Thank Ya Lord For Side Dishes

Are y’all as happy as me about side dishes? Okay, maybe I’m not always happy about side dishes but this particular day I definitely was, if you read my last blog you’d know I was attempting a first, which was Crockpot Brisket. Now I was super excited to try this after researching many recipes they all had great things to say about it. I found a nice looking rub off of Pinterest and just went for it, BIG MISTAKE.

 Now this is a perfect example of the phrase “looks can be deceiving” because this picture looks like that brisket is melt in your mouth delicious. HA, not! Now some people in my house said it was good and tasted fine and others said something was off. Me, personally I took one bite and was done, I honestly can’t even put my finger on what was wrong with it, maybe it cooked to long or the rub was off, I honestly don’t know. What I do know though, is this was an epic fail! But hey, you can’t make good food everyday gotta mess it up so you can make it better next time! 

Given the title of this blog you should know who our heros are here today lol, the trustee side dishes saved the day(meal). The brisket was accompanied by some delicious deviled eggs, my favorite pasta salad, and a nice baked potato! The sides alone could have been a meal lol let’s just forget the brisket all together! 

 For starters we have the deviled eggs, which are one of my favorite snacks and foods to have around thanksgiving and Christmas I normally don’t make them out of a holiday but I have just been craving them! For the filling I did something a little different and they came out tasty to me (not as good as my moms) but hey I’m trying! The filling consisted of the yolks of course, mayo, mustard, Dijon mustard, ranch, splash of vinegar, sweet relish, chopped dill pickles, green onion, and lastly Salt and pepper to taste! I don’t usual add ranch, green onions or just chopped dill pickles I always just use relish but I liked the chunky bite it gave the eggs. All and all they came out beautiful and tasted even better! 

The baked potatoes were simply washed, and coated in olive oil and salt and put in the oven it gives the skin such a crispy texture and a fluffy soft inside! So they came out great, now my pasta salad is nothing special it’s a store bought box that you put together your self, it’s bacon ranch pasta but it’s my aboustely favorite! I normally like to dress it up though with chopped cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese. Almost like a BLT pasta but I didn’t have any tomatoes so all I did was add some cheese whether it’s by itself or fixed up it’s still good and so easy to make! 

All together the meal plated beautifully and came together nicely, just that brisket was unforgivable lol! Now I know, so as the main course was NOT one for the books let us all give a round of applause to the side dishes! Tonight I have the crockpot going again, with some beef stroganoff which is also a first being made from scratch so fingers crossed, I will say it does smell delicious! 

So stay tuned you guys, for tonight’s dinner and more dishes to come! It’s going to get real southern next week as I have a family dinner to cook for so I’m excited to share that with y’all! 

Most sincerely, mamas 

Just keeps getting better

I have been out of the game a little bit on posting, so I would like to share some of the dinners I have made but haven’t got around to posting. Aside from eating out a little more than usual lately, I still had time to get  some delicious dinners made. 

After rummaging through the freezer I came across some frozen purple hull peas I had from my aunt. So that inspired my southern tasting dish. This nights dinner consisted of country fried cubed steak, gravy,  with purple hulls, mashed potatoes and cornbread. Such a hearty meal, I was definitely full for days after that one! It’s another fairly easy dinner to make as I put my peas on that morning to go all day with a little bit of bacon and onion, gave them such a delicious flavor.  

The steaks didn’t require any special attention just seasoned them well got some flour on them and fried them up, made the gravy with a little bit of the grease from the steak, and it came out absolutely flavorful! Was another winner for my family! 

Tonight we had chicken alfredo with broccoli, I cheated a little today lol to save time I bought the sauce and a rotisserie chicken from my local food market. However just bc you use already prepared ingredients doesn’t mean you can’t still add your own spin to it. I added some fresh garlic and broccoli to give it a little more flavor, and other spices as well. 

I don’t normally use the traditional fettuccine noodle when I make Alfredo I like to switch it up. Today we went with bow tie noodles, and may I just say the last two times I have used bow ties they have made the meal so much better. They don’t soak up as much of the sauce as the thicker noodles so every bite is just saucy and yummy! 

Tomorrow’s dinner is already in the crockpot, it’s my first take on crockpot brisket!! I found several different rub recipes and kinda just picked the ingredients from each I most liked and came up with my own rub it had such a good smell I cannot imagine how it’s going to taste on the brisket! But I won’t spoil that I’ll wait until tomorrow to see how it turns out, fingers crossed and stay tuned! 

Most sincerely, mamas 

Crockpot Hero

Well tonight’s dinner was almost a bust, it was supposed to be baked chicken legs, but our darn oven just doesn’t want to work when it’s suppose to. Luckily for me I remembered we had this miracle kitchen applicance that I wish I could personally thank the creator of , for making because it was a live saver. Our handy dandy crockpot! Lol. These chicken legs guys, let me tell you turned out so dang good! I had to force myself to not eat them all. 

