A Thanksgiving with the Family.....

What do you remember most about Thanksgivings past ? I always remember when i was younger we would always go to my grandparents house- and there was always a house full of people & the best food EVER! As I've always said- my grandmother & mother were the best cooks- and those times with them I'll always treasure. There are foods that just take me back to those times, and today I want to share one of those foods with you.....

Granny's Cornbread Dressing:

you'll need : 1 pan of baked cornbread in a 13x9 pan , 3 cans Cream of Chicken soup, 3 cans chicken broth, 1 can Cream of Celery soup, 2 cups chopped onion, 16 slices of bread (torn), Sage to taste.

here's what you do: Crumble cornbread in a VERY large bowl. Add bread , onions & sage. Heat soups and pour over bread mixture. Stir & mash with a potato masher. Pour into a VERY large roasting pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1  1/2 to 2 hours.

AND you can't forget the Giblet Gravy to top it off!!

Giblet Gravy-

you'll need : 3 cups chicken broth, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 can Cream of Chicken soup,  1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped chicken or turkey , 3 hard boiled eggs (chopped ) , pepper to taste.

here's what you do : Mix broth & flour until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients . Cook until hot & thick.

** I hope you all  enjoy a wonderful thanksgiving with your families! Enjoy the little things that mean so much :-)  ****

Sweet Potato Casserole

Thanksgiving is FAST approaching! What are you thankful for ? One thing you can be thankful for is some good homemade cooking - say, for instance -a Sweet Potato Casserole? This recipe I got from my husband's grandmother- and it does wonders for any holiday dinner !

Sweet Potato Casserole:

 you'll need : 3 cups cooked sweet potatoes (mashed), 1 cup sugar , 1/2 cup margarine, 2 eggs (beaten), 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup milk.

*Mix all of the above ingredients and put in a baking dish. THEN...the topping...

you'll need : 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup margarine, 1 cup chopped pecans.

*Mix these ingredients well & sprinkle on top . Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min.

YUM !!!
  Enjoy :-)

Mexican Shepherd's Pie

This is one of those quick & easy recipes- just like I like !  And best of all, its something DIFFERENT ! I'll admit every once in a while I get in a "cooking funk " - where I feel like I'm cooking the same things over & over again. That's when you just want something that you've never had before. And you should have seen my husband's face when i told him what we were having for dinner- it was not pretty! But amazingly, he tried it- and actually liked it !


Mexican Shepherd's Pie-
  here's what you need :
1 pound ground beef, 1/2 cup sliced green onions, 1 cup thick & chunky salsa,
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder,  3/4 tsp. cumin, 1 can of Mexicorn (11 oz.- drained), 1 pouch of Betty Crockers loaded mashed potatoes (from a 6.1 oz box) , 1 1/3 cups water, 2 tbsp. butter, 1 cup milk,  1/2 cup shredded cheese, 1 medium tomato ( cut into wedges), Tortilla chips.

here's what you do : 
In a 10 inch skillet, cook the ground beef and a 1/4 of the onions over medium heat, for about 7 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked , then drain.  Stir in the salsa, chili powder, and cumin. Spoon corn evenly over the beef mixture in the skillet. Cover & cook over low heat until its thoroughly heated.
In the meantime, in a 2 quart saucepan, heat water & butter to boiling. Remove from heat & stir in milk & the pouch of potatoes just until blended. Let stand for about  a minute , fluff with a fork.
Spoon the potatoes over the corn in the skillet & spread evenly. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining green onions. Cover & cook over low heat for about 5 minutes more. Then top with the tomato wedges, and garnish with tortilla chips around the outside edge of the skillet.

** Makes 4 servings. (1 1/2 cups each)
*  wanna make it a little healthier  ? Try using ground turkey instead of beef, use reduced fat cheese, and lowfat milk .


Enjoy :-)

Something new, something sweet....

Sorry I have been off the blog "train" for almost a month- where does the time go? Did you miss me ? What can I say- life has gotten in the way! To beg your forgiveness- i bring you something sweet ....

Brownie Shortcake-

you'll need : 1 box (19.5 oz ) brownie mix
                     1 container (16 oz) sour cream- divided
                     1 cup of thawed Cool Whip
                     1 tbsp. powdered sugar
                     1 tsp. vanilla
                     3 cups of cut up strawberries & peeled kiwi

here's what you do :  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box.
                                  Then stir in 1/2 of the sour cream. Spoon this mixture into a greased & floured 9
                                  inch round cake pan.  Bake for 45 minutes, cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the
                                  pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Mix remaining sour cream, Cool Whip,
                                  sugar & vanilla. Cut brownie horizontally in half. Place bottom half on a plate,
                                  spread with half of the sour cream mixture. Cover with top of brownie, remaining
                                  sour cream mixture, and fruit. Store in refridgerator until ready to serve.

YUM :-)

What to do when you can't find Suddenly Salad....

I went to the grocery store yesterday, had a craving for Suddenly Salad (you know- the box pasta salad mix from Betty Crocker?) . But Kroger had none, no- not one. So, i thought I'd improvise & make my own . There's no exact measurements on this- you just have to wing it ;-) But I'll warn you- my version has a couple of add-ons.....
First, i went over to the pasta aisle & grabbed some Kroger brand rainbow colored rotini, grabbed a can of black olives, moseyed over to the produce section for portabella mushrooms & tomatoes . I was thinking of what to use for seasoning....  italian dressing packet mix! (its on the same aisle as condiments- with the Hidden Valley Ranch dip mixes).  So I took all of my ingredients home. First thing I did was cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once i rinsed, drained, & cooled it- i mixed in the mushrooms & black olives. Then i covered the bowl & put it in the fridge. Next I prepared the italian dressing mix (which according to the directions- you'll need to have some oil & vinager on hand). It was shaken & stirred- then it sat in the fridge overnight to "gel" so to speak. This morning , I got up ready to mix it up. Opened up the bowl, poured the dressing over the pasta . Then I added some Italian Seasoning, salt & pepper, parmesan cheese. Stirred all of it up well. Then i sliced a tomato up for the topping. And believe it or not- it was actually pretty good! I took it to work to share with my co-workers - and it was all gone in a few minutes :-)
Yeah! 

Enjoy :-)

Soooooooo Sweet !!!

It's late at night....you get a hankering for something sweet.... but what ? Here's a couple or recipes for some sweetness when ice cream just won't do ...!

MONKEY BREAD- 

YOU'LL NEED :  4 packages canned biscuits, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup margarine, 1/4 cup sugar.

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO : Quarter biscuuits into fourths. Roll into balls. Roll in 1/4 cup sugar  and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Put into a greased bundt pan. Melt 1/2 cup margarine and 1/4 cup sugar. Pour over top . Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

BAYOU BROWNIES-

YOU'LL NEED : 1 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 cup butter (melted), 3 large eggs, 1 box yellow cake mix, 1- 8oz. brick cream cheese (softened), 1-16 oz. package powdered sugar.

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO: Combine pecans, butter, 1 egg, and cake mix- stirring until well blended ; press in the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 pan.Set aside.  Combine remaining 2 eggs, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl ; beat at medium speed with a mixer until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over cake mix layer. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until cream cheese mixture is set. Let cool completely, then cut into sqaures.

Enjoy :-)

Three Cheese Macaroni

I LOVE Macaroni & Cheese ! Wheather it be out of a box, or from scratch- LOVE it!  I just found this new recipe, cooked it one night when we had some friends over- soooooo good & very cheeeeeeesy !

Three Cheese Macaroni-

 you'll need : 12 ounces dried elbow macaroni, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 tsp. ground white pepper, 1/4 tsp. salt, 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, 8 ounces cubed American cheese, 2 ounces mozzarella  cheese (shredded), 20 Ritz crackers (crushed).

here's what you do : preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain & return to pot. Add milk, melted cheese, pepper & salt. Stir in the cheeses. Transfer to a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake , uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir mixture. Sprinkle with crushed crackers. Bake 5 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy ;-)