I'm on a Southern kick. Cornbread and Squash

Today, "the girls" (me, my mom, my sister, and my two nieces) went to Kentucky to get vegetables from the Amish.

The girls love taking field trips. We got lots of yummy things: Chocolate covered pretzels, fresh baked bread, tomatoes, peaches, squash, red potatoes, lavender, basil, sage, and thyme. We love fresh vegetables at our house and often our dinner is made up of all vegetables and no meat. Tonight, I made a couple of my favorite things--Squash casserole and cornbread. We also had fresh green beans and sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper. 

Squash casserole and cornbread are two very simple things to make. I grew up eating both and now consider them major "comfort food". It is always exciting for me to make something that my mom made during my childhood and realizing that it is really pretty simple and tastes just like hers. This squash casserole is so simple to make and is the best I've ever had. The cornbread is equally as simple using Martha White cornmeal mix and a few tweaks! 

Squash Casserole

4 yellow squash
3 zucchini squash (you can use all yellow squash if you don't have zucchini. The zucchini just adds a little color).
About a quarter block velveeta cheese
3 tablespoons butter
About 1/4 cup plus 2 T finely diced onions
Salt and pepper

Method
Wash squash and slice. Place in a pot and cover with water--add a couple dashes of salt. Bring water to a boil and boil about 20 minutes or until squash is soft.

Once squash is fully cooked and soft, drain water. Put squash, butter, and cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add some salt and pepper (I don't have an exact amount. Just add some and then taste after mixing and adjust. Remember that the cheese is pretty salty on it's own)

Now mix squash with an electric hand mixer on high just until butter and cheesy are melted and there are no chunks of cheese anywhere. Taste it and make sure it has enough salt and cheese; If not, add a little more. Now pour into a greased baking dish. You can use whatever size you want, but a 9x13 pan will make the squash cook faster. Tonight, because I was also baking cornbread, I had the oven at 450. The squash is already "cooked", you are just wanting to brown it, so a high temperature is fine. Bake  it until it is bubbly and slightly browned on top. Easy peasy! I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but I did take a picture of my whole plate.

That cornbread looks pretty good, huh? It's easy to make too!

Southern Cornbread

1 large egg

1 1/3 cups milk or 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I highly recommend buttermilk if you have it. It makes the bread so much fluffier and moist. I didn't have buttermilk this time, so I used regular milk. Still good)

1/4 canola oil

2 cups Martha White self rising corn meal mix

*About half a cup white sugar--The Martha White recipe does not call for sugar, but I like a little sweetness in my cornbread.

Method

Making real cornbread in anything besides a cast iron skillet just will not do. If you don't have one, you need to get one. It will last forever if you take good care of it.

Coat cast iron skillet with canola oil and place in 450 degree oven. While the skillet is heating, mix the lightly beaten egg, oil, and milk together. Then add cornmeal. Mix and add more milk if mixture is too thick. Then add the sugar if you're into slightly sweet cornbread. 

Now take the skillet out of the oven and pour in the batter. The reason you let the oil sit in the skillet in the oven before your add the batter is that the oil gets hot so that when you add the batter, it cooks the edge quickly and gives it that trademark brown crispiness. 

Now throw it in the oven and bake it about 25 minutes or until browned. When it is done and has had a few minutes to cool some, you can try to flip the skillet and get it out of there. However, this is sometimes tricky and results in a broken, crumbly cornbread. Cutting it while it is still in the skillet works just as well. Cut it like a pie and put lots of butter on each piece. Voila! 

Perfect. The only thing that would make it better is serving it with sweet tea and lots of lemon. I love summer!

Homemade Banana Pudding

As I have said many times before, I have a major sweet tooth. I do not discriminate against any desserts but, growing up in the south, banana pudding happens to be one of my favorites. Homemade banana pudding is the dessert of the south. There are two rules to making the perfect southern homemade banana pudding. The first rule is never never never use instant pudding. Homemade vanilla pudding is not that difficult to make and it makes a huge difference in the final product. It hurts my heart to see banana pudding made with instant boxed pudding and then called "homemade". No no no. Follow this recipe and you can go to bed knowing your homemade banana pudding truly is homemade and perfect.

Homemade Banana Pudding

1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 cup cornstarch
5 tablespoons butter
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups whole milk
Box of vanilla wafers
4 banana, thinly sliced (or more depending on how much you like bananas)

The second trick to making the best homemade banana pudding is the vanilla wafers you buy. You have to buy the name brand. I am all for buying off brand for most things, but some off brand things are just not as good (coke, ritz crackers, cheerios) and this is one of them. Pay the extra dollar for the good ones.

