By Andy Bedwell
Let’s do some quick, easy and good recipes!
We Southerners love our comfort foods, and so many restaurants these days present “frilly” foods on fancy plates with swirling sauces for decoration that they are almost too pretty to eat. My goal is to serve straightforward, good food in a fairly glamorous way. I love to serve healthy portions of good old favorites, just like my mother lovingly dished up. Yes, I want all of the china to match, but my main concern is the tastiness of the dish.
Baked Taco Casserole
1 box shell macaroni
and cheese dinner
1 pound ground chuck
1 envelope taco
seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream
1 package round
tortilla chips
2 cups (8 ounces)
grated cheese
Use the directions on the box for the mac and cheese dinner. Brown the meat and drain. Stir in the taco seasoning and salsa. Combine the prepared mac and cheese and sour cream. Mix well.
Layer the macaroni mixture and the meat sauce in a 9×13 dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with the tortilla chips and cover with grated cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes longer until the cheese is melted.
Andy’s Note: This casserole is quick, easy and good! I can tell you that children love this casserole, and I have never seen an adult turn it down.
Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
1 milk chocolate cake mix
1 package of instant
chocolate pudding
1 cup Crisco oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet
chocolate chips
Mix all ingredients in your mixer except the chips. Sprinkle the chips on top of your mixture before baking. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Check with a toothpick after 45 minutes.
Andy’s Note: Leslie Morrison made this cake for her Union 3 Baptist Church’s Kids Camp Bake Sale Fundraiser. It makes a beautiful cake, and she is going to put it on my facebook page if you would like to see how it looks. I sold this cake by the slice at the “sweet shoppe” on Valentine’s Day at Gaston School in 2007. We were raising money for the school, and this cake turned out to be a hit with the students and teachers. All cakes do not have to be complicated. This is another, quick, easy and good one!
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
Happy Quick, Easy, and Good Cooking!
Andy Bedwell
“Southern Cooking with Andy Bedwell” can be purchased at The Messenger located at 1957 Rainbow Drive in Gadsden.
