An Apple Crisp to Rival the Lunch Lady

I don't know about you, but there weren't many things that I remember tasting good on the school cafeteria tray.  I did love that apple crisp they served, though.  You probably remember it, too.  It was cut and served in a square, had warm, gooey apple on the bottom and a buttery crumble topping on top.  I don't ever recall it being served warm, though.

To be perfectly honest, I am not that interested in dessert.  I can take it or leave it, but my family would eat it after every meal if I would allow it!  I prefer chocolate desserts and have been known to skip traditional dessert altogether and substitute a glass of sparkling wine instead. 

This dessert is best served warm and my peeps love it
with a little Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla on the side.

When I came home from the store with 2 1/2 pounds of apples, everyone took notice.  This Apple Crisp has been the center of attention since it came out of the oven.  So for me to tell you, that this warm and gooey dessert is deliciously homey, is high praise from a cavalier dessert eater. I know you are going to LOVE this one!

Apple Crisp

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 1/2 lbs. Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
• 2 c. flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter, chilled
• 1/4 c. Land "O Lakes Light Butter, cut into small cubes

Combine 1/2 c. sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix well.  Add the apples, tossing to coate.  Spoon into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. 

Combine the flour, 1 c. of sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl and mix well.  Cut in the butter until crumbly.  Press half of the crumb mixture over the apples.  Sprinkle with the remaining crumb topping.  Arrange the cubes of light butter

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until light brown and bubbly.  Serve warm with ice cream or cool whip. 

Make-ahead Breakfast for a Delicious Start to the New Year

I know I have told you before that I am not much on traditional breakfast.  Every Saturday morning, Charlieman, makes biscuits, eggs (any way you want them), bacon or sausage and the children cheer!  I usually skip the entire affair. 

At Christmas, we have a family tradition of Christmas Brunch.  I make casseroles the day before and refrigerate them.  On Christmas Day, after a wonderful morning of opening gifts and hot chocolate sipping, we sit down to a delicious morning meal.  As my family was truly enjoying this year's brunch, I thought that these delicious treats would make a wonderful New Year's Day breakfast as well. 

So, I am sharing my menu and recipes with you in time for you to run to the store and pick up what you need, put the casseroles together tomorrow and enjoy on Sunday morning.  (or any other day you choose)

Menu:
Caramel Bottom French Toast Cassserole
Mexican Breakfast
Fresh Fruit
Mimosas


Caramel Bottom French Toast Casserole

• 1/2 cup butter (I used Land 'O Lakes Light)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 T. light corn syrup
• 1 loaf of French bread
• 5 eggs (I use Egg Beaters)
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I use fat free half and half)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

Melt the butter with the brown sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.  Pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Cut the bread into thick slices, remove crusts if desired.  Place in the prepared pan.  Combine the eggs, half and half (or milk), vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and mix well.  Pour over the bread.  Refrigerate, covered, for 8 hours or overnight.  Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350- degree oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with additional maple syrup if desired.


Mexican Breakfast

• 1 lb. ground sausage (I use reduced fat)
• 2 T. butter (I use non-stick cooking spray like Pam instead)
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten (I mix 3 egg beaters with 3 eggs)
• 1/4 c. cottage cheese (I use fat free cottage cheese)
• 3 green onion tops, chopped
• 1 T. chopped fresh parsley
• 8 tortillas (I use reduced fat flour tortillas)
• 2 c. Mexican Blend shredded cheese (optional)

Cook sausage in a large skillet, drain, and wipe skillet clean.  Melt butter in a large skillet or spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Add eggs with the next three ingredients.  Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until eggs begin to set on bottom.  Draw a spatula across the bottom of the skillet to form large curds.  Continue cooking until eggs are thickened, but moist.  Stir in sausage and 2 T. of the sour cream sauce (recipe follows). 

Spread 1 c. Sour Cream Sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Spoon egg mixture evenly down the cernter of tortillas, roll up and place seam down into baking dish.  Pour remainig Sour Cream Sauce over tortillas; sprinkle with shredded cheese if desired. 

Bake, covered, at 325 for 30 minutes.  ***Note:  This can easily be made ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to bake.  Allow to come to room temp about 30 minutes prior to baking.  Add cheese just prior to baking if you make ahead.