They were able to cook all day in the crock pot, it was so simple and tasty. I simply added some apple juice, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar to the crockpot. Took the drumsticks out of the package seasoned then slightly and tossed them in, then I added some brown sugar and sweet and spicy barbecue sauce to them and let them go for about 7hrs! They were just fall off the bone, melt in your mouth savory chicken, sooooo good! 

To add to the chicken I just fixed up a simple potato salad and a can of brown sugar bushes baked beans. For the potatoe salad I didn’t do anything special, chopped up some dill pickles, celery, a yellow onion, and some hard boiled eggs. Added Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, and mayo. About 2 tablespoons of sugar, and a good amount of salt and pepper. Of course it was just as tasty as the chicken, I mean come on, who doesn’t LOVE a good potato salad. 

This was absolutely another delicious meal, so blessed to be able to cook such yummy food for such a deserving family of mine, and we mustn’t forgot to thank God for the creator of the Crockpot because that was the real hero today! Not to mention is the star of tomorrow’s dinner, one of mine and my sisters favorite Mississippi Pot Roast! Thinking I need to start making more in the crockpot it’s such an easy way to make 5 star worthy meals without hardly lifting a finger, I guess it’s time to start searching for some new recipes so I can share more easy meals with you guys! Excuse me while I take to Pinterest lol, goodnight everyone. 

Most sincerely, mamas 

Good for the Soul

 

Tonight was another for the books! We had Smothered porkchops with buttered rice and about as soul infused green beans as you can get them lol. I am coming to find a great joy in cooking dinner, I have found myself doing nothing but watching cooking shows, reading recipes, and writing down new dishes to try, and put my twist on. 

Dinner started with some yummy boneless porkchops that were dipped in a seasoned flour bowl, and lightly browned on each side, no need to cook them all the way as they would finish in the gravy that I cooked later. 

I then took the grease in which I cooked the pork chops and used that to sauté some onions, for the Gravy I added some flour that I had put aside from the porkchops, whole milk, salt and pepper, a little bit of garlic powder, about 2 cups of water, about 2 teaspoons of sugar, and because I didn’t want my Gravy to be white I added about a tablespoon or two of browning seasoning. It gave the Gravy this nice color and lovely taste.

For these delicious green beans, I started by sautéing some chopped up bacon in a pan, added a little bit of garlic, then poured in just some canned green beans, started mixing that together let it get a little heat to it, added about 1/3 cup of brown sugar and just let that simmer. This is usually a recipe that you would use around the holidays but with soul food it’s a perfect match.

To finish the recipe off I just cooked up some easy minute rice added some butter and just fluffed it up and it was ready to serve, this dinner was definitely hearty and delicious. With all these new yummy recipes I’ve been trying I definitely need to start me up a cookbook it looks like lol. Stay tuned we have baked chicken on the menu tomorrow with a homemade potato salad and baked beans can’t wait to share that with you guys.

Most sincerely, mamas

What’s on the Menu?

Tonight for dinner was Pinto Beans, cooked with some bacon, for that extra flavor, CornBread, and one of my FAVORITE Veggies cabbage! It was definitely the perfect southern soul food meal! 

However we went a different route with the cabbage tonight, that turned out AMAZING! I don’t think I will ever eat cabbage the same. I have recently been watching this mans blog on southern soul food, and I am hooked! His name is Jay and makes the most delicious looking meals! Well he had this fried cabbage recipe that looked to die for, so I said let’s try it out! Of course we put our own spin on it because it’s not authentically yours if you copy it exactly! So we left a few things out! 

The recipe consisted of Cabbage, Red and Green bell peppers, a yellow onion, chopped cooked bacon, and some sugar! When I say it was to die for I mean it!! I have never tried sugar in my cabbage but it gives it such a good sweetness that I won’t ever make cabbage without a dash of sugar again! However, I would like to get a little more char on them next time I think that would enhance them flavor tremendously! 

Tonight’s dinner was definitely a hit and we have some yummy dinners ahead for the week as well! I can’t wait to cook them and share them with you! Tomorrow’s dinner is smothered pork chops with some buttered white rice! I’m already looking forward to it and I’m still full from tonight’s dinner lol! So stay tuned for some yummy recipes coming your way this week!

Most sincerely, mamas! 

The Greatest Woman I ever knew

The greatest woman I ever knew, would never leave me alone on this earth, she is there always, and forever. Because without her I would not be whole, I wouldn’t be happy, or living a life worth living. So there’s no way she would leave me.

