Cucumbers & Sour Cream

This has been a favorite of mine since I was little. My mom made it quite a bit in the summer months with the homegrown items out of our garden. Still a favorite of my family's today.

3 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced into half-moons
1 8oz carton sour cream
1 bundle green onions, diced
3 T white vinegar
1tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Mix all together and let sit for at least an hour to let the flavors mix and the juices from the cucumbers to mix with the sour cream and vinegar to create a creamy sauce. Perfect dish for cook-outs.

Hot Naked Sauce (over tortellini)

I don't make my own tortellini, but I'm particular about which brands I buy. I prefer those that are made & sold by local Italian restaurants. They seem to be fresher and have more filling than the typical frozen brand. You can, of course, also buy fresh or make your own, but I'm not your girl for those recipes.

Hot Naked Sauce
¼ c butter, melted
¼ c EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1-2 Tablespoons fresh sweet basil, crushed and torn (or 2-3 Tbls dried basil leaves)
3 cloves garlic peeled & minced
¼ tsp sea salt

Mix everything together and simmer over a medium heat to allow the flavors to mingle. Serve over freshly cooked pasta (tortellini or otherwise) or pour over thick slices of Italian bread and bake at 350 until golden brown.

You can add diced sun-dried tomatoes or a splash of cream for variety.

Creamy Sweet Onion Soup

4 sweet yellow onions, quartered and sliced
2 T butter or margarine
8 c beef broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
½ c flour mixed with 1c cool broth
1 c heavy cream
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
¼ c shredded cheddar, colby or monterrey jack cheese

In a large pan, sautee sliced onions in butter until softened. Add beef broth, garlic powder, salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat until soft and transluscent. Mix the flour and cool broth together to create a thickening agent. Slowly (and carefully) whisk the flour mixture into the soup. The onions can tear easily, so be gentle. Cook for an additional 20 minutes over low heat. Add the cream and the cheddar cheese and cook until the cheese has melted (about 5-10 minutes). Serve with a sprinkle of cheese on top. Excellent also with a large slice of garlic toast.

Grammy's Banana Cookies

½ c shortening
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed bananas (about 2)
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ c nuts or flavored chips (butterscotch or vanilla)

Combine shortening and sugar. Add eggs and bananas. Combine dry ingredients and fold into above mixture. Add chips/nuts and mix thoroughly.

Chill dough for an hour. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease cookie sheet. Form dough into ball and bake for 8-10 minutes. (I use a small ice cream scoop for easy cookie forming.)

God bless you, Mary Ann!

When I saw this video I wondered how well it really worked. In concept, I thought it was brilliant, but as you know, most of what you see on TV or YouTube is inaccurate. This, however, was an exception. It totally works!!!

I was very pleasantly surprised. She said to boil them about 15 minutes, but I did 20, as they still seemed a bit too firm after 15. Also, what she doesn't tell you is to use a couple more potatoes than what you think you'll need because sometimes the peel takes off a little bit more of the potato than it should. Not a lot and not with every potato, but it'll allow for a little extra just in case. Also, there may be some peel left on the potatoes. You can cut it off or leave it on. I left it on and you couldn't even tell once I mashed them.

So thank you, Mary Ann for the potato trick! You've peeled precious time off of mashed potatoes for me!

Potato Dumplings

My son begs me for these and I swear would eat them every day if I let him. My mother made them for me when I was a kid and I'm sure my son will make them for his kids. These dumplings are more of a Polish tradition than anything, but the "recipe" I use resembles the Norwegian dish, Kumla.

3 potatoes, peeled and diced into small pieces
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
 2 qt water with a bit of salt (you can also use ham, beef or chicken broth)

2 onions, diced finely
1 cup of butter or margarine

Bring the water to a boil. While it's heating up, put the diced potatoes in a food processor or blender with just enough water for the potatoes to be pureed. They should be a milkshake consistency. Pour them in a large bowl with the salt and baking powder. One cup at a time, stir in the flour. I usually mix by hand so I can feel the consistency as I'm mixing.

(It's hard to describe the consistency the dumplings should be - you don't want them as hard as noodle dough, but it shouldn't be liquidy either. The dumplings should hold their shape, for the most part, but if you hold them for any length of time they'll start to flatten out just a bit.)

Once the dough is to the consistency you want, rinse your hands in COLD water, this way the dough won't stick to your hands when you're forming them into golf-ball sized balls. One by one, slip them into the boiling water, putting each dumpling in a different spot in the pan. Once they've been in the boiling water for a minute or two, their shape is set and you don't have to worry about them sticking together too much. Once all the dough has been formed into dumplings and put into the boiling water, very carefully, stir them with a wooden spoon and turn the heat down from high to medium. Let them simmer for about 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of the dumplings).

