Southern Plate-Cookbook

So Night One and Two of my cooking through a cookbook in a year was awesome! I am a cookbook junkie so I just decided to use the cookbook my lil bro and Sis n law gave me for Christmas. I figured, I live in the south now, might as well learn to cook like a good southerner. Didn't take any cool pics like my fellow Mistake Maker, but the cool thing is this cookbook has great pictures. So here's what I did.

Day One: Texas Caviar, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese, Collard greens, Chocolate ice cream (Ben and Jerry helped with this one)

Texas Caviar

Ingredients
2 cans of black-eyed peas w/jalapeno
1 29 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
2 15 ounce cans whole kernal corn
1/4 c chopped parsley
2 green onions, sliced
1 16 ounce bottle zesty Italian dressing

Drain the peas, tomatoes, and corn cans well and pour the contents into a large bowl or dishpan. Add the chopped parsley and onions. Pour the dressing over all and stir well.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with Tortilla chips for an appetizer or as a salad

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
I made some minor adjustments to this recipe because I have such picky eaters and I have to sneak things like vegetables and meats into their favorite dishes so I added baby carrots(about 1 cup) that I shreded to near pulp with my Ninja and diced ham (about 2 cups)

2 cup dry macaroni
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
2 cups cubed cheese

Preheat the oven to 350
Cook the macaroni according to the package directions until almost done and drain well (I also salted the water as it was boiling)
In a micorwave safe bowl , metl the margarine in the microwave. Sitr in the flour, then the milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the cubed cheese into the milk mixture and micorwave at 30 second intervals until melted, stirring each time you check it. Stir in the cooked macaroni and optional carrots/ham. Place in an oven-safe dish and bake uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until bubbly

Collard Greens with Pepper Sauce

OK, so my kids and hubby didn't dig this one, but like I said they are not veggie eaters, but if you like greens, this is the best I have ever had. If you don't want to deal with fresh collard greens, the canned collard greens taste just as good. I also added some bacon drippings with my pieces of ham instead of 1/4 cup of salt, I used about 3 tablespoons of salt.

3 bunches collard greens
3/4 cup cider vinegar
2 quarts water
1/4 cup salt
1 tablespoon sugar
 A ham hock, ham bone or pieces of country ham

Rinse the greens well. Remove the spines, coarsely chop and place in a pot. Add all the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the collards are tender, about 2 hours, adding more water if needed. Serve warm with pepper sauce.

Day Two: Chili and Corn bread, diced pineapples (just opened a jar)

Christi's Chili
So I made a couple of adjustments to this one because my eaters will not eat crunchy vegetables like celery nor will they eat beans in their chili. So I left out those two things. Also I like really spicy food so I actually took half of the meat and added 3 tablespoons of chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, and ground red pepper.

Ingredients
2 pound ground beef
1 16 ounce can pinto beans with liquid
1 16 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green chiles
3 medium tomatoes or one 29 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 cup water
3 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 cup diced celery
2 teaspoons ground cumin

In a larg e skillet over medium high heat, brown the ground beef until no longer pink and drain off the fat. In a large pot or slow cooker, combine the beef with the remaining ingredients. If cooking in a pot, bring to a simmer over low heat and cook, stirring frequently for 2 to 3 hours. If cooking in a slow cooker, stir to combine and cover. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.

Terri's Dixie Cornbread

This was the best cornbread I have ever made. It is incredibly moist  and easy to cook and my hubby loved it! The buttermilk really does the trick but you don't have to go out and buy it, you can make it yourself see the note below.

1 tablespoon shortening
1 1/2 cups enriched white cornmeal
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons bacon drippings or melted butter

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the shortening in a 10 inch cast iron skillet, and preheat in the oven.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, add the buttermilk, egg and drippings or melted butter, mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Pour into the greased hot skillet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until brown. Serve warm with butter.


To make buttermilk

Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar
to
1 cup whole milk
Let sit for 5 minutes before using