The Supermom Chef

When I was growing up my Paw Paw was well known for his garden. Some summers I even remember him having a garden in two different locations. He’d get up early and water the plants in the backyard garden, then load up his bright green Chevy Luv pick-up truck (which had the most memorable horn I’ve ever heard and will never forget) with buckets full of water and carry it out to his other garden to water the plants there. He grew all kinds of things, snap beans (don’t dare call them green beans down here), butterbeans, squash, peppers, and what he was most known for was his tomato plants. He’d have rows upon rows upon rows of tomato plants that produced the most delicious tomatoes I’ve ever put in my mouth. On Paw Paw’s bedroom floor and the dining room floor were huge sheets of visqueen (which I could swear we always pronounced “bisqueen” but maybe that’s just the way my kid-ears heard it) that were all covered in tomatoes. Each day at lunch there would be a huge plate full of the beautiful slices that I prefered to top with mayonnaise, salt, and pepper (taught to be by none other than my Paw Paw). When a person came over to visit, he or she wasn’t allowed to leave without their own sack full to take home. Paw Paw was world famous (yes I said world famous…he was my Paw Paw and was famous in my world after all) for these big round, red beauties! I swear I’d probably be willing to cut off my left leg just for the chance to taste one of his tomatoes just one more time.

So now that you know all about my obsession with home-grown tomatoes, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that it was no surprise that I loved this recipe. We never used this recipe growing up, and as a matter of fact I don’t remember ever even hearing of Tomato Pie until just a couple short years ago. I heard a friend mention it, and have since heard several people talking of the same strange (to me) sounding pie. A family friend mentioned this savory pie a couple weeks ago on her Facebook page and I knew I finally had to give in and try it out. Mrs. Susan was kind enough to share her recipe with me (thank you Mrs. Susan!), and I’ll just tell you that I was completely blown away by the flavor in this pie. The cheese melts and becomes so creamy because of being mixed with the mayonnaise, the basil is bursting with flavors and the tomatoes…well, we all know how delicious home grown tomatoes are! Needless to say I’ll be making this again and again in the future. It’s going on my favorites list!

Tomato Pie

1 (single layer) pie crust

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sliced green onions

10-12 basil leaves, sliced finely

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

sliced home grown tomatoes

salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. In a pie plate, spread the pie crust out, pushing down in the sides to fit. Layer sliced tomatoes on top of the pie crust (you can drain the tomatoes so that the pie won’t be so juicy, if you prefer). Layer the green onions and basil on top of the sliced tomatoes; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the cheese and mayonnaise. Spread the mayonnaise mixture over the top of the tomatoes. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Serve warm.

This may seem like a silly thing to post, but believe it or not there are people out there that don’t know how to make french fries at home. Yep, it’s true. It really is! I always loved my grandmother’s french fries best. Hers were just regular old fries, nothing special, but for some reason hers were always the best. I still remember the brown plastic handled knife we always used to peel the potatoes and slice them for fries. It was the only good knife in her kitchen, and honestly it wasn’t much to work with. She never had fancy gadgets or high-dollar equipment but she could surely turn out some of the best tasting food I ever remember putting in my mouth! It’s the simple things in life, I suppose, which brings me back to this recipe. Nothing special here, but ordinary things in life are sometimes the things that bring us the most joy.

In the following picture you’ll see how normal people like to eat fries. My hubby likes them super crispy so I leave his in the oil until they are almost “burnt” (that’s “Southern” for burned) before removing. What a weirdo!

Homemade French Fries

3-4 large baking potatoes (the brown ones)

peanut oil (enough to fill your deep fryer or a large saucepan about half full)

seasoned salt

Heat oil to 350 degrees F. I like to use a deep fryer for the safest frying method but you can also use a large saucepan filled about half full, measuring the temperature with a candy/oil thermometer. Meanwhile, wash potatoes and slice for french fries (the size will depend on how you like your french fries cut, I like to use a french fry cutter for uniform sized fries that cook evenly). Drop the french fries carefully (HOT OIL!) in the oil, cooking in small batches. Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the fries are floating in the oil. Remove the fries to a plate covered in paper towels to drain. Immediately sprinkle with seasoned salt. Serve hot.

