By Andy Bedwell
Let’s begin the New Year with some quick, easy and good recipes.
Apple Salad
1 (16 oz.) can
drained pineapple
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
5 large apples
1/2 stick margarine
Cool Whip
Pecans
Cook pineapple, sugar and flour until it thickens. Add margarine when taken off heat. Put into refrigerator to cool. Peel and dice apples. When pineapple cools, add the apples. Top with Cool Whip and pecans.
Andy’s Note: I cannot be-gin to tell you how many years that I have had this recipe. It is simple and everyone loves for me to have it in the refrigerator chilling. I have served it in individual sherbet glasses. So pretty and so easy!
Turnip Green Casserole
4-5 cups cornbread crumbs
1 (27 ounce) can
turnip greens
1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of
chicken soup
Butter a two and one-half quart baking dish and sprinkle one-third of cornbread crumbs in bottom. Mix turnip greens and chopped onion together and spread half on top of crumbs. Spoon half of soup over turnip greens. Repeat the layers of breadcrumbs, turnip greens and soup. Top with remaining third of breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Andy’s Note: Okay, so we Southerners love our greens. At some point during the week in my house, there is some version of a casserole on the table. Casseroles are a great way to use up any leftovers you have in the fridge, since about any combination will work. I usually always have cornbread in the freezer. Greens are an essential part of our New Year’s Day meal in the South. According to our tradition, the amount of greens you eat is how much money you will have in the coming year.
Another Chicken
Casserole
2 cups elbow pasta,
cooked and drained
2 cups frozen mixed
vegetables, cooked
and drained
2 cups shredded
Cheddar cheese
1 cup French fried onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I use canned chicken)
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine everything in a large bowl, reserving half of the cheese and half of the French-fried onions for topping later. Spoon into a 9×13-inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with the remaining French-fried onions and and cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted, about five minutes more.
Andy’s Note: This dish is really pretty convenient using the canned chicken and it also freezes well.
Hershey Bell Cookies
1 3/4 self-rising flour
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix and shape into balls. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for eight minutes at 325 degrees. Take out of oven and put candy on top. Return to oven for two to five minutes.
Andy’s Note: I forget about this cookie until I see the red and green foil Hershey’s Bells. Another good and easy recipe!
Happy New Year Cooking!
Andy Bedwell
“Southern Cooking with Andy Bedwell” can be purchased at Alabama Gift Company in downtown Gadsden and The Messenger on Rainbow Drive.