ORANGE FLUFF DESSERT

1 1/2 CUPS HOT WATER
1 1/2 CUPS COLD WATER
1 LARGE BOX ORANGE GELATIN
8 OZ. CREAM CHEESE, softened
1 CUP MINIATURE MARSHMALLOWS
9 OZ. BOWL COOL WHIP


Put the gelatin in a unbreakable bowl. Boil the water until it is hot and then pour over the gelatin. Stir until the gelatin is dissolved. Cut the cream cheese into small blocks to make it easier to dissolve and add the blocks to the gelatin. Beat the gelatin and cream cheese on low for several minutes. It will have a lumpy texture. Stir in cold water and let sit in ref. until thicker. Add marshmallows and cool whip and stir well.

CROCKPOT BAKED POTATOES

With it being so hot these days and if you like baked potatoes like we do here is a simple and easy way to fix them and not have to heat up your house. Thse are also good to fix if you have electric and are camping.

POTATOES
ALUM. FOIL
CROCKPOT
SOUR CREAM
BUTTER
BACON BITS

Wash and dry your potatoes. Wrap each one in the alum. foil. Put in the crockpot the big ones on the bottom first. Put lid on and turn on and let cook for 8 hours on low. They are done when you get ready for supper. Take out and split each one and add whatever you like to the top. They may not be as good as baking them in the oven but they are still good. Make sure you wrap them in foil. If they are big you may need to bake them a little longer. You can take one of the top ones out and test it to see if it is done. If not cook a little longer. Do not add any water to the crockpot. I would not want to go off and leave it on all day without being home. But that is just me. lol. You can also do sweet potatoes like this.

POTATO SKINS

With the garden coming in we have a lot of potatoes. I love to make these things but they take so many potatoes. I love to take the hulled out potato and make potato salad with them as not to waste the potato.

POTATOES
OLIVE OIL OR COOKING OIL
SALT AND PEPPER
CHEDDAR CHEESE, shredded
BACON, crumbled
SOUR CREAM

Take and wash and dry the potatoes. Cut into quarters. Or can just cut them in half.  Take a 13 x 9 sprayed pan and put the  potatoes in it. Bake them until done. Take and hull out most of the potato. Add your seasoning to the top of them. I add some garlic powder but if you have Emeril or Paula Dean seasoning you can sprinkle it on them. Drizzle olive oil or canola oil to the top of them and put back in the oven on 400. Watch and do not let them burn. Bake them until the skins are crisp. Take out and put the crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese in them and put back in the oven and let the cheese melt. Take out and add sour cream and chopped green onion if you like. These are so good you can't stop eating them. It takes a lot of potatoes tho. I use the hulled out potatoes for potato salad so not to waste them. (You can even put them in a little oil and fry them on the stove). 

PANCAKES OLD TIME WAY

With all of the pancake mixes that are out we can just pick and chose. They even have them now in the little jug that you can just add water and shake and pour. These are good to use when in a hurry. But if you don't want to do all that mixing just use this recipe. Most people call it fried bread but we use them as pancakes.

1 CUP FLOUR
1/3 CUP MILK or less
OIL
BUTTER
PANCAKE SYRUP

In a bowl mix the flour and milk together. If to thin add more flour not a lot tho. If to thick add some more milk. Should be like store bought mix made up. Take a skillet and put some oil in it not a lot or they will be to greasy. Pour the pancake mix in, I usually fix this in a small skillet to just fry one at a time. Turn down on medium or low heat and let fry or cook until bubbles form around the edge. Lift it up to make sure it is not burning on the bottom. You want it to be a little brown. Flip over, if you do not have enough oil, then add a little more. I take my pancake turner and flatten them if they are not done in the middle. Not to much tho. Sometimes I take and use the edge of the turner and sort of make splits in them, small ones, so they will get done. Put in a plate. We usually just eat one. But they can be stacked. Put butter on top and let melt and then add the warm pancake syrup to it. Now I wonder if my hubby may not want one this morning for breakfast. lol. They may not sound to good but trust me they puff up and are thicker than regular pancakes and are so good. Just don't burn them and make sure they are done in the middle. This is a simple and quick way for a instant pancake.

SWEET RICE FOR BREAKFAST

Some people have never heard of eating sweet rice for breakfast. We all use rice but most in the city use it as a dinner or lunch recipe. This is to be eaten for breakfast.

