Baked Beans

It's almost the Fourth of July. Time for barbecues and lots of outdoor fun. That's what the ads say anyway. I'm fairly certain those folks don't live in the Deep South with temperatures near or exceeding 100 every day and lots and lots of humidity. Air conditioning is a wonderful thing.

Still, I couldn't wait to share this Baked Bean recipe with you. My mother uses it to dress up a can of beans. Better make extra!

Baked Beans

1 can baked beans
3 tablespoons brown sugar
onion, finely chopped
sweet pickles, finely chopped
3 tablespoons syrup

Mix all ingredients together. Don't forget this is the South so we all cook according to our individual tastes. Mother really likes onions so she adds a little more than I do. Suit your own taste. Sweet pickles around here are homemade but you can buy them already chopped and in a jar at the supermarket. The syrup is just basic pancake syrup. Nothing fancy.

Place in a rectangle pyrex dish (or something similar) and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Serve.

Eggplant Casserole

My Dad's sister was probably the most wonderful cook ever. She could cook virtually anything. A trip to her house was like an awesome adventure. I could eat and eat and eat and never have enough because it all tasted so good. Okay. Maybe not the turnips. I don't like turnips. But everything else was fabulous.

She was raised on a farm with my Dad and two way younger brothers. She could churn her own buttter -- and did -- and make biscuits and cakes and can vegetables and ... Well, you understand. Sadly, she died many years ago from cancer. I still miss her Cornbread Dressing every year at Thanksgiving.

This recipe is one I got from her. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Eggplant Casserole

1 large eggplant
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
grated cheddar cheese
saltine crackers

Wash and peel the eggplant. Cut it into chunks and boil in salty water for about 15 minutes. It will be tender.

Drain the water out and mash the eggplant with a fork or other kitchen tool until it's the consistency of batter.

Stir in egg and milk. Place in an oven-safe container. I usually use a pyrex dish. Sprinkle the cheese and crumble saltines on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

If you're trying to feed a larger crowd, this recipe is easy to enlarge. Just add an extra egg for each eggplant. You don't need to increase the milk by that much. Just stir a little extra in the "batter."

My aunt always sprinkled grated onion on top with the cheese and crackers. I prefer not to do it that way. I guess it's a personal preference type of thing. Much of Southern Cooking is that way.

Sweet Corn

I received a frantic call from my cousin's wife yesterday. I laugh as I write that. She gets upset with me for referring to her as "my cousin's wife." It's a correct description but it doesn't begin to tell others about our relationship. She is my friend who happens to be related to me. God has truly blessed me in that way.

As she called, she was looking at some corn with no idea how to freeze it. For those of you who have never frozen or canned vegetables, you can't just stick something in the freezer and expect to eat it over the winter. It's a little more involved than that.

The first issue is that she didn't know if it was sweet corn or field corn. Sweet corn is wonderful eaten right off the cob. Field corn really needs to be removed from the cob and creamed. She informed me that it didn't really matter. She prefers corn-on-the-cob and that's what she wanted to freeze.

After a quick consultation with my mother (who knows most things about such things), these are the directions.

Freezing Sweet Corn

Remove the husk from the corn and clean it thoroughly. Leave no little hairs to stick in your teeth! I prefer smaller ears of corn so I cut them in half. Either way works.

Place the corn in water. We use big, white enamel pans that my mother has had forever. Normal people probably use large pots. Bring the water to a boil for 5-7 minutes. This is called blanching. I don't even know if I've spelled that right. I do know that pretty much all vegetables that are headed for the freezer must be blanched before said trip.

Remove the corn from the stove and pour out the boiling water. Carefully. Remember that steam burns just as badly as direct hot water. Place the corn in a bowl of ice water until it cools.

Put corn in plastic bags made especially for the freezer. We generally put five per bag. I'm not sure why except that somewhere over the years my mother determined that five ears of corn per bag was the perfect serving size.

When you're really to eat the corn, remove it from the freezer and put it in a boiler or pan. Add water and a little salt. Bring it to a boil. Cook until tender. Serve.

Tuna Salad

One of the great last minute staples in any kitchen is a can of tuna. You can make the Tuna Casserole (see recipe in earlier blog) or a Tuna Salad. What's wonderful about Tuna Salad -- especially this time of year -- is that you don't have to turn the oven on.

You can serve Tuna Salad with fruit for a really light, refreshing meal. This doesn't mean low-calorie. Anything with mayonnaise is not low calorie. But who cares? We're all so active in this 97-plus degree weather that it doesn't matter. Right? Okay. But it's good anyway.

