Kelli's Pecan Pie

There are SO many versions of Pecan Pie out there, so it would only make sense that mine has its own special kick! And since I can't put Slap Ya Mama in a pecan pie, I chose another "KICK"! Trust me...this is one of the easiest pecan pie recipes you will ever make!

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare your pie crust (homemade or the refrigerated roll-out ones from the grocery store----either works just fine!)

Note: A 9" pie pan never seems to be big enough for my occasions, so keep in mind that this recipe is for a larger pie pan-- closer to 12".

In a large box mix together 1 + 1/4 cup of white sugar and 4 TBSP melted butter.

Add 3/4 cup of light corn syrup and 4 large egss (beaten). Mix until everything is well-blended. Now for the dessert-version of SYM-- add 3 TBSP of Bourbon (I actually buy the cheap stuff, so I am sure whatever you have on hand will be GREAT!)

Add 2 cups of Pecan Halves.

Pour into the unbaked pie crust.

Set on a cookie sheet (I use my Pampered Chef Pizza Stone and it works great!) and place in your 350 degree oven.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Reduce heat to 300 and continue to bake until your middle is set... there is not a magical time for this. It depends on several things--like your altitude, the quality of your corn syrup, your oven... just watch it closely. Mine usually take about 20 more minutes on the lower temp to fully set....but keep your eye on it!

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack until you are ready to serve.

Cornbread Dressing

We Southerners eat CORNBREAD DRESSING with our Turkey on Thanksgiving and Christmas because in our world "STUFFING" is that cottony stuff inside of a throw pillow!

I was so excited because last night Jess asked me HOW to make Cornbread Dressing... because she and Jeff are making their first Thanksgiving dinner together tomorrow! So here is the recipe I sent her and that I will share with all of you. It has evolved from my grandma's way of making dressing into the way my mom makes it, and of course, the way that I have tweaked it over the years!

Here is what I sent to Jess.... starting at the shopping all the way to the serving! Enjoy!

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Here is your shopping list:

Cornbread mix (2)-- I use Jiffy (the one in the box that costs like 35cents) because it has just enough sweetness to be wonderful!

(+2 eggs and 2/3 cup of milk to make the cornbread)

1 egg extra

2 cans of chicken broth

Green onions (one bunch)

1 yellow onion

1 red bell pepper

1 bunch of celery

White bread (you will need 2 pieces to make toast so if you have a loaf already, that is fine)

The bag of Giblets (from the turkey) ...the turkey that is THAWED OUT!

Foil

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To do on Wednesday night:

-Bake the cornbread (as directed on the packet). You will need to bake both boxes so you have enough to make your dressing...

-Toast 2 slices of bread.

-Boil 1 egg and set in the fridge.

Get the bag of giblets from the turkey.

Chop the yellow onion, the bell pepper and 1 cup of celery.

In a saucepan: Add 1 can of chicken broth and 2 cans of water, 1 TBSP of butter, the bag of giblets plus the onion, bell pepper and celery.

Season it with Slap ya mama while boiling! Season it like I would! :-)

Boil until the meat is tender (falling off the neck bone) and the veggies are soft.

When it is cool, take all the "giblets" out and chop them up (throwing out the bones, of course) into small pieces. Add back to the liquid. Cover and set this in the fridge until Thursday.

In a large bowl, crumble the cornbread (until it has no lumps and is pretty fine) and tear up the 2 slices of toast into as small of pieces as possible. Cover and leave out until Thursday.

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To do on Thursday :

You need to do this about an HOUR and 15 min before you plan to eat.....

Take out the saucepan with the giblets/juice and reheat on the stove. Add the other can of chicken broth if it looks like you might need more liquid....

While it is reheating, chop your bunch of green onions and your egg (that you set in the fridge last night). Add both to the crumbled cornbread mix and mix with your hands.

Add ONE CUP of the giblet mix (be sure you get some of the meat pieces in there!) to your cornbread mix and mix until it is all "wet". The key is that it should not be TOO WET or TOO DRY. You want ALL of the cornbread to be moistened, but not soggy. If you need more liquid, add more from the giblet saucepan, but add it about 1/4 cup at a time...because you can always add more but you cannot "unadd" it....

