Oriental Coleslaw

• 1 pound shredded cabbage
• 1 package Ramen oriental noodles (take out the spice packet)
• 1 pound bacon, friend crisp and broken into pieces
• 4 green onions, chopped fine
• one-half cup shelled sunflower seeds

Break up the Ramen noodles and mix all ingredients together in a serving bowl. Refrigerate.

Dressing:

• one-half cup white sugar
• one-third cup white vinegar
• one-half cup vegetable oil

Mix and shake together all dressing ingredients and refrigerate. Pour dressing over slaw mixture just before serving.

Baked Beans

• 1 pound (2 and one-third cup) dry navy OR Great Northern beans
• One-fourth pound bacon, coarsely chopped or chunks of ham
• Two cups barbecue sauce (I used Famous Dave’s brand)
• One-fourth cup salsa (optional)
• One cup chopped onion
• One-fourth cup brown sugar OR molasses (I used brown sugar)
• One cup sliced apple OR one 8 oz. can pineapple slices, drained (I used one apple)

Step one: Rinse beans. In a large bowl combine beans and 8 cups water; cover and let soak overnight in a cool place or combine in a large Dutch oven. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for one hour.

Step two: Drain and rise beans.

Step three: Return beans to Dutch oven. Stir in 8 cups fresh water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Step 4: Drain beans; reserving liquid.

Step 5: In a 3 quart casserole combine the beans with the other ingredients and one cup of the reserved bead liquid.

Bake, covered about 30 minutes at 350 degrees more or to desired consistency. Makes 12 servings.

Special note: After I got it all mixed together, (step 5) I put it in the crock pot and refrigerated it until I was preparing to serve it. It heated up in about 4 hours on low in the crock pot.

Annie’s Greek Potato Salad

• 10 medium thin-skinned red or white potatoes, cut in chunks, with skins left on
• About two-thirds of a 15-oz jar of roasted peppers in vinegar, coarsely chopped
• 2 plum tomatoes or 1 medium beefsteak tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped
• one-half medium white or red sweet onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 large black olives, preferably Greek, pitted and chopped
• one-half cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
• one-fourth cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
• 8 oz. Feta, rinsed of brine and patted dry, cut in one-half inch cubes
• Several lashings of freshly ground black pepper
• Juice of one lemon
• About one-fourth cup olive oil

Steam the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Put the potatoes into a large bowl. Add the rest of the solid ingredients. Squeeze the lemon juice over all. Mix gently. Add the oil. Mix gently. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, mix again and taste for seasoning. Feta tends to be quite salty and the jarred peppers also contain salt so I usually do not find it necessary to add more salt to this dish.

These amounts make a lot, probably 10-12 servings.

May Lou’s Cole Slaw

• One 16 oz. package shredded coleslaw mix (cabbage and carrot shreds)
• One cup frozen peas
• One half of a 12 oz. bottle of Brianna’s Home Style Poppy Seed Dressing (if this brand is not available in your area, try another brand of Poppy Seed Dressing)
• One-half to one cup Cashew nuts – as desired

You won’t believe how great this is! I served it with a new meatloaf recipe I tried and the two went together deliciously! Keep these ingredients on hand for a quick salad you can throw together in a hurry.

Baked Rice with Mushrooms

• One cup Jasmine White Rice (or regular white rice)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• One-half cup chopped fresh mushrooms (optional)
• One-half cup sliced almonds

Combine all in casserole that has been sprayed with oil. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Mexican Cornbread

• 2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix

Mix as directed, except use one-half of milk called for

Add:

• 1 can cream style corn
• 1 cup chopped jalapenos (I use a can of green chilies because I can’t eat real hot peppers)
• 1 cup grated cheese (I use sharp cheddar)
• 6 slices bacon cooked crisply

Mix into cornbread mixture. Pour into greased 9×13" pan & bake about 30 minutes at 375 F. (Check with toothpick to make sure it’s done.) Let set a couple of minutes before cutting & serve hot with REAL butter!!! DELISH!