Tuna Salad

1 can of tuna
2 hard-boiled eggs
mayonnaise
sweet pickles

Remove the shell from the eggs. Finally chop the eggs. You can buy sweet pickles already chopped up. Down here in Alabama, we make our own sweet pickles. Then we get to chop them up before putting them in the Tuna Salad.

Drain the water (you do use water-packed tuna?) from the tuna. Combine tuna with eggs and pickles. Add mayonnaise to taste. I don't like a lot of mayo. I prefer just enough to moisten and stick the ingredients together. My mother tends to have the ingredients swimming in mayo. You choose.

Serve the Tuna Salad with saltine crackers.

Tuna Casserole

Many, many years ago a friend shared her Tune Casserole recipe with me. I'd never heard of Tuna Casserole. Shocking, I know. But she explained that it's a wonderful last minute item. The ingredients are items we usually have in our kitchens anyway.

She made one and I learned something else about Tuna Casserole -- it's good! My friend and I lost touch a long time ago. She moved. I moved. Lives that were once parallel went in separate ways. Still, I always think of her with a smile when I make a Tune Casserole. I hope you enjoy it too!

Tuna Casserole

One 5 oz can of tuna
One 10 3/4 oz can of Cream of Mushroom soup
One 8 oz package wide egg noodles
shredded cheddar cheese

Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Sir in the tuna and soup. Place in a glass casserole bowl. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. How much depends on your taste buds. I love cheese so I make sure to cover the top. You might prefer a lighter sprinkling.

Cook in a 325 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until heated thoroughly.

Enjoy!

Fried Sweet Potato

Time seems to really get away from me this time of year! Is it the same for you? We have more daylight but far more to do. Snap beans are getting ready in the garden and that means picking, snapping and either cooking or canning. Okay. I don't do the picking or the canning. My job is weed patrol, which is sweaty and dirty. I do enjoy the snapping so it's almost not like a job. It's a wonderful excuse to sit down and watch a movie without feeling guilty. Just don't tell anyone I said that.

A really easy addition to any meal is Fried Sweet Potato. It takes just a small amount of time and then you've got another vegetable to put on the table at dinner. I usually just do one to feed two or three people. If you're cooking for more, obviously cook a few more potatoes.

Fried Sweet Potato

sweet potato
salt
sugar

Wash and peel the sweet potato. Cut it into slices that are about 1/4-inch thick. Thinner is okay. Don't do thicker though. Lightly salt the slices. I don't like a great deal of salt. If you like lots of salt, then go ahead and throw it on. Just don't blame your water retention on me.

Heat cooking grease in a skillet until it's medium hot. If the grease it too hot, the potato slices will burn before they cook. You probably guessed the next step. Put the slices in the grease and cook until they're lightly browned. Do NOT head off and do something else while you're doing this. These slices brown in what seems like seconds.

Put a folded paper towel on a plate. This is the Southern way of soaking up a little grease. Place the cooked sweet potato slices on the paper towel. Lightly sprinkle sugar on the warm slices.

Serve.

Taco Salad

Okay. How many folks out there are watching their pennies these days? Yeah. That's what I figured. Most of us are doing that right now. I found the most wonderful site recently. It's kraftfoods.com. It was in an insert in the newspaper. I figured I'd try it out. I didn't have much hope though. Usually those coupon things are for products I don't use and really don't want to try. That was so not the case this time. Lots and lots of coupons for things I actually buy and use. Check it out.

Taco Salad is one of those perfect items to take off from home when the trip calls for a covered dish. Especially this time of year. It's easy to prepare and folks seem to like it. I never get to bring any home.

Taco Salad

1 pound ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 (16-oz) can of red kidney beans, drained
1 (16-oz) can cream-style corn
tortilla chips, crushed.
lettuce, washed and shredded
shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato, peeled and diced

Cook the ground beef in a skillet until it's brown. Stir to crumble. You can add a little water, like maybe a tablespoon or so, to make it less likely to stick while it cooks. When it's brown, drain the fat and water off.

Add the taco seasoning mix, corn and beans. Stir until completely mixed.

Place crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of a serving bowl. I use a glass pie plate or a shallow corningware bowl. Make sure to cover the bottom. Place the meat mixture on top of the chips.
Put lettuce on top of that. Then add the cheese. I always put lots of cheese because I love cheese.
Add the tomato, spreading around on the top to make it look pretty.

