FYI

My NEW blog address is
bj-sweetnothings.blogspot.com

and I have a link to where you can receive
SWEET NOTHINGS posts in your EMAIL ACCOUNT.

Please go to the NEW BLOG.
thanks, bj

Sunday, June 26, 2011

A Summertime Stew

"Talk of joy: there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread -
there MAY be."
  DAVID GRAYSON
 ♥♥♥
My menu for today is
SUMMERTIME STEW
Hot SOUTHERN Cornbread
Sweet Onion
Iced SWEET TEA
and delicious, frozen pieces of cake, straight from my freezer.
AND...
 I am joining the very first
ON THE MENU MONDAY.
YAY, YVONNE..
this will be an amazing meme and I
look forward to finding a lot of great menu plans and recipes.
Thanks so much for hosting.
♥♥♥
I'm pretty sure I use my 
RIVAL CROCK POT
more in the summertime 
than in the winter.
Don't you love a good stew ?
We love 'em in the cold and snowy wintertime..
in the hot and sultry summertime...
We love a good stew ANYTIME !
♥♥♥
"I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, 
instead of at three o clock in the morning." 
JOHN BARRYMORE 
Years ago, when our little boy and little girl were.....well.....little,
we spent a winter in MONTROSE COLORADO.
We all learned to snow ski that winter and had a BLAST doing it.
4 couples that skied together and, O, it was so much fun.
When we came in from a day of skiing,
we all stopped at a wonderful little
bar and grill
that served absolutely the BEST stew I've ever eaten.
 There was nothing LITTLE about their stew..
BIG chunks of meat..
BIG chunks of potatoes...
BIG chunks of onion...
always celery with the tops (these tops are FULL of flavor, so add them to your soups and stews)
and tomatoes...with peppers...much like ROTEL TOMATOES..
*
This is the way I now make all my stews...large wedges of potatoes, big chunks of onion...
trying hard for as good a stew as that little bar and grill served.
 A beautiful, silver ladle
that belonged to a dear deceased friend and neighbor.
I use it often and always have fond memories of him.
He was such a sweet man and so so FUNNY.
I use this for my STEWS, SOUPS and GRAVIES 
and always smile, remembering my friend, CHARLIE.
 CORNBREAD in an iron skillet is just a WORK OF ART..
and SOOOOOO good.
SOUTHERN CORNBREAD....
thin....crisp...buttery...NO SUGAR ADDED !!
**
Both Mr. Sweet and I grew up on this kind of cornbread...made in a cast iron skillet that's been seasoned well...
We like ours thinner than a lot of people because we both LOVE crispy !!
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
a couple table spoons of melted shortening or bacon drippings, butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
enough milk to make a nice thick batter..
(I LOVE Buttermilk Cornbread so this is what I use)
***
Pour into HOT skillet that has a tad bit of shortening melted..
Cook at 425 for about 30 minutes...
We use a huge cast iron skillet so it will make the cornbread thinner...
If you like it THICK,
use
a smaller skillet...
It just HAS to be cast iron, tho..
IT'S THE LAW OF THE SOUTH !!

now, THIS is good for the soul
summer OR winter.
♥♥♥ 
"There was an Old Man of Peru,
Who watched his wife making a stew;
But once by mistake,
       in a stove she did bake,
That unfortunate Man of Peru."

Edward Lear, English artist, writer; known for his 'literary nonsense' & limericks  (1812-1888)
When I don't have a good dessert after a great meal
of STEW and CORNBREAD,
I just LOVE it when I go to the freezer and there, greeting me all nice and frozen,
might be a STRAWBERRY ANGEL FOOD CAKE
and a bit of GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE.
yes, ma'am...
I freeze even the smallest bits of cake or pie because we just love to find it....
all frozen and sweet and delicious.
When I found these two pieces of cake,
I started daydreaming about them...
about serving them up on a VINTAGE IRONSTONE LITTLE PLATE... 
maybe with a strawberry or two or three... 
"All the world is birthday CAKE, so take a piece, but not too much".
George Harrison, member of THE BEATLES.  
I just LUV pretty foods...and strawberries are pretty !
"...pretty is as pretty does..."
didn't FORREST GUMP'S mom say that ?? :)
Mr. Sweet just SWEARS I am going to turn into a 
GIANT, RED STRAWBERRY 
someday.
I DO eat a lot of them...
Hugs and kisses,
bj
♥♥♥
I am honored to play in the parties of..
Thanks, ladies, for hosting..
"Strawberries are the angels of the earth,
innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward."
~Terri Guillemets

27 comments:

Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee) said...

Wow! It looks so yummy! Great pictures. Beautiful summery post.
Hope to see you on my blog:)

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

It sounds wonderful! We had a big roast in the crockpot tonight! I missed my cornbread though! ♥

Lynn said...

I love stew BJ! Believe it or not one of my favorite things is the celery! Yep, even this Yankee makes her corn bread in cast iron:@)

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Your food always looks good. I like the cornbread crispy, too and I do have a seasoned iron skillet even though it hasn't been used in a while.

Sue @ Not the Good Scissors! said...

Now I know I am losing it. I am staring at that gorgeous stew and really not thinkig of much else and believing that I can smell it. Well I was smelling something alright, it is the Shephard's Pie I have in the oven! Good grief BJ, you can certainly get me caught up in your delish meals. So much so that I think I can smell them!!! Now for a cast iron pan. I do believe that there is a law on the books about them. :) What to cook in them, how to clean them and how to care for them. Yes I do believe there is a law!!! LOL! After all, that is the only way to make fried chicken.

