More Autumn Pasta To Enjoy
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Bowl a Comfort Dirty Rice/Spanish Rice With Fried Kielbasa Sausage A Meal In Itself —————————————————————————- Dirty Dawgs I keep my Granddaughter anywhere between 2 and 5 days a week. We tend to do a lot of coloring and drawing, and plenty …

Peacock Feathers For Luck
I was born in Georgia and lived throughout the south during my upbringing. The South is also known as The Bible Belt. The South has a very large religious community that comprises of many different Churches. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Church of God, Church of Christ, Pentecostal Holiness, and a few others…. We were Disciples of Christ, which is what Ronald Reagan was, btw.
Although my family and the people we knew were more liberal than the average Southerner. We learned about other religions at church but in an educational way, and not in a ‘they will all burn in hell because they aren’t like us’ way. I was certainly exposed to the Evangelical’s and their beliefs. One thing that they would warn you about were the “Jezebels” of the world. It was just in the culture.
When I went off to college I was warned to ‘Stay away from the bitches and the whores.’ Although no one in my family ever said that to me… well, my Grandmother would always tell me to stay away from the Floozies and the Flossie Mae’s, it was just the culture of the South. (I’m not excusing it, just explaining it.) Although if anyone I knew was a Flossie Mae it was my Grandmother. That woman could sashay!
But, when I did go off to college and I did interact with the other girls there, I found that the people that I liked the most were the bitches and the whore’s. The bitches weren’t bitchy, they just stood up for themselves. They were intelligent and spoke out when it was important to do so. And the whores, well, they never judged you. They would even look out for you when you would go out with them while the Evangelical girls would just as soon dump you on the side of the road than deal with you. Also, the gay guys that I went to college with, it was a private fashion college in Charlotte, North Carolina, they were the best friends you could ever have. You could go out with them at night and they would look out for you. And the best giggles you will ever have in your life were with the gay guys!
The hypocrisy of the South is that they created a “Jezebel Sauce” that they serve at various religious functions. Whether it is a Church Suppah, a Church Picnic, a Church Wedding….. Oh, and it is the number #1 condiment in the state of conservative Mississippi.

Which brings me to all of my Jezebel’s…..
I adore each and every one of you!
Which Is Why I Created You!

The Jezebel’s Of This World Have The Biggest Hearts…

Which Is Why I Love You All!
Julie

p.s. Coming Christmas 2026,
A Naughty Christmas Jezebel For Underneath The Tree 🙂
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Click Here For: Julie’s Jezebel Sauce

Our Jezebels On This Page:

The Forbidden Jezebel

With Apples

The Classic Jezebel (My Twist)
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The Latin Jezebel
(With Guava Shells and Jalapeno Peppers)

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And My:

Georgia Peach Jeze-Bells
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I Also Created An:

Based On Our Love Of Hawaii

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AND,

Again, Based On Our Love Of Hawaii And The Asian Cultures

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AND,
An Old Florida Jezebel (Sauce)

Based On My Love Of Old Florida

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I ALSO CREATED,
One HOT Jezebel for Breakfast (Sauce, That is.)

AND,
Click Here For: More of Julie’s Jezebel Recipes to Enjoy

I Needed An Additional Page To Place Some Extra Jezebel Recipes
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I Even Created A Halloween Jezebel:
A Haunted Jezebel, Together With A Haunted Mansion Halloween Repast


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AND,

I LOVE Valentine’s Day!

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ALSO,

Based On My Home State Of Georgia
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AND,
A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce
(Because I love Nancy Drew and Morse Code)

Click Here For: A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _..Sauce
I would like to add that Nancy Drew was no ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. .
I cannot even bring myself to say the word ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. beside her name, which is why I got the idea to put the name in Morse Code.
The reason I created a ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. sauce for Nancy Drew is because I wanted to create some sort of sauce in her honor. She was very worldly. She traveled the world with her father Caron Drew, and her friends Bess and George. Nancy knew people from all over the world and also knew and respected their cultures. She was mature beyond her young years. She had encountered many a villain, been knocked unconscious, and had to use her wits about her to escape.
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I Love Every Single One Of You!
Julie Jezebel
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Yet Another Sandwich Page! WELCOME We eat a lot of sandwiches. Although we have sandwiches all over our website, whether they be interspersed with other recipe pages, or having their own website pages, here is yet another one I created. WE LOVE …
A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce (Because I love Nancy Drew and Morse Code) UNDER CONSTRUCTION I would like to say that Nancy Drew was no ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. . I cannot even …

On February 13th., 2026 I Turned 65

Gordon and I ‘Out and About’ on My Birthday

65 Feels Pretty Good
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When I Turned 60 I Started this Website Page:
Sixty’s, (Sensational or Surviving?), We’ll See, Right?

(If you would like to read, just click on the link above.)
I didn’t know what 60 would be like? Which is why I started the above website page.
I assumed that I would be blogging about any changes in my body or lifestyle. Perhaps the ‘ups and downs’ of ageing? My intention was that we would explore it together.
I am a very open person. Sometimes to my detriment. But, that is who I am, and I am not going to fight against that.
Now that I am 65, I have been in my 60’s for 5 years now. I have been getting to know the ageing me and I am fine with it.
Yes, I have put on some weight in the middle. That is where my pounds accumulate anyway. They always have.
However, there is just something empowering that comes with ageing that I didn’t know in my 50’s, or 40’s, or 30’s, etc.
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Turning 65

As I like to say, Uglier on the outside, Happier on the inside.
I would not go back if I were given the chance. I feel as if I have reached milestones that are important. As in evolving into the person I am destined to be. I have earned the right to be 65! Ageing is a privilege.
If I could give my younger self a heads up, I would not!
I needed to go through all that I did to get to here. I would not have made it if I did warn my younger self. I have learned that the damage that was done to me by certain people in my life never had anything to do with me. It was their damage they were inflicting on me. I used to regret being nice or kind to certain people. I have however learned that I should never be upset about doing the right thing. They are the ones that should be upset that they took advantage of my kindness, and loyalty.
I don’t know how much time I have left? Oh, as far as I know I am fine where my health is concerned. I am just referring to life in general.
None of us really know the answers to that? I always figured that I would die young. No idea why? I just always thought so. But, before I am gone, I still have many things left that I want to do. I’ll go when I’m ready. I’m stubborn that way. 🙂 But for now, my granddaughter needs me. My daughter and son-in-law need me, my husband needs me, and I need me too! 🙂
So, Here Is 65 and Beyond, Finger’s Crossed!
Julie
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BLOG ENTRIES START HERE
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Shopping At The Asian Supermarket

Shopping And Creating Recipes Does Make Me Happy
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September 7, 2026


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July 12, 2026
Constantly Chasing Sleep

Favorite Pajamas
I can remember reading decades ago how Betty White only got about 3 hours of sleep a night. I couldn’t believe that she could function on that minimal amount of sleep. Then I read around the same time frame that Martha Stewart would be up at 3:00 a.m. with a flashlight out in her garden pulling up weeds. I was so shocked that these two successful women could even function on such a minimal amount of sleep? Well, now that I am 65, I am getting not as much sleep as I need, and not being able to function without a good night’s sleep. I cannot relate. I need my sleep!
My lifestyle is that I keep my Granddaughter anywhere from 2 to 4 days a week. Either Veronica or Brian will bring her over in the early morning hours at either 5:30 a.m. or 5:45 – 6:00 a.m. I am always up by the time they bring her over. I set my alarm clock for 4:00 a.m. in the morning. I shower and I’m dressed and ready by the time Isabelle arrives.
Even though she just turned 3, we still give her a bottle in the mornings. Even though that is a bit young for her, you have to understand that her sleep has been interrupted. She needs to get back to sleep. That warm milk helps her. Whether we deliver it in a baby bottle, or a water bottle.
That also benefits me! I need to get back to sleep in the mornings myself. It is difficult for me to function without a good night’s sleep. I love a good extra hour or two in those early morning hours. That way I get to sleep in to around 8:00 or 8:30, or 9:00 a.m. in the mornings. Being her care giver, I need the extra hours of sleep in order to function for the day. After all, her parents don’t pick her up until around 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. on some days, and as early as 9:30 – 11:00 a.m., on other days. Some of those days are long!
I wanted to say that I think that we justify the early morning bottle with the understanding that there are women out there that continue to breast feed into the child’s 5th. birthday.
That is not our intention. We are just delivering the warm milk to Isabelle in a vessel that will not leak into the crib/bed, and will help her to go back to sleep, so that I can also get some more much needed sleep myself. That’s where my heating pad comes in. I do so love that warmth and it makes me drowsy, helping me to go back to sleep.
NOTE! It is easier to go to sleep once you have taken a nice warm shower, day or night. Which is usually why I tend to go back to sleep more easily after I have had my 4:00 a.m. shower on those mornings I have Isabelle. Nice shower, and a heating pad work for me!
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I Also Think That I Suffer From Anxiety
On those days that I have to leave the house, I tend to have a hard time sleeping the night before. That is something new to me. It’s really just been since I’ve been in my 60’s that I’ve had that problem. There is just this anxiousness and dread that I have where I am up in the middle of the night and I can’t shut my brain off in order to relax and go to sleep.
I think some of the problem it is that America is a dangerous country to live in. I don’t feel safe when I leave the house. Too many guns, and too many hot-heads that own the guns. Also, just not enough respect towards our fellow human beings. I think a lot of people would just rather shoot you than deal with you. Same with driving. Even though I do the speed limit, I am never going fast enough for some people. I think they would rather run me off the road than have to drive behind me. Which is why I tend to make appointments or run errands on those hours where there isn’t a lot of traffic. I also only shop in business’s where I feel safe in their parking lots. Now that I am 65 and ageing, I am becoming more of a target to those that take advantage of that. Always be aware of your surroundings. Quit looking at your phones and pay attention. It just might save your life.
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Afternoon Naps And Back Pain
Sometimes I do take an afternoon nap. Or, I might just lay down on the couch among my comfy blankety covers and pillows, turn the T.V. volume down low, close my eyes, and just rest and relax. If sleep follows, wonderful! If not, then that’s o.k. too because I am resting my body and getting off my back. Walking on these cement floors here in Florida can ruin your lower back. When we were living in Hawaii I developed back pains from every surface in Hawaii being cement. The reasoning behind all the cement is hurricane’s. Then when we moved to Maryland, where everything was this nice wooden surface, my back pain went away. Then we move back to Florida where everything has a cement flooring, and here come the back pains again.
I do wear indoor shoes, mainly smooshy, mooshy Flip Flops. (Or Slippers as they say in Hawaii.) The mooshy kind have a nice comfy give that allows your foot to be more comfortable. The downside is that sometimes they are easy to trip in while wearing. Something I will need to be aware of as I age.
The point I was trying to make here is that by just resting and getting off my back I feel this rejuvenation that allows me to get through the rest of the day on those sleepy tired days I sometimes have. By laying down, place a pillow underneath your pelvis just to elevate it up a bit. For me the pain goes away immediately just by doing that. Try it! See for yourself.
Also, take an Advil if your back starts to hurt, OR even before it starts to hurt! When I am about to take on a big job I just go ahead and take one. It will prevent the swelling in my lower back which brings on pain. It’s that inflammation you have to worry about.
I also don’t take any of those energy drinks. Coffee is the strongest thing that I use to pep up.
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About 2 Years Ago I Moved Into The Gust Bathroom
(For Bathing And Skincare)

It’s been a few years but there was a time, a very long time, when my next door neighbor started stalking and harassing me.
I do document it here:

Click Here For: My Log Blog Documenting Stalking And Harassment From My Neighbor
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Gordon was working overseas and for some reason my hot-headed neighbor next door to us starting throwing things at our house at 4:00 a.m. to upset me. It was always when I was in the bathroom or in our bedroom. Regardless, I no longer felt safe on that side of our house, so I started bathing in the guest bathroom. At first I just dragged a few things into the guest bathroom, not bothering to really fix it up and make it nice. But, I have since made it nice and I’m glad that I made that switch. I feel a lot safer. I also feel like I have my very own bathroom just for me to enjoy. Yes, it’s smaller. Yes, it’s not as nice. But, I like it!
I still do my hair and make-up in our master bathroom, but I am never naked in there. I haven’t felt comfortable changing clothes or using that bathroom any more. That’s what abuse does to you.
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Just Some Skincare


I Did Not Buy Anything New Here
(I organized with things that I already had. Seeing as how my Cindy Crawford Skincare is all purple, I found an old ‘free with purchase’ purple cosmetic bag to house some things in.)


