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Broccoli Cheese and Crabmeat Quiche

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Broccoli Cheese and Crabmeat Quiche
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2 Deep Dish Quiche
Ingredients
  • 1 c grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 c cubed velvetta cheese
  • ÂĽ c grated asiago cheese
  • ÂĽ c grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
  • 1 c half and half
  • 4 eggs well beaten
  • 1 pound frozen broccoli cuts or fresh broccoli cut up
  • 1T chicken base
  • 1T onion powder
  • ½ T black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 c pasteurized crab claw meat
  • 1 can broccoli and cheese soup
  • Crust
  • 3 c. AP flour
  • 1 c. lard or butter or 1/2 c. of each
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 c. cold water
Instructions
  1. Combine the cheeses and half and half in a 2 quart sauce pan over low heat.
  2. Stir until cheese is melted, stir in heavy whipping cream and remove from heat.
  3. Beat eggs, temper and add to cheese sauce.
  4. Blanche broccoli in a 2 quart sauce pan in 1 qt of boiling water.
  5. Pour broccoli into colander and drain well.
  6. Add broccoli cheese soup, cheese sauce, broccoli and crab to a large bowl, mix to combine.
  7. Fold ingredients together to fully incorporate.
  8. Pour into prepared pie shells.
  9. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until set,
  10. Remove from oven and cool. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with a tossed salad.
Crust
  1. Using a fork, work fat into flour until it’s broken down, with pieces no larger than a pea.
  2. Add water to flour mixture and begin to work mixture bringing it together using your hands.
  3. Work quickly so not to overwork, divide into two balls, form into a disk and let rest 15-20 minutes.
  4. Flour your surface and roll out the dough, until the size needed for your quiche pan.
  5. Transfer and fit into pan.
  6. Trim and flute the edges.
  7. Fill with filling and bake as directed.
Serving size: 1 slice

Broccoli cheese and crabmeat quiche (aka Quiche Reserve) is an original recipe that I created some years ago. At the time I created it, my last name was Reserve – hence the name. It’s a delicious, savory combination of broccoli, cheese and crab meat baked in a flaky crust. It’s less eggy and more cheesy than your normal quiche. It’s truly one of the best quiche recipes I have ever tasted and I’m not saying that because it’s mine! (Am I???) My favorite time to serve this quiche is for a special brunch like Mother’s Day. This is also my go to dish for Christmas morning. It makes the perfect Christmas brunch/lunch. My favorite way to serve this dish is slightly warm with a tossed salad. Simply delicious and all you need to hold them over till Christmas dinner!  Please try Quiche Reserve and tell me what you think!

 

Soul Food Muffin

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Soul Food Muffin
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Cook time:
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Serves: 24 muffins
You can use any type of leftover greens for this recipe. Collard, mustard, kale, or turnip greens cooked and seasoned with smoked turkey, ham, pork, beef – whatever you like!
Ingredients
  • 1 1/4 c AP flour
  • 3/4 c yellow corn meal
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1c milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 c oil
  • 2t baking powder
  • 1/2 c granulated sugar
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together and spoon 1/4 c into a greased muffin pan
  2. Add 1T of cold cooked seasoned greens and meat (turkey/ham/etc) into center of each muffin
  3. Cover with 1/4 c of muffin batter
  4. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and muffins pull away from pan
Glaze
  1. Melt 1/4 stick of butter on stove top or microwave
  2. Add 1/4 c honey to melted butter and mix thoroughly
  3. Brush on top of hot corn muffins as soon as they are removed from the oven
  4. Be sure glaze is brushed along sides also
Serving size: 1 muffin

I made and served these muffins at a brunch at my church for Mother’s Day. They were really a big hit! They are different and delicious! They were especially good for a brunch because it was a way to serve greens and cornbread without all the fuss. Bake it and forget it – you don’t have to worry about keeping greens warm! They also went great with the other brunch items. If you love greens and corn bread like I do, you’ve got to try these soul food muffins!

 

 

Shrimp and Grits

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Shrimp and Grits
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Serves: 7 servings
This recipe was adapted from a recipe by Chef Joe Barnett and can be found here: http://www.visitgeorgiaonline.com/chef.htm You know I changed it a little bit (a lot more cheese in my grits),  but since a lot of this recipe is his, I must give credit where credit is due! Also, the reason why Georgia shrimp are referenced is I actually found and started using this recipe when I lived in Atlanta. Mr Barnett lives in Washington GA so we love us some Georgia Shrimp! Once, during a trip to Savannah, me and my girls went to Tybee Island (GA) and we bought fresh shrimp from a shrimping boat. They were yummy!
Shrimp:
  • 1 1/2 pounds medium/large (26-30 count) Wild Georgia shrimp
  • 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Grits:

  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1T chicken base
  • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 cup quick grits
  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4oz  B * L sharp cold pack cheese spread
  • 4oz velvetta, cut into cubes
  • 1/2 c shredded parmesan
  • 1T shredded or grated asiago
  • 1T tomato paste (optional)

Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 1 slice Sugardale ham – small diced/cubed
Instructions
  1. Peel and devein shrimp. In a small bowl, combine Cajun seasoning, paprika, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle spice mixture over shrimp to coat well; set the shrimp aside.
  2. For the grits: In a medium sauce pan add grits to broth, chicken base and 2 tablespoons butter and bring to a boil. Stir constantly with wire whisk for 5 minutes. Add cream and cheese. Keep whisking for another 2 or 3 minutes until grits become creamy. Note: Joe says, “Don’t skimp on the butter and the cream, folks.”
  3. For sauce: In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tbs of butter. Add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
  4. Add in the spice-coated shrimp, and cook only until they’re just done and tender; don’t overcook. Remove shrimp from sauté pan and set them aside in a bowl.
  5. To the drippings left from the shrimp in the sauté pan, add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and stir with a wooden spatula to make a roux. Cook, stirring, for 10 to 12 minutes until roux reaches a medium-tan color, then slowly add chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Whisk together and cook for 2 minutes, then whisk in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Simmer 5 min on lowest flame. Set aside.
  6. In separate sauté pan, cook 1 center slice of cured country ham until heated; cut into cubes.
  7. To serve, place a few heaping spoonfuls of steaming cheese grits onto a plate, top with 6-7 sizzling shrimp. Drizzle roux sauce over top of shrimp, and sprinkle on a few cubes of country ham. Serves 4.

Prep Time: 30 minutes; ready in: 30 minutes.

Serving size: 6 – 7 shrimp with 1/4 c sauce over 1/2 c grits

Shrimp and grits is a dish that tastes better than it sounds! I don’t know why but to me it just doesn’t sound like the deliciousness that makes you smile and curls your toes when you put a forkful of this yum on your tongue! Another thing about shimp and grits – men love it. I mean they LOVE it!!! I think it’s because it’s such a rustic, down-home, soulful, comfort food dish! I mean cheesy grits smothered with pink, plump and savory, perfectly seasoned shrimp and a succelent sauce! Oh – and don’t forget the small chunks and bits of smoky, sweet, ham found all though-out this fabulous dish. Soul good!!!

Neck bones and Potatoes

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Where’s the meat?

Neckbones and potatoes

In my opinion, neck bones are the original “where’s the meat” dish! Originally, soul food was never about a lot of meat! Infact it’s heavy on sides. Why? Well probably because meat was scarce! Like, get out the magnifying glass to find it scarce! The slaves got the scraps, leftovers and parts that the people who owned them didn’t want. I think that’s why we have so many great soup, stew and casserole recipes because these dishes contained a little meat to season the dish but were filled with vegetables, beans, rice, potatoes etc.

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!

Today modern soul food recipes are a lot heavier on the meats. Because ribs, pork chops, meat loaf, fried chicken, roasts – etc., was not food that would have been available during slavery. At least, not available to the slaves! Recently I had a plate of neck bones and potatoes which I hadn’t eaten in years and it was really good! And it reminded me that southern/soul food originally didn’t rely heavily on a lot of meat. Because the dishes relied on flavor and fresh ingredients, farm to table was the way of life. So, slaves ate what they grew and scavenged with a little bit of meat thrown in here and there when they could get it.

Neckbones and Potatoes
 
Author: Sweet Mother
Ingredients
  • 3 lbs. of pork neck bones
  • 1 onion cut up
  • 1 hot pepper cut up
  • 4 stocks of celery cut up
  • 1 c. diced sweet peppers (green, red and yellow)
  • 3 lbs. peeled quartered potatoes
  • salt
  • pepper
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
Instructions
  1. Clean and rinse neckbones and put all ingredients except potatoes into a 6 quart stock pot. Add water to cover ingredients to 2-3″ above the top. Cook over medium heat about 1 1/2 hours. Add 3 lbs. of quartered potatoes. Season potatoes to taste with salt, pepper, garlie powder and onion powder. Cook another 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and meat falls off the bone. Add a few pats of butter over the top of potatoes. Serve with corn bread and your choice of vegetable. Don’t forget the hot sauce!
 

 

Hot Water Cornbread

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Hot Water Cornbread
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: Depends on size of corn cake
Unlike regular cornbread, hot water cornbread does not have any egg or milk! This causes the corn meal to have a stronger, more “in your face” taste in the finished product.
Ingredients
  • 1 c. corn meal
  • 1/2 c. AP flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • hot water – enough to make a stiff batter
  • 1/4 c. canola oil
Instructions
  1. Put canola oil in a skillet over a medium flame. Combine other ingredients in a bowl and drop by tablespoons full into the hot skillet. Fry till golden brown on each side. Cool slightly and enjoy!

 

My mom would make hot water corn bread in a pinch when she wanted a certain taste to go with something. Hot water cornbread is a quick bread that you can throw together in no time to complete your meal. The recipe is very individualized – some people just use self-rising cornmeal and water but I add my own ingredients individually – dyo self-rising flour!

