Sweet Potato Casserole, Southern Style

Sweet Potato Casserole, Southern Style

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 stick butter, melted
• ½ cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 package lemon-flavored Kool-Aid mix

Topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients except those for the topping; mix well. Put into a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Mix the topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the potatoes. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. 

Serves 8.

Homemade Wine

Homemade Wine

A universal wine recipe-using store bought 100% grape juice (semi-dry or somewhat sweet). This recipe yields 10 bottles (fifths) of wine like Grandma used to make – for a staggering 50 cents a bottle! No pun intended. This recipe was designed for the complete novice and for those who don’t want to give wine-making a try without having to go out and purchase a lot of equipment & supplies to get started. Of course, if you happen to own a fermentation lock and other materials, please use them.

• 1 gallon grape juice (red or white)
• 3-1/2 lbs cane sugar
• 1 gallon water
• 1 packet wine yeast (in a pinch, bakers yeast will work)

Boil water and sugar. When cool, mix in a food-grade plastic bucket with juice and yeast. Cover with a trash bag secured with a rubber band to exclude air and contaminants. When the bubbling ceases, siphon, or gently pour into another bucket, leaving the gunk (lees) behind. In about a week, most solids will have settled out and your wine can be bottled in glass bottles or even screw-top soft drink containers. It’s better to use wine yeast because bakers yeast doesn’t settle out well – and if you shake the bottle, the wine will get cloudy. If this happens, just drink it with the lights out and no one will ever know. Enjoy!

Sautéed Liver with Peppers and Onions

Sautéed Liver with Peppers and Onions

This is messy but good! To make the liver easy to slice, spread it in a large baking pan and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

• 1 lb beef or calf liver, sliced in ½ inch strips
• 1 large onion, sliced thin
• ½ stick butter or margarine, or 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 medium green peppers, de-seeded and sliced
• Black pepper to taste

Put the liver slices in a bowl with 2 cups water and 1-tablespoon salt. Let soak for 5 minutes. Drain well and pat with a paper towel to dry. In a skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Let the pan get just hot, then put in the onions and peppers. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the liver. Let the liver cook to your desired doneness, (usually about 5 minutes). Sprinkle with black pepper and serve on rice. Serves 4.

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings

We would get rid of an old rooster or hen with this recipe. Just put the chicken in a coop for a few days to fatten up for this old-time favorite.

• 1 chicken (about 5 lbs)
• 1 stick butter, cut into pieces
• 3 packets (1.5 oz each) instant chicken broth and soup mix, or 1 can (10 ½ oz) chicken broth
• ½ cup warm stock
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 bay leaf

Rinse the chicken under cold running water. Put it into a large pot with the bay leaf and cover with water. Let cook over medium heat until tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the chicken and set it aside. When it cools, remove the meat from the bones and chop. Skim the fat off the chicken stock, strain the stock, and return it to the pot. Add water to make 10 cups. Add the instant soup mix or broth and the butter to the stock and heat until the butter melts. Stir to mix. Take ½ cup of the stock from the pot and add 2 ice cubes to it so that it cools. Put the flour in a bowl and pour in the ½ cup cooled stock. Mix well with a fork or your fingertips to form a dough. Add a little more flour if the dough is too wet. Roll out the dough, on a floured board, thinner than pie crust (not more than 1/8 inch thick). Cut into strips and then into 1-inch pieces. Let the stock come to a boil, and then drop in pieces of dough. The dumplings will stir themselves in the boiling liquid. When you’ve finished putting the dumplings in the liquid, shake the pot. Stir the chopped chicken into the pot, reducing the heat to low. Let cook slowly for 10 minutes. 

Serves 8 to 10.