106

Food / Re: Easy Chicken Salad

« on: April 23, 2016, 02:01:11 PM »

Funny thing is I don't really post for 'views'. I post more for database. In the case of recipes, you built it they will come. You give them enough choices and they start finding things they'd like to try.

I'm a big fan here of trying something new. Something I've never had before. It's amazing the different taste combos that various cultures have come up with.

107

Food / Re: Spaghetti Pizza Pie

« on: April 23, 2016, 01:57:25 PM »

I've mentioned a few times that recipes aren't really blueprints to build by. They are guidelines. Like you there are many things I simply can't buy because my local stores don't carry them. Either you substitute, make your own, or don't do.

While both cheeses are readily available here in block, shredded, or even artificial styles.  Some cheeses won't work, such as if you get one of the strong, smelly, cheeses. But I would  think while you might not have the ones called for, you probably have some very similar locally. You won't come out with the exact same taste but it ought to be close enough to enjoy.

Since I live in a small town there are many food ingredients I simply can not buy. The nearest store that would be likely to carry it would be at least 60 miles away. So often I figure out what will work that either I can make or I can substitute in it's place.

108

Food / Spaghetti Pizza Pie

« on: April 23, 2016, 01:16:40 AM »

Spaghetti Pizza Pie

Ingredients

8oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1lb ground beef or sausage, whichever you prefer
2 cups spaghetti sauce
8oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Toss spaghetti, Parmesan and egg. Place in 9-in pie plate. Press along bottom and sides to form a crust. Mix cooked meat and spaghetti sauce. Spread mixture over spaghetti crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated, let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

109

Food / Re: Easy Chicken Salad

« on: April 23, 2016, 01:09:25 AM »

Great photo. Hard to mess up chicken salad.

110

Food / Re: Black peanuts

« on: April 23, 2016, 01:04:45 AM »

Never heard of Black Peanuts before. Here it is common as a southern snack to have boiled peanuts. Typically they are salty and if done properly soft. Not hard to make them.

To make boiled peanuts all you need are green peanuts (haven't been roasted or dried yet) about a cup of salt (varies depending batch size) a large pot with room for excess water, cover peanuts to a water level that won't go over the top of the pot with lid on, raise to boiling temp, and then leave it at a boiling simmer for several hours, adding water when needed. They are ready when the some of the hulls become soft.

111

Other topics / Re: The Natchez Trace

« on: April 22, 2016, 04:34:56 AM »

Here you see the signs for Grindstone Ford. There's not much to see at the ford. The creek isn't really at the ford site anymore. It's moved as you can see in the sign.
 
 A ford for those that don't know, is a shallow place across a creek where wagons and horses can usually cross safely. Many times would find that fords had a natural hard spot under the water that made a road across for the traveler. Missing the ford could create problems such as tipped over wagons and horse that suddenly had to swim. So usually someone would walk ahead of a team or horse to make sure they stayed centered on the ford.

112

Food / Re: Homemade Food

« on: April 22, 2016, 04:10:25 AM »

That's an unusual combo but sounds like it would be great.

113

Other topics / Re: The Natchez Trace

« on: April 21, 2016, 05:30:05 AM »

Believe it or not, I've never set foot inside a casino. Been by plenty of them. But there is one thing that prevents me from going inside. I have the wrong sort of personality for gambling. I'd stay at it till it was all gone.

Thing is I'm smart enough to know this and so never gamble. I'm fine with others that want to gamble if that is their thing. It's just not for me.

114

Other topics / Re: The Natchez Trace

« on: April 21, 2016, 01:10:58 AM »

This was a pleasant and unexpected diversion when you consider most of the land is flat land in this area. The creek was in a secluded spot and sunken. You don't really see what it is till you are right up on it.

115

Food / Shrimp Creole

« on: April 21, 2016, 12:57:20 AM »

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients

2 pounds shrimp
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans tomatoes with juice
1/4 teaspoon thyme
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
2 bay leaves
Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions

Saute in 2 tablespoons butter the green pepper and onion. Add the tomatoes and juice and other seasonings. Blend in the cornstarch using a wire whip. Simmer covered 1 hour.

Saute the shrimp in 3 tablespoons butter that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.
Add to the sauce.

This is better if made a day ahead of time. Can be frozen. Serve with white rice.

116

Food / Re: Nacho Grande

« on: April 20, 2016, 01:50:57 PM »

I see I have left something out. You need the recipe for Guacamole.

