Food – Wandering Dawgs

Cellpic Sunday – In Search of Tater Tots

September 27, 2026September 27, 2026Posted in EntertainmentTagged Cellpic Sunday, Cooking, Food, recipe, Tater Tot Casserole, Tater Tots26 Comments

When I read Joy Neal Kidney’s post Ruby Neal’s Tater Tot Casserole I got it in my head that I had to make it. I live in the south eastern United State in the southern state of Georgia. Until I read Joy’s blog post I had never even heard of a Tater Tot Casserole (in some parts of the U. S. a casserole is known as a Hot Dish.)

I am a fan of Tater Tots and usually have a bag in my freezer but I was out of them. I made a trip to my favorite Publix grocery store and went straight to the frozen potato section of the store. Much to my surprise the shelves where the Tater Tots should be were empty except for a few bags of Star Tater Tots. There was another shopper staring at the empty shelves. We had a short discussion about the situation. In the end he bought a bag of the Star Tots. I decided to go back another day for the original log shaped Tots.

The next afternoon I returned to the store, went back to the frozen potatoes and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw there were still out of Tater Tots! As I was pushing my shopping cart to another aisle a helpful Publix employee asked me if I found everything I needed. I told her they were out of Tater Tots.

She was surprised to hear that. She said “I work in a different department but I will find someone who can check to see if we have any in stock.”

About that time another employee who worked in the freezer department was walking by. She asked him to see if there were any Tater Tots available. He went with me to the empty shelves and did a search on his phone. He looked at me and said “We have a shipment coming tomorrow afternoon.”

I was still standing in front of the freezer when the first employee came up to check on things. We started talking about Tater Tot casseroles and I told her I wasn’t sure if the Star Tater Tots would be good.

A third Publix employee overheard our conversation and walked up to us to join us in staring at the empty freezer shelves. She said “I made a Tater Tot Casserole with the Star Tots and it was good.”

That was exactly what I needed to hear. I thanked them all for their help, tossed the bag into my cart and finished my shopping.

I made the casserole the next night. I made a few tweaks to the recipe from Joy’s post. Many thanks to Joy for the inspiration for this post and to Joy’s grandma Ruby Neal for the inspiration for this recipe.

Wandering Dawgs Tater Tot Casserole

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, shopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup beef stock
1 – 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
Tater Tots

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350. Brown ground beef in large skillet, stir in onion, garlic, and carrot about 5 minutes, Drain excess fat, reserving about 2 tablespoons. Stir in flour for a couple of minutes, then gradually stir in milk and beef stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Cook until sauce starts to thicken. If too thick, add a little more beef stock. Stir in frozen peas and frozen corn. Pour into 9×9 inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Arrange Tater Tots to cover the top of the casserole. Cook in preheated oven 25 -30 minutes until bubbly and Tots are golden brown.

Henry and I both gave the dish two thumbs up! I think the stars made it more festive and fun.

Publix advertises their stores as “Publix: Where Shopping is a Pleasure.” I’ve always had excellent customer service at this store but having three employees helping me went above and beyond customer service.

Shared with John’s Cellpic Sunday

Stirring the Stew

December 8, 2024Posted in Celebration, PhotographyTagged barbeque, Brunswick Stew, Family, Food, Holiday, secret family recipe, Sunday Stills, Traditions16 Comments

One of my all time favorite traditions was my family’s annual get together for my uncle’s delicious barbeque and Brunswick Stew at his fishing camp at a Georgia lake.

My uncle’s fishing camp long after he was gone. His barbeque pit was to the left of the concrete slab. The picnic tables, chairs, and stew pot were on the concrete under the roof.

In 1973 my parents retired to the farm in Georgia where my Mom grew up. My two brothers and I were adults with families of our own. Neither of my brothers lived in Georgia but we all got together at the farm every summer, usually on Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend or over the 4th of July holiday. The highlight of the visit was a day at the lake for a barbeque feast.

Whether my uncle was cooking Boston Butts, chicken halves, or a whole pig the best part was always the Brunswick Stew. Early in the day all of the stew ingredients went into a huge cast iron cauldron to cook over a low propane flame for several hours. The main ingredients were chicken and pork although sometimes my uncle would throw in turtle meat. The stew required constant stirring to prevent it from sticking. Everyone had to take a turn stirring the stew with a boat oar until my uncle declared it was done.

As everything was cooking the adults sat around stirring the stew and visiting while the kids played in the lake. Sometimes there would be other aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. There would be lots of laughs and lots of tall tales told while we smelled the food cooking and got hungrier and hungrier as the day went on.

Finally it would be time to eat. When the stew was done (usually about mid afternoon) my uncle turned off the propane and covered the pot with foil to let it sit until everything else was ready. My Mom and my aunt set out the potato salad, coleslaw, sweet ice tea, and all the other fixings. My aunt would usually bring her famous Coca Cola Cake or Dump Cake for dessert. Sometimes we would churn home made ice cream. When the foil came off the pot it was time to fix a plate. We all ate until we couldn’t eat any more. After the meal the leftovers would be put in containers so we could all take some home.

My parents and all of my aunts and uncles are long gone. It’s been many years since we had one of these family gatherings. And it’s been many years since we had homemade Brunswick Stew.

There were just three of us for Thanksgiving this year so I decided to break from the traditional turkey feast and make Brunswick Stew instead. Our son and I had fun making it together. He actually did most of the work. Instead of cooking outside in a cast iron cauldron we filled up my 4 gallon stock pot and cooked it on the stove.

The delicious aroma filled the house as the three of us (Henry, our son, and I) took turns stirring the stew. It was just as tasty as I remembered. Every bite took me back to those summer days at the lake.

*Non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner of Brunswick Stew, pulled pork sliders, mac and cheese, and pecan pie for dessert*

I’m so grateful my family had those days together at the lake. Making the stew this year brought back many happy memories. It also got me to thinking about the stew itself. Where did it come from? What is the best recipe?

Where did Brunswick Stew come from?

The answer is, it depends on where you are. Georgia claims the first Brunswick Stew was made on St. Simons Island on July 2, 1898. Brian Brown has a great post on his Vanishing Georgia blog which tells about the First Brunswick Stew Pot.

*This monument is on display at the Mary Ross Waterfront Park in Brunswick, Georgia*

Virginia claims the first Brunswick Stew was made in 1828 in Brunswick County, Virginia. I learned about the history of Virginia Brunswick Stew at Taste of Brunswick Stew.

How do you make Brunswick Stew?

This question can bring up heated discussions here in Georgia. Does it have butter beans or no butter beans? Chicken only? Pork only? Chicken and Pork? What about beef or wild game? Most of the stews also include tomatoes, corn, and potatoes. Is everything ground or are the ingredients cut up in bite size chunks? The seasoning is different in every stew I’ve tried.

As we have traveled around the state of Georgia we have eaten at many barbeque restaurants and tried many different Brunswick stews. There are no two that are exactly alike. Some of them are very good but I’ve never found any that come close to my family’s Brunswick Stew. If you are wondering about the recipe, I can’t give it to you. It is a closely guarded family secret.

Shared with Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge Traditions

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #256 – Inspiration found in the kitchen

July 6, 2023Posted in PhotographyTagged Food, Inspiration found in the kitchen, kitchen, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge31 Comments

For this challenge Ritva Sillanmak challenges us to find Inspiration in the Kitchen and to show our favorite cup. The above image is a mug I got when our Labrador Retriever Blondie was very young. She’s been gone for several years now but every time I drink from the mug it reminds me of her.

We have lived in our home for over 40 years. Our kitchen has been through one total renovation and some of the appliances have been replaced more than once. I’ve spent countless hours in the kitchen preparing meals, cleaning up after meals, baking, and teaching our kids and grandkids how to bake cookies and cakes. The kitchen is a happy place.

Our kitchen and dining room are one big room divided by a kitchen peninsula that is like an island but connected to one wall. That peninsula has been used as a breakfast bar, a lunch counter, a space for baked goods to cool, a place for friends for family to gather around to eat appetizers, and as a buffet table for big meals like Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Below, the two Tupperware items on the left and the Corning Ware casserole dish have been used thousands of times ever since I got them about 50 years ago. I still use them all the time.

A post about the kitchen wouldn’t be complete without some food. These next two images are two of the dishes I made for July 4th weekend. On the left is a shrimp pasta salad made with wild Georgia shrimp, fresh patty pan squash, mushrooms, broccoli and Vidalia onions. On the right is Southern Succotash made with fresh okra, butter beans, tomatoes, corn, Vidalia onions, bacon and basil for garnish.

Many thanks to guest host Ritva Sillanmak for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #25s – Inspiration found in the kitchen

What Color is Your Key Lime Pie?

September 26, 2020September 27, 2020Posted in UncategorizedTagged Desserts, Food, Key Lime Pie, Memories, National Key Lime Pie Day, Nellie and Joes, recipe24 Comments

Today is National Key Lime Pie Day so of course I made one. It’s chilling in the fridge right now.

My first memories of Key Lime Pie are from the 1970’s when Henry and I first took our two young children on camping trips to the Florida Keys.

