Tasty Oven Fries

This recipe comes from an old newspaper clipping. I love baked fries. You get all the taste of French fries without all that grease.

Tasty Oven Fries

4 large russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
Salt, optional
Catsup, optional

Dip each potato wedge into egg whites and place on nonstick baking sheet. Season to taste with salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, turning after 5 minutes, or until browned. Serve with catsup.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Sweet Corn Pudding

Saw this recipe in one those advertisements trying to get us to buy the products listed. Hey, when the recipe is good, who cares how it comes your way?

Sweet Corn Pudding

1 package (12 oz) Birds Eye Steamfresh Super Sweet Corn
1 cup 2% milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons Shedd's Spread Country Crock Spread, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 Prepare sweet corn according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl with wire whisk. Stir in corn. Turn into greased 1-quart shallow casserole.

Bake 1 hour or until golden.

Makes six servings.

Black-Eyed Peas

I hope everyone already has their black-eyed peas in a pan soaking. For those of you who aren't privileged to be Southern, black-eyed peas are a tradition. The saying goes that you'll have one day of good luck for every pea you eat on New Year's Day. I don't know if it's true or not. I was never able to eat that many peas in one day, though I did try as a child. Did you know that black-eyed peas have a way of expanding in your stomach?

The other tradition -- another way of saying superstition in this God-fearing land --is to never, ever wash clothes on New Year's Day. The belief is that if you do you'll be "washing for a corpse" before the year ends. I don't have any idea where that comes from but my Mother has always preached it. Every year. To everyone who will listen and quite a few who don't. Her mother believed it. Her mother-in-law believed it. Frankly, it's easier to bypass the washer and eat.

Black-Eyed Peas

1 bag of dried black-eyed peas
salt and pepper to season
piece of ham, slice of bacon, or other meat for seasoning

Place peas in a pan of water. Soak overnight. The peas will greatly expand during this process.

Wash the peas thoroughly. Place in a boiler with water. Add the meat and a little salt and pepper to season. I've used a slice of bacon or a piece of ham left over from Christmas. Of course, you're supposed to add something I would never dream of buying much less touching. Trust me. Ham or bacon works just as well.

Be prepared to cook the peas for a couple of hours. They're done when the peas are tender. That means soft. You may need to add more water. If you let the water cook out, you'll have burned peas. Not a good way to start the year.

Oh, and don't forget the cornbread. Happy New Year!
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Squash Casserole

Sometimes it's easy to understand why the Deep South is know for being a little overweight. Not that we would ever cook anything that would adhere directing to one's thighs.

Squash Casserole is not something for those concerned about calories and weight gain. It is for anyone who loves something truly mouth-watering wonderful. This is my Mother's recipe. Indulge!

Squash Casserole

2 lbs. yellow squash
1 to 2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1/2 stick margarine
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
plain bread crumbs
extra shredded cheese

Wash squash. Cut off ends and discard them. Cut up squash into one to two inch pieces. Place squash in water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender. Drain off water and mash squash until it resembles a course batter.

Stir together squash, mayonnaise, onion, egg, cheese and margarine.

Coat a 12" x 12" baking dish with cooking spray. Pour mixture into the dish.

Sprinkle bread crumbs over top of mixture. The top should be lightly covered.

Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven

Sprinkle grated cheese on top of crumbs. Bake an additional five to 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Fried Okra

Fried okra is a staple around our house this time of year. Whenever any other crop fails, the okra seems to keep on going. One year the plants were taller than me (literally!) when they're usually only about two to three feet high. It made all summer and into the fall. We figured the first frost would be the end of the okra. Nope. We finally threatened my father to not bring any more okra in. We ate okra two meals a day for way too many months. Of course, our taste buds were primed and ready the next year when the okra crop started coming in.

I know some folks boil okra. Some use it in soups. In my world, which is Deep South, it is fried. You were surprised, right? You'll find it easy to do.

Fried Okra

okra
salt
all-purpose flour
cooking oil

Wash the okra. Cut off the ends. Then chop the okra pods into 1/4 inch-thick pieces.

Lightly salt the okra. Mix with just enough flour to coat the okra.

Heat a small amount of grease in a skillet. Of course, we use a cast iron skillet but I suppose any skillet will do. Use a medium to medium-high heat.

Place okra in the skillet, stir, then cover. Stir often. Cooking time varies depending on how much okra you have. Okra should be light brown and green, not burnt! If you're not sure what done okra looks like, just spoon out a little, let it cool and taste it. Then you'll know.

Place a paper towel on a platter. When the okra is done, spoon it onto the paper towel. That helps soak up some of the grease. The remainder of the grease goes into your mouth and directly onto your thighs. Just kidding!

See. That wasn't so hard. I guess it means you're now a Southern cook!

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.

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.