Guacamole

Ingredients

1/2 medium onion
1-4 Jalapeno or Serrano peppers seeded and finely diced (leave seeds in for hotter)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
2 medium-size ripe avocados (pitted, peeled, and coarsely chopped)
1/2 cup loosely packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbs fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place onion, peppers, garlic, salt, and avocado in a food processor and run in short bursts to coarsely mix the ingredients. Add cilantro and lime juice, and pulse just to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or lime juice and black pepper to taste; the guacamole should be highly seasoned. Don't over process the guacamole; it should be quite coarse in consistency.

Note: The avocado should be ripe and soft but not squishy. You're looking for Charmin-like squeezablity. You may want to buy the avocado a day or two ahead to let it ripen at room temperature. Normally the avocado will be a medium green when you get it and will be fairly firm...too firm to use. After two days if it is ripened it will turn a dark green and you will be able to feel it softer when you squeeze. Do not squeeze hard. A light touch will do. When it is ready, the best way is to cut around the length of the fruit till it is to the seed, all the way around. Separate the halves and one half will have the seed. Use a spoon to remove the interior, leaving the skin as a shell which you can throw away. Do not throw the seed away. Remove the seed and do the same to the other half. Once the guacamole is finished and made, place the seeds on top of the guacamole and seal in a bowl. The seeds will prevent the guacamole from browning. Either throw the seeds away after the guacamole is finished or put them suspended in a glass of water to sprout. Some seeds will not sprout because they have been irradiated.

117

Food / Nacho Grande

« on: April 20, 2016, 01:36:41 PM »

Nacho Grande

Ingredients

1 lb. hamburger
2 (30 oz.) cans refried beans
2 lg. onions, chopped
1 bell pepper
3 c. grated Cheddar cheese
1 can enchilada sauce
2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chilies
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 (6 or 8 oz.) can black pitted olives, sliced
see salsa recipe below

Directions

Saute hamburger and one chopped onion and drain. Set this mixture aside. Mix together well: The refried beans, one chopped onion, and one cup grated cheese. Grease a baking dish and spread in bottom of dish. Spread meat mixture over bean layer. Spread enchilada or taco sauce over meat layer. Sprinkle with two cups grated cheese, two cans green chilies. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and spread guacamole over top layer. Add sour cream over guacamole. Dot with chopped olives. Scoop up with taco chips.

Now I add salsa to it when I put it in the bowl. I put in a handful of corn chips followed by lettuce in shreds, then the cooked mixture above (maybe 5 tablespoons) then salsa, sliced and diced fresh tomatoes, sliced black olives, sour cream, extra jalapeno peppers on top, and eat up. Great stuff. Like Taco Bell's Nacho Bell Grande but at your costs.

Instead of green chilies I use in place of that jalapeno peppers which is bought by the gallon as we use a lot of them. In place of chedder cheese I use shredded pizza and montery jack or 4 cheese packages.

Salsa

1 can of diced tomatoes
1/4 onion, roughly quartered
1/4 bell pepper, roughly quartered
a good dash of lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cilantro
1/4 tsp. chili powder
jalapeno peppers to taste

Directions

Put tomatoes in a blender, add all other ingredients. Key to good salsa is not to blend it too long. You would like to have bits of visible onions and peppers in the mix. Chill for a couple of hours after making so that spices soak in.

Note: Fresh tomatoes are better than canned for this recipe. If they are out of season then canned works.

118

Food / Re: Easy Chicken Salad

« on: April 20, 2016, 01:22:04 PM »

Which kind of the chicken meat is the best for it (chicken legs or chicken breast maybe?)

It depends on your taste buds. What they like should be the guiding principal, along with your wallet. This is a very flexible recipe. Works with several different types of meat.

119

Other topics / Re: The Natchez Trace

« on: April 20, 2016, 01:11:27 PM »

Thanks for the help but there is a reason for the manual resizing. The images are so large in data size that they need to be made smaller in order for the host to accept them. That is the main reason for manual resizing. Most hosts simply will not accept images with file sizes this large. In addition while I am at it, I change the format from jpg to png. Reproductions of jpgs get poorer and poorer as they are copied. Png isn't compressed and doesn't have this problem.

Here you see some of the original trail, still visible as it is a hundred plus years later. Keep in mind when you see this trail the former post about the Lowess. It is the cause of this trail being so sunken.

120

Other topics / Re: The Natchez Trace

« on: April 19, 2016, 02:40:02 AM »

This is a place where we stopped to stretch our legs. Not really noteworthy for anything other than a rest stop on the way.

It takes me a little while to resize the images as they are going from 2580 x 1932 which is much too big for the forum display and also converting them from JPG to PNG format. All EXIF