Dolly Parton's Milk Gravy

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 11, 2022


Who doesn't love Dolly and when she talked about making her husband, Carl, this milk gravy on The Today Show, I was all over this recipe like, well biscuits and gravy 😏

I make it often, hubby and I love it.  Don't leave out the thyme, it's what makes this really special. 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2½ cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Biscuits and sausage patties or bacon, for serving

Steps:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, thyme and pepper. Gradually whisk in milk and cream until smooth.

Pour the mixture into skillet or saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened.

Serve over biscuits and sausage patties or top with bacon.

And since this an indulgence with whole milk and whipping cream, I do have a healthier version that I fix regularly, sometimes we have it for dinner.  I'm a fan of CarbMaster 60 calorie per cup milk from Kroger, but you can use Fairlite or fat free milk as well.  Then use Fat Free Half and Half and Jimmy Dean Sausage Crumbles and you really reduce the calories to a more manageable level.  I also have a workaround for the biscuits.  I toast Sara Lee 45 calorie Delightful Multi Grain Bread and serve the gravy on toast points.  Not quite the same as the fully leaded, but still an excellent gravy on toast for a lot less calories.

Healthy Recipe with Nutritional Info:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour - 150 calories
2.5 cups CarbMaster Milk @60 calories per cup - 150 calories
1/2 cup fat free half and half - 71 calories
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Total - 371 calories

Half Recipe - 185 calories

Optional: Jimmy Dean Turkey Crumbles - 70 calorie per half cup

#dollyparton #countrymusic #dollywood #dolly #nashville #s #country #to #jolene #tennessee #music #queenofcountry #coatofmanycolors #gravy #biscuitsandgravy #countrygravy #countryfood #soulfood #milkgravy


Jennifer Aniston's Salad, she ate this every day on the set of friends...

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 10, 2022


This famous salad is what Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Courtney Cox ate every day on the set of friends.  Every single day for ten years.  And they all still look great, maybe they still eat it. 😁

The problem for me is I'm not a fan of mint, so that's out. 😐  I'm not really crazy about cucumber in salad either, and I would rather have roquefort cheese, feta is too bland.  And I would substitute almonds in this instead of pistachios.  This is probably why I don't lose weight, you have to eat this exact same salad, every day, for TEN years! 😳 Oh get real, Jan, I could eat this salad ever single day for the rest of my life and I still wouldn't look like them 😭

I do however like bulgar, chickpeas and red onion, so maybe I will alter this a bit and make it after I float a loan at Kroger's for pistachios.  But wait, they didn't eat dressing on this.  What?  No dressing? Oh, this is a game changer, I don't think I could eat salad with no dressing. 

Seriously, I do think this would be good with a drizzle of EVOO and a squeeze of lemon juice, made just like the recipe, but omitting the mint.

1 cup of bulgur

2 diced cucumbers

1 (15-oz) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

¼ cup finely diced red onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup salted pistachios, chopped

Steps

Cook bulgur according to package instructions, and allow to cool completely.

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients until well combined.

Serve right away, or move to an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to a week.



#jenniferaniston #friends #rachelgreen #lisakudrow #courtneycox  #friendstvshow #friendstv #centralperk #salad #healthyeating #vegan #chickpeas


Smoky Bacon Corn Chowder, a family favorite...

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 09, 2022

I've made this recipe forever, but now I do shortcuts to make it better without sacrificing taste.  I use frozen Ore-Ida Cubed potatoes, so much easier than peeling and cubing all those potatoes, and the flavor is exactly the same. 

This recipe is adapted from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook from the 70’s.  It’s a big recipe, I never cut it down, leftovers are great, and you can give it to family and friends, it reheats beautifully, too.

1 bag of the frozen diced potatoes.


If you prefer to cook potatoes yourself:

5 large potatoes, cubed and cooked in salted water (do not overcook, this will take about 10-15 minutes for them to cook).  

8 cups milk (part half and half is awesome, whole milk is good, 2% milk is acceptable, but skim milk is not rich enough)  
1 large onion, diced  
1 lb. bacon, slice the entire stack of raw bacon at once, cutting it in small slices when very cold, it's easy to do it this way, then it fries evenly and you don't have to try and crumble it after it's cooked
3/4 cup flour  
2 cans cream style corn  
1 bag frozen corn  
shredded cheese, chopped scallions and crumbled bacon for garnish

While potatoes are cooking, saute bacon in large skillet.  Remove when crisp, drain on paper towels and crumble.

