Southern Cheese Grits Casserole

In our geography studies this year, Jeff will be preparing recipes from a variety of countries around the world. His first entry is below, a favorite of the southern states of the USA.

Southern Cheese Grits Casserole

Ingredients:
6 cups water
2 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. quick-cooking grits
1/2 c. butter
1 cup cheddar cheese
3 eggs, separated
paprika

Directions:
Combine the water and salt in a 4-qt. Dutch oven. Boil water and stir the grits in slowly. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in butter and cheese until melted. Stir in the eggs yolks; beat egg whites until stiff; fold into the cheese mixture and pout into a greased, 3 qt. casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Serves about 12.

Grandma's Recipes

I've been spending some time recently going through a recipe box of my mother's that contains both her recipes and my grandmother's recipes. Here are a few of them along with images of the actual hand-written recipes.

Aunt Alline's Broccoli
This recipe originated with my great aunt Alline, my grandmother's sister. I don't actually remember eating this one, but I was struck by the large amounts of butter/mayonaise/cheese. Truly a southern recipe. Paula Deen herself couldn't do much better.

1 box chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
1 small onion, sautéed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
¼ c. mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar or American cheese
1 stick melted butter
1 c. Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix

1. Combine broccoli, onion, mushroom soup and mayonnaise. Pour in greased casserole dish.
2. Sprinkle cheese on top of broccoli mixture.
3. Combine melted butter and stuffing mix and pour on top of cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Grandma's Squash Casserole
This recipe brings back a million childhood memories. This was one of my very favorite things Grandma used to make when we went to visit. I loved it.

4 large squash (Zucchini or yellow)
2 large onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 slices American cheese
1 c. ritz cracker crumbs

1. Cook onion and squash until tender.
2. Place ½ of squash mixture into baking dish.
3. Add cheese slices and then mushroom soup.
4. Add remaining squash mixture.
5. Top with cracker crumbs.
6. Bake at 350 until golden and bubbly.


Grandma's Banana Pudding
This recipe is my grandmother's recipe, but written down by my mother, so it is doubly special. One time when we went to Grandma's house, I remember sneaking to the fridge to see if she'd made banana pudding for us, and to my delight, she had!

1 5 ½ oz vanilla instant pudding mix
3 c. cold skim milk
2 c. whipped topping
50 Nilla wafers
4 large bananas

1. Prepare pudding as directed using 3 c. skim milk; fold in half of whipped topping.
2. Reserve 6 wafers and 1 banana. Slice remaining bananas.
3. Arrange a layer of wafers on the bottom of 2-qt round baking dish or bowl. Spread ¼ pudding over wafers; top with banana slices. Place wafers around sides of dish; continue layering wafers, pudding and bananas, ending with pudding.
4. Cover and chill 3 hours or until serving time. Slice remaining bananas. Garnish with banana slices, remaining 6 wafers and whipped topping.

8-10 servings.

Red Hot and Blue Potato Salad

When I lived in Virginia, one of my favorite restaurants was Red Hot and Blue. They served Memphis-style barbeque - lots of smokey flavor, pulled pork sandwiches topped with coleslaw, sweet potato fries and key lime pie. Pretty much YUM. My favorite thing was their potato salad. It was unlike any potato salad I'd ever had before or since. I've tried to recreate it several times, but I could never quite figure it out. This weekend I came across a blog that had what it claimed was the official restaurant recipe, so I decided to try it. I altered the recipe slightly - I added sour cream in place of some of the mayonnaise. I'm so excited! This tastes exactly like what I remember.

5 lb. red potatoes
5 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (use green and white parts)
3/4 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. sour cream
1/2 t. celery salt

Clean and boil the potatoes whole, skin on, until fork-tender. Drain, cool, and chop in large chunks.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Best if served at room temperature. Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

I came across this recipe today in my stack of stuff. These are so easy to make and classic in every way.

Snickerdoodles

1 c. butter

1 1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 3/4 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

2 t. cream of tartar

1/4 t. salt

2 T. sugar

2 t. cinnamon

1. Cream butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Whip until light and fluffy.

2. Gradually stir in flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.

3. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Form cookie dough into walnut-size balls and roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture.

4. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Strawberry Pie

This is a new recipe for me, but so far, it has received rave reviews. Try it - I guarantee you won't be sorry.

Strawberry Pie

1 8-oz package cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup grenadine syrup (You can find grenadine syrup with drink mixers.)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled

1 9-inch baked pie shell (Graham cracker crust recipe is below.)

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Stir in vanilla and almond extract. In a separate bowl, whip cream until peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Spread over bottom of baked pie shell. Chill.

2. In a saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water until smooth. Add grenadine and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly, or until thickened. Allow to cool, then chill.

3. Just before serving, stir together strawberries and cooled cornstarch mixture until evenly coated. Spread over cream cheese layer.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1. In a small bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar, add butter and blend well. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate.

2. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before filling, or bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack before filling.

Another classic....

I haven't made this one in a while, but I always get requests for the recipe when I do.

Apple Cobbler

1 1/2 cups butter

6 cups peeled and sliced tart apples (I usually use Macintosh or Granny Smith or a combination of the two.)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups + 1-2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup milk

2 eggs

3 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat the oven to 375. Melt 1/2 cup of the butter and pour it into a 9x13 cake pan. Spread it evenly and arrange the apples over it. Mix 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar and sprinkle evenly over the apples. Set aside. Melt the remaining 1 cup butter in a small pan, remove from heat, add the milk and egg, and beat well. Mix the flour, baking powder, the remining 1 cup sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Stir in the milk and egg mixure and beat until smooth. Pour over the apples. Mix 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon with 1-2 tablespoons sugar and sprinkle over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

What I made last night......

Baked Enchiladas

2 lb ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small jar mild or medium taco sauce
1 small can diced green chilies
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
18 medium flour tortillas, cut into quarters

1. Cook beef and onion until meat is done.
2. Mix soups, taco sauce, chilies, and milk together.
3. Line bottom of greased 13x9-inch pan with half of quartered tortillas.
4. Top with half of meat, half of sauce, and half of cheese.
5. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Top with additional layer of tortillas and shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden.