I have a borrowed cookbook from my pal. “Sharing Recipes: A Book Of Favorite Recipes Compiled By Nimrod Volunteer Fire Department Women’s Auxiliary”, belonged to her Grandma and now she uses it to make treasured recipes for her own family. I just love that❤️

The Nimrod community began around 1808. Fertile soil and the close proximity of the river helped to attract folks to the area. There are a couple of stories circulating regarding how Nimrod got its name. One of those stories states that Nimrod was a biblical name, chosen from the book of Genesis. Another claim is that Nimrod came from some settlers that were from Nimrod Hill, Tennessee. At any rate, Nimrod was named.

The Civil War ravaged the area and lots of things had to be rebuilt. There were no battles fought in the area, just guerrilla bands that caused trouble and destruction.

Once rebuilding was complete, the lumber industry thrived. Logs were floated down the Fourche river and the Fort Smith Lumber Company became one of the biggest employers in the county.

Production was helped immensely when the Wallace Bridge was completed in 1908. Today the bridge is on the National Historic Register and is one of only 3 surviving camelback truss bridges in our state. If y’all get a chance, make the drive. It’s just really neat and even more so that it’s right in our backyard.

With the decline of the timber industry, the community of Nimrod began to decrease also in population. Today, Nimrod is a small community with a heck of a story to tell. Jesse James is even reported to have made a stop there overnight.

On to the recipe!!

Soup! Yessssss! My fave recipes to try out. This time I was flipping thru and stopped at Chunky Ham And Vegetable Soup. I knew we had to try it out.

Couple things:

  1. Four cups of chicken broth was not enough liquid. I added a cup and a half of water. Just use your judgement.
  2. After it was done, I added salt. I also added some pepper. Don’t stub your toe on the pepper though. Sometimes cabbage is more spicy depending on the season.
  3. I thought…brown sugar…dumb! Y’all, just do it! Gah! How did I not know about this trick?!

Very tasty and such a good “warm me up” soup. Very brothy.

Cooking Without Photos – Pork Chops With Potatoes

/ The Plot Twisted / Leave a comment

Adona, Arkansas home of Adona Fest. Do they still have Adona Fest? I have a feeling they don’t. Maybe I’m wrong. I’ll do more research and fill y’all in.

Back in the day, Adona was settled by John Howell after buying Franklin Russell’s land claim. Settlers quickly began constructing homes along Cypress Creek and the area became known as Cypress Valley.

In 1893 the post office was established and Cypress Valley was renamed Adona after Adona Howell. Adona was a descendant of John Howell. Just a few years later in 1900, the railroad came to town and was completed in 1901.

By 1906, Adona had a population of 500, a school was established and the Methodist church was built. The telephone made an appearance in 1912. Around the same time, a sawmill, gristmill, cotton gin and several other businesses began operation.

If you drive thru Adona today, you’ll still see the Methodist church still in use and it hasn’t lost its small community charm.

On to the recipe!!!

This week I picked, “Adona Fest Cookbook 1998”. I knew I had to try Ms. Dorsie Hubbard’s recipe for Pork Chops With Potatoes. Let’s get to it!

Couple things:

  1. Besides salt and pepper, I also added garlic powder and onion powder. It for sure needs more seasoning. Sorry, Ms. Dorsie😬
  2. Instead of water, I added some milk.
  3. I also poured my mushroom soup mixture over the top of the potatoes and then put the pork chops on. Oops, I didn’t follow directions😬
  4. I also put salt and cracked pepper on top of the pork chops.
  5. You can also cook this on 410° for about an hour and 10 minutes. It’s much more tender if you cover it and cook it slow though.

Very tasty and easy! Y’all enjoy!

Cooking Without Photos – Quartered Baked Potatoes

/ The Plot Twisted / Leave a comment

El Dorado, Arkansas! County seat of Union County! Did y’all know that El Dorado was once called the “Queen City Of South Arkansas” and was the center for oil production and refining? It’s a fact, Jack!

Founded in 1843 by Matthew Rainey, El Dorado started plainly as a single retail store and a pine pole cabin with a dirt floor. The city began with the incorporation of a duck pond at its center and expanded from there.

Cotton farms were prevalent in the area, but by the late 1800’s the railroad arrived and with it the timber industry began to climb. In the early 20’s, El Dorado boomed with oil production. In fact, there were 59 oil contracting companies, 13 oil distributors and 22 oil production companies. Population went from 4,000 to 30,000 in just 5 years. Whoa!

In the years that followed, population went up and down. Folks didn’t give up on their small city. In 2004 the downtown area was declared a historical district. Thanks to a $100 million dollar renovation project, the city is completing projects that include an outdoor amphitheater and renovation of their Rialto Theater.

While flipping through, “The Old Fashioned Way: A Collection Of Old And New Recipes” Compiled by the 1989 Ladies Fellowship Marrable Hill Chapel, I came across a recipe for Quartered Baked Potatoes. Have I made them before? Yes🤷🏻‍♀️ Have I thought to put Parmesan cheese on them before? no🧐

Let’s get into it. Nothing about this recipe is hard! Just do it and you won’t be disappointed❤️.

