Fried Frog Legs

Ransome and his cousins were at the creek last night and came home with a pouch full of frog legs. Now those are some fresh legs...heehee I fried them for their lunch today and Ransome did not care for them, go figure. Now Ransome's little sister, Raine, just loved them,
she is such a country girl. :) Ransome and his cousins have brought in a bounty this week from Beaty's Creek. We've had fish, crawdads, and now frog legs courtesy of these young men. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:

20 frog legs-cleaned
2 cups white cornmeal
1 cup flour
3 T black pepper
3 T cayenne pepper
5 T sea salt
3 eggs
2 cups of milk
Oil


Soak frog legs in a mixture of 3 beaten eggs and 2 cups milk for 30 minutes. Mix together all of your dry ingredients. Add your frog legs a few at a time to the dry mix. Shake until well coated. Add to a caste iron skillet that has about an inch of oil in it that has been heated up until a tiny bit of four sizzles when added. Cook until browned on one side and then flip and brown the other side. I cooked mine for about 4 minutes on each side but time really depends on the size of the frog legs. Serve hot.

Today's Tulsa World

I was surprised this morning when I read the Tulsa World and found an article about my Dashboard Dried Apples. Thanks Natalie!

Dried Apples

I have so many great memories of my Granny West's dried apples that she would make every year. It was a big treat for a kid who never got anything sweet. My Grandpa West made a screen sheet of sorts to place the apple pieces on with another sheet of screen placed over the top. In the morning he would climb a ladder and place this screened contraption with apples on the roof top for the day. In the evening he would climb that same ladder and bring them in the house for the night. In the morning he would climb up the ladder (mind you he was in his late 80's while doing all of this) flip the screen contraption over and leave them to bake in the sun. It usually only took a couple of days in Oklahoma to make dried apples. Granny would let me eat a few but the rest were saved for winter and her fried pies. In my case baked pies and I can still smell them. Well, this Summer on Beaty's Creek has been a scene straight out of Death Valley. We have had 15 days OVER 100' and more to come. Yesterday's temp was 107' with a heat index of 115 degrees! So, I came up with a fun little thing to do.....Dry apples on the car dash board....yep and it works!!!So if you want to have a little fun and make your car smell yummy, give this a try. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:

5 pounds of Granny Smith apples- peeled and slice 1/8 inch thick
Cinnamon to taste
Parchment lines baking sheets
A car or truck dashboard ;)

Place sliced apples on your parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with cinnamon and place on your dashboard. Leave all day. Bring into your home overnight. Place back on your dashboard the next day. At the end of that day your apples are ready to be stored. I store mine in a ziplock bag with all the air removed.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

Raven loves chocolate anything so why not make a chocolate angel food cake for my little "angel"......Wait, did the world just come to an end???? Did I just call my teenage daughter an angel????? Ignore the last few sentences and let's just call this a delicious cake. Ransome loved it with whipped cream and Raine made peanut butter sandwiches with it. It will be 111' on Beaty's Creek with an equal amount of humidity to top that off!!!! What gives???? I love my corner of the world but I am starting to sing Christmas songs and dream of hot cocoa by the fire. I know, come inside big momma, the heat is getting to you! Give this cake a try and enjoy it with fresh fruit! This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek this morning!

Needed:


16 egg whites
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup flour-sifted
1 t salt


Beat egg whites, until frothy. Now add in salt, and sugar and whip until stiff. Fold in cocoa and flour. Pour into an angel food cake pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350'. Cool completely before slicing.


Bake at 350' for 45 minutes.

Greek Pasta Salad

I get tired of the same old pasta salads but I do love them in the Summer months along with our favorite grilled foods. This year I thought I had better come up with more recipes for pasta salad so...this was my first try and it's not bad. Raven loves anything Greek and this salad made for a nice cool dinner after a hot afternoon at the creek. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today. Will someone please shut the oven door, this heat is crazy!

