Macaroni Salad

I bet you have seen macaroni salad at every picnic you have ever been to. I think mine is different because it is not a sweet macaroni salad. I should say more savory than sweet anyway. I like this with fried chicken and homemade buttermilk biscuits. This is What’s Cookin on Beaty’s Creek today.


Needed:

1 pound elbow macaroni
3 cups mayo
5 green onion-chopped (I used ones from my garden.)
2 stalks of celery-peeled and chopped
3 boiled eggs-chopped
5 small gherkins sweet pickles-chopped
1-pound sharp cheddar cheese-cubed
½ cup milk
Salt and pepper-to taste
Ranch Seasoning (I get this from Country Life)

Boil pasta al dente and drain. Now run cold water over pasta until cooled. You want to drain your pasta very well. Once drained add green onions, boiled eggs, gherkins, and cheese. Stir until well mixed; now add your mayo, salt, pepper, ranch seasoning, and milk. You will really have to stir this pasta well so every piece of pasta gets covered in seasoning and dressing. Place in fridge for at least 4 hours and serve. I always mix in about ½ cup of mayo right before I serve this.

Fruit Cocktail Cake

My Aunt Mary made this cake every year for my Grandpa's birthday. I was never allowed to eat any because it was ALL for my Grandpa. Banning a child from something sweet, what an unrealistic thought ;) Well now I can make the cake and eat all I want, not that I would, never mind my post about Pineapple Upside Down Cake. This is "What's Cookin" on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1- 15 oz can fruit cocktail

Mix all of the ingredients together and bake in a 9x13 pan at 350' for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool slightly and ice with the following icing.

Icing

2 sticks of butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cream
1 t vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut

Heat butter, cream, and sugar over medium heat until it boils, once boiling, boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat and add vanilla, pecans, and coconut. Mix well and then pour over warm cake. Let cake cool completely before cutting.

Pea Salad

This is a simple but good recipe to have in the spring. You can use frozen or canned peas, either one is fine.

Needed:

2 cans of peas-drained or 2 bags of frozen peas thawed and steamed for 3 minutes and then placed in an ice bath
3 cups mayo
1 small purple onion-diced
1 cups sharp cheddar cheese-cubed

Place peas of your choice in a bowl, add mayo, onion and cheese. Gently stir until mixed well. Chill overnight for best results.

Easter 2009

Ahh the first big holiday of 2009. You know me and menu planning, well here is the first of the year. Hope you like it. Recipes will follow along with pictures. This is What's Cookin for Easter this year.

Ham
Lamb-either a leg or rack have not decided yet.
Hashbrown Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Pineapple Casserole-so good with ham
Asparagus-roasted
Pea Salad
5 Cup Salad
Deviled Eggs
Salad-have not decided which one yet
Hot rolls
Strawberry Pie
Fruit Cocktail Cake
Bunny Cake

There maybe more but this a start. I like to really plan my meals, so the menu may change this weekend once my family reads this post. I like to make people happy starting with their stomachs. Til then.

Mountain Lilies

I love mountain lilies, they are soo good and beat the heck out of mustard greens on any given day. They grow just about everywhere around Beaty's Creek, but you have to know what you are picking. You eat only the green leaves of the mountain lily and not the blooms. Again, don't go in the woods and pick something you have no idea what it is. The Tulsa World featured me in an article talking about mountain lilies a few years ago. My wonderful Grandmother in Law first fixed them for me. Can you believe it? Something growing in the wild that I did not know about???? I freeze quite a few bags of these each spring along with wild onions, makes for a great winter's dinner. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek tonight.

Needed:
1 Wal-mart bag of mountain lily greens-cleaned and cut into 3 inch pieces
oil
water
Salt to taste

Place enough oil in a large cast iron skillet to cover the bottom. Add your greens once the oil is hot. Saute until greens get a little tender, now add your salt to taste and enough water to cover greens. Cook uncovered until all of the water evaporates. Serve with cornbread made in a cast iron skillet and pinto beans.

Pecan Sandies

I love pecan sandie cookies! Not the dry store bought version but the buttery, sweet, crispy version that I make on occasion. I remember growing up and my mom buying the store bought kind for my dad, who loves pecan sandies, and being so grossed out by them that I could not believe anyone would eat them. That is until I made my own cookies. These are so good with a hot cup of mango green tea (my new favorite) or a cold cup of milk. The weather is supposed to be more spring like today, we’ll see. This is What’s Cookin on Beaty’s Creek.

Needed:

2 sticks of room temperature butter
1-cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 t vanilla
1 t salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped pecans

Cream in your Kitchen Aid mixer, butter, sugars, egg, salt, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, now add your flour. Mix until a nice dough is formed, now add your chopped pecans. Drop by tablespoons on a parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten cookie with the palm of your hand. Bake at 350’ 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Don’t bake until crisp; these cookies will crisp up as they cool.

Curry Chicken Thighs

Sean is not a big fan of curry but I am slowly getting him to try and actually like curry dishes. This was a winner at our dinner table, to the extent that I will have to double it next time so we will have leftovers. This is What’s Cookin on Beaty’s Creek. Today it is very snowy on Beaty’s Creek, was I not just talking about spring?? Only in Oklahoma can you wait a day and the weather will be to your liking, no matter what that happens to be. I love the way our weather is here, never a dull moment.

Needed:

2 T grated fresh ginger
2 T pineapple juice
2 T curry powder
2 green onions-minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 bone in chicken thighs

Mix ginger, curry, pineapple juice, green onions, and 1 T salt in a bowl. Place thighs on a foil lined baking pan with sides, pull the skin away from thighs and place 1 T of curry mixture under skin, you may want a little more if the thighs are larger. Salt and pepper thighs to your taste and place skin side down and broil for 8minutes, turn over and broil for 8 more minutes or until meat reaches 165’. We eat ours with rice and salad.