The credit for this recipe goes entirely to my sister.  She knows how to kick things up a notch or three.

This variation on Hashbrown Casserole includes peppers, bacon, extra sour cream and french fried onions on top.  It may not win any nutrition awards, but I guarantee if you take it to a potluck your dish will come home empty.

Here’s what you’ll need (add a container of french fried onion topping that didn’t make it into the photo):  

I really like recipes like this that are assembly only.  I baked it in the oven, but you could also do it in the slow cooker, if that’s more convenient for your day.

Answer this: How often do you go to potluck meals and what’s your favorite dish to take?

Have you ever heard of spoon bread?

In Berea, KY where we used to live the Boone Tavern is famous for their spoon bread, a soft cornbread served and eaten with a spoon.  Traditionally, the dish doesn’t have any cheese in it, but I found a version with cheese in an old cookbook of mine.

The Country Gourmet Cookbook calls for Colby, Fontina or Romano.  I used Swiss because that’s what I had available and it turned out great.  I served it with grilled ham and Spicy Skillet Turnip Greens from Add a Pinch (they were delicious!).

Here’s what you’ll need: 

My mom served this at Christmas time.  It was so good, I made it again the next week.

It’s also super simple.  Chop veggies.  Stir in Marzetti’s ranch dip.  The end.

This salad holds up in the fridge really well for several days.  Even the tomatoes stay perky instead of doing that limp, soggy thing that cut tomatoes can do.

Here’s the recipe, but feel free to vary it for what you like and have available. 

These may be the best carrots I’ve ever eaten.  They were perfectly cooked in the slow cooker and the butter and honey glaze made them taste scrumptious.

I love the idea of these as a Thanksgiving side dish.  They can be cleaned and cut the day before.  Then it’s just a matter of popping them in the slow cooker and turning it on.

I made 1 pound of carrots and it fed 5-6 people.  It would be easy to double or even triple the amount.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

This is one of the tastiest dressings I’ve eaten.  The little bit of sweet from the granny-smith apple pairs up well with the onion, celery and other seasonings.  It tastes like Fall.

The best part is, it starts with a box mix.

A little side story – One of my sons thinks he hates apples.  I contend that he doesn’t know if he hates them, since he hasn’t tasted one since he was 2 years old.  He didn’t realize this dressing had apples in it and he loved the dressing.  Raved about it.  Had three helpings.

He was still talking about how good it was the next day.  I finally told him that he’d been eating apple.  He still swears he hates apples, but he had no problem eating the leftover dressing.  Crazy kid.

Here’s what you’ll need to make Apple Cornbread Dressing: 

What kind of stuffing or dressing do you have on Thanksgiving? Do you make different kinds or stick with something traditional?

I know that bbq chicken is front and center, but really this post is all about the Cornbread Stuffing.  It tastes like much more than the sum of it’s parts.

It starts with a box mix.  Add corn, a little onion, some diced jalepeno pepper.  Oh my goodness!  My family loved it.  It’s not spicy at all.  I took all the seeds out of the pepper, so it wouldn’t sizzle our tongues.  The stuffing has just a little kick of flavor from the onion and jalepeno, which is a contrast to the sweet corn taste.  And it all goes great with barbeque chicken.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

Southwestern Cornbread Stuffing

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 jalepeno, seeds removed, diced
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can corn
• 1 box cornbread stuffing mix

Melt butter in small skillet.  Cook onion till soft.  Add jalepeno and cook another minute or two.

Heat broth to boiling.  Stir in cooked onions and peppers in butter.  Add corn.  Add contents of the stuffing mix.  Turn off the heat and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.  Fluff with fork and serve.

This tasted great with bbq chicken, but it would also be good as a side dish to other meal as well.

True confession – Until very recently, I had never so much as touched a beet, much less bought, cooked or eaten one.

Well, that’s not entirely true.  I used to work at a cafeteria as the “veg girl” (great title, huh?) and I served Harvard Beets.  They smell funny.  And have that thick, purple sauce.

