Broccoli - Cauliflower Salad

This recipe is from my Grandmama. It is SOOOO good!

Broccoli - Cauliflower Salad

1 medium cauliflower
1 bunch fresh broccoli
1 bunch green onions
1 small can sliced water chestnuts (I usually don't use these)

Wash vegetables, peel broccoli stalks and cut everything into bite size pieces including broccoli tops. Drain water chestnuts and add to vegetables

Dressing:
1/2 c. Miracle Whip (DO NOT use mayonnaise)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. salad oil
1/4 c. vinegar
Salt and pepper

Mix well with wire whisk and pour over vegetables. Marinate 8 - 12 hours in refrigerator.

Garden Pasta Salad

For the next two days, I plan to share a few of my favorite "summery" salads.

Garden Pasta Salad

1 pkg. Buitoni Three Cheese Tortellini, cooked, drained and rinsed
1 c. Italian salad dressing
2 c. broccoli florets
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Pour dressing into large bowl. Add pasta, broccoli and cheese. Toss well. Refrigerate or serve immediately.

Pork Chops with Saffron Rice

This certainly isn't a "30 minute meal", but it is super easy

Pork Chops with Saffron Rice

6 pork chops, 1/2 -3/4" thick (honestly, I just use 4 chops)
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
2 Tbsp. Crisco
1 (6 oz.) pkg. saffron rice mix (you find this by the regular rice)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 beef bouillon cube
1-3/4 c. hot water
1/2 c. sour cream

Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper on both sides. In large skillet, slowly brown chops in hot Crisco, drain off excess fat. Add rice mix and onion. Dissolve bouillon cube in hot water; pour over rice. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes, until chops are tender, stirring occasionally. Add an additional 1/2 c. water during cooking, if necessary. Remove chops to warmed platter; stir sour cream into rice mixture. Cook and stir over low heat until heated through.

S'Mores Bars

One more thing for the weekend, and these are INCREDIBLE!! We are going to have traditional s'mores, cooking our marshmallows on sticks, but this recipe has become a family staple!!!  Mine turned out looking GREAT.  Here's the recipe:

S'mores Bars

1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/3 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs (about 6 sheets)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 (1.5 oz.) Hershey's milk chocolate bars
1 c. marshmallow creme

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease an 8-inch baking pan.  In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined.  In a small bowl, combine flour, graham crackers, baking powder and salt.  Add to the butter mixture and beat until combined.  Press half of the dough in the pan, spreading evenly.  Lay chocolate bars on top of dough, breaking apart as needed to cover entire layer in chocolate.  Spread marshmallow creme over chocolate bars.  Spread remaining dough over marshmallow creme and chocolate bars.  Bake 30-35 minutes.

*I find the graham dough to be sticky and a little hard to spread.  If you use some flour on your fingers, it makes it much easier. 

Breakfast Bake

Happy Memorial Day weekend! We are off tomorrow for the lake for the weekend. Hope everyone enjoys the weekend. I'm in charge of breakfast every morning while we are there and this is one thing we will be having. I got this from Tossie and I have been making it ever since.

Breakfast Bake

2 cans crescent rolls
1 lb. sausage, browned and drained
6 eggs
1 (12 oz.) pkg. Colby Jack shredded cheese
salt and pepper to taste

In a greased 9x13 baking dish, place one can of crescent rolls in the bottom; pressing seams together. Then place the sausage on top and cover with shredded chesse. Beat 5 eggs with salt and pepper and pour on top of meat and cheese. Unroll the 2nd can of rolls and lay on top to cover, again pressing seams together. Beat last egg and brush on top of crescent rolls to help wih a golden brown color. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes.

Sweet Potato Salad

First of all, we had THIS CHICKEN tonight. (I have added a picture so you can see how pretty it turns out!) The Dish Washer and I love sweet potatoes. And not the sweet potato usual with brown sugar and marshmallows but a good savory sweet potato. Usually it is just mashed sweet potatoes or baked sweet potatoes (both with butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder), but I found this recipe and think it is great. It does have brown sugar, but it tastes nothing like the brown sugar/marshmallow version that I mentioned earlier.

Sweet Potato Salad

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut
vegetable cooking spray
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 c. onion, finely diced
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley (or about 1 tsp. dried)
5 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. prepared mustard
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Arrange potatoes in an even layer. Coat with cooking spray and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until just tender. Let cool slightly.

Stir together remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Add potatoes and toss gently until coated. Sprinkle with bacon. Serve warm or chilled. (I prefer chilled and think it gets better the next day.)

Texas Hash

Texas Hash

1 lb. ground beef
3 large onions, sliced
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes
1/2 c. uncooked regular rice
1 or 2 tsp. chili powder, according to taste
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In large skillet, cook and stir ground beef until light brown. Drain off fat. Add onions and green peppers and stir until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, rice, chili powder, salt and pepper; heat through.

Pour into 2 quart casserole. Cover and bake 1 hour. Remove cover and sprinkle cheese if desired and bake 15 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Garnish with sour cream.

