Fried Green Tomatoes and Dip

About a year ago one of my cousin's and I made some fried green tomatoes... and they were delicious! The last couple of weeks I had been thinking about them... just needed to find some green tomatoes (not really something you commonly will find in the grocery store)! On Sunday my Grammy let me pick some from her garden and I found this blog Bo's Bowl (that seems to have a good amount of southern style recipes) and the recipe sounded like it'd be a good one, so I thought I'd give it a try and it was delicious! I've made a few of my own adjustments:

Ingredients:

about 8 unripe green tomatoes (this definitely depends on the size of tomatoes you have!)

1 & 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups milk

1 tsp seasoned salt

a little black pepper

oil, for frying

Slice the tomatoes into about 1/4 inch slices.  Then in a bowl mix together the remaining ingredients to form the batter.  In a heavy skillet heat one to two inches of oil to about 375 degrees.  Dip the tomatoes into the batter.  Then fry until golden brown  on both sides.  Drain on a paper towel lined plate.  Then serve with Guthrie's sauce.

Guthrie's Sauce

3/4 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup Ketchup

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt (I personally like Lawry's salt)

2 tsp jalepeño juice (optional, I like the flavoring it gives to add some of the juice from the jalepeños that you buy in the jar, but can be made without!)

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours for the flavors to meld together.  This sauce is not just great with fried green tomatoes, but also chicken fingers, seafood, and even as a salad dressing.

Margarita Pie

We don't drink alcohol in our house, but I really like some of those fancy drinks you can get virgin, like Piña Coladas! When my husband worked at Williams-Sonoma we got this YUMMY recipe using Margarita Mix! If you like key-lime pie you will LOVE this!

Ingredients:
2/3 Cup (160ml) Margarita Mix
1 Can (14 fl. oz/430ml) Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 Egg Yolks
1 Graham Cracker crumb Pie shell (you can either make this or buy it from the store)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the margarita mix, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks until well blended. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake until set, 7-10 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 8.

Pumpkin Pie

Happy October!!!

Ingredients:
Pie crust
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/8 tsp Ground Cloves
1 can (16 oz) Pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) Evaporated Milk
Whipped Cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F
Beat eggs slightly until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients except for crust and whipped cream until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake for 45 minutes longer. When finished allow to cool and refrigerate until ready to serve (4 hours is best).

Chicken Taco Soup

Thanks to the Rachael Ray Show for this one! SO yummy!

Ingredients:
2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups salsa
2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded (I prefer Costco's rotisserie chickens and the meat you get from it is the PERFECT amount for this recipe)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Chips (left over crumbs of chip bags work wonderfully in this soup!)

Directions:
In a medium-sized sauce pot over medium-high heat, add 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until softened, about 5-6 minutes.

Add the salsa, rotisserie chicken and chicken stock. Bring up to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Serve with some chopped tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, and chip crumbs. I like doing this for dinner just like tacos or taco salad people can just add what they like!

**You can also do this one in a slow-cooker! Just toss the onion, garlic, salsa, chicken, and chicken stock in your slow cooker and cook on low for four hours.***

Puppy Chow

This is a SUPER yummy snack but a word of caution... it is ADDICTING! Once you start you might not be able to stop!

Ingredients:
9 Cups Chex Cereal (I prefer the Rice Chex, no name brand!)
1 1/4 Cups Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 Cups Butter
1/4 tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Powdered Sugar

Directions:
Put cereal into a gallon sized ziploc bag. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a medium sauce pan. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into bag with cereal, toss a little. Add powdered sugar and shake until well coated.

Orange Fluff

This makes SO much that you really should do this when you're planning to share!

Ingredients:
24 oz Cottage Cheese
2 Small Boxes of Orange Jello, OR 1 large box
2 cans (8 oz) crushed pineapple (drained)
3 cans (11 oz) mandarine oranges (I personally think Del Monte is the best tasting)
8 oz Cool Whip (defrosted)
Nilla Wafers

Directions:
Mix everything except for the Nilla Wafers together, chill for at least 1 hour. Serve with the Nilla Wafers!

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) margarine or butter (softened)
2 Large Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Mashed Bananas (about 3-4 medium sized bananas)
1/2 Cup Buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 Cups All-purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 Cup Chopped Nuts (optional)
2 Cups Chocolate Chips (optional, I prefer milk chocolate baking chips)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F
Grease the bottom of 2 large loaf pans, or 4 small loaf pans, with shortening. Mix ingredients together until smooth. Bake 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Cut and serve.