Orange Slices for Sweet Tea

Southerners love their sweet tea. I am no exception. A few years ago, however, I decided to make some dietary changes when my homeopathic physician told me I needed to give up black tea. That was blasphemy, but I found a way around it with iced green tea that works for me. While I was making changes, I decided to swap out white granulated sugar, instead using half Stevia and half turbinado (raw, unprocessed) sugar. Today, I can't tell the difference from my old brew, and I have grown partial to this new, improved version of iced tea.

I have always loved lemon slices in my tea, but I happened upon a different idea one day when I had an overflow of oranges in my produce bin. Orange slices! They are delicious and sweet in tea, great if you're craving something on the sweeter side instead of the tangier, lemony side.

Y'all know I drink my lemon straight up anyway. I don't really need the extra slices in my water or tea glass.

Recently, I have been receiving loads of oranges in my produce co-op basket each week, so I have returned to using oranges for a bit.

A nice change. Give this a try. Now is a great time to find oranges at a good price in the grocery store.

Happy day to you!
TCB

Chili and Beans for a Cold Day

One of my son's favorite foods is a pot of chili and beans. I'm happy to oblige him when the weather is cold. This past weekend, he traveled with his Boy Scout troop on a campout adventure and somewhere during that time away, I received a message that he would love chili when he made it home on Sunday afternoon. So, being a softie Mama, I made chili for him.

Here's his favorite recipe:

Chili & Beans

Ingredients

2 lb. ground beef or venison
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. paprika
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 (32 oz.) carton of beef broth
24 oz. tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles, undrained

Brown beef/venison and onion in a large stockpot over medium heat. Drain grease and return all to pot.

Add dry spices - chili powder, cumin, red pepper, and paprika - and stir well.

Add tomato paste - stir well over the heat for about one minute until combined.

Add all the remaining ingredients. Bring them to a boil, then reduce temperature to simmer, cover pot, and cook for about 2 hours until thickened. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and to ensure contents don't dry out.

This is great with cornbread, oyster crackers, or corn chips (a favorite in my house). Grate sharp cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese and slice green onions as toppers.

Until next time,
TCB

How to Cook Collard Greens

I think some ways of Southern cooking are a dying art. One of the dishes that often intimidates people is collard greens. What do you do with a vegetable with huge, green leaves that isn't salad-ready? Some may have tasted collard greens that are bitter, and it turned them off for good.

Cooking collard greens isn't difficult, and the result can always be delicious with the right mix of sour  (vinegar) and sweet (sugar).

First, wash the leaves in cold, running water to get all the dirt and grit off of them. No need to dry them; you soon will be putting them in a pot with liquid.

Here are all the ingredients you'll need to gather:

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. collard greens

7-8 thick-cut bacon slices, sliced in half vertically and then chopped into smaller pieces

1/2-3/4 lb. chopped ham (I use packaged diced ham)

2 small sweet onions, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 to 3 (32 oz.) containers of low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2-3/4 tsp. pepper

First, choose 8-10 collard green leaves. Stack them and roll them. Slice the roll so you end up with "strips" of greens. Discard the toughest end stalks, but don't worry about leaving some of the smaller pieces of stalk with the leaves. They will soften when cooking. Continue this process until you have chopped all the greens.

Next, cook bacon pieces in a large stockpot over medium heat until almost done. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and ham bits and cook for another minute.

Stir in all the remaining ingredients. At first, the greens may seem to overflow the pot. Give them a few minutes and they will wilt and fit easily into the pot.

Cook them for about 2 hours. Enjoy!

Greens are great with pork tenderloin or squash casserole (plus more sides than I can list!).

Love,

TCB

Related Posts:

Pork Tenderloin

Country Squash Casserole

Country Squash Casserole

Vegetables are usually the healthiest addition to the supper menu at our house. Roasted or steamed and seasoned, they help balance out a Southern meal. Sometimes, I like to get a little crazy with our vegetable sides and make them into a casserole like the main course. It's a trick most Southern mama-cooks have developed.

Here's a recipe to get you started. Squash is delicious homegrown in the summer, but what you can buy in the store now tastes just as delicious in this easy casserole side dish.