I Bought Nothing New Here, This Is Plenty Of Room For Me
Sometimes I think it’s important for us to just carve out our own little niche somewhere. A place that is just ours. With me being the only one who uses this bathroom, I keep it quite nice and clean because I don’t share it with anyone. Well, except Isabelle. 🙂
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Somethings that I may write about, I have also written about on other website pages. Not everyone reads every page that I have on this website so sometimes I do repeat myself. This is one of those times. I am writing here similar things that I wrote on my Skincare Website Page.

Click Here For: My Nifty 50’s and 60’s Skincare
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I Did Add Some Hawaiian Things That Were New

The Rattan Shelf Was My Grandmother’s
The Birdhouse/Beach House, Veronica painted years ago and gifted to me.
Diamond Head and the Surfboards spelling out Aloha, I purchased at a favorite Hawaii store, CocoNene.

The Blue Star Fish Veronica also gifted to me one Christmas.
And the Palm Leaf painting I also purchased from Coconene.

The Fish Photo Frame was a gift to Veronica from her friend Kara when they were 3 years old and we knew them in Hawaii.
Looks great there.

Now You Know What My Bathroom/Guest Bathroom Toilet Looks Like 🙂
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One More Thing ….

The Little Window In The Shower
(I papered it over with Rice Paper when we first moved in.)
All My Shampoo’s and Conditioner’s

Our Diana Hanson-Young Posters From The 80’s
Autographed By Her
We Were Too Poor To Buy Prints Or Paintings Then
I Framed Them And Still Treasure Them

Dry Your Hands!
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65 And Beyond
Finger’s Crossed!
Julie
I Created A New Website:
Click Here For: VintageJulieBarefootArchives
I gave my Web Designers in India instructions on what I wanted, and they did the most remarkable job of bringing my vision to life.
I could not be happier with it!

My current website: (This one.)
..Was no longer working accurately.
Therefore, I decided to instruct my Web Designers in India, to create a “New” Website in order for me to house some of my “Old” content.
Initially, I didn’t figure in that it would be my Florida Website Pages, but it did evolve into just that.

My First Blog Posting On The New/Old Website

I Debuted This New Site On Brodie’s Birthday, November 29, 2025
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Welcome To VintageJulieBarefootArchives.com
(As Taken From Blog Posting from the new site.)

Brodie Keith Kanakaleo Whann
I decided to create this new website because our live site, www.BarefootInFloridaWithJulie.com, was getting a bit too big.
(Admittedly, I was hoping to get a place in The Guinness Book of World Records as the largest amateur website on the internet known to man. But alas, another dream squashed by reality, or human intervention.)
I thought that if I were to create a new website and move a lot of our old content over, that it would lighten the load to our current live site, and I could make this new website about our Florida Life. So, I specifically chose website pages that were of a Florida nature. We love Florida! My ties to Florida go back to when I was a baby in the 60’s, living in Rome, Georgia with my mother, grand-parents, and great-grandparents. Every summer was spent vacationing in Florida. Also, prior to me being born, it was where my mother and her friends, and their families vacationed as well. I have some really great old photos of my grand-parents, great-grandparents, and great-aunts and uncles wearing their old fashioned swimsuits with their old timey cars parked on the beach. Once upon a time you could do that. Drive onto the beach and park your car. Mostly on the East Coast of Florida, they had the longest stretches of beaches.

I’m the tall one with my cute petite friends. St. Pete left, Daytona right.
I can remember the Florida vacations very well. We would leave Rome in the evening, and drive all night down to Florida. I would be asleep in the backseat, wearing pajamas.. My grand-father would do the driving. If I had to use the bathroom on the way down my grandfather would pull over to the side of the highway, they would open both doors, the front door and the backdoor, and I would take my winky-tink between the two doors. Sometimes, cars would honk as they would drive by. I was always in a panic that someone could see me. My grandmother always assured me that no one can. (She was probably lying.)
St. Petersburg was usually our destination. My grand-father would look for Motels with a VACANCY sign flashing towards the street. He would just drive down what is now Gulf Blvd. looking for a Motel that he thought looked nice. He would then pull into those Motels and inquire within for something suitable for all of us. I can remember that we were always on the ocean side, most of the time there was a pool. I can even remember one place we stayed at where we walked out of our motel room door directly onto the beach. There was so much beach sand outside our door.
I have beautiful memories of many Florida vacations with my grand-parents. My grand-father was one to lay on his back in the ocean, floating, and falling asleep. He was a big man, very tall, with lots of cushion. He floated very easily. I can remember one time he fell asleep and was drifting out to sea, a lifeguard was blowing his whistle trying to wake him up to get him to swim back towards shore.
Most every night we would eat at a seafood restaurant. The restaurant was always located on an ocean front, or a canal front. I have so many great memories of finding little fishies trapped between the rocks by the ocean or canals. I would use a paper cup to capture them and take them back to the motel room with me. I loved having them with me in the motel room. I loved watching them. Sometimes I would set them loose the next day, if they even made it through the night. Upon reflection I wish I had known more about helping them. But I didn’t. I was just a child.
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Hello Rosy Cheeks
I remember this very well. It was at one restaurant that was busy that evening for dinner. There were many people waiting to get seated. My grand-parents and I were sitting at a table in the entryway when suddenly this cute boy sat down right beside my grandmother, he sat across from me, he then looked at me and said with all the confidence in the world, “Hello rosy cheeks.” I was in my early teens. My grandmother instantly adored him! I guess charmers must recognize each other because my grand-mother was a charmer. She then burst out laughing.
This cute, charming boy sat there flirting with me. I knew I could fall for him in a minute! But, I was just too shy to do anything about it. But, I have always remembered that cute boy that made this awkward girl feel special.
Oh, and the rosy cheeks were from my being sunburned that day from staying out too long in the sun, on the beach.
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Florida is not just a great state to vacation in, it holds so many happy memories for me and my family growing up. It makes sense that Gordon and I would settle here and live out our days until we are gone. Hopefully that won’t be for a very long time. But, until then we have a grand-daughter to help raise and make many happy Florida memories for her to take with her in life.
An old timey Motel, a Shuffleboard Court, Sun, Sand, Shells, Beach, Oranges, Orange Juice, Drawbridges, Souvenir Shops, Boat Rides, Seafood Restaurants, Summer Friendships with other Tourists, Salt Water Taffy, Vintage Beach Buckets, Sand Shovels, Flamingoes… and being Barefoot!
This is what I carry with me every day.
Happy Vintage Julie Barefoot Memories,
Julie Barefoot
(Julie Lancaster-Whann)
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Florida is Beautiful and Unique,

Located in the South, yet not Really Southern.

Although Florida is the East Coast, and Canada’s Destination

My Florida Favorites

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Some of Veronica’s Artwork
I asked her if she had some of her art that I could display on the new website. She sent over these. This was all she had in her possession. People do hire her to draw and paint for them. I would love to had seen those paintings, but she did contribute some nice things.

Busch Gardens

I told my guys in India that I wanted an Alligator on the bottom left, and Flamingoes on the bottom right.
I do think the landscaping you see in the graphic above looks like Africa, but then again we do have Busch Gardens here in Florida that is theme based on Africa.
So, I guess it all goes together nicely.
Web Design is a lot of fun but it isn’t really something tangible. I mean, the moment I quit paying the monthly fees, it can all just disappear. Or an experienced hacker can just come along and delete the whole thing forever. As much as I love my website’s they aren’t anything that I can hold in my hand, or place onto a shelf for display, or even own forever. My experience with having websites is that they are very vulnerable to those that know how to penetrate them, and abuse them without any conscious or authority whatsoever.
I guess what I am trying to say is that they are very temporary, so enjoy them while you can.
See You At The Beach!
Julie Barefoot
My Brunswick Stew Chicken Skillet Dinner I love Brunswick Stew! I grew up eating it in the South, in the Summer months, throughout the year, but especially for the 4th. of July. There is a history of the stew which I …

Buongiorno a Tutti
(Good Morning Everyone)

My Italiana Breakfast Skillet
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You Don’t Have To Be Italian To Enjoy This Delicious Breakfast Skillet

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A One Skillet Breakfast With Baguette and Caffe


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This Also Makes An Excellent Dinner, Or Even Luncheon

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Excellent Eaten In Bed…

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The Boot
Italy is Shaped Like a Boot
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I Hope To Add More Breakfasts As Time Goes By
Godere,
Julie and Gordon
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Recipes Start Here
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First Up:
My Italiana Breakfast Skillet

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Ingredients:
Orange, Yellow, and Red Bell Peppers, Washed

Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, or any you Desire, Washed
(I Give The Rest Of The Ingredients As I Write The Recipe)

You will need a Cutting Board, and a Sautee Pan or Two…

Time To Chop My Bell Peppers

Also, White Onion, Chopped
(This was a large White Onion, I used about 3/4 of it.)

Chopping My Bell Peppers

6 Garlic Cloves, Minced
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In a Large Sautee Pan Drizzle Some Olive Oil..

Place the Onions into the Pan to Soften on a Medium-High Heat
This should take about 5 Minutes.

Next, add the Bell Peppers to Soften, about another 5 Minutes..


Mincing the Garlic Cloves into the Pan with the Onions and Bell Peppers
(Just Sautee a few minutes more, stirring often, until all of the ingredients are softened.
Then remove from the heat and set aside.)
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In my Cast Iron Skillet I am adding some Olive Oil, along with a bag of Hash Brown Potatoes from the freezer.

My Spices: (To Add Soon)
Italian Herb Seasoning
Ground Oregano
Ground Basil Leaves
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Hawaiian Sea Salt, To Taste
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I’m Browning my Thawed Hash Browns in my Cast Iron Skillet, on a Medium Heat – Medium-High Heat.
My Onions and Peppers and Garlic are Waiting..
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I had some Italian Sausage frozen in the freezer. I thawed it out placed it into a small Skillet on the back burner to just warm through.
Sometimes I will cook sausage to keep frozen in the freezer to place on Pizza’s or dishes like this.
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Time To Add The Spices To My Hash Brown Potatoes I’ve Been Sauteing
I probably added a 1/4 t. of each, maybe a little bit more.

Blending The Spices Into The Hash Browns

Now It’s Time to Add My Onion, Bell Peppers, and Garlic to My Hash Browns…

..And Placing Them Into A 350F Oven For About 10-15 Minutes.
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My Sausage Is Ready, And Set Aside

Time To Remove The Cast Iron Skillet From The Oven…
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Time To Add The Cheese

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
(I just added as much as I wanted to over top my Hash Brown Medley.)

Now Place Back Into The 350F Oven For About 5 Minutes To Melt The Cheese
(When done, remove and set aside.)
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Ready To Scramble Some Eggs

In A New Sautee Pan Add,
About 7 Eggs
Butter
Milk

Melt Some Pats Of Butter Into A Sautee Pan,
Crack Some Eggs Into The Pan On A Medium-High Heat
Scramble With A Wooden Spoon….

Add A Few Tablespoons Of Milk To The Eggs To Fluff
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Eggs Are Ready, Time To Add Them To The Cast Iron Skillet

Italian Sausage Is Ready, Time To Add It To Top The Eggs

Now It’s Time To Place Some Julienne Cut SunDried Tomatoes On Top As Well
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The Herbs

Ready To Add To The Top Of The Skillet Breakfast
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Preparing The Bread
(I love bread! I especially love it here with this Skillet Breakfast.)

I just sliced a Baguette into rounds, drizzled with some Olive Oil, placed onto a foil lined baking sheet, and placed into a 350F Oven for about 8 minutes.
After 8 minutes I turned it on Broil to brown the bread. It was perfect!
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With My Skillet Breakfast Ready It Is Time To EAT!

Don’t Forget The Caffe!
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Buona Giornata,
Julie
“I don’t promise to forget the mystery, but I know I’ll have a marvelous time“ Nancy Drew —————————————————————————— #45 The Spider Sapphire Mystery Thrilling, dangerous adventure confront Nancy Drew while on a safari in East Africa with a group of American …
Dear Dairy… Olive Films (I just liked the logo.) Today I rearranged the cans in the pantry and dusted them off while wearing my new full skirt I sewed last week for the church picnic, and the pearls that my husband …
October, 2024

Morning, Foolish Mortals
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Gifts of Haunted Mansion Coffees and Mugs for our Foolish Mortal Family Members

Bones Coffee Company

Bones Coffee Company is located here in Florida’s Cape Coral.
It is excellent coffee and I love buying from local company’s.
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Julie and Gordon

On Our Way To The Haunted Mansion Halloween Party at Veronica, Brian’s and Isabelle’s House
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Ghoulie’s A Haunted Jezebel Sauce

I Love To Create Jezebel Sauces Based On My Favorite Jezebel’s


Looks Like You Are Seeing Double!

I Do Consider Myself An Honorary Ghoul(ie)

(Recipe Down Below)
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We Have Arrived at the Kelleher’s Haunted Mansion

He Must Be The Groundskeeper

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September 1, 2024
Our Son-In-Law Brian’s 40th. Birthday!
(This preempted our Halloween Party below.)

Brian loves The Haunted Mansion Ride at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and he loves my Brunswick Stew,
so I incorporated the two and came up with this.

Sort of a Haunted Stew 🙂

The Wishbone is from the chicken I used to make the Brunswick Stew

Brian and Veronica are already Getting into the Halloween Spirit at their house.

I Set Everything Up for Them To Enjoy

Their Dining Room
Happy Birthday Brian! Have a Haunting Day!
Julie and Gordon
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If you would like the recipe for my Brunswick Stew above:
Click Here For Brunswick Stew, Cheese Straws, and Angel Food Cake

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Giving The Gift of Ghost Pepper Aioli to our Favorite Mortals
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The Real Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion was based on this house in Savannah, Georgia.
The Inspiration for The Haunted Mansion at Disney’s Magic Kingdom
The home was owned by someone we used to know, her name was Nancy Hillis and here is her real life ghost story……
So, Nancy is living in Savannah, working as a nightclub singer and owning a B&B that her ex-husband, Charlie, helped her buy. Nancy lived in the basement apartment and rented out the upper floors to tourists. She came and went as her schedule revolved around her nightclub job. She may have had one or two more jobs at that time but the one that sticks out most in my mind was that one.

Click Here for: Nancy’s Bed and Breakfast, Hamilton Turner Inn
They say Disney’s Haunted Mansion was based on this house.
Nancy would decorate her B&B with nice furniture and somehow, she came across a portrait of a Yankee soldier and hung it on the wall. I don’t remember which room but obviously she would have hung it somewhere like the living room, dining room, or even a sitting room. Somewhere out in the open for the guests that stayed there to view. Interestingly enough, every morning she would find that portrait of that Yankee soldier sitting on the floor beneath where it was hung. It was never broken, it didn’t fall, it was placed there. Even when she was all alone in the house every morning that portrait would be sitting there on the floor as if gently placed there. Nancy finally got the hint and put the portrait away in a closet. (How many people do you know that care to respect a ghost’s wishes?) So, was it a ghost? Savannah has a reputation for being haunted, so why not? The house was built on top of graves. They moved the headstones, not the graves. Yet another “unexplained” event. We in the south believe in ghosts. We’ve even seen a few.
If you would like to read more about Nancy, and hear of a few more ghost stories, then float on over to my Ghost Writer post. 🙂

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The Haunted Mansion Halloween Party

The Headless Horseman of The Haunted Mansion
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The Hitchhiking Ghosts in Shadow
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The Buffett



This is what Brian set up on their Haunted Mansion Buffet

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The Tapestry’s

From the book, The haunted Mansion, this is the Imagineering of the dinner.
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Our Haunted Mansion Halloween Party Dinner Table Inspiration

Brodie and Mackenzie

The Lovely Dining Room

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Me Julie, Admiring The Tapestry’s
(This actually gave me the inspiration to add the banner’s for my Harry Potter Christmas.
I really wouldn’t even thought to do it had I not seen how great this looked.)

The Grave Digger’s Lasagna

A Haunted Jezebel’s Bags of Mystery

Our Flavored Olive Oils with Dipping Bread

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Mere Mortals Mingling


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Veronica and Isabelle

Brian and Isabelle

Mackenzie and Isabelly
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A Trio of Bruschetta’s, and a Pesto Pine Nut Cheeseball

Mother and Daughter, Veronica and Isabelle
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Our Cheeseballs

Vintage Dried Beef Cheeseball

Pesto-Pine Nut Cheeseball
(Recipes Down Below)
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Our Grave Digger’s Lasagna
(Recipe Down Below)
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Italian Inspired Green Beans Topped With American Bacon
(Recipe Down Below)
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Blueberry Pancakes w/ Blueberry Lemon Ice Cream in the Center,
Topped w/ Whipped Cream, and A Haunted Jezebel Sauce

Haunted Pancake Ice Cream Sandwiches…

with Green Gummy’s

(Recipe Down Below)
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Just a Deathly Mood

Who Doesn’t Love Dead Flowers?
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A Moody Dessert

Reworked Blueberry Pancake/Ice Cream Whipped Cream Haunted Jezebel Sundaes
(Recipe Down Below)
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Spooky Graveyard Brownies

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(Recipe Down Below)
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A Bit of Comic Relief 🙂

I purchased this Haunted Mansion shirt for Gordon overseas.
It arrived way too small. European sizing. We were laughing so hard! 🙂
We ended up giving it to our son Brodie. It fit him better.
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Haunted Halloween Night Treats

I have this lovely platter with many bowls that fit inside of it.
I wanted to buy some mini treats to place into each bowl. Some vintage candies came to mind.

Sweet Nibbles to those Floating By….

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Can I Tempt You For A Haunted Treat?
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A Haunted Jezebel Gifts For My Favorite Ghouls and Ghosts

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Ready To Make My Haunted Jezebel Sauce
(Me, Holding My Ghoulie Self- Portrait)

I Am Basing My Haunted Jezebel Sauce on Constance, The Black Widow Bride
But, I also wanted to do a Shout-Out to Madame Leota.

Madame Leota is the Dismembered Medium
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The Haunted Mansion
Imagineering a Disney Classic
by, Jason Surrell
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If you have ever ridden The Haunted Mansion ride at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, then you will have likely seen the Ghostly Bride.
“Till Death Do Us Part.”

Constance, The Black Widow Bride
The Gold-Digging Seductress with a taste of the finer things.
Constance improved her station through each of her five marriages.

Our Wedding Days
Ambrose and Constance, 1869
Constance and Frank
The Marquise and Constance, 1874
Reginald and Constance, 1875
George and Constance, 1877
RIP Constance….
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Creating A Haunting Jezebel (Sauce)
I Based This on a Boo-Berry, (Blue Berry) Template
I also took into mind America’s British influence at the time of the creation of The Haunted Mansion Ride. I can remember as a child of the 60’s, there being a strong French and British influence. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, just to name a few. Therefore, I chose ingredients with all of that in mind. I also took into mind that Disney World is located in Florida, and I wanted to toss in a Florida influence into the pot.
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Ingredients:
Large Cooking Pots, and a Ladle
(I will give you the ingredients for making one batch. If you want to double, or triple the ingredients then that is up to you.)
4, 12 Ounce Jars of Pineapple Preserve Topping
3-4 Jars, 17 Ounces, of Apple Jelly
3-4, 12 oz. Jars, Currant Jelly
4, 10 oz. Polander All Fruit Blueberry Jars
3.53 oz. Jar Colman’s Mustard
8 oz. Seminole Honey Mustard Sauce (I probably used 4 oz. of it)
Wasabi Mustard, Squirt to Taste
4 t. Black Himalayan Salt
Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce (As many dashes as you like)
About 2 lb.’s Fresh Blueberry’s, washed
As Always, Taste As You Go
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Many Jars, Lids, and Rings
Large Pot For Canning, Along With Canning Tools
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The Top Hat Far Right, is a Shout-Out to The Haunted Mansions own Mad Hatter

All of Ghoulie’s Ingredients

Before you start, you want to place all of your jars into the dishwasher to sanitize them for the canning process. You can wash your lids and rings in soapy water, then allow to dry, and place into a container or zip lock baggies until time for use. You want to keep them sterile.

Wearing My Haunted Mansion Pajamas
My Ghoulish Photo was actually taken in 2014 at Disney’s Magic Kingdom Haunted Mansion gift shop.
They do have a photography studio there. At least they did back then. 🙂
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Making A Haunted Jezebel

Rinsing My Blueberry’s

I Have 3 Pots Here
The tall green one is for my Jezebel Sauce, the large silver one right, is for canning, and there is a small silver pot in back of the green one that will sterilize the jar lids.
I have the large silver pot, and the small silver pot on a low simmer for when I need to use them. They are filled with water and ready.

Ready to Start Opening Jars

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Turn the stove burner onto a low and start adding the many jars of ingredients to the pot.

The Hardest Part Is Opening All Of Them
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I Added All The Jars and Mixed Them Together

Adding the Fresh Blueberry’s, and bringing the temp up to a Medium-High Heat
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Always Taste As You Go

I am now adding the rest of the ingredients.

It’s time to bring the temp back down to a simmer. We just really wanted to cook the fresh Blueberry’s.
Now that they are a bit caramelized, it’s time to just simmer away on a low heat.

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It’s Looking Really Good!

The Last Ingredients Are The Ghostly Ingredients
Just Add A Few Shakes Of These GHOST PEPPER SAUCES

It’s Ready!
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Gordon Does The Canning Process

Using a Funnel and Adding the Jezebel to the Jars

Fill the jars with a ladle leaving about 1 inch of head space which is the space from the top of the sauce to the top of the jar.
This space is needed to create a vacuum when the jars are in the boiling water.


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Make sure to place a nice cushiony mat on your countertop to protect it, and something absorbable when the jars are removed from the canning pot. They will be wet.

Wipe the top of the jar clean with a wet paper towel. This will create a good seal between the lid and the jar.
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Remember when I mention above of a smaller silver pot in back of the tall green one? That small pot is filled with water and the lids that go on the jars are simmering to sterilize and soften that seal…..
The lids in water that are heated just under a boil for about 10 min. are to sterilize the lids. Using a magnetized stick, remove the lids from the water and place them on the jars. Like so. So not touch the lid. See photos directly above.
Photo Top right: Place the rings around the jars just snug and not tight which will allow the air to escape creating a vacuum.
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These Jars Are Ready For Canning

Place the closed jars under water where you should see bubbles leaving the jars.
Boil the jars for 15 min. This is the canning process.

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When 15 min. are done, remove the jars with the tongs and place on a hand towel or mat to cool.

