Texas Country Christmas Breakfast

WOW! I just had to do it Ya'll.You don't put me anywhere new food inspirations and not expect something delicious to show up on my plate.  So here you have it.....

Orange Stuffed French Toast and Orange Sauce

"Messina Hof Winery Inspired"

 

oh what like you want the recipe or something??? Yeah OK here we go..

 

French Toast Batter

For the Batter I like to use a pie plate.... yes its for more than just pie. I do this because of the low sides keep the mixture in and its wide enough for me to coat the bread when I get ready to put it in the fry pan.

3 Large Eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Zest from 1 Orange

Juice from 1 Orange

optional: 1 tsp of honey

 

Mix well with a wisk and put aside.

 

You will also need:

8 Slices of Texas Toast

a fry pan

pat of butter

 

 

Toast Stuffing

2 Tbs. Messina Hof Zinfandel Marmalade Rose

Zest of 1/2 an Orange

3oz Cream Cheese

 

Spread between two slices of Texas Toast

 

While the sauce is cooking warm up a fry pan and put in your pat of butter. soak each side of your "orange" sandwich with French Toast batter and place it in the warm buttered pan. cook until brown on each side. Plate and Cut... pour on the orange sauce and garnish with powdered sugar.

 

 

Orange Sauce

3 Tbsp Butter

1/3 cup sugar

Juice of one Orange

a splash of Messina Hof Texas Country Christmas wine

 

In a small sauce pan warm up butter and sugar until bubbling gradually add orange juice and wine and simmer until thickened. If too liquidy wisk in a bit of cornstarch (I prefer tapioca starch as it does not discolor the liquid.)

.

I hope you Enjoy it as much as we did. And YES this was another gotta have it even if it was for dinner and a lovely glass of Texas Country Christmas wine to compliment it.

 

Merry Christmas

 

 



Gift of Wine?

Wine Robe and Sipper Slippers© $25 from Bunnie's Home Collection

View from the Quilt Room

I love this view and the inspiration it brings.....so relaxing :)

Making a Steakment

Just curious....there are only so many ways to cook a steak, what do you API to make yours different, make it stand out or make a bold Steakment?

Grandma's Apron

I read this on a quilting blog today and I just had to share it.... I know you will be running to the store or the sewing machine after this read ladies :o)

I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath becuse she only had a few. It was also becuse it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion, was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carryng eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids....and when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved hr apron and the menfolk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It would be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old time apron" that served so many purpose.

Note: Grandma use to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs out to thaw. Hope you enjoyed this jaunt down memory lane.

Oh My Sweet Potato

So I never tried it to make sweet potato pie..so guess what I did? Anyway, I grabbed a recipe on line the that three title sounded good. Ok they all sounded good I just picked one.

Southern Sweet Potato Pie

4 Oz. butter softened
2 cups sweet potato mashed
2 cups sugar
1 small can evaporated milk (5 Oz = 1/2 cup plus 2 tbls.)
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 prepared pie shells

Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shells. Bake in a 350° oven for about an hour, until set.
Makes 2 pies.

**Recommendations: cut the sugar to 1 cup to lessen the sweet and taste more potato

To know me is to....?

So earlier this week Gregg comes home and says he would like to do something nice for his Co-workers and asked if I could help. Of course I can....I think he was expecting a boxed cake or something. Ha! Can't do it! So at 2-something this morning it dawns on me and I headed to the kitchen.
So to those of you who know me and love me but mostly love my chili and cornbread, I am sorry, cause that's what the guys are getting for lunch today.
To my Knife River Crew: I hope you enjoy :)

I think they liked it!

Look what we picked at the patch

We are so excited out first pumpkins from out very own patch! I hope they taste as good as they look.

Ok and a pic of them all cleaned up. So Proud!

Start Thinking Gift Ideas

I have made a few table runners that someone out there may fall in love with or be interested in as a gift idea. Sweet, Simple and Reasonable. They are 100% cotton and washable, measure 41x14, and are adorned with novelty or vintage buttons. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. I will be making more "higher" end runners for year round, coasters, mug rugs and may even come up with a few surprises. Thank you for supporting the "Patch".

