Category: Thankful Tuesdays – recipes worth giving thanks for!

Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella

This is another recipe from Mandy Rivers. She wrote the South Your Mouth cookbook series and I am really enjoying her books! She suggested serving these with a green vegetable and bread. I decided to make meatball hoagies with the Italian meatballs and, omg, soooo good!! The meat and marinara, with the gooey cheese and crusty garlic bread is a match made in Heaven. Pair this with her fried zucchini sticks. A terrific meal!

1 (24 oz.) jar marinara, I used Rao’s
20-24 Italian Meatballs, precooked (recipe below)
8 oz. mozzarella, shredded

Hoagie rolls, buttered (or spray with olive oil cooking spray), sprinkled with garlic salt, and toasted

Italian Meatballs:
1 onion, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Worcestershire
1 T. Italian Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 pounds ground beef (80/20)
1/2 cup Italian dried bread crumbs

For the Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella, spoon half of the marinara sauce into a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Arrange precooked meatballs in pan, then cover with remaining sauce. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes at 375 degrees or until sauce is heated through. Remove from the oven, and top with mozzarella. Cook an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Serve with pasta or hearty green vegetables as suggested by Mandy… or…put them into your toasted hoagie rolls.
Serves 4-6 or yields 6 hoagie sandwiches.

For the Italian Meatballs, combine onion, eggs, Parmesan, Worcestershire, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, in a large bowl.

Crumble ground beef into mixture, and mix with your hands until just combined. Add bread crumbs, and continue to mix until just combined. Add more bread crumbs, if necessary, util the mixture holds together.

Turn mixture out onto a cutting board or clean counter, and shape into a rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut mixture into 20-24 squares. Roll each square into a ball.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup), and spray with cooking spray. Place meatballs onto baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

COOKING THE BOOKS, YA’LL!

Laurel’s Chicken Spaghetti

This is one of my favorite chicken spaghetti recipes! It is a real crowd pleaser!….and Creed, yes, I know that you’re glad, that you are at baseball practice right now, because of the black olives. I really do hope that we can come to some sort of agreement on this. Like, if you would just eat them, you would love them!…. What’s that??…. we all have our own taste buds??…..head shaking from the mother. Smiles and big hits from the son.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of regular Rotel tomatoes
1 (12oz.) canned chicken, drained
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped – if it is small, use it all
1 small can chopped ripe black olives
1 pkg. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (8 oz.) Velveeta, cubed
1 1/2 pkg. Pizza cheese or half shredded provolone and half shredded cheddar cheese
1 (12 oz.) pkg. noodles
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms together in a small amount of butter. (I’m thinking half a stick here. Yaasss!)

Prepare noodles.

Add soup, Rotel, chicken, olives, and Velveeta to onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook until melted and bubbly. Drain noodles and place in bottom of a 9 by 13 cooking dish. Add chicken mixture and sprinkle pizza cheese on top. Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
This is so yummy! Eat the olives!

Sausage Primavera

My sister-in-law, Laurel, brought this delicious dish over when Creed was born. We enjoyed it so much and she was so sweet to share her recipe! It has also turned into a meal that I love to prepare on Christmas Eve with the pretty red and green peppers. It is quick and comforting and just what we always need to start the holiday off right!

8 ounces thin spaghetti
1 T. olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds smoked sausage, sliced (I love Hillshire Farms Polska Kielbasa for this.)
1 T. parsley flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Dash of cayenne pepper
4 to 5 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
Garnish: fresh basil

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain and keep warm.

Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, onions, and garlic, if using fresh. Stir-fry until vegetables are crisp tender. Add the smoked sausage and heat a few minutes longer. When vegetables are cooked as you like, add the parsley and other seasonings and continue to cook just a bit longer. After the mixture is combined well, toss with the spaghetti. Pour into a large bowl and add the Parmesan cheese tossing to coat.

I enjoy this with a chiffonade (a french slicing technique of stacking the leaves, rolling them up, and then slicing thinly) of fresh basil as a garnish too! Delicious! And fancy too, huh?

English Toffee

When I think of Christmas candy, my Aunt Shirley’s English Toffee is the first thing to pop into my mind! It has the best texture and the Hershey’s chocolate and pecans really bring it all together….and speaking of that, it is super quick and easy to throw together! The perfect thing during this beautifully busy time of celebration!

2 sticks of margarine
3 T. water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts, I use pecans
6 regular sized Hershey chocolate bars

Melt margarine; add sugar and water. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the color of brown. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and nuts. Pour onto buttered cookie sheet and spread thin. Break Hershey bars over the top. As it melts, spread all over. Cool well and break into pieces.

Nana’s Chili Chicken Casserole

My children’s great grandmother, Pat (Nana) Warren, was as fabulous of a cook as she was a person, and she was one fine southern woman, let me tell you. I loved her dearly and I kind of think she liked me too. This casserole was one she enjoyed feeding her loved ones and I’m just following in her footsteps. This dish really just needs a nice fresh salad to go along with it. And I don’t use the entire bag of chips because I like mine a little saucy. Just like Nana.