1 CUP WATER
1 CUP INSTANT RICE
1/2 CUP SUGAR
3 Tablespoon Blue Bonnet
1/3 CUP MILK or maybe a little less

In a saucepan bring the water to a boil. Add the rice, stir and take off the stove, (you can use regular rice and cook it using directions). Put a lid on the rice and let sit until water is absorbed or until fluffy. Add the sugar and butter and milk to it and put back on stove and let simmer until butter or marg. melts but watch it as it will burn on the bottom. Use low heat. I let mine simmer for a little before taking off stove to combine the sugar milk and butter. If to much milk drain some of it off.
Take off stove and serve. Eat with biscuits. We like to serve it with biscuits, eggs, fried bologna or bacon. This makes enough for three people.

CHOCOLATE GRAVEY FOR BISCUITS

When you say chocolate gravy for biscuits some people look at you like you have lost it. But here in the mountains it is a favorite thing to eat for breakfast. If you are like me and just have to have that chocolate. Make sure you are not a diabetic tho. As it is loaded with calories. It is not good unless you put some sliced blue bonnet or other marg. on top of it and let it melt before eating it. That is the trick.  More calories lol.

3 Tablespoons Cocoa (I use Hershey's)
2 Tablespoons flour
3/4 Cup Sugar
2  Cups Milk
Sliced Marg.

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa. In a medium saucepan pour the milk in it and add the combined ings. Wisk it good. Sometimes it is hard to combine but just work with it. Turn the stove on medium and keep stirring it as it will stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook until it becomes a little thick. Just keep stirring. I think it takes forever sometimes.lol.
 Take off of the stove and stir again. It gets thick all at once. Put some in a bowl and put some sliced marg. on top of the gravy. Crumble your biscuit in the gravy, do not add a lot of biscuit to the bowl as it makes it to dry. Or you can just put some marg. in the kettle and then pour the gravey over your whole biscuit either way it is choc. heaven. You can taste it as it is cooking to see if it is sweet enough. If not you can add some more sugar. You do not want it to be real sweet. Some people like it so sweet it is just like eating liquid fudge. This is good to eat with bacon or ham. The sweet and the salty is just a good combination. Also some fried eggs to. To me Hershey's is the best to use as it is more choc. flavor and is also unsweetened.

WE ARE BLESSED

After my folks came back from a trip down to Alb. we had dinner cooked for them. As we were sitting eating my son-in-law began telling us about how a man came to church one time and was so poor and that his clothes was so ragged that he told the people he was not fit to be inside a church. After church the preacher took him home, fed him, let him take a bath, gave him some fresh clothes to wear. They found out where he lived and it was in a one room camper with only a chair for furniture.
As we sat eating I began to really think about how much we are all blessed in the U.S.A. We have food to cook to eat or if not can go out to eat , more clothes and shoes to wear than we know what to do with. But are we thankful.
Do you ever stop and just think about that hamburger or fries you put in your mouth. What if work stopped and there was no money to buy anything with. I know when Ketrina hit my sister-in-law and family had to drive around two hours just to find water for her babies formula. We are all used to swiping that debit card and most people now hardly ever carry any money. She said her bank shut down and they could not even use their debit card. They had very little money with them to buy any water or food.
 We just never stop and think about how blessed we really are. Do you throw out enough food each meal to feed a child or adult, most times we do.
 My son and his church works with the homeless and he sees so much hunger in the area where he lives. They are so glad for the businesses that give them food to feed the people who just survive day to day.
 We do not know when it could be us. We all take life for granted and don't stop and thank God enough just for the food and shelter we all have. There are so many that have lost their jobs and homes. We may not have a big beautiful home to live in, but now just to have a house or trailer means so much. A garden to provide food and a car to drive even if it is a older model.
 So don't waste food. Stop and think when you cook and just be glad that you do have something to feed your family with. It is hard to cut down on cooking when you are so used to cooking for all your family but when they move out it is just so hard to cut back, but I have my mother-in-law to help feed and her grandson, as she is not able to cook so I am glad for my garden and it helps so much thru the summer months when you don't have that big of income to buy food with. Just remember with each bite you eat to count your blessing for it.
We had went to McD's for a biscuit as we were not home to cook and there were around 10 birds in the parking lot walking around. I began to throw out some of the biscuit to feed them and you should have saw how they  fit over a biscuit crumb. It was so funny just to watch them as they were hungry. I just forgot about eating and gave most of my biscuit to them as they were hungry, I ate the sausage lol. It did not take much for them to get full and fly off and let the others eat. It was just like they knew to take turns. Some would eat and fly back in the tree and then others would fly down and eat. I sat there and thought about how they just enjoyed getting to eat some biscuit and then they all went back to their tree and sat there awhile and then flew off.
In this fast paced world we sometimes forget about helping people but here in the mountains we still try to help one another. We all may not have big incomes to do it with but just sometimes lending a hand can work wonders when you are down and out. Not by money, but by being kind to each other and just being there when needed........