While the dumplings are cooking, melt the margarine in a sauce pan and add the diced onions. The onions will become transluscent and tender.

Serve the dumplings (if you cooked them in broth, feel free to serve it with the broth) and pour some of the butter and onions over the top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

These are excellent in the winter or on a rainy day. They stick to your ribs (and your ass, unfortunately. They're NOT conducive to a healthy diet, that's for sure!).

It's not Heaven, it's Iowa...chops, that is

Iowa's known for their pork products. I've never been a big fan of pork, though, because I like my meat more rare and obviously, you can't cook pork rare. Well, you can, I suppose, but the results aren't pretty.

I saw a basic form of this recipe on a Facebook group and being as I can't ever just stick to the basics, I added some extra bang and came up with the most AMAZING dish I've ever tasted.

Smothered Pork Chops

4 butterflied Iowa chops - boneless with the fat trimmed off

2 boxes Stove Top stuffing, prepared per box instructions

2 large cans Cream of Mushroom soup

2 c. milk

3 onions, sliced

½ c. flour (seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder to your taste)

¼ c. vegetable oil

½ c. apple juice

¼ c. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325°

Bread the chops in the flour mix and sear in the hot oil in a skillet. While they're cooking,  prepare the stuffing mix according to box directions and set aside. Also, mix the mushroom soup and milk and pour half of it into the bottom of a large baking dish. Once the chops are browned, put them in the baking dish. and cover with the remaining mushroom soup.

With the oil still on a medium-high flame, brown the onions (seasoned as you choose- I used a bit of sage, salt, pepper and garlic powder). Carefully scoop out the onions and place over the chops in the baking pan. Leave the oil drippings in the pan and add a few tablespoons of the flour mix that didn't get used for the breading. Stir together and create a roux. Add the apple juice and brown sugar and stir until a gravy consistency is achieved. Pour the gravy over the onions and cover the baking dish with foil.

Bake at 325° for 45 minutes, covered. Remove foil and spread the stuffing over the top of the chops. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice. Also excellent with soups!

Chicken & Rice Enchilada Soup

Using a pressure cooker or instapot, pressure cook:
4 chicken breasts
1 qt chicken stock
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg enchilada seasoning
A pinch of sea salt

When the chicken is done and cooled a little, shred it or cut it into bite sized chunks. Keep the broth!!

1 each: green, red and yellow bell pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 29oz can  crushed tomatoes
1 12 oz can V-8 juice (low sodium is best)
2 29oz can diced tomatoes
1½ c long-grain white rice
1 qt chicken stock (yes, another one)
½ tsp Chili powder
½ tsp Garlic powder
¼ tsp Seasoned salt
1 T vinegar
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
1 bunch fresh Cilantro, minced
Few dashes of Tabasco or Cholula to taste

In a large soup pot, add all the ingredients listed above, plus the chicken and broth from the pressure cooker.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover, stirring every so often. Simmer for about an hour so the flavors blend.

As it's simmering, cook your rice separately, according to pkg directions. I usually do two cups dry rice to make 4c cooked.

Serve with cooked rice, tortilla chips, shredded cheese and/or sour cream.

Paula Deen's Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

(adapted from Paula's recipe on FoodNetwork.com)

2 c peanut butter
3 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Reserve 1/3 c of sugar and mix the remaining ingredients together. You can add chopped peanuts or use chunky peanut butter if you prefer the texture. I didn't. Using a miniature ice cream scoop I dipped in sugar, I formed 1½" cookie balls and then flattened with a fork, also dipped in sugar.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Before they cool, sprinkle the tops with sugar, then let sit on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Perfection.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

I went looking for an old lunch room recipe the other day. These weren't exactly what I had in mind when I went looking for the recipe, but I remember these and they were excellent, too!

½ C. butter 
12oz peanut butter 
3 C. powdered sugar 
2½ C. Rice Krispies 
1 pkg melted chocolate chips

Mix the first four ingredients together and form balls. Place the peanut butter balls on a large cookie sheet and drizzle with the melted chocolate.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

 (Yams ready to go back in the oven to toast marshmallows)

2-4 large yams
butter
2c mini-marshmallows
¼ c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400°. Scrub yams under running water and cut off any bad spots. Prick skins with a fork.  Rub a light coating of butter on the skins to soften them while baking and wrap in tin foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes (depending on size). When tender, bring them out and let set for a few minutes in the foil. Unpeel the foil and carefully slice open potatoes and spread open. Put a few dabs of butter inside each one, sprinkle with brown sugar and top with marshmallows. Put back in the oven for 5-8 mins until marshmallows have melted and are golden in color. You can also stick them under the broiler for a couple minutes until marshmallows are toasted.