Unknown said...

Oh, mercy! We love stew also ... usually only in the winter, but yours has already influenced me to make one soon.
And that fabulous dessert ...

You know, all I have to do is visit you & gain 10#'s just looking, BJ.

Your presentations are always so beautiful done.

Have a wonderful week ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

Poppy @ With a Dash of Color said...

"Strawberries are the angels of the earth,... reaching heavenward".. such a beautiful quote.I love strawberries and this quote personifies it so well! Loved the cornbread recipe. I love eating cornbread and yours look so perfect and crispy! The dessert looks totally delish! Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe and I loved the tip on seasoning cast iron skillet. Thanks for your sweet comment and following me. Your newest follower~Poppy

http://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/

Splenderosa said...

I think I've just met a friend. Coming over from Yvonne's place. Lovely blog, great post. Love it!

La said...

I love cornbread. Your dinner looks so yummy.

Unknown said...

:) I love the limericks! :) Your posts are so funny. My mom always made cornbread this way! When we moved to Chicago... people thought we were weird because of the way we ate cornbread and beans. We weren't poor or anything... just unsophisticated by Chicago standards... We only lived there couple of years. :)

Have a great week!
~Liz

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I love making stwe in the crockpot Bj..it's so easy and it is wonderful to come home to a good hearty meal! I also always cook cornbread in my cast iron skillet ..it tastes so good that way...now I wish I had a piece!

Pondside said...

We love stew too - does anything smell nicer when you walk in the door? I don't usually make cornbread, but my mother used to - and we'd eat it with butter and molasses.

Debbie said...

I have no clue as to why, but in this ridiculous 100 degree drought, I have been crazing soup or stew lately. What's up with that, I do not know.

I just know that your menu whet the old appetite in a big way.

Debbie said...

craving.
That's craving soup. I have no idea how to craze soup...

Vee said...

It's as if you invited us in for a wonderful meal and shared not only your wonderful tips, your best dishes, and fun quotes, but your very soul. Love it all! (I am not, however, going to make cornbread without sugar, but that's just a small matter. ☺) Hugs!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Your stew and corn bread sound great! I have always just made corn bread from Jiffy Mix. I am going to try your recipe!!
Hugs,
Penny
p.s. I am having a giveaway of a Shabby Apple dress...

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

BJ, what a beautifull menu! I love stew too~ and like you it can be winter or summer. I love the idea of using big chunks of potatoes and onions. I'm going to try that next time. Sounds so good! What meat do you use. I usually use a chuck roast. YUMMY!
And BJ, your idea about freezing sweets is the best tip. I am not a baker because we don't have much of a sweet tooth here. I don't bake because I end up throwing so much away. But I would love a bite of sweet after dinner once and a while. So I'll make a chocolate something, my weakness, and freeze it in small bites. Good for the tummy and in bite size good for my waistline... or what there is of it!
Thank you so much for participating in ON THE MENU MONDAY! I hope you can tell I was very inspired by you!
xo Yvonne

The French Hutch said...

bj, What a delicious looking meal. I love anything, and I mean anything you can cook in one pot, especially a crock pot. Easy to make, cook and yummy. The bread goes perfect with this meal, thank you no sugar in the corn bread! With a meal like this there is only one thing better, the left overs which are even better. What a sweet friend your Charlie must have been.

~Emily
The French Hutch

Miz Helen said...

Hi BJ,
Your Stew and Cornbread looks delicious. I really enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing and have a great day!
Miz Helen

Beth McDonald said...

I absolutely love your food posts! Everything looks and sounds so tasty and full of flavor. Lately when I'm planning what I want to fix, I wonder...what can I add to make it "BJ-delicious!"
xo,
Beth

FABBY'S LIVING said...

FIRST! (before I forget), it happens that each and every time I come by your posts, I see you with your beautiful grandgirl and I so love this picture...it's so happy and full of love!! Wow, this food looks so yummy! Love this menu, I so adore Cornebread on a cast iron skillet, great! I have a couple, so I'm ready for this! You can use the flag idea any time darling! A lady who rote me was very upset because I used it for the photo the Am. flag, I didn't eat on it, though, just for the post; her name is "TerryLlyn at, Nothing But The Truth"-I couldn't get thru her blog to tell her I didn't mean anything bad...I sooo adore my country, my daughters are Amer. too and I also love where I live too and been so happy with my wonderful hubby. HAPPY 4th. Of JULY!! Love, Fabby

On Crooked Creek said...

BJ,
I love stew...NOT vegetable soup, but stew. Did I mention my MoMa had "Southern Roots"??? She always made STEW!!! Wasn't until I married " Mr.Ed" that I knew what vegetable soup was. His mother, my dearly beloved Mother~in~law made the best vegetable soup. I had the BEST of both worlds ~ "Southern Roots" and "Prairie Grown"!!! Thank you for reminding me that I can (and will ) make STEW next time around!
Fondly,
Pat

arkie said...

I love your posts! Keep up the great blog! Thanks!

eileeninmd said...

Your stew looks delicious and I the desserts are yummy. What a great post. Thanks for the recipe. My family loves cornbread. Have a great week!

Shel said...

Everything looks so yummy...but that stew and cornbread has me very hungry now!
Shel

Mary said...

While your stew looks delish, BJ, it's that cornbread that has my mouth watering! And oh, I do love strawberries, too. :)
xoxo

Kathleen said...

Good for you freezing the cake in pieces. Always a special surprise treat waiting for you!