Mom’s and dad’s can use it to assist their children uncover more about the world around them. The days are gone when we were required to rely upon atlases and similar. In recent times, modern life determines that we make use of the modern technology presently available to most of us, and because of the accuracy and data that’s provided from the satellite imagery, the results are generally second to none.

Over a number of years, schools and education facilities have begun to be conscious of the advantages of using GE Live, and it is gradually becoming a regularly used graphics aid in class rooms everywhere. It’s being used to back up tutorials, for landscaping purposes, on field ventures and school projects a great deal more. Like a Global positioning system, it’s presently available for down load onto a selection of iphone devices and other mobile phone devices that come with the cabability to acquire and implement such applications. An individual can potentially pinpoint his or her whereabouts and route plan, or simply just use the app as a means of doing what many others do within their leisure time – - remotely check out the earth in and around them.

Any one of the aspects may be used to analyze the heavens, star charts and various planets, in addition to being able to view far-away galaxies. By the same token an individual can dive beneath the depths inside the planet’s oceans and have an under the sea exploration of exactly what’s below the surface of the seas and major bodies of water. The depth and scope for researching and widening a person’s awareness is tremendous.

For those who haven’t discovered Google Earth live, then maybe it’s time that you simply get it. You have been losing out on its power to tutor, to discover from, to have a lot of fun with or just to use it as a way of route planning from point A to point B. It’s designed for everyone that has the ability to direct access a working computer or simply a handheld gadget, and on top of that it’s 100 % free!

Another food that popped up frequently on the list of best American recipes was fried chicken. On many occasions, I’d vote for that one myself. Because fried chicken is so popular in America, most restaurants some form of the dish. It might be a fancier version of fried chicken, but it’s fried chicken, nonetheless. Chicken parts that are coated in flour and fried in deep fat is an old American food tradition, particularly in the Deep South. Of course, now it’s popular all over the nation and in many parts of the world.

Another biggie on the list was seafood. America has some great seafood choices. We get salmon from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest; giant crab legs from Alaska; lobster, clams, and cod from the Northeast; and shrimp, oysters, blue crabs, stone crabs, and rock shrimp from the Southeast.  Along with all of those, we also have grouper, snapper, flounder, mahi mahi, tuna, and a host of other finned fishes that are great on the table.

Southwestern and Tex-Mex dishes are also very popular. Many folks love the hot smoky flavors that chipotle powder, chili powder, and fresh chilies give to foods. Dishes in this category also often include cheeses, rice, onions, garlic, lime juice, rice, and sauces and salsas made from tomatoes.

This casserole is a great meal all by itself! You’ll get three servings of vegetables, a serving of meat, a serving of cheese, and a starch – all in the same dish. Serve with a serving of fresh fruit and a glass of milk for a complete dinner!

Southern Hamburger Pie recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• ½ cup diced Vidalia onion
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
• 1 cup cooked butter beans
• 1 cup cooked okra
• 1 can Campbell’s tomato soup
• 2 cups cooked mashed potatoes
• Milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions: Cook ground beef and onions in a large Dutch oven until meat is just brown. Season with salt and pepper and hot sauce. Turn off stove burner but leave Dutch oven on burner.

Stir in butter beans, okra, and tomato soup.

Butter a 1 ½-quart casserole dish or pan. Add beef and vegetable mixture.

In a mixing bowl, combine mashed potatoes and just enough milk to make the mashed potatoes spreadable. Stir in egg and garlic salt. Spread mashed potatoes over top of casserole ingredients. Top with grated cheese.

Bake casserole for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

People all over the world enjoy good Southern food and country cooking. Southern food is at its best when it comes to brinner, also known as breakfast for dinner. We Southerners enjoy breakfast foods at night, especially in the winter. If you’re planning on having brinner tonight, you should without a doubt include these mouthwatering omelets! There are about a gazillion ways to flavor an omelet!

Ingredients for Southern Ham and Cheddar Omelet:

• 4 large eggs
• ¼ cup of buttermilk
• ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 slices of country cured ham, cubed
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Directions: In medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs. Add milk and continue whisking until the eggs and milk are well mixed.

Apply nonstick spray on small to medium sized nonstick frying pan. Heat pan on medium high heat.

Once pan is heated, pour the egg and milk mixture into the pan. Do not disturb the eggs while they are cooking. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until the eggs are almost done on the upper side. Sprinkle cheese on one half of the omelet. Place the ham on the same half as the cheese. Fold the naked half of the omelet to cover the top half. At this point, your omelet should look like an omelet!