Wiping The Water Off The Jar Tops and Rings
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You should begin to hear the jars pop as the vacuum pulls the lid down. Some jars don’t have a button top and will not pop, but will be in the down position. Any jar that didn’t pop or lid not in the down position needs to be re-done. It could be that the jar didn’t have a good seal, or there isn’t enough head space. Use a new lid, check the seal by wiping the top of the jar, and remove a touch of the sauce. Place the jar back under water and boil again for another 15 min. until sealed.

I was able to acquire the Madame Leota heads to place on the top of our lids as an accent.
I also had some old little ghost toys that I placed and glued on top of some of the jar lids.
Now they are ready to give as gifts.
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Party Recipes Start Here
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A Good Salad Is Always A Great Idea

The nice thing about serving a large salad is that you can wash all of the ingredients ahead of time, keep them fresh in storage baggies or Tupperware Containers. Just keep in the refrigerator and combine when ready to serve.

Also washing other Vegetables for the additional food items.
Something to prepare the day before that will save time the day of the party.

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A Haunted Jezebel, Bags of Mystery

Just Add A Few Ghostly Picks
(Sausages were once called ‘Bags of Mystery’ because the only person who knew what was in them was the butcher.)
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Ingredients:

Li’L Smokies Sausages
I love these sausages! They work so great here, and taste delicious.

A Haunted Jezebel Sauce

Rinse The Smokie Sausages in Water and Set Aside

You will need a few Resealable Bags and a jar or two of A Haunted Jezebel Sauce

Combine The Two
You just want to add enough of the Haunted Jezebel to cover the Sausages.
Now, place into the refrigerator for a day or two to marinate.
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When I am ready to cook the Sausages, I remove them from the Refrigerator, and drain them into a Collander in the sink.
Do NOT rinse them!

Now, transfer them to a casserole dish for baking. Turn the oven on 400F.
While the oven comes to temp, add some more of the Haunted Jezebel to the Sausages.

Now Place Into The Oven For About 45 Minutes

Bake Until Nice And Plump
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Our Cheeseballs
(These Can Be Made The Day Before To Save Time)

Vintage Dried Beef Cheese Ball
Ingredients:
Jar of Dried Beef
3, 8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
3 t. Worchestershire Sauce
2 t. Accent Seasoning (Monosodium Glutamate)
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(I couldn’t find the recipe card on this Cheeseball so I copied and pasted this from an older post where we also served this Cheeseball.)

Let soften your Cream Cheeses. In the meantime chop your onion.

Dried Beef
(This is also the main ingredient in Chip Beef on Toast. Something I ate a lot of in Charlotte, North Carolina in the early 80’s.)

You want to chop up your dried beef into small pieces, like so.

Add the dried beef to your softened cream cheese and chopped onions.
Although I don’t have a photo here, I did add the rest of the ingredients to the cheese ball and I worked it, mixing all the ingredients together with my hands. It’s messy but it is the best way to incorporate everything.

Once it is fashioned into a large ball then place it back into the refrigerator overnight so that all the flavors can blend together in harmony. 🙂
You can also roll the cheeseball in pieces of the Dried Beef to give it a nice look.
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Pesto Pine Nut Cheeseball

(Here I am Roasting Some Pine Nuts on the Stove Top on a Medium-Heat to turn them a little bit Brown. This gives a nice Flavor to them. I am Roasting quite a bit not only for this Cheeseball, but for the Gravediggers Lasagna as well.)
Ingredients:
2, 8 0z. Cream Cheese, Softened
2-3 T. Basil Pesto
2-3 T. Fresh Chopped Basil
Toasted Pine Nuts
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(You could also add a few Garlic Cloves, minced, and maybe even some Onion, chopped, if you like. Or even some Onion Powder.)

In a medium size bowl you want to add your Cream Cheese to soften.
Then just dollop in a few Tablespoons of any Pesto that you like. We are using a Basil Pesto here.

Chop some Fresh Basil Leaves and add to the bowl.

Combine all of the ingredients together.
It really is best if you use your hands. Roll into a ball and refrigerate.

Roll the Cheeseball in the Roasted Pine Nuts and then serve with either bread of crackers.
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Italian Inspired Green Beans Topped With American Bacon

With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, here is a great Green Bean recipe for those family occasions or your holiday work parties. This would even make a great gift!
As you can see it makes a good amount and looks great. I believe there are never enough vegetable dishes at these work events, and your family will love the change.
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First Up: Frying The Bacon
This was some nice thick sliced bacon… a crowd pleaser for sure.


Ingredients:
5 Thick sliced bacon strips – cooked and save ~1/4 cup of the bacon fat!
1 White Onion – diced
7-8 Mushrooms – Sliced thinly, I used baby portobella
2 Garlic Cloves – chopped
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, and Sea Salt to taste
2 Bags Frozen Green Beans – thawed in microwave
Two Medium Heirloom Tomatoes – chopped
1 Roma Tomato – chopped
3 oz. Bag Sun-Dried Tomato Halves
½ Cup Roasted Red Bell Pepper Strips
5 oz. Sliced Water Chestnuts – drained
~1/4 Extra Virgin Cup Olive Oil for Green Beans
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Cup Olive Oil for casserole dish
½ Cup Pecorino Romano Cheese – grated
For topping – ¼ Cup Pecorino Romano Cheese – grated
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Again, cook your bacon and save the fat.
We like to use Julie’s Grandmothers Cast Iron skillet for this as it retains the heat and cooks the bacon evenly.

Pour your bacon fat into another large skillet as seen.


Slice and dice your White Onion and over medium heat, sauté your onion.
Stir occasionally.
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In the meantime, slice your Button Mushrooms and Garlic.

Once your onions become translucent, add your mushroom slices.

Add your Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste. Stir all your ingredients occasionally.
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While those are cooking, place your green beans into a covered glass bowl and microwave until just cooked… about 8 min. or so.

Drain the partially cooked green beans into the sink, using your gloves to keep the lid on. Add cold water over them while in the bowl to stop the cooking process. Drain them again with the lid on and place them into a large bowl for later use. Your bowl has to be large enough to hold all the ingredients in this recipe and have room to stir them together.

Here you can see the mushroom and onions are well cooked to the caramelized stage.
Meaning the onions are nicely browned, making them sweet.
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Slice, then chop your tomatoes.

Here I sliced them into long strips, then chopped those strips in half. I wanted them to stay chunky.

Add the tomatoes, and garlic to your pan as shown.

Mix all the ingredients together and continue to cook over medium heat.
Time to add the Sun-Dried Tomatoes. I added these because they have a concentrated tomato flavor and will give the dish some texture.
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Now, add your Roasted Red Bell Pepper Strips to the pan.
So far, so good!

Stir all the ingredients together.
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Open your can of Sliced Water Chestnuts and drain them well into your sink.
Then add all of them to the pan as shown. The Water Chestnuts will give some great crunch to the dish.

Mix all the ingredients together.
Here you can see the chopped tomatoes breaking down almost creating a sauce.

For some nice authentic flavor, add Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the Green Beans.
You want to add just enough Olive Oil to coat the Green Beans.

Give them a gentle stir.

Add your pan cooked vegetables to your bowl of green beans and gently stir them together.

Grate ~½ Cup of your Pecorino Romano Cheese over them.

Stir all the ingredients and look at all that goodness.

Add a few Tbsp. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to your large baking dish then add all of your Green Bean ingredients.

Beautiful, and only a few more steps to go. Now, turn your oven to 350’F.

Grate more of your Pecorino Romano Cheese over the top of your casserole.
Break the bacon into nice sized pieces and add them to your casserole. You could freeze this to have for a later date. Simply wrap it all over with a few layers of plastic wrap, followed by some Aluminum Foil. This would also make a great gift!

Bake the casserole for about 20-25 min. or until the cheese is melted and the top of the casserole becomes slightly browned. If frozen, remove from the freezer to thaw, then bake in your 350’F oven covered with aluminum foil for about 30 min. Check the center to ensure it is hot, then uncover for 10 min. to brown.
This was an excellent addition to our meal.
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Grave Digger’s Lasagna
(The Ingredients you see Below Were Made for TWO Large Lasagna’s. One to Eat, One to Freeze.)

Ingredients: (Where Do I Even Start?)
(You can always half the ingredients in order to make just one large Lasagna.)
3, 16 oz. Lasagna Pasta Noodles (You may not use all of them, but you will use most of them.)
5 Jars Various Pasta Sauces (Around 24 to 32 oz. Each)
2, 1b. Italian Sausage, Sweet and Hot
3, 2 lb. Container’s of Ricotta Cheese
1, 16 oz. Container Cottage Cheese
Crinkle Cut Carrots (About 2 Cups)
2, 14 oz. Bags of Frozen Broccoli, Thawed and Drained
4-6 Large Whole Garlic Cloves, Minced
1/4 Cup or as Much as you Like of Italian Style Bread Crumbs
Sliced Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
8 oz. Blocks of Parmesan and Parmesan-Reggiano Cheese, Grated
Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste
Fresh Herbs of Basil, Oregano, and Parsley, as much as you want
Topping: 7.9 oz. Basil Pesto
High End Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Drizzling Overtop
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So Excited and Ready To Get Started
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The first thing that I want to do is to brown my Sausage in a large sauce pan on a medium-high heat.
The pan is a non-stick and I don’t need to add any Olive Oil. The Sausage will provide the fat needed.

Some of my Sausage is in casings. You just want to slit the casing open to remove the Sausage so that it can be browned evenly.
I’m using a combination of Sweet and Hot Sausage.

In the meantime, I have placed my Frozen Broccoli into a microwave safe casserole dish, with a lid, in order to thaw and cook my Broccoli. You can always use fresh Broccoli if you like. I’ve used both in the past and I don’t find that it matters much if you use Fresh or Frozen. I find that keeping Frozen Broccoli in the freezer to use for recipes like this comes in handy.
Cook the Broccoli according to your Microwave’s directions for Thawing and Cooking Frozen Vegetables.
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While my Sausage is browning in the sauce pan I am mincing some Garlic Cloves. Gordon and I used to chop so much Garlic that it would take forever to mince all that up into such small bits. Now, we just grab this wonderful tool and squeeze to have it turn out exactly how we want it and in just a few seconds. I’m mincing about 4-5 large Garlic Cloves in the photo above. You can use as much or as little as you like. We just LOVE Garlic!

Broccoli Ready…

Here I am draining the water out of the casserole dish and into the sink.
Then filling the casserole dish with cold water for the Broccoli to sit in so that it will stop the cooking process.
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My Sausage and Garlic have finished browning.
I used the spatter screen you see in the photo above to drain the excess fat into the sink.
Just make sure your Sausage doesn’t fall into the sink as well.
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In a very large pot on the stove top on a high heat, start boiling your water to cook the Lasagna Noodles in.
Add a bit of Salt to the water.
While that comes to a boil….

Make Sure the Fresh Herbs are Clean and Dry

Fresh Herbs, Carrots, and the Broccoli
The Carrots have been washed and the water is being drained from them.
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Now that my water has come up to boiling…

It’s time to add the Lasagna Noodles
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My Ricotta Cheese
In two separate bowls I will be mixing the Ricotta Cheese with other things.
I am evenly dividing up all 3 containers to place into the two bowls.


In this bowl I am placing in some Fresh Parsley Leaves.
I don’t chop them I just pluck the flowering end off and add it to the bowl.
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My Lasagna Noodles are Done!

Time to Drain into a Colander

Allow to Cool a Bit
Keep them in the sink because you may need to add water to the noodles
if they start to harden up while you are still working with them building your Lasagna.
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Into the Second Bowl of Ricotta…

Place a Nice Basil Pesto, as much as you Like
(Reserve some of the Pesto as a Lasagna topping.)
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Here Gordon is Chopping Some Basil…

To be Equally Distributed into Each Bowl
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Our Two Casserole Dishes
Coat Both Well With a Cooking Oil Spray, Bottom and Sides
(One we are giving to Veronica and Brian as a gift, along with this great Lasagna that it will house, and the other is ours to place into the freezer for a later date.)
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My Various Jars of Spaghetti Sauces

In the bottom of each casserole dish place enough of the Sauce to cover the bottom.
You just need a nice thin layer.

