Author: Connie Brannen

Categories
December 2020 Recipe

Old Time Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Hello, everyone. I wish you the best for this day. North Florida is cloudy today but not a cold day. The world is only cloudy if you let it be. Put your mind on something interesting and let it carry you through this day.

I am always thinking of and praying for everyone in this world, for every-day that goes by. And I do try to give out a little joy to you all as that is all that I have, but that is enough.

So, today, I am giving you my favorite chocolate fudge frosting recipe. If you make this and put it on a devil’s food cake or a fudgy chocolate cake mix. All I can say is oh my my! Because when I gift this cake to someone, that is all they can say, too.

I will add a photo one of these days when I make this delightful fudgy frosting. I have to watch what I eat and I can not eat a whole cake by myself so one day when there is an event, then I will cook one up.

Ready for the recipe now? I just bet you are! Ok these are the ingredients that you will need.

1/2 c cream or milk 1 stick butter microwave until boiling

5c powdered sugar 1/2 c cocoa whisk together

1 tsp vanilla

Add all dry ingredients with vanilla into your mixing bowl with the vanilla. Have the boiling cream and butter near by.

Begin by pouring a little of the cream and butter mixture into your frosting as you are whipping it up with your mixer. Keep adding the cream mixture in slowly and a little at a time, just until frosting becomes creamy enough to spread on the cake. You may not need all the cream mixture. The next step is to share this and enjoy or give as a never forgotten gift.

I used to bake one of these each month for 2 dozen brown chicken eggs, straight from the farm. The cake was well appreciated and so were those beautiful eggs.

Thanks for visiting and do stay a while and check out the monthly archives for more recipes if you wish. Share away and think about returning to visit again as I post on Sat-Tue and Thursdays. Connie B.

Categories
Meats

Cracklins

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You have to be country to want to do this!

Whew it’s a cold North Florida night! I hope that you are warm, where ever you are tonight.

If you happen to live on a farm then this is so much easier to do, but then you would already know about cracklins. Cracklins are pig fat, that you fry up and eat. Then you save the lard to cook with for later.

In my twenty’s, I used to have a farm and about this cold time of the year would be pig butchering time for one and the others would get sold off. So I learned this as I learned many other things about living on a farm.

I found huge pork roasts on sale and got two of them. I cut all the fat off both into 1 inch cubes, after washing them very well first. Then I used my huge pressure canner to can all the meat that I cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes. This was last year and I still have plenty of canned pork left and it will last for 3 years plus more. But I like to eat from stock as I can new stuff.

Back to the cracklins now. All you have to do is put the chunks of pig fat into a large steel pot or cast iron pan and add a TBSP of water to keep it from popping grease all over you as you fry these down. You would think that water would make it pop but it does not pop. I was amazed at that. Use a medium heat like #5 and take your time. It took me an hour. You do not want to burn the grease as that will be nice white lard to cook with later.

When all the cracklins have turned to crispy, Then take out and put on a plate with paper towels on it. Eat now or freeze for later to make cracklin cornbread with. Use 1 to 1/2 c. for cornbread . When the grease is cool then strain it through a sieve into a container and keep in the fridge. I water bath canned mine for 15 minutes so they are sealed in pint jars.

For this experience, you could buy some pig fat from the grocer butcher and do this. But I would prefer to have the pig on the farm as you would get enough lard for the year or more. I do hope that some of you will try this, but that is up to you.

As for lard versus cCisco. I very rarely fry anything up, and when I do, I use the smallest amount possible to do the job. As an example for the chicken livers that I will be cooking tomorrow, I will use about one inch of lard in my cast iron frying pan. And I will have a sieve screen thingy over the top of my frying pan with paper towels on top of that. And they will not hang down on the stove burner. I hope I haven’t freaked you out as this is southern cooking ways.

Stay a while if you wish and share if you will. I post on Thur-Sat and Tuesdays. Connie B.

Categories
Breads December 2020

Cheesy Garlic Buns

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Brrr. It’s cold in Florida today and very windy. I hope that you are warm and cozy today, where ever that you may be.

Here is a little bread recipe that I enjoy and I hope that you may also. I had made spaghetti a while back, it is in my archives for October or November, I think. Anyway, this made some mighty tasty garlic and cheesy buns to go with the spaghetti.

If you need just a bit for one, then use 2 TBSP of soft butter and stir in some garlic powder ( 1/16 th–tsp) and use a small garlic clove minced finely with a dash of salt. Dice up a cheese-stick’s worth of cheese. I used motzerella cheese. Use any kind.

