Tag Archives: southern sides

Sep7

Perfect Mexican Cornbread

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Perfect Mexican Cornbread

  
Fall is just around the corner and that means the county fair is on its way for this part of Texas. So I’ve been working all summer on trying to achieve the perfect cornbread recipe to enter into the cornbread contest. I’ve finally got it! My husband even said “This is the best cornbread I’ve ever had in my life!” 😍 I’ll keep yall posted if I win, but even if I don’t, this cornbread is still delicious!

*Update* My cornbread won third place yall in the Tri-State Fair! It was entered into the cornbread contest and 1st and 2nd prize went to plain cornbread, but they said they loved my Mexican cornbread! Hopefully next year they’ll separate the categories into a plain cornbread and Mexican cornbread, but I’ll take it for this year! 😊

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 c cornmeal 
  • 1/2 c all purpose flour (you can also use whole wheat flour or corn flour)
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt 
  • 1 T honey
  • 1 c milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 c oil 
  • 1/4 c sour cream
  • 1/4 – 1/2 c chopped green chiles (I used Hatch fire roasted chiles and you can adjust the heat by either using 1/4 c or 1/2 c) *if you don’t have these fresh they come canned nearly everywhere
  • 1 c frozen corn kernels 
  • 1 c shredded Mexican cheese (you can just use cheddar if that’s all you’ve got on hand) 

1. Get all your ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

  
You can use your favorite cornmeal mix. I love this one and plus, it’s from Texas 😀🌵💪🏻

   
  

   
2. After you’ve mixed everything together really well you’re going to pour it into your greased 10 inch cast iron skillet, or as I like to call her “Ole’ Faithful”.

  
3. Now put into a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top starts to turn golden. 

  
4. Serve with a giant pat of butter and top with chow chow or eat plain. And don’t forget the wine! Wine, butter, and carbs = perfection. 

  

Jul25

Fried Green Tomatoes

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Fried Green Tomatoes

  
I picked so many green tomatoes today, and aside from using most of them for my Chow Chow, I thought I’d fry some for a delicious Southern treat.  

First, let’s bask in the glory of my 18.6 lbs of green tomatoes…

  
It’s glorious. Also, I think you can see that I am most definitely team Targaryen. I’m also in the R + L = J conspiracy theory group, and have high hopes to see my boy Jon rise from the dead next season. But anyway, back to my tomatoes… 

Ingredients: 

  • 2 large green tomatoes 
  • 1 c all purpose white or wheat flour
  • 1 c cornmeal based fish fry (I love the Louisiana fish fry mix) 
  • 1 egg
  • 1 T milk
  • Canola, peanut, vegetable, or your favorite oil for frying

1. Slice up those emerald beauties. Also, start heating up your frying oil. You’re shooting for 350, so it should be on medium to slightly higher than medium heat.

  
2. Prepare your egg wash by mixing your egg with 1 T milk.

  
3. Prepare a little batter station for you to dip your ‘maters in. Fish fry in one shallow dish, flour in another, and your egg wash mixture in the middle.

  
  
4. Now dredge your ‘maters in the flour first, shake off the excess, then bring it over to your egg wash bowl.

  
  
  
5. Now dredge it through the fish fry and shake off any excess.

  
6. When your oil is ready to go, put those puppies in there for about a minute to a minute and a half, then flip them over. After another minute or so, take them out and allow them to drain. You can use a paper towel, but both sides will stay crispy better if you allow it to drain on something that elevates it like a cooling rack over a paper towel. 

  
  
Now flip… Another minute on this side and they’ll be done. 

Now allow them to drain and cool for a minute before eating. Absolutely divine! 

  
 

Nov22

Green Bean Casserole

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Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Are y’all so excited for Thanksgiving? I can hardly wait! I’ve been looking forward to this delicious meal for the last month, and I’ve been prepping to get everything ready for the big day. This green bean casserole is creamy, cheesy, and so yummy! I am going to freeze it today and then take it out of my freezer Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and let it defrost in the fridge overnight. It’s one of those side dishes I can easily prepare ahead of time so I’m not swamped doing everything the day of.