Put onions in bacon drippings and cook until tender.  Remove onions with slotted spoon and put 3/4 cup flour into drippings, stirring constantly.  I usually take this off the burner, as it thickens really quickly.  Then I stir in 2-3 cups of the milk, and put it back on the burner for a minute or so, whisking constantly. 

Meanwhile put the remaining milk in the microwave and nuke it until it’s warm.  If you put cold milk into warm drippings, it can curdle, so always warm everything.  I warm the bag of frozen corn as well.

Put the 2 cans of cream style corn, the bag of warmed frozen corn in a large stockpot, add the onions, drain the cooked potatoes, add them, and I use a strainer to add the flour mixture to the ingredients in the crockpot, as you don’t want any lumps from the flour.  Add salt and pepper to taste, I usually add 1-2 teaspoons of salt and a teaspoon of pepper.  Heat until thick, but not boiling.

I make yummy cornbread, tweaking a Jiffy mix, adding sour cream makes it really moist - Here's the recipe

Note:  The drippings from a pound of bacon is not too much, don’t decrease the amount of bacon grease, this is a really big recipe, and you need that much to flavor it.  I sometimes add 2-3 tablespoons of butter as well, if I’m making it with 2% milk to give it a richer flavor.

#chowder #soup #chowder #corn #soupseason #foodie#foodphotography #homemade #foodporn #food #foodstagram #foodblogger #dinner #comfortfood #foodiesofinstagram #bacon #delicious #yum #cornsoup #cornchowdersoup #lunch #instafood #souprecipe #foodies  #fallfood #soups 


 

The Best, Easiest Homemade Cinnamon Roll Pull Apart Ever!

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 09, 2022



There is nothing better than a pan of cinnamon rolls hot from the oven.  There is also nothing that is more of a pain in the patootie to make from scratch than a pan of cinnamon rolls.

These yummy pull aparts are a variation of the famous monkey bread that has been around for years.  It was always baked in a bundt or angel food pan and it was really difficult to get cooked in the center without having the edges burn.  I had many doughy centers in the past with those cinnamon pull aparts and knew there had to be a better way.

Well there is!  Forget the bundt pan forget the angel food pan and bake them in a 9x13 pan.  Pure genius. These are so easy, so gooey, so good, grab the kids, have them help and you will have a pan of rolls to put in the fridge overnight to bake in the morning.

Ingredients:

24 Rhodes White Dinner Rolls, dough thawed to room temperature
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1.5 sticks butter, melted
1.5 Tbsp cinnamon

 Icing:

Sift powdered sugar, stir in cream, and vanilla, then drizzle over pan of inverted hot rolls.

 1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Steps:

Cut each roll in half with a pair of kitchen shears. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. If the rolls are still partially frozen I've found they're easier to cut.

Roll each roll piece first in butter and then in cinnamon sugar. Place pieces, touching,  in a 9x 13 pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Just put remainder of the pieces on top to form an additional layer.  Pour remaining butter and sugar over the top of the rolls. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap.

Let rise for 30 minutes.  I don't do this, I put in the oven overnight to bake the next morning.


Lawry's Famous Coconut Banana Cream Pie

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 07, 2022

This famous recipe has 685,000+ views on Jan CAN Cook, so I thought it should be revisited.  It's a wonderful recipe that I first posted in 2009.  Here it is once again in it's entirety.

Heads up coconut lovers, this pie is amazing, totally decadent, and the coconut crust is absolutely awesome.  The crust takes it from ordinary to sublime.

Back in August of 2002, I emailed the L.A. Food Times regarding a recipe that I had gotten from their S.O.S. site and lost.  We made it several times and it was one of those special to-die-for recipes, so I was not a happy camper when I misplaced the recipe.

After writing to them, they reposted the recipe for me in their food column, I came across it again today and wanted to put it on Jan CAN Cook before I lost it again.  If you want a truly wonderful dessert, forget about the calories and make this.  It’s really special.

~ jan

DEAR SOS: About five or six years ago you printed a recipe for Lawry's Coconut Pie. It had a coconut crust and was to die for. 

JAN 

DEAR JAN: This is a great pie for those who fail at making pie crusts. This crust is really simple, consisting of melted butter and coconut pressed into a pie plate. 

Lawry's Coconut Banana Cream Pie 



Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes plus 2 hours chilling 

COCONUT PIE SHELL 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, plus more for pie plate 
3 cups sweetened flake coconut 

Lightly butter a 9-inch pie plate and set aside. 

Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the coconut flakes, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. They should be golden brown. Press the coconut firmly and evenly in the pan to form a shell. Chill the crust 30 minutes before filling. 

PIE FILLING 

4 egg yolks 

3/4 cup sugar, divided 

3 tablespoons cornstarch 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup flour 

3 cups half-and-half, divided 

Yellow food coloring 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 bananas 

1 cup whipping cream 

1 tablespoon powdered sugar 

Combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cornstarch, salt and flour in a small bowl. Gradually add 1 cup of the half-and-half. 

Combine the remaining 2 cups half-and-half and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a 3-quart saucepan and bring just to boil over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook and stir until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens, about 1 minute. 

Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 drops of food coloring and the vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool. 

Slice the bananas into the pie shell. Pour the filling into the shell. 

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until stiff. Spoon in dollops or pipe with a pastry bag around the edge of the pie. Chill 2 hours before slicing. 

6 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings: 563 calories; 427 mg sodium; 182 mg cholesterol; 39 grams fat; 26 grams saturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.62 grams fiber.

Update:  So many of you have found your way to this recipe via Pinterest, I appreciate all of the Pins, and hope you all enjoy this incredible pie.  I've received a few emails from people saying it was hard to cut through the crust, the only thing I can think of is that perhaps you are pressing the coconut into the pie pan, too firmly.  The majority of people seem to have no trouble with this, so I hope bit of information helps others who are going to bake this wonderful pie.  The response to it has been so positive, this is truly a one of a kind recipe.




#bananapie #coconutpie #coconutcreampie #bananapie #bananacreampie #yummydessert #awardwinningpie #pie #food #dessert #foodporn #homemade #foodie #baking #yummy #pies #pastry #instafood #delicious  #piesusu #foodstagram #bakery #chocolate #love #sweet  #foodblogger #tart #desserts #creampie #instagood #cooking  

World Famous Donatelli's Meat Sauce

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 07, 2022


 Arriving at Donatelli’s in White Bear Lake, patrons are greeted by 41 years of rich history. You can see it on the walls, decorated with images of the Pink Panther (or the Italian Panther as he is referred to at Donatelli’s), on the faces on the longtime staff and in the intimate booths—tucked snugly against the walls, dimmed lights hanging over them to create the mood. 

Most of us can't visit this legendary restaurant, but what we can do is duplicate their famous meat sauce in our own kitchen.

The Best Peanut Butter Fudge I Ever Ate...

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 06, 2022


I made this recipe for Christmas 2021 and it was so good that I can't make it again.  Seriously, I have no willpower, ZERO willpower, I could eat the entire batch in a day, yes, it's that good!

I've struggled forever, trying to find the perfect peanut butter fudge recipe, and The View From Great Island, a wonderful blog site that I visit often, nailed it.  It's just perfection, don't change a thing, this will be your forever peanut fudge recipe, I promise it will.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup creamy peanut butter, I use Jif. Note: I do not recommend using 'natural' peanut butter.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb confectioner's sugar, about 3 1/2 cups

Directions

Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper or foil. Note: you can use a 9×9 pan, or even a loaf pan.

Using a heavy bottomed saucepan melt the butter and peanut butter together over medium heat. Stir constantly to get the mixture well combined.

Turn the heat down to low and stir in the vanilla and salt.

Fold in the sugar with a silicone spatula or spoon. Make sure to get all the sugar incorporated and the fudge nice and smooth. The low heat will help this process.

When the fudge is smooth transfer to your prepared pan and spread out evenly with an offset spatula.

Let chill for at least 2 hours before slicing into small squares. If you have lined your pan with parchment paper or foil you can gently lift it out for neater slicing.

Fudge can be stored at room temperature, or in the refrigerator. It also freezes well.


#peanutbutter #chocolate #healthyfood #food #breakfast #foodie #healthy #foodporn #yummy  #delicious #homemade #peanutbutterlover #cookies #peanut #banana #foodphotography #protein #dessert #instafood #peanuts #glutenfree #nutbutter #fudge #peanutbutterfudge #candy


Damn Good Air Fryer Chicken Legs

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 06, 2022

Fried chicken legs without the guilt?  Bring it on...