Country Squash Casserole

Ingredients:
2 c. cooked yellow squash
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 c. butter, melted
2 eggs
1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. bread crumbs
1 tsp. sea salt
pepper to taste

This one is simple, y'all. Wash, slice, and boil the squash in a small boiler until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Mash the squash with a potato masher.

Add all the remaining ingredients.

Mix well and pour into a greased 2-quart casserole dish.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until the casserole begins to brown around the edges and slightly on top.

This is one way you may be able to convince your little ones (or larger, picky ones) to give squash a try.

Happy day!
TCB

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

I just quickly peeked at the page views on The Country Belle blog, and I see you all like to learn about new recipes as much as I like cooking them. My recipes veer 180 degrees from each other. They either fall into the delectable Southern put-some-meat-on-my-bones dishes or healthy remove-the-fat-from-my-rumpus recipes. The following recipe falls into the first category, but when you taste it, you'll want to slap your mama. (Not really. DO NOT tell your mama The Country Belle said to slap her.)

This recipe came from my mother-in-law, which she posted in a church cookbook. Do you own a Southern church ladies' cookbook? I think maybe I own 30 by now. If you don't have one, go get yourself one immediately. They contain some of the finest Southern cooking around.

I've just put together a progressive photo montage of the recipe. See how better it looks with each photo?

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients:
2 onions, chopped
1 med green bell pepper, chopped
2 1/2 lbs. of ground beef
2 cans tomato soup
1 jar stuffed olives
1 lb. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. thin spaghetti, cooked
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Brown the onions and pepper in olive oil in a medium-hot, large non-stick skillet. Add ground beef, salt, and pepper and cook until meat is browned. Drain. Add tomato soup, 2 soup cans of water, and olive juice to the skillet. (If you enjoy olives, you can slice them and add to the sauce at this point. My family is totally adverse to olives, but adding the juice is a necessity for great flavor). Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 30-35 minutes. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti according to package directions and drain. Put it in the bottom of two greased 13x9 inch casserole dishes (or one larger casserole dish). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Next, turn off the heat under the skillet and add the Worcestershire sauce and cheese. Stir until it melts. Divide the meat sauce evenly between the two casserole dishes, layering it over the spaghetti. Top each casserole with a can of cream of mushroom soup. (Hint: Stir the soup in the can until it is easily spreadable over the meat sauce). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

If you want to save a casserole for the future, you can freeze or refrigerate it before you add the mushroom soup. Bring it to room temperature and add the mushroom soup right before baking.

Baked spaghetti casserole is great for the holidays when you have a big crowd coming to your house to eat.

Merry Christmas!
TCB

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I have pulled together Mama's recipe for cornbread dressing. Since I am not making it for this year's family feast, I do not have photographs. But what you need to know is that this is not some hoity-toity stuffing with apples and walnuts and such and such. It is simply Southern cornbread dressing with lots of sage, and it is divine.

Mama's Southern Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients:
2 pones* of cornbread** (made a day earlier), crumbled
Stick of butter
1 onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped (optional)
one can of cream of chicken soup
chicken broth or chicken stock
pepper (to taste)
2-3 Tbsp. dried sage

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a skillet and saute the onions and celery until soft and translucent.

Put the crumbled cornbread in a large mixing bowl and add the cooked onion mixture, sage, pepper, cream of chicken soup, and enough chicken stock to give it the consistency of the uncooked cornbread you prepared a day earlier (sort of like a lumpy cake mix). You don't want it too runny, but it shouldn't be super thick either.

Pour the dressing into a 9x13 pan and bake it for 40-45 minutes or until it begins to brown and is no longer "jiggly" in the middle (use a knife to check).

This is excellent with your choice of gravy and cranberry sauce or relish.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

TCB

* If you're not Southern and the word "pone" is freaking you out, fear not. It simply means a "loaf" of cornbread.

**If you don't have your own cornbread recipe, see this post for mine.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

As you may remember, I'm writing about thankfulness in every post this month. I am thankful for so many blessings, but today I'm writing about a food item that I was not thankful for at all when I was a child.

I wished Brussels sprouts would disappear from the earth. My mother used to make me eat them, and I would choke two down at the beginning of the supper meal at which they were served so I could enjoy the rest of my food in peace. My dear brother, Mark, however, would try to hide them. There was the napkin trick and the beneath-the-mashed-potatoes trick. We didn't have a dog inside to snatch the detestable food from his hand, so he had to make the best use of his criminal mind using leftover food and dishes on the supper table.