Mix all of this together.

Butter/grease your baking pan....and then pour your cornbread dressing into it.

COVER WITH FOIL and bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake about 10-15 minutes longer so your top browns a bit.....

Don't overbake or it will dry out. :-)

And then VOILA! You are ready to serve "MoMo/Granny/Mom's Cornbread Dressing". ENJOY!!!!!

(Then you can give Jeff the rest of the Giblet Sauce so he can make the Giblet Gravy!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Brunch Quiche

Always a winner and you can change it up each time so your guests always think it is a new recipe!

Preheat oven to 350.

Version WITH MEAT:

Fry 1 pkg of bacon (or sausage or ham) in a skillet.

While it's frying, chop 1 yellow onion. When you remove the bacon from the pan, add 1 TBSP of oil to the bacon grease plus 2 shakes of your favorite seasoning (I use Slap Ya Mama, of course). Saute the onions until they are soft.

Version WITHOUT MEAT (which I actually make most often)

Chop 1 large yellow onion and 1 red bell pepper. Saute in butter plus 2 shakes of your favorite seasoning (I use Slap Ya Mama, of course) until they are soft.

In the meantime, grease a baking dish (I use a large round one) and place 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (you pick the flavor) on the bottom of the pan (spread it out).

Place the bacon/onion/pepper combo on top of the cheese in the baking pan.

In a mixing bowl- combine 1/cup of milk, 1 cup of sour cream, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup (I use a BIT more!)jm, of shredded cheese, 1/2 cup of flour and 1 tsp of baking powder. Mix these together and then add another shake of your favorite seasoning.

Pour this mixture on top of the bacon/onions/peppers and then bake.

Bake for about 40 minutes until the middle of the quiche is set. Do not overcook.

Slice like a pie to serve.

Fruit Pizza

This one is an oldie, but a goodie! In fact, I have not made it since I moved to Denmark, but my daughter called me about it because she planned to serve it at a baby shower she was hosting. When I sent her the directions, I remembered how yummy it is! So whether you need something to serve at a shower or a brunch, or just a YUMMY treat for yourself, this dish is perfect!

When I lived in the US, I cheated on this recipe and used the "Pillsbury Refrigerated Sugar Cookie" dough as my crust, but my life in Denmark has forced me to make just about everything from scratch... but honestly, if we ever move back to the US, I am certain that I will keep doing things this way! They just taste better!

Step 1--Make your pizza "crust". (My suggestion is that you do this the night before you plan to serve the pizza so that it has plenty of time to cool before you complete steps 2 and 3.)

Step 2--Make your pizza "sauce".

Step 3--Add your pizza "toppings".

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The Pizza "Crust" Instructions:

Melt 2 sticks of butter. Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 TBSP of milk, and 1 egg. Mix until well-blended. Add 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/4 tsp of salt, and 3 cups of flour. Beat this mixture until it begins to pull away from the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Remove from the fridge when you are ready to bake. Sprinkle the area where you plan to roll out the dough with POWDERED SUGAR (NOT flour!) Also, coat your rolling pin with powdered sugar. Roll out the dough to fit your baking pan (I use a round pizza stone.), adding a bit more powdered sugar as needed. The goal is that your crust is about 1/4 inch thick. Grease your pan slightly. Don't forget this step or else your beautiful pizza will stick when you are trying to cut it the next day!

Bake 14-18 minutes at 375...or until the crust is golden.

Cool and then cover until the next day.

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The Pizza "Sauce" Instructions:

Soften 2 packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

Mix with one package of powdered sugar (16 oz). Add 1 tsp of vanilla and mix until smooth.

Spread evenly on your cooled sugar cookie crust.

For an extra flair, sprinkle your "sauce" with poppy seeds just before you go on to step 3.

