Grandchildren’s favorites part two

Hello out there in Houston Co. I am Dusty and it is good to be talking to people from back home. Some of my fondest memories as a child are those spent at my grand-parents (Papa and Memaw), especially with Memaw in her kitchen. I am glad to share a few of my favorites with you. I’ll see you around fair time…Dusty 

 Sausage Cheese Balls

1 pound sausage meat (hot) I use Jimmy Dean.

1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

3 cups Bisquick

½ cup very cold water

Mix sausage meat and cheese. Work together to mix well. Work in half of the water. Mix in Bisquick and if necessary, add enough of the remaining water to make a workable dough like mass. Take rounded teaspoon full and shape into a ball (if you desire, make a little larger). Using cookie sheets with sides, grease and place sausage balls on it to cook. Bake at 350 degrees until light brown (about 15 minutes).

 Chicken/Seafood Gumbo

4 chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1 Quart water

Put in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until meat will slip from bone. Remove meat from broth to cool enough to handle. De-bone, skin, and cut up.

In a large soup pot heat:

1 tablespoon olive and add

2 large onions, chopped

1 large bell pepper, chopped

3 large ribs celery chopped.

Sauté for a few minutes and add

1 package Cajun sausage, sliced

Cook for 3 to 5 minutes and Add: 2 quarts pureed tomatoe

Chicken Broth

Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add 2 cups sliced okra (When I cook it, I omit okra. Memaw loved it in hers.) Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25 minutes. Add chopped, cooked chicken during this time, add1 pound shelled and deveined shrimp the last 10 minutes of cooking and adjust seasonings. Cook 2 cups dry white rice during this time. To serve: put rice in a bowl and serve Gumbo over it.

 Hobo Vegetables

(We have always live near the rail road tracks. We saw a lot of hobos. The children loved to hear stories about hobos and sometimes on a pretty day in the summer we would practice something that we had done in cub scouts. Make a small pit in the ground and line with bricks (stacked on the sides) and extending it at least one row of brick above the ground. After we had a good bed of coals we would put an old grill rack on top of the bricks. You could cook corn in the shuck and hotdogs and hamburgers. However the favorite was the following:

For each person cut a large square of heavy duty foil and in the center put the following:

1 carrot, scraped

1 medium onion, peeled

1 med potato, scrubbed clean

1 tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper to taste

If you want to add meat, suggest chicken thighs. Wrap foil snuggly, folding ends to secure. Place over hot coals and cook for 45 – 60 minutes or till vegetables are done, turning occasionally.

 Cucumber Salad

1/3 cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon lemon pepper

¼ teaspoon curry powder

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon parsley flakes

Texas Pete to taste

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, mix well, and set aside. Peel and thinly slice 3 cucumbers and ½ medium onion. Mix all together with desired amount of salt and pepper–making sure all vegetables are coated. Chill 2 – 3 hours and sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

 Cube Steak and Gravy

Put about ½ cup good oil in a deep heavy skillet.

Roll cube steak in the following mixture:

1 cup self-rising flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

While oil heats, lay steak to one side. When oil is hot place in coated steak. Brown on 1 side and turn over. Add 1 slice onion cover and let brown on other side. Remove to a platter. Remove most of the grease from the pan. Stir in 3 T of the flour mixture. Add a little of the grease if necessary. Cook for a few minutes and add 2 cups water. Stir and cook till thick. Serve with steak. This was always served with rice, green beans, lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad and hot biscuits.

 Texas Barbeque Brisket

1–10 pound brisket, trimmed and rubbed generously with salt mixture (½ tablespoon each of garlic salt, onion salt, and celery salt.) Place a sheet of foil that is large enough to cover brisket and fold over in a pan with a little side to it. Put brisket on foil. Mix the following and pour over the salted brisket: ½ cup each of liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce. Thinly slice 1 orange and lay slices over meat. Cover meat with foil and bake at 250 degrees for 5 hours. Open foil and pour 1 cup of BBQ sauce over meat and put foil loosely back over. Return to oven and bake for 2 hours. Remove foil from top and bake for 30 minutes more. Let meat rest before trying to slice.

Take care Memaw, I love you… Dusty, signing off