Homemade Southern Red Beans and Rice Ala Mary

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may recall my commenting often about reducing the amount of food in our freezer and I’m happy to report that I’ve made some significant progress and actually now know what’s in there.  I’ve had a package of andouille in there for a while and decided it needed to be used with the first half going to a shrimp dish.  When I discovered some red beans in the pantry, I decided that I’d make red beans and rice.

Pepperoni Rolls

Pepperoni rolls were invented in 1927 by the Country Club Bakery in my home town of Fairmont, WV as a food that coal miners could buy in the morning or previous evening and take in their lunch for a ready to eat meal.  Later on, a beer joint (Colaessano’s), about a half mile from my house, took them to the next level by splitting the baked rolls, adding peppers, pizza sauce, and cheese then re-warming to melt the cheese before serving – they were famous throughout northern WV.  Colaessano’s has long since changed from a beer joint to a carry-out/eat-in restaurant and the family is no longer involved.

Carne Adovada Ala Chef Lea Ann

When we were in Las Cruces, NM this past winter, I tried my first ever Carne Adovada and really enjoyed it, thinking I would make it when we got home but hadn’t gotten around to it.  So while at a Mexican restaurant in Ashville, NC during our recent RV Club rally, I ordered it and what I got looked nothing like what I was expecting.

Now it was time to make it using Chef Lea Ann’s recipe from her Cooking On The Ranch blog – I doubled her recipe to get the one below and after cooking the meat and the sauce I froze half (meat and sauce in separate bags) and cooked half per the directions for this meal.

Three Stop RV Rally – Days 16-18 – Grove Park Inn, Moose Café & Trip Home

We had visited the Grove Park Inn during a rally a couple of years ago but this time we decided to eat at the Sunset Terrace Restaurant looking out over the mountains.  I could almost see the wealthy southern ladies and gents in their fine clothing in this same setting 100 years ago sipping their beverages and discussing the topics of the day.

Three Stop RV Rally – Days 13-15 – Oak Plantation And Moving To Asheville, NC, Trolley

Before I discuss our move, a few comments about Oak Plantation Campground on John’s Island, SC (Charleston).  I believe this is just a campground and not up to an RV Park or Resort, but it is a nice campground and we would stay there again.  I base my ratings on their sites being just gravel or grass and gravel although their roads were paved.  We didn’t use any of fixed facilities, but the WiFi was very good, the water pressure was a little low, and everything else was normal.  Check in was friendly and efficient. Depending upon traffic and how many red lights you hit, it’s 15-30 minutes into downtown.  A big negative was the traffic that backs up in front of the entrance due to the nearby traffic light and heavy traffic.  Since it is for sale for $31 million, there seem to be no improvements being made.  

Three Stop RV Rally – Days 11& 12 – Downtown Charleston, Harbor Cruise, and Pages

On Thursday, I drove the ladies downtown so they could shop at the HistoricCharleston City Market then I came back to the campground to check on the dogs and when I picked the ladies up later we drove to the Maritime Center for a harbor cruise on the CarolinaBelle.

Three Stop RV Rally – Days 9 -11 – Onward to Charleston, Gilligan's, Angel Oak, Old Friend

We closed up shop and got on the road about 10:15 for 105 mile run from Savannah up to the Charleston area but first some thoughts on Savannah's Creek Fire Motor Ranch.  They refer to themselves as a resort but they have a way to go to get there but I believe they will.  The place has only been open for about 18 months and they mostly concrete pads with all good utilities except for a terrible WiFi.  Check in was friendly and efficient and they provided a nice packet of information.  The pool area was nice but the hot tub was nearly unusable due to the chlorine amount in the water.  They don’t offer cable TV but some sites have a Direct TV dish that requires using a box provided by them – not an issue since we have our own dish.  It’s about a 25 minute drive into downtown via I-95 and I-16 but there are many stores and restaurants near the resort - if ever again in the area I would stay there.