 "Trees and Stripes"   $20 plus s&h

 

"Peace & Trees" $20 plus s&h

 

"Peppermint Snowmen" $20 plus s&h

"Leaves and Acorns" $20 plus s&h

 

"Poinsettas" $20 plus s&h

 

 



Meet Tina

This is one of our babies, Miss Tina Quaver, she is named this because of her interesting tail. It's not long and normal, nor is it bobbed, it's more like a musical eigth note - a "Quaver". She rather socialize with us than the other kittens. Probably cause they wouldn't let her play kitten games.
We definitely belong to her now as does Zoe.

    

 I hope to introduce them all one by one so you get to know the family :o)

Oh the Hollandaise are coming

I love this quick and easy breakfast.
Poached eggs on toast with quick pseudo hollandaise sauce.

Not ever going to cooking school or cooking classes most of what do has been passed down, mentioned along the way, read about or trial and error. Poached eggs have been a challenge for me as i am not one of those microwave gadget junkies, so through trial and error i finally mastered it. A sauce pan full of boiling water just would never work for me. Not only am I impatient waiting for the water to boil but I have found that I have no control of the egg.

I use a large frying pan, one that will be deep enough that the water will cover an egg. I bring the water to a soft boil and add vinegar to water, I just pour it in so I am guessing at about a 1/4 cup. I crack the egg and gently place it in the water and let cook until the white is about done. I gently roll it if I still see the yolk so that all you see on the outside is the white. Then remove with a slotted spoon.

This morning I did not have english muffins so I simply used toast.

As for the hollandaise.... normally to make the real version which btw is quite tasty but very time consuming this is the quick and dirty version I learned from my mom. Grab a tablespoon from the drawer and a small bowl. A heaping spoon of mayonnaise, a squirt or two of yellow mustard a about and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Mix generously and spoon onto the eggs.... it wouldn't hurt to taste it before incase you may like it a bit more sour or with a more mustardy taste.

I believe the entire process took less than 10 minutes and you have a healthy breakfast to start the day with.

Enjoy!

FOOD......FOOD....and Marsala Food

It was strongly suggested that I have not been posting enough about the foods I have been making. While I did not take a picture Saturday night I made chicken Marsala. This is a simple easy recipe I was asked to share.

4-5 chicken boneless skinless breasts (if they are thick pound them flat
1 - 8oz. Package sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup dry cooking sherry
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
Dash paprika

Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, salt,pepper,oregano,thyme and paprika). Pat the chicken dry. Pour oil in a large pan and heat. Dredge the chicken in the flour and into heated pan until browned on both sides. Pour in wine and sherry, add mushrooms and butter. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes. * I like parmesan cheese and makes the pasta yum as well.

What I have going on in the background is a large saucepan with water in a light boil and a medium saucepan about a third full of boiling water. At the time I get the simmer going I put pasta in the large pot and then choose a veggie for the medium one. One uncooked meal in approximately 30 minutes.

**Note: do not fear if you do not have Marsala wine you can substitute a red wine you may have in the house also, if you do not have sherry use 3/4 cup wine to substitute.

Enjoy!!!!!

FALL DANGERS!

Good evenin. I hope everyone has had a great weekend. I had a country reality check this evenin. Livin in the country is great and wonderful but it can also be a bit breath takin and heart throbbin. I was movin some wood around under the house this evenin and uncovered 2 Copperheads only a foot or so away from me. Gave me quite a start to see them. It has been several years since I have seen any type of snakes on this property.

 

*These are NOT the two that I found but I added pictures for ya'll to recognize them*

I would like for everyone livin in the country OR not. There are dangers everywhere. This time of year those slithery creatures are on the move to find warm places for the winter and to feed on as much as they can get so that they can hibernate. Everyone please be careful in your everyday adventures and watch the grounds closely for things that move.

The Southern Holy Culinary Trinity

I read this and had to share.... The Southern Holy Culinary Trinity as I never heard it called but found it to be a great description for the way us "Southerners" stock our kitchen and cook.