One thing: I didn’t use nearly as much oil as it said. I used about 1/4 of a cup and I doubled the recipe. Use your own judgement though. 

Enjoy!!!

Cooking Without Photos – Ham Chowder

/ The Plot Twisted / Leave a comment

Alma, Arkansas will always hold fond memories for me. It was our pit stop on the way to visit our Oklahoma cousins. Home to everyone’s favorite ice cream, Braum’s! And when you need to shop but also love being surprised…A to Z has it allllll!!!

Did you know Alma was first called Gum Town? Settlers came to the area around 1835 and Gum Town got its’ name because of the huge number of gum trees in the area. When it was incorporated in 1874, the new name of Alma was chosen.

Early on Alma produced huge numbers of cotton, strawberries and hay. Once they discovered how well spinach and mustard greens grew, Alma quickly became the Spinach Capital of the World! They even have a statue of Popeye the Sailor Man in front of their Chamber of Commerce building. And their water tower is painted to look like a gigantic spinach can😆😆 I kid you not! It’s fabulous!

Today’s recipe comes to you from, “Feeding The Flock: Women First For Faith, First Baptist Church Alma, Arkansas”.

Since it’s been so yucky lately, I wanted to make some sort of new soup. I’m just a soup kinda lady! This recipe didn’t disappoint either!

Couple of things:
This is a great recipe to make in a Dutch oven. Perfect actually.
I doubled the recipe because I was feeding more people.
It doesn’t say what to do with the celery. I put it in when I put in the potatoes. You could also sauté it with the onion too. It’s up to you really.
Nothing was mentioned about any corn. I feel like you can’t go wrong adding a can into the mix.
Don’t add your salt until AFTER your ham has cooked. You may not need much.

This soup is excellent! I served it with oyster crackers, but cornbread would be a great choice too. Hope you like it! Yum!!!

Cooking Without Photos – Scalloped Potatoes

/ The Plot Twisted / Leave a comment

Bonus Midweek Recipe❤️

This is another recipe that I found in a previously shared cookbook, “Reflections of Beary Good Cooking: From England First Baptist Church Youth”.

When I was a kid, I hated scalloped potatoes! I’d gag while eating them. GAG!! They say our tastes change as we get older. Obviously they do!

Couple thangs: I used red potatoes and left the skins on. I think it looks prettier and the skins are thin. And I mixed my paprika in with the soup because I wasn’t paying attention. Oops. Sue me😆. Did y’all know that paprika is actually just ground red peppers. What?! I didn’t know that until recently😳

Observation: it doesn’t look like there will be enough liquid when putting it all together. There is plenty. Also, it doesn’t actually say to layer the soup mixture along with potatoes and onions. I did layer it along with the veges. I don’t really know what would happen if you were to pour it directly over the top. Maybe it would be fine🤷🏻‍♀️. This is delightful! Hope you enjoy❤️

Green Beans And New Potatoes MMMmmmmm

/ The Plot Twisted / Leave a comment

It’s summertime and with that comes gifts from the garden! One of my very favorite meals to have in the summer is Green Beans and New Potatoes.   Nom, Nom, Nom…I’m drooling right now just typing this.  It’s basically a one pot meal that takes very little time. Hooray! Who wants to cook in the blazing heat anyway? Not me! Here’s a simple recipe to tickle your taste buds. You’re Welcome:)

Green Beans and New Potatoes
Baby Red Potatoes (about 3 lbs)
Ham Pieces (about 2 lbs)
A “mess” of Green Beans (about 1 1/2 lb)
Medium onion (chopped)
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients, except salt, into a large pot and cover with water.  Boil for about an hour or until green beans and potatoes are fork tender.  Before serving, test and see if salt is needed.  Sometimes the ham is extremely salty so no additional salt is needed.  Voila!

photo (21)

Enjoy!,

That Book Mama

Hobo Skillet MMMmmmmm

/ 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.

photo 3 (11)

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

photo 1 (16)

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

photo 2 (19)

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

/ 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.

2015/02/img_2527.jpg

New Year, New Potato Recipe

/ The Plot Twisted / 2 Comments

I’m a collector of numerous things, one of them being recipes. I have recipes on paper, pinned recipes on Pinterest and countless cookbooks all collecting dust. It seems like our family has the same things over and over and over again. This year I’ve made it a goal to try one new recipe per week. So far we’ve tried several new things but this has got to be our favorite.

Shredded Potatoes au Gratin

4 cups shredded hash brown potatoes
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1/4 cup green onions
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray ramekins with cooking spray
2. Combine all ingredients except 1/4 cup cheddar.
3. Fill ramekins with mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until bubbly and golden brown. 35-45 minutes.

If you’d like, you can prepare this dish in one 11 x 7 baking dish.  Increase the baking time by 12 minutes.

TaDa!

#Recipes

2015/01/img_2159.jpg