What'cha Cooking: Hot Dog!...Corn Dog That Is!

Today for lunch I decided to try out the recipe for Corn Dogs from Hillbilly Housewife. They came out wonderful! Sorry ya'll that is not my picture of my corn dogs....they did not stick around long enough for me to snap a pic.

I had a lot of batter left over..but not to fear! I just turned the extra batter into corn fritters....I added some extra sugar and mixed it right in the cup and dropped the batter into the already hot oil and the children LOVED IT!

They were crispy on the outside but soft in the inside! It was a hot dog of a lunch!

Recipe

1 cup milk

2 medium eggs

1/4 cup oil

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/3 cups corn meal

2/3 cup flour

1 to 1- 1/2 pounds of hotdogs

1/2 cup flour (for dusting)

Oil for deep frying

Popsicle sticks

In a large bowl combine milk, eggs, oil, sugar and salt. Mix very well. Sprinkle in the baking powder, corn meal and flour. Stir up until it is a slightly thick batter.

Use a paper towel to dry off hotdogs make sure they are nice and dry then dust with flour, coat them completely or the batter won't stick. Then shove the Popsicle sticks into the floured coated hotdogs and then set aside.

While your doing all of that heat up your oil until it is almost smoking but not smoking.

I poured my batter into a cup that was longer then my hotdogs and I dipped the hotdogs into the batter. Let the excess batter drip off and then drop into the hot oil and fry.

Only put two hotdogs at a time so that they fry properly.

God Bless!

"Around The Kitchen"....Making Sourdough Starter

I have been thoroughly enjoying Candy's Blog and I had decided to take the chance in starting my own Sourdough Starter.

I started my Sourdough Starter on Tuesday and unfortunately I did not take any pics of it but I have tried to take pics of the process.

Simple Recipe Sourdough Starter

• A plastic container (not metal, it may react with the active Sourdough) wash and clean thoroughly.
• Add one cup of wheat or white flour and one cup of spring water. You can use tap but you have to be sure that there is no chlorine in the water.
• Stir all together and cover with a clean Floursack Cloth
  or some other sort of clean cloth and secure it on top of the container using a rubber band
• Place in a warm place in your kitchen away from any sort of contaminants
• Continue to add 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of spring water for 7 days and put it back into it's safe warm spot. On the 7th day you can try to bake some Sourdough bread using your new homemade Sourdough Starter.
• Put in the fridge on the 7th day and continue to feed once a week. Make sure to wash your container when you think it is time for a washing...you can just transfer you Sourdough Starter to another container and then transfer back into it's clean container when you have washed it.

Here are some of the pics I have taken of my Sourdough Starter

This is how the Sourdough Starter looked on the 2nd day of sitting on my counter

This is what the Sourdough Starter looked like after adding another cup of wheat flour and water and stirring it all in....notice the bubble (this is what you want to see in your starter) I read.

I then placed a Floursack Cloth on top and secured it with a rubber band, I then placed it in a warm spot in my kitchen....and this has been it's home for the past few days.

This is my Sourdough Starter on it's sixth day...I had continually added 1 cup of water and 1 cup of wheat flour everyday (except for one day I missed). You can see some "hooch" (liquid) in the Sourdough Starter. My Sourdough Starter has been quite bubbly and at this point it has a very unpleasant smell. (that is normal) I read!

This is what my Sourdough Starter looked like when I took off the Floursack Cloth to add more wheat flour and water to my Sourdough. You can see all the bubbles and I could even hear some fizzing sounds (all is normal).

This is my Sourdough Starter all mixed up after adding more wheat flour and water to it. I sat it back on the counter in it's little spot and come Tuesday (God Willing) I will attempt my 1st batch of Sourdough Bread......shoot any sort of baked bread in the oven for that matter!

I will update with pictures on how it all came out and what lessons I learned along the way!

God Bless You All !

From Scratch Saturday's...Homemade Yogurt, Deordorant & Ice Coffee

Hey ya'll I am so excited about some of the things I made from scratch today! Let me start off by saying that today when I woke up this morning I was greeted with a wonderful crock pot of fresh homemade yogurt!

Ohhhh was I pleased in the way it turned out! It was my first time ever making yogurt and I plan on doing it again very soon (it is running out fast!).

