blue cheese dressing

blue cheese dressing

I was an adult before I acquired a taste for blue cheese, but I love the strong flavor of it, and nothing beats homemade salad dressing. This creamy dressing served over the lettuce wedge is simple, yet satisfying.
SERVES 8

Juice of 1 large lemon
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup sour cream
1½ teaspoons garlic powder
1½ teaspoons onion powder
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1½ cups)
2 heads iceberg lettuce
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 medium tomato, finely diced

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise, buttermilk, sour cream, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whisk the mixture together until smooth. Add the cheese and mix just until blended. Chill in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving (makes 2½ cups).
Core and quarter each head of lettuce and divide among 4 salad plates.
Serve a generous dollop over each lettuce wedge and top with bacon and tomato.

Leftover dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks

fancy chili

fancy chili

Everybody has his or her own favorite chili recipe. I’ve never had one that I could really call mine until now. I make this nonstop during the winter. It not only tastes great but is also pretty in the bowl, with the colorful peppers and carrots. That’s why I call it Fancy Chili. This chili is awesome served over Sour Cream Cornbread.
SERVES 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup chopped green onion
½ pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons hot chili powder
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
4 carrots, peeled and grated
½ teaspoon brown sugar
Pinch of salt

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and green onion, and cook for about 1 minute. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder until fully combined. Add the tomatoes, beans, bell pepper, carrots, brown sugar, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer the chili for 15 minutes.

Save some of the green onion for a garnish, if you like. I serve my chili over rice with a dollop of sour creams. What’s a dollop, anyway?

FROM BETH: This chili is really good with ground turkey breast substituted for the ground beef.

tennessee jambalaya

tennessee jambalaya

This hearty kielbasa sausage stew comes from Beth’s Tennessee pal Colleen Cates. Cajun jambalaya recipes call for any meat that walks, crawls, swims, or flies! We decided this dish is the Tennessee version of Louisiana jambalaya, sans seafood! Serve over rice.
SERVES 6

4 slices bacon
1 to 1½ pounds kielbasa sausage, thinly sliced
1½ teaspoons onion powder
2 15.5-ounce cans black beans with juice
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 4-ounce can green chiles
2 medium carrots, shredded
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
⅛ teaspoon pepper

In a large stockpot, cook the bacon until crisp and set aside. Cook the sausage in the bacon drippings until lightly browned. Stir in the onion powder, black beans, tomato sauce, chiles, carrots, and seasonings. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top of the stew before serving. Serve over rice

chicken and rice soup

chicken and rice soup

Everybody craves soup on cold, wintry days. I love this rainy-day soup, even in the summer. Most soups have rice, potatoes, or pasta, but rarely all three. Maybe we should nickname this “exercise” soup since it’s loaded with carbohydrates. I like to have a big bowl of this over cornbread, then take a nap, but that’s just me.
SERVES 8

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dried parsley
½ teaspoon pepper
8 cups water
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 ounces fettuccine noodles
1 12-ounce brick American cheese, cubed (about 3 cups)
¾ cup instant rice, uncooked

In a large stockpot, boil the chicken, bouillon cubes, onion, parsley, and pepper in the water until fully cooked, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and strain the broth into a large bowl. Discard the onion mixture. Allow the chicken to cool. Cut into cubes.
Measure the broth and add enough water to make 8 cups of liquid in the large stockpot. Bring the broth to a boil. Add the carrots and potatoes, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are done. Add the noodles and cook for 10 minutes more. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cheese and rice. Stir the mixture and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving

chicken soup

chicken soup

We had never heard of Gold Medal Wondra flour before seeing it in the ingredients list for this amazing soup, and we figured we’d never find it in our local grocery stores. But Beth found it on the shelf at Harvey’s grocery store in Tifton, Georgia! It is a very fine flour that dissolves quickly so you don’t end up with lumps in your gravy or soup. It’s pretty awesome. Who knew? This recipe comes from our cousin Donna Paulk, who started making this soup when her very young grandsons didn’t like baby food.
SERVES 10

