Cabbie’s Cooking

Here is my mother’s sweet potato casserole recipe. This is lighter than the Sweet Potato Souffle that I make - but it is still delicious! Give it a try.

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs

Combine the above ingredients and pour into a baking dish. Follow the directions below for the topping:

Topping Ingredients
1 cup coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cuup chopped pecans
1/4 cup flour

Mix topping ingredients well and sprinkle over the potatoes. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

What could be easier for your holiday dinner than Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing. Thanks to Ruthlace for sending me this recipe.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing

5 skiness and boneless chicken breast halves
1 9×9 pan of cornbread, baked, cooked and crumbled
9 slices of day old bread, torn into small pieces
4 eggs, beaten,
1 onion, chopped finely
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
1 10.75 oz. can cream of chicken soup
2 Tablespoons margarine

Boil chicken, cook and chop into small pieces. In a crock pot, stir together the chicken, cornbread, bread, eggs, onion, salt, pepper, chicken broth and chicken soup. Stir until well blended. Dot with margarine.

Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Remove lid and fluff with fork. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

My sister, Joan, gave me this recipe  This boiled custard was traditionally served at Christmas during her husband’s childhood, and his mother gave Joan the recipe.  Joan reports that this is a little time consuming and, at time, tedious.  However, I can testify that it is delicious!  Give it a try.

MaMaw Peace’s Boiled Custard

6 large eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 gallong ilk
1 tsp. vanilla
dash nutmeg
1 heaping Tablespoon flour (mix with the sugar)

Bring milk to a steam in the top of a double boiler.
Mix the other ingredients thoroughly and add them to the steaming milk.
Stir constantly until thickened.
Fill the sink with ice cubes and set the pan on the ice cubes.
Stir the custard until it is cool. This prevents further cooking and curdling.

My mother, Ruthlace, makes the best dressing I’ve ever eaten.  I’ve always loved my mother’s cornbread dressing at Thanksgiving and Christmas. There just isn’t any other dressing that can compare to it.   Here’s her recipe.

 Cornbread Dressing

2 1/2 cups crumbled cornbread

1 cup dry bread crumbs (use stale rolls or loaf bread)

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup drippings (from cooking the turkey) or margarine

1 small onion, chopped fine

2 stalks celery, chopped fine

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground sage

1/4 tsp. pepper

4 eggs, slightly beaten

Combine ingredients.  Add a little more broth or water to make a thin mixture.  Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until it is set.

RT needed something to take to an office party.  We were going to buy some wraps at Kroger, but they didn’t have any fresh ones.  So, I decided to make some myself.  Looking at the ones at Kroger (the ones that had been there since Friday), I figured it couldn’t be too difficult.  Here’s the photo of the tray after I finished them. I think it looks very nice.  And since we snacked on the “leftovers”, we already know that the wraps taste really good. The wraps are now in the refrigerator - ready for RT to take to work with him tomorrow morning.  They were surprisingly easy and quick to make.  I don’t know why I haven’t tried making wraps before.  I’ll be looking for more wrap recipes now since these turned out so well.  Here’s how I made them:

WRAPS

3 large tortillas (large, wrap size - whatever “flavor” you prefer.  I  bought three packages of tortillas: garden spinach herb, sundried tomato basil, and whole grain wheat.  I had no idea how many tortillas I’d need, but that ended up being WAY too many tortillas.  I used three tortillas total - one of each kind - for the tray in the photograph. RT and I will be eating tortillas a lot in the next couple weeks in order to use them all up). 

1 package of thinly sliced or shaved sandwich meat - turkey and ham (you can use roast beef or other cold cuts, too)

1 package of grated sharp cheddar

A few grape tomatoes

A few leaves of romaine lettuce

Mayonaise (I used light mayo)

Take a tortilla and spread mayonaise on it.  Sprinkle it with grated cheese.  It’s important to put the cheese on top of the mayo in order to hold the cheese in place.  Layer the lettuce and then the meat on top.  Starting on one side, roll the tortilla as tightly as possible - being careful to keep the fillings inside.  Once it is rolled up, place it seam side down on a cutting board.  Take a knife and cut off 1-inch slices. Line your serving tray with lettuce, and use the grape tomatoes as a garnish.

Very tasty!

Here is a recipe that’s been in my family for ages. I think it was my mother-in-law’s originally. I’m not sure where she got it. However, it is the most delicious sweet potato dish in the world. It is almost like a dessert. Actually, at times I have had an extra serving of this rather than eating dessert after a meal. It’s PERFECT for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.  Both my daughter and my daughter-in-law now make it for holiday meals.

SWEET POTATO SOUFFLE’

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick margarine
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick margarine
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix together the first seven ingredients, blending until smooth. Pour into a large casserole dish. Combine the topping ingredients and spread over the top of the potatoes. Bake in 350 degree oven until topping is a light brown. Makes 8-10 servings.

RT was quite the gentleman for Valentine’s Day!  He prepared breakfast for me, and then packed my lunch to take to school.  He hand delivered a beautiful pink rose bouquet to me at school, and then when we got home that evening, he insisted that I sit down and relax while he prepared a special dinner for me.  He even insisted that I relax while he cleaned up the kitchen after dinner.  RT can grill a mean steak, and that’s what he did for Valentine’s Day.  He prepared a delicious shrimp cocktail with lemon wedges for an appetizer, opened a bottle of Charles Shaw merlot to sip throughout the meal, grilled two great ribeye steaks, had a plate of fresh watermelon slices, an original salad, and an original dessert.   Note that both the salad and the caramel volcano are completely original recipes that RT created as he prepared the meal.  They both were absolutely DELICIOUS!  Here are the recipes:

Grilled Ribeye Steaks

2 high quality ribeye steaks

garlic salt

pepper

Rub both sides of the steak with the garlic salt and pepper.  Be generous with the seasonings.  Grill 6 - 10 minutes per side - depending on the thickness of the steak and your preference for doneness.  After removing from the grill let the steaks rest for a few minutes before serving.

Mandarin Pecan Romaine Salad

Juice of one lemon wedge

1 small can Mandarin oranges

1/4 cup pecans pieces

1/4 cup crisp bacon bits

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 head shredded Romaine lettuce

Ranch dressing

Mix all the ingredients except lemon and ranch dressing.  Squeeze the lemon wedge over the salad.  Serve with ranch dressing.  DELICIOUS!

Caramel Volcano

1 small can Mandarin oranges

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1 cup vanilla yogurt

2 tsp. light brown sugar

A shot glass of Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream Liqueur

2 Maraschino cherries with a little of the Marschino liquid

Build your volcano by placing half the Mandarin oranges in the bottom of each of two individual serving bowls.  Sprinkle the pecan pieces on top of the Mandarin oranges - half in each bowl.  Tower half the yogurt in the middle of each bowl.  Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.  Pour the Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream on top of it all.  Place the bowls in the freezer for approximately 15 - 20 minutes before serving.  Add a maraschino cherry on top and drizzle a little of the marschino liquid down the sides of he volcano.