This makes a fairly large amount though it won't seem that way when people start eating. It goes fast. One thing I love though is that you can use half the meat mixture and make a smaller taco salad. Refrigerate the other half and make a "fresh" salad another day. That's especially wonderful when you're taking it off from home. You have a Taco Salad to take and a Taco Salad to keep.

Corn on the Cob

It's a holiday weekend -- and it's raining in southern Alabama. Poor folks going to the beach. Probably won't have a great deal of sun for the next few days. That has never stopped a good Southern family from eating. In the South, any time is a good time to eat.

Corn on the Cob is a wonderful item to prepare. Most kids love to eat it. Just don't tell them it's a vegetable. Adults like it too. Unless they have false teeth issues. I won't even go there. Just remember that if an older person declines, don't take it personally and don't push them to eat it anyway.

Fortunately, this recipe is prepared inside. It's also something kids can help prepare. Be careful when the corn comes out of the microwave though. It will be hot so it's best if adults handle that part.

Corn on the Cob

corn
butter or margarine
salt
waxed paper

Remove the husk, etc. from the ear of corn. We usually do two or three ears at a time. Obviously, for a crowd do more. Rub a little butter or margarine on the corn. Add a little salt to taste. Wrap each individual ear of corn in waxed paper, twisting the ends to seat it. Place on a microwave plate.

Cook corn in the microwave on high for three minutes. Turn each ear over. Cook for another two minutes or until tender.

Eat!

Blueberry Buckle

'Tis the season to be thinking of berries to go along with all our fresh vegetables. I have a few packages of blueberries in the freezer that are left over from last year's crop. Not our personal crop. Three blueberry bushes do not make a crop. But we've been blessed to have friends and family who have ample blueberries and they share.

My father decided last year that he really wanted to grow blueberries. We supported that decision. The berries are wonderful to eat. I dreamed of picking handfuls or berries from the bushes and eating them right there. I realize that was a stretch. Three blueberry bushes don't make that many. Especially since I'm not the only one who had that dream. Little Guy loves blueberries. Who knew that dogs will pick blueberries? We're down to one bush now. He has a little trouble picking them without destroying the bush.

This recipe for Blueberry Buckle is one I happened on when I was searching for a Blueberry Cobbler recipe. I found it in The Southern Heritage Just Desserts Cookbook. It's quite good. Serve it warm with a little Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. You'll have folks coming back for seconds.

Blueberry Buckle

1/4 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Cream the shortening with your mixer. Add 3/4 cup of sugar and the egg. Beat well. Add the milk to that, beating well.

Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add that to the creamy mixture, beating well as you go. Stir in the blueberries with your spatula. If you're using fresh blueberries, be sure to wash and drain them before adding them to the mixture. Since I used frozen blueberries, I thawed them in the microwave and drained them first.

Spread this mixture into a greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. I always try to use a pan that is dark colored so I don't have to worry about staining.

Combine the remaining 1 cup sugar, 2/3 cup flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until this mixture resembles coarse meal. It's perfectly okay to use a fork to do this.

Sprinkle the crumbly mixture over the blueberry mixture.

Bake the Blueberry Buckle at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or so. The original recipe calls for 45 minutes but that is too long in my oven. When overcooked, the Blueberry Buckle is hard around the sides. Just cook for 35-40 minutes, then check it.

The recipe says it serves 12 to 15 people. They don't know Southern eaters. It serves about half that many. It really is good!

Pound Cake

Everyone in the Deep South must at some point bake a Pound Cake. It's just basic. Pound Cake goes with just about anything. That's especially true this time of year. Bake a Pound Cake. Then dip out a little Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. Or if you're really into a classic experience, make your own ice cream. Then pick fresh strawberries. Puree them with a little sugar. Pour the strawberries over the ice cream. Serve with the warm Pound Cake. You'll be on a sugar high for a week but who cares?

This recipe comes from my mother by way of my aunt. So many really good recipes in the South come that way. Allow plenty of baking time. Then invite a few neighbors overto enjoy.

Pound Cake

1/2 lb. butter (softened) (2 sticks)
3 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Crisco oil
5 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together. Be sure to use real butter. No substitutions! Pour the batter into a tube cake pan. Mother always cuts a piece of wax paper to put on the bottom of the pan. Be sure to grease the bottoms and sides of the pan really well. The idea is for the cake to eventually come out of the pan in one piece.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

Remove from the pan. Just turn it upside down on a plate or rack and remove the pan and waxed paper. Carefully. Then put the serving plate where the pan was and flip over. Carefully. It is easy to get burned or just lose the whole cake.