Needed:

1 pound whole wheat pasta
2 jars artichoke hearts-chopped
1 can black olives-split in half
1 head of roasted garlic
1 T salt
1 T black pepper
1 cup mozzerella cheese-shredded
2 tomatoes-chopped
1 bottle Paul Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian Salad Dressing
1 bottle Paul Newman's Own Caesar Salad Dressing

Boil pasta al dente, pour hot water off and run cold water over til pasta is cool. Now toss in artichoke hearts, black olives, roasted garlic, salt, pepper, cheese, and tomatoes. Toss well and then pour in both dressings and stir to coat. Place in fridge for 3 hours.

Cajun Boiling Pot

Many moons ago there was a restaurant in Tulsa Oklahoma called the Cajun Boiling Pot. It was so good and different from the ordinary that it quickly became a favorite. Every time we had friends or family in town, we would just have to take them there. What made this place so different was that they did not serve on plates. When your low country boil was ready, they would bring it to your paper lined table and dump it in the center. This was before the Food Channel or Emeril and anyone in the great state of Oklahoma cooked like this, much less served like this. Many of my high school friends were shocked, in a good way, when their food was brought to them. Well a few years ago the Cajun Boiling Pot closed and we had to fend for ourselves, so this is our Cajun Boiling Pot. Give it a try and you will be having this again and again on those special family get togethers. One of the best things about this...there are no dishes to wash afterwards! This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek this first day of Summer and Raven's 17th birthday!


15 ears corn-cut in half
7 pounds red potatoes
3 pounds yellow onions-cut in quarters with the skin left on
5 pounds shrimp
5 pounds Cajun and or hot links-cut into 2 inch slices
5 pounds crab legs
1/4 cup salt
cayenne to taste
2 heads garlic-sliced in half
(you can add crawdads but we prefer them prepared other ways)


Boil water in a huge pot seasoned with Old Bay Crab Boil, salt, and cayenne. Add in potatoes and cook for 12 minutes on a steady boil. Now add in corn, onions, and hot links. Boil these for an additional 8 minutes and then remove everything from the pot. Now add shrimp and crab and boil for 8 minutes and now remove all of these from the pot. Now dump everything on top of a table covered with newspapers and serve with melted butter, cocktail sauce and french bread.

Easy Peasy Coconut Cake

Ransome absolutely loves anything coconut! He has been feeling the allergy season up close and personal this week so I thought a special treat was in store. Nothing hard or difficult,

too much going on this week, like my retina being reattached.... Anyway this cake is super easy and super good. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.


Needed:

1 yellow cake mix-baked according to instructions on box(Told you this was easy)
1 boxes instant coconut pudding-made according to directions on box
1 tub Cool Whip

I am embarrassed to tell you the directions because I am sure you will know what to do but here goes. Take cooled cake, top with coconut pudding, top pudding with Cool Whip. EAT!!!!!

Easy Key Lime Pie

Sean and I have been watching the past seasons of the Dexter series from Showtime. Seeing all of the beautiful Florida scenes has made us both long for a Key Lime Pie. This pie had to be a no bake so it fits the warm weather image. I am not a believer in short cuts but this pie was so good I may never bake one again!  This is What's Cookin?? on Beaty's Creek this warm and sunny day.

Needed:


1 graham cracker crust
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup of key lime juice
Zest from 2 key limes
1/2 t sea salt
1-8oz. container Cool Whip

Mix sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, peel, and salt together.  Pour into pie crust and place in fridge until set.  I let my sit in the fridge for 4 hours.  Now spoon on Cool Whip and serve.

Mandarin Orange Cake

This cake will take the heat right out of a Summer's day. It has been a hot one on Beaty's Creek and I wanted something cool to eat for dessert and this hit the spot. Give it a try and it is sure to cool you off. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.




Needed-

Cake-
1 large can mandarin oranges-undrained
1 white cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs


Topping-
4 cups milk
2 Small packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 large can mandarin oranges drained
1 container Cool Whip


Mix all of the cake ingredients listed together, Make sure that the oranges are really beat into small pieces in the mix. Bake at 325' until cake is set in the middle. Cool completely.

Mix pudding with 4 cups of milk and mix for 3 minutes. Now add in mandarin oranges and Cool Whip. Pour on top of cake. Refrigerate overnight.