My Favorite American Recipes

Here are some simple, all-American recipes, tested and proven by me. Purists will say these are semi-homemade, but they are very delicious so who minds a little time saved? These are not the type of home cooking that hubby will enjoy on a daily basis, as he is all Chinese when it comes to eating. But I love cooking American, so easy and very much comfort food to me even though I didn't grow up with it at home. These are very good cook-ahead type of foods that come handy at a potluck or our Saturday night Bible study dinners. I'm looking forward to expanding my Asian cooking repertoire, so hubby can benefit more, but I consider many Asian cooking too advanced for me right now.
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Cheesy Cornbread

Ingredients
1 (10 1/2-ounce) box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (8-ounce) can cream-style corn
3 eggs
1/2 cup grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8- or 9-inch square pan. 2. In a medium bowl, mix cornbread mix, sour cream, oil, corn, eggs and cheese. Pour batter into pan. 3. Bake 45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cut into squares.
Serves 9.
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Green Bean Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
4 cups cooked green beans (2 cans)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 1/3 cups French fried onions

PREPARATION:
Mix soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup of the fried onions. Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. Top with the remaining 2/3 cup fried onions and bake about 5 more minutes, until onions are lightly browned.
Serves 6.
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'Joy of Cooking' Quick Tuna Casserole

4-5 servings
Irma S. Rombauer considered this an excellent emergency dish
INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces canned or pouch tuna, drained
2 cups cooked egg noodles or elbow macaroni (about 4 ounces uncooked)
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed, or one 8-ounce can green peas, drained
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped pimentos or minced red bell pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons minced scallions or onion (optional)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or red pepper sauce (optional)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, fine cracker crumbs or crushed cornflakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (optional)
2-3 tablespoons butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS:
Instructions: Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a shallow 1 1/2-2 quart baking dish.
Place the tuna into a mixing bowl and break into chunks with a fork. Stir in until just combined the noodles, condensed soup, peas, milk and optional pimentos, scallions and Worcestershire sauce, if desired. Turn this mixture into the prepared dish. Mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan, if using, and melted butter and sprinkle on top. Bake until top is bubbling and browned 25 to 35 minutes.

Per serving: 350 calories, 26 g protein, 34 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat (5 g saturated), 57 mg cholesterol, 800 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.
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Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
½ red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
A dash of freshly grated black pepper
1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped

Garnish with red radishes or jicama. Serve with tortilla chips.

1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.
2 Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, cilantro, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness. Be careful handling the peppers; wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not touch your eyes or the area near your eyes with your hands for several hours.
Keep the tomatoes separate until ready to serve.
Remember that much of this is done to taste because of the variability in the fresh ingredients. Start with this recipe and adjust to your taste.
3 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.
4 Just before serving, add the chopped tomato to the guacamole and mix.
Serves 2-4.
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Beef Lasagna

8 ounces lasagna noodles
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 ounces mushrooms, optional
1 jar (about 16 ounces) spaghetti sauce, your favorite
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil, crumbled
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, brown beef, onion, and mushrooms; drain well. Stir in spaghetti sauce, garlic powder, salt, oregano, and basil. In a 2-quart buttered baking dish (about 11x7x2-inches), layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the sauce and 1/3 of the ricotta cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat layers twice. Bake lasagna for 30 minutes, or until thoroughly heated and bubbly. Let stand for 8 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 6 to 8.
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SPINACH DIP

1 pkg. chopped spinach
1 cup sour cream
1 cup of mayonnaise
1 pkg. Knorr vegetable mix/Hidden Valley Range Dressing Dry Mix
Optional: chopped water chestnuts, chopped red onions, chopped olives

Mix sour cream, mayonnaise and vegetable mix together. Drain and add spinach.
Serve with pumpernickel bread! Also good with crackers!

(Prepare at least 30 minutes before serving to give the vegetable mix enough time to soften.)
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Gumbo

1 box of Zatarain's Gumbo mix
1 medium onion, (chopped)
1 large green pepper (chopped)
1 cup celery (chopped)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can tomato paste
1 can spicy stewed tomatoes
1 package frozen okra
1 can light kidney beans (drained)
1 small can whole jalapeno peppers, (sliced)
1 16 oz. package frozen peeled shrimp
1 pound hot Italian sausage (sliced)
1 pound frozen or fresh fish filets, cut into chunks (catfish, flounder, bass etc.)
Hot sauce (add to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Cayenne pepper (1 tsp)

In a large pot, combine onions, green pepper, celery and sausage with one can of the chicken broth. Cook over high heat until onions become soft. Reduce to medium heat; add all other ingredients except for fish and shrimp. Simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally, adding hot sauce to taste. Add up to a cup of water until desired consistency is reached. 15-20 minutes before serving, add fish and shrimp. Very good with French baguette bread!