Wasp Nest Cake

Another Melinda recipe - she's been working on a Butts County cookbook. I have tasted this one and it IS so yummy!

2 large vanilla cook & serve pudding mixes
2 cups milk
Cook until it just starts to thicken
Then add:
1 Butter Pecan Cake Mix and stir until smooth.
Pour into a 9X13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Mix
11 oz of Butterscotch morsels
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
and sprinkle on top, then lightly mash down into the batter with your hand
Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
While it is cooling (in the pan) bring to a boil
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
and stir til smooth.
Drizzle on top of cake.

Orange Basil Pork Loin

This is a new recipe that my friend, Melinda gave me. She says it is delicious, and I am going to try it this week.. I can't wait to try it, and thought you would all like it too!

Take a pork loin, and rub it with basil and black pepper. Let it set for about 30 minutes. Slice it into medalians and sear it in a hot skillet - I'll use by big cast iron one. Add 1 cup of red wine, 1 cup of orange juice and simmer. When it is almost done, add 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Now, I'm not sure how long you have to cook it, but I wouldn't think it would take very long, since it is sliced before it simmers.

Dishwasher Detergent

If you are hooked on making your own cleaning supplies now, here’s one more for you!

Dish Washing Detergent:
1 tblsp Borax
1 tblsp Baking Soda
per load

So what I did was put 5 cups of each in a plastic canister with a lid under my sink. Mixed it up and scope out two table spoons for each load! It is great for your dishwasher and works well at cleaning your dishes. However you will still want to use a rinse agent to get your glasses really sparkling. But it really saves you money on the detergent.

Laundry Detergent Recipe

Laundry Detergent

MAKE YOUR OWN!

Usually laundry detergent is the highest priced item on my list when I am headed to the grocery store. In financially difficult times like these, every penny counts, so my friend recently showed me a way to help lower the cost of laundry detergent dramatically. I hope this can help you as well. I’m going to give you a simple recipe to make your own laundry detergent! This recipe will make 10 gallons of detergent which can be stored outdoors if there is not space inside. For a two person house hold this will last around 6 months or more.
I’ll give a few tips before I get started with the recipe. If you need a bucket to store it in, I suggest going to your local grocery store bakery and asking for empty icing buckets. They will usually give you empty ones (that they have not cleaned out) for free. These buckets are normally 5 gallon buckets with lids. Also, you could use old chlorine (for pools) buckets after they have been emptied. So, don’t go out and buy a bucket, ask around and you can usually find them for free. You will need two. Be sure to wash them out first! One last tip, if you are using store bought laundry detergent now. Save the empty bottle. You can fill it with your new, home-made detergent and leave the rest in buckets in an outdoor storage closest or somewhere else out of the way. (This way you can have a small easy to pour container in your laundry room.)

Ingredients:
4 cups of HOT tap water
1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap (around $1.25 on your laundry detergent aisle)
1 cup of Washing Soda (a 55 oz. box is around $3.79 on your laundry detergent aisle)*
½ cup of Borax (a 76 oz. box is around $4.79 on your laundry detergent aisle)*
*These items can be stored and used for your next batch, or you can use the borax for another project I’ll share after this!

Instructions:
Grate the bar of soap
Put hot water in a pan on the stove
Add grated soap and dissolve over medium heat
Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full with more hot tap water
Add Washing Soda, Borax, and dissolved soap mixture
Stir until powder is dissolved
Fill 5 gallon bucket to the top with tap water
Stir and cover overnight to thicken
Fill your second 5 gallon bucket ½ full with detergent
Fill both containers to the top with warm water
Shake and Use!
(Use ½ - 5/8 cup per load)

