Tomato Gravy

My mom made this many Sunday nights to put over her homemade biscuits   Nothing better This gravy is one reason to can you own tomatoes   

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 to 3/4 cup plain flour

One quart home canned tomatoes or one large can of quality diced tomatoes

Make roux with oil and flour.  Stir constantly on medium fire till the color is  brown like the color of a brown paper sack. Do not let it burn. 

Add tomatoes and stir.  Add water to your desired consistency.  Cook until tomatoes are mostly broken up.  Season with pepper and salt as needed.

Oreo Cookie Truffles

Becca found this recipe somewhere and decided to give it try. They are really easy and quite tasty. Serve as treats, for a party, etc. You might get hooked. 

1 package OREO Cookies 

1 package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 

8 oz of chocolate almond bark or other chocolate for melting

Crumble eight of the cookies finely and save for later. ( You can use the food processor or you can crush them in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining cookies to fine crumbs. Add cream cheese to crumbs in food processor and mix until well blended. Roll cookie/cream cheese mixture into balls. Dip balls in chocolate and place on aluminum foil or wax paper. Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs before they harden/

Best Pralines Ever (and they are made in the microwave)

Pronounced prawleens -- these New Orleans confections are easy to make and popular with everyone. Ang and Tommy Forsyth requested this recipe and I posted it on their blog -- I share it here to make it more available for others.

2 c. sugar
¾ c. buttermilk
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter
2 c. pecans
1 tsp. baking soda (added in the last step)

Combine all ingredients except the last one, soda. Cook in the microwave on high (be sure to use a large bowl that is microwave safe) for three cycles of four minutes, stirring between each four minutes (for a total of 12 minutes cooking time - the mixture wil bubble up). After the three cycles, stir in baking soda and cook two more minutes on high. Beat the cooked mixture until it begins to look smooth and thicker. Then drop by spoonfuls on greased waxed paper or on aluminum foil.

Be sure to store in an airtight container.