Texas Crab Grass..YUM!

Recently I was introduced to this fantastic hot or cold dip recipe from coastal Texas. I know the Super Bowl has just passed, but try this for a new addition at your next event! thesoutherdish@gmail.com

Texas Crab Grass
10 oz. pkg of frozen chopped spinach
1 stick butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
6 1/2 oz. crab meat
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Thaw spinach and squeeze as dry as possible. Reserve. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute until translucent. Add spinach and heat through. Add crab meat and Parmesan, stirring well. Transfer spinach mixture to 1-qt baking dish and bake 15-20 minutes. Or transfer mixture to crock pot (set to low) to keep warm, stirring occasionally. Can be served hot or cold with crackers, bread chunks, or your other favorite dipper. Enjoy!

Healthy Start for the New Year - Vegetable Soup

After the indulgences of the holidays, I was ready for a big pot of veggies. Today was rainy and cold, so I went for veggies in soup. I can't say that I have a recipe for soup, but here's a great start to homemade vegetable soup.

Saute chopped onions in butter and olive oil in equal parts. When those are soft, throw in a few ribs of celery, chopped. Next stir in strips of savoy cabbage, bok choy, kale, etc., chopped into bite-sized pieces. Once those are wilted, add a package of sliced fresh mushrooms. Finally, stir in a few chopped cloves of garlic. Add cans of diced tomatoes, including the juice, and then flavorful broth or stock to desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper, and maybe a little Cajun spice, and then simmer for an hour or two.

There's no real recipe, so adjust the vegetables and flavors as you like. And welcome to a healthy 2009!

Holiday Recipes: Cranberry Relish / Easy Cranberry Sauce

I love this quick and easy cranberry condiment! Frankly, I don't know if it is a relish or a sauce, but it is good, you don't even cook it, and you can replace some or all of the sugar with Splenda if you want. Make it a day ahead, and store it in the fridge. That's one less thing to do on turkey day! thesoutherndish@gmail.com

Cranberry Relish / Easy Cranberry Sauce
1 12-oz. bag fresh cranberries, washed and sorted
1⁄2 orange, separated into sections and with seeds removed
1⁄2 crisp apple, cored, chopped (it is fine to leave the peeling on)
3⁄4 cup sugar, or to taste (I replace at least half the amount with Splenda granular)
dash of cinnamon, optional

Put all ingredients, except cinnamon, in a food processor and pulse everything is chopped to desired consistency. Taste and add cinnamon if desired. Store refrigerated in a air-tight container.

Family Favorite Recipe: Monkey Bread!

Sometimes during the holidays and at family gatherings, we just can't be healthy. Monkey Bread falls into that category. Mom has made this for as long as I can remember. Right out of the oven, it is ridiculously good. (It is not my favorite thing cold, though. I suggesting eating it warm, for sure!) It is especially good for company, during the holidays, on cold winter mornings, with a big pot of coffee! The rumor is that this stuff is called monkey bread because you sit around and pick at it like monkeys. Who knows if it is true or not, but I surely am bananas for it! thesoutherndish@gmail.com

Monkey Bread
1 c. sugar
2 T. ground cinnamon
3 cans (7.5 ounces each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits or crescent rolls
1 stick of butter, melted (plus extra for buttering the pan)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut or tear biscuits / rolls into quarters. Dip in melted butter and then roll or dip in sugar mixture to coat. Place coated pieces in a buttered 10-cup Bundt pan. Mix together any leftover sugar mixture with any leftover melted butter, and pour over bread prior to baking. Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan 5 minutes.
Invert onto serving plate. Serve warm.

Thanksgiving Recipes: Dressing Two Ways!

You can't forget the dressing at Thanksgiving. The Southern Dish has two tried and true, amazing dressing recipes that will always give you a no-fail dressing. thesoutherndish@gmail.com

Our Dressing

2 recipes Favorite Cornbread (see recipe list to the left)

4 -5 cans of low sodium chicken broth or, even better, equal amount of your own stock, heated

2 pieces of white bread with crusts removed (or left over biscuits; they work great!)

8-10 saltine crackers finely crumbled

1 to 1 1/2 sticks butter or equal amount of spread such as Smart Balance

1 large yellow onion, diced

2-4 ribs celery, diced

1 can water chestnuts drained and chopped

4-5 large eggs

lots of dried sage

black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Make cornbread according to the "basic" recipe and allow to cool completely (I would never even think about adding sugar. In my opinion, that will ruin the dressing.) Crumble cooled cornbread in a very large bowl. Tear white bread into pieces and mix that and cracker crumbs with the cornbread. Add the onion, celery, water chestnuts. Stir well to combine. Begin adding chicken broth 1 cup or so at a time until you are almost to the consistency of cake batter. Liberally sprinkle sage all over the dressing "batter." (My family disagrees on this sage issue. My grandmother, the famous Ma Ma, and I like tons of sage. My mother, known as Mom, likes a little. So use your own judgement.) Sprinkle a 3-4 shakes of ground black pepper in. Stir and taste. Yes, taste. Tasting is a crucial part of this recipe. You haven't added the eggs yet, so just see if you like flavors. If not, add a little more of whatever your taste buds suggest you might like. (This usually involves adding more sage, and possibly more onion and celery, for me. You probably will not need to add salt. The butter and the broth usually cover that pretty well.) Once you're happy with the amount of sage and everything else, add the eggs. You want the final consistency to be that of cake batter, very pourable, so add more broth or stock if you need to. Pour into your dish and bake an hour or so (watch it carefully after about 45 minutes) or until edges are golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. DO NOT OVER COOK IT. You can change up the flavors to suit your taste, but there is nothing worse than dry dressing. (You should use gravy because you like it, not because you need it for moisture.) I'm sure your dressing will be perfect. Happy Thanks giving!

