Peanut Butter Cookies

Classic peanut butter cookies are easy to make with ingredients you probably already have on hand.

 

 

 

• 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Cream together peanut butter, shortening and sugar.
Mix in egg and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients. Do not over-mix.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls.
Place on cookie sheet and flatten with fork tines dipped in water.
Leave tine marks on surface of cookies.
Bake in pre-heated 375 degrees oven 8 to 10 minutes.
Cool slightly before removing from pan.
Cool on rack.

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Praline Cake

• 1 box butter pecan cake mix
• 1 tub coconut pecan frosting
• 4 eggs                                                                                             
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.
Mix all ingredients together.
Beat on low speed 30 seconds.
Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in pre-heated oven 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Tip:  Serve plain or top with a simply confectioners' sugar glaze.
http://mississippisupper.blogspot.com/2014/12/confectioners-sugar-glaze.html

                           
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Confectioners' Sugar Glaze

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar, milk and butter together in a saucepot.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Remove from heat.
Stir in vanilla extract.
Slowly pour over cake.

Impossible Egg Custard

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 2 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Beat eggs, sugar and flour together.
Add milk and mix well.
Add melted butter, vanilla and nutmeg.
Pour into a greased deep-dish pie pan.
Bake in pre-heated 350-degree oven for 50 minutes.

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Brownies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda.

Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water.
Mix until well blended and thickened.

Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil.

Add flour, vanilla and salt.
Mix until all of the flour is absorbed.

Spread evenly into 9X13-inch greased and floured baking pan.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool before cutting into squares.

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Easy Red Beans and Rice

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound smoked sausage
• 2 15-ounce cans Van Camp's New Orleans Style Red Kidney Beans
• 2 cups cooked rice

Saute onions in oil until translucent.
Cut sausage into 1/2-rounds.
Brown sausage with onions.
Add beans.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Serve over rice.

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Watergate Salad

Kraft Foods developed a Pistachio Delight recipe in 1975 to introduce their pistachio instant pudding.  It quickly became popular with consumers and somehow got renamed Watergate Salad.  Forty years later, the name change is still a mystery.

• 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple in its own juice, undrained
• 1 3.4-ounce box pistachio flavor instant pudding
• 1 cup  miniature marshmallows
• 1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip whipped topping

Combine first 4 ingredients in large bowl.
Stir in Cool Whip.
Refrigerate 1 hour.

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Alice Springs Chicken

A copycat recipe for the Alice Springs Chicken at Outback Steakhouse.
Alice Springs is a desert town in the Northern Territory of Australia.
 

• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 4 slices bacon, cooked
• 6 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• chopped fresh parsley for garnish

In a small bowl, combine Dijon mustard, honey, mayonnaise and lemon juice.
Pour half the sauce into a small bowl, reserve.
Place the chicken in a ziplock bag.
Pour the remaining marinade in the bag and toss the chicken to coat.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
In a skillet, melt butter and add mushrooms.
Cook for seven minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and just starting to turn golden brown.  Set aside.
Heat grill to medium high heat.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and season each piece with salt and black pepper.
Place the chicken on the grill and cook for about four minutes on each side
Transfer the chicken to an oven-safe casserole dish.
Divide mushrooms on top of each piece of chicken.
Half bacon slices and place on the chicken.
Divide Monterey Jack cheese and cheddar cheese evenly and sprinkle over each piece of chicken.
Place the chicken in preheated 400-degree oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees and the cheese has melted.
Serve with remaining honey mustard sauce on the side.
Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley for garnish.

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Waldorf Salad

The classic version of this sweet and savory salad was invented at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City in the 1890s and didn't contain walnuts.

• 1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 2 tart-sweet red apples, diced 
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/3 cup toasted walnut pieces, coarsely chopped  

Whisk together yogurt, mayonnaise and salt.
Add apples, celery and walnuts.
Toss to combine.

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Shrimp with Creole Tomato Sauce

 

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 quart diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Zatarain's crab boil seasoning
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Saute onions, celery, and garlic in oil until tender
Add tomatoes, vinegar, and corn syrup; bring to a boil.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Reduce to simmer and cook about 1 hour; stir occasionally.
Sprinkle shrimp with crab boil seasoning.
Add shrimp to tomato sauce.
Simmer 10 minutes.
Stir in heavy cream.

Serve over grits, rice, or pasta.

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Recipe for grits
http://mississippisupper.blogspot.com/2014/09/creamy-southern-grits.html

Creamy Southern Grits

For generations, Southerners have enjoyed hot creamy grits.  Grits are made from dried corn kernels that have had the hull and germ removed by an alkaline solution.  Native Americans shared this process with early European settlers.  This process makes the dried corn more digestible  and more nutritious.  The resulting product is called homily.  The homily is dried and then coarse ground to make homily grits. 


Creamy Southern Grits

• 4 cups water, divided
• 1  cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup quick cooking grits
• 1/4 cup butter

In a small pot, bring 3 cups water, milk and salt to a boil.
Slowly stir the grits into the boiling mixture.
Stir continuously until grits are well mixed.
Return to a boil, cover with a lid, lower the temperature to a simmer.
Cook for approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add additional 1 cup water a little at a time as it is absorbed, stir after each addition. 
Stir in the butter and serve.

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Parmesan Crisp Salad Bowls

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pour Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and lightly pat down, creating a seven-inch circle.
A silicone baking sheet is highly recommended.
Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and drape over custard cup.
Carefully mold over cup.
Work quickly since the cheese cools quickly.
Cool.

Make crisp one or two at a time.

Sauted Spinach with Eggs

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 sweet onion, sliced thinly
• 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 eggs, beaten
• grated Parmesan cheese

In skillet melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat.
Saute onion until transparent.
Squeeze as much water as possible from spinach.
Reduce heat to low.
Saute spinach with onions for 3 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Move spinach and onions to one side of pan.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet.
Add eggs.
Cook eggs until soft set.
Stir spinach into eggs.
Taste.  Add salt and pepper if needed.
Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Serve immediately.

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Swiss Sirlion Burgers with Tomato Gravy

1 pound ground sirloin

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 onion, sliced

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

4  slices Swiss cheese 

chopped fresh basil 

Mix together sirloin, egg, pepper and salt in a large bowl.
Shape into 4 patties.
Cook patties in a large skillet over medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove patties, reserving drippings.
Sauté onion in drippings 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and water.
Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes.
Return patties to skillet; spoon tomato mixture over patties.
Cover and cook 15 minutes; uncover and cook 5 minutes.
Place 1 cheese slice on each patty.
Cover and cook 3 minutes.
Sprinkle with basil.
Serve over rice.


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Waffles

 

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk 

 

In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Cut in shortening until mixture is very fine. Add egg yolks and milk. Beat until batter is just smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature. Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately. Makes 8 waffles Printable Recipe Tip: Double the recipe and make extra for freezer. Reheat in toaster.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling

Mix granulated sugar and oil in large bowl.
Add cocoa, beating until well blended.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add flour to cocoa mixture, beating well.
Cover bowl and refrigerate until dough is firm enough to handle, at least 6 hours.
Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
Roll in powdered sugar to coat.
Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 11 to 13 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched lightly and tops are crackled.
Cool on pan 2 minutes.
Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
Cool completely.
Makes about 48 cookies.

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