It's worth the effort. There's nothing quite like a little warm Pound Cake to make the troubles of the world go away.

Chicken Parmesan

A friend of my parents recently asked for a recipe for Chicken Parmesan. Of course, he asked my mother. The woman who batters and fries just about everything.

I rarely make this anymore. (See above for the reason.) However, I once baked Chicken Parmesan quite a bit. The little recipe card has the splatters and edges to prove it. I love it because it doesn't require a great deal of time to prepare. I could focus on the remainder of the meal while this baked, just turning it when the little timer told me to. I always set the timer. Some folks blame memory loss on age. I've always had that problem. It's called distraction. So I set the timer.

Chicken Parmesan

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon oregano
dash garlic powder
dash pepper
2 lbs chicken breasts
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
Paprika

Combine crumbs, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic and pepper. Roll chicken in the mixture. The original recipe (I have no idea where it came from!) called for "chicken parts." In my world, skinless, boneless chicken breasts are the only way to go.

Arrange the battered chicken breasts in a shallow, 2-quart baking dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over. Bake another 20 minutes.

Stir the soup and milk together. Pour it over the chicken. Sprinkle with paprika and the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.

Bake 20 minutes more or until the chicken is tender. Arrange chicken on a fancy platter. Okay, a regular platter will do but it will effect the table presentation. Stir the sauce that is still in the baking pan. Pour it over the chicken.

Serve. The recipe said this feeds 4 people but if you serve it with vegetables, bread and dessert (and you will because this is the South) it will feed 6.

Breakfast Pizza

I am so not a morning person. It's not that I sleep until noon. But I set my alarm for 8 a.m. Unless I need to be somewhere earlier, like a craft show or driving a Toyota. It keeps me on a schedule. Sort of. But sometimes what I'd really like most is to just sleep until I wake up. Not gonna happen in my world.

Sometimes I even have to get up and prepare breakfast for other people. Company. Funny how they expect to eat. Otherwise, I'm so content with instant grits or maybe a little Raisin Bran. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

So at those times I really must pretend to be a functioning Southern adult woman who cooks even in the morning, I've found this Breakfast Pizza works really well. The original recipe came from the 1985 edition of Southern Living Annual Recipes.

This is also good for brunch or supper. For those of you outside the South, supper is defined as the evening meal. Dinner is at lunch. It's a little confusing at first but you get used to it. It's like Sweet Tea. You just nod, gulp and go on.

Breakfast Pizza

1 lb. bulk pork sausage
1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup frozen hash browns, thawed
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
5 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the sausage in a cast iron skillet until it is browned. It's also okay to cook it in a regular skillet. Only older Southern women will look at you funny. When the sausage is fully cooked, drain it well. Set it aside for later.

Separate the crescent rolls. The original recipe said to place them in a circle on a pizza pan. I just put them in a greased 8 x 12 inch pan. Spread it out to make a crust. Be sure to seal the perforations so that the pizza doesn't seep through.

Spoon the sausage over the crust. Sprinkle the hash brown potatoes and Cheddar cheese on top of that. I always thaw the hash browns in the microwave. It's easier than trying to plan so far ahead that they're already thawed when I need them.

Combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix briskly with a fork or whisk. Pour this over the sausage, hash browns and Cheddar cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cook an extra 5 minutes.

Serve. This recipe is supposed to feed 6 to 8 people. If you have big eaters, you might make a second one. This is really good so folks tend to overeat.

Ginger Carrots

It's almost time for the garden to start producing. Well, maybe in a month or so. We planted a little late this year. Still, don't you love fruits and vegetables? They are so tasty and good for us too!

Here's an example of an easy vegetable. The recipe comes from the original Cooking Light cookbook from Southern Living. I love it. You may want to double everything though. It's designed for only two people. And what Southern woman ever cooks for only two people?!

Ginger Carrots

3 medium carrots, scaped and cut
1 teaspoon margarine
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

The original recipe calls for cutting the carrots into strips. I just slice them so that they're round and about 1/4 inch thick. It's faster for me to do it that way.

Put them with water in a boiler and boil until tender. I only cook them until they're just tender enough for a fork to stick through. I don't like mushy carrots. So don't overcook! Unless you like mushy carrots. If you do, just cook until you're satisfied.