Mama Mary's Cornbread Dressing

Lots of rich chicken stock (make your own by simmering 1 1/2 to 2 pounds chicken necks and backs using enough water to cover)

1 large onion, chopped

3 or 4 ribs of celery, chopped

1 stick margarine

12 slices toast (lightly browned)

1 large iron skillet of cornbread

1 packet dry onion soup mix

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cans cream of celery soup

2 eggs, slightly beaten

black pepper



A day before serving: Melt margarine in large skillet and saute the onion and celery until transparent. Crumble the toast and cornbread in a very large bowl. Add the dry onion soup mix, eggs, soups, pepper, and the sauteed veggies (don't bother to drain the margarine---just pour it all in the bowl). Add broth until it is soupy. Sometimes I supplement my homemade broth with store-bought broth, but don't even attempt to use all canned broth! Refrigerate overnight.


The day you plan to serve: Bake in a large baking dish or 2 medium sized pans at 350 for 45 min to 1 hour, depending on the depth of your baking dish. This is so good I don't ever even bother to make gravy.


Note: Before baking, give it a good stir to see if it's soupy enough. Usually I add a little more broth as much of it is absorbed by the bread. It needs to be like a thick soup. You may add a little more broth at this point.

Best Green Bean Casserole

I'm not a huge fan of the traditional green bean casserole with mushroom soup and fried onions on top, but here is one with great texture and amazing flavor. This recipe is based on one from The Grit in Athens. Stop by and try theirs next time you're in town. Until then, you can make this one at home! Enjoy! thesoutherndish@gmail.com

Best Green Bean Casserole
3 lbs. frozen cut green beans (not French style, though)
Hot water for thawing beans
4 tbs. butter, divided
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 1/2 c. bread seasoned bread crumbs (plain ones are okay, too), divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 c. favorite shredded cheese (I usually use a mixture. The 2 % milk variety works fine.)
2 cans cream of celery soup
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
a few dashes hot sauce, optional
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
not-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cover frozen green beans with hot water and let sit to thaw. Drain well once thawed.

Melt 1 T. butter and add onion. Cook until very soft, about 5 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, cheese, soup, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce (if using), salt, and pepper, and stir well. Mix in green beans, cooked onion, and 1/2 c. bread crumbs. Stir until well mixed. Spread into baking dish.

Melt remaining butter and mix with remaining bread crumbs. Spread over bean mixture. Banks for about 1 hour or until beans are tender and top is well browned.

Winter Squash: Spaghetti Squash with Parmesan and Tomatoes

I love spaghetti squash...I just don't like it used in place of spaghetti with traditional marinara. However, this time of year, in my part of the world, spaghetti squash are cheap, and for only 45 or so calories per cup, they are a nutritious, low-cal alternative to heavy pasta. The following recipe is my favorite for spaghetti squash. I adapted it from an Epicurious.com recipe, and love it. Make sure to use fresh basil (also abundant now) and fresh Parmesan cheese. As far as the tomatoes go, I cheat and use very well-drained, whole, peeled ones from a can, but fresh Romas, or grape or cherry ones would be great. If you have a spaghetti squash recipe to share, send us at email: thesoutherndish@gmail.com!

Spaghetti Squash with Parmesan and Tomatoes
1/2 of a 3-lb. or so spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise (save the other half for another meal or double the proportions below and use the whole thing), discard seeds
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. shredded fresh basil leaves plus additional for garnish
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish (pre-grated is fine - just don't use the powdery kind in the shaker)
1 c. well-drained, canned, peeled, whole tomatoes, broken up with fingers
salt and pepper to taste

Place 1/2 of the squash in a glass dish, cut side down. Pour 1/4 cup water around squash. Cover the dish microwave-safe plastic wrap. Microwave the squash at high power (100%) for 12 minutes, or until it is soft when pressed. Let it stand covered for 3 minutes to steam. Meanwhile, combine oil, basil, oregano, and the Parmesan. Gently, stir in tomatoes, and season the mixture with salt and pepper.

While the squash is still warm but is cool enough to handle safely, scrape it with a fork to form strands. Toss the strands with the tomato mixture until squash is well coated. The heat from the squash should warm everything enough. If not, heat very carefully on medium power in the microwave until desired temperature. Garnish servings with additional cheese and fresh basil, if desired.