Sour Cream Sauce

• 1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (8 oz.) container of sour cream (I use HEB brand fat free sour cream)
• 1 (4.5 oz.) can of chopped green chiles
• 2 T. green chile salsa
• 2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chile powder
• Whisk together all ingredients. 

We love this recipe best served with Julio's Salsa!

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Recipes for all my friends:

Thanksgiving Dressing

As prepared by MaMa (Netta Mae) Craig

Cornbread (2 large skillets)

The best part of the dressing are the crispy edges!

To make cornbread:

1 cup corn meal

1 cup flour
4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 - 1 tsp. salt

1 plus cups of buttermilk

1/4 c. canola oil

2 tablespoons of Canola oil

Mix together in a bowl.  Put 2 T. oil in the bottom of skillet.  Place in HOT (425 degree oven) for ten minutes or so.  Add cornbread batter to skillet and return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Assembling Dressing: 

2 skillets of cooked and cooled cornbread

1 lb. of Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Dressing

2 ½ cups green onion

4 cups of chopped celery

2 cups chopped bell pepper

1 – 2 onions finely chopped in processor

2 Tablespoons of poultry seasoning

2 Tablespoons of sage

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

Crumble cornbread in large baking dish (like a roasting pan).  Add stuffing mix and veggies and seasoning.  Add broth from Turkey and maybe two or more cans of broth.    If it’s too stiff, put in 2 beaten eggs (Mama puts in four and uses mixer to beat them). 

Pour oil over the top of dressing (edges of pan).  Clean the sides of the pan.  Smash edges away from pan with a spatula.

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These sweet potatoes are so good, you'll never go
back to the old standard recipes!

Amaretto Sweet Potatoes

2 lbs. sweet potatoes
3/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
2 T. amaretto
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
2/3 c. chopped pecans

Combine teh sweet potatoes with enough water to cover in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Boil until tender, drain.  Remove the skins of the sweet potatoes.  Arrange the sweet potatoes in a greased 2-quart baking dish.  Process the sugar, buttermilk, butter, eggs, amaretto, vanilla, cinnamon and baking soda in a blender until smooth.  Stir in the pecans.  Spoon over sweet potatoes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  NOTE:  This can be made ahead, refrigerated, and allowed to return to room temp and baked the next day.

***North Harris Montgomery County Junior League "Taste of Texas"
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Homestyle Green Bean Casserole

Using fresh green beans in this delicious casserole
makes all the difference in the world.  Definitely
a welcome update to the traditional casserole.

1 1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
2 T. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. reduced fat milk
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 T. ranch dressing mix
2 tsp. chopped FRESH thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. butter
1 (8 oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
Non-stick cooking spray
1 c. French fried onions, crushed
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook green beans in boiling salted water to cover for 4 to 6 minutes, or to desired degree of doneness; drain.  Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain and pat dry.

Melt 2 T. butter in dutch oven over medium heat.  Whisk in flour until smooth.  Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 c. milk; cook, whisking constantly, 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes.  Gently toss mushroooms and green benas in buttermilk sauce.  Place in a 13 x 9" or 3 qt. baking dish.  Combine french fried onions and next two ingredients; sprinkle over green bean mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. 

***Southern Living, November 2011

Thanksgiving Menus, Memories & More

Well, I have just finished chopping 4 cups of celery, 2 1/2 cups of onion, 2 1/2 c. of green onion, and 2 c. of green pepper for my Thanksgiving dressing.  I don't mind chopping, especially when so many fond memories are tied to this chore.  It's almost cathartic in a way, to chop each ingredient so perfectly, sealing it in a plastic tub and checking it off my list. 

You see, I have some lists that I like to read, re-read and remember.  My grandmother kept a steno pad on her kitchen counter.  She often jotted down items that she needed the next time she was at the store.  She also made organized lists of ingredients, menus and day to day lists of what needed to be done to pull off the best holiday meal ever.  I treasure these lists.  They are written in her handwriting, crossed off painstakingly after checking to make sure everything had been completed.  I love the list by days of what to do first, then next, and finally on the day of the event. 