When the carrots are just tender, drain the water out. Then add the margarine, brown sugar and ground ginger. Stir. It only takes a minute or so for the margarine to melt and to coat the carrots. Then they're ready to serve. The original recipe called for low-cal margarine. (It is from a Cooking Light cookbook after all.) I use whatever is available.

This is a nuitritional and tasty way to cook carrots.

Butter-Nut Cake

All of us have a special food that we enjoy making. Butter-Nut Cake is my mother's special. She makes it for birthdays and holidays and deaths and potlucks. You get the idea. The good thing is that she doesn't mind sharing the recipe. She even wrote out several copies to attach to recipe holders she's made for a craft show. (The little pink pigs are so cute!)

So here's the recipe!

Butter-Nut Cake

1 cup Crisco Oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter-nut flavoring

Beat together sugar, Crisco oil and eggs. Add the flour and milk, beating well. Place in four round cake pans. Be sure to grease and flour the bottoms and sides of the pans. Mother cuts little circles from wax paper and puts those in the pans, greasing both sides.
Bake at 350 degrees until the layers start to pull away from the sides. I know. You want a nice, neat little time. But ovens vary and Southern cooks don't generally do a lot of timing in the kitchen. We're fortunate she measures she measures the ingredients.

Frosting

1 8-oz. package creme cheese, softened
1 stick margarine, softened
1 box confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon butter-nut flavoring
3/4 chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients except pecans until it is creamy. Stir in pecans. Frost cake.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

In the South, one is always expected to take food somewhere. It's just part of life. It could be the church supper, a potluck at Aunt Betty Sue's house or to feed the family after a death. It could also be any number of other events. Southerners really like to eat.

It's also expected that the "dish" be homemade. As in, made from scratch. As in, store-bought goods are frowned upon. I had been an adult far more years than I'll ever admit before I came to accept that sometimes it really was okay to not take something I'd made from scratch. I'll always thank that sweet little widow (she really was short!) who explained that she gave "from scratch" up somewhere along the time she was left to work and raise three children alone. Time is a huge factor. Just think. I didn't have to stay up to 1 a.m. baking all those years.

Before I realized that things had changed, I developed a few good recipes that were quick, easy and looked like they took a great deal of time. You may notice a theme here among the different recipes I share.

Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake is one of those recipes. It also was my best friend's favorite dessert. He always requested it for birthdays and such. Yes, I gave him the recipe. And, yes, he could cook. I guess some things just taste better when someone else makes them for you. He's been dead a good many years now but I always think of him when I make this dessert.

Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

2 (8-oz) packages of creme cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
graham cracker crust (6 0z)
Comstock Blueberry Pie Filling

Mix the creme cheese, sugar and vanilla until it's smooth and creamy. If you forget to let the creme cheese soften or simply don't have time, put it in the microwave on medium for a few seconds. Every microwave varies. Just keep checking it until it's softened but not soupy.

Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust. However did we manage before we could buy those crusts already made and ready to go? Spoon 1/4 to 1/3 of the blueberry pie filling on top. I generally use a teaspoon and drop bits of the filling around in little puddles. Then use a toothpick to gently swirl it around. It looks really pretty, sort of like marble.

Bake it at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until the center is set. Let it cool until room temperature, then refrigerate.

Serve topped with the remaining filling.

Hey, look at you! You made a cheesecake without having to use a "real" cheesecake pan!

Coconut Pie

In the Deep South, recipes are passed from generation to generations. Sometimes they're simply a scribbled list of ingredients on a scrap of paper. The paper might include an oven temperature but little else. Sometimes the cook can't really tell anyone else how to make it. She never measures. Such was the case with my Grandmother's biscuits. It remains a sad loss.

These days we've progressed to cookbooks. Some of the best recipes are in church and senior center cookbooks. They're the ones with the old recipes, the ones passed along from grandparents and beyond. This is one of those recipes.

My Grandmother made this Coconut Pie when I was a child. It was one of the first recipes I got from her after I went away to college. It's simple and doesn't require a pie crust because it makes its own. Years later she submitted the recipe and it was included in a cookbook for The Coffee Springs Senior Citizens Cookbook. I hope you enjoy it as much as I always have.

Coconut Pie

4 eggs
1/2 cup self-rising flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups sugar


Beat the eggs. Slowing add the remaining ingredients. It's easy just to stir this with a fork rather than getting the mixer out. Either way works.