I was never thankful for Brussels sprouts. It wasn't your cooking, Mom, they just tasted nasty to a 10-year-old's taste buds.

Wouldn't you know last week in my produce co-op basket was a pretty little crop of Brussels sprouts? My son said, "Yea! Brussels sprouts," and I will admit I looked at my precious bundle like he had two heads. I decided right then and there I would find a way to cook them so I could somewhat enjoy them. Wasting is not allowed!

So here's what I tried. I must say, particularly because it is the month of thankfulness, I am grateful for this new recipe that may be the beginning of my new relationship with Brussels sprouts.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

fresh Brussels sprouts heads (about 2 cups)
sea salt
black pepper
olive oil
4 slices of bacon, diced
balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half lengthwise. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. (After all, who wants to wash a mess of a pan later?) Toss the Brussels sprouts with enough olive oil to coat them and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the diced bacon. It will look like this.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the sprouts are beginning to turn golden brown, stirring them every 10 minutes during the cooking process.

When you remove them from the oven, sprinkle lightly with balsamic vinegar. The finished dish will look like this.

I may actually smile if Brussels sprouts show up in my produce co-op basket again this week.

Watch out, Mark! I may be bringing this dish for Thanksgiving dinner, and there will be no mashed potatoes serving as handy hiding places.

Love,
TCB

Related Thanksgiving food posts:

Best Broccoli Casserole
Carrot Souffle
Wintertime Roasted Vegetables

Iced Vanilla Lattes - The Champion Mom's Drink

I love my iced coffee, but I don't always love the steep price tag associated with purchasing one at a coffee shop. Plus, as y'all know, I'm not really that close to a coffee shop that I can run out for a morning latte. It's too far and takes too much time. Plus, school lessons await. Hungry chickens are cackling. A hungry dog is begging. A *starving* cat is scratching furiously at the garage door. My writing assignments for clients are calling me for some personal one-on-one time.

So I have learned to make my own version of an iced vanilla latte - only healthier. This one uses a natural, organic sweetener and is dairy-free. I have read about and used lots of others' recipes for iced lattes, but some of the ingredients - while super friendly to my taste buds - were not so friendly to my waist line. So here's my "healthy" latte for a real kick in the morning. I like to make it in a Tervis tumbler with a lid and built-in straw. No sweat rings on my table, y'all, and the ice lasts as long as I want to nurse my drink.

Homemade Iced Vanilla Latte

7-8 oz. of cold brewed coffee*
splash of almond-coconut milk
unsweetened vanilla almond milk
organic raw honey
sugar-free vanilla syrup
ice cubes

Put a heaping tablespoon (or an amount to your liking) of organic raw honey in a 16-oz. cup.

Since organic raw honey is solid at room temperature, I pop the cup into the microwave for 10 seconds to melt it. 

Add a tablespoon of sugar-free vanilla syrup. I found mine at Sam's Club.

Fill up the cup about halfway with cold brewed coffee. I have jars of cold-brewed coffee just waiting in my refrigerator.

Stir the honey to dissolve into the coffee. Add a heaping dose of ice cubes, then a splash of almond-coconut milk.

Fill up the remainder of the glass with unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

You are finished!

Now I can tackle math class! Or write like nobody's business!

Love,
TCB

* I use a very large, commercial-grade stainless steel mixing bowl and pour in a full bag of ground coffee, your brand of choice. I enjoy using the "donut store" coffee. Then I add 32 cups of cold water, mix, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit on the counter about 12-16 hours to cold brew. Next, I pour it into mason jars with lids and store in the refrigerator (as long as three weeks) until I need it for lattes.

Easy Potato Salad

My last post focused on making pasta salad. As you can see, I am not ready to give up the warm days of summer yet. In fact, it is "Indian Summer" in the South, so it's still perfectly acceptable to eat different forms of cold salads. We don't ban salad after Labor Day like we ban wearing white shoes.

I want to share my recipe for potato salad. Like the pasta salad in the last post, it only tastes better with a little time in the refrigerator. It's tasty with pork tenderloin, grilled chicken, or hamburgers.

