Living 2 Eat |

Chewy Bran Muffins

2 1/2 cups Bran Flakes cereal
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple in juice
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup finely chopped Georgia pecans
1 cup flaked coconut

Combine bran flakes and milk in a large mixing bowl. Set aside to allow bran flakes to soften. When flakes are softened, stir in oil, eggs and pineapple.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir into cereal mixture. Add pecans and coconut, mixing well. Spoon mixture into greased and floured (or paper lined) muffin pans.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool.

Yield: 24 muffins.

Mrs. Mary Behling
Shady Dale, Georgia

Pineapple Grilled Chicken Thighs                             

1 cup (6-oz.can) pineapple juice
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 large pineapple, cored and sliced 1-inch thick

Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic in a small bowl.
Pour over chicken thighs; refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, over medium heat 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 170 degrees.  Place pineapple slices on grill during last 10 minutes of cooking time.

Mrs. Meredith Appleton
Macon, Georgia

Summer Vegetable Casserole

1 pound yellow squash (about 3 medium), sliced 1/2 -inch thick
1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium), sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced 1/2 -inch thick
3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored and sliced
1 (3-ounce) sliced black olives
1 (3-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 - 2 teaspoons salt
1 - 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup spicy tomato juice
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed potato chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Layer vegetables, olives and green chiles in a 3-quart greased baking dish. Sprinkle each layer with oil, salt, pepper and herbs.  Pour on tomato juice. Bake for 30 minutes.

Add cheese and potato chips. Bake an additional 30 minutes.

Gene A. Delapenia
Harlem, Georgia

Testing note: If you’re in a hurry, coarsely chop the vegetables and combine everything in a large baking dish without layering. Pour on tomato juice and bake for 1 hour. Omit the topping and save on calories.

… from the kitchen of Suzanne Forsyth

Georgia Shrimp in Olive Oil and Lime

1 pound Georgia shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lime juice

Rinse and drain shrimp. Combine shrimp, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper in large zip top bag. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour (4 hours is better). During the last 30 minutes of marinating, add lime juice.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place contents of bag in 13×9-inch baking dish. Bake 8-9 minutes, stir and bake an additional 5-6 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.

When Ms. Lazenby married in 1967, her former seventh grade math teacher, Mrs. W. A. Carlton, gave her this recipe. According to Ms. Lazenby, this quick and simple one-pan brownie always gets raves.

 Mrs. Carlton’s Caramel Brownies

1 stick butter
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped Georgia pecans
Powdered sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter and brown sugar in medium saucepan, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat well. Pour into a greased 8×8-inch baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until firm and lightly brown around the edges. Cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Yield: 9 squares.

Robin Lazenby
Mansfield, Georgia

Mama Darsey’s Family Favorite Chocolate Pudding with Meringue

3 egg yolks
1 ½ cups sugar
4 cups milk (reserve ¼ cups)
16 vanilla wafers, crushed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
3 egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat egg yolks and 1 ½ cups sugar in top of a large double boiler, Slowly mix in milk.  Stir in crushed vanilla wafers. Place over boiling water. (If you do not have a large double boiler, use a heavy bottom pan and watch it carefully to prevent burning.)

Combine reserved ¼ cup milk with flour and cocoa. Stir to make a paste. Add to egg mixture, stirring to combine. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and pour into a 2-quart baking dish. Set aside.

Beat egg whites in a medium bowl. Add remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over pudding.

Bake 15 minutes or until meringue is brown.

Yield:  8 servings.

Mrs. Alice Johnson
Elko, Georgia

This version of lemonade will be beloved by all my family and friends from Immokalee, Florida.  Growing up, we were always told that Immokalee was the watermelon capital of the world.   Although I know other places claim the same title, we did grow some of the best melons!

Watermelon Lemonade

6        cups watermelon cubes (seeds removed)
1/4     cup raspberries
1        cup water
1/3     cup sugar
1/2     cup lemon juice

Place watermelon, raspberries and water in container of electric blender, cover and blend until smooth. Strain through fine mesh strainer into pitcher. Stir in sugar and lemon juice until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe courtesy of the National Watermelon Promotion Board

Many similar recipes also include 1 cup heavy cream. If the mixture is extremely dry and difficult to mix, add as much cream as needed to be able to combine ingredients and form the mixture into logs.

Mrs. Alice Wilcox
Hazlehurst, Georgia

Nut Roll

1 stick butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) package marshmallows
1 (13.5-ounce) package Graham cracker crumbs
1 (10-ounce) jar Maraschino cherries, chopped
4 cups chopped Georgia pecans

Combine butter and marshmallows in large Dutch oven. Stir over low heat until melted.

Add cracker crumbs, cherries, and pecans and mix well. Pour mixture onto wax paper and roll into logs. Wrap in foil and freeze. Slice to serve.

If you are accustomed to low salt cooking, use Healthy Request Low – Salt soup. This dish may be too salty if made with traditional soup and dry soup mix.

Mrs. Martha Little Fowler
Hazlehurst, Georgia

Pork Chop & Rice Casserole

4 - 6 pork chops
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 can cream of celery or mushroom soup
1 soup can water
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Salt, pepper and flour pork chops; brown on both sides in small amount of hot oil. Drain.

Combine rice, soup, dry onion soup mix and water in mixing bowl. Pour into casserole dish. Top with pork chops. Bake at 350° for 1 hour in metal dish and 325° for 1 hour if using glass.

Note: You can add fresh or canned mushrooms to this dish.

From the hometown of US President Jimmy Carter… Plains, Georgia… Mrs. Martha Holcombe Wise shares the special recipe from the kitchen of Alice Holcombe.   This recipe uses a staple in every Georgians diet… pecans!  

Alice Holcombe’s Applesauce Cake

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups raisins
2 cups chopped Georgia pecans
4 tablespoons hot water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add applesauce and beat until blended.

Sift dry ingredients.  Dust the raisins and pecans with a small amount of the flour mixture. Add dry ingredients gradually alternately with hot water; beat until well blended. Add raisins and pecans; blend well. Pour into greased and floured tube pan.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.