What is more classic than a plain ole blueberry muffin? Not much, in my opinion. I remember when I was growing up my mom made two types of muffins on a regular basis…bran muffins (I’ll share that recipe one day) and blueberry muffins. The bran muffins were always homemade but the blueberry muffins always were a box mix. Now I’m not knocking. Those muffins were a big part of my childhood and I remember wanting to lick the can of blueberries clean. I enjoyed them just as much as I would have if my mom had slaved all morning making something homemade. What mattered was she put the time into making us something delicious, and we enjoyed it.

I still have nothing against the boxed muffins, and still occassionally make them from time to time. But when you have a pint of fresh blueberries on your hands and are craving blueberry muffins there’s no need to open a box because these are almost as simple! So the other day, after purchasing those beautiful blueberries on sale I came home on a mission to find a traditional blueberry muffin recipe. I have about a gazillion cookbooks, but even with all them I had a very hard time finding a recipe that sounded like what I was looking for. I found lots of recipes for streusel muffins and such, but not just a traditional muffin. Then I found this recipe, and it was just what I was looking for! They baked up beautiful and tasted even better than they looked! I’ve since made them three times because they are so delicious that I can’t resist them. I even took some to my mother-in-law and she said they were just perfect…just sweet enough but not overly sweet.

And if you’re smart like me, go ahead and pull the muffin top off first because after all, isn’t that the best way to eat a muffin?

Blueberry Muffins

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup salted butter, melted

1 1/4 cups milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin tins or line muffin tins with cupcake liners (size will depend on what size muffins you prefer to make). In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, milk, and eggs. Whisk the mixture until it is combined. Combine the butter mixture with the dry ingredients and mix it lightly until just moistened. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared muffin cups. (I use a 1/4 cup cookie scoop to drop my batter into the muffin wells.) Bake for 25-30 minutes (for regular size muffins) or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of one muffin. The size of the muffin tin that you use will determine how many muffins this recipe produces, but I usually end up with about 15-17 regular sized muffins.

Recipe adapted from: Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook

It’s been one of those no-good days again…the kind I seem to be having far too many of lately. I guess that means that I need to make something chocolate to counteract the blues, huh? That always helps. Or at least that’s what I tell myself and that seems to help. Chocolate makes the world go round, in my opinion.

And so does this dip! OHMYGOODNESS it’s like heaven on a cracker if you ask me! On the day that I made this dip, I was going through another one of those bad days. The kind where we spend all day long at a hospital with my son receiving numerous treatments/transfusions/whatever he needs that day. That day our favorite couple friends had texted me asking if we wanted to get together. My first thought was that I’d be at the hospital all day and not want to do anything that night. But when they said we didn’t need to do anything fancy, we could just order a pizza and chat I was completely on board! I promised to make a dip if I had time and they brought the wine. WOOHOO! I also got done at the hospital in time to come home and whip up this dip. And let me just tell you…it’s the simplest thing in the whole wide world to make. You literally just throw some ingredients in a food processor and push a button. And the taste will blow you out of the water it’s so fine! We all had a fit over this dip, well…everyone except for my “I-don’t-eat-tomatoes-and-refuse-to-even-taste-the-dip” hubby. I had a little too much of this dip that night and well, to be honest, a little too much wine too. But who’s keeping score?

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup good mayonnaise

10 dashes Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Not much to really say about these yummy bars, except that they are out-of-this-world delicious! I got this recipe from a sweet friend who is a member of the Junior League of Jackson and volunteers her time at the local Children’s Cancer Clinic to play with the children. They usually have tons of projects for the kids to work on and as strange as it is, my kids actually look forward to their weekly visits to clinic during the school year when the Junior League is there with their fun projects to work on. One day I overheard her talking about these bars and I immediately knew it was something all of my readers (hey y’all!) would love to eat. So I asked for the recipe and she graciously shared and now I’m sharing it with you all! Hope you all enjoy these bars as much as my family did at our family reunion. Needless to say, they didn’t last long!