Ingredients:
2 frozen bags of whole green beans
1 large sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 stick of butter
1 jar of pimentos or 1/4 c roasted red bell peppers chopped
8 oz Velveeta
2 oz cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom
6 oz (1 can) French’s fried onions
Salt and pepper
Cayenne pepper (optional)

1. First boil your green beans in salted water for about 10 minutes. You want them cooked all the way through, just not so cooked that they’re soggy and limp like canned green beans. Bleh! Fresh is what makes all the difference in this recipe. Once they’re done, drain and set aside.
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2. Meanwhile, saute your onions, garlic, butter, salt, and pepper over medium heat until they start to turn golden. -13

3. Once your onions are done, add your cream of mushroom, cream cheese, Velveeta, and roasted red peppers to the pan. Also add a pinch of cayenne pepper if you want to. You’ll want to watch this and stir often so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
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4. Once that’s all melted and smelling delicious, add 1/2 your can of fried onions to this and stir together.
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5. Now add your creamy mix to the green beans and stir together gently.
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6. Lastly, sprinkle the last of the fried onions over the top of the green beans and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
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Enjoy 🙂

Feb19

Seasoned Sweet Potato Fries

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Seasoned Sweet Potato Fries

Seasoned Sweet Potato Fries
Y’all, I have a serious obsession with sweet potato fries. They are so delicious and easy to make. And not to mention cheap! Try these out the next time you’re grilling burgers or hot dogs!

Ingredients:
Sweet potato cut into fries (Use a knife – no fry cutter works on a sweet potato, believe me I went through 3 of them!)
Enough oil to cover your fries (Use an oil with a high smoke point like canola or peanut)
Your favorite seasoned fish fry
Your favorite season-all (I used Tony’s)

1. Place your sweet potato fries in a large boil and keep covered in water until ready to use. Once you’re ready, drain them.
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2. I used a half a bag of this seasoned fish fry. You want all the fries to be covered in the seasoning.

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3. Stir up the fries so they’re evenly coated.
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4. Fry them in batches in your oil. I always turn mine a little higher than medium heat and test it out by sprinkling a little fish fry on it to see if it starts frying it. If not, I turn the heat up a bit. However, if you’re the scientific type, you’re looking for a temp of 325-350F. Also, don’t overcrowd your frying pan because this will cause the fries to be soggy and also drop the temperature of your oil, thus making your cooking time longer. You’ll cook your fries in batches of 30-40 minutes each and as soon as you take the fries out, place them on a cookie sheet that’s been lined with paper towels and season immediately with your season-all.
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5. Keep fries in a 200F degree oven to keep them crisp and delicious until you’re ready to serve. Seasoned Sweet Potato Fries

Oct12

Favorite Beans

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Favorite Beans

Favorite Beans

 

Ever since my sister and I were little we always asked for these beans as “favorite beans” because as you have probably already figured out, they are our favorite beans. It’s a great side dish to grilled chicken, grilled pork, burgers, or BBQ and is an easy, cheap way to feed a family or small crowd. The best thing about these beans is you can change up the bean ingredients each time and they are still delicious!

Ingredients:
3 different cans of beans (featured here are Bush’s Grillin Beans “Smoke House Tradition” 22 oz can, Bush’s Best Black Beans 15 oz can, and Bush’s Best Pinto Beans 15 oz can) **I will say I always use a can of Grillin Beans and switch up the other two ingredients because I consider these a staple to this recipe**
1 sweet onion
1 jalapeno
2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
3-4 slices of your favorite bacon
1-2 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce (optional)
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

1. I like to use my cast iron skillet for this side dish. If you don’t have one you need to get one because every cook should have a cast iron skillet, but if you must use a regular skillet that’s ok for now 🙂

2. Dice up your sweet onion and slice your jalapeno into rings. Place in saute skillet over medium to high heat with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 10-12 minutes or until it starts to caramelize and parts of onion appear golden. (Don’t rush caramelizing the onion because you’ll just burn it. This takes time. Sit down, relax, have a glass of wine. Are you a mom? Leave the stove top for a minute and go see what room of the house your child has destroyed. Hint: all of them)

3. Slice bacon into bite size pieces and throw bacon in at this time. Cook for about 5-7 minutes minutes before throwing in your chopped garlic. Cook another 5 minutes or so. Be careful not to burn the garlic and add olive oil as needed throughout saute process to keep moist.

4. Once bacon has been cooked and onion is fully caramelized, add three cans of beans to the mixture (do not drain beforehand). Turn heat down to low and allow beans to mingle with the yummy onion/jalapeno concoction for a few minutes while stirring to help them along. Give it a taste and see what you think. If you like your beans a little sweeter give them a healthy squirt of your favorite BBQ sauce. Personally, I like to add a squirt of Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ sauce in there to take this dish over the top.