Method:
In the top of a double boiler, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the milk and whisk until it is smooth. Cook over medium heat until milk is hot.

Add a cup of the hot milk mixture to the beaten eggs, whisking to avoid scrambling. Then add the egg/milk mixture back into the milk in the double boiler, whisking as you pour. Stir consistently until the pudding begins to thicken. Once the mixture has boiled and is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla and stir until melted. The stick the pot in an ice bath and continue whisking until the pudding has thickened and cooled some.


In the bottom of a 2 quart serving bowl, put a thick layer of vanilla wafers. Then follow with a layer of thinly sliced bananas.

After that, cover the layer of cookies and bananas with a good amount of pudding. Then do another layer of cookies and bananas, and top it off with the remaining pudding. If you have any more cookies left, put them on top. If not, its okay. You're going to end of topping it with meringue or whipped cream anyway. Cover with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The longer you let it chill and set, the better. If you have the time, over night is best because it will definitely be set and the cookies will be soft.

Top with whipped cream at serving time! Yummm!

Salmon, Sweet tea, and P.S. I Love You

I'm writing this post a little bit different than usual. Usually, I wait until dinner has been made, eaten, and cleaned up before I post about it. Tonight, however, I am writing as I wait for dinner to cook. Right now, the red potatoes are cooking away in the oven and the tea is brewing on the stove. And I am sitting here, on the couch, watching P.S. I Love You. I love this movie. So much, in fact, that when I saw that it was coming on at 5, I jumped up and started dinner. This way, I can watch the movie and cook dinner at the same time. Tonight for dinner, I am making Salmon Croquettes.

Supposedly, our taste buds change every 5 or 7 years. I definitely think that my taste buds have changed since I was a kid. Something my parents made from time to time as I grew up were Salmon Croquettes and, anytime momma would say that was what was for dinner, I would groan. Within the last couple years, though, they have become something I crave. They're almost as good as crab cakes...Okay, that was a lie. Crab cakes are way better than Salmon Croquettes but, I'm on a college budget, so Salmon Croquettes it is.

Salmon Croquettes
Ingredients:
1 14 oz can salmon (you could use 2 fresh fillets instead but, like I mentioned, college budget)
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon celery
1/2 cup bread crumbs, plus more for coating (I used half regular bread crumbs and half crushed up garlic croutons)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Dash worshteshire sauce
1/2 T parsley
Canola oil for frying

Method:
1. Mix together all ingredients in a bowl. I found that it was easier to dive right in and use my hands to do the mixing.
2. Then form the mixture into patties. You can make them as big or small as you like. You could make little ones if you wanted to serve them as appetizers. I made mine into 4 medium sized patties. Then coat the patties with bread crumbs.

Here's how they looked after being covered in bread crumbs.

3. Now heat up your skillet (I prefer cast iron) and add the oil (just enough to coat the bottom.) Once the oil is heated, throw the patties in (If it sizzles when you add them, you know the oil is hot enough.)

Cook them for about 5 minutes on medium, then flip them. They should look like this--

4. Cook 5 more minutes on the other side (you may need to add a little bit more oil) and then place them on a plate with a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.

And there you have it. I had a salad, new potatoes, and sweet tea with mine. A little lemon squeezed on top is good, too!

Where there is hot melty cheese involved, I am happy.

It's true. I love a few things in life, some most of which involves food. I love chocolate, bread, garlic, cheese, and pudding. My dinner tonight and the recipe I am about to share involves 3 of the 5. Not bad. I have been on an Italian kick for the past week or so. I had homemade personal pan pizza twice, baked spaghetti once, and pizza at a restaurant once. All in one week. Like I said--hot cheese has a special place in my heart. Plus, where there is Italian food, there is bread. And garlic. And butter.

Anyway, tonight for dinner i made my mom's Stuffed Shells. They are pretty easy to make and will fool your roommate into thinking you are a world famous cook. Here's how you do it.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:
1/2 of a 16oz box jumbo pasta shells
2 cups large curd cottage cheese
6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used the bag of like 4 different kinds. Romano, mozzarella  parmesan, etc. and it was really good!)
1/4  cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 pinch garlic powder (Naturally, I used much more than a pinch. What does "pinch" even mean, anyway?)
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t parsley
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
Cheese for sprinkling on top
8 oz frozen spinach, optional (I always use spinach because I think it makes it even better.)