craft fairs

First off, I will say that I am venting, and I am sorry. I have had an extremely frustrating weekend. I received information about the 12th Annual "Bear Creek Festival" in Hampton, Georgia that averages 10,000 attendees. Sounds like a pretty good festival, right? 12 year holding it (so everyone in the area should know about it); near the race track (with an event going on this weekend, so lots of people in the area); 10,000 people sounds like a good number too. MAYBE they have had 10,000 if they combine the 12 years of the festival (if other years are like this one!) What a bust! I took Caitlin with me to help for the weekend, and she was a huge help, but that meant another person to feed for the weekend too. The booth cost $60, and of course, it took gas to get there. I had bought a 6 pack of water and a couple of bags of chex mix (around $7.00) to take with us. Between us we spend $19.00 that day for lunch, and the splurge of the weekend, $5.00 of that was spent on getting us some "potato ribbons" to share that afternoon. On Sunday, we only spent $8.00 for our lunches. So, in all the weekend cost me $94.00, plus gas for the van and explorer. (Dad came over on Saturday morning to help set up, then came back on Sunday afternoon to help with take down) Of course that doesn't take in the cost of fabric, etc. of any item. On Saturday, we brought in about $85.00. On Sunday, we brought in a grand total of $3.00! We did make one $15.00 exchange - a girl who had an air brush booth, traded a purse for a shirt for Caitlin. I had planned on paying Caitlin something for helping me, so that made me able to give her something even though I didn't really have the money to give her. So, I guess that brings my income to $103.00 for the weekend. What a waste!
It makes me question if I should even be doing this. I enjoy so much making the bags and other items. You know me, I have to be doing something, I can't just sit and watch tv. It's my daddy in me, I think. Anyway, sewing is pretty good therapy for me, and I don't want to stop sewing. I KNOW that I am not charging too much for my bags. If I factored in how much I spend on making them, on some I would be losing money. But, since I buy a lot of fabric and supplies from yard sales, I figure it balances out.
What am I doning wrong? Am I the only person who likes these bags? (I know you'll say you do, but you're my family, you're supposed to like them) Should I figure a way to make them cheaper?
We'll see how the Honey Bee Festival in Hahira goes this weekend. It is supposed to be a good festival.
I have been advised to bite the bullet and spend a little more and hit the big shows. So, for next year, maybe I will try McDonough's Geranium Festival, Mossy Creek in Gay, Ga. and the yellow daisy festival at Stone Mountain. I need to start looking into those, I guess. That kind of scares me, if I am being honest, because if I go to those, and still fail, do I stop altogether? Maybe deep down, I don't sign up for those because I don't want to admit I suck at this and give up entirely.

Sorry I'm being so negative after Carrie has been trying so hard to get me to write a blog. LOL - Bet you won't ask me again will you?

Four Cheese Creamy Macaroni

*UPDATED WITH A FEW CHANGES MAY 2013*

This is a recipe for a really cheesy, really creamy, baked, Mac and Cheese! If you don’t like it creamy, use one less egg and a cup less half and half.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
11 tablespoons butter
2 cups shredded mild Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
8oz shredded Muenster cheese
2 cups half-and-half
3/4 cup heavy cream
16 ounces cubed processed cheese food (like velveeta)
3 eggs, beaten
1/4  teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add 1 tbls of oil and pasta, cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain well and return to cooking pot.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 11 tablespoons butter; stir into the macaroni.
In a large bowl, combine the Muenster cheese, mild and sharp Cheddar cheeses, and Monterey Jack cheese; mix well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Add the half and half, 2/3 of the cheese mixture, cubed processed cheese food, and eggs to macaroni; mix together and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a lightly greased deep 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbling around the edges; serve.

(Beer-Battered, Caribbean Flavored) Fish Tacos

Today I made fish tacos to bring to lunch at my office. I've made them many times before, and they are always a big hit when I need to cook for lots of people. I am forever making adjustments to the batter for these and trying to perfect it! For this blog, I'll relate the batter instructions as I made it today with some notes about other ways to do it. I like fish tacos with a bit of a Caribbean flare to them, and the key to getting that right is in how you season the fish. If you prefer more of a Mexican flavor, you could substitute different spices (as I'll explain below).


This is a messy and fun recipe, so get ready to really get your hands (and kitchen) messy!