The Ham and Cheddar Omelet is just one of many ways to enjoy an omelet. There is an unlimited combination of ingredients you can use. You could try an omelet with bacon and Swiss cheese. Just follow the recipe as above and substitute the ham and cheddar cheese for Swiss cheese and bacon. If you are a vegetable lover, add some crisp veggies to make an incredibly tasty and healthy brinner. Maybe you would like a southwestern style omelet. Use the recipe above, but instead of ham, use thinly sliced steak, sliced red and green bell peppers, and a sliced onion.

Southern food favorite!

Chicken is prepared all sorts of ways with Southern food recipes. We use these for everyday and for holiday ideas. Some of the ways we traditional Southern cooks prepare chicken include boiling, pan broiling, roasting, baking, sautéing, deep frying, pan frying, stewing, smoking, and grilling. We might also include chicken in casseroles, in salads, in fajitas, in tacos, and in burritos.

Fried chicken

I can think of few dishes that are as typical of Southern food as fried chicken. It’s definitely a specialty of the Deep South, and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of recipes for fried chicken. Just about Southern cook has his or her own way to deep fry chicken parts. Most use flour, while a few others use some sort of coating mix. Most coating mixes contain fine cracker crumbs and seasonings.

The old-fashioned way to make fried chicken is to deep fry it in hog lard. This results in a very crispy, tasty fried chicken. Since most folks are now so concerned about animal fat and cholesterol, most cooks have made the switch to deep frying in vegetable oil or peanut oil.

Chicken and dressing

Another signature dish of Southern food, chicken and dressing is made with cornbread, chicken broth, diced onions, seasonings, and chicken. Some cooks place bone-in chicken parts in a baking dish with the cornbread mixture, while other cut or tear cooked chicken into cubes or bite-size pieces before adding it to the cornbread mixture.

Chicken and dumplings

Another Southern food favorite, chicken and dumplings might not be what you’re thinking. In the Deep South, “dumplings” are strips of pastry. In some other parts of the United States, “dumplings” are spoonfuls of uncooked dough that are dropped into boiling liquid. Southern dumplings are different. They’re strips of dry dough, much like pie crust. Chicken parts are boiled in seasoned water, and the dumplings are dropped in. Some cooks remove the meat from the bones, while others leave the chicken parts whole.

So what are the different kinds of biscuits we make here in the South? Following are short descriptions of the major types of biscuits.

Baking powder biscuits

Baking powder biscuits contain extra baking powder, resulting in a light, flaky bread. These biscuit recipes traditionally require flour that contains no leavening agents.

Buttermilk biscuits

Buttermilk biscuits are made with buttermilk instead of regular milk. They have a rich taste, with a slight but distinct buttermilk flavor. Even people who don’t like to drink buttermilk usually like baked goods made with buttermilk.

Cream biscuits

Some more traditional Southern cooks make cream biscuits. These biscuits are made with heavy whipping cream. Since the cream contains a large amount of fat, the cream takes the place of both milk and shortening in recipes for cream biscuits.

Angel biscuits

These are the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten! My mother used to make them for special occasions. Angel biscuits contain yeast, so an angel biscuit is like a cross between a yeast roll and a traditional biscuit.

Cinnamon raisin biscuits

This is a wonderful sweet and spicy biscuit. Regular biscuit dough is enhanced with raisins, sugar, and cinnamon before being baked. After coming out of the oven, the cinnamon raisin biscuits are usually glazed with a light icing.

Saltwater fishing

If you haven’t experienced saltwater fishing, you’re missing out on a wonderful chance for some relaxation, some fun, and some great meals. There’s just nothing like really fresh fish that you catch yourself. If you already enjoy eating fish but have never had fish straight from the ocean, you haven’t really had fresh fish. Most of the fish you buy in the grocery stores has been out of the water for days, and if it’s frozen, it’s probably been out of the water for months!

Types of saltwater fishing

Saltwater fishing can be enjoyed in several different ways. Some are easy and inexpensive, while others are more involved and can run into a lot of money. With some types, your success is almost guaranteed, even if you have no experience at all. Others require strategy and lots of know-how. Following are some basic types of saltwater fishing.

Surf fishing

Surf fishing is easy and inexpensive. It’s done right from the beach. Anglers can stay completely on dry land, or they can wade into the surf to stay cool and to fish their bait farther from shore.

Pier fishing

Pier fishing is my favorite type of saltwater fishing. Obviously, this is done from a pier or dock. A lot of saltwater fish species are drawn to fishing piers because they usually hold baitfish. When fishing from a pier, you have a choice of depths at which to fish, in most cases. Many piers also have benches, fish cleaning stations, and other anglers who can give you advice and help you identify any fish you land.