This Trinity includes.........: Butter, Sugar, and Salt. No surprise! I know my kitchen is Very WELL stocked with these items! I don't understand how some people deal with the artificial sweetners and "I can't believe I it's not butter". I always believed it!

Let's face it if you grew up tasting the real stuff no matter what you do to try to hide those lab created science experiments us Southerner's will always know. And I must add EWWW!

At some point in my life I may need to cut back but I will NEVER give up the real goods and while I am at it hand me a side of bacon.

So just curious how many pounds odd butter do you have stashed? We have 6.

Sad Night

It's a sad night tonight. We had our first loss here at the Patch. Our Little Mini, one of the black kittens never developed or grew in the last 2 weeks; she was already much smaller than the others of that litter. I watch her eat but something more must have been wrong. She started getting lethargic this afternoon and passed this evening. We were very blessed to have known her. Mini is the little one on top of her brother napping this morning.

Newest Guests have arrived

More guests have arrived. These are four adorable spotted tabbies of beige and black. Ohhh and so feisty! Mom is not happy right now. I can here her crying outside but we nee to get control of this feral population.

The Mastermind

This my friends is the face of an evil mastermind. He's pretending to be all innocent reading my copy of Cook's Illustrated but, what he is really doing is plotting a plan to steal my bag of tasty corn chips!

Our most recent guests

These adorables are a our most recent guests. After the dog's found them under the porch their mother thought it would be safer for them on the roof! I don't think so! Rains were coming and their safety was a concern so I cat-napped them. Please  meet; Tina, a silver bob-tail, Stubbs, he has a collar and bob-tail, we needed to tell him apart from Mini, who is also bob-tailed but we are finding to be much smaller than the others and finally Shelby, he has a tail and a little white star on his chest. Too Cute!

We are glad we found these guys so we can get them fixed. Apparently there are quite a few ferals here. More pics to come!

Re-Purposing Feed Bag - Hay Bag

It seems that everyone these days are interested in re-purposing things. I just happened to need a hay bag for Prince so this is what I did:

Supplies Needed:
Feed Bag
Pie Plate
Marker
Scissors and/or Rotary Cutter
Ruler
Straight Pins
3 1/2 Yards of Webbing, binding, or 1/4 yard of fabric (3" strips) - something to seal hay opening & to make straps
2 Buckles
Thread
Sewing Machine

First Prince needed to empty out a feed bag, absolutely not a problem :o)
Next I brought it in to my cutting table and laid a plate on it toward the front bottom (approx. 3inches from the bottom) and cut out a hole.

I measured and cut the strappings to hang the bag. 2 - 10 inch lengths and 2- 18 inch lengths

 

I then took about 16 inches of webbing and folded it over the hole and sewed around the circle. This is easiest if you have a free arm on your machine.

 

Now measure out approximately 5 inches from each side of the bag on both front and back. Pin down placement of the straps. Dont forget to put the buckles on the straps at this point as well.

With the remainder of the webbing you fold it over the top of the bag and stitch it down this will give it a clean finish and complete the straps.

 



Voila!! There you have it. Instant hay bag.

 

 

 

if you are interested in learning more about Safe Choice feed visit: http://www.nutrenaworld.com/nutrena/products/horses/safe-choice/index.jsp





Mixed Pepper Jelly

It's been awhile since I have blogged please forgive me. I hope to get better, just been a bit busy making fun things. Today we will start with Yums! So recently friends of ours Jon & Judi gave us a large bag of peppers that they received from friends of theirs. (Don't Judge! There is nothing wrong with re-gifting plus they put them in very capable hands.)

Back to these peppers...a good mix of jalapeno, Guindilla Verde, and hot banana. I mixed them with some good old fashioned bells and made some fantastic jelly. This may sound crazy but I can just taste this stuff on some of my home smoked brisket on a tortilla with a delicious side of my Spanish rice and refried beans. OK now I am drooling!

The basic recipe for pepper jelly ( don't forget to add your twist):
2 large green bell peppers
2 large red bell peppers
10 large jalapenos
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 pkg. SURE-JELL fruit pectin
1/2 tsp butter
5 cups sugar

For more details visit www.m.kraftrecipes.com

Its not about the harvest, its about how many seeds you sow

Spent the afternoon picking lima beans. Gotta love growing things! Just remember that they can go from food to seed real quick as in days as you can see in picture 1.

Not a bad haul for my first picking.

The Price of Horse Hay

The Price of Horse Hay This is a concern with good information as the price of hay increases due to the drought. Here in the Brazos Valley hay is quite abundant but the prices vary. This can get confusing. I recommend that if you have only a small quantity of animals you stick to good quality bales. The Bunnie Patchc has been lucky enough to have lots of greenery at them moment and Prince sticks to it rather then the hay; so the hay is sitting there played with but uneaten. While I figured he would be eating all of it we bought 2 bales 3 weeks ago and they aren't even a quarter of 1 bale gone. These will be bad before they have time to be consumed. They currently serve as a soft comfy place for the dogs to hang out when they are spending time with Prince. :o)

Coming to the Patch

Coming to the Patch

I arrived at the Patch in lil' 'ole Snook, Texas population 511, (My friends laugh and say "Now 512". (Is that ever exactly correct?)) on March 25, 2012. Funny story there, took a uhaul across 5 states with 3 dogs in the cab. Thought I only needed a 17ft truck and ended up with 26ft full front to back with I am guessing more than half full of quilting, sewing & crafting goods. So you and I have to put them to good use!

After unloading the fun began, I couldn't just stick to the boxes, Oh NO not me, I had to make a project of the entire house and property. Unloading boxes before and after daylight and gardening and planting containers during. Somewhere along the line I kept seeing this mysterious rabbit in the yard. I run outside and he wouldn't be there, then the heat came along with the briars (as you can tell I finally caught him on film). My dear sweet Gregg had always called me Bunnie (since we were 15) and now I/We have Bunnie's Briar Patch; a place he has called home since 2004. Since my arrival it has transformed dramatically inside and out. I will share the journey with you along with our future endeavors.

A bit about me, I grew up having plenty of animals to keep me company and that included 5 horses (Sugar, Marathon, Freckles, Achilles, and Country) which I showed and ran barrels with. I began sewing on my grandmother's lap at about age 5, crafting with her since I was 8, taking notes on her cooking since I was 12 and the story goes. Mom was the gardener and at some point a good cook; I have been told it's in our blood. My great-grandmother was a caterer working for the elite and my grandfather was an avid home cook who at one time dreamed of opening a restaurant and had a great green thumb. Dad gave me the eye for pictures, he was a amature photographer who loved black and whites. From these wonderful people I have evolved into a cooking and creating fool and love every minute of it.

Gregg, he's a "fix-it", "build-it", "make-it", "create-it" and "eat-it" kind of guy. He had an early start with it all from his wonderful father. Dad was a machinist/educator; he taught machine shop at the highschool for many many MANY years, ok for 30+ and is loved by many and altered the lives of many more. Dad also had love for the land and all it offered which he shared with the kids. Gregg with Dad bagged his first wild boar at the age of 6 (got the tusks mounted for proof LOL) from there he went on to deer, etc... They also loved the water and deep sea fishing so don't be surprised that my country boy knows the Gulf pretty darn well and won't hesitate to eat him some shark. Gregg isn't affraid to craft or even quilt, while its a new venture for him his grandmother was a wonderful quilter and both grandmothers and mom were/are fabulous cooks.

As I mentioned, grab your cup of coffee and enjoy. If you have any comments, things you would like to share or even special "know-how" requests I/We will do our best to get those posted for you.

The Beginning

Hello Friends, I know I always have so much to say on that social site and posting the crazy things I see and do so I figures I would begin a place that you can visit regularly and won't have your phones dinging at the most inconvenient times with my rantings.

Today is day one so I have some catching up to do and will be filling in ALL my space with whatever crosses my mind, you may need more than coffee, like a tasty adult beverage or something to get you through it.

Now you will also know where I find many of my crazy ideas as I can link more sites I visit here and attached pictures of how I manage to make things. I look forward to getting you all caught up on a daily basis.

Love You, Maura