Baked Beans

This weekend is the big fam jam semi-annual rib cookout!! YUMMY!! Sister has requested that I post this recipe because I think she is going to be making this. What she isn't remembering is that she probably already has the recipe. When she and The Chicken Farmer were getting married, our family gave a "Stock the Pantry" shower and brought their favorite recipes and the ingredients. This one is from our Great Uncle. I will give the recipe just as he did. Sister, I doubled it last time for the cookout.

Baked Beans

2 cans Pork n Beans (The Cook's sidenote - I use 1 large 50 oz.ish can)
1/2 c. ketchup
1 tbsp. mustard
2 tbsp. grated onion (I like a lot of onion, so I throw in more.)
1/3 c. brown sugar
bacon

Combine above stuff and put in pan. Lay 3 or 4 slices of bacon on top. Bake in oven 350 for about 35 minutes. Then just give me a call. XXX-XXXX.

Spicy Apricot Brisket

KEEP THIS IN MIND: This isn't the best "house smelling" dish you will make! It really is tasty, but don't say I didn't warn you if you are having people over!!

Spicy Apricot Brisket

1 (5-1/2 lbs.) beef brisket

2 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 (10 oz.) cans shredded sauerkraut, drained

2 (10 oz.) jars apricot preserves

2 (12 oz.) bottles chili sauce

Place brisket in crockpot. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over brisket. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove brisket (will be very tender) and drain kraut away from sauce. Serve sauce with sliced beef.

To freeze up to 3 months: Place brisket slices and sauce evenly in ziploc bag; freeze.

To reheat: Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Place brisket and sauce in 13x9 inch baking dish. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake covered at 325 for 45 minutes or until hot.

Veggie Casseroles

I want you to know that we eat vegetables too! Now, casseroles aren't the most healthy version of veggies but they certainly are southern and I am that! We do eat healthy veggies; for instance, we are having mashed sweet potatoes and sugar snap peas tonight with our pork tenderloin. These are our favorite vegetable casserole recipes - there are so many variations

Hashbrown Casserole

1 (32 oz.) pkg. frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed and drained (I use southern style)
1 stick butter
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 lg. onion, finely chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (16 oz.) carton sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 (6 oz.) can french-fried onion rings (we use a little more than that!)

Place thawed potatoes in a bowl. Melt butter and pour over potatoes. Add cheese, chopped onion, soup, sour cream, salt and pepper, stirring to blend. Pour into greased 3 quart casserole. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. (I usually have to cook mine for about 1 hour to get it how we like it.) Remove from oven; sprinkle with onion rings. Return to oven and bake uncovered 10-15 minutes longer.

Eggplant Casserole

1 large eggplant
1/2 c. shredded cheese
2 eggs
1/2 c. chopped onion, sauteed in a little butter
1/2 stick butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2-1/2 c. cracker crumbs

Peel and cube eggplant. Boil in salted water until tender; drain. Add cheese, 1-1/2 c. cracker crumbs, onions, eggs and soup. Mix and pour into 2 quart baking dish. Melt butter and pour over the top. Sprinkle with remaining cracker crumbs. Bake 30 at 350.

Broccoli Casserole
(so YUMMY - The Dish Washer is responsible for making this one at our house)

2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen broccoli, thawed, drained and chopped
1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 onion, grated
2 eggs
1 c. mayonnaise
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Pour into greased square baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Squash Casserole

2 lbs. yellow squash
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 c. chopped green onions
1/2 c. sour cream
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of celery soup
9 slices crispy, fried bacon, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Bring squash to a boil in water until done and drain. Saute onions in melted butter. Mix sauteed onions, sour cream, eggs, cheese, soup, bacon, salt and pepper with squash. Mix thoroughly. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking dish and bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes or until browned on top.

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

Pictured above with green food coloring in whipped cream for St. Paddy's Day and made in a bread loaf pan

For Lara - by request...SUPER EASY!! I don't really know what to call this; I thought about Ice Cream Sandwich Casserole, but that grossed me out! I have already finished it off! Y'all should have taken some home with you!! (And some of that catfish!!!)

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

1 pkg. of ice cream sandwiches (I used the one with 12 sandwiches in it)
1 small container of cool whip
caramel topping (or topping of your choice)

Place a layer of ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of a 8x8 dish. Then spread 1/2 of cool whip on top of ice cream sandwiches. Then spread caramel topping on top of cool whip. Repeat layers. I didn't have much caramel topping, so I just put it on the top layer Saturday night, but it really is better the more you use!!

Symphony Brownies

The M-I-L loves chocolate, so in honor of Mother's day, we have made here these.

Symphony Brownies

Brownie mix
3 giant Symphony bars

Preheat oven according to box directions. Prepare the brownie mix according to the box directions. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Pour half of brownie mix in bottom of the pan. Line the three bars across the top side by side. You may have to trim the corners on the ends to help them fit. Pour remaining half of brownie mix over the top and bake according to package directions.

