Julie's crescent roll chicken & dumplins.....

I combined two recipes to get this delicious version and I made a few adjustments the 2nd time I made these. Feel free to tweak this recipe as much as you like. One word of caution: only put the recommended amount of filling in the dumplins. That is all those crescent roll dumplings can hold. Any more and they will explode! (Yes, I am saying, "dumplins" on purpose. Dumplings just doesn't sound right to me, ya'll! :)

4-5 chicken breasts, boiled and chopped up fine (I cooked mine in crockpot all day with onion & celery and poultry seasoning to make an excellent broth)

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. broth

1/2 c. milk

4 tbsp. butter, softened

3 cans buttery flaky BIG crescent rolls

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt or just use 1/2 tsp. garlic salt and no powder

black pepper & salt for dumplins.

Preheat oven to 400. Spray 9 X13 baking dish with cooking spray. Mix in med. size bowl, chicken, cream cheese & garlic powder & salt or just garlic salt. In another med. size bowl, mix together soups and broth and milk.

Roll out the cans of croissant sheets and separate into diamond shaped sections. Place a small handful of chicken mixture on each diamond, fold dough over and press ends together to create dumplings. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with one layer of dumplings.Place some softened butter on top of each of the dumplings.Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Pour soup mixture on top of dumplings. Place foil on top of pan now or dumplings will brown too quickly and not be done all the way through. Bake another 15-20 minutes or until the dumplings are tender and cooked through and the top is brown and bubbly .

Granny's Coconut Cream Pie....

*This recipe makes 2 pies. :)

1 c. granulated sugar

6 Tbsp. cornstarch or a.p. flour

1 tsp. salt

5 c. whole milk

6 eggs, seperated (yolks for filling)

2 Tbsp. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. coconut

Combine sugar, flour and salt in saucepan. Add milk and egg yolks. Cook and let thicken. Remove from heat, add vanilla, butter and cocnut and stir. Pour into baked pie crust. In cold metal bowl with cold mixer whisk attachment or hand mixer beaters, beat egg whites until stiff. ( I add a little cream of tartar to whites) Add 2 Tbsp. sugar and beat again to blend. Pour over pie filling and sprinkle with coconut. Lightly brown in 400 degree oven.

(My Granny & my Mamaw both made an EXCELLENT coconut cream pie and their recipes were so similar that I combined them to make this one. It's a little more like Granny's than Mamaw's so I call it Granny's. Trust me, Mamaw would not mind. She loved Granny's cooking.... :)

Hoppin' John....

1 tablespoon olive oil
4-5 slices bacon, cut in 1/4's
1/2 pkg. smoked sausage; sliced thin (optional)
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and rinsed
1 quart chicken stock
Bay leaf
1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
Salt, black pepper, and cayenne
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
3 cups steamed white rice

Directions

Heat oil in a large soup pot,If using sausage, heat all sides in oil. Add the onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic, cook for 4 minutes. Add the black-eyed peas,bacon, stock, bay leaves, thyme, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the peas are creamy and tender, stir occasionally. If the liquid evaporates, add more water or stock. Adjust seasonings, and garnish with green onions. Serve over rice.

Julie's Texas Sheet Cake....

Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In a saucepan, melt:

2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together. Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.

Add:

2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:

Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 1/2 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.

Add:

6 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Stir together.Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake. Cut into squares 7 serve.

Ferguson chili...

2 lbs. ground beef, drained

2 small onions, diced

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1-2 cans ROTEL (whatever your taste) if using just1 can, add 1 can diced tomatoes, drained

2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1&1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon cocoa
grated sharp cheddar cheese
sour cream

In a large saucepan, cook the beef and onion over medium heat; drain. Stir in tomatoes, & rotel. Add the seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Serve steaming hot with cheese and sour cream.

*warning: this is on the spicy side; most of the time I use 1 can of Rotel & 1 can diced tomatoes. Makes the heat more tolerable for wimps! Haha. :)

Southern Pecan Pie

*can also make this with hickory nuts or black walnuts.

1 c. sugar

1 TBSP. flour

3 eggs

1 c. light corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

dash of salt

3 TBSP> butter, melted

1 c. pecan halves

1 pie crust, unbaked

Combine the sugar and flour; add the eggs to the sugar mixture and beat well. Add the corn syrup, vanilla and salt, mixing well. Pour in the melted butter and blend.

Arrange the nuts in the pie crust, pour the mixture over them and bake 10 minutes in a 450 oven. and 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Pie should be firm and not move when shaken. Serves 6-8.

Holiday Sweet Potatoes..

6 cups sweet potatoes, cooked

4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. cloves

4 TBSP. butter

6 TBSP. brown sugar

1 cup to 1 & 1/2 c. mini marshmallows (whatever your preferance)

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, hickory nuts or pecans)

Beat the potatoes and brown sugar , spices and butter until light and fluffy. Spread half the potatoes in a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with small amount of brown sugar, marshmallows and nuts. Top wiht second half of the potatoes and more brown sugar, marshmallows, and nuts. Bke in a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until marshmallows are melted.

*May add 1/8 cup rum or bourbon to the potatoe mixture when beating.