Congo Bars

Delicious moist bars with nuts and chocolate chips.  They are so good and so easy to make. Congo Bars are perfect for mid-day snacking or to take along on a picnic, or as a dessert.

Ingredients

2/3 c. butter or margarine, softened or room temperature
2 1/4 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 3/4 c. flour
1 c. nuts, chopped
12 oz. chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly grease and flour the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch cake pan.

Cream butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.

Mix in baking powder, salt and flour until combined.

Stir in nuts, and chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Do not over bake.

Chicken Squares with Mushroom Sauce

If you have leftover chicken and rice, this is a great way to use them up.  If you are short on time, you can skip making the sauce and use a can of cream of mushroom soup. 

Ingredients

3 c. diced cooked chicken
1 c. cooked rice
2 c. soft bread crumbs
1/3 c. celery, diced
1/4 c. pimentos, chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1 to 2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 c. chicken broth

Sauce

6 Tbs. butter
1 can mushrooms, sliced and drained
6 Tbs. flour
2 1/4 c. chicken broth
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 c. light cream
1 Tbs. parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan. 

Combine chicken, rice, breadcrumbs, celery, and pimento.  Add beaten eggs, salt, poultry seasoning and broth.  Mix thoroughly until well combined.

Bake for 55 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, it is time to make the sauce. 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan on low heat.  Add mushrooms and sauté for about 3 minutes.

Blend in flour. Stirring or whisking constantly, cook one to 2 minutes to remove the flour taste. 

Gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly to remove the lumps of flour. Add the chicken bouillon cube, stirring until dissolved. 

Add the light cream and cook and stir until the mixture has thickened and is smooth.

Mix in the parsley and salt. Pour the mushroom sauce over the chicken as you serve the dish for supper.

Diamond Shape Cheese Monkey Bread

Cheese Monkey Bread

Diamond Shape Cheese Monkey Bread is a different twist to the usual round dough balls of monkey bread. Don't let the different shape fool you, though. It is every bit as good and loaded with cheesy flavor.

Ingredients

1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1 Tbs. sugar
1 c. milk
1c. butter, divided
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs, beaten
3 to 4 c. flour
3/4 shredded Sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Grease a 10-inch ring mold, or use two, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm water and sugar.  Stir to combine.  Allow to sit for 8 to 10 minutes for the yeast to bloom.

In a small saucepan, heat milk, 1/2 cup butter, and salt over low heat to scald.  Do not allow the mixture to boil or your milk will curdle.  Set aside to cool until it is at least 110° or lower, otherwise you kill the yeast.

Add to the yeast mixture along with eggs, and 1 cup flour. Beat well with a wooden spoon.  

Add the rest of the flour and the shredded cheese.  Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, until it is smooth and elastic. This can take 8 to 10 minutes.  The dough should be soft and just slightly sticky.

Place dough into a lightly greased bowl and turn the dough over to grease the top. (I use the same bowl that the dough was made in.) Cover the top of the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm location until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

Melt the other 1/2 cup butter over low heat. Set aside while you prepare the dough.

Divide dough in half. Roll each portion out into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 3-inch diamond shapes.

Dip each bread diamond into the melted butter. Place the buttered dough diamond into the ring mold, overlapping the diamond points.  Continue layering the dough diamonds until you have about 3 layers of dough, and the pan three-quarters full.  Do not fill the pan any more than that, or the layers of dough will push out the top layer into your oven.  

Place in a warm location and let rise until doubled in size. 

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Invert the ring pan over a plate to serve. Can serve with more melted butter, garlic butter or Parmesan cheese.

Ground Beef Chili Bake

This is an old recipe that my mother made and her mother made it as well.  Like now, meat was expensive and they had to make satisfying meals with cheaper cuts of meat much of the time.  This meal is still one of our favorite recipes to make and serve for my family!

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1 sweet bell pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 (4 oz.) cans green chilies
1 1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 drops or more of hot pepper sauce (Optional)
green or red chili taco sauce (Optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large cast iron skillet, brown ground beef, sweet pepper, onion and garlic together. Break up the ground beef into little pieces and cook until it is no longer pink.  Drain off grease. Season hamburger with salt and pepper to taste

Spread one can of green chilies over the bottom of a 10 x 6-inch loaf pan.  Sprinkle half the cheese over the top of the green chilies. 

Add the ground beef mixture over the top of the cheese.  

Spread the remaining can of green chilies over the top of the meat. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese over the top of the green chilies. 

In a bowl, combine milk, flour, salt, eggs and hot pepper sauce. Beat with a whisk until the batter is smooth. Pour over the chili cheese meat mixture. 

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted 1/2-inch deep in the center comes out clean.  The top should be lightly browned. 

Cool for 5 minutes before serving.  If you have some red or green chili taco sauce, serve it with that if desired.

Old Fashioned Perfection Salad

Old Fashioned Perfection Salad is an old recipe going back many generations.  It has stood the test of time and continues to be a favorite congealed vegetable salad. This salad goes well with roast, ham, turkey, chicken . . . almost any kind of meat. 

Ingredients

2  envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1 1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. vinegar
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 c. cabbage, shredded
1 c. celery, chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1/4 c. pimentos, diced
1/3 c. stuffed green-olive slices (optional)

Directions

In a large bowl, mix gelatin, sugar and salt together.  Add boiling water and stir until the gelatin, sugar and salt are completely  dissolved. 

Add cold water, vinegar and lemon juice. Place in the refrigerator until slightly thickened or partially set. 

Remove bowl from the refrigerator.  Stir in the cabbage, celery, green pepper, pimentos and olives.  Chill until firm.  

Cut into into squares and serve on a lettuce leaf.  You can also add some mayonnaise on top of the salad as well.   

Hello Dollies

Hello Dollies is a very old recipe that my grandmother used to make for special occasions. They are easy to make and so good!  Are they like a piece of candy, or a rich tasting bar cookie? You decide.  

This is the basic recipe, but sometimes we will add a layer of butterscotch chips after the chocolate chips. You can also use pecans instead of walnuts. 

Ingredients

1 c. butter or margarine
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Melt butter in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch cake pan

Pour graham cracker crumbs over the melted butter, spreading out to cover the bottom of the pan. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan.

Next, layer the coconut over the top of the crust, pressing into the graham crackers below.  Then, repeat with the layer of chocolate chips and press those into the coconut layer.  Layer the chopped walnuts over the chocolate chips, pressing them into the chocolate chip layer below. 

Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes, or until the top begins to lightly brown. 

Cool thoroughly before cutting into squares.

**To get the milk to pour better, sit the open can in some hot water for a few minutes.

Southern Style Macaroni

Southern Style Macaroni may be a simple and easy dish to prepare, but it tastes so good. You can transfer the ingredients into a casserole dish, but we always leave ours in the skillet.  This way, we have one less dish to wash.  

Ingredients

1 (12 oz) pkg. macaroni, cooked
salt for the macaroni water
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. bacon, diced
1 onion, chopped fine
1 green pepper, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
1 to 2 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
1/2 to 1 tsp. Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
1 (16 oz.) can red beans
1 (16 oz.) can peas, drained ** see notes below.
1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes
1/2 lb. American cheese, cubed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Fill a large pot with water, add some salt, and bring to a boil. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

Brown ground beef, bacon, onion, green pepper and garlic in a heavy cast iron skillet. Drain off fat. 

Stir in the beans, peas, tomatoes and cooked macaroni.

Season with salt and pepper, Italian herb seasoning, Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. Taste the mixture and add more seasonings if desired.

Sprinkle cheese over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the surface is bubbly, and the cheese is melted.

**

Instead of throwing out the juice from the pea can, add it to the macaroni water.  It adds some flavor to the pasta.