As I chopped this afternoon, I remembered my grandmother checking my work to make sure I was chopping finely enough to suit her.  It was hard for her to accept help in the kitchen, but I so enjoyed this time with her.  I like to think what she might say about my menu for Thanksgiving this year.  She always enjoyed reading new recipes, but the older she got, the less interested she was in actually trying those new recipes, but oh how she loved it when I brought something new home to share.  She loved anything as long as she didn't have to make it.  I think that's what 70 years of cooking does to a gal. 

So I imagined this little conversation about my menu.
Me:  Well I am trying some new dishes this year, MaMa.
MaMa:  Oh, you are?
Me:  Green bean casserole, MaMa, but without soups or canned green beans.  That's right, freshly steamed green beans, fresh mushrooms, sauteed to perfection, bound together with homemade sauce, french fried onions and panko bread crumbs.  Doesn't that sound good.
MaMa:  Oh my goodness, yes!
Me:  I am also making pumpkin macaroni and cheese.  I thought the girls would like it.
MaMa:  I thought you didn't like macaroni and cheese?
Me:  I didn't for a hundred years after using my hot pot in my college dorm room to make it almost every day, but this sounds really yummy.  And it has fresh sage, fontina cheese, and soft bread crumbs.  It's gonna be so good.
MaMa:  I know it will!
Me:  I am also making Amaretto Sweet Potatoes.  Everyone loves them.  You use buttermilk to make the sauce.
MaMa:  You don't say...
Me:  Oh, and I forgot to tell you how I am going to brine my turkey. 
MaMa:  Brine?  What in the world?
Me:  Oh my goodness it is this bath with fresh herbs, limes, oranges, bay leaves, sage, garlic, lots of salt and fresh ground pepper.  It makes that turkey so juicy!  You won't believe it.
MaMa:  You did get a Butterball, didn't you?  They are the best, you know. 
Me:  Yes 'mam.  I've been paying attention. 
MaMa:  I know it's going to be wonderful.  Afterall, you got MaMa's cooking genes, you know?
Me:  I sure hope so....

Thinking of my precious grandmother as I prepare for Thanksgiving.  I thought I would share my menu just for nostalgic purposes. 

Turkey (bathed in a brine and roasted in my handy-dandy roaster)
Cornbread Dressing (my grandmother's recipe of course)
New & Improved Green Bean Casserole
Creamy Brussel Sprouts
Amaretto Sweet Potatoes
Buttery Creamed Potatoes & Gravy
Pumpkin Macaroni & Cheese
Deviled Eggs
Iced Tea, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir

Fudge Cream Pie, Pecan Pie, and Apple Pie

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope your day is filled with wonderful dishes, family, friends and special memories.

Southern Traditions & Hoppin' John

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to make a dish called Hoppin' John. She didn't make it often, but I can remember having it with her famous cornbread. (That recipe is also on my blog in my archives)  As I have told you before, fall really reminds me of my sweet little grandmother. I'm not sure why this time of year stirs up so many memories, but I find myself cooking a lot of her dishes lately. I know she would have been amazed at my twist on her traditional Southern dish AND that it was cooked in the slow cooker or crock pot. I tweaked it a bit to make it a complete one-dish meal for my family. Hope doesn't always get the name right and sometimes calls it Poppin' John. It makes me smile! Both girls loved this dish. I hope your family will too. : )

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom and read
the history of Hoppin' John.  I can't make this
without thinking of my sweet MaMa Craig!

Hoppin’ John
Slow Cooker Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, run through a press or finely chopped
1 T. Adams Best Cajun Seasoning (substitute Tony Chachere’s NO SALT version if your store doesn’t carry it)
2 (16 oz.) packages frozen black-eyed peas
1 ¼ c.  sliced green onion, divided
2 cups HOT water
¾ c. chopped red bell pepper
2 finely chopped, seeded jalapeño peppers
2 tsp. hot sauce (Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce)
1 T. Adams Best Cajun Seasoning
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 (14 ½ oz.) can Cajun stewed tomatoes, undrained
2/3 c. UNCOOKED converted rice (Uncle Ben’s)

DIRECTIONS

1. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Drain, return to pan, add 1 T. Cajun seasoning and mix well. Store in a large Ziploc bag or plastic tub for later.
2. Place peas, ¾ c. green onions, water and next 7 ingredients into a 4 qt. slow cooker; stir well.
3. Cover with lid and cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
4. Stir in tomatoes, beef, and rice and cover and cook an additional hour or until peas and rice are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Stir in remaining green onions.