Salt and pepper
4 whole chicken breasts, bone in and with skin
2 medium bell peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 48-ounce can chicken broth
3 medium red potatoes, chopped
1 16-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup tricolor rotini pasta, uncooked
1 cup small carrots, cut lengthwise into fourths
3 tablespoons Wondra or all-purpose flour
2 cups (16 ounces) heavy whipping cream
¼ cup (½ stick) butter

Sprinkle salt and pepper on each chicken breast and place in an 8- to 10-quart stockpot. Add the bell peppers, onions, and celery, then pour the chicken broth over all. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the chicken for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done.
Transfer the chicken to a bowl. Allow to cool slightly. Remove the bones and skin and discard. Shred the chicken and put back into the pot. Add the potatoes and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Add the mixed vegetables and cook for 12 to 15 minutes more. Add the pasta and carrots, and cook for 7 minutes more. In a quart glass measuring cup, mix the flour into ¼ cup water until smooth. Pour in the cream, then add to the soup mixture along with the butter. Cook for 10 more minutes. Allow to stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.
FROM BETH: If you can’t find this magic flour at your local grocer, use all-purpose flour and make sure to whisk out any lumps. Of course, you can always take a road trip to Tifton, the Turfgrass capital of the South!

red candy apples

red candy apples

You have to be pretty confident in your dental work to eat these! Beth lost her first tooth while eating a candy apple. What a sweet treat for the tooth fairy! Candy apples always remind me of Halloween carnivals, so we usually come home after trick-or-treating (yes, I still dress up!) and make these with our friends and all of the children. I’m not sure who eats more, the kids or the adults.
MAKES 8 CANDY APPLES

Chopped peanuts or pecans
8 firm apples, such as Jonathan or Fuji
8 popsicle sticks
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
1 2-ounce box Red Hots cinnamon candy
Few drops of red food coloring

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.
Put the chopped nuts in a shallow bowl. Set aside. Wash the apples thoroughly. Remove the stems from the apples and insert a stick into the center of the bottom of each apple. To remove any wax that may coat the apples, dip each apple quickly in the boiling water. Drain and dry the apple.
In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, ½ cup water, and syrup to a boil. Cook to 250°F, or until the syrup spins a thread when poured from the edge of a cooking spoon. Pour in the candy pieces and continue cooking to 285°F. Remove from the heat and add the food coloring to achieve the desired shade of red.
Dip the apples quickly in the hot mixture, twisting as you dip to cover the entire apple. Roll the apples in the nuts, coating the bottom half of each apple. Place on the greased cookie sheet and allow the coating to cool and harden. (The syrup can be reheated if it cools too much during the dipping process.)
FROM GWEN: Substitute 1 drop of cinnamon oil or peppermint oil for the Red Hots candy

sweet tea

sweet tea

    This was the first thing I remember making at home as a child. Sweet tea is the staple of every good southern meal. I like it warm, right after it’s made, but most people love it cold and over ice. I had been making this tea for many years before I realized I was making it wrong. My sister was watching me make it one day and said, “Whoa! You’re putting way too much sugar in that!” I guess the original Yearwood recipe calls for ¾ cup sugar. Too late to turn back now! This really should be called Sweet Sweet Tea.
MAKES 1 GALLON

4 large, family-size tea bags
16 cups water
1½ cups sugar

Fill a teakettle or saucepan with enough water to completely cover the tea bags, about 2 cups. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Let the tea stand for 10 minutes. Put the sugar into a gallon pitcher and add 1 cup of cold water. Stir to mix slightly. Pour the hot tea into the sugar mixture and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the remaining 13 cups of cold water to fill the pitcher.

If using a glass pitcher, mix the sugar with 1 cup cold water before adding the hot tea to prevent the pitcher from cracking.