Just spread butter mixture over bread and add smally diced cheese over top and broil for a few minutes until browned. Stay with this as it burns very quickly!

If you have a larger family than just I, then use a 1/2 or whole stick of soft butter and use 1/2 tsp of garlic powder or more if you like and 2 or more cloves of minced garlic with a little salt added in. Dice up your cheese in small chunks and put on the top. Broil a couple of minutes until brown.

I hope that you will use this recipe for your family of for yourself as this goes with everything. Stay awhile if you wish and share if you want. Thank you for your visit and do come back soon as I post on Tue-Thur and Saturdays. Connie B.

Categories
Soup

Vegetable Beef Soup

This is a photo that I took of a hearty soup that I put together. It has roast beef and lots of veggies in it.
This is a steaming and hearty mug of roast beef soup that is loaded with great vegetables. The fresh aroma in the air is lovely and beefy, with all the smells of a delightful hot mug of soup on any given day. https://www.wisdomforpennies.com

Good morning to all from North Florida on this lovely frosty day. I, say that now, but in a few hours when I have to go outside, I imagine that I will be having a different kind of thinking. Hope all is well in your home and know that I am always praying for all of you!

I have a soul warming recipe to share with you today! I have been eating leftovers for days now, and I don’t mind at all, as I really like this recipe that I created a few days ago. And I hope that you will enjoy it too!

As I am a canner, I used two pint jars of canned roast beef in this recipe. That comes out to 2 lbs of beef roast and as it was in the pressure canner for 75 minutes, it cooked up really done and tender, like flaking off the fork tender. So you will need 2 lbs of cooked roast for this recipe.

Ingredients are 2 lbs of roast beef cooked

2 -15 oz cans of diced tomatoes with juice

1 =15 oz can of hominy with juice (I was out of whole corn)

1-15 oz can of green lima beans (or butter beans) with the juice

1-large onion cut up and 1 extra large potato diced med-small

3 cloves of garlic diced small 1 tsp accent 1 tsp salt 1 tsp garlic powder and enough water in your large pot to cover all the vegetables and still have 2 more inches over the top.

Keep the beef out of the pot as it will be already cooked before you begin this recipe.

Put everything else into the pot and cook on medium high (#7) for 30 minutes. Then add the beef and continue to cook for 30 minutes more and then you are done and ready to eat this soul warming meal.

I would loved to have had fresh bread right out of the oven with this but I just ate it plain for 2 days and on the 3rd day I had saltine crackers with it. I only have a small bowl left for today and wish that the bowl was never ending! But this will have me thinking about something else to create in my kitchen, which is my favorite room in my house. Can’t you tell?

I do hope that I am not boring you all, but I love to create recipes and do so like to share them with you. Wishing you warmth and happiness or strong faith and knowledge that God is with you, even in your darkest hour. Even though you can not see him, he is always there for you.

Ask me how I know this? Back in 1988 I found this out and have never let go and neither has he!

I do hope that you stay a while and read some of my archived recipes by the month is the easiest way to navigate my site. I can write but I can’t steer the ship to well. So please bear with me in my organising this blog!

I post 3 times a week on Tue-Thur and Saturday so please feel free to come back and share my recipes with all. Thank You from Connie B.

Categories
Dessert

Carrot Cake

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Good morning all. I hope this day finds you happiness and content and I do hope that you had a great Thanksgiving this year. Here’s a snapshot of my desert. And it was good.

I have been making this cake for about 40 years now.

The ingredients are 3 c grated carrots after rinsing and skinning them.

2 c white sugar 1 1/4 c. vegetable oil 4 eggs beaten

2 c flour I use self-rising for all my cooking

2 tsp baking powder (also) 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon 2tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour your bunt cake pan. You can also use a 13×9 pan.

Into a large bowl add your eggs and oil and sugar and vanilla. Mix, Add in your flour-baking-soda-salt and cinnamon that have been hand whisked together. Add this in slowly and in small amounts as you are mixing the batter. Add in the carrots and nuts if you want them in your cake. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes. Watch and do the tooth-pic test for doneness.

After 10 minutes take the cake out of the pan and let it cool completely, before frosting it.

