Jul 19, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
Hey, peeps! I’m gonna try something a little fun and participatory.

The Unemployment Cookbook: What’s on your plate?
So, I’ve decided part of my new meal plan should include recipes from The Unemployment Cookbook so I can also do a foodie blog. I know, I know . . . DUH. But I guess I’ve been so focused on writing NOLA and keeping a clean house (insert sarcastic laughter here) that I didn’t give much thought to it.
And then it hit me. It hit me like a sweet tea on a humid day. Like a misty shade tree on a concrete jungle. Like, well, like an idea worth sharing. Are y’all ready?
I want you to decide what I make.
Yup. You read that right. The fate of my weekly meal is in your hands. That’s not to say I’m only eating once a week. More like, you’re responsible for the meal I make. A meal. “One of”. Not the “only”. Anyway, let’s continue . . .
Here’s how it works: Each week I’ll post three recipe choices on my Facebook Page and pin the photos to the top of the page. You get to hop on over and click “like” for the photo of the recipe you want me to make and blog about. Now, normally, I’ll try to have the selections available for you Monday through Wednesday. By 9pm Wednesday, the photo with the most “likes” will be the recipe I make. Depending on my schedule, the recipe blog will post no later than the following Monday, at which time a new recipe selection will be available. Once a recipe has been made, blogged, and eaten, it’s out of the running.
Now I know today’s already Wednesday, so I’ll give y’all until Friday noon to make your choices. ‘Cause when I leave work Friday, I’m going grocery shopping!
At this rate, it will take quite some time to get through all the recipes, but hey. We’ve got time, haven’t we? And hunger? And a budget? So I’m thinking this could totally be a win-win situation.
Oh, and don’t worry if you don’t have Facebook. You can also vote by leaving a comment on the blog posts.
So, you wanna give it a try?
Which recipe should I make this weekend? Tell me in the comments.
TWEET THIS: Frankly, My Dear . . .: What’s on my Plate? You decide! @RealMojo68 #franklymydearmojo #ameating #cookbook

The Unemployment Cookbook: Slow Cooker Ratatouille

The Unemployment Cookbook: Hamburger Pie

The Unemployment Cookbook: Hot Dog Casserole
With a Cookbook, a plan, and a tea in the desert,
Happy eating!
~Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
Apr 3, 2016 |
Ground beef, green beans, mashed potatoes and memories.
So, y’all know I’m the new Foodie Columnist for Broken But Priceless Ministries, right? Every three months I get to prepare a meal, write about, take pretty pictures, then eat it. Not a bad way to get my name out there in the dog-eat-dog world of writing, am I right? [Dog-eat-dog. See what I did there?]
For April’s magazine [of course I’ll post the link when it’s available, silly of you to even ask!], I had a hard time deciding what to make. In the end, this family favorite won. Okay, it may have had something to do with the fact that I’d been asking my mother down the street to make it for me for the last month but whenever she said, “I can make it tonight” I always responded with “I’m too busy to come over.”
So long story short (or are we past that point, now?) I made it myself. I grew up on this dish. It’s as delicious in summer as it is in winter. The gravy thickens as it stands, which makes even the leftovers delicious. Serve it up with a side of squash or salad greens and you’ve got yourself a complete meal.

Hamburger Pie, from the Unemployment Cookbook
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium onion, diced
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 can (14 oz.) French style green beans, drained
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can water
1 box instant mashed potatoes
1 egg
DIRECTIONS:
Brown ground beef and onion. Spoon into 2-quart baking dish.
Cover with green beans.
Mix together soup and water, pour over green beans.
Cook instant mashed potatoes per package instructions. Beat in egg.
Spread on top of casserole.
Bake uncovered 350 for 30 minutes.
Not quite a fan? You can use sirloin or ground turkey instead of beef, and replace the green beans with mixed vegetables. For a real twist, use cheddar mashed potatoes.
However you make it, don’t forget the big gulp of sweet tea.
Happy eating,
~Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!

The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition
This recipe is from The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition, now available through New Inklings Press and Amazon.
Oct 20, 2012 |
I’ve been having this craving for weeks now. Something sweet. Something other than chocolate. Something that lends itself to the Fall feeling that’s going around. Plus, I needed a reason to use my Wilton Harvest Mini Cutter Set.

Wilton Harvest Mini Cutters
This will go in my Semi-Homemade Recipe Box. These fun little shapes are flakey, sugary, and just the right amount of sweet.
After preheating the oven to 400, I rolled out one box of room-temperature premade pie crust (two rolls) onto wax paper. Setting them as close together as possible, I continued to use the Cutters to fill up the entire crust with shapes.

Close Cutters
When there was no more room for cutting, I gently lifted the extra crust from around the shapes. This can easily be balled and rolled for more cutting!

Crust Trimmings
The crust held itself together quite nicely as I transferred the shapes from the wax paper to my cookie sheets. Because these aren’t like cookies that spread, I again could place them close to each other.

Before Basting
In just a few minutes, I had them basted with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. It took just seven minutes in the oven to crisp them, and five minutes to cool before they were ready.

Baked Goodies
And the clean up? How hard is it to throw away wax paper and clean a cookie sheet? Super easy, just in case you doubted yourself.
They may be tiny, but each bite is more than satisfying. Paired with my favorite cup of coffee, and it’s a most wonderful snack.

Snack Time

Goes Well With Coffee
This is a fun snack to make and nibble. I’m looking forward to using colored sprinkles on other shapes for Christmas. What kinds of shapes would you use?
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!