Method:
1. Cook shells completely and place in cold water. (Those shells take a while to cook cause they are so thick.)
2. Mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of the parm, egg, and garlic in a bowl.
3. Rub dried herbs on your hands and mix cheese using your hands. Add the spinach if you choose to include it.
4. Spread 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of the pan (I used an 8x8 square pan)
5. Drain shells and stuff with cheese mixture. Place open side up in pan, close together.
6. Pour remaining sauce over the shells and sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes and let stand 10 minutes before serving (I probably waited a whole 2 minutes. YOLO.)

Perfect. Or, should I say, perfetto!

Of course, you can't have sauce and cheese without bread. I got this garlic and herb topped bread at Wally World and was pretty impressed.

We also had salad with it of course. Complete with Olive Garden dressing. Yum.

Ding Dong Cake

If you know me, you know about my love infatuation with chocolate. Don't get me wrong, I do not discriminate against any sweets, but I am a bit partial to chocolate. Every night, after I eat dinner and clean up the kitchen, I have to have something sweet. I'm telling you, it is like clockwork. I definitely wouldn't be mad about losing 5 pounds, but I am willing to trade a little extra "cushion" for my evening sweet. Sue me.

As I have said, my parents were never the type to buy anything "packaged". No "Blue Box" mac and cheese, no Cocoa Puffs, and no Little Debbie snack cakes. Of course, this lead to major binging when I would spend the night with friends whose parents did buy that kind of stuff, but that's a whole other issue. Lucky for me, I was introduced to something even better than packaged snack cakes...Ding Dong Cake.

It is exactly what the name implies. It is a cake replicating the American favorite snack cake, the "Ding-Dong". Needless to say, this version is so much better. So, without further ado, I give you Ding Dong Cake.

Ingredients:

Devil's Food cake mix
3 oz softened cream cheese
8 oz cool whip
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 can chocolate frosting

Method:

Make cake according to usual instructions. Bake in two 8 inch round cake pans (I always use cooking spray as well as flour to ensure the cakes come out perfectly). Let cakes cool completely. For the filling: Mix together the cream cheese, cool whip, and confectioners sugar. Spread evenly on one cake, then top with the other cake. Heat the can of frosting for 30 seconds in the microwave (frosting should be runny enough to pour over the cake but not so much that it completely slides off.) Pour the frosting over the cake and spread it around the sides as it runs down. It will probably look a little messy; it gets easier.

Refrigerate several hours or overnight!

*Do not use lite of fat free ingredients. The cake will not set properly.

Cutting the cake can be a little tricky. If you try and cut the pieces too small, it will just fall apart. People are going to want a good size piece anyway, so just dip your knife in hot water and cut everyone a good size slice. :)

Salt, Pepper, and Garlic.

I grew up in a food loving home. Both my mom and my dad love (and are good at) cooking. My grandmother and grandfather opened a successful bakery that is now a successful and well known catering company. My aunt owns a popular and delicious restaurant about 40 minutes from me. Needless to say, I have been blessed to be surrounded by excellent food my entire life. Not only did I never go hungry, the food that I was served was much above par. I can remember wishing that my parents would buy boxed macaroni and cheese (Why? I know) because we simply did not have that kind of stuff. Everything was homemade. 

My dad was always inviting me into the kitchen to help him cook. He taught me the simple, yet so important, cooking commandments. He taught me that if a recipe calls for brown sugar, you pack it tightly into the measuring cup. However, if a recipe calls for flour, you carefully spoon it into the measuring cup and scrape of the excess with a flat edge. He taught me that while cooking allowed for a little wiggle room and inventiveness, baking is much more finicky. Cooking is an art. Baking is a science.

From the time that I can remember, I have loved cooking. It was not until I came to college, however, that I truly began to appreciate the knowledge about food I have gained throughout my life. I have learned lots of new things while cooking on my own since I've been at college and I have fallen back on many of the early lessons my dad taught me as well. 

What is the most important cooking lesson, you ask? I don't know that there is one thing that trumps another in importance. But, the whole time I was learning to cook growing up and would take something I had made to my dad for a taste test, he would ask "Did you use salt and pepper?" After he had tried whatever it may be, 9 times out of 10, he would tell me, "Add more garlic."