Easy Potato Salad

Ingredients:
5-7 potatoes or 3-4 baking potatoes (I like to use red potatoes and sometimes skip the peeling)
mayonnaise (I use a combination of whole-fat Duke's mayonnaise and Kraft reduced fat with olive oil)
mustard
real bacon bits or 2 strips of bacon cooked crisp and diced
Potato Topping flavoring packet (found in the produce section of the grocery store)
sea salt
pepper
diced onion (optional)

Peel, cut into medium-sized cubes or chunks, and boil the potatoes in enough water to cover them until just tender. As they are boiling, add some sea salt. Be sure not to overcook or they will become mushy when you try to stir in the seasonings.

Drain the potatoes and rinse with cool water. Put them in a large bowl and add a few squirts of mustard and about 3/4 cup mayonnaise. You will have to stir and see if that makes the right consistency, adding mustard or mayonnaise as needed. The end result will not be soupy in any way, but each potato cube should be covered with mayo and mustard. Next sprinkle on Potato Topping, bacon bits, sea salt and pepper to taste, and diced onion (optional). It's hard to guess how much you'll need - like a good cook, you'll need to taste test along the way to get it just right for your family.

Store in the refrigerator for a few hours or up to 48 hours. What a great side dish to make ahead of the other meal preparation events.

Viva la Indian Summer!

TCB

Anytime Pasta Salad

When I think of pasta salad, I often label it in my mind as a summer side dish, but that really isn't true. Since my summer tomatoes are gone for the year (I stripped the vines last week and I'm silently crying inside), I use cans of diced tomatoes to add flavor to pasta dishes.

I want to share a delicious pasta side dish I made this summer as an accompaniment to grilled chicken and hamburgers. It's tasty with a long list of main dishes, so that's why I call it...(drum roll)...

Anytime Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
bag of tri-colored pasta spirals
can of diced tomatoes
can of Ro-tel
fat-free Zesty Italian dressing
crumbled goat cheese or crumbled feta cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta with the cans of tomatoes and Ro-tel, both undrained. Pour in enough Italian dressing to coat all of the pasta. I like to add enough so it's a little "soupy"; it will soak in overnight in the refrigerator and make the pasta extra delicious. Mix all well. Add crumbled goat cheese (my top pick) or crumbled feta cheese (great, too) to suit your taste. Personally, the more cheese the merrier. Mix in and store the entire dish in the refrigerator. If you have time to allow it to set in the refrigerator overnight, it is more flavorful.

This dish keeps in the refrigerator for a week. Take it from a Mama who knows - it makes just as good of a lunch you can eat standing up (especially with added pepperoni slices), as it does as a supper side dish. I can eat this pasta and teach a math lesson simultaneously like nobody's business!

Love,
TCB

Fig Preserves

Part of living the country life is enjoying the bounty you or your neighbors grow. One of the things I love most about summer produce, besides homegrown tomatoes, is figs. My grandmother has a fig tree that has been mowed over, run over, and generally abused, but it will not give up. It was planted in the early 1930s before she even moved into her house. Can you imagine what it was like then when the tree was a sapling? Our country was going through The Great Depression and looked very different than it does right now. Still, the fig tree stands and flourishes.

Every mid- to late August, the tree's green figs are ripe. If you can beat the bees and birds to them, they are delicious to eat right off the tree or to make fig preserves to enjoy all year long. I like to do both, but my favorite thing to do is eat fig preserves in the morning on my toast.

This year, I tapped my 91-year-old grandmother's surprisingly easy secret to making fig preserves.

After picking the figs that were ripe, I washed and dried and put them into a large soup pot. If you don't have access to a fig tree, they often sell them in nice supermarkets in late summer.

For this amount of figs, I added almost 5 cups of sugar. I'm sorry for the inexact amounts, but I usually wing it depending on the quantities I have. Let me put it this way - you need to have at least an equal amount of sugar-to-figs ratio.

Then I cook the figs, covered, on the stovetop over a low temperature for 2-3 hours until they thicken, stirring every so often so they won't stick. In the end, they'll look like this.

