Archive for Nana’s Recipe Box
Nana’s Recipe Box
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been awhile since I posted a recipe so I thought I would share a new favorite with you. Like most of you I am usually in a rush and I like things that are quick and easy to make. I also love casseroles! Remember, I feed a lot of guys at this house and the word “casserole” has them rolling their eyes and hopping in the car to sneak out to Micky D’s…usually. This casserole they actually like. Hope your family enjoys it too!
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Grated onion to taste (optional)
1 (10 oz.) pkg. chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 to 1 1/2 c. grated cheese (Longhorn)
1/2 c. fine bread crumbs
Cook chicken pieces by boiling and then lower to a simmer for about 35 minutes. Remove skin (if there is any) and chop into bite size pieces. Put chicken in bottom of 9 by 12 inch casserole dish. Combine soups, mayo, lemon juice and onion in bowl. Pour this over chicken. Then spread broccoli as the third layer. Top with cheese and bread crumbs.
Bake uncovered at 350 for 50 to 55 minutes.
Nana’s vegetable soup
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s cold and rainy outside and my daughter just called and asked for my vegetable soup recipe. It’s sounding pretty good to me me too, so I may just make some for supper. Here’s how I make it.
Ingredients
Left over roast and roast gravy or 1 large package of stew meat
One package dry onion soup mix
three or four potatoes
three or four carrots
package of frozen veggies
three or four cans tomato sauce
salt, pepper, oregano
What to do-
Brown stew pieces or cut up roast (the roast is better but stew pieces work)
combine tomato sauce, meat, dry onion soup mix and simmer on stove
Peel and slice potatoes and carrots. chop them up and put in mixture
Simmer until it bubbles, add oregano, salt and pepper
Turn down heat to medium and add package of frozen veggies
simmer some more and taste to see if it needs more salt or pepper
When potatoes and carrots stick tender it’s done
We like it with bread sticks but crackers work too.
May your stuffing be tasty
Posted by: | CommentsThanksgiving Wishes for you
May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump,
May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!
A friend shared this poem with me and I just had to share it with you. Extra calories don’t go to my thighs, they go to my stomach. But hey, they gotta go somewhere, right?
Abby was here last night and we tried out a new recipe that’s sure to add more than just a few calories but boy is it yummy.
Putting nuts on the cookie bars
We had these last Sunday night at a Thanksgiving dinner before church. My good friend Cherie made them and after I ate one I new I had to have the recipe. The recipe doesn’t call for semi-sweet chocolate chips but we added some anyway, just because we love chocolate.
Neiman Marcus Brownies
Butter Pecan Cake Mix (When I went to the store they were out of butter pecan mix so I used Carmel cake mix and it was just as good)
1 stick melted margarine
1 egg
Mix and spread in the bottom or a greased 9X13 pan
1 8oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
1 stick margarine (softened)
2 eggs
Cream together
Add 1 box powdered sugar
pour over cake mix, sprinkle with 1 1/2 cup of pecans.
Bake at 300 degrees for about 55 minutes. The edges will start to brown, but the center will still be a little jiggly.
It’s better to let them cool for awhile before you eat them but I had a house full of boys last night and they couldn’t wait.
Have a great day and remember, holiday calories don’t count!
Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go…
Posted by: | CommentsI suppose every family has Thanksgiving traditions and special recipes that are passed down from one generation to the next. If you asked any of my children to name their favorite Thanksgiving food I feel pretty sure they would each pick Grandma Layne’s dressing balls.
Every year for as long as I can remember she made the dressing and the gravy. My cousin Sarah and I finally realized that Grandma would not be around forever and Sarah was assigned an apprenticeship. She was to be Grandma Layne’s assistant and learn how to carry on the tradition.
Mom always did the meats, so I am the turkey and ham woman. Sarah makes the dressing balls. Sarah’s task was harder because Grandma never made it the exact same way and she never wrote the recipe down. But by being her assistant Sarah was able to copy the main ingredients and I’m glad to report that our families still fight over how many dressing balls you are allowed to eat.
I would gladly share the recipe here with you if I knew it, but I don’t. I just pour gravy over them and eat them.
Sarah, if you read this and send me the recipe I’ll gladly add at the bottom of this post!
Recipe-Sarah finally gave in and gave up the recipe!