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The Pizza "Toppings" Instructions:

Choose your favorite COLORFUL fruits. I like to use strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, and mandarin oranges (1 can, drained). Slice your strawberries as well as your kiwi. Now you are ready to place your toppings on your pizza. Be creative and arrange the fruits so that the pizza looks as colorful as possible.

Set in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes before you serve.

Slice with a Pizza Cutter and serve!

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

I have several different biscuit recipes, but I admit that most are a bit "heavy"....which is not a bad thing! However if you want biscuits that are 1) QUICK and EASY to make and 2) light enough to use to make Sausage Biscuits, this is the recipe for you! (And yes, using a whole stick of butter can still make LIGHT biscuits!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 stick + 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Melt the stick of butter and let it cool.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Add the buttermilk to the melted butter and stir until clumps form.
5. Stir the buttermilk/butter mixture into the dry ingredients, just enough until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
6. LIGHTLY grease a baking pan--I use my Pampered Chef Pizza stone and it works GREAT!
7. Drop balls of dough onto the baking sheet with a large spoon. (grease the spoon before and it keeps the dough from sticking)
8. Bake until the tops are golden brown, 12- 14 minutes.
9. While they are cooling on a wire rack, melt the remaining 2 TBSP of butter and brush the tops of the biscuits with the butter just before serving.

Use these in the normal way with yummy jam or jelly...

or after you put on a layer of jelly, add some breakfast sausage for a sausage biscuit that puts McD's to shame!

MY version of Jimmy Dean Sausage

I live in the land of pork, but for 3.5 years I have suffered in silence about the LACK of REAL BREAKFAST SAUSAGE here. Danes don't eat hot meats for breakfast, so I am sure they don't realize they are LACKING in this department!

However after visiting my friend Lisa in Prague last weekend, I found out that I no longer have to suffer.... it IS possible to make your own "Jimmy Dean" pan sausage! And so this morning I did!

The best part is that EVERY SINGLE ingredient can be found in Denmark!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of ground pork (which in DK is available at ALLLL grocery stores every day of the week!)
• 2 TBSP dried sage (salvie på dansk)
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves (nellike på dansk)
• 2 tsp salt
• 2-3 TBSP of Slap Ya Mama (Here is where you can use your favorite cooking spice -- some recipes call for a tsp of black pepper plus a tsp of red pepper flakes, etc...you decide) But you need a little "kick" in your recipe so that is why I use SYM.

First step is to blend all the spices together in a small bowl so that they can be more evenly distributed throughout the pork. Set aside.

Use your hands to really mix the pork...break up any lumps and try to get it as smooshy as possible. Then sprinkle about 1/3 of your dry mix into the pork and keep smooshing... sprinkle another 1/3....and repeat. This will ensure that each bite of sausage has the same yummy flavors.

Form the meat into balls and flatten before putting in your skillet to fry. You do not need any oil or grease to fry them...they make their own which is just enough to keep them from sticking to the pan. Cook them on a low heat because you don't want the outside to cook faster than the inside. Flip, continue cooking, and most likely flip again.

This morning I served them with buttermilk pancakes and when I dipped them in that maple syrup, I thought I had died and gone to heaven...

Tomorrow's breakfast will be sausage biscuits for the road because we are going to Århus and then I have plenty in a freezer bag to save for the next time I want biscuits and gravy!

Bon Appetite!

Shrimp Cocktail

Buy the shrimp that are already peeled but still have the tails on them. Boil.... Chill....and serve in a bowl of ice.

Cocktail Sauce-- Make the night before.

1 large jar of salsa (make sure it's GOOD Salsa....NOT something that has a BBQ flavor!)

1 large bottle of ketchup

1 bottle of Tabasco sauce

Mix the first two together until well-blended.

Start shaking in the Tabasco....3 or 4 shakes at a time. Blend well.

Taste... not hot enough?

Shake in 3 or 4 more. Blend again.

Taste.... you decide! Keep shaking??

I say YES!

Once it is to your HOTNESS specifications, put in the fridge and chill overnight. Serve in a cute bowl in the middle of your iced down shrimp!

So easy but SO good!