Pour the mixture into a greased glass baking dish or pie plate. If you use a pie plate, make sure it's deep. I didn't know about that the first time and I had the opportunity to clean up raw pie from the floor. It just jiggled right out as I walked toward the oven.

Bake the pie at 300 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. It just depends on your oven. I use the jiggle test. The pie will firm up some when you remove it from the oven. Th edges will also start lightly browning when it's done.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole has been on our table for every holiday or special occasion meal for almost longer than I can remember. I don't know who gave the recipe to my mother. It's easy to bake and it looks a great on a table. That's always a plus.

I don't know if you were taught as I was to always have a variety of colors on the table. It makes the food look more appealing. This casserole can be your orange or brown. You could add peas or broccoli or corn to the meal. Maybe even dumplings. You get the idea. A colorful table is usually well-balanced.

In the South, we tend to forget the calories and move straight to the comfort. We also use what we have. Hence, the pecans. Doesn't everyone have a few pecan trees? Well, the grocery store is also a good source for pecans. Same for the sweet potatoes. We've never had any luck growing them. That's almost embarrassing to admit. Fortunately, others grow them quiet well.

I hope you enjoy this special comfort food!

Sweet Potato Casserole

6 medium sweet potatoes
1 stick margarine, softened
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
dash nutmeg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 stick of margarine
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup ground pecans

Peel, chop and cook the potatoes until they are tender. Drain the water from the boiler. Mash the potatoes until they are like mush.

Add the stick of margarine, eggs, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Beat together until fluffy.

Pour the mixture into a baking dish.

Melt the 1/3 stick of margarine. Mix it with the brown sugar, flour and ground pecans. Spread on top of the mixture in the baking dish.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Blonde Brownies

Southerner folks, of which Bouffant Blonde is one, always seem to gather around food. We celebrate with food. We visit with food. We mourn with food. We love to eat. No doubt about that. But it is so much more. Food is our connection.

We're good at it too. Raised up to take a covered dish anywhere and everywhere the situation might arise. Dinner (lunch to folks in other parts of the country) means a table laden with food. Any spots are not acceptable. If the table is not groaning ( a Southern expression) then the hostess really hasn't done her guests right.

Food is always a reason to visit with each other. Family reunions are built around food. It's a wonderful excuse to gather together and catch up on the news while eating. No excuses needed for overindulging. It's expected.

Southerners are also known for providing food when someone has a need. It gives us something to do. Casseroles and platters and desserts arrive along with a new baby's homecoming. The same is true when the sick leave their hospital rooms for the comforts of home.

And we're really known for how we feed the grieving. It's as if we believe we can somehow ease their pain by inundating them with food. We take food as soon as we learn that someone has died. We feed the family "officially" either before or after the funeral. We use food as comfort. It speaks words we can't seem to otherwise convey -- "We care," We're here for you," "We hurt with you."

The following recipe is suitable for most any occasion. It is not an original recipe. I was at a show (sometimes it seems that I'm always at a show) and the booth next to me was selling cookbooks for their organization. This was a smart group of women. They baked several of the items, packaged said items for individual sale, then opened the cookbooks to the items. I bought a cookbook because of this recipe. My mama bought a cookbook because of this recipe.

Of course, being a woman and being Southern, I had to alter it slightly. I'm sure the lady who submitted it did the same. It wasn't original to her either. This is my version. I hope you enjoy it!

Blonde Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker Butter Pecan cake mix
1 stick melted margarine
1 egg, beaten
1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese
1 stick melted margarine
1 box powdered sugar
2 eggs
3/4 finely chopped pecans

Grease and flour a metal 9 x 13 pan.

Mix 1 stick margarine, the beaten egg and the cake mix together with your mixer. Press into the pan. I use the back of a spoon to press it down. It doesn't seem to stick as much as it does with a plastic spatula.

Next mix the cream cheese, two eggs, the second stick of margarine and the powdered sugar. I always use a clean mixer bowl for this. I know it's tempting to reuse the same one. It might be fine. I don't know. I just have visions of crust in my cream filling. I pour this mixure over the crust layer. Top it with 3/4 cups finely chopped pecans.

Bake it for 55 minutes in a 300 degree oven. All ovens vary so keep a watch on it. When it starts browning and pulling away from the edges, it's done.

Let is cool for an hour or so. It's so much easier to cut when it's cool. Then cut it into little squares. Place the pieces on a pretty platter. Reserve a few extra just for you. Shhh...if you don't tell, nobody will ever know.