9 cups biscuit crumbs
3 cups corn bread crumbs
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 cup celery, chopped finely
1 T. poultry seasoning
1/2 T. sage
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Lots of chicken broth–until mixture is gooey, sticky but not runny
Salt and Pepper to taste
Crumble all biscuit and corn bread (We always use homemade bread and I put mine in a food processor). Measure after they are crumbled. Add chopped onion, celery, poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Heat broth to a simmer. Pour into the bread crumb mixture and mix well. It will take more broth than you think. Add enough so that it can stirred easily. Taste and add more seasonings to get the taste you desire. After you are happy with the taste, add the beaten eggs and mix well. Make sure to taste before adding the eggs! Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll into golf ball size balls and place on greased sheet pan. Bake until golden brown. About 20 minutes.
Best served with turkey gravy over them!
Comfort food-Mom’s lasagna
Posted by: | CommentsMy nephew, Price, loves my lasagna. So when he has a really bad day (failed his driver’s test) or a really good one (He blew the top out of ACT test) I make him some lasagna. The rest of my family loves it too, just not as much as Price.
It’s not actually “my lasagna.” Mom taught me how to make it and I’ve made it so often I can practically make it blindfolded with one spatula tied behind my back. Mom and dad got married when she was only sixteen years old and she always regretted not going to college. She waited until my brother and I were both in school and then enrolled. The closest campus was an hour away and going to class, studying and raising a family was not easy. During those years mom looked for quick, easy recipes that appealed to us. I’m not sure who gave her the lasagna recipe but from the beginning it was a winner. It’s easy, tastes great (just ask Price) and takes only 30 minutes to bake.
Mom’s Lasagna
Ingredients
One box lasagna noodles
One large container low fat cottage cheese
Two eggs
Black Pepper
3 packages shredded mozzerella cheese
2 lb. ground beef
2 cans Hunts or Ragu spaghetti sauce with meat
Instructions
Brown beef, drain, add two cans of Hunt’s spaghetti sauce with meat, bring to bubble, set aside
Prepare noodles according to package
In a mixing bowl mix two eggs, cottage cheese and lots of black pepper
In lasagna pan alternate layers of meat, cottage cheese mixture, noodles, mozzerella cheese
Repeat layers.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
My three lasagna loving nephews, Thomas (left) Jackson (middle) Price (right)
Nana’s Recipe Box–Mama Jessie’s relish
Posted by: | Comments
This story and recipe was sent to me by one of my best buddies, Tootsie (her name is Teresa but no one that I know has ever called her that). She and I have known each other since high school. As a matter of fact, she spent the night with me the night before she eloped with her husband Mike (she didn’t tell me she was eloping and I’m still mad about that and it’s been over 30 years!) Tootsie sells real estate, has two handsome sons and is also a new nana. Thanks, Toots, for sending the story and recipe and also for being my friend. I love you!
Mama Jessie’s Relish
by Tootsie Wilson
Mama Jessie used to can everything in her garden and anybody else that had something that was going to waste. They also had hog killing time every year and that wasn’t my favorite. I wasn’t too keen on the canned sausage or what were those things (fried pig skin) cracklings? She made the best biscuits and told me how. Every time I’d go to visit she always sent me home with something. My favorite was her relish.
In later years I thought it must be salsa because I couldn’t find it anywhere and didn’t have her recipe. One day I was talking to a friend about our gardens and our peppers and he mentioned the relish his mother was making. It WAS as close to Mama Jessie’s as I’ve ever tasted.
I’ve made several batches and was supposed to stop by tonight and get more peppers from him. Mama Jess always had several varieties of peppers growing in the garden and in pots on the front porch. Mother & I kept one of her favorites going for years and used it in soups, etc. Anyway, Mama’s relish was my favorite without a doubt and we are all in pinto bean, cornbread & relish heaven right now. As long as the peppers are growing I’m canning like there won’t be any more!
Here’s how you make it
3 cups apple cider vinegar 7 onions
3 cups sugar 48 long red (cayenne or tabasco) peppers
2 T mustard seeds I also do a combination of jalapeno & red.
2 T. of salt
Grind the peppers, chop the onions and cook for 30-35 minutes then put into clean hot jars.
Makes it hotter if you leave the seeds of the jalapeno’s in it. I make it both ways. Most people don’t like as hot as I do.