Now, place down a layer of the Lasagna Noodles over the Sauce.

Like So

Now place some of your Herby Ricotta Cheese.

Spread out a nice later. Use a spatula.

Then add more of the Lasagna Noodles over the Ricotta Cheese and then add a layer of yet another Spaghetti Sauce.

Like So

Time for a nice layer of the Sausage.

Then top with more Lasagna Noodles.

More Ricotta Cheese….

More Sauce….

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Remember our Broccoli? Time to add it here.

Cooking and Softening the Carrots in the Microwave

Adding Slices of Fresh Mozzarella Over the Broccoli
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Cottage Cheese

Dolloping spoons of Cottage Cheese between the slices of Mozzarella Cheese Slices, photo top left.
My Carrots are cooked the ready, time to add them over top.
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Italian Bread Crumbs
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Here I did sprinkle some of the Italian Bread Crumbs from above, over the top.
Maybe about 1/4 Cup?

Now it’s time for more Lasagna Noodles
You can see them beginning to get hard in the photos above.
When this happens you can just add more water over top underneath the sink faucet and that will get them pliable again.

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Time For More Ricotta Cheese….

Dollop as much as you like and smooth over with a spatula.

Here I Added Fresh Herbs of Oregano

Then Top With More Lasagna Noodles
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Time to Top Them Off With the Remaining Spaghetti Sauce

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We Have Built Our Lasagna Up To The Very TOP!

Now It’s Time To Grate Our Parmesan Blocks Of Cheese

Grate As Much As You Like
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We Then Topped This Lasagna With The Leftover Basil Pesto, and a Drizzle of Really Nice Extra Virgin Olive Oil Overtop
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Place Into a 350F Oven for About 45 Minutes.
Be sure to check it at about 30 minutes to make sure it isn’t burning on top.
You can always cover it with Aluminum Foil to prevent it from burning.

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Allow To Cool A Bit

It’s Looking So Beautiful!

Delicious too!
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A Haunted Jezebel Blueberry Pancake Ice Cream Sandwich

Frozen Blueberry Pancakes

Baked According to Package Directions

Lemon/Blueberry Ice Cream
(I tried to find Blueberry Ice Cream and I just couldn’t. This Lemon/Blueberry was the closest that I could find. It was a bit sour.)

Blueberry Pancakes, Cool Whip, Lemon/Blueberry Ice Cream, A Haunted Jezebel, Fresh Blueberry’s, and some Green Ghoulish Gummy’s


I sliced the Ice Cream into 1 inch rounds, to place onto my Pancakes…

Topped with a Pancake and some of my Haunted Jezebel along with some Cool-Whip, and some Fresh Blueberry’s.
It was all quite delicious!
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Spooky Graveyard Brownies

According to Gordon, these are the best Brownies he has ever eaten!
They are also so easy to make. Sometimes we cook from scratch, and other times we like to make an event a bit easier on us by just jazzing something that is already delicious, even more so. Here is one of those cases.

This is for a Large Casserole Sized Dish
Ingredients:
2, 12.35 oz. Pillsbury Zero Sugar Brownie Mix, Chocolate Fudge
(Make according to the package directions.)
Mini Marshmallows, as many as you like, I just threw in a few handfuls
Dried Cherries, as many as you like, about a cup or more
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Brownie Toppings
A sprinkling of Jet-Puffed Bits, Vanilla Marshmallows
A sprinkling of Candied Toppings shaped like Bones
As many Candied Eyes, to make it Spooky
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The first thing you do is to make the Brownie mixes in a large bowl, following the package instructions.

You next want to add to the bowl, the Dried Cherries and Marshmallows, stir together.
Add the mixture to a large casserole dish, sprayed with a Cooking Oil Spray to coat. Then bake according to package directions.
NOTE: (You will want to insert a toothpick into the Brownie’s to determine they are done. BUT, understand that you may be inserting the toothpick into a gooey marshmallow, believing the Brownie’s to not be done. Don’t be fooled into thinking they aren’t done when they just might be. Try inserting a toothpick into a section of Brownie that isn’t a gooey marshmallow to determine if they are truly done.)

When Done, Remove From Oven and Immediately add the Toppings, then Cool.
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The Tombs at Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion


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The Graveyard

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The Tomb of the Many Wives of a Widower

The Pet Cemetery
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Buying Collectible Pins

I am a Pin Collector. Every time I go to the park I always buy a few to add to my collection.
I have two bags where I put them. This black bag is more for Halloween, whereas my green bag is more for the rest of the year.

Happy Collecting!
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Disney’s Magic Kingdom Haunted Mansion for’ Mickey’s Not So Scary’ Halloween Nights

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The Nighttime Graveyard

The Talking Busts
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BEWARE OF HITCHHIKING GHOSTS

The Hitchhiking Ghosts..

have been a favorite of many for years now.

Who didn’t like them hitchhiking onto our Haunted Mansion Doom Buggies?

Always fun, Always Comical,

Always Exciting!

Here they are flashing onto the home of Veronica and Brian.

Happy Haunting Halloween!
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Have a Very Happy Haunted Mansion Halloween,
Julie and Gordon, Veronica, Brian and Isabelle, Brodie and Mackenzie
BOO!!!!
Hey Y’all!
Every now and then I need to go back home. Oh, not literally.
But with my Tongue Feelers. You know, Taste Buds?
Growing up throughout the south you get a hankering for something Deep Fried, Black-eyed, Field Picked, and Green.
And all the other fun stuff in between.
That is what I want to put here. I do hope to fill this page with some of my Old Southern Favorites that I miss so much. So, come on in and sit a spell while I whip us up some good ol’ home cooking.
Holler if ya need me!

Julie
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Southern Wild Rice with Pecans and Dried Cherries

Don’t Forget The Hot Sauce

Chicken Gizzard Po’ Girls, Corn on the Cob, Catfish, and a Leftover Bowl of Brunswick Stew

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The Star Food on this Table is the Southern Wild Rice
Sometimes It’s The Sides That Shine
(Recipe Down Below)
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Julie’s Corn Pepper Muffins

With a Side of Lightening Bugs 🙂
(My recreation anyway.)

(Recipe Down Below)
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My Pepper Butter

Before Left, and Buttered, Right!

With Tabasco

(Recipe Down Below)

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If You Would Like To Check Out My Brunswick Stew:
Click Here For: Brunswick Stew and Barbeque

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Southern Fried Recipes Start Right Here
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Southern Wild Rice with Pecans and Dried Cherries
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Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Wild Rice
2 Cups Water
2 1/4 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 T. Margarine or Butter
3/4 – 1 Cup Toasted Pecans
4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
1 1/4 Cup Dried Cherries
3 T. Spicy Chili Onion Crisp
Table Salt and Pepper to Taste (This is the South after all, nothing fancy here.)
And, as much Fresh Parsley as you want.
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Gathering All My Utensils and Ingredients

You First Want To Rinse The Wild Rice Thoroughly, Then Allow To Drain

Place The Rice Into A Wok, or Large Sauce Pan, Add the Water, Vegetable Broth, and Butter.
Bring to a Boil over a Medium-High Heat.

When It Comes To A Boil, Turn Heat Down To Simmer

Cover, and Allow To Simmer for about 20-25 Minutes.
When the rice has absorbed all the water, keep it on a very low heat.
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Time To Crush The Garlic Cloves

Now, Add Them To The Rice

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The Pecans

Place the Pecans into a Skillet, and Toast them on a Medium Heat until a bit Browned, but not Burned.

The Pecans and the Rice

Time To Add Some Table Salt and Pepper to the Rice

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I Toasted The Pecans in my Cast Iron Skillet, Now I am Adding the Rice Overtop
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Time To Add The Dried Cherries, As Many As You Like

Now For The Spicy Chili Onion Crisp

Add As Much As You Like Per Your Personal Tastes
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Now It’s Time To Add The Fresh Parsley
And the Pepper Sauce (Hot Sauce)
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Beautiful Corn

I didn’t want anything fancy here. Just some delicious Corn on the Cob as a nice addition to this meal.
Just boil some water and add the corn. Cook on a medium-high heat until the cob is a bit tender. You can follow package instructions.

When Done, Remove From the Water, Pat Dry, Add Corn Holders and some Butter!
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Chicken Gizzard Po’Girls
In the south we do so love the Chicken Gizzards. You will even find them around the Salad Bars at some local restaurants. I had been craving my old Chicken Gizzards, that’s when I decided to make this sandwich. I really didn’t want to do any pickin’ or fryin’, so I visited a local restaurant that did all of that for me. I knew it was a good place to eat given the amount of African-Americans in the restaurant. They know Southern food!
My additions, are what goes into the Po’Girls.
Here We Go!

Ingredients:
You Will Need Some Sort of Hoagie Buns
Slaw, Raw or with the Fixin’s (Meaning, you can add Coleslaw plain, or with the dressing.)
Honey Dijon Dressing (Or any that you like to add over the top of the Po’Girl.)
Sliced Jalapeno Peppers
Chopped Pepper Salad
Fresh Chives, Snipped
Fresh Parsley, Over top
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Creating The Po’Girls With the Catfish on the Side
(The Catfish I also purchased at a local Southern restaurant here.)

Use a Bread Knife to Cut Out the Top of the Hoagie Buns

Now, Fill the Hoagie Buns with the Pepper Salad, and Raw Coleslaw

Then Add Your Chicken Gizzards, Chives, Jalapeno’s, and Dressing.

Top With Fresh Parsley
Look How Beautiful! And Delicious!

Git Ta Eatin!

DIG IN!
Julie Barefoot
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My Corn Pepper Muffins
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Ingredients:
Peppers!
I Used Jalapeno, Poblano, and Chilaca, use as Many as you Like

Making Corn Bread
Half of the ingredients that you see above are listed on the container of Corn Meal.
I am using that recipe to make my Cornbread, I’m just adding the additions that will make it my Corn Pepper Muffins.
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My Additions:
(The Peppers, Cleaned, Seeds Removed, and Cut into Short Strips)
Shallots, Chopped
1 Can of Mexicorn, Drained
Spices:
Tabasco Spicy Salt Blend
Onion Powder
Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning
Cayenne Pepper
Chili Powder
Jalapeno Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
(The amounts really are up to you. I used about a 1/2 t. of each.)
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I Used Crisco To Grease My Large Muffin Tins
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Chopped All My Shallots Whether I Used All of Them or Not
(I will need them in the next recipe.)

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The Peppers

Slice each pepper, remove the seeds, rinse them out…

Like so…

Then you want to slice them into short strips.

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Making My Cornbread According to Package Directions.

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My Secret Ingredients:
Tabasco Spicy Salt, and Jalapeno Sea Salt
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Combining My Cornbread Ingredients:

The Dry Ingredients

The Wet Ingredients

Beating My Eggs

Adding Vegetable Oil…

Adding My Spices to the Cornbread Batter

Adding a Handful of my Shallots
Mix Together
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All My Beautiful Peppers
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Time For The Assembly
Turn Your Oven on 400F

I placed a few of my Peppers into the bottom of the large muffin tin.
I then added some of the Cornbread batter over them.

I then added more peppers over the top and pushed them down with my fingers to make sure they were covered with the batter. Although I wanted many of the peppers to be on the top.
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Into The Oven They Go!
These Actually Took Around 20 Minutes To Bake
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Fresh Out of the Oven and Cooling on the Racks
(You can insert a toothpick to make sure they are done. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are ready.)

I Love How They Look! It Is Exactly How I Envisioned!
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Out of the Tins and Cooling Further

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Add a Few Squirts of Tabasco 🙂
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Leftover Peppers for my Pepper Butter
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The Potatoes Here Are Some of What My Butter Will Go On
(I just need to bake them.)
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My Pepper Butter

Ingredients:
3, 8 oz. Unsalted Butter
My Leftover Peppers From the Recipe Above:
Jalapeno, Poblano, and Chilaca
5-6 Fresh Garlic Cloves
Chopped Shallots, About a Handful
Spices:
Tabasco Spicy Salt Blend, (About 30 Shakes)
Onion Powder
Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning
Cayenne Pepper
Chili Powder
Jalapeno Sea Salt
(I used a teaspoon of all of the above spices.)
Fresh Cilantro, a Bunch
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My Unsalted Butter Had Been Softening For About 2 Hours
I Then Cut It Into Cubes and Placed It Into My Blender Here
I Used a Medium Setting on the Blender To Mix The Butter

I Then Added All of My Spices, And Blended More

My Peppers, Shallots, Garlic Cloves, and Cilantro
I Used Most of the Peppers you see Above, but not All. I did use all of the above Shallots.

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Adding My Garlic Cloves and Shallots

Blending Away, While Wiping Down the Sides with a Spatula

Time To Add The Green Stuff
(My Peppers and Cilantro)
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Looking so Good!

Decant Into A Bowl
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I Even Added Some Butter Into Jars To Freeze For Another Time
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I have to say that this is some of the best butter I have ever eaten! I kept spreading it onto mini toasts and I had to stop myself from eating it because after all, it is butter! I didn’t want a heart attack. 🙂 However, eaten in nice portions it is safe.

Baked Sweet Potato, Baked Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, and my Pepper Muffins, Before the Butter
(With a small side of Green Beans)

The Pepper Butter
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With The Butter

The Butter is very Spicy and Addictive, Along with the Tabasco

See Y’all Later!
Julie
The Haunted Mansion Enter if you dare, foolish mortals. ——————————————————————————————— We Love Halloween, We Love The Haunted Mansion On this Page are Haunted Mansion Halloween’s From 2022, and 2023 We Hope That You Will Enjoy What We Created We …
(The men in the photo top left, are Gordon and our son-in-law Brian.) Disney Springs, Orlando, Florida (Gordon, Julie, Mackenzie, and Brodie) Cheers to the Day! ————————————————————– (Veronica and Brian) They walked right by us without even noticing us sitting there! 🙂 …
Currently Baking in Grandmother Keith’s Oven

Deliciously Cooling…
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I LOVE Cornbread!
If you were raised in the south, before the internet brought us all together culturally, then you grew up eating Cornbread religiously. We loved it whether it was right out of the oven, or stale and hard as a rock, and placed into a bowl with some milk to soften it to eat with a spoon. Either way, it was perfect!
Most of the time we ate it plain, but perfect!
Some southern cooks ended up expanding on the original recipe.
Here is one of such recipes:
Cornbread with Cottage Cheese and Broccoli and Onions

This recipe is simple. Just make your cornbread as you always do, or buy a box or bag of Cornbread Mix. Make according to package directions, except you will be adding about a cup of Cottage Cheese, and as many Broccoli Florets and chopped Onions as you like. Mix together and add to a Cast Iron Skillet with a “blob” of Crisco in it. Place into the oven to melt the Crisco. Then remove and pour your Cornbread mixture into the hot skillet. Place into a 350F Oven for about 25 minutes. Follow your own package directions if you aren’t a southern pro with Cornbread. (You are forgiven.)
Oh, and you might want to place it under the Broil to brown the top if it isn’t already. 🙂
You don’t have to be from the south to make the best Cornbread imaginable.
Just bake some Cornbread!
Julie
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The Cornbread with our Stewed Tomatoes

This is another great way to eat Cornbread. Especially when stale.
Those Tomato Juices will absorb into that Cornbread and flavor it wonderfully!

Fried Ham is Always a Treat with Cornbread

Doesn’t Get Any Better Than THIS!
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Stewed Tomatoes, A Whann Family Tradition

Click on the Link for our Stewed Tomato Recipes
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Featured Are:
Julie’s Mex-Itali Cornbread
For some reason Mexican and Italian tend to go very well with me. I have created a few recipes starring both country’s foods. Here is yet another example.

Right Out of The Oven and Cooling with Some Queso Fresco
(Recipe Down Below)
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All In One New Year’s Day Cornbread

It is traditional in the south to eat Cornbread, Black Eyed Peas, and Collard Greens.

I decided to throw it all together and have it be One and Done!

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I used a cookie cutter to cut out these great hand held bites.

The Inbetween’s are Delicious as Well
(Recipe Down Below)
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Julie’s Mex-Itali Cornbread

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Some of My Ingredients:
I’m following the Cornbread recipe on my box of Corn Meal, except that I am adding my own garden Peppers, and a can of Shoe Peg Corn, also, some Spicy Italian Sausage and Queso Fresco Cheese.

Spicy Italian Sausage, Sizzling Away

Ready To Make The Cornbread

Peppers From Our Garden

The first thing that I did was to cook the Spicy Italian Sausage, removing most of the fat as it cooked.

I did reserve some to grease the Cast Iron Skillet for the Cornbread.
You can see some of the Italian Sausage that fell into the skillet.

Chopping Our Backyard Garden Peppers
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Making The Cornbread…


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The Layering Begins

This is the grease from the Italian Sausage,

then place a shallow layer of the Cornbread mixture,

Then add the Italian Sausage,

a layer of the Shoe Peg Corn, then more of the Cornbread mixture.

I sauteed my Garden Peppers in some Olive Oil,

then placed them on top of the Cornbread mixture, and then tried to cover them with more Cornbread mixture.

I Did Sprinkle Some Chili Powder Over Top

Now, place into the oven according to package directions.
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Cornbread Done, But Needs Browning

When Cornbread is Cooling, add Queso Fresco

Here we are eating it with some Queso stuffed Jalapeno Peppers
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All In One New Year’s Day Cornbread

It is traditional in the south to eat Cornbread, Black Eyed Peas, and Collard Greens on New Year’s Day.
Black Eyed Peas to bring you LUCK! Collard Greens to bring you MONEY! 🙂

I decided to throw it all together and have it be One and Done!
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The Ingredients:
(What you see above are the ingredients that I used to not only make the Cornbread, but to add to the Cornbread.)
You can see the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal Mix in the photo above? All of those ingredients, minus the cans of peas and greens, are listed on the Corn Meal container. In other words, all you have to do is to buy the Corn Meal mix and use that as your guide for making your Cornbread.
Or, you can use any Cornbread recipe that you like. What is going to be unique here are the ingredients I’m adding to the Cornbread.

I’m adding some Black Eyed Peas, Tiny Field Peas w/ Snaps, and a can of Collard Greens.
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Turn your Oven onto the proper setting. According to the package directions.
Here I am using my Great-Grandmother’s Cast Iron Skillet and some Crisco. I simply place a blob of Crisco Shortening in it, and I place it in the oven to get hot and melt.
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Drain and Rinse your Black Eyed Peas and Tiny Field Peas in a Colander in the sink, then add them to your Cornbread Batter.

Here I am draining the can of Collard Greens and squeezing them out, then adding them to the Cornbread Batter.
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Stir Together
(Once your Skillet is hot and the Crisco has melted, pour in your Cornbread Batter and place into the Oven for the desired time according to the Corn Meal Mix instructions.)

You can see the “done” results left, I did broil the Cornbread a little in order for it to brown on top, right.

I Then Added Some White Cheddar Cheese to melt,

and, a sprinkling of Paprika.

Completed!
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I used a Biscuit Cookie Cutter to give the Cornbread a different look.
Also, fits nicely on a dinner plate.
Happy New Year!
Julie
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To View Our Other Cornbread Website Pages:
Click Here For: Corn Bread, Cast Iron Skillet, Dressing, and Tradition

AND,
Click Here For: Cast Iron, Corn Bread, Corn Sticks, Southern Cooking and Frying

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(Lurch) YOU RANG….. Initially, I was just going to write a blog post about the series in my personal blog. I then realized that this was far too big for that, and that I needed to create it’s own …
Salve! Benvenutu Al Nostro Halloween Da Vinci ———————————————————————– Leonardo Da Vinci, The Mona Lisa (That is Tom Hanks hand above, from the movie The Da Vinci Code.) I fell in love with the movie when it first came out, and it …

To me, it’s just not Halloween without a Hitchcock marathon of all of his movies.

Currently Watching The Killer, Lars Thorwald from Rear Window

I was Thrilled to Find this Game Online
For those of you that know my love of board games, especially any version of CLUE, I was very happy to have found this Rear Window game online.
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Rear Window Slate
New York City
Take 1, Scene 14
10/22/22
Alfred Hitchcock
Cannon Manfrotto
(Cannon Manfrotto is an inside joke with Gordon and myself.
Perhaps one of you can figure it out.) 🙂
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Our Rear Window ‘Scene 14’ Set

L.B. Jeffries Apartment
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Everything Here Represents Something From The Movie

Playing The Game

The Handbag, The Jewelry, The Rope and Saw, The Heavy Trunk…

Gordon and I Reviewing the Game Instructions

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If you have never seen the movie Rear Window with Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart, along with Raymond Burr, and Thelma Ritter, then you will probably not understand what we are doing here.
Rear Window is my most favorite movie ever!
I found the game online and knew it would be great here with our Halloween theme.

Follow The Footsteps
(I found them online and knew they would be perfect here.)

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If you have ever seen the movie, Rear Window, then you recognize our props in these photos.

The Red Handbags
(Mrs. Thorwald’s)

Gordon Did Such a Great Job on our Pumpkin

The Wooden Trunk w/ the Heavy Rope, Represents Lars Thorwald’s Trunk

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Our Modern Day Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
(We made these because L. B. Jeffries has a Ham and Cheese Sandwich in the movie with some milk. His sandwich from the 50’s was very plain, we jazzed ours up a bit.)

We also made some Microwave Potato Chips to go with our Sandwiches, along with a side of Olives.
(Recipe Down Below)
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Game And Dinner

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Gordon as L. B. Jeffries

Jimmy Stewart’s character of L. B. Jeffires (Jeff), is in a leg cast because he got in the way of a race car on an automobile racetrack to get a unique shot, and injured himself in the process. Jeff is a successful photographer for a prestigious magazine. He travels the world to “hot spots” to take photos of current events. He is an adventurer, that gets paid for his photos.
Gordon of course, isn’t in a cast, we just wrapped a white towel around his leg and even wrote on it, ‘Here lies the broken bones of L. B. Jeffries.’

Because the movie takes place in the 50’s, I set out my vintage and antique’s that worked here, in addition to some modern day things.

Gordon Making a Phone Call

Me, as Lisa Freemont watching Lars Thorwald’s apartment across the way.

Gordon Writing The Letter To Lars Thorwald

“What Have You Done With Her?”
We think that Lars Thorwald is guilty of killing his wife.

The Dogs Crashed Us! 🙂
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Getting Ready to Carve the Pumpkin

Gordon is a natural artist. Untrained, but spot on!
Whatever Halloween theme we have in mind, he will carve a pumpkin to compliment it. Gordon has the mind of an athlete, which enables him to defy odds. Really! And this is in all aspects, not just pumpkin carving. He knows how to choose the most perfect pumpkin for the design, he saves the seeds for us to roast or put into other Halloween recipes. He makes our Halloween more special because of his pumpkin carving skills. Once again, he did not disappoint here.
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Pumpkin Carved….

