Something Yummy This Way Comes

Ok, so, I love holidays with family. I also REALLY love cooking for holidays. Thanksgiving is kind of my Mom's day, with her kick butt dressing recipe (which I'll post, if she'll let me) later in the year. Christmas is kind of the same. But grilling on the 4th, that's Matt's forte, and making salads is mine. Now, we have been eating vegetarian style for the last year or so, and the grill had gone cold for a while.

Lately, with the whole morning sickness thing, I've been eating anything that smells good to me. A lot of the time, this is grilled meat. Oh well. Whatever you can keep down, right?

Anyway, with that said, I made two delicious dishes yesterday for the festivities, and one of them has meat. I just didn't want people judging me, AND I wanted to provide a meatless alternative, just in case.

The first thing that I made is Frito Salad. Yes, it's an abomination to call something with corn chips in it salad, but oh well.

I got this recipe from a lady at church. She makes it for potluck dinners almost every time because she knows I love it so much. I could totally eat the whole bowl. Here is the recipe:

Frito Salad (church lady recipe!)

1 green bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 package of grated cheese (or 2 cups)
1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained
1 bag Fritos corn chips
1 regular bottle of catalina dressing

Mix it all up in a bowl, yo. If it's traveling, mix everything but the chips, then put them in once you get there to keep them crispy. I let mine sit for a few hours, sans chips, and the flavors blended really well. My father in law went back for multiple servings, and he's picky!


The second thing I made was a variation of a Paula Deen recipe. It called for celery (yuck) and no dill. I was like, forget that, I'm getting creative!

Sour Cream Potato Salad

2 lbs of red potatoes, cut very coarsely and boiled until soft, chilled
1 onion, chopped or diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped or diced
a big handful of chopped fresh dill
about a cup of sour cream
16 fried slices of bacon, chopped (I used a box of the pre-cooked microwave kind)
2 tblsp white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


boil the potatoes until they're done.

Cook the onions, bell pepper, and about half the dill until tender. I used real butter, but you could use margarine or olive oil, too.

Mix the vinegar, sour cream, and rest of the dill in a bowl until blended. Add as much salt and pepper as it takes to make it taste good.

Mix in the bacon and the onion pepper dill mixture. Blend well.

Pour over potatoes, blend. Serve chilled.**

It said to serve it warm, but I thought that the chilling made the dill soak in better. It would be delicious chilled overnight!

Add to this the fabulous shish-ka-bobs my aunt made (peppers, onion, pineapple, beef in a lemmon pepper marinade), chicken quarters in a Jamaican marinade (I don't like, but apparently they were delicious), grilled silver king corn in the husk (which we got at Dickey's peach shed in Musella), and the most delicious thing my mom has ever made, which I'll share!

Peaches and Onions (don't freak out, it's actually quite fabulous)

FRESH peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
Onions
Butter (real butter, please)
Brown sugar
salt

You put all the ingredients in a pan and cover with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven until tender (maybe a half hour or more). OH my gosh, it's amazing. Like nothing you've ever eaten before!

Happy cooking, y'all!