Let Me Tell You About Mountain Pies

My week started out with a bang. Monday decided to Monday as hard as it could and the one-year-old woke up from her afternoon nap with a doozy of a stomach bug. When Wednesday evening finally rolled around, she was still dealing with an unsettled stomach and the three year old was showing signs of just needing a few minutes from mama without a sick sis “ruining” everything. The easiest thing I could come up with to incorporate fun and supper since that was also a necessity, was a fire with Mountain Pies. So, we packed up a basket of Mountain Pie ingredients and outside we went.

Mountain Pies are a bit of a Southern Staple around this area of Virginia and a food often made on warm summer evenings spent visiting with family and friends around a camp fire. Last year we even turned our sons third birthday party into a Mountain Pie Night! All you need is Bread, Pizza Sauce, Butter or Oil to season you Pie Iron (don’t forget this step or everything will stick to the iron) and your favorite pizza toppings. We like to add (pre-fried) smoked Sausage, Pepperoni, Mozzarella Cheese, Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, Jalapeños, chopped Ham etc, if it can be found on a pizza we like to try it! The cooking irons you use for making them can be found at most Walmarts, sporting good stores or Amazon, and range from $20-$30. We even use them on camping trips for morning breakfast pies, or for dessert made with pie dough and the filling of you choice.

How were our Mountain Pies that night you might ask? Oh, they were delicious. After I promptly burned mine about the time poor sis started feeling sick again and needing mama, which induced a small melt down on my part that the poor husband who was just trying to mow the yard had to endure ( just keeping it real ya’ll;)).

Our family would for sure suggest that you give this camp fire food a try and share it with your friends and family. After all, food shared with others always taste twice as good.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Life Moves On

As per the usual when I start something new, such as blogging. Life happened, and I didn’t take the time to set down and write again for way to long. Many changes have happened to our small family this year, good and bad. The first being that we are getting ready in a few short weeks to add another sweet babe to our tribe. Emotions are running high, maybe due to hormones, but also the excitement that a longed for new life brings to every family. A not so pleasant experience is the declining health of both my mother in law and father in law. Every season of life brings with it new challenges, sorrows, and joys. And we are trying to adapt as well as we can.

With this season of life comes a need for quick easy to prepare meals. A favorite of mine right now, is a delicious Chicken Poppyseed Casserole that my dear sister in law taught me about. You can have it made and ready to pop in the oven in a jiffy and your family will rave over this dish if they love chicken dishes!

Chicken Poppyseed Casserole

3 Cups- fully cooked and chopped chicken

16 OZ.- Sour cream

1 Can- Cream of Chicken Soup

3/4 tsp.- Poppy seeds

3 TBSP.- Milk

1/2 tsp.- Salt

Topping-

1/2 Cup- Melted butter

1 Sleeve- Crushed Ritz Crackers

Mix together ingredients and place in a 9×13 baking dish. Mix together topping and sprinkle across the top.

Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes.

There you have it, minimal ingredient list, but super delicious and filling! I love to serve this alongside green beans and a tossed salad. Enjoy!:)

May this season of remembering Gods selfless Love bring with it good tidings and many blessings for the coming year!

Best Ever Southern Nacho Meat

My love of food began at a very early age. My mom says by the time I was one they had to start sneaking around when they had snacks or a certain toddler would come around asking for “num, nums”. And the love only grew from there. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized just how spoiled I had been to be raised in a family of amazing southern cooks. And, to this day, going back to Grandma’s for a meal never fails to leave me full to the brim of delicious, mouthwatering food.

As a teenager my mom tried to interest me in cooking by electing one night a week as “my night to fix supper”, it wasn’t to appreciated by the tomboyish girl who knew more about driving tractors and raking hay than how to sauté onions or bake a pie. But now in my early twenties as a young mom and wife, I’m very grateful (I’m sure my husband is too!) for a mama who took the time to teach her young daughter the art of, and an appreciation for cooking. And I pray it’s a gift I can one day in the future pass on to a daughter of my own.

I’ve wanted to start a blog for a while now to share recipes. Mostly tried and true handed down from generations before me. But also, some new recipes that have been shared by friends; or created in my cozy little kitchen on top of our mountain. In our little house, food is an often talked about topic, as my husband is almost as much of a foodie as me. Sometimes though, I go through a slump of not knowing where to begin for a quick lunch or a scrumptious supper. One of my goals is to share simple and yummy meals that can be prepared relatively quickly! I have always enjoyed writing, but if your here for some eloquent dialogue, this may not be the place for you. While I enjoy the challenge of making words come to life on the page, proper punctuation has never been my strong suit. I’m sure any of my English or language arts teachers would blush to read this.

John 6:27 says “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you….” Literally speaking, all food prep is going to take some work:). The goal with my cooking and baking is to use it to reach out to others. A big part of this for us is to invite people into our home to set around our table and fellowship and be filled both physically and spiritually. And together I hope, work towards the kind of “food” that never perishes.

NACHO CHILI

1 lb. Ground hamburger

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 C. Diced Onion

1/4 tsp. Pepper

1 8oz. can of Tomato Sauce

1/2 C. Ketchup

1 tsp. Mustard

2 tsp. Chili Powder

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

2-3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Brown the hamburger and drain off any grease, add remaining ingredients in the order they appear. Heat to a simmer, stirring constantly so it doesn’t scorch. Take off burner and its ready to eat! We typically would eat this on baked potatoes, it’s also good with some cheese melted over the top and used as a nacho cheese dip. Enjoy

I don’t have any pictures to go along with my recipe, probably rarely will. I guess what it should look like will be left up to the discretion of the cook;)