MiMi Gets A Makeover

MiMi's Making Meals got a makeover yesterday from my very-talented daughter, Faith at A Design of Faith Blog Designs! I have known since I recently started back blogging that I wanted to update AT LEAST my photographs, since they were several years old, but  after someone that was new to my blog last week said, ..."Now..the pictures at the top of your blog are not YOU, are they?"... I KNEW it was time!

My blog designer, Faith, is just so busy... designing other blogs, working full-time outside the home and working with the youth of our church...I hated to ask her to change it. I was originally hoping that all she would have to do was to update my photos, but since my old blog design was on an old computer of hers that she did not have access to anymore, she had to completely redesign it.

She asked me several times what kind of design, colors, etc. that I wanted and I told her that I totally trusted whatever she picked out for me because she is SO talented in this area --- she has such an eye for design! She said that it needed to be wider anyway and after seeing her new design I TOTALLY agree!   I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Thank you so much, Faith, for not only giving MiMi's Making Meals a complete makeover, but also for the recent redesign of MiMi's Making Memories! You've helped to motivate me to jump back into blogging...that I have missed SO much!

If you have a minute....hop over to MiMi's Making Meals and let me know what you think!

Bringin' in the New Year...Southern Style, YAWL !

As you may have figured out by now, ANY special occasion revolves around food here in the South.  New Year's Day is NO exception!

Yesterday morning, I had the sweetest treat from my husband!  I came out of the shower and, as he does MOST mornings, he delivered my fresh cup of coffee to me to drink while I dried my hair. That in itself would have been enough, but after I finished getting ready, he told me breakfast was ready and I came into the kitchen to this DELICIOUS goodness....

He had brought the new year in the night before preparing this traditional Breakfast Casserole with sausage, eggs, bread and cheese that we typically have every CHRISTmas morning, and boy was it yummy!  He was so proud of his culinary skills....the first thing he said to me was, "Take a picture!"... I said, "Really?" and he said, "Why not?...You take a picture of everything else!" HA!

So, be on the lookout...in addition to having  MiMi's Making Meals, we may soon be having Poppa's Making Meals, too! 

After we finished with our breakfast I began preparing our traditional New Year's Day meal.  For those of you who don't know....us Southerners have a tradition of eating black-eyed peas, cornbread, "greens" (collards, kale, turnips, spinach, etc.) and some type of pork on New Year's Day. This variety of foods are said to bring good luck and increase the odds that the new year will be a great one. 

The black-eyed peas are thought to look like coins so people consume them with financial rewards in mind. The hog, and therefore the meat from the hog, is thought to symbolize wealth and prosperity. The "greens" are also considered to bring good luck because their leaves look like folded paper currency.  It's widely believed that the more "greens" one consumes, the larger one's fortune for the next year.

My family joined us at lunch to partake of all this Southern goodness.... Marinated and Baked Pork Chops, Turnip Greens, Southern Buttermilk Cornbread, Black-eyed Peas with chopped onions and Chow-Chow.  Chow Chow is a relish that is a staple on  many Southern dining tables and is typically served with pinto beans and cornbread, or anything else you want to put it on. It's a mixture of sweet and spicy that really "perks up" the taste of about anything you add it to. It is something my soon-to-be son-in-law has discovered that he absolutely LOVES!

We also came to the realization in this new year, that not only does little Miss E no longer need a booster seat to reach the table, but she no longer needs a small little plate!  Girlfriend has really started eating so well!  

So....from now on she gets a BIG dinner plate just like the rest of us Southerners!  Oh..and a big ole' glass of Sweet Iced Tea....YAWL!

Wishing you much health wealth and prosperity in 2011 -

Happy New Year from my family to yours!

Poppa's Making Meals !!

I had the nicest surprise this evening! 

After a stressful couple of days at work, the last thing that I wanted to do was come home this afternoon and cook dinner. My hubby texted (is that even a word?) me about 4:30 p.m. today to ask me what I had planned for the pound of ground sirloin that I had thawed out. I told him that I had been having a craving for Stuffed Pepper Soup and I also needed to make it because I had a couple of green peppers that I needed to use. He offered to go ahead and brown the ground meat for me and I was thankful for the help. I half jokingly sent him a text asking him did he want me to send him a link to MiMi's Making Meals --and he quickly wrote back, "No!".

A little while later,  he called me and asked me to go ahead and email him the link, which I quickly proceeded to do. When I walked in from work today about 6:00 p.m., I walked in to the smell of this loveliness! YUMMO!!!!!


He was sooooo proud of himself and even did a little horn blowin' to boot!  "I think mine might even be better than MiMi's!!", he said.  And.....don't tell HIM, but I think he was right!! Or could it be that old "anything is good if someone else fixes it for you" principle! Either way, I am lovin' that Poppa now knows how to access MiMi's Making Meals.