Icing (use a mixer) 3 c powdered sugar 1 stick softened butter 8 oz cream cheese (softened) 2 tsp vanilla extract 5 TBSP of milk or maybe a tiny bit more if the icing is not wet enough to spread around the cake. You can add a cup of chopped nuts to the icing or in the cake batter if you wish. This icing will be thick and creamy!

I do hope that this cake brings you joy as it has for so many many years to me.

Stay a-while, while you are already here, and check out the monthly archives if you wish and share, if you will. Thanks for stopping by. I will be posting again on Tuesday-Thur and Saturdays.

Sincerely, best wishes from me to you. Connie B.

#CONNIEBRECIPESWISDOMFORPENNIES

Categories
Salad

Taco Salad

#taco #salad

Good morning everyone! A beautiful day in North Florida, this morning. It is refreshingly cool. Today, I wish for you, everything good, along with peace of mind, Just hold on and keep on praying. God’s got you, wherever you are.

Today, I am giving you my Connie’s taco salad recipe and I hope that you will keep this one as it is one of my favorites. Whenever you cook up a delicious pot of chili, save some in a little freezer bag so that you can have this later. Use your own chili recipe or look up mine in my monthly archives if you wish. Look around while you are there if you like as I have many of my recipes in there.

Ingredients you will need are tortilla chips

Bag of mixed lettuce or make your own salad.

Sour cream and taco bell fire hot sauce or milder if you choose.

And 3/4 cup of great chili or awful canned chili, your choice here.

1/3 c or less of grated cheddar cheese.

First I heat up the tortilla chips on a plate in the microwave. A heaping plateful of them. Watch them as they will catch on fire and burn! Ask me how I know this? On another plate, I put my rinsed and drained well salad. Now top the salad with all the tortilla chips.

Have your chili warmed up and drizzle it all over the chips. Use a whopping dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle with hot sauce of your choice. And then sprinkle on the grated cheese, again your choice of which kind and how much cheese that you wish.

Be ready to sit down and eat this as soon as it’s prepared or it will get soggy on you! Enjoy!!

Thank you for your visit today and I hope that you will visit me often and share with many. I will begin today ( May 18 2021 only posting on Tuesday and Saturday. Warm wishes to every one of you! Connie B.

#CONNIEBRECIPESWISDOMFORPENNIES

Categories
November 2020 Water Bath Canning

Orange Cranberry Sauce

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Good morning everyone. I thought that I would show you a very nice red and orange-colored, and comforting for those that do like cranberry sauce, food photo that I just took off of my camera. It has been sitting there waiting for today, to have its day in the spotlight all over the world. I hope.

It may go to Italy today or even Switzerland, Australia, or possibly Ireland. This little blog of mine does some traveling for me, as I could only wish to travel, so it does it for me. I do get so much enjoyment out of my little blog!

Ok, I know that there are more cranberry haters than lovers, out there, but this one recipe may change your mind. Once I tasted this, I for one will never go back to the cans from the store, as I myself canned this one in canning jars. And this one will always be my go to.

I used Granny’s old steel pot as you can see. I have had this for many many years and I always make my jams and jellies, only in this pot, with a long wooden spoon. Hey I am 61, so some things will never change in my kitchen, but on the other hand, I do love to create in my kitchen, so maybe I can change. God only knows, not even myself!

If you look into the pot you can see whole cranberries that have been crushed with little orange zests floating around. Imagine the smell! It was decadent! This pot of orange-cranberry sauce made 5- pint jars of sauce. 4 were jellied and 1 was slightly runny, so I say not bad for a first time trying as I made it up as I went along.

Here is the recipe for you. 2 – 12 oz bags of whole cranberries and 3 oranges zested and juiced

5 c. sugar with 2 heaping TBSP of pectin mixed in with the sugar (powdered pectin). I use Mrs. Wages as it is the cheapest to be found for me.

Rinse off the cranberries and put them in a big steel pot. Put the orange zest and juice in the pot also.

Pour in 4 c. water.

Boil until they pop. Then use a potato masher to slightly mash berries.

Add in the 5 c. sugar that has the pectin in it. (This whole recipe is cooked on #8 on the stove. A high boil, while always stirring and watching out for popping sauce as it will burn you. So use a taller pot and a long spoon.

Once you have slightly mashed the berries, then pour in the sugar mixture and keep stirring until it comes to a rolling boil. 5 minutes should do it and be thickened up. It will thicken more in the canning jars.

I water-bathed canned these 5- pint for 20 minutes. if you need more information on water bathing then check my monthly archives under canning.

This is a very simple recipe that is so delightful. You taste more orange than cranberry!

Thank you for your visit and do come back soon or stay awhile if you wish. I will post on all Tue-Thur and Saturdays if you want to visit me again. If you wish, please share the recipes.

Thanks again for stopping by. Connie B.

Categories
Meats

Spiral Brown Sugar Baked Ham

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Hello to everyone on this beautiful sunny and windy North Florida day. I hope this day finds you well and reaching for some little type of joy and calmness. We do have to keep reaching out to discover some, each and every day.

Early this morning as I was sitting out on my little back patio in my rocking chair and having my whiskey cup of coffee for the day, I was enjoying using all my five senses as I sat and marveled at the sights and sounds all around me. The taste was my delicious coffee along with the smell.

I had the sun, warming my legs and shoulders, as I looked up into the most marvelous blue sky, that you could just imagine. I was looking at an old Live Oak tree that is most likely 150 years old. The winds were mightly whipping the dazzling and vibrant green branches that were reaching out to that brilliant blue color of the sky.

I watched the big old crows, swooping, and diving, within the wind currents. They were having so much fun as they played. I saw a little shadow pretty near my bare feet and it was a little brown and bright yellow-bellied, little wren. I imagine that she will be building a nest in my African Daisy plant like they did in the springtime. They raised three, might fine little babies near my bay window and I watched from the laying of the 4 eggs and until the 3 eggs hatching. I also watched Mom and Dad work really hard to feed those babies. I enjoyed that nature experience! Now I really am not sure if they breed in the winter, but the way they are ravenously eating at my bird feeders. I would almost bet upon it! I hope, that I have drawn you a painting with my words, for your day.

The recipe is —- Buy a Cooked Spiral Honey or Brown Sugar Ham. This photo was from last year’s Christmas Community Dinner. And it was bought at Walmart. The price is high, like around $30 on sale. But It has the best flavor that I have ever had.

Buy 2 cans of pineapple rings and 2 bottles of Maraschino cherries. Buy 1 box of brown sugar.

As this ham is already cooked, all it needs is some decorations. Mix a cup of brown sugar with the juice of one of the cans of pineapple rings and also add the cherry juice of one jar into this mix.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and use a 13x 9 pan to put your ham into. When you cut open the package, watch out so that all the juice in the bag does not land all over you. Ask me how I know this!

Use toothpicks to attatch all the pineapple rings and cherries to the ham. Take your sugar juice mixture and pour down into all the spiral slices, throughout the ham. For this to be hot for dinner, you need to slide this in the oven 60 minutes before your Thanksgiving mealtime.

I hope that you enjoy this ham recipe as I know that

we all, truly enjoyed it last Thanksgiving. This ham is not the salty type of ham. While you are already here, take a look at the monthly archives if you wish and also share if you will. Do feel welcome to come back again as I post on Sat-Tue and Thursdays. Warm Holiday Wishes to Every one of you. Connie B.

Oops, I almost forgot! Those little bags on the table were for my 2 mail ladies for Christmas last year. And I will have to treat them again this year, as they always make sure that I get my packages and mail, They were filled with medium size tins of homemade chocolate fudge.

PS As today is December 2020 there is no warm sunshine today. Just wanted to share again. This is what I hope to fix for Christmas Dinner.

350 degrees for 60 minutes as it comes already cooked from Walmart in the ham bin.

Categories
Breads

Connie’s Cornbread

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Good morning everyone, on this beautiful 40 degree, North Florida day. A very nice, nip in the air for me. And I am very thankful as it makes breathing, quite a bit easier for me. So I am happy!

I do wish the very best for your day and hope that you reach for something to smile about today. As the skies are blue and the trees are green. There is always beauty to find if you just stop and take a look.

Today’s recipe is not for the timid as it does take some extra work to achieve but you will learn a bit about the people before us, with their genius minds. Makes me feel kind of dumb, but oh well, I for one, am glad to have found this lesson from history.

I wanted to store popcorn for cornmeal as it’s clean corn to eat. To try and grind the popcorn, nothing would work and I did try all my gadgets. So if you look online, you could order a $500.00 professional grain mill grinder or go to a stone mill house, like in the old days, if you can even find one nowadays.

So as I was researching way back in time. I found out that our Indians and our Mexican peoples knew what we don’t know today. Yes, they knew how to grind corn with a simple little rock. Not all the fancy machines that we have today.

Their process is called nixtamalization. It involves dry lime powder with water and hard dried corn. I used pickle lime. Here is the recipe if you dare to try it. It was some of the best ever cornbread that I have ever had.

2 c. washed popcorn in a large pot

6 c. water 1/2 tsp. pickling lime

Rinse popcorn and add it and water and lime powder to the pot. Have on a simmering boil for 10 minutes. Leave in the water overnight. (Do not put your hands in water). It is caustic and will burn your hands. In the morning, rinse the corn with a strainer for 10 rinses. A lot.

Now you can put this in the freezer for later when you want to cook cornbread or you can use it now. I filled my little coffee grinder up and ground it right up. I used enough to make a cup and a half for my recipe. Then as I had more popcorn leftover for next time. I put it in the freezer It was wet but it ground up dry, like the beautiful fresh cornmeal that it was. So our Ancestors did know something that most of the world doesn’t even know now. And I just imagine that they did this for their Thanksgiving meal for their families.

My cornbread recipe that I have used for so very many years is—-

1 1/2 c. cornmeal

1c. self -rising flour with 1 TBSP baking powder, also

1/3 c. sugar (If I am not making stuffing).

2 eggs beaten and 2 TBSP melted bacon grease

1 cup milk with 1 TBSP lemon juice (makes buttermilk)

Heat oven to 350 degrees and have a cast-iron frying pan of medium size with 2 TBSB. grease in the pan. ( I usually use cast-iron, but this time, I did not).

Use a medium bowl to mix everything up in. If the batter is too thick or too dry, add in small amounts of water and stir until it is pourable but not runny. Pour batter into a hot cast-iron skillet and bake 25-30 minutes until it’s a pretty brown. Now enjoy with butter! Or use this to put in your stuffing along with biscuits or other breads.

I do hope that some of you will try this! I know that this will make my 25 lb bucket of popcorn, a whole lot easier to cook up. Thank you for visiting me and check out the monthly archives for more. Always share so others might find a recipe that they like. I post on Tue-Thur and Saturdays so do come back for more if you want. Thanks again for reading my blog. Connie B.

Categories
Sandwiches

BB Pork Sandwich

A very nice and free, appetising lunch from two of my friends.

North Florida is still not cold, today, as I would love to see and feel some awesome coolness in the air. It is not to be! So I will take this day as it is given and find a little joy, within my day.

I am hoping for you all, that you will reach deep, within yourself and find you some of it for you and your’s. And if you just can not reach this pleasure, then God can get you there.

Today’s post is all about gifts of food and coming up with ideas to make it fun. And it worked out, mighty fine and mighty tasty, too. In the morning one of my friends brought over some vegetables and in the afternoon, another friend brought over a fine, roasted and rose-mary, scented half of a pork-loin. I thought hmm, what can I create with these fine gifts of today! So this is what I came up with.

I happened to have some Italian bread and green olives, along with mayo-mustard and bb, sauce. I decided to toast the bread in my bright red, little toaster. It’s smelling good already! Off to a good start. I had already, very slightly heated up the pork-loin in my bright red little microwave.

By the way, can you tell that I like bright red appliances in my little kitchen? Red is a color of happiness, to me. It makes me want to get creative in the kitchen and hey, the color is just, beautiful to me! Ok, let me get back to my 2:00 pm, late brunch/lunch.

On my barbecue pork sandwich, I put some mayo and mustard and barbecue sauce. I sliced up the gifts of the avacado and tomatoes and then I tossed some of my little green olives onto my plate, added some pink salt and freshly ground peppercorns, for my spices. Next I added an ice cold coca-cola to the mix. And I was ready to sample this.

So I turned on an Amazon free movie and sat at my coffee table in the living-room as I truly enjoyed all the different flavors, of my meal. This was a simple meal, but one to remember, as it was that good.

Sorry about my rambling on, but I do have to entertain myself, and this takes a whole lot of whitt, to keep ahead of myself. So I do , stay on my toes, with God’s help, as He is the only one that can understand me.

Pisces are nuts! So I fit the mold very well.

Thank you for stopping by and being a part of my world, you all, really do mean a lot to me! I do appreciate, each and everyone of you! Check the archives for more, and stay a while, if you can. Remember to come back again, just to see, what I’m up to next. I never know myself!

I always post on Tue-Thur and Saturdays. Today is a freebie for you, so you, also have something free. Connie B.

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