After spending a day in the sun at the beach, snorkeling, or fishing, we would sometimes eat out at a restaurant and order Key Lime Pie for desert. The sweet, tart, cold deliciousness of that pie was perfect at the end of a day in the Keys. These pies were yellow, not green, and locally made. And we couldn’t get them any where else back the except in the Florida Keys.

The Key Lime Pie soon became our favorite dessert. It was hard to find and that made it even better. Eventually restaurants north of the Keys started adding Key Lime Pie to their menus. We ordered a piece in a restaurant somewhere and it was green! It wasn’t the cool, creamy yellow pie we were dreaming about. I don’t think any one ate it.

After that dessert disaster, whenever we would go to a restaurant with Key Lime Pie on the menu, our daughter would ask “What color is your Key Lime Pie?” If the answer was “green” she would order ice cream.

Somewhere along the line I discovered I could buy bottles of the Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice in the Keys so each trip I would bring back several bottles to make my own pies.

These days, I can buy the bottles in any grocery store near me. The recipe is on the bottle, and here it is:

1 9″ graham cracker pie crust
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks, whites not used
1/2 cup Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream, or meringue, and garnish with lime slices.

There are many variations on this basic recipe. I like to add some lime zest to the lime juice mixture.

Georgia Grown

July 25, 2018June 21, 2026Posted in GeorgiaTagged Blueberries, Desserts, Food, Fresh Produce, Georgia Peaches, Produce Stand, recipe, Summer Produce, Vidalia Onions16 Comments

It’s summer in the Peach State and that means fresh, sweet, juicy Georgia peaches.

Peach season always reminds me of my Dad. After he retired from the Air Force in the 1970’s, he and my Mom moved to a farm in middle Georgia. In addition to their summer garden they had a small peach and apple orchard. When the peaches were ripe Dad would call and we would drive the 200 miles to their house to pick some peaches. I can still remember the sweetness of the peach and the sticky juice running down my hands as I stood in the orchard eating a peach that moments before still been had on the tree.

These days I have to be content with buying peaches at a local produce stand. On a recent road trip we stopped at James and the Giant Peach Stand in Ellabell for some fresh Georgia peaches. As soon as we arrived at home I tasted one and them and then made a fresh peach cobbler for dessert. Another night I blended up some Peach Daiquiris.

20180708Peaches-(3) — Georgia Peaches from Ellabell, Georgia

Peach Cobbler made with fresh Georgia peaches

Another Georgia summer treat is the Vidalia Onion. The Vidalia Onion was named the Official State Vegetable of Georgia in 1990. They cannot be sold until the Georgia Ag Commissioner chooses a Pack date, usually in April. The season continues through August of each year. These sweet onions are only grown in a few South Georgia counties. Tomato and Vidalia onion pie is one of my favorite summer side dishes.

20180714Vidalia-Onions-(3) — Vidalia Onions

It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato – Lewis Grizard

The best tomatoes in the world are home grown tomatoes. If you grow your own, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve never been successful growing slicing tomatoes so I buy “Davis Killer Tomatoes” from my favorite produce stand, Davis Produce in Savannah. On a sweltering summer day there is nothing better for lunch than a tomato sandwich. Sliced bread (traditionally white bread but these days I use multi-grain or wheat), mayonnaise (preferably Dukes), and sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper. That’s it! Deliciousness!

A favorite southern summer snack is boiled peanuts. I love sitting around the table with friends and family, a cold drink and a bowl of boiled Georgia peanuts.

Georgia is known for other produce the rest of the year. Did you know that the state of Georgia is one of the top blueberry producing states in the country? I look forward every spring to blueberry season. As soon as they were ready this year I bought a flat from a friend’s sister who owns an organic blueberry farm.

20180502Blueberries-(4) — Georgia grown blueberries

Are you hungry yet for some Georgia goodness? I’ve never shared a recipe on my blog before but here is my favorite cobbler recipe.

Easy Fruit Cobbler

1 stick unsalted butter (use real butter)
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 – 5 peeled and sliced peaches or 1 container blueberries + 1 TB sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Place the fruit in a bowl and mix with the 1 TB sugar. Set aside.

Put the butter in a 9×9 inch square baking pan (I use metal but a glass pan will work). Place the pan in the oven to melt butter.

While butter is melting, in another bowl mix the flour, sugar, and milk. Batter will be thin and milky.

When butter is melted, remove from oven and pour in the batter. Spoon fruit over batter. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Many thanks to Ingrid’s Wandering Wednesday photo prompt – food for the inspiration for this post. I take lousy food photos and have been wanting an excuse to practice.