As Always, Gordon Did a Wonderful Job….
Halloween Treats of Toy Cameras

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L. B. Jeffries Watching Lars Thorwald 🙂
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My Rear Window Shelfie in our Bedroom
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I LOVE This Camera!
(I would kill for it! Actually, I would just shove someone and grab it and run.) 🙂

L. B. Jeffries Camera/Lens and his Ham and Cheese Sandwich w/ Milk

The premise of the story is that Jeff believes that he has witnessed a murder by his neighbor across the way from his Rear Window of his apartment. Therefore, he becomes obsessed with proving it. Having that cast on his leg gives him reason to look out the window all day, and sometimes, all night long.
We love to recreate the foods in movies that we love.
There isn’t a lot of food in this movie, but we do our best to recreate it regardless. 🙂
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Here, we recreated the very simple Ham and Cheese Sandwich.
The candy in the vintage dish is vintage candy from that time.

Our Simple Ham and Cheese Sandwich

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SCENE 14
I love this scene because this is where Jeff falls in love with Lisa.

Lars Thorwald Going Through His Wife’s Jewelry in her Favorite Handbag

Thelma Ritter, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart

Grace, (Lisa) Looking Through a View Finder

“It’s just a picture of the backyard.” Lisa Freemont

Our Characters Debating How to Get into Lars Thorwald’s Apartment for Evidence

It’s so impressive to think that everything here was built in a studio in Hollywood.


Jeff, Writing a Note to Thorwald to Get Him out of the Apartment

Lisa, Going to Slip the Note Underneath his Door

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?

Lisa, Slipping the Note Underneath the Door…

…and Barely Getting Away.

Lars Thorwald Panicking, Reading the Letter

“What was his reaction?”

Lisa, Excited at What She Did!

Jeff, Falling in Love
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Our Scene 14

Me and Gordon, Trying our Best to Channel Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart

Me, Looking Through my Grandmother’s Slide Viewer

The Dogs Are Always a Welcome Crash

‘When it gets a little darker I’m going over there to dig up that flower bed and see what’s buried there.’
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From a Director’s Point of View

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Jeff’s Apartment

We did our best to try and recreate Jeff’s Apartment in the movie. At least certain aspects of it. You never have to have anything totally accurate. You just want to do an impression that will portray your idea.

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Just a Few “Notes” From the Scene
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Our Harvest Fountain
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Pumpkins and Vintage Candy
I Wanted Our Candy to Reflect the Era

Vintage Hard Candy, Toy Cameras, Big Hunk Candy Bars, Sugar Orange Slices, Mary Jane’s, Caramel’s, Ginger Mints, etc.
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Pumpkin Carving Starts Here

My T-Shirt

Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart, Rear Window

Carving The Pumpkin
(Write up by Gordon)


Here I am deciding what design I want, or think I can do.
Julie is always pushing me with these in a good way as I doubt my ability to accomplish some of the designs.

I decided to do the picture with Mr. Jeffries in a wheelchair.

I print out the picture then tape it to the pumpkin using painters tape. I also ensure the picture is flat against the pumpkin. In doing this, you may need to crease the paper’s outer edge as you are just trying to get the picture flat against the pumpkin’s surface. Now, using your punch tool, punch small holes barely into the skin of the pumpkin around every defined aspect of the picture. For the thin spokes, simply follow the spokes directly on the line. Get comfortable as this will take some time to do.

Here you see the picture with all the punches, then with the picture removed.
Save the picture so you can use it as a reference.

Now, carve out the sections that you want light to shine through using a small sharp knife.

Taking a needed break for a quick happy snap.

Continue to carve out the sections using your picture as a guide.

Me, with my beautiful support! 🙂

Here Julie was making me a nice sandwich!

Still carving out the design.

Again, posing for another happy snap.
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Jeff Watching Lars Thorwald

Our Version of Jeff’s Sandwich
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Now you can start to see the design come through. Use a V cut to make the thin lines. To do this, place your knife at an angle and cut just outside the line that barely cuts through the pumpkin’s skin. Then, turn the pumpkin around and do the same cut on the other side of the line. This should remove a small sliver of the pumpkin’s skin. Repeat this cut for all the small lines.

Now that I have completed the outside it is time to cut into the top of the pumpkin. Use a thin saw blade tool that comes in the usual pumpkin carving kit and make a steep angled cut. If you don’t do this cut at an angle, the lid will simply fall into the pumpkin. I also cut a triangular wedge in the top so I know where the lid goes when I am done. Continue this cut all the way around the top of the pumpkin until your lines intersect.

Now, remove the top as shown. Here you can see the angled cut I made.

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Use a sharp knife to cut away the bottom of the lid so it looks nice

Stick your hands inside the pumpkin and remove the seeds.
Here I am removing the seed to cook later.

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It is a little gooey, but it is only a vegetable.
Remove a good amount of the inside of the pumpkin so the light will shine through.
Place a strong flashlight inside the pumpkin to help you see where to remove more of the insides.
Be sure not to make it too thin.

I even signed the cast Mr. Jeffries… thought that was a nice touch.

L. B. Jeffries

Vintage Candy and Toy Cameras
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The Recipes
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Pumpkin Beer and Cheese Quick Bread

This is the easiest and tastiest bread recipe in the world!
(Ignore the Baking Powder in the photo above.)
Ingredients:
3 Cups of Self-Rising Flour
1 Cup Shredded Cheese (We used White Cheddar)
2 T. Granulated Sugar
1/4 t. Salt
1 T. Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1 12 oz. Pumpkin Beer
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You want to pre-heat your oven to 350F, and use a cooking oil spray (PAM) to coat your loaf pan.

Here I have Grated All of my Cheese

Place your Self-Rising Flour, Sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl…

Add your Garlic and Herb Seasoning… Whisk together.

And then your Grated Cheese….

Next, add your Beer
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Place the Beer Battered Bread Mix into a greased loaf pan.
Top with some cheese, if desired.

Cover and bake in a 350F Oven for about 35-45 minutes.

You can remove the foil near the end to give the bread such great color.

Remove From Oven
Let Cool in the Pan for about 15 minutes.
Then, turn out to cool on a wire rack.
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Our Modern Day Ham Sandwiches and Microwave Potato Chips

To make homemade potato chips, you could use a knife to slice the chips thinly, but using a mandolin gives you the uniformity of real chips and is just so much faster. Here, I use three Russet Potatoes as these make the best chips. Place a plate under your mandolin to catch the sliced potatoes.

Wash the potatoes well and pick out some seasoning for them.
You could go with just some salt, but we chose garlic and herb.

Here I am making a small sheet of parchment paper, a good size to fit in our microwave dish so that it will still spin.

Carefully slice your potatoes using the mandolin. You want them thin, but not too thin. Do a test with your potato until you arrive at the right thickness. You can see how nice the slices turned out.

I placed some seasoning on the parchment paper.

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Carefully lay down the potato slices onto the Parchment Paper.

Now, add more seasoning to the top of the potatoes.

Microwave them on high for about 2-3 min. or until they begin to brown and turn crispy.

You could also use a little Chili Powder on the chips, giving them more great flavor.

Here you can see the finished product… so just dig in!
These are healthier than regular potato chips.
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Now For Our Grilled Ham Sandwiches

You can see our Beer Bread in the background, top, and our Microwave Potato Chips.
Gordon slicing some Roma Tomatoes, and removing the seeds.

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Now, slice your onions as thick as you like. I make them about ¼ in thick.

Now that your prep work is done, it is time to head out to the grill. In the background you can see our nice bread, pickles, and mustard we will used for the sandwiches. In the foreground, you can see the ham steaks.

Here is a closeup of the bread and butter pickles, and Honey Mustard we made.
The banana pepper pickles are another great addition to this sandwich.

To start, place your grill on high and let it sit for about 5 min., Then clean off your grill using a wire brush being sure none of the bristles are left behind. I then turn the grill down and spray it with some high temperature cooking spray, or peanut oil.

Set your grill flames to Medium high and place your onions and Plum tomato halves onto the grill and let them sit.
Close the lid and just let them cook.
After about 7 minutes, open the grill and check on them. You want to see some nice black char and grill marks as shown. Turn them over and cook them for at least another 5 min.

Now that your tomatoes are done with just a few onions to finish, place your ham steaks down on the grill and let them just sit.

As your onions become done, add your ham steaks to the grill. These are not very thick so be careful not to over cook them. You really just want the nice grill marks. You could season them with a bit of pineapple juice or more savory items like onion or garlic powder, but we decided to just let the ham flavor shine through.

Here you can see the finished grilled steaks.

Slice your bread using a bread knife.

Time to make the sandwiches. Spread on your mustard of choice,

I like to use Swiss Cheese with ham. Add your grilled onions to the sandwich as well.

Here I sliced the ham in half so it would fit nicely on the sandwich.

Add some nice lettuce and the grilled Plum tomatoes.

Don’t forget the pickles!
It took some careful stacking as well, but it was worth it.

When you are done, top the sandwich with the other slice of bread. You could have also toasted the bread if you wanted.

Here you can see the end results to our Rear Window sandwich.
I am sure Mr. Jeffries would have loved it.
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Now, Back to our Game…

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There is a bit of a comical part in the movie where Jeff has an itch that he cannot get to to scratch, so he uses his back scratcher.

Oh yeah, that’s the spot!

Now, back to spying on Lars Thorwald.

Jeff’s Desk, Phone, Binoculars, and Mont Rachet Wine w/ Glasses

Dialing Lt. Doyle

More of Me, Loving to Impersonate My Favorite Heroin
—————————————————————————-
The Ending of Rear Window

Lisa and Stella go over to the flower bed to see what Thorwald had buried there, although there was nothing to be found. That is when Lisa got the inspiration to get into Thorwald’s apartment to look for the wife’s jewelry that Thorwald was keeping in his wife’s handbag.

Lisa, excitedly finding the handbag, only to be disappointed that nothing was inside.

Meanwhile, Lars Thorwald is unexpectedly on his way back to his apartment.

Jeff calls the police to report that a woman is being assaulted and for them to hurry!

After a few minutes the police to arrive. Lisa however, doesn’t give away why she was in the apartment to begin with. She waits until they get her safely out of there and she then reveals why she was in there. To find Mrs. Thorwald’s wedding ring…..

…which Lisa slipped on her finger before being arrested. She is signaling to Jeff across the way that she found it.
However, Thorwald see’s it too!
——————————————————————————
With Lisa being arrested, and Stella sent to bail her out of jail, Jeff is left alone in his apartment.
He hears footsteps. And then someone enters his apartment.

“Who are you? What do you want? Why didn’t the girl turn me in? Can you get me that ring back?”
Lars Thorwald
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Jeff now has to buy some time. He has Stella and Lisa down at Police Headquarters. He also has his friend Det. Doyle going down there to get Lisa out of jail with no charges. He also has to fend off Lars Thorwald until they all get back.

Jeff, being the smart guy that he is has taken the light bulbs from his camera to use against Thorwald to blind him while he buys some time.

It does work long enough until he spots Lisa and Doyle across the way going to Thorwald’s apartment. He calls their names and they run over to try and save him.

But, not before Thorwald has attacked Jeff, shoving him out of his Rear Window.

Jeff Struggling For His Life
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Jeff, Loosing his Grip and Falling

Doyle, Stella, and Lisa Run to his Aid

Having Officially, Fallen in LOVE
————————————————————————–

Spooky in a Basket

I love the scene in the movie where the woman lowers her dog in a basket down to the ground so that it can use the bathroom/roam around, etc. And, then when she calls it, the dog will jump back into the basket to be raised up to the apartment.
——————————————————————————————
A Happy Ending

When the movie starts out Jeff has one broken leg, but by the end of the movie he has two.