1 cut up chicken (frying size)
1/4 cup oleo (that’s margarine for you younger folks)
1/2 pound velveeta, cubed
1 1/2 cups pet milk (evaporated milk; 12 oz. can)
1 cup chopped onion
1 (4 oz.) chopped green chiles
1 1/2 cup tomato juice
1 (7 1/2 oz.) pkg. tostados (plain Doritos)

Cook chicken in salted water until done (can use canned chicken). Cool, skin and debone and cut into bite size pieces. Saute onion in oleo then add the chicken along with peppers, cheese, milk, and tomato juice. Once the cheese is melted, alternate layers of this mixture with crushed tostadas in a 9 by 9 inch casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

Bean and Cheese Dip

With the holidays upon us, it’s always a good idea to have quick snacks on hand just in case unexpected company shows up or you need to take something to a last minute gathering, or you have a houseful of kiddos spending the night with you. Whatever the case may be, this is so yummy and will cure the munchies for sure! What’s better than something hot and cheesy coming out of the oven to dip tortilla chips in?…..Ya, I can’t think of anything either.

4 (15 oz.) cans refried beans
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Diced, fresh jalapeños
Tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the beans, salsa, and green chiles.

Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and sprinkle the top with the cheese.

Bake until warmed throughout and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

Garnish with jalapeños, if desired, and serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Makes 8-12 servings

*I use Taco Bell brand refried beans, Herdez Salsa Casera “hot” for the salsa, and I like to shred my own longhorn style cheese for this.

COOKING THE BOOKS, YA’LL!

Quick Jambalaya

For a quick and comforting weeknight meal, this recipe can’t be beat. I love the combination in Jambalaya of the rice, smoked sausage, and shrimp. It is so flavorful and sure to please! Serve with french bread and butter, and a green salad.

1 (8 oz.) box red beans and rice mix
1/2 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T. olive oil
1/2 pound cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. Louisiana-style hot sauce, optional

Cook red beans and rice mix according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute sausage and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add the shrimp, tomatoes, brown sugar and hot sauce if using.

Cook for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Stir in rice mixture.
Yield: 4 servings.

Cranberry Pecan Cookies

This recipe is from Louise Hawkins of Lubbock, Texas. She’s just 60 miles away from me. I don’t know Louise, but she shared a recipe with Taste of Home magazine and I am so glad she did! You will be too. These start with prepared sugar cookie dough. Boom! 2/3 of the battle won and done!

1 tube (16-1/2 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup vanilla or white chips
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, combine the cookie dough, pecans, chips, cranberries and vanilla. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. (Y’all know how I feel about ungreased baking sheets. As my mama says, Pam your pan.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wired racks. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: about 3 1/2 dozen.

1-2-3 Mexican Dip

My sister-in-law, Laurel, is one of the best cooks that I know. She introduced me to this fabulous dip as well as the cookbook that it came from. I am forever indebted! Not only is this one of the best and most unique Mexican layer dips that I’ve come across, it is also an amazing book! I highly recommend it for the newly weds in your life or anyone for that matter! This comes from Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford’s Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook.

1 can (16 oz.) refried beans – I prefer Taco Bell’s brand
1 1/2 cups medium salsa – Santa Fe chunky is my pick for the salsa
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. onion powder
1 small red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and chopped
1 cup (2 oz.) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 fresh jalapeño chile, cut into rounds (about 20)
Tortilla chips for serving

Combine the refried beans, 1/4 cup of the salsa, the chili powder, cumin, and oregano in a medium bowl. (I have substituted 3 tsp. taco seasoning for the seasonings in this step and it turns out great.) Spread evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch round ceramic casserole dish (at least 2 inches deep) or an 8 by 8 glass baking dish.

Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, red onion, cilantro, and onion powder in a small bowl. Spread over the top of the beans mixture.

Combine the bell pepper and the remaining 1 1/4 cups salsa in a small bowl. Gently spread over the sour cream mixture, being careful to not mix the layers.

Top with the cheese and jalapeño and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour. Serve with tortilla chips
Serves: 10 to 12

The dip can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated.

COOKING THE BOOKS, YA’LL!

Chihuahuas

The good folks at the Sky-Vue Drive-In, in Lamesa, TX, came up with the brilliant concept of Chihuahuas. They are pure nostalgia and are legendary around here and they bring so many great memories to mind for many families who spent lots of fun summer nights out at the Sky-Vue! Sadly, the Drive-In is closed now, but luckily, these unique little sandwiches are easy to throw together. Have a movie night at home and make Chihuahuas! You’ll be glad you did!

What you need:

Corn tortillas
Vegetable oil for frying
Kosher salt
Prepared, seasoned taco meat
Price’s Pimento cheese spread
Fresh cabbage, shredded
Canned, whole jalapeños

Fry your tortillas in hot oil until they begin to stop sizzling in the grease and turn a pretty golden color. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Spread a thin layer of pimento cheese on one side of each fried corn tortilla. To each tortilla, add some taco meat, fresh cabbage, and top with another corn tortilla, pimento cheese side first. You are essentially making a sandwich!

Serve with hot peppers and lots of napkins! ….And prepare for greatness.

Make toy chihuahuas…..use a small circle cookie cutter and make little ones as appetizers. Set them out on a pretty platter at Christmas time. I bet you can’t make enough for the masses!