Corn Casserole

This is an easy dish to whip up and a popular one at pot-luck meals!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1 package (8.5 ounce) corn bread mix
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can cream-style corn
1 cup sour cream

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium mixing bowl, melt the butter.

• Add sour cream and blend together well.

• Break eggs, dump into mixture and stir well.

• Stir in dry corn bread mix.

• Drain whole kernel corn and dump it into the bowl.

• Pour cream-style corn into bowl.

• Stir all ingredients to blend well and pour batter into two-quart baking dish.

• Bake 40-45 minutes until golden brown on top.

This is a great pot-luck dish!  I stirred it up for our family's Thanksgiving feast.

Personal Pizza

Ingredients:
Crusts (regular or thin & crispy
Tomato sauce
browned ground beef
browned ground sausage
cooked bacon slices
green pepper, diced
onion, diced
mushrooms, sliced
black olives, sliced
Mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions:

• Place crust on pizza stone.

• Spread tomato sauce on crust.

• Spread browned meats over sauce.

• Chop bacon slices into small pieces.
• Spread bacon over sauce.

• Sprinkle on peppers .

• Sprinkle on onion.

• Sprinkle on mushrooms and olives over all.

• Cover with grated cheese.

• Bake 10-18 minutes until cheese is melted, golden, and bubbling.
• Slice into quarters and serve.

I loved these!  They were quick and easy to assemble using ingredients I had on hand - most of it already prepared and in the fridge.

Old-Fashioned Hungarian Goulash

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 small onion, diced (2/3 cup)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce
1 can Italian tomatoes
2 teaspoons Hungarian spice mix (basil, paprika, oregano, cumin, tarragon, parsley)
1 teaspoon chopped Bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions:

• In a four-quart Dutch oven, brown ground beef, adding onions and garlic about half-way through.

• Add chicken broth and tomato sauce, 

• Stir in tomatoes and spices.

• Cover and simmer for 15 minutes

• Add macaroni, cover again, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

• Stir in cheddar cheese.

• Add Mozzarella just before serving.

Tennessee Caviar

This recipe is one adapted from a dish that is our daughter-in-law, Jessica's specialty.  It is great served as a salad but we really like it as a dip with corn tortilla chips best.

Ingredients:

1 can kernel corn
1 can Rotel tomatoes and chili peppers
1 can black beans
1 can black-eyed peas
1 small onion, diced (red onion adds color)
1 small bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro (or about half that amount of dried cilantro)
1 garlic clove, minced (or about a half-Tablespoon of dried minced garlic)
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1/2 bottle of Italian salad dressing
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Drain liquid out of corn, peas, and beans.
• In a large bowl, dump corn, tomatoes, beans, peas, onion, and pepper.

Don't all those colors and textures already look yummy?

• Add cilantro, and garlic and gently stir to blend well.
• Pour in lime juice, salad dressing, and sprinkle seasoning salt on top and give it all a quick stir.
• Add salt and pepper, if needed.
• Chill at least a couple of hours or over night for the best melding of flavors imaginable.
• Serve in a pretty glass bowl to show off all those bright and cheerful ingredients like any good southern woman would.

This also makes a great spread when food processed!

Mama's Southern Pimento Cheese

The Primary Players

Ingredients:
4 cups Velveeta cheese, grated(This is a time when brand-name makes a difference - don't substitute!)
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish (I used some of my home-made!)
1 large jar diced pimentos
2/3 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing (See brand-name comment above.)

Directions:

• Dump gooey grated Velveeta into a large bowl.
• Empty jar of diced pimentos on top.
• Spoon on sweet pickle relish.
• Plop Miracle Whip atop all that.
• Blend together well with a large spoon.
• Chill.

This is delicious plopped in the middle of a quartered fresh tomato, scooped onto a leaf of lettuce, smashed into a celery rib, or slathered onto bread for a sandwich.  We used to eat it on 'light bread' when I was a little girl.

Low Calorie Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cold water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups fresh, sliced strawberries
1 large package sugar-free strawberry gelatin
1 graham-cracker pie crust

Directions:

• Mix water and cornstarch in small saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat till bubbly and thickened.
• Add gelatin and stir till cooled.
• Fold in strawberries.
• Pour into pie crust and chill.

This is a delicious treat and is much like Shoney's famous strawberry pie.

Chess Cake

My mother made this sweet treat for as long as I can remember.  I recently made them for a party and noticed a step that seemed foreign to my memories.  You can read about that HERE.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 cups sifted, plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

• Heat butter and brown sugar on low heat in a saucepan.
• When a thick liquid forms, remove from heat and add other ingredients in order listed.
• Put in a 9"x13" baking dish that has been greased and floured.
• Bake for thirty minutes at 300 degrees.
• Cut and roll in powdered sugar while still hot. (Obviously, this step is optional and you can just wait till they cool and cut them into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar!)

As Mama's recipe accurately states, "This is quick and easy and very good!"

Pioneer Woman Soup

This is a delicious soup and feels like a comfort food.  We love it because it warms our hearts and our bellies.  For a little background info on why it is called this, you might want to read this story.  If you just want to stir up a quick and easy dinner, just follow this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 can Meat-Only Chili (I used some left-over made-from-scratch chili with beans)
1 can Pinto Beans (I used some left-over pinto beans that Mike had soaked and cooked earlier this week)
1 can Black Beans
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1 can Fiesta Corn
1 can Rotel
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 chunk Velveeta cheese, cubed

Directions:

• Empty the contents of each can into a large pot and place on medium heat.
• When the mix begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes.
• Add chunked cheese and stir till melted.

Serve in a big soup mug with cornbread or Jessica's Spicy Crackers!

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman's 7-Can Soup.