Friday, April 26, 2013

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients: 
· 3 eggs, beaten 
· ½ cup butter, softened 
· 1 ½ cups white sugar 
· 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour 
· 1 cup buttermilk · 1 teaspoon vanilla 
· 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice 
· 1/8 Tablespoon cinnamon 
· 1 9-inch deep dish pie crust


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat eggs until frothy; add butter, sugar and flour. Beat until smooth.
3. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice and cinnamon; pour into pie shell.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until center is firm.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Broccoli, Grape and Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
· 1 cup chopped pecans
· 1/2 (16-oz.) package bow-tie pasta
· 1 pound fresh broccoli
· 1 cup mayonnaise
· 1/3 cup sugar
· 1/3 cup diced red onion
· 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
· 8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
3. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
4. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems, and separate florets into small pieces using tip of a paring knife. Peel away tough outer layer of stems, and finely chop stems.
5. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add broccoli, hot cooked pasta, and grapes, and stir to coat.
6. Cover and chill 3 hours.
7. Stir bacon and pecans into salad just before serving.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

For the love of the Vidalia

So some things in life come around once in a lifetime ... true love, birth of your first child, a trip to the Swiss Alps, a Super Bowl ticket, Georgia winning the SEC.  Well okay, some things we are blessed to experience more than once in a lifetime.  Some once a year in the spring and yes, friends, it's that time again!   What we've all been waiting for ...(cue the drum roll please)  the arrival of the first crops of the Vidalia Onion straight from the fields of Toombs County, Georgia!  I, for one, am extremely excited when I hear that those big beautiful onions have arrived at J&J Foods!  Woohoo!  Over the next couple of weeks,  I'll be posting some great recipes using those beauties!  After all, they are the state vegetable of Georgia.  So let's have some Southern pride and eat a Vidalia today!  They won't last long...

Vidalia Onion Casserole

Ingredients:
5 medium Vidalia onions, sliced
1 stick butter
1 stack of Ritz Crackers, crumbled
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Melt butter and sauté onions until limp, not brown.
3. Place half of onions in a 9x13 casserole dish; sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Top with ½ of Ritz crackers.
4. Repeat layers.
5. Bake at until brown about 20 minutes.

Serves 6-8.  Enjoy! 

Friday, April 19, 2013

Key Lime Cream Cheese Crumble Cake

Ingredients for the Base:
· 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® vanilla cake mix, reserving 1 cup for topping
· 1/2 cup butter, melted
· 1 egg

Ingredients for Filling:
· 1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
· 1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
· 3/4 cup Key lime juice
· 2 eggs, beaten

Ingredients for the Topping:
· Reserved 1 cup cake mix
· 1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or combination of both
· 3 tablespoons butter, softened
· Powdered sugar for garnish


Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In small bowl, reserve 1 cup of the dry cake mix for the topping; set aside.
3. In medium bowl, mix remaining cake mix, 1/2 cup melted butter and 1 egg until well combined. Press in bottom of pan; set aside.
4. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and 2 eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Pour filling evenly over base in pan.
5. With fork, mix reserved cake mix with pecans and 3 tablespoons softened butter until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over filling.
6. Bake about 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan at least 20 minutes.
7. Before serving, sprinkle individual servings with powdered sugar.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps with Basil Dipping Sauce

Ingredients for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps:
· Cooking spray 
· 2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total) 
· 1 tablespoon olive oil 
· 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (heaping) 
· 1/4 cup panko crumbs (heaping) 
· 1/8 teaspoon sea salt 
· Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for Dipping Sauce:
· 1/2 cup Sour Cream
· 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
· 3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
· 1 scallion, chopped
· 1/2 clove garlic
· 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds.
3. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with oil.
4. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, panko crumbs, salt, and a few turns of pepper. Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on to stick, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Remove with spatula. Serve immediately with Dipping Sauce.
7. To make sauce, to sauce ingredients in the food processor and pulse a couple of times.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake

Ingredients:
· 1 box of white cake mix
· 2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding
· 1/2 cup vegetable oil
· 1 1/4 cups water
· 4 eggs
· 4 tablespoons cinnamon (divided)
· 1 cup brown sugar
· 2 cups powdered sugar
· 2-4 tablespoons milk


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. 
3. In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, puddings, oil, water, eggs, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon with electric mixer. Pour half of the batter into your prepared Bundt pan.
4. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over cake batter in pan.
5. Pour remaining cake batter on top of brown sugar mixture.
6. Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Let cake rest on counter in pan 10 minutes. Then, invert cake onto serving plate to finish cooling.
8. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk to form a glaze. Add more powdered sugar if it's too runny and more milk if it's too thick. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Corn Casserole

If you've been to any pot luck in the South, you've had this dish. Or if you've eaten with the Wiley family more than a couple times, you've had this dish. This could not be easier and oh my goodness, at the delicious. This, my friends, is a keeper.

Corn Casserole:

Ingredients:
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter.
3. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar.
5. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
6. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Fabulous Fruit Salad

Okay, I couldn't stand that y'all would just have three of my favorites this week. I had to add another favorite or two. So here goes, one of my favorite fruit salad recipes. And yes, it is fabulous.