Ingredients for Fried Fish:

• Boneless Fillets of White Fish. I usually use Tilapia because it cuts easily. You'll need one package (about one pound, or four medium fillets) for 2-3 people, more for a larger crowd.
• Jamaican or Caribbean fish/seafood seasoning. You should be able to find this at the grocery store in the spice section. I use a Jamaican Jerk Fish Seasoning mix.
• Cayenne pepper. (note: if you are using a spicy Jamaican seasoning, you may not need cayenne. this depends on how spicy you want it)
  
• Two bottles of beer (a mild Mexican beer, preferably)
• Two packages of Tempura Batter Mix. If your grocery store has an Asian section, you should be able to find this there. See below for alternatives if you can't find this.
  
• All-purpose flour, about 1.5 cups.
• Ice cold water, about 1 cup
• Vegetable Oil (you will use 1/2 or more of a regular sized bottle)

Ingredients for Spicy White Sauce:

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  
• two limes
• Jamaican seasoning (same as you use for the fish)
• Tabasco sauce

Other Ingredients for Tacos:
*amounts listed are for making tacos for a large group.

• 2 packages (10 per package) of Soft Tortillas, 10 inch size.
  
• Shredded Cabbage. Either get two packages of pre-shredded cabbage or one whole cabbage and shred yourself.
  
• Shredded Cheese, about 2 cups.
  
• 4 Avocados, Sliced
• Pico de gallo or diced tomatoes and onions

Preparing the Fish:



Slice the fish into small, thin pieces about 2.5 to 3 inches in length and 1 inch or less in width. Place in a Tupperware dish and coat with the Jamaican seasoning. After all of the fish is sliced and seasoned in the Tupperware, pour in one bottle of beer and place in the fridge.

In one small mixing bowl, mix together one package of Tempura Batter Mix, 3/4 cup of flour, 2/3 cup of ice cold water and one cup of cold beer. The batter should be a little bit lumpy and should be thin enough to not clump together. Add the rest of the cold water and an additional 1/4 cup of beer if needed. This is your wet batter.

In another small mixing bowl, mix together the other package of Tempura Batter Mix and 1/2 cup of flour. Sprinkle in about 1 tsp of the seasoning you are using and a dash of cayenne pepper. Mix together with a fork. This is your dry batter.

In either a large wok or an electric deep fryer, add enough cooking oil to be about 3 inches deep at least. (If using a deep fryer, there is probably a "max level" indicator inside - add oil almost to this level). Cover and heat the oil. Oil is ready when it sizzles if you sprinkle water into it.

Take the fish out of the fridge. Remove the fish from the beer and add to the wet batter. I like to put all of the fish into the wet batter at one time and mix it thoroughly with my hands to coat evenly. Take pieces of fish from the wet batter, dip into the dry batter to coat, and put into the oil to cook. You can cook many pieces of fish at once, so long as they have enough room to float around without sticking together. Cook the fish until the batter is golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.


Making the White Sauce:

In small bowl, mix together 3/4 cup of mayonnaise, the juice of two limes (all the juice you can squeeze out), about 1/2 teaspoon of the seasoning, and a dash (about 4-5 drops) of Tabasco sauce. Stir until the sauce is smooth.
Serving the Tacos:

The best way to serve these is to set up a taco station for serve-yourself. Put the shredded cabbage, cheese, white sauce, and pico de gallo into small bowls. Warm the tortillas and place on a plate. Add the fried fish to the table, and everything is set!

Alternatives:

For people who may not like the spicy-tangy white sauce, you could also have traditional salsa available. Also you could replace the shredded cabbage with shredded lettuce.

Using the tempura mix in the batter makes for a lighter, fluffier consistency. If you can't find the tempura mix, you can instead mix the following for the wet batter: 1.5 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup of cold beer and 2/3 to 3/4 cup of cold water (more if needed). For the dry batter, you would just use flour with a little bit of seasoning mixed in.

If you prefer a more Mexican flavored fish taco, try using a taco seasoning pack for your seasoning. I like to buy the kind in the envelope and put it into a spice jar/shaker. Everywhere the recipe calls for seasoning, use the taco mix.