It’s a caramel river! Yum!!!

Chocolate Chip Milky Way Bars

1 large roll refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

1 (6 pack) full-size Milky Way candy bars, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cookie dough on the counter for about 10 minutes so that it softens some. Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Spread the softened cookie dough in the dish, pressing to reach each corner so that the entire pan is covered in dough. Bake for 15 minutes; sprinkle chopped candy bars on top of cookie dough. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cookies are cooked through. Cut into squares after cooled to serve.

Those of you that live in the South have no doubt heard of the Canton Flea Market. Well this massive gathering takes place in my hometown of the big ole city of Canton, Mississippi! Still not sure of where it is? Have you ever heard of these movies – “A Time To Kill”, “My Dog Skip”, “Oh Brother, Where Art Though”? Those were all filmed in our city. Actually I remember seeing the crews around town and watching filming of some of these movies. Pretty amazing for a small town, Southern girl!

Anywho, another thing our small town is famous for is the Canton Flea Market which I already mentioned. People come from all around to shop at this massive event that takes up all of our town square. When I was growing up, I went to a private school and a large part of our extra school funding came from selling items during this flea market. The flea market is twice a year on the second Thursday in May and October, so we’d get out of school on both Thursday and Friday during the week of the flea market to help sell items at our school’s booths. We used to sell these brownie muffins at our food booths, and everyone always loved them! I have no idea who the original recipe came from, or how long they’ve been using it, or even if they are still sold at the school’s booths or not. But I do know that they are pretty dang yummy so I felt ashamed not having shared the recipe with you all before now. In the instructions, there is no mention of using cupcake liners, although after tasting them when I cooked them I think next time I’ll try using them. I think it would keep the edges from getting so crunchy while baking. But if crunchy is your thing, leave that step out and go all out for crunchiness!

Flea Market Brownie Muffins

1 1/2 cups sugar

pinch of salt

1 cup plain flour (all-purpose)

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

2 sticks butter

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a regular size muffin pan with non-stick spray (cupcake liners can also be used). In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, and flour. In a small saucepan, melt together the chocolate and butter. Mix the dry ingredients mixture with the melted butter and chocolate mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla. Fill each muffin well slightly over half full of batter. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until done. Makes 15-20 muffins.

A sandwich is just a sandwich, right? WRONG! Not in my opinion at least. Take a couple pieces of bread, throw on some mayonnaise and meat and you have a run of the mill sandwich. Bleh! That doesn’t sound appetizing to anyone, except of course my five-year-old that would live off of turkey sandwiches if I’d allow her to. But if you take a more specialized bread, lay on the meat and cheese, and grill that baby, you have an entirely new thing! And that thing is entirely an irrestible thing to me. Although I use a grill pan and grill press to make my paninis, you don’t have to have any special equipment. You just need something heavy to flatten the sandwich (even a brick wrapped in foil will work) while it’s cooking so that it grills well. These have become a regular in our household, and my kids (along with my hubby, who hates sandwiches for the most part) love these!

Oh, and the panini pictured below was made for me (I prefer less meat) but you feel free to add more meat if you’d like. My hubby likes me to pile it on his!

Turkey & Ham Panini

sliced sourdough bread

sliced Swiss cheese

spray butter

sliced, cooked bacon (optional)

deli sliced honey ham & smoked turkey, however much you prefer

desired sandwich fixings (mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomato, etc.)

Heat grill pan (or panini press) over medium-high. Place desired amount of turkey, ham, bacon, and Swiss on sourdough slices. Place second slice of bread on top. Spread each side of the bread with butter or spray with butter spray. Place on the grill pan and top with a panini press (or brick covered in foil). Grill over medium-high heat until heated through and cheese is melted. Remove from heat and dress as desired, taking panini apart to do so and reassembling. Serve warm.

When I was still a part of the working world before I had my children, this dip was required at every single gathering in the office. I can’t even remember who in the office originally shared the recipe, but what I do remember is that every single time it was brought it didn’t last long! That’s how it ended up with the name “Crack” Dip; it’s just that addictive. When it was time to have a party at work, we’d say, “Who’s bringing the Crack Dip?”

