Charles Plemons’ Blog

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 jars pizza sauce (14 ounce)
• 1 pkg sliced pepperoni (3.5 ounce), chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 8 sandwich buns
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown ground beef in skillet, and mix in chopped onions. Drain. Combine beef, pizza sauce, pepperoni, and bell pepper in slow cooker. Mix well. Cook covered on low for 3 to 4 hours. Serve on sandwich buns and sprinkle generously with cheese.

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon whipped butter
• 1 lb. penne pasta
• 1 package (50-60 count) cooked deveined tail off cocktail shrimp

Boil water and stir in penne. Allow to cook until almost soft. Place whipped butter in skillet and cook shrimp for 1 minute, then add Cajun seasoning and stir. Cook for 1 additional minute. Remove shrimp from heat. Drain penne and place in large bowl. Mix in olive oil and pepper, stirring well. Drain excess butter from shrimp and stir shrimp into penne. Serve hot.

• 4 oz real lemonade
• 4 oz real limeade
• 4 oz pink grapefruit juice

Chill all ingredients. Pour in cup and mix well.

• 6 cups Corn Chex cereal
• 2 cups Cheez-It crackers
• 2 cups pretzel twists
• 1 cup salted peanuts
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 package (1.25 oz) Old El Paso taco seasoning mix

In a large bowl, mix cereal, crackers, pretzels, and peanuts.

In small bowl or cup, mix vegetable oil, water, and taco seasoning and stir well. Slowly pour taco mixture into large bowl and stir into cereal mix. Stir until everything is well coated with taco mixture.

Pour into large baking dish (11 x 13 works well) and bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, taking it out to stir well every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

Variations: You may use any combination of Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, or Crispex to reach six total cups of cereal. Experiment for your favorite combination.

• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 large potato
• 1 small onion
• 2 to 3 gloves of garlic
• 2 cups water
• 1 pkg spaghetti noodles
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 5 dashes Texas Pete hot sauce
• 1 dash red pepper

Meatballs

Roll the ground beef into balls; season to taste with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Brown until done in a large cast iron skillet.

Sauce

Dice up the potato, onion, and garlic cloves and boil in 2 cups of water. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, hot sauce, and red pepper. Reduce heat and allow to simmer at least 30 minutes for the potato to cook. The sauce tends to bubble and splatter, so cover with a splatter screen. When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce and simmer.

Spaghetti Noodles

Boil in water until tender, drain, and rinse.

Once noodles, sauce, and meatballs are done and meatballs have simmered in the sauce, serve sauce and meatballs over plate of noodles.

• 1 1/2 cup self-rising white cornmeal
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 2 tbsp Crisco
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Mix ingredients and pour into a greased small cast iron skillet. Bake at 450 degrees until done, approximately 20 minutes.

Cool completely, then crumble cornbread in a large bowl. Add the following ingredients:

• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp rubbed sage
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 can (14 oz) chicken broth*

Mix crumbled cornbread and ingredients. Press into a greased 6 x 10 x 1 1/2 inch metal bake pan. Mixture should be moist throughout but not soggy; if not completely moist, add some additional broth. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool ten minutes before cutting for best results.

* If available, turkey broth is even better.

• 1 1/2 cup self-rising white cornmeal
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 2 tbsp Crisco
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Mix ingredients and pour into a greased small cast iron skillet. Bake at 450 degrees until done, approximately 20 minutes.

• 2 cups very hot water
• 1 pkg dry yeast*
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Crisco
• 4 cups self-rising flour (such as White Lily)

In a large bowl, place dry yeast and Crisco. Add the hot water and mix. Add egg and sugar, then stir in flour. Store covered in refrigerator at least 1 hour for best results (batter can be kept up to three days). Spoon into greased muffin pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

* 1/4 oz Fleischmann’s active dry yeast - NOT rapid rise

• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 pkgs instant pudding mix (same flavor)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 stick margarine
• 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cup whipped cream
• 2 1/2 cup milk

Mix flour, sugar, margarine and pecans and mash into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven and let cool before adding layers.

1. Layer One - Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 cup of whipped cream. Spread over cooled crust.
2. Layer Two - Mix instant pudding and milk. Whisk until thick liquid. Pour and spread over layer one.
3. Layer Three - Cover surface of layer two entirely with whipped cream.

Chill in refrigerator until pudding sets. Keep chilled for storage.

Any flavor pudding can be used. Both pistachio and chocolate flavors have proven popular.

• 4 thin sliced pork tenderloins
• 2 cans (11 to 15 oz) pork & beans
• 3 slices bacon
• ketchup

Bake tenderloin in a casserole dish for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Add cans of pork & beans. Top with bacon slices and ketchup (in lines or streaks over the top, not a solid layer). Bake another 30 minutes.