Cabbage Casserole and Strawberry Bread
I am a person who reads cookbooks the way other people read novels. My best weekends are enjoyed by going to estate sales and thrift stores looking for cookbooks and handwritten recipes. I also love to spend the day in libraries.
When Mary Virginia was attending Jacksonville State, she would drop me off at the library while she was in class and I would make copies of dozens of recipes.
When we are on vacation, I look for thrift stores and libraries. By the way, Panama City Beach has a GREAT thrift store with hundreds of cookbooks.
Cabbage Casserole
1 small cabbage, chopped small
1 pound ground chuck
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup white rice, uncooked
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
hot sauce to taste
salt and black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups water
1 can tomato soup
1 can shoe peg corn, drained
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Chop the cabbage and place in a greased 9 x 13 inch Pyrex dish. Brown meat and onion. Stir in rice, salt, and pepper. Add Worcestershire, hot sauce, and ketchup.
Also add corn. Spoon mixture over cabbage. Bring soup and water to a boil.
Pour over top of casserole and sprinkle with cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Andy’s Note: I put this recipe together when Mary and I were SERIOUSLY dieting. You can omit the ground chuck and it becomes a wonderful low calorie dish. We love cabbage and it is usually one of the first vegetables that we have in the garden.
Strawberry Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
2 (10 ounce) packages of frozen strawberries (thawed)
1 1/2 cups Crisco oil
3 eggs, beaten
Sift dry ingredients together. Add pecans and mix. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients. Mix the rest of your ingredients and pour into the well and stir until lightly mixed. Pour the mixture into a large greased and floured tube pan or 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until checked with a toothpick.
Andy’s Note: This is such a moist bread and so easy to put together (no mixer needed). This recipe makes wonderful muffins and you can bake this bread all year since you use frozen berries.
This is one of my favorite recipes! I dare say how many times I have served this at a brunch or wedding reception.
There is not anything as pretty or as delicious as a tray of sliced assorted breads.
Have you noticed that most of my recipes are simple foods, one-pot meals, and easy to prepare dishes?
I have had so many people to tell me that they love my cookbook because it has simple dishes.
As Southerners, we do not have to make complicated dishes to have a delicious meal; we love to use what we have in our cabinets.
I am looking forward to sharing a lot of garden vegetable recipes with all of you.
Happy Cooking,
Andy (Andrea) Bedwell
“Southern Cooking with Andy Bedwell” can be purchased at Little Faces Doll Shop, Alabama Gift Company, and the Messenger on Broad Street.