Green Bean Casserole

What could be more qualified as a holiday recipe than the good ole green bean casserole? My only change is the butter and cracker topping... I never cared for the fried onion topping. Oh! And you have to have cheese! So simple, but delicious!

2 (15 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained
1/3 cup milk
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed buttery round crackers
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir soup, milk, salt, pepper, and beans in casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot. Top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Mix crackers and melted butter sprinkle on top of cheese and bake for 5 minutes.

A Christmas Tree In Every Room

Each year, we had at least two Bar-B-Ques, one at Thanksgiving and one at Christmas. The Bar-B-Que at Thanksgiving was on Saturday and was for all the employees and business associates of Mama and Daddy. The one at Christmas was on Christmas Eve and was for family and friends. We had about a hundred people at each. We would spend all week getting the house ready and two days getting all the food ready. Mama would take some of the guys from the shop (Central) and put them to work at the house. One year, Al Miller (a young black guy that worked at Central) told Mama, “You’ve owned slaves before, Haven’t you?” It was always a busy and exciting time.

At one of the Christmas Bar-B-Ques, someone came out of the bathroom and I heard, “Oh my goodness, she even has a Christmas tree in the bathroom!” Mama had a Christmas tree in every room. The kitchen... living room... bathrooms... bedrooms... everywhere... We kids even had our own trees in our rooms. The trees ranged in size from 2 feet to 6 feet. Mama had a tree with seashell ornaments. One had dove ornaments. One had all homemade ornaments. One had all Victorian ornaments. One had all red and white ornaments. One had all Santa ornaments. She had a tree made of holly decorated with ornaments. She even decorated some of the houseplants!

Mama loved it. Holidays were another reason for parties, gifts and food with family and friends! Christmas was especially magical. Mama went all out. I remember one year Mama came home with Christmas sweatshirts. Mine read, ‘I Believe in Santa Claus.' Mama’s read, ‘I Want It All.' Charlie’s read, ‘Bah Humbug!’ Mama’s one requirement for Christmas morning presents was that you believe in Santa. Mama and I even had our picture taken with Santa.

One year when Charlie was about 6 years old, he came in and told Mama that there was no Santa Claus. She questioned him and then called everyone in the room. She said, “Listen up! Charlie has come in with the idea that there is no Santa Claus! That is not true! There is a Santa and anyone who does not believe in him...well, Santa won’t bring them presents. Is that clear? And I mean it! Clear?” Well, later Mama pulled us (except Charlie) aside and said that it didn’t matter who Santa Claus was or where the presents came from. It was the love and giving of the Christ-mas season. But the presents did come and as long as we said we believed we’d get presents. It didn’t matter if we were married or 50 years old, Santa would always come for us. What a concept! And she meant it. Jim and I got married (now my ex-husband) and she told him the same thing. That first Christmas, Santa brought Jim a recliner! The next year Jim told Mama at Christmas time, “I believe!”

Chicken and Dressing Casserole



Me and Granddaddy Bradham

Thinking about the Holidays coming up got me thinking about family and loved ones past. I wanted to include this partial story from my short-stories book... Crazy People...  Philosophy 101 

"Mama included several pages of the 'Philosophy of Perry H Bradham'   in the book she was writing for me. In Mama’s eyes, Granddaddy Bradham, was all-knowing. Very seldom in life does a little girl look to her father as a hero, ‘the greatest man that ever lived’ and keep that image with her throughout her life, untarnished. Mama used to say that she worshipped her father. ‘The sun rose and set on him. My eyes were never big enough to see him.' She could not bare the thought of ever disappointing him. She would get in trouble as a child and Granddaddy would come in to punish her. He would start to talk to her, “Honey, I am very disappointed in you.” Mama said that she would sob, “Daddy please just spank me! Please!”

Granddaddy Bradham was a simple yet complex man. He made homemade wine. He cooked a pretty mean Bar-B-Q Pig! (A recipe which my Daddy combined with his own to come up with the bar-b-que he cooks today.) He used old fashioned know-how and common sense to be a successful businessman, a husband and a father who helped raised five children.

Here are some of the thoughts of Perry H. Bradham, as written by his daughter:

°A little prayer is like a spiritual glass of iced tea on a hell of a day.
°We do not solve other people’s problems; we give them confidence so they can solve their own.
°What a great world this would be if we would forget our troubles as easily as we forget our blessings.
°In a way, to be criticized is to be complimented; it shows that you were doing something too important for the critics to ignore.
°If a hypocrite is between you and God, he is closer to God than you are.
°Be careful how you live; you may be the only Bible some people will ever read.
°To act is easy; to think is hard.
°The people whose company I enjoy most are the ones who know that I don’t always enjoy company.
°Love is like an onion. We taste it with delight; but when it’s gone we wonder whatever made us bite.
°Love is like lightning. It would just as soon strike the outhouse as the church..."
 
With that said... I wanted to share a very simple, but tasty Chicken and Dressing Casserole recipe. When mixing you may think that the mixture is too wet, but it cooks perfectly! This is a dressing casserole that is so moist it doesn't even need gravy... but I love gravy, so I fix some on the side anyway!

1 chicken, boiled, deboned and cubed
1 (9x9 inch) pan cornbread, cooled and crumbled
8 slices day-old bread, torn into small pieces
4 eggs, beaten
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup

Combine all ingredients and place in a 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until set.

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars

1-1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 pkg. (8 squares) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped
1-1/3 cups Coconut
1 cup chopped Pecans

Heat oven to 350°F.
Mix graham crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan.

Pour condensed milk over crust; top with layers of remaining ingredients. Press nuts lightly into coconut layer.

Bake 30 min. or until lightly browned. Immediately run knife around edge of pan to loosen dessert from sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Sweet Potato Casserole

1- 16 oz can sweet potatoes or yams
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup low fat margarine
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 pinches ground cinnamon
1 (10.5 ounce) package miniature marshmallows


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Drain sweet potatoes and blend until creamy. In a large bowl, add potatoes and stir in the butter, brown sugar, orange juice and a dash of ground cinnamon. Spread the sweet potato mixture into a 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle the miniature marshmallows over the top and bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown.

Peach Cobbler

Filling:

2 – 29oz cans sliced peaches
¼ cup juice from peaches
1/3 cup sugar
2 T all purpose flour
1 t vanilla
¾ t cinnamon
1 T butter, cut into small pieces

Topping:
Yellow cake mix
2 sticks butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9X13 pan with vegetable oil. Combine the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Pour in greased pan and level the peach mixture out.
Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the peach mixture… get it nice and level. Melt the butter and pour over the cake mix, making sure to cover the entire cake mix. (You made need a little more butter. Cover it, but don’t drowned it.) Sprinkle it with a little sugar and cinnamon.
Bake 25-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

This is a good time of the year for your pecan recipes. Pecan pies usually accompany the holiday meals. Here's a recipe that combines pecans and cheesecake. I haven't always had good luck with cheesecakes and for a long time used 'no-bake' recipes. I made myself, last year, bake different cheesecakes... and I realized that it's takes a good recipe and a lot of practice! Now, I like to bake cheesecakes. That is the only way you will achieve the texture and richness of a good cheesecake! Yum!!!

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup pecan halves
2 - 8oz pkgs cream cheese
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/4 caramel topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter and press into the bottom and side of a 9 inch pie plate. Finely chop and toast 1/2 cup pecans and sprinkle in the bottom of the pie crust.

Blend cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add in eggs and blend again until smooth. Pour into pie crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Combine remaining pecans and caramel topping. Drizzle over each piece before serving.