Simple Meat Loaf

2 pds ground beef

1 can tomato paste

1 onion chopped

1-1 1/2 cups oatmeal

2 eggs

salt and pepper



My husband is a picky eater, and he loves this!





Mix the ground beef, egg, onion, oatmeal, tomato paste, salt and pepper together in a big bowl. If you do not have enough Oatmeal in it to dry it up , add a little more, as thats the key to a perfect meatloaf, have enough bread in it to draw up the oil out of it, and allow it to stick together.



Once the meatloaf is nearly done, pull out and put your ketchup on top and put back in for another 20-30 minutes. I bake this in a 300 degree oven for a couple hours, or until the meat is cooked. I decided its better to be cooking for a couple hours, and have a delicious meal, than to cook for 20 minutes, and throw it out, so I cook things slow to get a better flavor.

Beef Manhatten's

You will need one good size roast. Doesnt matter what cut it is, I use any I got in the freezer, cause if you cook it right, its going to be nice and tender anyway.

Place the roast in a crock pot, along with some Worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Cover with water, and for an even better tasting gravy, go ahead and throw in a couple beef boillion cubes to get that really beefy taste.

Just cover it and let it cook. No big secret here, just patience with it. Let it cook until it falls completly apart when you touch it with a fork. Take the meat out of the juice, and shred the meat up with a fork. and set aside.

Now pour the juice into a pot and bring it to a boil. Once its boiling good, mix you up some cornstarch and water, about 3 tablespoons corn starch to 1/4 cup water, and pour it over into the juice, along with a dash of Kitchen Bouquet. This flavors your juice, and makes your gravy nice and brown. Salt and pepper to taste.

Now, take two pieces of white bread and lay on a plate. Spoon some of the roast on the bread, then a little gravy, and then put the other piece of bread on top and smother with the gravy.

I serve this with Mashed Potatoes and green beans usually. One of my and my families favorite meals!!

Slow Cooked Pinto Beans

I have been informed that not everyone cooks their own beans. I have always made my own pot of pinto beans with my fresh made corn bread and fried potatoes, so I couldnt believe this but I guess its true. So here is how to do it.

Wash you a pd bag of beans. Make sure you get all the rocks out (yes fresh beans that dont come canned do have rocks in them from time to time.)

Put your beans over in a good crock pot... you need one that gets hot enough to boil these, you dont want the soup to taste yucky.

Put about 2 tablespoons shortening in the beans along with water to fill it up to the top. Salt and pepper, and be giving with the seasoning, if you dont the beans are not going to taste good.

Cover and let cook for a few hours, make sure you keep them filled with water, or they will burn.

Once they start boiling good, and you see the soup has turned brown, and the beans have swelled all the way up, uncover them, and let them cook like that. That makes your soup get nice and thick, and gives the beans a much better flavor. Be attentive to them, keep them stired up good, so they get thick.
Serve with corn bread ( I have a recipe for this on here) and fried potatoes and maybe even some kraut and weiners. Yummy good, straight from the south supper. Hope you enjoy these!!

Fresh (frozen) okra

Ever put up fresh okra out of the garden? If so then you know how yucky it normally tastes when you try to cook it. Well I got a secret that a sister of one of the little down syndrome guys I use to take care of told me about. Its awesome.

Okay, so first off, freeze the okra whole. Just wash it and throw it in the bag, dont cut anything off.

Now when you go to cook it, cut it up frozen, and crack you an egg over it along with a tad of milk. Not much, just what you would use to coat it with anyway. Allow it to thaw in the bowl, with the egg and milk mixture in it. Mix you up some flour/cornmeal/salt and pepper mix, and set aside. Get your deep fryer going, and have that oil hot, about 400-450 degrees hot.

Now, take the cut okra out by a handful at a time, bread in your flour mixture, and then drop in the fryer. The breading sticks.. the okra gets soft just like it is straight out of the garden. My husband loves this stuff. Just wanted to share it with you.

Broccoli Pasta Salad

Do any of you guys remember Mrs. Winners?? Well I do, I use to work there in high school, and I just loved their pasta salad. I also use to make the stuff and still remember the recipe. So here ya go.


1 bag of the colorful twisted noodles ( I do not remember the name of these, but you will see what I am meaning when you get in the store, lol)

1 head broccoli

2-3 stalks celery

1 carrot shredded

1 bottle ranch dressing


Okay, so cook your noodles, and then let them cool. While they are cooling, cut up your broccoli and celery. All you use of the broccoli is the heads, throw the stalk away. Put this stuff in a bowl along with the shredded carrot. Pour your noodles in the bowl, and then pour your ranch dressing over it, and mix it up. Do not use expensive salad dressing on this, you can not tell the difference in the salad, and it take alot, so use whats on sale ( and remember buy them with coupons!!)

Watergate Salad

My dear friend Shanna Joe's granny use to make this for us all the time when she was living. She was a wonderful cook, and I miss her very much.

you will need

walnuts
1 can pinapple chunks
4 boxes pistashio pudding
1 bag colored baby marshmellows
1 tub cool whip
marishino cherries ( not sure if thats spelled right, but you get the point)

Make the pudding as directed, and then mix the cool whip in with it. Next put all the other stuff in and chill. Thats it. all there is to it. Use as many walnuts and cherries as you like. I like alot in mine, so I use alot, but thats totally up to you. This recipe is near and dear to my heart... it was a comfort food she made us to show us she loved us.. Hope you enjoy

Fruit Cobblers

This is my mothers recipe for easy fruit cobblers.


1 cup flour
1cup sugar
1 cup milk
fruit of choice


put your fruit in the bottom of a round pyrex dish, and then mix the other ingredients up, and pour them over the top of the fruit. Thats all there is to it. I sprinkle a little sugar on top of mine when it starts to form a bread to make it more shinny, but not needed for taste. Serve with a big scoop of vanilla icecream.. Totally easy, and yummy