By Andy Bedwell
Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
One large ketchup
2 stalks celery, finely minced
Juice of one lemon
3 shakes of oregano leaves
Horseradish to taste (I like enough to burn my nose after the first taste)
Note: I usually buy my shrimp already steamed and ready to eat, and I love for it to stay in the refrigerator overnight. The shrimp needs to be really cold and placed on a bed of lettuce for serving.
Cowboy Salad
Bag of Fritos (small size, not the large or scoop)
Head of lettuce
Homemade chili
3 cups extra-sharp
shredded cheese
sliced red onion
4 tomatoes, chopped
Note: I layered my salad in a Pyrex round pie plate. This is a great way to use leftover chili, and you will need several cups. The more chili, the better the salad will look and taste. I cover the bottom of the round pie plate with broken Fritos. Then saturate the Fritos with the homemade chili, chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, (save a little for the top) chopped tomatoes and sliced red onion. At this point, some salsa can be added. On top, I scatter Fritos and cheese. My family loves this salad and it is so easy to put together.
Spaghetti Salad
1 pound thin spaghetti, cooked, drained and cooled
3 large tomatoes, diced
1 large cucumber, diced small
1 small green bell pepper, diced small
1 large red onion, sliced and chopped
2 cans sliced olives
(2 ¼ ounce) drained
½ cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon celery seeds
sprinkle with garlic powder
1 (16-ounce) bottle
of Italian dressing
Mix together and keep refrigerated.
Note: I always break my spaghetti in thirds before it is cooked. I must confess that I am not really fond of pasta salads, but this recipe won me over. This recipe makes close to a gallon and it keeps forever in the refrigerator.
Strawberry Cookies
1 Strawberry Duncan Hines cake mix (note: Duncan Hines reduced their cake mix two or three ounces in the past couple of years. Now I buy two cake mixes and take three ounces out of another box.)
¾ Crisco oil
1 egg, beaten
Mix all ingredients together and roll in balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
Note: These cookies should barely be brown around the edges. Do not overcook. Do not remove these cookies from the coo-kie sheet until they have cooled, or they will crumble. I think you will be shocked to see how wonderful these little cookies taste. Easy and good!
“Southern Cooking with Andy Bedwell” can be purchased at The Messenger newspaper located at 1957 Rainbow Drive.