Honoring A Great Down Home Chef

 Dolly Parton was incredibly unique.She was a talented songwriter and singer, penning two of the music era's great hits Jolene  and I Will Always Love You in one session.She was also an amazing philanthropist , donating books to children around the world. Yet she was true to her hillbilly roots and was a great cook and baker. She could create some of the best sweet and savory dishes.

In the last few years she created cakes mixes that were part store bought and mostly homemade. There had to be a stick of really butter added for that homemade buttery taste. There were homey flavors like strawberry and caramel, along with chocolate and coconut.There were buttery already made frostings to add too so there was no need to whip up a bowl. Her Tennessee roots shone through with her buttermilk biscuit and cornbread mixes. Try her banana nut muffin and cinnamon swirl crumb cake - perfect for late summer desserts. There is also a pancake mix with maple syrup in a guitar shaped bottle! There are frozen dessert cups too. She created dessert cups in such yummy combos as banana cream cookies and custard,vanilla shortbread in custard and chocolate mud pie cups.There is also an original whipped cheesecake with a bit of buttermilk added and a molasses graham cracker crust. There is also a decadent chocolate pie with a flaky crust and a dusting of confectioner;s sugar on top. Families will love her peach cobbler with its' brown sugar soaking the fruit,.Serve this for holiday desserts to remember this down home baker.

 Dolly also gave her savory recipes too.The single serve dinners are perfect for someone with a busy lifestyle but craves good old fashioned dinners.  You can buy her shrimp and grits along with her chicken fried steak.The first is a perfect blend of spicy seafood and creamy grits. The chicken fried steak is batter dipped and served with green beans and homestyle mashed potatoes. Many love her  fried chicken and baked Mac. This combo has a cheese sauce infused with buttermilk for a nice tang while the chicken is really tender nuggets.There is a following for her  beef pot roast that has equal amounts if beef and veggies in a tasty gravy.Of course you have her chicken and dumplings.This is creamy gravy covering chicken and homemade dumplings for a tasty hot lunch  or dinner. Her beloved DOllywood also featured some of her favorites too.The parks Front Porch Cafe features  breaded pork chops smothered din bacon and served with succotash and mashed potatoes. Aunt Granny's Cafe offers fried catfish and friedn okra along with black eyed peas and turnip greens.

Dolly Parton devoted her whole life to music.Yet she could have easily devoted her life to cooking and baking. Her recipes, like her songs will live forever.

Hunt and Gather On A Budget

It isbecoming harder and harder to go grocery shopping these days. Despite all the campaign promises we still have sky high prices for everything. Forget eggs. Thanks to the avian flu and pricing , these are about as affordable as diamonds. What to do? As always  - shope wisely.

Doing all of one's shopping at one store may not be viable anymore. Home chefs may have to visit two or even three stores .The best ones with the best prices are Lidl, Aldi and Wal-Mart. Lidl' is probably your best bet. Not only do you receive decent prices , you also get really delicious food in the bargain. Some of their prices ave raised. Their olive oil has gone up by two dollars and their cookies have also gone up in price. Still they're the best buy.  Another plus about Lidl is ts that their wines and beers are also at a good budget friendly price. Aldi also has good prices . Frozen pizza is around five dollars. A bag of their chicken fries - always a fun meal is only $4.95, Roma tomatoes are nineteen cents a pound. A three pack  of green peppers is $3.85 . As for meat, again Lidl can't be beat. You can buy London Broil for $7.39 while Acme sells relatively the same cut for close to sixteen dollars. Lidl' also has Gulf shrimp for $7.99  This is a true bargain compared to Stop & Shop's version at $24.95

If course there is also Wal-Mart. One interesting aspect about their food section is that they sometimes acquire hard to get products like Dolly Parton;'s cake mixes and frostings when other stores didn't carry them. They also have a good array of holiday cake and cookie mixes  along with decorations.Another plus is that they have family sized boxes.. You can get good buys on everything from instant oatmeal to bread. This pays if you have a big family. Keep in mind that Wal-Mart probably has the best prices on kitchen appliances and gadgets too. Apps come in very handy too when you;re shopping on a budget. Keep track of all your digital coupons and use them when you can. Lidl' offers rewards when you spend over one hundred dollars and a special reward when you spend three indeed dollars. Be on the look out for BOGO sales, buy one get one either free or fifty per cent off. Most groceries like Acme have designated Tuesday as their senior discount day. People over the age of sixty receive ten per cent off their entire order. Shop on  these days for discounts.  Also Stop & Sop offers what;s known as reward gas points. They come in handy when you want to save at the pump.

