Pots & Plots

It really is just like my grandmother used to make. This is her recipe. It took me years to pin it down, since she’s absolutely one of those women who never measures anything.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 cup of diced celery
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (also 98% fat free)
• 5-6 slices of white bread, torn into pieces
• 2 pans good, homemade cornbread (if you go with a mix, do NOT under any circumstances buy sweet cornbread–it DOES NOT WORK for this recipe–STEP AWAY FROM THE JIFFY MIX–find a mix that says buttermilk cornbread–and for heaven’s sake, use a cast iron skillet to cook it. You only do this once a year, so do it right.)
• 1 pinch (1/8th tsp) poultry seasoning
• good chicken stock (either roast your own chicken and boil the skin and bones, or buy a rotisserie one at the grocery, have a couple meals off of it, and boil the skin and bones of that–see my post about batch cooking for how to make your own chicken stock).
• 3 eggs
• 3/4ths cup Egg Beaters (or just use 6 whole eggs if you don’t care about fat and calories)

Crumble the cornbread into a large bowl. Add the 2 cans of soup and mix well. Add the onions and celery and the eggs/Egg Beaters. Mix well. Add the white bread. Mix well. Add enough chicken stock to make the consistency just on the soupy side of moist. Add poultry seasoning. Mix well. Please note there is NO SAGE in this recipe. It overpowers the other flavors. Don’t use it. Pour the mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish. You may freeze the dressin at this point if you’re making it ahead of time. Just be sure to thaw completely before popping it in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. The edges should be golden brown. If you like moister dressin’ (and I’m from Mississippi…there is no “g” on the end), drizzle more chicken stock over the dressin before baking. If you like it dryer, don’t add as much. Serve with turkey and giblet gravy (if you’re into giblet gravy…I’m not…the rest of my family is).

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen (gotta love the Food Network) by way of my neighbor Jackie. It’s a popular and wonderful dish for holiday dinners and there’s never, ever any leftovers. The original link to the foodnetwork site is here.

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

Notes about lowering the fat content: Now my neighbor (and probably Paula) would never dream of trying to lower the fat content in this dish. However, you can use half the butter (must use real butter though) and low fat sour cream (don’t you dare use fat free, it ruins everything). And if you use extra sharp cheddar you can use about half the cheese (as extra sharp has more flavor).

Life is busy. I think this is probably the case with everyone, no matter their age, station, or walk in life. We’re all juggling family, jobs, maybe school, and other commitments. This means that it’s often a challenge to make a healthy meal each day at dinner. We’re all so pressed for time that those meals in a box touting “Today’s Homemade” start to sound appealing–well okay, not to me. I actually find that whole concept appalling–all those preservatives! Anyway, one of my techniques which helps dramatically when I’m busy (and between 2 jobs, family, writing, and 3 dogs, I am!) is batch cooking. This is something that can really be done any night of the week, but I really like to do it one day on the weekend. My batch cook staples:

• brown rice: Very healthy, but takes SO long to cook that it’s a pain to use in midweek dinners. However, it reheats BEAUTIFULLY! I tend to make about 3 cups’ worth in my rice cooker to use with stir fries and such during weekday lunches. I have to say my $10 rice cooker from Walgreens is one of my favorite kitchen appliances!
• black beans: These are my favorite kind of beans, and I find that I save a considerable amount of money buying them dry and batch cooking them. I rinse them, then put in the crock pot on low with about 6 cups of water. I’m sorry to say I’m never sure how long to cook them. I keep going back and checking after 2 or 3 hours. They should still be somewhat firm when done, as you’ll be likely cooking them some other way. Freeze in tupperware containers with the cooking liquid, then thaw and rinse before use in whatever recipe you choose.
• roasted chicken: Okay this is the same sort of principle as buying those rotisserie chickens at the grocery store, except you save quite a bit by doing it yourself at home. This is another one of those things, I find is better done on weekends. Wash chicken and pat dry. Rub with olive oil inside and out, then liberally coat skin with whatever seasonings you choose (I like greek or cajun). Bake at 350 degrees in a roasting pan for approximately 2 hours (checking at 1 hour 45 minutes…the skin should be golden brown). You can then use this meat in salads, pasta or whatever. And when you’re finished, save the carcass and skin to make…
• chicken stock: Never buy that pale, canned broth again! Place the carcass and skin in a large stock pot, adding carrots, onions, and celery (rough chopped), salt and pepper to taste, then cover with water. Boil gently for an hour or two. Place a colander over a large bowl or other stock pot and carefully (as it will splatter and be HOT!) pour the entire thing into the colander so that the bowl or other pot catches the broth and all the chicken bit and veggies are strained out. Cover the bowl or pot with plastic wrap just touching the surface and refrigerate. The fat will congeal on the plastic wrap so that defatting is a breeze! You can then freeze the broth (which should be a lovely dark gold color). I like to freeze it in ice cube trays, then put the stock cubes into large Ziplock freezer bags for use with any recipe calling for bouillon, broth, or stock.

As the weather cools down (yes, even in Mississippi), I always crave Mexican style dishes. One of my family’s all time favorites is taco soup, which is actually a year round staple meal. This is one of those recipes that’s great for crock pot cooking or can be made in about half an hour on the stove. Freezes and reheats well, but there’s usually no leftovers!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey, browned and drained
• 1 can condensed tomato soup (I like the Campbell’s Healthy Request)
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can corn, undrained (or you can use frozen corn–about a cup and a half)
• 1 can black beans, undrained (or you can use black beans that you batch cooked yourself–also about a cup and a half to two cups)
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 packet of taco seasoning (I prefer Old El Paso)
• 1 tsp chipoltle chili powder if you can find it, but it’s fine without

Combine ingredients in slow cooker or on stovetop. Add about 1 can’s worth of water if using stovetop or cooking for only half day in crock pot. Add more water if you’re going to leave it all day on low. Serve with sour cream, scallions, and shredded cheddar and/or Monterey jack cheese. Also good with corn chips if you’re not watching your waistline.

The cost of premixed spices is often exorbitant. I recently stocked up on spices at World Market when I was in Fort Worth. They have fantastic prices on spices in bags. Since I already have bottles and jars for all of them, all I need is refill and then I don’t have to pay for or waste the packaging. Good all around deal.

I just came across the following website for spices and seasonings, replicating many popular ones such as Shake and Bake and Old Bay. Bon Appetite!