So, why the smile on his face above? He solved a mystery with the help of his beautiful girlfriend that he had underestimated as being some helpless female, who actually helped to foil Lars Thorwald and put him in jail for murdering his wife. Jeff is now happily in love and ready to commit to Lisa.
——————————————————————————————–

Lisa understands his love of traveling to exotic places and she is willing to learn all she can and go with him on these jaunts. However, you cannot take the fashion girl out of the magazines permanently. Which is why she waited until he fell asleep to read her Harper’s Bazaar Magazine. 🙂

Looks like Lisa has Everything Under Control
THE END
—————————————————————————————–
If you would like to view our other Alfred Hitchcock posts…..
Click Here For: Happy Birthday Hitch

AND,
Click Here For: Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds

AND,
Click Here For: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window

AND,
Spooketti Dinner with Hitchcock

AND,

A. Hitchcock CLUE For Halloween
AND,
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window: SCENE 14

———————————————————————————
Good Evening,
Julie and Gordon
Happy Halloween Hungry? This is a favorite meal of mine to make, due to its creativity and simplicity. Like a one pot meal, this is mostly a one roasting pan meal with the exception of boiling the …
WILLKOMMEN! (Welcome) (Hardly fancy, but Cheese, Turkey Sausage, on Crackers with a good German Mustard is a nice little snack.) ———————————————————– Oktoberfest: German Festival Held over a two week period ending the first Sunday in October. The festival originated on October 12, …
Happy Halloween

For My Spooky

..and My Sparky.

For Our Grand-Dog Chewie…..

And Our Grand-Dog Hank

We adore the animals in our lives.
These are for you guys!
Julie and Gordon

Happy Halloween From Spooky and Sparky
(We gave all of our Dogs and Grand-Dogs the Halloween Doggie Blanket’s and the Trick-or-Treat Pumpkins.)

All The Cousins
Spooky, Sparky and Hank

A Nightmare Before Christmas CLUE
—————————————————————————

Chewie With Veronica and Brian’s Pumpkins
———————————————————————-


Spooky Treats

The Doggie Enthusiasm is so Contagious 🙂

WooOOOOooooooOOOOO…..
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I wanted to make something special for Spooky this year, 2021.
This past summer Sparky and I had made:

Sparky was so cute when we made these.
He really got involved so I wanted to do something special for Spooky this year but she could have cared less. 🙂
However, she did LOVE her Spooky Treats!
(Once I had done all the work.)
This recipe is pumpkin based, no salt, no sugar (only the natural sugar in the fruits), it’s more of a cake than a cookie, it’s also healthy and delicious. AND, humans can eat them too!
These are for my Spooky.
Julie
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Ready to Make Spooky Treats

You will need a blender for this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 29 Ounce Can of Libby’s Pumpkin Puree, (we probably used 20 ounces of the pumpkin)
3 Apples, Sliced
3 Bananas, (we thawed out our frozen bananas we had in the freezer)
9 Tablespoons of No Salt, No Sugar Peanut Butter
3 Eggs
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
3/4 Cup Water
1 1/2 Cups Rolled Oats
Yogurt Chips to Melt Over Top, (optional)
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The Peanut Butter Brand that I used is Organic MaraNatha

Because these are “Spooky Treats” I wanted to bake them in my Ghostly Tin.
I did spray the tin with some Canola Oil Spray first, and pre-heated the oven to 350F.
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The first thing I did was to slice up the Apples for the Blender, removing the core and seeds.

I then started measuring out the Pumpkin Puree and determined that I used most of the can, about 20 ounces. I placed the Pumpkin Puree into the Blender with the Apples.

9 Tablespoons of this no salt, no sugar, Peanut Butter goes into the Blender. I love this Peanut Butter as it is the kind I was raised on in the deep south. Also add 3 Tablespoons of Canola Oil to the Blender.

Now Add Your Water and Eggs

Because my Blender is full I am grinding everything together now in order to make room for the Bananas. Just hit Puree on the Blender settings and let it run until everything has been blended well.

Now I am Adding My 3 Mushy Bananas, the Blend

Pour the Contents of the Blender into a Mixing Bowl


I brought the Mixing Bowl and the Rolled Oats over to the table in the hopes that Spooky would take an interest and help me, but she didn’t.

But, I did add the Rolled Oats to the other Ingredients and I’m stirring them together.

Now, I am spooning the mixture into the Ghostly Tin.

Like Our Spooky Decorations?

Now That The Tin Is Full….

Into The Oven They Go
I baked these for about 50 minutes, but I checked them every 20 minutes, making sure that I could place a toothpick into them and it comes out clean. If you are using a mini muffin pan or even a regular muffin pan then your cooking time will be less. Probably around 20 minutes, more or less.
If you are a baker then you know to monitor the cooking of a new recipe in your oven. Oven temps do vary.

When They Are Done Let Cool a Bit Before Removing From Pan…

and Placing Onto a Cooling Rack.

Don’t they look great?
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Now For The Yogurt Topping
(This is Optional)

Because these are “ghosts” I did want some kind of white topping. I had these Yogurt Chips leftover in our pantry and decided to use them up here.

In order to melt them you just put them into a microwave safe bowl for about 20 seconds on high. Then remove and stir them around a bit. Then place them back into the microwave for another 20 seconds until they are melted.

Quickly Spread onto the Spooky Treats
The Yogurt Chips hardened pretty quickly and started to clump as we were spreading the melted Yogurt onto each Spooky Treat so Gordon added some water and that seemed to do the trick.

So, if some are a bit clumpy and some a bit smooth…that’s why.

We took them over to our Grand-Dogs Chewie and Hank, and of course Spooky and Sparky enjoyed some of them.
They were a great healthy and delicious treat!
And shhhh… we ate them too!
I would sprinkle some over their dog food every night and they would gobble it all up. 🙂
We kept them refrigerated for a total of 10 days. They ate the last one on day 10. We don’t keep refrigerated food longer than that. Just to give you an idea.
Hope your dogs will enjoy them as much as ours did.
Trick-or-Treat!
Julie
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Making Spooky and Sparky’s Halloween Ghost Costumes

Gordon used a piece of paper to make a pattern.

He then measured the center of the paper and marked it with a pencil.

Then measured the width of Spooky’s ears and cut out a space for them. Then measured the distance to her nose and eyes.

He cut out circles for her eyes and a slit for her nose. Measured the distance to her tail and marked it on the paper. Interestingly, the eyes and nose were perfect for sparky and the ears were just a little back from where Spooky’s were. His tail was also further back than Spooky’s.

He then placed the paper over an old bed sheet and using a black marker, marked the holes for both Spooky and Sparky. Use a sharp scissors to cut out the holes.

Once he cut out the holes for the ears, eyes, nose and tail for each dog’s costume, he then tried to fit the costume over each dog.

Here you can see Spooky is ready for Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
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Good Morning

Welcome to Breakfast with Brodie and Mackenzie
We have a few menu items you might enjoy.
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Bagel and Lox

Ingredients:
One Bagel (I use the Everything or Egg style bagels.)
Smoked Salmon
(I use Fresh Market’s Nova Bits which are like trimmings that’s half the price as the regular and still delicious)
Red Onion, sliced
Dill Sprigs
The Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Tbsp Capers
Plain Cream Cheese
Salt & Pepper
Tomato optional
First toast your bagel then allow it to cool down. This will help make spreading the cream cheese over the bagel easier. Spread the cream cheese in an even layer. Then take your capers and embed them into the cream cheese layer. (I use a fork to sprinkle the capers and press them into the cream cheese.) Then add a layer of red onion slices or rings. At this point I may add a slice of tomato. Now lay down a generous layer of smoked salmon. Add as much dill on top as you like (it’s hard to overdo the dill so I add a lot). Add salt and pepper and lemon juice. Indulge. This dish is one of our all time favorites.
Enjoy!
Brodie and Mackenzie
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Up Next!
Steak and Eggs with Mushroom Gravy and Hash Brown Patties

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Brodie and Mackenzie, Recreating One of Their Favorite Breakfast’s from IHOP

Gordon and I, Julie, are doing the write up for them. They love cooking, they love the photography, they love the eating, just not the write-up’s. 🙂 So, that is where we come in.

Brodie and Mackenzie, Cooking

Mackenzie Does the Note Taking
While in lockdown due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, Brodie and Mackenzie were missing some of their favorite restaurant foods so they decided to create this one.
———————————————————-
Here are the ingredients for the steak marinade.
Marinade the steaks overnight for best results.
4 Drops Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp. Heinz 57 Sauce
4 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
4 Tbsp. A1 Sauce
1/2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
1 Shake of Powdered Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. Molasses
1/4 Cup Sliced Onion
2 Garlic Cloves chopped
For the Gravy:
2 Portobello Mushroom Caps Chopped into chunks
1 Onion Chopped into chunks
3 – 4 Tbsp. Butter

———————————————————–

Pictured are the ingredients they used.


Gordon, Brodie and Mackenzie is Taking Notes

Mix all the ingredients in a large seal-able container large enough to hold your steaks.

—————————————————-

————————————————————–


Here I am helping out and Brodie is taste testing the mix.
Add any of the above marinade ingredients to suit your taste.

Add your chopped onions and garlic cloves to the marinade.

Mix all the ingredients well with a whisk.


Add your steaks to the marinade and coat them well with it.
Place in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, remove your steaks and shake off any excess marinade back to the container as it will be used later. Blot the steaks dry using a paper towel.

See how the marinade penetrated the steak giving it a beautiful brown color? Brodie did a great job in making the steak dry. This is key as a dry steak will cook better than a wet one. Wet steaks cooked in a pan tend to boil and steam in its own juices where as a dry steak will sear and brown in the pan.

Here they used a strainer to separate the onion and garlic from the other liquid ingredients of the marinade.

Here are the large Portobello mushroom caps they used for the gravy. Clean the mushroom by either using a paper towel to remove the dirt or quickly run them under running water.

Hash Brown Ingredients:
3 Potatoes shredded
3-4 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mackenzie Shredding Potatoes

Shred your potatoes into a container.

Here are the eggs, one of the mushroom caps, which when cleaned, took off the outer layer of the mushroom… it happens!

The glorious Onion!

Strain your shredded potatoes using a cheesecloth to get out most of the moisture. You will be surprised how much moisture is in a potato.

Sparky, Spooky and Barefoot Brodie

Slicing Onions

Add your oil to a large cast iron pan and heat to medium high heat.

When the pan is at temperature, form about 1/3 Cup of your shredded potatoes into patties. Carefully place the patty into the heated oil.

Here they were able to place four patties into the pan.

Using a spatula, flip the patties over when browned to your liking.

Mackenzie Flipping the Hash Browned Patties

Nice color on those hash browns! When they have finished cooking, place the hash browns onto a paper towel lined plate to catch the excess oil. Salt and pepper them to taste.
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Chop your onions and mushroom caps into chunks and saute them in 3 to 4 Tbsp. butter in a large pan.

Saute the onions until they become translucent.

Using a cast iron grill pan turned onto medium high heat, pan sear your steaks.

Cook the steaks to your liking. Medium cooked steak will take about 7 min. cooking on both sides. This also depends upon how thick your steaks are.
Cooking Tip: To test your steaks, using your finger and pushing down on the steak, if it has a little give, it is likely at Medium Well. The more give the steak has, the less it is cooked.

Using a strainer, strain out the onions and garlic used in the marinade and place the marinade liquid into a small sauce pan.

Heat the sauce to medium heat to slightly reduce the liquid.

Place the onions and garlic used in the marinade into the saute pan of mushrooms and onions and cook them until tender.

When all your onions, mushrooms, and garlic are tender, add your reduced marinade liquid to the pan and cook until all the ingredients are to a gravy consistency.

Sparky and Spooky are Hungry

Here, Brodie is turning the steaks as the gravy is cooking. See the sear marks the steaks have because they were dry when they went into the pan!

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Add some oil to a small saute pan and heat it to medium heat. When the pan’s oil has come up to temperature, add your egg to the pan and cook until the egg white is done, leaving the yolk slightly runny. This will take only a few minutes to cook.
———————————————————-

Serve your hash browns, steak and gravy, and eggs on a plate and enjoy!

Have a Nice Day!
Brodie and Mackenzie
(And Gordon and Julie) 🙂
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