For now it's hard to shop. Yet you can do it and save wisely, It just takes  shopping savvy to get discounted food.

Easter Ready

 Easter is less than a week away. It;s time to get ready on a nother holiday meal that rivals a CHristmas Day one. Luckily with Easter there is leeway.Norhing has to be set in stone.

One thing to bring into the mix is the main course. This is the time to get the Easter ham. Some stores like Shop-Rite and Stop and Shop have discounts, especially if you've already spent five hundred dollars during the month of Marcn. With the ham,  ake sure you have the ingredients for the glaze.Is there enough brown sugar and honey which serve as the base? You can always buy the extras such as oranges for juice or any kind of soda at the end of the week. Another point to ponder is will there be vegans or vegetarians present. What do you serve them?Start looking at recipes on line and experiment with them. It pays to execute the recipe even once.This way you can adjust the sasonings and cooking time. You can also do this with sides too. If you want to make air fryer potatoes for the first time, then do a dress rehearsal sometime this week. Also check out pots and pans. Get new ones for both cooking and baking if you need them. If you're planning on barbecuing, make sure the grill is clean and you have charcoal for cooking.

Baking is another Easter must. Do you have the molds to make bunny and chick cakes?What about the fun holiday themed cupcake papers? (although you can use pastel ones if you cant find ones with bunnies or chicks on them)What  flavor cake do you want to make? CHocolate usually sells out faster than vanilla. Also keep in  mind that some mixes like Duncan Hines Dolly Parton mixes require a lot of eggs, butter and milk instead of the usual vegetable oil. Also make sure you have plenty of the last too because other mixes do require vegetable oil in their batters.Scratch cakes, cupcakes and cookies need flour along with different kinds of sugar. Buy now when many stores like Lidl and Aldi have good sales.Make sure there's enough vanilla and almond extract along with orange and lemon ones.Easter cakes always require coconut so buy some. It also has to be tinted green.Did you use all the green food coloring for Christmas baking?If so then you need a new bottle it along with red and blue dyes.. Do you have enough yellow to create cute chickie and duckling treats? Buy it now before it all sells out.

This is the week to get read for the big day ahead. Be prepared.Have everything you need on hand. It'll make for a smooth holiday dinner.

Dolly Cakes

 Dolly Parton is known for many things namely her music and philanthropy. Thanks to Duncan Hines  she is now known for her cake recipes and frostings. She 's teamed with the fsmed baking company to create a line of new and down home cakes, muffins and icings.

I've been seeing her mixes every time I'm in Wal-Mart They look interesting and since she's paired with Duncan Hines the cakes have to be good. I'm a big fan of Duncan Hines. They're my go to cake mix and I've never been disappointed by them. The Dolly cakes look interesting and I think I might bake her banana cake for Easter.I 'm still undecided ot try her frosting. if I  make the banana cake, then I want a fudge frosting for a chocolate covered banana flavor). The cake flavors are vanilla, chocolate, banana and coconut. All look really tasty and I might also try the coconut. The other mixes are a caramel turtle brownie mix  and a plain one.  Both  the cornbread and buttermilk biscuit mixes look rasty and they're on my must bake list. Dolly also has a cinnamon swirl crumb cake and muffin mix along with a blueberry one. At Christmas Duncan Hjnes brings out her cookie kit that comes complete with frosting , sprinkles and a note from Dolly herself.  There is even a buttermilk pancake mix too. There may be a mix coming out at Easter. It seems Duncan Hines is keeping mum about that.

How are the reviews? For the most part home bakers seem to adore the cakes.At Sporked, writer Jordan Myrick gave the banana cake and vanilla buttercream frosting good reviews. The ailyMeal.com also has given the line good reviews , namely her chocolate and vanilla cakes. Both tasted like scratch cakes , with the vanilly even haveing a faint buttery scent after baking. The chocolate one was flavorful without being too over whelming with cocoa. The frostings which also have whipped cream added  to cut the sweetness don;t have that usual cloying sugariness. The banana nut muffins were baked into a bread and came out OK and the reviewer did like the cinnamon swirl crumb cake. This last has a light springy crumb and a delicate spice flavor. Th reason for all of this is that the extra ingrdients are different. There is an entire stick of melted butter instead of vegetable oil to give the cakes and muffins a rich flavor . Four eggs are used instead of the usual three that are in Duncan Hines mixes and a cup of milk instead of water. This is what gives the cakes a  truly homemade flavor - a big hit with reviewers.

Dolly parton is known for many things. Now her favorite recipes are one of those. Try her mixes for  a fun change up in baking.It's down home goodness with down home taste.