Jalapeno Pepper Cornbread

Jalapeno Pepper Cornbread

Use as many MADE IN OKLAHOMA products as possible!

(note: also used products from three other states that border Oklahoma) 

2 cups Shawnee Best White Corn Meal Mix

(Shawnee Milling Company Shawnee, Oklahoma)

1 1/2 Cups Braum's Milk

(Braum's Dairy Tuttle, Oklahoma)

2 eggs

(ours were from MoArk Productions Neosho, Missouri)

2 Tablespoons Melted Shortening or Oil

(Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc Kansas City, Kansas)

1 can whole kernel corn

(Allen's Canning Siloam Springs, Arkansas)

1/4 cup chopped Jalapeno Peppers

(Weatherford, Oklahoma)

My husband makes his cornbread in a 10 inch cast iron skillet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. My husband puts his oil into the skillet and places the skillet in the oven to heat the skillet and the oil. Put corn meal in a mixing bowl. Add milk, egg, corn, jalapeno peppers. Stir only enough to throughly mix ingredients. Carefully remove hot skillet from the oven and pour hot oil in cornbread mixture. Stir only to mix oil in other ingredients. Pour cornbread mixture into hot skillet and return to oven. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes.

My husband placed jalapeno slices on top of his cornbread before baking to enhance his presentation. You can also add a cup of grated cheese to this recipe or chopped onions or both depending on what you have on hand or what you like to eat. My husband makes a variety of different ingredient cornbreads. Sometimes he uses cream corn, but it really makes it sweet.

I have to tell you this cornbread was so good! Hot from the oven with a little butter....so sorry you can only see it and not have a big slice of your own.

Cast Iron Skillet

My husband loves cooking with cast iron skillets. His favorite one was a well used 10 inch skillet. He made the mistake of letting one of the girls take the skillet on a camping trip and it never returned. We finally found a great new LODGE brand 10 inch cast iron skillet at Atwoods. He was so thrilled to once again have a "cornbread" skillet. The following information is what he did with the cast iron skillet to get it ready for cooking.

Instructions for seasoning a new cast iron skillet:

Wash with soap and water. Rinse and dry.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Place piece of aluminum foil on middle rack of oven.

Rub shortening all over cast iron skillet.

Place the skillet upside down on the aluminum foil in oven.

Bake at 250 degrees for one hour.

Turn oven off and just let the skillet "rest' in the oven until it is cool.

Now your new cast iron skillet is ready to use!

Always wash and dry your cast iron skillet immediately after using. After wash/dry my husband places his cast iron skillet on top of the stove with burner turned on medium to heat the skillet enough to make sure it is dry. If cast iron skillet is left wet it will rust. Now you are ready to get your own cornbread skillet and use the next recipe on this blog...

Sayre-Mann Mansion Ardmore, OK

The Sayre-Mann Mansion at 323 "F" Street SW was built in Ardmore, OK in 1887. The Queen Anne Style home was moved to this location in 1902. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. These photos do not do it justice. It is such a beautiful home. Can you imagine what it took to move this home?

A block down from the Sayre-Mann Mansion we saw this original hitching post. This entire several block area has some really beautiful old homes. Ardmore, the county seat of Carter County has a lot of historical places and things to see.

Head south on I-35 to Ardmore, OK and see some of these awesome places for yourself.

High Blood Pressure?

Do you have high blood pressure (hypertension)? My husband and I have taken high blood pressure medicine for years. I did a little reading and found that several foods are beneficial to those of us who have high blood pressure. Since we like to eat, this "good food list" was good news.

A healthy diet that includes potassium, magnesium and calcium can help lower and control high blood pressure. You should also include essential fatty acids, but cut back the saturated fats, salt and sugar.

The following are some of the foods we can eat to help with our high blood pressure:

Spinach

Sunflower Seeds

Bananas

Unsaturated Fats

Garlic

Tomatoes

Broccoli

Spinach is rich in magnesium which also helps prevent heart disease. Spinach also contains folate which protects the homocysteine levels in the body. Spinach is best raw in salads to get the most benefit.

Sunflower Seeds are rich in potassium, magnesium and phytosterols to aid the lowering of cholesterol levels.

Bananas are also rich in potassium and have a high fiber content. Two per day are good for you health.

Unsaturated fats provide essential fatty acid needed by our bodies. Fish contain omega-3 that helps prevent heart disease. Oily fish like trout, salmon and mackerel are the best for you. The best way to prepare them is to grill, bake or steam.

Garlic helps thin the blood and stops blood vessels clogging which reduces blood pressure. Garlic can be taken in pill form if you do not like the taste of eating it.

Tomatoes are full of calcium and potassium plus they contain vitamins A, C and E. Tomatoes also contain lycopene a antioxidant that also helps reduce heart disease. Drinking tomato juice is a good way to enjoy tomatoes. Just check the label and make sure there is no added salt or sugar.

Broccoli is high in potassium and contains chromium which helps with blood sugar regulation. It is best steamed or eaten raw.

High blood pressure is the silent killer so do not ignore it (I need blog followers).  I am sure there are other foods that would be good for high blood pressure, but luckily we happen to like the ones on this list.

Sweet Husband

My sweet husband surprised me with a new bottle of Celine Dion Parfum! A few weeks ago I told him I need to start looking for some plain Celine Dion, because my bottle I purchased in December 2009 was about to run out. I did not think about that conversation again.

The other night we went to Walgreens to grab some coffee that was on sale. When we got into the store I took a cart and went to find the coffee. I picked up a few other sale items and headed for the check out. Of course as usual he had headed off in another direction. When I finally found him we checked out and went to the car.

When we got to the car he handed me a sack with my Celine Dion Parfum! Wow I was so surprised! The plain Celine Dion Parfum is hard to find. You can find Celine Dion Chic, Celine Dion Sensational or Celine Dion Brilliance most of the time, but not her first fragrance Celine Dion Parfum.

Celine Dion Parfum is the only one I can wear that doesn't give me a headache. Other colognes or room sprays or air fresheners really make me crazy. So my sweet husband found my kind! Now I am set for at least another year.

Consumer Reports

Today is my Arkansas friend Pat's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT! She and I have been friends for thirty-six (or thirty-seven) years. She is like my other little sister. Her grandson was born on my grandson's birthday. We spend holidays together and visit nearly everyday. None of this has anything to do with this blog title, except it reminded me of this website Pat sent to me. I saved it to use "at a later date" and just now remembered that I wanted to share it with you.

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safetyalerts/schoolsafety/

It is a great site to keep up with the latest consumer information. It gives the latest safety news, lists recalls of all kinds of products from food to toys, etc., gives health news and just about any topic you might need to check. I recommend you keep it in your favorites or where ever you put stuff you need to find later.

I recommend you check out Pat's blog too:      http://pearlcabin.blogspot.com/
She has awesome tips on how to live small,  how to cook for one and lots of other things.

Be sure to sign up to be a follower on Pearl Cabin too.

Wood Carving

My Uncle Ralph, who lives in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, does the neatest tiny wood carving ornaments. He takes a thin slice of a tree branch and creates these carvings.

These tiny owls are my favorites. I don't know how he gets so much detail in such tiny creatures.

Of course he had to make the Arkansas Razorback.

I love this shape of the State of Arkansas.

Note how he carved out the tree that does not touch the top.

This is his version of the War Eagle Mill.

I am proud that he gifted me with some of his wood carving art.

Granny's Love School Concert

Our grandson aka "Granny's Love" had his spring school concert last night in the new Performing Arts Center at the High School. He is the adorable child on the far right of this photo second row down from the top. He was just incredibly handsome in his little suit vest and tie. The blue shirt really made his eyes sparkle. I know you think I am partial, but he is so sweet.

This next photo is of the whole group. There were two concerts with each one with half the classes. This concert had four classes. They just opened this multi-million dollar Performing Arts Center which was built smack dab in the middle of the high school parking lot. The community raised money to purchase a $88,000.00 (yes, eighty-eight thousand dollars!) grand piano for the center. I would have been more thrilled with more parking less stairs.

If you notice Granny's Love has his hands clasped behind his back in most of the photos. I would bet money this is what they were all told to do. He is one of those wonderful children that wants to please and tries to do what he is told. He did not get that from his mother or his father. LOL

He told me that we needed to sit on the front row. He knows his Poppy can't see very well. The look on his face when he saw that we were front row center was so worth getting there way too early.

He wasn't real thrilled with this scarf twirling part of the performance. Note the wood rim around the stage area. There was at least a half dozen people trip on that while we were there. The teacher even made an announcement for parents to be careful and not fall over the wood rim! Are you kidding? What the heck is it for anyway?

OK it is hard to focus when you are a granny and your eyes water watching "the baby" at his concert. He just looks so grown up. It was only yesterday?? when I sat and rocked him to sleep singing....Jonathan Wesley is who you are...Granny's bright and shining star...Sent from heaven up above...Just for Papa to give his love...Jonathan...Jonathan...Jonathan Wesley is who you are...Or...Hush be still as any mouse there's a baby in the house lots of trucks and lots of toys all for Jonathan our beautiful baby boy...now my eyes are watering again!

This is a after concert photo of Granny's Love and our oldest daughter, his Mom. People tell us all the time that she looks and acts just like me and our other daughter looks and acts like my husband. Neither of the girls are too impressed by those observations. Makes me laugh!

Stephanie and Jonathan



Replacement Car

Last May we were lucky enough to find a 1st car for our sixteen year old Granddaughter, to get her to school and to work. It was a white Pontiac Grand Am and she loved it! On January 31st she was broadsided, on the driver's side of her beloved Grand Am, and it totaled the car. For 26 days she was without a car and had to drive her Mom's suv or my van....not cool for a sixteen year old! For 26 days we have had to listen to her whine about the guy running a stop sign and hitting her car so hard it spun and ended up in the opposite direction from which she was going.



Granddaughter and her brother "Granny's Love" in her 2nd car in less than a year!



Finally we got the reimbursement for her car and even though we had been looking for 26 days, it is hard to buy anything when you are waiting on the money to arrive. We had not found anything anyway. Her Aunt Kennda came and got her on Friday night and took her to OKC to look for cars.

Her Poppy and I started from Western Oklahoma hitting every car lot on the way to OKC on Saturday. OH MY ACHING HEAD. Used cars are way over priced! Seems that lots of folks had got their tax refund and wiped out the used car lots. We stopped at Smart Choice Auto Credit at 1100 West Main in Yukon, Oklahoma.

Curtis Ray the owner had been on the Rodeo Team at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford! Small world. He had one tan Pontiac Grand Am and was such a nice young man. He stayed open an extra hour and a half to let her test drive the car and do the paperwork. He is in the business of financing autos, but he was ok with us paying cash.



Granny's Love and our only Granddaughter "on the road again."



This car is tan the paper work says tan and depending on how I take the photos it changes from tan to gold. Granny's Love and I decided it is two colors depending on if it is day or night. LOL

Thanks to the car search committee for hitting every car lot in Oklahoma City and Norman and from Sayre to Yukon. For the hours spent over newspaper classified ads and on the computer. Searching for an affordable used car is absolute torture. The only thanks was a Wendy's burger after we finally found the car! YUKON, OKLAHOMA

Brush Your Cat

Brushing your cat not only removes dirt, grease and dead hair from her coat, but it helps to remove skin flakes and stimulates blood circulation, improving the overall condition of her skin. One or two brushings per week will help kitty to keep her healthy glow and you’ll find that regular sessions are especially beneficial when your cat ages and is no longer able to groom so meticulously on her own. I captured these RARE photos of Callie Ann in my husband's lap and allowing him to brush her! Callie Ann is NOT a lap cat, but she was loving the attention. It was her idea or it would not have been happening!

Brushing your cat also cuts down on the number of hair balls they have from grooming themselves. My husband brushes both cats, but usually just a stroke or two and they take off.

Look at Callie Ann's eyes....she things this is so wonderful. She is so relaxed.

Notice her tail up on my husband's t-shirt. When she comes walking into a room she has that plume tail straight up and does her ROYAL entrance.

When brushing your cat you should start at their head and go all the way to their tail. Remember to brush their tail too.

I think Callie Ann would have gone to sleep if I had not been snapping photos of her.

Callie Ann was rescued by my grandchildren from the barn of a local farmer. Now look at this cat and you will agree she was meant to be the Queen House Cat and not a barn cat. We think she is just beautiful. Of course we are the only ones who ever see her, because she runs and hides under our bed the minute she hears a strange voice in the house. I am still in shock that she was in his lap and that she allowed me to snap this many photos. Brush Your Cat.

Happy Pants

Ree the Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/ is forever taking photos of the back side of her Cowboy Husband's Wranglers, so I thought I needed to do a little parody and take these photos of my Cook Husband's Happy Pants while he was cooking.

He wears these pants most weekends and of course he is usually cooking something. Ree's husband is always rounding up cattle and my husband is always rounding up something good to eat! We are both lucky to have husbands that tolerate our crazy ideas and help us with our blog photos.

Plastic Bag Saver

Everytime I try to take a photo to show you something on this blog I have at least one "helper," but today I had two...Callie Ann on the left and Lizzie Tu on the right jumped up on the bed the minute I flipped the comforter up to provide a solid background for the photo! Cats are worse than kids. They have to know everything I am doing and think they should help. Then as I try to type they are up here walking on the keyboard. If something strange gets typed, and I do not catch it, you can bet it was my kitty helpers.

Plastic Bag Saver....just take a empty kleenex box and stuff your plastic bags down in the box. It makes a nice looking plastic bag saver and recycles both the bags and the box!

SPAM the food not computer mail

SPAM is a canned precooked meat product made by Hormel Foods Corporation. It consists of chopped pork shoulder with ham added, salt, water, modified potato starch and sodium nitrite. SPAM is a wonderful staple to have in your cabinet for those times you want to fix something fast. We love SPAM we do not like the other similarly canned product Treet..yuk! SPAM introduced on July 5, 1937 was "Shoulder of Pork and Ham". It has also been called many other things over the years: "Spiced Meat and Ham," "Specially Processed American Meats," "Supply Pressed American Meats," "Something Posing as Meat," "Specially Processed Artificial Meat," and "Stuff, Pork and Ham."

SPAM can be found in a variety of different flavors. There is even a Hormel SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota! World War II introduced SPAM to consumers around the world. US soldiers carried SPAM in their K-rations. Many of them had SPAM for every meal and grew to hat the product. Today Hawaii leads all state in SPAM consumption. You can find SPAM festivals, SPAM sculpting contests, SPAM cooking contests, SPAM cookbooks, and a SPAMMOBILE! There are also SPAM products such as t-shirts, mugs, etc. Go to www.spam.com to find recipes, recipe exchange, fun and games, SPAM shop, and products. In the SPAM shop you can find clothes, toys, kitchen & housewares, and more things than you would ever imagine. You can also join the SPAM fan club on the site!

This can of SPAM shows to just add SPAM to your Mac and Cheese which is a good way to eat it. We love to slice SPAM and brown in a skillet to have as a quick meat for a meal especially with eggs and toast. We dice SPAM and add to omelets or other things we are cooking to get that meat flavor. We slice it and eat it cold on sandwiches. We put it in our lunches cubed with a little barbecue sauce poured on top. If you watch the sales a can of SPAM can be found for $1.99 and depending on how you use it the can will feed two people one or two meals. That is a good deal in today's economy. Don't knock it till you try it!

BARBECUED SPAM SANDWICHES

1 CAN SPAM

1 CUP BARBEQUE SAUCE

1 CUP PREPARED COLESLAW

1 LOAF FRENCH BREAD, CUT INTO 4 PIECES, SPLIT AND TOASTED

Slice the SPAM into thin slices. Combine the sliced SPAM and barbeque sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until heated through. Spoon meat and sauce onto the bottom halves of the toasted bread. Top with coleslaw, and then the other half of the pieces of bread.

GRILLED CHEESE SPAM SANDWICH

1 CAN SPAM

4 SLICES OF BREAD

8 SLICES KRAFT AMERICAN CHEESE

BUTTER

Slice the SPAM into thin slices. Pan fry SPAM until lightly browned on both sides. Butter bread slices on one side. Put buttered side of bread down in hot skillet. Put a piece of cheese on top of the bread. Put two slices of SPAM on top of the cheese. Put another piece of cheese on top of the SPAM. Top with piece of bread butter side up. Toast both sides of sandwich until golden brown. Cut sandwich diagonally and serve with chips and dill pickle spear. OMG GOOD!!!



Elk City, OK - Awesome Displays

These are a few of the displays set up at the National Route 66 Museum and Old Town Museum site in Elk City, Oklahoma. These displays are set up so that you can look in the window and take a look back at history. They have put together some really awesome displays. You need to take a trip to Elk City, Oklahoma on Historic Route 66 and see these displays for yourself!

These two photos show the outside and the inside of the barber shop.

This next photo is suppose to show the inside of the land office, but the glass front display captured me taking the photo and my husband waiting patiently in the van. Bless his heart he never knows when we are going to suddenly stop and I jump out to take a photo of something to use in a blog post.

I love love love this Campbell Kids clock.

The general store display contained several things I thought were neat. Note the S & H Green Stamp machine in the photo. I remember my mom and grandmother collecting those stamps. You were given so many stamps per percentage of items purchased at lots of stores. It was their way of getting people to shop at their business like the bonus points are today. My sister and I were "allowed" to lick them and stick them in the books. Well, it took years before I figured out they just did not want to lick those nasty things themselves. I also remember the excitement of getting the new S & H Greenn Stamp catalog and pouring over it for hours to see what we might get with our green stamp books when we had filled them with the stamps.

This display shows the watch maker F.L. Kelley.

Kelley Jewelers is a three generation store on Main Street in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

 F.L. Kelley, David Kelley and Kristen Kelley have all operated the family owned business.

Look at these office machines! Wow! They were state of the art in their time.

I must say the NATIONAL ROUTE 66 MUSEUM AND OLD TOWN MUSEUM are both something worth taking the time to visit in Elk City, Oklahoma. These displays are only a small part of the several blocks of buildings and themed displays.              Get your kicks on Route 66!