 

Honey Hush Puppies

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Honey Hush Puppies
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This recipe is easy to prepare and gives great results. The chopped onion is a must!
Ingredients
  • • 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
  • • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • • 1/4 cup sugar
  • • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • • 3/4 cup milk
  • • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • • Oil for deep-fat frying
Instructions
  1. • In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk the egg, milk and onion together and add to dry ingredients just until incorporated
  2. • Heat oil to 365°. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls into oil. Fry 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.
Serving size: 2-3 pcs

I just love hush puppies – ok, good hush puppies! This is a hush puppy recipe that goes great with fried fish and with fried cabbage and greens, beans, chili! I tend to eat outside the lines! No rules, just eat! 🙂

 

Pulled Pork BBQ

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Pulled Pork BBQ & Coleslaw Sandwich
Ingredients
  • 1 pork roast – shoulder or butt
  • 1 c chicken broth
  • 1 c water
  • Brining Liquid
  • cold water to cover
  • 1/2 c sugar (white or brown)
  • 1/2 c salt
  • 2 T liquid smoke
  • 2T onion powder
  • 2T garlic powder
Instructions
  1. Brine the pork roast 8 hours or overnight. Remove from the brining liquid and place in an electric roaster or oven with 1 c water and 1 c broth. Season roast with your choice of seasoning, rubbed into the outside of the roast. I use a combination of creole seasoning, adobo seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Slow roast on 225 for 12 hours. Be sure to put in a roasting pan with a lid to ensure your meat doesn’t dry out. After 12 hours remove from heat and let rest a few minutes. Take two (2) forks and shred roast (pull pork apart). Chop through meat once or twice to give your meat dish definition. Remove all fat, bone and gristle during the pulling/chopping process. Add barbeque sauce to taste. Place on toasted roll and top with 2 Tbsp chilled coleslaw. Enjoy!!!

 

This weekend I fixed pulled pork bbq with a 7 1/2 lb pork butt (shoulder) which is my favorite cut of meat for pulled pork. It has just the right ratio of fat to lean for this special dish! As usual it was a success and everyone loved it, even the people who said, “I don’t want coleslaw on my sandwich”! I say as usual because I don’t think you can ruin this dish, so it’s always a success! Just cook it low and slow and you’re golden! I made by own barbeque sauce and “Doctored it up”. The end result is luscious! One thing I must apologize for is, I actually forget to take “food photos” to show you what the pork pulled looks like while being made and of course the finished result. I apologize for the oversight and I promise the next time I make it – there will be pictures galore!!! By the way, this is a perfect dish to make indoors yet still get your barbeque fix!

 

Can We Talk?

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I am doing this post to find out what you want to see on this blog, so – can we talk? My dream is to make Sweet Mother’s Kitchen the largest soul food recipe sharing website on the internet! Soul food, home cooking, home made beauty recipes – all that! Would you consider submitting a recipe? Would you like to see anything else included? I’m all ears and I really want to hear from you because I want an interactive site that you not only submit recipes to, but also visit and “talk” to on a regular basis!

What Is The Soul Food Diet?

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Welcome to the soul food diet! This page will not only follow my journey, with all of the highs and lows, it will offer you recommendations that have helped me achieve success along the way, in the form of food and exercise options that I have found to be beneficial or interesting! Join me and let’s lose weight together while still enjoying some of our favorite foods. After you lose the weight you want to lose, you can once again enjoy all of your soul food favorites – in moderation of course! The great thing about soul food is, it’s consists of whole foods that can be tweaked with a change or two to be totally healthy. I will also work to find vegetarian soul food recipes as well as options for days when we want to fast or juice our meals!  I know that you will succeed if you make a few small changes to the way you fix your food or in what you put in your mouth. I will be transparent and upfront. If I like something and think it works, I’ll share it with you! If I don’t like something and think it doesn’t work, I’ll share it with you! We’ll get through this together and we will get through this and achieve success – the weight loss that we need to achieve!!!

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

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Rotisserie Chicken Salad


Rotisserie Chicken Salad

 

 

Ok Rotisserie Chicken Salad really doesn’t need a recipe so we’re “freestyling” this one!  First of all you can use your own baked or grilled chicken but if you’re short on time just grab a rotisserie chicken from your favorite deli! After that it’s up to you what else you put in your salad but since I’m on the Fast Metabolism Diet, I’ll tell you what my salad normally contains and then you can improvise at will.

Rotisserie Chicken Breast Half – skinless and bones cut into large chunks

Romaine, spring mix or artisan lettuce

Grape tomatoes

Cucumber

Shredded carrot

sliced radishes

Sweet peppers (Green, yellow & red/orange)

Balsamic vinaigrette (olive oil, no sugar)

Sprinkle with walnuts or sunflower seeds

Of course there are tons of things you can add to make your salad your own! Have fun and enjoy this raw whole foods dish. Use organic veggies whenever possible!