While the figs are cooking, prepare your Mason jars and lids in a boiling bath as directed by the manufacturer. While the figs and the jars are both hot, fill them, wipe the rims clean, and apply the lids. They should seal as they cool. For those that don't seal, you can pop them in the refrigerator and eat them first. (Or share them with friends - they'll really appreciate them).

How beautiful in my refrigerator.

(These are the boogers that didn't seal).

Happy canning!

TCB

Salsa Chicken Tortillas

I promised earlier this week I would share a new, easy favorite recipe using homemade salsa. In case you missed it earlier, here's the salsa recipe.

First, you'll need boneless chicken breasts - one per family member. Lightly season one side of each chicken breast with taco seasoning. Drizzle olive oil in an iron skillet and heat to medium to medium-high heat. When ready, put in each piece of chicken seasoned side down. You'll want the heat high enough to sear the outside of the meat. Lightly sprinkle the other sides of the chicken breasts with taco seasoning. After 3-4 minutes when the cooked sides of the breasts appear deep brown, flip them and sear the other sides for about the same amount of time. When the chicken is done, turn off the skillet but leave it on the burner. It will remain hot for some time.

Remove the breasts from the pan and put them on a cutting board, slicing them into small strips. Then put all the chicken strips back into the pan. Scoop in a generous helping of the homemade salsa and mix well. The skillet will probably be warm enough to heat up all ingredients, but if it's not you can turn it back on low for a few minutes.

You're done! Dish a couple of spoonfuls into the center of a flour tortilla. Add your choice of toppings: avocado, sour cream, lettuce, etc., and roll up the tortilla.

I love this because it's a quick supper that can be made easily after soccer practice, is healthy, and everyone in the family agrees it's yummy.

Don't you love Tex-Mex food on a weeknight?

Love,
TCB

Fresh Homemade Salsa

Even though it's the last official month of summer, there is still a bounty of produce available at farmer's markets and from our own gardens. I like to make homemade salsa to use up lots of produce so it isn't wasted. Yes, my chickens will eat extra produce, but that reason is a cop-out to let fruits and vegetables languish on the countertop past their prime.

Salsa actually tastes better after it sits in the refrigerator 24-48 hours. You can serve it solo with tortilla chips or get creative by adding it as a seasoning to recipes. I'll share one of my family's favorite recipes that incorporates salsa later this week. For now, here's my basic salsa recipe. Although you can make it all year, the fresh, summertime ingredients add an extra "wow."

Fresh Homemade Salsa

2 tomatoes, quartered
1/4 onion
several sprigs of cilantro
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. garlic salt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 jalapeno (more if you like it spicy)
can black beans (optional)
can of corn or fresh corn cut off the cob (optional)

Add all ingredients to a food processor or a "quick chopper." I like to use my manual quick chopper since I can better control the consistency of the final dish.

After thoroughly chopping and mixing all of the above ingredients, add fresh corn (or a can of corn) as desired and one-half to three-fourths of a can of black beans, rinsed and drained.

Refrigerate this healthy snack until ready to eat.

I'll update with a post later this week sharing a recipe that incorporates the leftover salsa you don't eat with tortilla chips.

See you then,
TCB

Joining a Produce Co-op

Even though I have a small garden, I decided to join a local produce co-op to take advantage of local, healthy and mostly organic seasonal offerings from area farmers. It has been a wonderful decision for my family.

Every Friday, I drop by a neighbor's garage to pick up my $13 basket of goodies. I always get more than my money's worth, and I often don't need to buy produce during my weekly grocery shopping trip.

Here's a sample from one of my weekly pickups:

Spinach, pineapple, broccoli, bananas, peaches, and apples.

I've also gotten blueberries, strawberries, kiwis, potatoes, sweet potatoes, two kinds of onions, leaf lettuce, and kale.

I had to wait a while to become a member of this co-op, as it only allows a set number of families to participate. There are options nationwide to allow your family to have fresh produce. Ask your friends to see which ones they know about. You also can search the web under terms such as "CSA, Community Supported Agriculture" and the name of your town.

It's fun to show up each week to see what surprises are in my basket. Then I get a chance to go to the kitchen and cook creatively for supper. I've used kale to make kale chips, peaches for peach cobbler, pineapple for pineapple upside-down cake, and bananas for protein-fruit breakfast smoothies.

Support local farmers and know where your food is being sourced. It's economical and healthy.

TCB

Related Posts:

Southern Blackberry Cobbler

Tasty Scrambled Eggs

August is all about making delicious food quickly. I'll be writing all about food this month on The Country Belle. With school starting back later this month, it's time to begin relying on freezer meals and quick supper solutions for school nights when my evening time is mostly spent at swim team practice or driving to Boy Scout meetings. By planning ahead, there is always a home-cooked meal that is hassle-free for mom.

It's equally important to have nutritious, but quick, meals for breakfast and lunch. Although we are a homeschooling family, we adhere to an early start schedule since mom (the primary teacher) also is a full-time writer.

Here's a tested - and super speedy - way to prepare scrambled eggs that is delicious and spot-on with the nutrition necessary to start the day. It has vegetables, protein, and a lot of flavor.

Tasty Scrambled Eggs

2 eggs
splash of half-and-half
pepper
sea salt
1/2 chopped tomato
handful of fresh spinach leaves
crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese
olive oil spray

Spray a small non-stick frying pan with olive oil. In a small bowl, beat two eggs well, adding a splash of half-and-half. Season with pepper to taste.

Cook the eggs on low heat until done, but still moist, moving them around constantly with a spatula. Mix in the chopped tomato. Pile immediately onto a bed of spinach. The heat will help the spinach to wilt slightly. Add your choice of crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese and sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

When I eat eggs at breakfast, I snack so much less throughout the day.

Hope you enjoy!
Love,
TCB

Related Posts:

Pork Tenderloin for Supper

Tilapia for Supper

Five-Minute Southern Slaw

Single Girl Supper

When the fellows in my house go out of town to have fun - fishing, watching a NASCAR race, camping, or some such "boy stuff" I'd rather leave to the two of them - I usually putter around all day, doing this and that. At the end of the day, we live far enough out that it's not convenient to run out and grab a dinner to go. Besides, I usually have dirt under my fingernails from digging in the garden all day. The guys turn up their noses, but it's my idea of fun.

So, back to supper. When I get hungry enough about sundown, I'll find a few leftovers or whip up something "girly" that no one else in the house would ever consider fit to be called supper.

Here's what happened the other weekend when they ran off to the racetrack.

Leftover quiche from the meal I made the same morning, heirloom cherry tomatoes, and leftover grilled shrimp from the previous night. If there was any testosterone in the house, I would have been run out for suggesting this was a proper supper.

It was just right for me.

Here's one version of my quiche, but you can use just about anything you have on hand. I believe this one was ham and Swiss cheese.

Sometimes it's great to live simply, eat simply, and save money.

Have a wonderful day.
Love,
TCB

Five-Minute Southern Slaw

It's just starting to heat up in South Carolina. Once it hits the mid-80s, there's no going back until October. It's helpful when I can fix a quick side that doesn't heat up the kitchen by not using the oven. Tonight, I made Southern Slaw to fit the bill. It's also a nice dish to make when soccer practice (in our case, swim team practice) keeps you away from home until it's actually past time to eat dinner. Having quick fix meals on the routine menu are necessary around my house.

Other than my mom's slaw, I've never seen anyone use tomatoes in a slaw recipe. I want you to try it; the addition of tomatoes in a cabbage-based slaw adds a little something extra nice.

Five-Minute Southern Slaw

1/2 head of cabbage
two tomatoes cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle of white wine vinegar
pinch of sugar
2-3 Tbsp. light olive-oil mayonnaise
1-2 tsp. mustard

Wash and cut the half cabbage into two wedges. Slice each wedge into thin strips and put them in a large mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise and mustard to suit your taste, until the cabbage is no longer dry but is not saturated. Toss well with a set of salad tongs or two forks. Then add the vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Last, add the tomato chunks and toss lightly together. Serves 4.

I served this last night with baked chicken strips and sweet potato fries. It would also pair well with baked or fried fish or in place of a side salad with an entree.

Enjoy!

Have a happy day,
TCB

Related Posts:
Tilapia for Supper

Simple Fruit Salad

I need a little spring in my life. The weather is cold and windy, but I feel as if I'm ready for something tropical. I suppose it will be a fruit salad since I don't see a beach retreat in my near future.

In the South, we like to slather our fruit salad with a dressing that contains a whole lot of mayonnaise or cream cheese or sour cream or something  totally fattening. When I'm really in the mood for something light and sweet, however, it's hard to beat a simple salad that lets the natural flavors shine through. (And saves you about a zillion calories).

I made a fruit salad last week when the weather was extra dreary. The beauty of this Simple Fruit Salad is the God-given ability to use any fruit you happen to have in the refrigerator or sitting on the counter. For my salad, I used blackberries, bananas, navel oranges (all from Aldi), and kiwi fruit (Sam's Club). In keeping with the healthy theme, I melted one to one-and-a-half  tablespoons of organic honey in the microwave and drizzled over the fruit mixture, topping with chopped pecans and dried cranberries.

The mint in my garden has disliked the cold weather as much as I have, so I did not have it to add to the dish this time, but it makes a wonderful addition.

The sky's the limit on variations. Trade out any of the fruits for something else, or substitute slivered almonds or chopped walnuts for pecans.

After having fruit dressed simply like this, I have begun to prefer it over the traditional, heavier alternatives. (And I'm thinking I may have to exercise fewer minutes because of it all).

Add a little sunshine to your day!
TCB

Pork Tenderloin for Supper

During the school year, it's always a mad rush to get supper on the table at a decent time. By decent, I mean 6 to 7 pm, otherwise the males in my house would eat all the junk food available in the pantry just waiting for the main course.

With scouting and swimming and general running around in the evenings, it can be a challenge to accomplish supper at a reasonable hour. If you're a mama, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

I have about three weeks' worth of tried-and-true recipes I almost can make in my sleep...very expediently...and which are generally nutritious. Whew. I'm tired already just thinking about it. Did I mention sleep?

I always love to hear other mothers' tricks for tasty main dishes for the weekdays, so I'll share mine. Please snag it for the times you're in a super rush. This one's a breeze. You won't believe the simplicity of this dish can equal such great flavor.

Quick & Delicious Pork Tenderloin

One pork loin (Aldi has them shrink wrapped at a low price)
Bottle of Kraft Roasted Red Pepper salad dressing

Place the entire pork loin into a plastic storage bag in the morning and pour in enough dressing to cover it. (Hint: Take note of the weight of the pork tenderloin on the package before disposing of it. You'll need this tidbit of information later.)

Wa-la! Your marinade is done.

Pop it into the refrigerator to sit for the day.

When you're ready to begin supper, remove the bag from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to cooking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pork loin on a foil lined and sprayed shallow roasting pan. (Who wants to wash dishes later?) Cook 20-30 minutes per pound. (I usually cook it 30 minutes per pound because I like the meat done to at least medium well.)

When done, let it "rest" in the pan on the counter for about 10 minutes. Then carve it into slices. So tender and moist!

It's great with quick-cooking brown rice and broccoli spears. The entire meal takes about 30-45 minutes to prepare and cook, depending on the size of your tenderloin. There's little prep work and you have all the time the pork is in the oven to whip up quick side dishes.

Happy week!
TCB

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Freezing Broccoli

I have been away from The Country Belle blog for some time, and let me tell you, I was the laziest person over the holidays. Once I slipped into non-work mode, all bets were off. I managed to vacuum the dog hair from the floor and that, ladies and gentlemen, was the extent of my Christmas cleaning.

I did manage to slide myself off the couch and out of my "Storage Wars" TV-induced coma to make a little trip around the corner to a local farmer's produce stand. I've never had much luck with growing broccoli, but this man produces some outstanding broccoli every winter - nice and tender. I've never found anything like it in the grocery store.

So I bought him out one day - I think it was 13 bags of broccoli. I washed it all and let it dry thoroughly. Drying well is important to minimize ice crystals on the broccoli when you freeze it.

Then I cut each head into florets and packaged them in freezer bags. My chickens love the leftover stumps!

Now my family can enjoy the taste for many months to come. It's one vegetable everyone in my house seems to enjoy.

Using the freezer to keep a supply of locally grown produce ensures you are still eating well (and in this case, organically) when the vegetable (or fruit) is out of season. I similarly freeze strawberries in May and blueberries in June to enjoy all year long in pancakes and smoothies.

Happy New Year and happy homesteading!

Love,
TCB

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