I used the recipe from Candy over at My Blessed Home...she has so many wonderful ideas and recipes over at her blog. I also used her recipe for homemade deodorant.

My youngest daughter was in need of some deodorant and I was not about to purchase that toxic stuff they sell in the stores...so I thought why not give Candy's recipe a try.

It was very easy and simple and it glides on real easy (I tested it on the back of my hand) and it glides on clear no streaks or white messy residue.

I hope it does the job! I made one change to it and that would be....giving it a name! I have decided to call that recipe " Caribbean Island Deodorant" because of the coconut in it...the coconut is not over powering it is very light but it made me think of an Caribbean island.

I'm pretty pleased with my from scratch projects for today...Oh I also made me some wonderful and delicious Ice Coffee...just to think that one cup of coffee with lots of ice yielded me a mega large cup of Ice Coffee! LOL!

I can't believe that I have been on occasion spending up to $2 buck on a cup of Ice Coffee that is actually one cup of coffee that looks like a large!

Well I will choke it up to the novelty of it....but uhmm that novelty has faded....and I enjoy my Homemade Ice Coffee so much better and I enjoy the price too!

Well here are a few pics from my "From Scratch Saturday's" enjoy!

Simple Household Ingredients

1/4 Cup of Baking Soda

1/4 Cup of Corn Starch

A Few Tablespoons Of 100 % Coconut Oil

Mix dry ingredients first and then add Coconut Oil and make into the consistency of the store bought stuff...and then stuff into an old (washed out) deodorant bottle.

*Thanks Candy!The yogurt is deelish! The small half empty mason jar is the jar that I used to make individual servings with fruit. The children just about ate up those jars.

I have only the big jar of yogurt left and I plan to use that for yummy smoothies! I took a page out of the Hillbillyhousewife's book and put my store bought yogurt into ice trays and froze them and after they were frozen I popped them out and put into a baggie to use as starter for a later date!

I hope that works! We will see because soon I will be making another batch.

My Large Ice Coffee...I also like to make a French Vanilla Ice Coffee as well! It's as easy as PIE!

Simple Ingredients

Cup of Coffee

Sugar (or any other type of sweetener)

Cofeemate Creamer (or milk, half & half, or evaporated milk)

A Teaspoon of Instant French Vanilla Pudding (for French Vanilla Ice Coffee)

Lots of Ice Cubes

Stir in sugar, creamer, and pudding mix into hot coffee and mix well. In a plastic cup ( I used an old washed mayo container) put in lots of ice (to the top) and pour hot coffee mixture into the cup of ice and stir....add a straw for sipping...and that's it!

God Bless Ya'll!

KITCHEN RAMBLINGS: Mmmm .... Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

There is nothing more deelish then a few homemade chocolate chip cookies and a cold glass of milk!

I See You...Trying To Sneak Some Cookies!

A Few Cookies In A Jar.....Not Quite Right Yet!

Ahhh...Now That Is More Like It!

Have A Blessed Day Everyone!

Yippie Ya Yay....Look What A Find I Found Today!

(Excuse the mess on the table...I had to clean out my side board table so that I could sell it and also so that I can get my great-grandma's dishes out so that I can display them in the cabinet.)

Oh my goodness I am just sooo excited to have found such a wonderful treasure!

While searching on my most favorite yard sale website in the entire world I came across this beauty right here. There is a story to tell about how it all came to pass but unfortunately I am pressed for time so I would have to tell ya'll later about how I came to find this sweet little china cabinet

I still can't believe how much I paid for it......can you guess? I bought this China Cabinet for $85 dollars!!! and it is solid oak and very sturdy and it fits perfectly in my dinning room (like it was made to be there) and my great-grandma's dishes look like they have been waiting for this china cabinet forever!

I'm one happy momma right now :-)

God Bless Ya'll!

Fall Is Upon Us

Fall Is Upon Us

Well it's officially fall! Yeah! I love fall, the colors, the cool crisp air, the warmth of our home, hot chocolate with marshmallows.  It's time for me to decorate the house for fall, bring out the rugs to warm the floors, put out the fall foliage, candles, change the curtains, put away the summer bedding and bring out the warm and toasty blankets to curl up under on a chilly day. It is time to warm up our home. 

Do you decorate for fall? Here are some pictures to ring in fall, Enjoy!