I make these often and they're seriously yummy, easy to prepare with ingredients you have in your kitchen, well, maybe you don't have smoked paprika, it's good stuff, just put it on your grocery list 😀 

  • 6 chicken legs
  • 3 tbs brown sugar
  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper - I love McCormick's Smokehouse Black Pepper for this recipe, well I love this Smokehouse Pepper for a lot of recipes...
  • 1 tsp ground mustard
  • 1 tsp onion powder*
  • 1 tsp garlic powder*
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbs vegetable oil
Steps
  1. Add all dry ingredients to a large zip top bag and shake to mix well. Add chicken to bag with vegetable oil and shake until all the chicken in coated.
  2. Let chicken marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. The longer the better. Overnight is best!
  3. Preheat air fryer for 5 minutes at 380 degrees (F). Add chicken to air fryer and use “air fry” setting at 380 degrees (F) for 18-20 minutes, turning chicken halfway through. Internal temperature of chicken should be at least 165 degrees (

    I'm a huge fan of Spice Way Onion and Garlic Granules.  They are a large package, 8 oz.,  I transfer to a pint Ball jar to use.  The flavor is amazing, so much better than the jars you buy in the store.  I linked them above when listing the ingredients.

#friedchicken #chicken #foodie #food  #instafood #foodstagram #foodphotography #yummy #chickenlegs #delicious #foodlover #foodbloggerr #sundaydinner #foodies #airfryer

Pioneer Woman's Favorite Recipe

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 06, 2022

 


I've been making Texas Sheet Cake since the 70's when my mother gave me the recipe because all of her friends were making it and raving about it.  Well, our family loved it too and even now, it's our favorite, and one of the easiest cakes to make, no mixer required.

When Pioneer Woman started talking about it, I was just shaking my head, thinking, umhmmmm, I know all about this, I could recite the recipe by heart.  So naturally I had to compare her recipe with mine, and here's how it stacks up. 

  • Bake in a 9x13 pan, because we like thick cake, not thin.  It takes it 30-35 minutes to bake
  • Use a whisk to combine ingredients, easier than stirring and does a thorough job
  • The more chocolate the better,  so I increased the cocoa to 6 tablespoons in the cake
  • I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • I also add more pecans, a lot more to the frosting, at least a cup.  If you're going to make this, make it over the top delicious by being generous with your nuts. 
  • Use an entire box of sifted powdered sugar 
  • Decrease the vanilla to 1 teaspoon
  • Add 1 cup of coconut to the frosting
Her recipe is below, the tweaks above is how I've made it forever.

Here's my original detailed recipe that I posted to this site several years ago

CAKE

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter
4 heaping tablespoons cocoa
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla

FROSTING

1 3/4 sticks butter
1/2 cup pecans finely chopped, optional
6 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Cake:

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.

Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, beaten eggs, baking soda and vanilla.

Stir the buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture.

Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes.

Frosting:

While the cake is baking, melt the butter, then stir in cocoa powder, milk, vanilla, powdered sugar and pecans (if using).

Pour over warm cake.



Ina Garten's Most Famous Recipe, Beatty's Chocolate Cake

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, February 05, 2022

 

If there is one cake that you should make in your lifetime, this is it!  Ina Garten's famous Beatty's Chocolate Cake dates back to 2006.  It's worth the trouble, the flavors are amazing, the hint of mocha just take it over the top.  It’s very moist without being dense or heavy, and has just the right balance of sweetness with rich chocolate flavor. I can see why this is a beloved recipe, 

What a great cake to make for a special occasion, a birthday, a holiday or just because you want to bake something amazing...

  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ¾ cups good cocoa powder, such as Valrhona
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
  • Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans (for cupcakes, see note). Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ones. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. (Not to worry; the top will sink a little in the center.)

Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread a thin layer of buttercream on the top only. Place the second layer on top, flat side up, and spread the frosting evenly first on the sides and then on the top of the cake. Cut in wedges and serve at room temperature.

Note: For cupcakes, reduce bake time to 25-30 minutes.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (frosts one cake, or 12 cupcakes)

  • 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate, such as Valrhona (see note)
  • ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1¼ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules, such as Nescafe

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl over a pan over simmering water. Stir until justmelted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Note: I use Valrhona Le Noir 56% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate. You can use also use a good bittersweet chocolate but don’t use chocolate chips because they have stabilizers in them.

If you love the pink cake stand used for the original picture of the cake, I found it for you on Etsy, it's from Mossler Glass and it's called The Large Thistle Cake Plate.   Here's the link, it's not an affiliated link, I just thought it was so pretty I wanted to share.  

Here's the click...

Recipe reprinted from Ina Garten's Website
Copyright 2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, All Rights Reserved

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