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Love Your Neighbor Cookbook & Almanac

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What a blessing to have been raised in Memphis by a country cook who knew what she was doing. Good cooking was just a way of life in our household and among our extended family. My mother prepared the best fried chicken in Tipton County (We grew up in Memphis, but our reunions were in Tipton County.) according to my aunts, uncles, cousins, and great aunts & uncles; I have no reason to doubt their words of praise. I saw at every family reunion whose chicken was the first to go.   And my mother wasn’t the only good cook in our house.

My daddy was a master at the grill and could throw together a variety of tasty snacks inside as well. He specialized in oyster stew & Bleu Cheese Dressing; and sitting down with Daddy as we built snacks of smoked oysters, cheeses, crackers, olives, and anything else he could scrape together was a banquet in itself.

The blog entries below come from recipes we enjoy around our household; from recipes I’ve yet to try; from recipes given me by friends and family, and things I’ve read about on line or in real print. Yes, I do still subscribe to magazines that come in the mail. Also there are posts about cooking equipment, techniques, sources for more information, etc. I hope you find something of interest.

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DPJC BLOG

Bacon, Sausage, and Shrimp Tetrazinni

This makes up enough to fill two half-trays (9" x 13"). Ingredients: 1 lb breakfast sausage 1 lb bacon 24 ounces small shrimp 2 large sweet yellow onions, chopped 1 orange or red (or green) bell pepper, chopped 1 pound rotini pasta 1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese (or...

Sam’s Houston Press Articles – 2018

  Sam Byrd is a freelance contributor to the Houston Press who loves to take in all of Houston’s sights, sounds, food and fun. He also loves helping others to discover Houston’s rich culture. PS - Sam also contributes to Outsmart December 20, 2018 – Decorations...

Instructions for the Smokenator

    (Instruction Booklet PDF - 2017)  www.smokenator.com (Phone 888.205.1931)  ________________________________________________________   LONG Cook Times - Set Up and Temperature Management A loaded Smokenator box will fuel a cook of about 6 hours. To...

Hazael’s Salsa

Our son's good friend, Hazael, brings this over when they come to dinner. It's superb! The card to the right is Hazael's writing.   Ingredients 3 red tomatoes, grilled and chopped1 poblano,grilled and chopped2 T olive oil1 clove garlic, mincedsalt and pepperjuice...

Apple Date Bread

  I got this one off a package of dates. Ingredients: 1 cup chopped apples 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup chopped dates 1/2 cup butter 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon Instructions: Cream the butter...

Substitute for Canned “Creamed” Soup

We're not fans of canned soups because of their tendency to be LOADED with sodium. So when a recipe calls for a "Cream of This or That" soup, we like to use a version of this instead.   INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup chicken broth...

Pan Seared Scallops

When I was a boy, I thought Studio Rassling star, Billy Wicks was a real champion for decency. He and Sputnik battled fiercely, and I hung on every body slam and sleeper hold.Ingredients 1 to 1 1/4 pounds sea scallops2 teaspoons unsalted butter2 teaspoons olive...

Sweet and Sour Cabbage

We enjoyed living around the corner from a public library in Memphis. It was there I found an interesting Chinese cookbook. Each recipe was given in English on one page, and in Chinese on the facing page. When I cook this one, the family leaves the house until the...

Dodging the Flood

Randal Byrd | August 31, 2017 | Storytelling We dodged a bullet! This picture was sent to us at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning (August 27, 2017). It was taken by our across the street neighbors. Our neighborhood became a river and a lake. Not one drop of water, though,...

Murals at Palmer

I just love these two murals by friends of ours from Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. They are the collaborative works of Jackie Campbell, Kaytee Esser, and Kelly Bourgeois. The murals each are about 20 feet wide. What spectacular work. Thank you, Kaytee, Kelly, and...

Statue Weary

Here's a thought experiment for you. Do you have any idea what was going on in the south in 1964? Remember the 60s civil rights struggle? Remember the church bombings? Remember the police turning fire hoses on civil rights demonstrators? Then think of this. Why is it,...

Blessing for Peggy and Steele

rom June of 1996 until July of 1998, we worshiped with the good people at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Conway, Arkansas. After we moved to Houston, I entered into an arrangement by which the weekly sermons would be sent...

Three Ingredient Cookie

1 cup peanut butter 1 cup white sugar 1 egg, beaten Preheat the oven to 350F Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the peanut butter, white sugar and egg. Mix until smooth. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet; flatten the mounds a bit....