 

Interesting Find

My husband found an interesting piece of history in his wallet recently.  He found a 1957 $1 Dollar Silver Certificate.  We plan to frame this piece of monetary history right along with a $1 Federal Reserve Note. 

It is such a shame that we can't redeem our sliver certificate for actual silver even though it does say "One Dollar In Silver Payable To The Bearer on Demand".  It still is pretty interesting especially when you read the words "Silver Certificate" verses the "Federal Reserve Note" and especially these words "This Certifies That There Is A Deposit In The Treasury Of The United States Of America" it just signifies so much on how our dollar use to be backed by actual Silver and Gold and now the dollar is backed by nothing but a mere "I'll gladly buy today and pay you back tomorrow". 

Well we will enjoy this little dollar and I think it would be the perfect time to show the children this video. 

Charlie Bit My Finger (Funny Video)

Children are just so cute, and these two are just down right adorable! I love the accent, just shear darling.

Better Use For Leisure Time

What To Do On A Date

Being Well Groomed

I am truly in love with these old videos and I have so many more to post! (LOL) Please feel free to enjoy and travel back into time when things seemed a little bit more simpler and pleasant.

I know many of us can use a break from all the gloom and doom with our economy.

God Bless You All!

A Woman's Work

What a delightful and wonderful old fashion PSA.

My Letter To My Senator

My letter may not be eloquently written, I just did not have the time or was I in the mind frame to be wordy and eloquent, I just wanted to say what my heart felt in as little words as possible.

I also did not want to lose the interest of whomever was going to be reading this by making a long and lenghty letter so I kept it simple like that old saying "Keep It Simple Sweetie".

Please write your congress man, senator whomever and let your vote and voice be heard!

Hello Senator Obama,

I know that you are extremely busy with the presidential elections and we are most proud of you. I have never contacted a government official before but I feel that I just had to, I could not with good conscience of being a mother of 4 beautiful children and a wife of a very hardworking man sit by and watch our government bailout wall street!

I may not be a savvy economist but I am a very concerned American citizen who happens to be strongly against the Wall Street Bailout, I say NO!!! to the bailout. Oh my goodness it is so many people struggling like ourselves and then those who have children it just breaks your hurt to think or even imagine that they may not have a bright future because of the decisions that we make today.

PLEASE Senator Obama listen to the people and vote NO for the Wall Street Bailout!

Thank You,
Mrs.McGee
Concerned American Citizen

WE SAY NO TO WALL STREET BAILOUT!!

The Beauty In Tea

Who would of thought that a cup of tea would make me think about the error of my ways. Something so little and so simple gave me a profound outlook on my life today, let me start from the beginning.

I have had a major toothache and a cold for the past few days and to help me with my cold I have been making myself a cup of tea, today I put the water into my tea kettle and placed it on the stove to boil as it was boiling I scrubbed (I mean scrubbed) my stainless steel pots so that I can hang them on the wall to give me some more storage space in my cabinets for my 5 gallon buckets of rice, flour & sugar (I buy these in bulk).

After the water came to a boil I turned off the fire and placed one tea bag into the teakettle to steep. I got my cup and proceeded to pour and as I poured I thought of my husband, I thought about how he had placed a tea bag into the kettle to make more then one cup of tea many times before and how he just has this sort of old fashion wisdom that has been handed down to him by the men and women of his family, he has this wisdom on how to make things stretch and how to make due when you have to.

It got me thinking about how I have not trusted my husband, I really have not trusted my husband in the wake of all this economic troubles my trust in him has declined even further. I have felt that my husband is not prepared and has not made preparation for our safety should anything happen. I really have not put much stock in his survival abilities and neither have I put much stock in his wisdom on knowing how to rub two nickels together to make a dime.

While pouring that cup of tea from my tea kettle and knowing that if I like I could have another cup of tea or even have tea to give to the kids and it all came from that one tea bag. Something so silly, so simple made me realize how blessed I am to have a man who is really more then capable of protecting his family and making wise decisions for his family, so here I have been worrying and fretting about all the bad things going around us and how we won’t be able to survive because my husband is not capable.

That one cup of tea brightened my eyes and put a revelation in my heart, that God himself wanted me to know….that by placing faith in my husband I am placing faith in God, because God is inside my husband and through him he will guide us accordingly.

*A great smile came upon my face and a great cup of tea graced my lips!
Amen!