I asked him if was he going to leave MiMi a comment and let her know that he tried her recipe and how much he liked it. He said he thought he'd just tell her in person! (-;

Mimi's Making Meals IS HERE!

I LOVE TO EAT!  My husband tells me that is one of the things that he loves about me -- that I love to eat and that I have a hearty appetite.  I know that my dad always said that I could eat more than any boy he had ever seen!  He tells the story about my family and a guy I was dating going to a place called The Country Kitchen in North Georgia.  It was a restaurant that served "family style"  and I mean it was delicious! Country ham, creamed corn, stewed tomatoes, fried okra, cornbread, fried chicken, chicken and dumplings -- you name a good Southern food and they had it in a bowl on OUR table!  My dad reminds me that my family (and my date) finally just went outside and waited for ME in the car because they were so embarrassed!

Not only do I love to eat, but I love to cook!  Since I was a young girl I have always had an interest in cooking. I come from a lineage of good cooks --my mother is a good cook and my grandmother was an amazing cook as well.  Fortunately, I had the benefit of learning under both of them.

I LOVE cookbooks!  If someone is unsure what to give me for a gift, they can never go wrong with a cookbook.  Call me weird, but when I get a new cookbook, I read it from cover-to-cover like a novel!  My favorite TV channel is The Food Network!

Ever since I started my Mimi's Making Memories blog just a short time ago, I have known that I wanted to have a recipe blog as well.  With the help of my very talented daughter, I now have my very own Recipe Blog and I want to invite each and every one of you to come on over to Mimi's Making Meals!

I plan to post many of the recipes that my family has grown to love over the years, as well as, new favorites that I discover  along the way. I am excited about having this new blog and look forward to hearing your comments, suggestions and requests.

Bon Appetit!

Happy Father's Day, Walt!

We had a wonderful Father's Day at our house today. It started out with a great day in the Lord's House and was followed up by all of my kids spending the day with their dad. Here are Faith, Josh and Grace with Walt. (Getting that one in the middle to smile is like "pulling teeth"!)

Of course, anytime our family gets together, there is usually food involved and today was no exception. This is just a little sample of what we had today --- all gluten-free, of course, because my son is allergic to gluten! The ribs are one of my family's favorites and we can definitely polish off some ribs in record time! We had Baby Back ribs (and some Beef Spare ribs), corn on the cob and baked beans. We even had a gluten-free Apple Crisp with vanilla ice cream! I just can't understand why I don't lose any weight! LOL!

"E" stayed outside with Poppa and helped him with the grilling. How pretty is she in her dress that "Nana" made her!!

She also got to play with Lewis. Pretty soon she won't be able to lift him-- he'll be bigger than her!

I had a little surprise, too ---I wasn't expecting a gift on Father's Day, but Faith had me a belated Mother's Day gift! How cute is this?!?!?? The monogrammed panels are interchangeable depending on what you're wearing. I love it!

The rest of our day was spent watching "Cars" and dozing off a little. It was so nice having all of my children here to celebrate with their dad on his special day!

Real Men DO Eat Quiche!

Well...I finally did it!  I had been saying that I was going to cook quiche for dinner for about 3 nights in a row and I finally took time to do it! My husband actually loves quiche and had been asking me to make it.  This is a simple recipe that can be used for basically any kind of quiche  -- I typically make Broccoli and Cheese, but this time I added a little ham to ours because my husband happens to love it this way. YUM!

This is even better the next day and we sometimes even eat it for breakfast!

Broccoli, Ham and Cheese Quiche

9 inch frozen pie shell

5 oz. can Hormel lean ham 

10 oz. frozen chopped broccoli

6 oz. shredded Swiss cheese

4 eggs beaten until blended

1 cup whipping cream

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 Tablespoons finely chopped onions

Bake pie shell 1/2 as long as directions recommend. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. While pie shell is baking, cook broccoli according to package directions and drain well.

Drain ham and crumble in bottom of pie shell.  

Sprinkle broccoli on top of crumbled ham.  

Sprinkle cheese over top of broccoli. 

Mix all remaining ingredients together and pour over ham, broccoli and cheese in pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

*** Can use any cooked meat or vegetable, drained well. Makes enough filling for 2 thin  (regular) pie shells or 1 deep dish pie.  Can also be frozen after baked.

Other filling suggestions: Bacon & Cheese, Zucchini; Spinach; Cauliflower; Mushroom; Asparagus and Crab.

Enjoy!

I was going to make it after church on Sunday, but my daughter, Grace, said, "I don't think I really like quiche."  Well... she showed up at our house last night in time for dinner and we were having leftover quiche.  She said, "I might like quiche; I can't remember".  To make a long story short --there was NONE left at the end of the meal!  She said, "Oh my word!  I forgot how good this was!"

Note:  If your man has a problem with eating "quiche", you can always just call it a Ham and Cheese Pie!   (-;