Cola Brined Chicken Thighs

 Clipped from: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015992-coke-brined-fried-chicken Ingredients 5 cups Coca-Cola 1 tablespoon kosher salt 10 sprigs fresh thyme 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced 4 teaspoons mild hot sauce like Crystal 8 to 12 chicken thighs,...

Neely’s BBQ Sauce

Both of us always enjoyed watching the Neelys on TV. Gina is loaded with personality; and they're from our home town. This is a recipe they say is "Kansas City" style. I don't know about that. It's a lot like what we've been making in west Tennessee for generations....

Sam’s Houston Press Articles – 2017

  Sam Byrd is a freelance contributor to the Houston Press who loves to take in all of Houston’s sights, sounds, food and fun. He also loves helping others to discover Houston’s rich culture. PS - Sam also contributes to Outsmart December 26, 2017 – Sounds of the...

Record Jobs Growth; Thank You, President Obama!

Yes there are records for jobs growth. From "The Atlantic" -- November, 2016 "When Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate was passing 8 percent on its way to 10 percent. But US unemployment has now been at 5 percent or below every month for a full year. The...

Ginger Brined Chicken Wings

I recently tried a cola brine, and it imparted a delicious sweet flavor to chicken thighs. Today, I had no cola, but I had plenty of ginger ale.   INGREDIENTS 16 chicken wings 2 cans of Ginger Ale 3/4 cup soy sauce 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 3/4 cup brown sugar...

Inform Your Face

Inform Your Face

This is a piece I wrote years ago at the behest of our rector. He challenged me to write an Evangelism article for our monthly newsletter.  I struggled for weeks, writing, rewriting, trashing my draft, and then writing again. Then, it hit me in a flash, and I dashed...

Coming to Houston

ack in 1998, we were invited by Houston Baptist University to come to Houston.1998She received her call on Monday, June 29, and they flew the two of us down on Wednesday, July 1, 1998. They made their offer to hire on...

Reagan Corruption

henever someone brings up Reagan and paints him as a hero,  I like to cite this little fact from Sleepwalking Through History, by Haynes Johnson: The numbers of Reagan administration officials either...

Chicken and Gravy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBMqzSd3UlM Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat the chicken pieces with melted butter, working in thoroughly. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, and other seasonings as desired. Spray roasting pan with non-stick spray and place...

More Links

Blog-Teck Links PicMonkey Tutorials Divi Child Themes Do an online magazine No gap between Modules Day of the Dead Divi Layouts Pop Art Portrait Lagniappe Shoe Laces Dying Jeans NYT – State by State

Upside Down Onion-Corn Bread

  Ingredients 2 (8.5 oz.) boxes corn muffin mix 2 Vidalia onions 3 eggs 1 cup cottage cheese 1 cup corn, rinsed and drained 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled 1/3 cup green onions,...

Oven Fried Oysters

Ingredients   3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 eggs 1 cup dry bread crumbs 2/3 cup grated Romano cheese 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1 pint shucked oysters or 2 cans (8 ounceseach) whole oysters, drained 2...

Sunday School – 2016

Sunday School – 2016

Sunday School - Fall, 2016 Here it is - another school year!   9/11 Tom/Shannon 9/18 Shannon/Randy 9/25 Randy/Tom 10/2 Shannon/Randy 10/9 Randy/Yuko 10/16 Tom//Shannon 10/23 RETREAT 10/30 NO SUNDAY SCHOOL 11/6 Tom//Shannon 11/13 Shannon/Randy 11/20 Randy/Tom...

Schools and Unions

So much talk about this that and the other ---- how about our schools? Teachers, tests, standards, on, and on, and on.... Yes, all of this is important. Did you ever think about who cooks the food? Who waxes the floors? Who carries out the trash? Well, I DO think...

Quarter Beer Night

Quarter Beer Night

ost of us have heard at one time or another a hair-raising tale about an event which was so harrowing that it caused the storyteller's "whole life to flash before" him. I'm not sure I've ever had such a "flash before me" experience; at least not...

New Priest

New Priest

e met our new associate rector at Palmer this past Sunday; and I do believe I have the distinction of being the first person she Communicated here.  

Skillet Pizza

Ingredients ¾ cup lukewarm water 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 2 ¼ cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Instructions Stir together the water, yeast and sugar. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until foamy. Mix until well...

Jump start
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