Hush Puppies

These are one of my favorite foods.

A deep fryer or Dutch oven filled with hot canola oil.
1 egg
1 cup self rising corn meal
1/2 cup self rising flour
1 onion chopped in very small pieces
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pour and stir in enough milk to make a moist mixture with all of the ingredients listed above

Mix and drop by tablespoons into the hot canola oil. Fry until golden brown all around. Remove from the oil and place on paper towels to drain off excess oil.

These are delicious with seafood or barbeque. Also, if you have extra batter, it will stay fresh to cook the next day if it is covered and placed in the refrigerator.

Hot Pineapple Casserole

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
1 large can of chunk pineapple - drained
1 large can of crushed pineapple - drained
35 Ritz crackers or a butter cracker such as Captains Wafers - crushed
1 stick of margarine

Drain pineapple and then mix with sugar and flour.  Place in a greased casserole.  Melt margarine and mix with crackers.  Place on top of the pineapple mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

This is really delicious with baked ham.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

1 cup artichokes hearts, chopped and drained (There is usually 2 cups in the container.)
1/2 cup frozen spinach thawed, chopped and drained (If you use the boxed spinach from the freezer there is 1 cup in it.)
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
dash black pepper
Boil spinach and artichokes, red pepper flakes, salt, and peppers in 1 cup water until tender (approximately 5 minutes). Drain. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute. Add spinach, artichokes, and parmesan cheese. Mix well.
Best if served warm either as a dip on bread, tortilla chips, or spread on flat tortillas.

I like the small baguette bread. I slice it thinly on an angle. Brush the bread with olive oil. Cover the top with dip. I usually add a sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top and bake at 400 degrees 5-7 minutes...just until the cheese starts to melt.

Enjoy!

Cranberry-Orange Relish

This is one definite dish we always have especially at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I love it with all kinds of turkey, chicken, pork or beef.

3 cups washed and drained whole cranberries
1 whole orange washed
1 cup sugar

Grind the cranberries and whole orange (with the peel and all) in the food processor or blender until it is very small. It should be very small minced pieces. Add the sugar and refrigerate.  It can be made up several days ahead and will keep for a couple of weeks stored in sealed containers.

This is delicious!

Strawberry OR Cherry Butter Pretzel Salad

This salad is great with just about any kind of meat or chicken. I sometimes eat it myself as a dessert.

2 cups crushed butter pretzels (This is the secret to this recipe and Snyders of Hanover are the best pretzels we have here. These butter pretzels taste like pecans in the crust).
3/4 cup melted butter or margarine
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Stir together and press onto bottom of 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool.

2 packages (3 oz.) cream cheese at room temperature
9 ounces Cool Whip or equivalent whipped topping
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Combine cream cheese and sugar, mix well. Fold in the Cool Whip. Spread over the pretzel crust, sealing the edges well. Chill at least 1 hour.

1 (6 ounce) package strawberry Jello
2 cups boiling water
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen strawberries

Dissolve the Jello in water. Stir in the frozen strawberries until thawed. Chill until almost set. Pour the Jello mixture over cheese mixture. Chill several hours before serving. Cut into squares. Yields 20 servings.


I tried a variation to this recipe for Thanksgiving. I used cherry Jello and 1 and 1/2 jars of sliced cold Maraschino cherries instead of the strawberries. I also added the juice from the one cherry jar since my cherries were not frozen. This was also delicious.

This is my oldest nieces favorite salad. She request that I make it each time she comes to my house for dinner or the family get togethers. I also had this requested to be served at a bridal shower since it is one of the brides favorites.

Mac-n-Cheese

1/4 cup Chopped onion
2- Tbl.Butter or Marg.
1- Can Tomato Soup
1/2 cup water
1- Cup Shredded Chedder Cheese
2- Cups cooked Macaroni
2- Tbl. Buttered Bread Crumbs
In Saucepan cook Onion in Butter until tender.
Stir in soup and cheese heat until cheese melts.
Blend sauce with macaroni. Then pour into a 1 1/2 Qt. Casserole dish.
Sprinkle more cheese and Breadcrumbs on top.
Bake at 350 for 30 Mins.