Offshore saltwater fishing

Unless you have your own boat, you’ll need to hire a fishing charter for offshore fishing. Fishing charters take guests out to deep water to cast or troll for fish. This can get expensive, but the crew will show you how to catch fish and will supply everything you need.

Deep-sea bottom fishing

You’ll need a boat or charter service for this one, too. With bottom fishing, you fish around wrecks and reefs for fish species that are attracted to the bottom structures. This type of saltwater fishing is usually less expensive than offshore trolling, and less fishing strategy is involved.

The bad economy has affected most Americans – at least indirectly. To be honest, until fairly recently, my family has been largely unscathed. Now it’s hit home, so to speak. The bad economy is now affecting my family and me in a direct way. One of my sons-in-law can’t find a job. One of my daughters was laid off from her job. Another of my daughters and her husband own a business that provides good and services for parties, and their business is suffering terribly. I suppose parties are expendable when folks are worried about their money. We’re all being affected by the prices of gasoline and food. I’ve read reports that the price of food isn’t really going up much, but I know better. I shop for food every week, and I pay attention to prices.

What led me to become semi-interested in survival? Well, I had already been a little concerned – for all the reasons discussed above. But when I saw a report issued by NASA about major solar flares, I really paid attention. According to the report, scientists are expecting huge solar flares to occur at the end of 2012 or at the beginning of 2013. They said the possibility of the solar activity’s knocking out a huge section of the power grid is entirely possible. Large swaths of the globe could be without power for months before it’s finally restored. That’s when I decided to start storing canned and dried foods!

Just before my granddaughter turned two, a charity pageant was held in our town. All the proceeds made from the pageant went to a good cause. My niece decided to enter it, and somehow, her mom talked me into entering my granddaughter. We knew nothing about pageants – especially about glitz pageants, which this was. I did know that some of my niece’s pageant dresses cost over $1,000. I also knew there was no way in heck that I was going to plop down a grand for a dress that my granddaughter might wear only one time. She might hate being in a pageant!

With some guidance, I looked at pageant dresses on Ebay. We found one that wasn’t too hideous for $50, so I ordered it. Actually, it was a pretty little dress, but it was too plain for glitz pageants, or so I was informed. We got busy and purchased some rhinestones and some fabric glue and stoned that dress to the hilt!

When we arrived at the pageant, we discovered that there were nine other little girls in my granddaughter’s division and seven of them were seasoned. In other words, they’d been in and won a lot of glitz pageants already. We were in over our head. But my little angel didn’t know that! She showed so much personality on stage that she actually won! She even won best dress! We were utterly amazed. She had a blast, we had fun, and it was just the first of many pageants and many crowns!

BBQ cooking - barbecue ribs

Grilling, smoking, and BBQ cooking, in general, are extremely popular in the U.S., and both are great holiday ideas. Cooking outdoors is always festive in and of itself, not to mention that the flavor is hard to beat. BBQ cooking is the perfect way to feed a party crowd. Practically any flesh performs well with BBQ cooking, and ribs are a favorite with BBQ cooking aficionados. When I say “ribs,” I’m talking pork ribs – spare ribs, country-style ribs, or baby back ribs. Sure, you can cook beef short ribs on a grill or smoker, too, but here in the South, most of us prefer pork ribs over beef ribs.

There are lots of different ways to cook pork ribs on a smoker or grill, and there’s really not one “best” way to do it. As long as the ribs get cooked completely and turn out tender, juicy, and flavorful, it’s all good! Of course, each cook has his or her favorite way to cook ribs, and most are convinced that their way is best. That’s just human nature, I suppose.

Some folks I know like to parboil their ribs inside on the stove before grilling them. They place the ribs in a big pot and cover them with a mixture of water, vinegar, and spices and cook the ribs until they’re almost done. Then they slather the ribs with barbecue sauce and place them on a hot grill to brown them and to give them a little smoky taste.

Other people like to use a dry rub on the ribs and bake them slow in the oven until the ribs are just about done. Then they go on the grill for a short period. I also know some cooks who wrap the ribs in foil and bake them in the oven before they make the trip to the grill.

Some people like to do all their BBQ cooking outdoors. These folks might cook the ribs “naked” on a slow grill by using indirect heat. They’ll usually place the ribs over the hot coals just long enough to get nice and brown.

And then there’s the smoking crowd. These individuals prefer to do their BBQ cooking on a smoker. There, the ribs cook “low and slow” over charcoal or wood chips.