Fried Cabbage

This weekend I got to be a part of The Former Roomy's baby shower! It was so much fun to head her way and get to spend time with her and her family. We had brunch with a most delicious spinach/bacon quiche, salad with strawberries and mandarin oranges, and cinnamon sugar bread ball type thing. All of these recipes I am going to have to get because I have tried to research online, but can't find ones that I think is exact to this.

On my way home I stopped at Burris Farms and picked up some onions, squash and eggplant. Would you believe I talked The Dish Washer into just being vegetarians yesterday? I couldn't believe it! He had been with his family while I was away and came home with the biggest head of cabbage I have ever seen. So yesterday, I put up some squash and then we had a meal of Rotel Squash Casserole (which I have decided is a close enough "lazy" version of Stuffed Squash), Broiled Eggplant and fried cabbage. Fried cabbage is a very simple thing to do.

Fried Cabbage

Cabbage, cut into pieces
bacon

In a large frying pan, begin cooking bacon until browned. Add cabbage pieces with a small amount of water. Add salt and pepper to taste and cover with lid. Cook down cabbage pieces and once that is done keep stirring ("frying") until the juices are cooked out.

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Papa Roni (my dad's new name thanks to a little girl that started calling him this) used to make corned beef and cabbage all the time. I loved the cabbage from that!

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

Looking for a different way to "do" green bean casserole? Look no more! I found this to be very interesting and not bad at all. We had leftovers that we ate again last night and we both thought they may have even been better as leftovers. You'd have to be the judge of that if you give this a try.

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

2 cans French-style green beans, drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. dried onion flakes

1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts, drained and sliced, optional (I didn't use!)

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 (2-1/2 oz.) slivered almonds, optional (I didn't use!)

Add soup and cream cheese to a boiler. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until cream cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in beans, onion flakes, water chestnuts, garlic salt, pepper and cheese. Spoon lightly into greased 1-3/4 quart casserole. Top with almonds. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 45 minutes.

Pecan Pie Bars

Here is the dessert we had last weekend. The Cheerwine Giver happens to love pecan pie and I had no clue so this was perfect! Sometimes when you don't know someone and what they like to eat you worry about cooking with nuts. (Or maybe that is just me.) In the background of the picture is the TV with our severe weather coverage! It's been nasty here lately!

Pecan Pie Bars

1 (18.25 oz.) box yellow cake mix, reserve 2/3 c. for later in the recipe
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 c. corn syrup

1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 inch pan. Reserve 2/3 c. cake mix. Mix together remaining cake mix, butter, and 1 egg. Pat in prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Beat together 3 eggs, vanilla, reserved cake mix, corn syrup, and brown sugar. Pour on top of cake crust. Sprinkle with pecans on top. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Stuffed Zucchini

Sorry this picture is so dark. It may not look appetizing, but it is good! Today was a great day for planting since it was so overcast. The Dish Washer and I got our Knockout Roses planted, and now we wait patiently for the rain! We even had plenty of time to enjoy the Kentucky Derby. We say this every year, but we really would love to got to Churchill Downs at least once. I don't have long to blog because we are about to put a serious cleaning on this house! We have The Friend that Loves Jiffy Cornbread Muffins coming over tomorrow and she is bringing her someone special with her for our first meeting. I hear he is coming with Cheerwine, so I like him already. I've got a new recipe I am trying out tomorrow for dessert so I'll try to get that posted soon. I wanted to share with you our dinner really fast. Apparently, I am on a stuffing kick! I wasn't sure if I would post it, but The Dish Washer went on and on about it. I need a way to keep up with it.

Stuffed Zucchini

4 zucchini

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, finely diced

1 egg

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

seasoning (I used Chef Paul Prudhommes' Poultry Magic - use whatever you like)

Preheat oven to 375. Cut zucchini in half, lengthwise. Place on cookie sheet and spray with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Then "seed" the zucchini. (Scrap out the center.) In a bowl, combine ground beef, onion, egg, tomato sauce, liberal sprinkling of the seasoning, and chopped up centers of the zucchini. Form into mini loaves that will fit into the zucchini. Bake for an additional 30 minutes.