Perfection!

Enchilada Sauce

I realized as I got ready to make my Chicken Tortilla Soup tonight that I didn't buy enough enchilada sauce to put in it for a double batch. Not able to get a hold of my husband to see if he could pick me up another can, I had to improvise.

I found a recipe online and tweaked it to suit what I had in the cupboard.

¼ c vegetable oil
1 pkg chili seasoning
1 pkg fajita seasoning
2 T flour

I combined these to create a wet roux, which I stirred constantly over a medium-high flame. I added:

1 14oz can tomato sauce
3 c water (I would use less if you're actually using this for enchiladas)
½ tsp Chili powder
½ tsp Garlic powder
¼ tsp Seasoned salt
1 T vinegar
½ tsp Cumin
½ tsp Coriander
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
Dashes of Tabasco or Cholula to taste

Cook over medium heat and season to taste.

Joy's Lasagna

I haven't made this yet, but I didn't want the recipe to slip through my fingers. It comes from Joy Behar, co-host of the View. Sherri raves about it, as does Whoopi. Guess we'll see!

Joy's Lasagna

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup Chopped Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
1 ½ Lbs. Sweet Italian Sausage (Out Of Casings)
1 Large 28oz Can Crushed Italian Tomatoes
1 6oz Can Tomato Paste
¼ cup Chopped Parsley
½ cup Chooped Basil Leaves
2 Tsp Sea Salt
¾ Tsp Pepper

½ Box Lasagna Noodles
1 Lb Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Extra Large Egg
1 Lb Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese For Sprinkling At End

1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and position the oven rack in the middle.

2. To make the meat sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and stir for one more minute Then add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat Breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until fully cooked and no longer pink Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

3. Soak lasagna noodles in hot tap water.

4. While the sauce is simmering, make the cheese filling In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 cup of Parmesan, the beaten egg, chopped parsley, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper Set aside.

5. Ladle one third of the meat sauce into a 9”x 12”x 2” casserole or baking pan Spread the sauce over the bottom of the dish Then add approximately half the pasta (in one layer, cover the sauce with the noodles), half the sliced mozzarella, half the cheese mixture, and one third of the sauce Add another single layer of noodles, mozzarella, ricotta, and the remaining sauce Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of Parmesan.

6. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling.

Tuna Casserole

I'm a big fan of comfort food (which is why my ass is the size it is). If you're wanting to lose weight, this recipe is NOT for you. It does, however, kick ass on a cold, rainy day, though.

1 pkg Kluski egg noodles
1 can tuna, packed in water (don't drain)
1 can low-sodium cream of chicken soup
1 can low-sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 c frozen peas (you can also use a peas/carrots mix)
1 c bread crumbs or Parmesan cheese, optional

Boil noodles according to package directions. In separate baking dish, mix together the soups, tuna and vegetables. Mix with cooked noodles and sprinkle bread crumbs or Parmesan cheese on the top. Microwave on high for 10 minutes at 100% power or pop in a 350° oven for 10-15 minutes.

Fried Green Tomatoes

I haven't made them in years (haven't had a garden), but they're SO good!! I need to track down somebody with some tomato plants and make some. I'm craving them now.

I use the same dry mix that I use for catfish breading, I just add milk and eggs to make it a batter instead of a breading.

(As always, these are rough estimates on measurements)

1 c all-purpose flour
¼ c cornmeal
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp garlic powder (the garlic & cayenne are optional, but I like mine a little spicier)
1 c buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
5-6 green tomatoes, cut into ¼" slices
vegetable oil (although bacon drippings work great and give extra flavor)

Mix the first six ingredients evenly. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the buttermilk, mixing thoroughly before combining it with the dry ingredients. The batter should resemble pancake batter, so add additional buttermilk, if needed.

Heat oil in a skillet (between 375° and 400°, ideally).

Divide tomatoes into batches, doing only a couple of slices at a time. (If you overpack the skillet, your tomatoes will become saturated with grease and end up soggy). Dip the tomato slices into the batter and carefully put them into the oil. I usually do three slices in my standard sized skillet. Flip them halfway through cooking and drain on a wire rack to keep them from getting soggy before serving (can you tell I don't do "soggy?").

You can eat as-is or mix up a country gravy with the drippings to serve with it. I've always eaten them plain, but I know my Southern relatives eat them with gravy.

(As soon as I get some tomatoes, I plan on making them again and will post pictures then.)