The greatest woman I ever knew, loves me, has loved me, since before I was born. Loves everyone, even those who have done nothing to deserve such a love. She finds the good in everyone where I cannot see it. Her love is stronger than any you’d ever feel, It is pure, and sincere, it is a love you will search for but won’t ever find. Because her love is the greatest love of all. 

The greatest woman I ever knew, walks around with holes in her clothes, while those near, and dear to her are dressed in the finest. She has one pair of shoes, and no time for nails, hair, or makeup. Yet you won’t hear her complain. She’ll give you the shirt off her back, the last  piece of clothing she’ll ever own before she’ll let you go without. Yet she doesn’t know you, that’s just who she is.

The greatest woman I ever knew, is tired, is so worn out. I see it. But she’s holding on, working long hours to provide. Going the extra mile to see that those that she loves are well taken care of, doesn’t get to do the things she’s longed for because she is so busy. Yet again, you won’t hear her complain.

The greatest woman I ever knew, is my hero, my rock, my friend, someone who I can only dream of being like. She cannot be replaced, nor can she be matched. Because she’s one of a kind, you won’t find someone like her anywhere else. She is just simply The greatest woman I ever knew.

Taco(bout) Delicious

This was a recipe that I tried recently, which turned out to be a complete hit. Shrimp and I have a wonderful love life (lol) I could literally live off of a shrimp diet and that would be OK. This was not only my first time making shrimp tacos but it was my first time eating shrimp tacos as well, I found them to be quite delicious.

This recipe consist of sautéed shrimp,red cabbage, cilantro,fresh lime and sour cream. Such an easy quick simple recipe that took no time at all to make. 
The key is to almost make the cabbage like a coleslaw you mix it with sour cream, cilantro and freshly squeezed lime. You coat the bottom of a corn tortilla with a little bit of sour cream layer your cabbage down, pile your shrimp on top of that and then serve with fresh lime on the side to be squeezed over your taco I also added feta cheese because I mean come on, what’s a taco without cheese.

For my shrimp I just use the big bag of pre-cook shrimp sauté them in a pan just to heat them up with some lime juice salt and pepper and a little bit of garlic powder nothing too fancy just wanted to add a little color to them they came out amazing. My sister enjoyed it so much she said forget the taco and just ate the shrimp lol. 

Sadly enough these tacos didn’t get recognized to their full potential because we don’t have a lot of shrimp lovers in the house. But for a family of shrimp lovers this is definitely a recipe for the books I encourage you to try it because it was absolutely delicious.

I enjoy finding new ways to use some of my favorite foods I can now add shrimp tacos to the many recipes you can use with shrimp. I am on the hunt for more recipes I can add to the book. If you guys have a really good recipe you would like to share I’d be more than happy to read.

Most sincerely, mamas’

Full Tummys, Happy Mummy’s…… ;)

I decided to start this blog in hopes of connecting with other single moms who enjoy cooking as much as I do, and hopefully share some yummy recipes with each other as well as great tips, and encouragement on being a single mother. 

Well to start I guess I could introduce myself my name is Celesterielle, don’t try to pronounce it because I’m almost 98% sure you are going to pronounce it wrong lol. I just go by Celeste. I am 20-year-old single mother to a beautiful baby girl who is my absolute world, she is 2 1/2 but has about as much sass and attitude as a 16-year-old (pray for me), lol but let me tell you she is The smartest baby I have ever met that girl is going to go places in life no doubt about it. Because I’m weird and don’t want to put her name out in public I will always address her as Baby K that is a family name that her dad’s side came up with so that is something simple to call her instead of her name. 

The only thing I love more than being a mother is cooking, I have found that cooking is almost like an escape from the hectic reality of the real world. It’s a time where I can come together to prepare something wonderful for the people that I love. I would say that I’ve always loved watching cooking shows growing up and wishing I could cook as well as them, it wasn’t until about three years ago that I actually got into cooking meals for my family and experimenting with different recipes trying to come up with my own style. Although I must say now I would rate myself at least an 8 in the kitchen lol I can conjure up some pretty tasty things and I’m really excited to all the new recipes that you guys have tried that have been an absolute hit, and even recipes that you guys of made that have been misses.

 Aside from cooking I do have the daily struggles and stresses as any other single mother between working, taking care of my daughter, my nonexistent love life, and all my demons I hold inside Life can be a complete slap in the face more times than not it seems like to me. So this blog is basically going to be a mash up between lovely cooking meals and a place I can run to vent so do not be surprised if you come across some sappy post considering this is mostly supposed to be a cooking blog.

I am excited to start this one because this is something that I have never done before, my mother is a heavy blogger so she kind of encouraged me to try it out I hope to gain some followers so I can see all your lovely creations I will try to post daily my meals that I cook and explain my reasoning behind cooking that dish hello to all of you and happy blogging.
Yours most truly, Mamas’