What Did We Ever Do?

It is well known in our inner circle of friends and family, I am NOT a naturally cool person. And no, I'm not talking about my personality. I mean my actual body temperature. As my grandma has always said about me, I'm a "hot box." 

I have two temps...warm and hot. There is not in between. I'm the girl who sweats in the winter. I drive around when there is snow on the ground with the AC cranked. When I was pregnant with little man, I made Mr. E turn the air conditioner on in March and it didn't get turned off until he was born in September.

So you can imagine my utter despair a few weeks ago when just as the thermometer started to rise to 85 degrees and higher, with 80% humidity, our central air quit working. Literally, one minute it was blowing nice cold air and the next the temp in the house was climbing to 75 degrees. I was pretty miserable, pretty quickly. I started to think back to when I was a kid and we didn't have AC at all. We had fans. And open windows. Those hot sticky nights when you would wake up in the morning soaked from sweltering all night long. Not fun. 

We are so addicted to our AC we don't even own fans!!! Luckily my parents hooked us up, and we got some up in this joint very quickly! So we had air circulating, but at one point, it was still 80 degrees in here. Needless to say, I thought I was going to spontaneously combust! 

Come Monday night I had a repair company scheduled to come look at it, but in the meantime I had to cook supper, which I hadn't done since it went out. Between the weekend and Mother's Day, I had yet to be made to prepare a meal in the sauna, but my time had come. 

I was craving barbecue, but knew it needed to be stove top because I wasn't turning on the oven, and I didn't really even want to grill either...that just meant being outside in the heat, and no relief once I came in. So, this is what I came up with. It gave me the bbq flavors I was craving but without the time and effort, and most importantly high temperatures I couldn't deal with. 

These would be fantastic for a party, potluck or cookout that gets interrupted by rain! Think sloppy joe texture but a different flavor...perfect for summer time.

I'm not sure what we did before the days of AC. but I know I don't want to find out any time soon again. Oh, by the way, I am currently typing this...in my nice and cool house...so thankful it's working again!

BBQ Ground Beef Sandwiches

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

3 ribs celery, finely chopped

1 c. ketchup

1/2 c. water

1 TBS butter

2 TBS apple cider vinegar

1/2 TBS. lemon juice

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1 TBS brown sugar

1 tsp. garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

 Buns

Pickles

In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute beef, onion and celery in butter until no longer pink. In a medium bowl whisk together ketchup, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. When beef is cooked, add ketchup mixture and water. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes. Serve on buns with pickles.

Shared on The Country Cook June 5, 2015

A Re-Do From Mom {A Post for Earth Fare}

I first shared this recipe a few years back, and have been wanting to "re-do" it ever since. The picture wasn't pretty at all, and it is so incredibly yummy, it deserved better!

Since today is the first official day of spring, I thought it would be the perfect time to debut it once again. After all, if spring is here, that means grilling season is within reach and barbecues and picnics aren't far behind.

This is mom's recipe, but before it was hers, it was grandma's. No wonder it is so good! Tried and true for three generations, you can't argue with success like that! In our family, no picnic is complete without it, and it doesn't stop there. I have requested this for so many birthday suppers, I've lot count. Even when I was a kid, I wanted mom to make it, in the dead of February, every single year.

This is probably the easiest coleslaw recipe I have, and any time anyone asks for it and tries it, they become instant fans too. Creamy, cool, crunchy, sweet, tangy...it goes with everything from burgers to steak, ribs to hot dogs.

Summer grilling season is just around the corner. After a long horrendous winter, I am so ready! But I'll be honest, I'm not even waiting until summer. It's above freezing which means the grill is getting fired up ASAP! 

Mom's Sweet n Tangy Coleslaw

1 small head cabbage shredded, or 1 (10 oz.) bag pre-shredded cabbage

3/4 c. whipped salad dressing

1 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 TBS dried parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

Paprika for garnish

In a small bowl mix salad dressing, sugar, vinegar, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Pour over cabbage.  Mix well to combine Sprinkle with paprika. Chill until ready to serve. *NOTE* You are more than welcome to use mayo in place of the salad dressing, but mom never has. I have no idea how it will taste. 

Shared on The Country Cook Mar. 20, 2015

Coleslaw at Very Good Recipes

Everyone's Favorite, Or So It Seems

A couple weeks ago I posed a question on my Facebook Fan Page asking ya'll if you enjoyed your coleslaw more with a dressing that is creamy or vinegar based. The answers were pretty evenly matched, but the one thing that was mentioned more than anything else was "I love KFC coleslaw the most." So when that many people declared it to be their favorite, I knew it was time to bring my version back to the blog, since it was first posted back before most of you were even reading on a daily basis.

For us, this is the closest thing to the original we've ever had at home. In fact, my husband declared it  to be "dead on", which coming from him and his absolute love for the KFC version, I took as very high praise! Now, I will tell you ahead of time, if you want the cabbage itself to look more like the original, be sure to read the note below. For us, we don't really care about that as much as the flavor itself.

And the best part about this recipe? It's so darn easy! Plus, you can make it at night, and it's even better after it sits in the fridge until the next day for dinner! Perfect with burgers, steak, barbecued pork...and of course fried chicken! Pretty much anything you want to pair it with, it will taste fantastic. Oh, and make this for guests or take it to a get together! I guarantee you will be an instant rock star! Everyone will say "Whoa....this tastes just like KFC slaw!" And you will know it was a complete success.

If KFC is your favorite coleslaw too, I think you will be very pleased with this version. Or if you're just always looking for new ones to try, you will enjoy this too! Either way, I promised it would be back on the blog as soon as possible, so here it is in all it's glory!!!

Copy Cat KFC Coleslaw

1 (1 lb.) package coleslaw mix with cabbage and carrots (see note below)

2 TBS minced onion

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. milk

1/2 c. mayo

1/4 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 TBS white vinegar

2 1/2 TBS lemon juice

Dried Parsley

Place coleslaw mix in a large bowl. Add onions. Mix well. In a medium bowl combine buttermilk, milk, mayo, sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar, and lemon juice. Whisk well. Pour over cabbage mix. Stir well. Sprinkle with dried parsley. Chill for at least 2 hours until serving or overnight. *NOTE* If you want the cabbage and carrots to be more the texture of KFC, place mix in a food processor and pulse to cut up finer. For me, it's more about the flavor than the texture.

Shared on The Country Cook Feb. 21, 2014