Cucumber and Onion Salad

Ingredients:
2 medium-sized cucumber
1/2 large onion
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions:

• Peel and slice cucumbers and place the slices in a small bowl.
• Peel and slice onion and add to cucumbers.
• Sprinkle salt, pepper, and sugar over top.
• Mix vinegar and water and pour over veggies.
• Give mixture a stir and seal in a container with a lid.
• Refrigerate for at least two hours and maybe even overnight.

Basic Granola

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
3-4 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Instructions:

• Generously grease a sheet pan with butter and preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
• In a small bowl, mix together oil, honey, and vanilla. (I generally just stir this all together in a measuring cup.)
• Pour wet ingredients atop dry ingredients and stir together well.
• Spread mixture into sheet pan and sprinkle with almonds.
• Bake for about five-to-ten minutes and stir.
• Bake for another fifteen-to-twenty minutes.  (I usually break this up and stir it a second time.)

• Cool for at least twenty minutes in pan that is setting on a wire rack and stir another time or two.  (Granola will harden as it cools.)
• Store in a mason jar.  (Will keep for a couple of weeks.)

Yield: about 1 1/2 Quarts

You can add dried fruits such as raisins, cranberries, blueberries, or apricots to the cooled granola.  I like to stir it into some plain or vanilla yogurt along with some fresh berries for breakfast or a snack.

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.