Fabulous Fruit Salad:

Ingredients:
1 red apple, cored and peeled
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and peeled
2 small cans or 1 large can mandarin oranges, drained
2 stalks celery, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 (8 ounce) container nonfat lemon yogurt

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.
3. Chill at least 2 hours. Serve cold.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Cashew Chicken Casserole

So when I started pondering the recipes for this week I thought about a conversation that I had with Emily earlier in the week. She was asking about the Corn Casserole recipe that I had made for Easter lunch last week. We couldn't find this recipe anywhere in the almost three years worth of What's for Supper Recipes archives which I found hard to believe but nonetheless, it was true. Usually I pick a theme for the week like Easter or Final Four Food, etc., but for this week, I wanted to pull out a few recipes that I just plain ole love to cook. So without further ado, today's is an "oldy but goodie;" followed by the Corn Casserole on Wednesday and oh my word, Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake on Friday. It's a good line-up folks. Stay tuned you might see a couple more favorites this week. 

Cashew Chicken Casserole:


Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni 
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
½ cup cubed cheddar cheese
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 1/3 cups milk
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup crushed butter crackers like Ritz (about 20 crackers)
3/4 cup cashew halves


Directions:
1. In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish, layer the first seven ingredients in the order listed.
2. In a large bowl, combine the soups, milk and broth. Pour over water chestnuts.
3. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Toss butter and cracker crumbs; sprinkle over casserole. Top with cashews.
5.  Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until macaroni is tender.
Yield: 6 servings.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Mississippi Comeback Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup of olive oil 
  • 1/4 cup of chili sauce 
  • 1/4 cup of ketchup 
  • 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce 
  • 1 teaspoon of spicy mustard 
  • 1 cup of mayonnaise 
  • 8 turns of the pepper grinder 
  • Couple dashes of hot sauce 
  • 1/4 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning 
  • 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder 
  • 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder 
  • The juice of 1/2 of a lemon 

Directions:
1. Put all of the ingredients in a blender and process until well mixed.
2. Store in fridge.
3. Use on everything - fried, grilled or baked meats; grilled, fried or baked seafood, (especially crab cakes and lobster rolls); smoked poultry; french fries or pan fried potatoes and onions; fried and raw vegetables; sandwiches; salads; etc.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

It's All about the Roux

I'm not a patient person. It simply isn't one of my gifts. So when I decided to make a roux for a gumbo I was making, instead of reading or studying about it, I called an expert. See I have a friend whose Louisiana roots run deep and I knew she loved to cook, so obviously she was my go-to girl. Within minutes she had asked me all the pertinent questions like: what kind of pan are you using? (iron skillet - got that right); what ingredients are you using? (butter and flour - got that right too); and does your schedule allow for standing at the stove for the next 15 or 20 minutes constantly stirring the said roux? Hmmm...okay. This is a must apparently so it doesn't burn but turns a beautiful brown color. Well, I was already committed to my roux so I wasn't going to abandon it now so yes, I'll take the challenge. And by gum(bo), it worked! So if you love a good gumbo, you must know your roux. Here are a few tips. 

If you are a beginner at roux start out with a half flour, half oil or butter mixture. The more oil you use the less likely it will burn too fast. As you get better at it you can use less oil. Add the oil and flour to the pot and set the fire on medium. Some of the best roux were made in a cast iron pot or cast iron skillet. 

Using a spatula, stir the roux scraping the entire bottom of the pot every time. Using a spatula allows you to move all of the mixture around and you don't have to make more than a few passes to do it. Stir the mixture every 15 seconds or so. The roux will bubble at first then will get smooth as it cooks. 

WARNING: Don't be tempted to walk away and do something else, if the roux burns at any point during the process, it is no good. Once the roux has turned a medium brown lower the fire just a little. Keep stirring as you were before. You will notice with each stirring the roux gets a tiny bit more brown. Actually, it was easier than I thought and that gumbo sure was good. 

By the way, if you're a Southern Living Magazine reader, there’s a great article in the February issue about this very subject.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Ingredients for Blue Cheese Sauce: 
  • 1 cup mayonnaise 
  • 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese 
  • 1/3 cup chopped celery 
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar 
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

Ingredients for Chicken:
  • Peanut oil, for frying 
  • 3 eggs 
  • 1/2 cup hot sauce 
  • 1/2 pound boneless chicken breasts tenders, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness 
  • Pinch salt 
  • Pinch freshly ground black pepper 
  • 2 cups self-rising flour 
  • 12 slider buns 
  • 12 slices tomato, optional 
  • 12 lettuce leaves, optional 

Directions for Sauce:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, blue cheese, celery, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.


Directions for Chicken:
1. In a deep-fryer, electric skillet or heavy-bottomed pot, heat enough peanut oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs with the hot sauce.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and then coat in flour. Fry the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Toss the chicken into the blue cheese sauce.
5. Put 1 piece of chicken on the bottom half of each bun. Top with tomato and lettuce, if desired.
6. Cover with the bun tops and serve immediately.