But roasted beets are an entirely different veggie.  They’re a bit sweet.  The taste kind of reminds me of carrots.  I really liked them.  My family wasn’t as excited though.  Even Jim didn’t care for them much.  He used to work in a cafeteria too, so maybe the idea of those Harvard Beets turned him off.

I used The Green Backs Gal’s method of roasting them.  She grows them too, so if you want tips on doing that (or other green living things) check out her blog.

Roasted Beets

• Beets
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Wash the beets well and slice thin.  Place on an oiled baking sheet.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Test them with a fork for tenderness.

Do you eat beets?  How do you like them fixed?

It’s cucumber season!

I can’t actually tell that from looking at our garden. We don’t have any cukes yet, but I have noticed that people have been searching “Cucumbers and Onions” a lot lately.

In case you are blessed with many cukes, here’s another delicious way to eat them. 

This is really more method than recipe.  Use the quantity you need for your family and adjust everything according to taste.

• 1 large cucumber or several small
• 4-6 tomatoes
• red onion, sliced thin
• drizzle olive oil
• generous sprinkle red wine vinegar
• Kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Chop the cucumber and tomatoes into bite-size pieces.  Mix together in a bowl with red onion slices.  Drizzle a stream of olive oil over all.  Sprinkle on red wine vinegar.  Add a teaspoon or so of Kosher salt and some black pepper.  Stir, taste and adjust seasonings.

Do you have cucumbers in your garden? Have you been gifted with any this season?

Ambrosia is a simple dish made from coconut and oranges.  Something wonderful happens when you combine these two foods (kind of like the magic of peanut butter and chocolate together).  I decided to give my Ambrosia a summertime flair by adding a twist of lime.  So sunny and good.

Ambrosia is usually served at Christmas time, when oranges are in season.  But guess what!  Oranges are ripe and sweet in the summer too.  They may look a bit green on the outside, but inside is juicy and sweet.  In fact, the oranges I bought were much juicier than most that I’ve gotten in December.  Here’s the reason why they may look green.

Sunkist® Valencia oranges may occasionally “re-green” in warm weather. When Valencias ripen on the tree, they turn a bright orange color but warm temperatures may make their skin reabsorb chlorophyll as they hang on the tree causing the orange color to look partly green—although the outside is green, the inside remains ripe and delicious!

This Sunkist Valencia Oranges Re-greening Video explains the process further, plus it has tips on peeling Sunkist oranges.

Here’s what you’ll need to make Ambrosia with a Twist of Lime:

• 4 Sunkist Valencia oranges
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 2 Tbs. powdered sugar
• 1 lime

Peel and cut oranges into bite sized pieces.  Layer half the oranges in a small bowl.  Top with half the coconut.  Sprinkle with 1 Tbs. powdered sugar.  Cut lime in half and squeeze half over oranges and coconut.  Repeat the layers. 

Serves 4-6

You can find additional Sunkist citrus recipes here.

This is a guest post from Micha at Cookin’ Mimi.  Welcome, Micha!

In my family this is known as Mama’s slaw. I saw a similar coleslaw
recipe on a Food Network show and decided to tweak it to our
tastes.  The mix of the crunchy cabbage, creamy dressing, and
slightly spicy jalapeno has been a favorite for about seven years. 

• 1 small head of cabbage, shredded. I got about 8 cups of
  shredded cabbage from this head if measuring is your thing
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 or 2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and sliced
• 3-/4 to 1 cup of mayonnaise plus more if need
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine cabbage, tomato, onion , and jalapeno. Toss
to combine then add mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Mix well, cover and
chill for several hours in the refrigerator. Stir before serving.

Serves 8

Micha blogs at Cookin’ Mimi sharing her favorite recipes. When she’s not blogging, you
can find her reading, Tweeting or hanging out with the under 5 crowd that congregates at
her house.