Hash Brown Casserole

I read this morning on the interwebs - and I think it was that Facebook thang - that somebody was offering to stir up a hash brown casserole that would feed six to eight people for your Thanksgiving Feast pleasure.  All this cook was asking for her troubles and the ingredients to have it ready for your feasting pleasure is a mere $25.  Whut?  Are you kidding me?  When all that is necessary are the ingredients below?  Nope, I'm making my own for my peeps.  Thank you very much!

Ingredients:
1 two-pound package of frozen country style hash browns
2 cups grated cheddar or casserole blend cheese
1 pint of sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup (I have been known to use cream of mushroom or cream of celery in a pinch)
1/2 cup of diced onion
1/2 cup of softened butter (and be sure to turn it upside down for the photo op)
salt and pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients if you want a topping:
a handful of bread or cracker crumbs
thin-sliced or grated American or processed cheese - like Velveeta
minced parsley

Instructions:

• Break up the frozen hash browns if they are clumped up after the long drive from the grocery store.  I usually just waller the bag around a bit and then give them a good stir with a wooden spoon after I dump them into my gigantor mixing bowl.
• Sprinkle the diced onion over the top of the mountain of hash brown potatoes.
• Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the mountain of hash brown potatoes gilded with diced onions and stand back and admire the beauty of all that.

• Give these three ingredients a good stir with your trusty wooden spoon.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper to suit your tastes (Or if you have high blood pressure, you may want to go easy on the salt and double up on the pepper.  Of course, if you have high blood pressure, you are not going to eat this dish very often anyway, so just go for the gusto!)
• Stir together the sour cream, cream soup, and softened butter.
• Add the creamy, buttery goodness to the cheesey, potatoy goodness and stir till there are no clumps and all the potatoes seem to be coated with the creaminess - or until your arthritic hands can no longer grip the trusty wooden spoon. (I have been known to just dive in and mix it all together with my hands but that is sort of squishy.)
• Pour the mixture into a 13x9" casserole dish and tamp it down to firmly smash it all together.

• Feel free to use the optional ingredients by just sprinkling a topping of bread crumbs over the top before baking or covering in more cheese to escalate your heart disease issues or sprinkling with a bit of parsley to make it look prettier.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes and serve warm.

Salsa

This is a recipe shared with us from our daughter-in-law, Jessica.

Ingredients:
20-25 cups peeled, raw tomatoes
6 jalapenos (1/2 cup chopped)
1 1/2 large onions (2 cups diced)
10-15 stems fresh cilantro
4 limes
6-8 cloves garlic
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon cumin

How about these beautiful tomatoes?  Fresh from Mike's garden, washed and set out to dry...

And these jalapenos!  He brought them home from the vegetable stand and I washed them out and left them to dry as well...

Instructions:
Peeling tomatoes with little to no waste:

• Dip whole tomatoes into boiling water for 15 seconds.
• Remove and plunge into ice water.
• Slide peel off tomato.
• Cut out core of tomato and dice.

Salsa Prep:

• Pulse diced tomatoes in food processor in small batches till thick and chunky.
  
• Place tomatoes in large cooking pot.

• Remove seeds and veins from half  to one/third of jalapenos and dice all of them.
• Dice onions and add to jalapenos.
• Pull leaves off cilantro and add to onion/jalapeno mix.
• Juice limes (I even added the zest from a couple of them.) and add to onion mix.
• Mince garlic and add to onion mix.
• Sprinkle in garlic salt and cumin and give mixture a stir.
• In small batches, place onion mixture into food processor and puree.

• Stir pureed mixture into tomatoes.
• Bring mixture to boil and gently boil and stir for about three to five minutes.

Canning Salsa:

• While awaiting salsa mixture to come to boil, place clean pint jars in oven set to 200 degrees.  
• Place jar lids in pot and bring water to boil to sterilize them.
• When salsa is ready, place one jar at a time on a towel and dip salsa into jars with a ladle.  

• Fill jars to within 1/2 inch at top.

• Place lid on jars and screw jar ring on jar.  Do not screw on ring too tight.
• Place jars of salsa into boiling water bath where water covers jars one-to-two inches.

• Bring to gentle boil and allow to boil for 40 minutes
• Remove water bath from heat and allow to cool for five minutes or so.

• Lift jars from water bath and allow to ping and seal.

Yield: 9 pints and a 1/2-3/4 cup sampler

*Note: My first batch was a wee bit runny.  So, I drained out some of the tomato juice after we diced them for the next batch and it was much better.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:
4 bone-in center cut pork chops
2 Tablespoons Steak Seasoning
2 Tablespoons oil
1/4 cup diced onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Instructions:

• Rub both sides of each pork chop with the Steak Seasoning.

• Pour oil into skillet and heat to warm on medium heat.
• Place pork chops into skillet.
• Sear both sides until chops are golden brown.

• After one side is browned, add diced onions to skillet so that they can begin to saute as well.

• Remove chops from skillet and place in slow cooker on low heat.
• Stir soup into onions and remaining bit of oil loosening and blending to add the bits of flavor from the chops that are left in the pan.

• When blended well and all bits are stirred into the soup mixture, pour into slow cooker.

• Cook on low for at least four hours but not longer than eight hours - depends upon the thickness of the chops.  (The thicker the chop, the longer the cooking time needed.)

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice and use sauce for gravy!

Old-Fashioned Macaroni Salad

This is one of those recipes I remember my grandmother serving when we would go to her house.  She would always serve this dish at spring and summer visits and I remember it well.  I never got her exact recipe for this dish.  I found The Pioneer Woman's recipe for Macaroni Salad and it tastes very similar to my Muffa's.  So, I tweaked it a wee bit and it is very close.  Maybe next time I will add a bit of mustard or mustard powder or mustard seed to the dish and see if that is what it needs to be more Muffa-like.

Ingredients:
3 cups elbow macaroni
1 large jar pimentos
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced
2 heaping Tablespoons sweet pickle relish
3/4 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
2 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 heaping teaspoons sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Cook elbow macaroni as directed on package.  Rinse, drain, and allow it to cool.

• Add diced onion, pepper, and pimento to macaroni but do not stir till all ingredients have been added.

• Dollop in relish, Miracle Whip, Ranch dressing.

• Splash with vinegar and sprinkle in salt and pepper.
• Give this all a gentle stir to blend well but not break up macaroni noodles.
• Chill in fridge for an hour or so and serve cold.

I'm taking mine off to the family reunion today.  I hope it hits the spot as much as my Muffa's used to do!

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.

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.

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!

All-American Pasta Salad

This dish is a fresh, cool, simple, make-ahead treasure for summer pot-luck dinners like the one we are attending tonight!

Ingredients:
1 pound Penne pasta
8 ounces smoked Gouda cheese
1 jar diced pimentos
1 jar artichoke hearts
1/2 purple onion
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 green bell pepper
3 green onions
1 can sliced black olives

Dressing Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons red pepper jelly
2-3 tablespoons vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Boil up the pasta to the al dente stage.  Drain, rinse, and set aside to cool.

• Slice the Gouda cheese wheel in half and cut into pie shaped wedges.

• Then, dice up those wedges into small bite-sized pieces.

• Admire it just a bit because it is beautiful, fragrant, and good-a!  
• Slice half the purple onion and dice the slices up into little yummy pieces. (Save the rest for salads later in the week ahead.)

• Slice and dice half the green pepper and put the rest in the fridge for another recipe.

• Pick three beautiful green onions from Mike's garden and wash them up in the sink.  Well, you might want to pick yours from somewhere else but make sure you wash them up somewhere.  Then, snip them up into tiny little pieces. Yep, the whole thing - green and white as well.

• Drain the black olives in your favorite little colander spoon thingy.

• Drain, rinse, and chop the artichoke hearts - right in the heart of them.

• Rinse the grape tomatoes.  It's okay if you eat a couple, too.  Then, slice them in half.

• Open the jar of diced pimentos and pat yourself on the back that you thought to get the diced ones which will save you a bit of chopping.

• Plop each of the veggie pieces on top of the al dente pasta in a big old beautiful bowl.  Do it in an arranged way so that the colors look beautiful for a photo.

• Now mix up a little tangy and sweet dressing for this beautiful concoction.  Start out with a cup of mayonnaise.

• Add some home-made sweet pickle relish - about two tablespoons.  (If you don't have home-made relish, it will be okay to use some of the bought kind.)

• Plop in a couple of tablespoons of red pepper jelly to add some tang to it.

• Pour in a little bit of vinegar - two to three tablespoons.  I used some out of my home-made bread-and-butter pickles so it would have a bit more bite to it.  Then, stir all this together and admire the beautiful little flecks of wonderfulness inside.

• Sprinkle in some salt and pepper to taste and plop this right smack dab in the center of the bowl of veggies and pasta.

• Toss everything together making sure to coat all of it with a bit of the yummy dressing.

• Cover with some clear plastic wrap so you can admire the colorful beauty of it as you set it in the fridge for all the flavors to marry together for a couple of hours or so.  Give it a quick, refreshing toss just before you serve it!

(It is quite alright if you dish yourself up a spoonful to eat with some left-over chicken livers as a late lunch so long as nobody - well, at least Mike - knows.  After all, somebody has to taste it to make sure it is going to be alright for the pot-luck!)