This dip is an updated version of the ever-so-popular rotel dip, but instead of Velveeta you use cream cheese and toss in some cooked ground sausage. Since it was always served at work, I had indulged in it more than I probably should but my hubby had never had any. So when I made it for my son’s birthday party a couple of years ago, he saw me making it and if I remember right he turned his nose up and walked away. Then when the dip was ready he tried it and literally couldn’t stop going back for more and more! I think I even remember him telling me to hide the dip before everyone got there so he’d have it all to himself (needless to say I didn’t oblige that request). This recipe is super easy and can be kept warm in a slow cooker for hours on end. Make it for your next party, and prepare yourself to be asked over and over for the recipe.

“Crack” Dip

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese

2 cans Rotel (hot, mild, or regular depending on your heat preference)

1 (16 oz) package ground sausage*

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground sausage, breaking it apart as you do, until cooked through. Meanwhile, cube cream cheese. Add cream cheese, Rotel, and sausage to a slow cooker. Cook over low heat until cheese is melted. Set to warm until ready to serve.

*The new packages of precooked sausage crumbles can be used in place of the raw sausage, if desired. I like to puree my Rotel using a food chopper so that there are no big tomato chunks.

A while back I was looking at my blog and felt ashamed. Here I am writing a recipe blog and I don’t even bake homemade brownies. The box mixes are so easy, inexpensive, and delicious that I never really saw the point with bothering to make homemade ones. But who am I calling myself  The Supermom Chef and yet never making homemade brownies. I decided right then to set out to find a recipe that my family loves just as much (or even more!) than the boxed kind. This recipe fits the bill perfectly! They are super easy to make, use items that I regularly keep in stock in my cupboard, make a 9×13″ pan of brownies (because let’s face it, an 8×8″ size pan of brownies won’t last any time with a family of 5!) and are deliciously fudgy with the perfectly crackled top like all perfect brownies have. There are different ways that you can change up the flavor. Try substituting dark, bittersweet, or milk chocolate for the semi-sweet, cut back or add sugar to your taste, etc. The list goes on and on! This particular version is my family’s favorite, but feel free to add whatever your family’s favorite add-ins are (chocolate chips, nuts, etc.) to make it your very own.

There’s that crackly top that makes a perfect brownie! Can you see it???

Brownies

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir constantly and remove from heat when chips are fully melted. In the same pot, blend in the sugar and vanilla. Then add eggs, blending fully one at a time. Add flour and salt and beat until air bubbles form in the batter. Pour into a greased 9×13″ pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to  325 degrees F and bake for 15 more minutes, or until done.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/09/easiest-brownies-in-the-world.html

Hi y’all! Sorry for a week with no posts. I was busy down South soaking up the rays of the sunshine and now I’m covered in freckles and my skin is peeling like a snake shedding its skin. Redheads (or auburn in my case) can’t catch a break when it comes to the sun! And for those of you that are freaking out about a sunburn, trust me…I did all that I could do to prevent it from happening other than staying inside the entire trip. Oh well, it was certainly worth it to see the look on my kid’s faces when they got to see their mom jump off the diving board, which they’ve never seen me do.

So about these muffins, they are delicious! I made some to take on our trip with us so that we didn’t have to eat cereal every day. I was pleasantly surprised with how yummy they were! I don’t think that my hubby ever tried them because he said just the name of them sounded disgusting, but what does that grumpy guy know? Just don’t eat them then, more for me! You all know I’m a sucker for anything containing peanut butter and chocolate and these little muffins were no exception. I wouldn’t exactly say they are healthy, but everyone needs an excuse to eat cake every now and then for breakfast, right?

Who needs fruit filled muffins when you can have chocolate?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°.  Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.  Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and milk until smooth.  Add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin tins, filling each to the top. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from: http://annies-eats.net/2008/10/09/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-muffins/, who adapted the recipe from: http://bakingbites.com/2007/09/peanut-butter-and-chocolate-chip-muffins/