This is one of those meals that needs some Sweet Tea.  When I was growing up, we drank iced tea with every meal.  I didn't know there was such a thing as unsweetened tea, as most Southerners I know only drink sweet tea.  So if you are anxious to sip a glass of tea tonight, try this on for a twist:
2 family-sized Lipton tea bags (we only use decaffeinated)
1 regular size Earl Grey tea bag (decaffeinated as well)
10 cups of boiling water
3/4 c. sugar (we use Splenda)

I steep my tea in on old automatic coffee maker.  I just run the water through with my tea bags in the caraffe.  When all the water has run through.  I turn off the warmer and let steep.  When it's cool, I pour it into a big pitcher and add the sugar/splenda.  I then add ice to make it a full pitcher.  And ice tea should always be served in a pretty glass.  : )  Just a little tip from me to you. 

History of Hoppin' John
Hoppin' John is found in most states of the South, but it is mainly associated with the Carolinas. Gullah or Low Country cuisine reflects the cooking of the Carolinas, especially the Sea islands (a cluster of islands stretching along the coats of south Carolina and northern Georgia). Black-eyed peas, also called cow peas, are thought to have been introduced to America by African slaves who worked the rice plantations. Hoppin' John is a rich bean dish made of black-eyed peas simmered with spicy sausages, ham hocks, or fat pork, rice, and tomato sauce.

There are many variations to traditional Hoppin' John. Some cook the peas and rice in one pot, while others insist on simmering them separately.

The first written recipe for Hoppin John appeared in The Carolina Housewife in 1847.

Most food historians generally agree that Hoppin John is an American dish with African/French/Caribbean roots. There are many tales or legends that explain how Hoppin' John got its name:

It was the custom for children to gather in the dining room as the dish was brought forth and hop around the table before sitting down to eat.

A man named John came "a-hoppin" when his wife took the dish from the stove.

An obscure South Carolina custom was inviting a guest to eat by saying, "Hop in, John"

The dish goes back at least as far as 1841, when, according to tradition, it was hawked in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina by a crippled black man who was known as Hoppin' John.

Great Halloween Supper--Ready when you are!

Do you love Halloween?  I don't know about you, but here, in The Woodlands, TX, we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of cooler temperatures.  They have finally arrived and this wonderful crock pot enchilada casserole is great for a chilly night.  This recipe can be made late in the day, as it requires only 2  hours of cooking. You can whip it up this afternoon and have it for supper after a round of trick or treating. 

Sometimes when we have some leftover queso, I add that in
as one of my layers.  It makes this dish super tasty and creamy!

Here's all you need to know:

INGREDIENTS
1 to 1 1/2 lb. ground beef or ground turkey (LEAN)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bottle of Taco Sauce (old El Paso or Taco Bell brands will do)
1 can of Enchilada Sauce.  (I recommend Hatch brand Tex-Mex Enchilada Sauce)
1 can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1 can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
1 4 oz. can of chopped green chiles
1 package of shredded cheddar cheese (I use reduced fat)
12 tortillas (I use low-fat, whole wheat, and always buy 2 packages, b/c sometimes 12 isn't enough)

DIRECTIONS

1. Brown ground beef/turkey with onion and drain.
2. Cut tortillas into fourths, like little pieces of pie.
3. (Reserve 1/4 c. of enchilada sauce) Mix together the enchilada sauce, taco sauce, soups and green chiles.  Add ground beef and onion and mix to incorporate.
4. Add the reserved 1/4 c. of enchilada sauce to crock pot that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Add next a layer of tortillas, meat and sauce mixture, sprinkle with shredded cheese and repeat.  I like to end with a layer of tortillas.
6. Cook on low for 2 hours, then change setting to warm until you are ready to serve. 

We enjoy this delicious Tex-Mex Enchilada Casserole with taco salad.  It's one of our favorite crock pot dishes.  Enjoy!