Crawfish Bread

a YUMMY appetizer!

Another item from Mads' Cajun Birthday Blowout!

Ingredients:

1 loaf of French bread (sliced in half, horizontally)

2 cups crawfish tails

1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped red bell peppers
1 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese

Slice the French bread in half lengthwise and scoop out the inside of the loaf (but not all the way to the bottom. Leave about half of it there.) Butter the bread and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over a medium heat. Sauté crawfish, and the Holy Trinity (onions, celery, bell peppers) and garlic until the veggies are soft. Remove from the heat and blend in the mustard and mayonnaise. Add cheeses and blend until the cheese begin to melt a bit.

Spread this crawfish mixture inside each of the bread halves. Wrap each half in foil and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Cut bread into slices and serve hot.

Your guests will love you and will most likely be too full to eat dinner if this is your appetizer!

Bourbon Street Praline Cake

I wanted to do something really yummy and really unique for Mads' birthday cake this year! Especially since I am throwing him a "Mardi Gras" themed Cajun Birthday party.... so I poked around the websites of some of my favorite cooks, and used some of their ideas to create my own version of what I am calling the "Bourbon St. Praline Cake".

I made a trial run of this cake a couple of weeks ago for Mads to try..he LOVED it. In fact, he took some of it to the office and 2 of the ladies said it was (and I quote), "the best cake I have ever eaten"! It's not the kind of cake you can eat once a week... but it is definitely something you want to experience at least once!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup baker's cocoa
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of bourbon
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Grease a Bundt pan and preheat the oven to 350. In a small saucepan heat the butter, cocoa and water, stirring constantly until the butter melts and the cocoa is well-blended. Remove from heat and while it is cooling, add the following ingredients to a large bowl: buttermilk, bourbon, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Add the cooled butter/cocoa mixture and mix until well-blended. Add the sugar and mix well. Then gradually add the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing as you go.

Pour into the greased Bundt pan and bake 25 minutes (or until an inserted toothpick is clean). Cool completely on a wire wrack and then remove from pan.

Once the cake is cooled, you are ready to make your Praline Frosting.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of cream
• 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans

Place the first three items in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Stir in pecans and stir for about 2 minutes--be careful that it does not harden too quickly. As soon as your pecans are blended in, you are ready to frost the cake.

Pot Roast

I have made roast in SO many different ways, but last night I used an old tried and true Cajun recipe, straight from the cookbook of Judice's Cajun Kitchen in Port Arthur, Texas.... except as usual, I changed it up a bit just to make it my own!

And it was a HIT!

Mads deemed it MELT IN YOUR MOUTH ROAST! So I guess if he asks for that in the future, I will know what he is talking about!

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in the bottom of a 6qt saucepan-until the bottom is covered. Sprinkle the oil with Cajun seasoning and then brown the roast (mine was about 3lbs) on all sides.

Remove the roast from the oil and then cut it into slices that are about 3/4 of an inch - 1 in. thick. TRUST ME ON THIS PART!

I always cook a pot roast as a whole unit, but cutting it into the slices is what made it OH SO TENDER and "melt in your mouth"ish! Set the slices back into the saucepan, laying them out so that they are spread out.

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 can of cream of celery soup, 1 pouch of dry onion soup mix, 2 cups of water and a few shakes of Cajun seasoning. Pour this over the meat.

Cover and cook for about 45 minutes.

While this is cooking, peel 6 large potatoes (or more, depending on how many you are serving), and cube them. Then peel 6 large carrots and slice them julienne-styled.

After the 45 minutes, add the veggies to the roast, making sure that they are as covered as possible with the liquid. Cook for 45 minutes more.

Just before you are ready to serve, mix together 1/2 cup of water with 3TBSP of Flour. Add to the saucepan to thicken the gravy. Cook until it boils and thickens, stirring constantly.

SERVE!

Beer biscuits

Got beer?

And want something yummier than those regular dinner rolls you usually serve?!

Now that I have found BISQUICK in Germany, I can actually make these!

4 cups of Bisquick

1/4 cup of sugar

1 12-ounce can of beer

2 TBSP of melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375.

Mix all the ingredients well. Pour into well-greased muffin tins (full sized for dinner biscuits; mini muffin size for snack/appetizer biscuits). Bake 15-20 minutes.

And serve with HONEY BUTTER!

Wanna know how to make honey butter? Glad you asked!

Soften 2 sticks of butter.

Whip it while adding 2 TBSP of honey.

Put it in a butter mold (or regular container) and allow to chill.

The best idea is to make it the day before you want to use it!

Twice Baked Potatoes- Cajun style

Mads thought I was crazy when I tried to explain to him what "Twice Baked" potatoes were.... then he tasted them! It is a GREAT alternative to the "normal" potatoes you make....especially in a country like DK where we eat LOTS of potatoes!

Preheat oven to 350.

Wash 6 large baking potatoes. Poke each potato several times with a fork and then lightly coat each potato with oil, sprinkle them with a little bit of Cajun seasoning (of course, I use SLAP YA MAMA) and then place them on a foil covered pan.

Bake for at least 1 hour.

Just before you take the potatoes from the oven, place a stick of butter in a large bowl. (I use 1/2 stick of regular butter and a 1/2 stick of garlic butter as it gives it a bit more flavor.)

Remove the potatoes from the oven and cut off the top 1/3 of each one.

GENTLY scoop out the potato (from the bottom 2/3 AND the tops!)

with a spoon and place into the bowl with the butter. Smash the potatoes until most of the lumps are out, while combining with the butter. Add 2 cups

of sour cream and 2-3 shakes of Cajun seasoning. Mix well. Add 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese and mix.

Scoop this mixture back into your 6 potato shells, being VERY CAREFUL not to break the shells. Pile the mixture as high as possible.

Set the filled potatoes back in the oven in a dish that allows them to "sit up". Bake for 20 minutes on 350. Take out of oven and put a small pinch of cheese on top of each and bake for 10 more minutes.

SERVE HOT!

or freeze for another day!

Tamale Pie

Want a one-dish meal that is INCREDIBLY yummy? This is it!

Forget those "Tamale Pie" recipes you find online...this one is SO easy and SO good!

Ingredients:

2 pkg cornbread mix (I use Jiffy because its sweetness complements the spicy!)

1 pkg ground meat

1 chopped onion

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 can of corn, drained

1 medium-sized jar of salsa (I used medium.)

1 pkg grated cheddar cheese

sour cream (for serving)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix the 2 pkgs of cornbread mix according to package directions; it is best if it is a little "wetter" than you would normally have it.

Brown ground meat with chopped onion. Season with envelope of taco seasoning, according to directions.

Remove the meat/onion from the stove and add the can of corn (drained) and the jar of salsa. Mix well.

Pour into a greased casserole dish.

Cover with a layer of grated cheese.

Top with the cornbread mix.

Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes....until browned and your cornbread is set.

Serve as a "pie slice" with a large dollop of sour cream on top!

Poppy Seed Cake... the BEST EVER!

When we were in Texas in February to check on dad, one of my parents' neighbors baked us a cake... well, actually her neighbors fed us on several occasions, but the cake is what I remember the most because it was DIVINE!

Before we left, my sister and I asked for the recipe for the cake...figuring it was something complicated because it was so yummy! Then when I saw the ingredients, I could not believe it! It is the strangest combination of things, but let me tell you.. this is the MOISTEST CAKE I have ever eaten... and it STAYS moist for a week (if you can make the cake last that long!)

All you need is:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 small pkg vanilla instant pudding mix

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 oil

1/2 water

4 eggs

1 tsp Almond Extract

2 tsp Poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 325. Mix the cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, water and oil. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the almond extract and the poppy seeds and blend into the batter. Pour batter into a Bundt pan that has been greased and SPRINKLED WITH a little CINNAMON/SUGAR mix. Bake 1 hour at 325. When you remove the cake from the oven, cover it with foil for 15 min.

SERVE and prepare to be asked to SERVE IT AGAIN!