Meatloaf

Where's the beef? I realize the last 3 posts have been chicken recipes...now I'm sure Sister's husband, The Chicken Farmer, is glad about that, but The Dish Washer is in the cow business. In fact, he is probably steer roping in Texas as we speak (or write)...maybe I should call him The Cow Roper, but I'll stick with The Dish Washer. Anyway, I digress - we're here for food! Most people turn their noses up at meatloaf, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord and eat the meatloaf! Here are three very "beefy" recipes with our family favorite at the top of the list (first two courtesy of my BFF Paula Deen! - click on the link)

BACON Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Cheeseburger Meatloaf and Sauce (pictured above using PepperJack cheese)

Best Ever Meatloaf (this is the title on my recipe card)

1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. fine dry breadcrumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. water
1 (8 oz.) package crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375. Mix 1/2 c. soup, beef, breadcrumbs, egg, onion and salt. Shape firmly into loaf; place in shallow baking pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Spoon off fat. Separate crescent rolls; place crosswise over top and down sides of meat loaf, overlapping slightly. Take one more slightly beaten egg and brush on top of crescent rolls. Bake 15 minutes.

Chicken Lazone

Today is MOTC's birthday...if she were coming to my house for dinner tonight, this is what I would make her. Instead, I am meeting the fam for lunch so maybe another time!

This was served at Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans, LA and something I cooked in my college cooking class.

Chicken Lazone

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. chilli powder
1-1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
4 Tbsp. REAL butter (just for you!!)
1/2 c. heavy cream
egg noodles, cooked
fresh parsley

Combine the seasonings in a bowl and coat the chicken breasts with the mixture. Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a saute pan, then cook the chicken breasts over medium heat, turning once, until done, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and hold in a warm oven. Pour the cream into the pan and lower the heat. Simmer for several minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Whisk in the remaining butter.

Arrange the chicken breasts over egg noodles. Top with the cream sauce and garnish with the chopped parsley.

Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Cream Sauce

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

This recipe is from the May/June 2006 Cooking with Paula Deen.

Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Cream Sauce

3 c. chopped cooked chicken
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
24 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Tomatillo Cream Sauce (recipe below)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Colby-Jack cheese
Sliced green onions

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 9x13 dish. In a large bowl, combine chicken and next 8 ingredients. Spoon 2 tbsp. chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Fold sides over, enclosing filling. Place filled tortillas in a single layer, seam side down, in baking dish. Spoon tomatillo cream sauce evenly over enchiladas. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake 35 - 40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Garnish with sliced green onions.

Tomatillo Cream Sauce

1 (28 oz.) can tomatillos, drained
1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. heavy whipping cream

In a large skillet, combine tomatillos, broth, chilies, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Pour mixture into container of an electric blender or food processor. Pulse mixture several times until smooth. Return mixture to skillet; stir in cream, and cook 2 minutes on low.

--

I make this with flour tortillas because I don't care for corn tortillas.  Just add more filling to a package of 8 tortillas and do everything else the same.

If you are looking for an easier version, check this out:  Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Meatballs

Today I am making these for a church baby shower...

Meatballs

2 (32 oz.) pkgs. frozen Italian meatballs
1 (18 oz.) jar grape jelly
2 (12 oz.) jars chili sauce (I'm very partial to the Heinz brand)

Mix all the ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 3 hours or until warmed through. Easy and delicious!

Kentucky Derby Day Pie (my version)

If you were coming to my house this afternoon to watch the Derby with us, this is what I would be making. It isn't the traditional "Derby Pie" but certainly just as good.

Kentucky Derby Day Pie (my version - really a chocolate chip pie)

1 frozen 9-inch deep-dish pie shell, thawed completely
2 eggs
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 c. chocolate chips (calls for semi-sweet but I usually use milk chocolate)
1 c. chopped pecans
Whipped cream or ice cream

Preheat oven to 325. Beat eggs in large mixing bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Pour into pie shell.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Hashbrown Quiche

Today is a very rainy day so I thought there was no better day to get in the kitchen and make The Dish Washer a good ole country breakfast...bacon, eggs and biscuits. This isn't a regular Saturday morning occurrence, but he has been gone a long time and I have missed him. As we were sitting at the table to eat, I was thinking it was a shame that we don't have breakfast together every Saturday like this because it is a great time to eat together at the table. Everyone knows how to make bacon, eggs and biscuits so I am not going to share that with you, but it did remind me of a recipe that MOTC made when I was home for a recent visit. This was so good that I think I could have eaten the whole thing by myself.

Hashbrown Quiche

3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded Cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

Marinades

Since I have been a little M.I.A. lately, I decided to share 3 recipes for the price of 1!!! With all three, I let the meat soak in them over night. Then The Dish Washer, remember he is great on the grill, will use the remaining to baste the meat while it is cooking. Here's hoping for a lovely grilling weekend!!

Terriyaki Marinade -- YUMMY on steak (fam fave) and chicken

1 c. soy sauce
2 c. water
diced onion
garlic powder - according to taste
ground ginger - according to taste



Garlic Dijon Marinade -- YUMMY on pork (our fave), chicken and salmon. **Pictured above - looks burned but really not. My kitchen is so dark at night and doesn't take good pictures.

1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
6 Tbsp. Olive oil


Cha Cha Cha Grilling Marinade -- YUMMY on all chicken, but particularly chicken wings (pictured above)

1/4 c. chili sauce
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. white vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder