Roasted Squash and Eggplant
Ingredients:
4–6 yellow squash, cubed
1 large eggplant, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons basil
¼ cup olive oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss vegetables with seasoning and olive oil. Bake for 25 -30 minutes, or until vegetables reach desired tenderness.
Fried green tomatoes is definitely a southern thing. We love them and our Mom has been making these for us forever. They are good for a side dish, an appetizer or in a sandwich. We love to make a BLT and substitute red tomatoes for fried green tomatoes. We also like to add avocada. To make it even better slap some dill mayo (recipe follows) on it and you got one good sandwich. YUM YUM! My mouth is watering. I hope you enjoy!
Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil for frying
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons Slap Ya Mama (Cajun seasoning)
2 cups Japanese bread crumbs (panko)
¼ cup parmesan cheese
4 – 5 medium green tomatoes
Kosher salt
Directions:
In a large, deep, heavy pan, heat the oil to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and the milk together, making an egg wash. Slice the tomatoes into ½ -inch slices and lay on paper towels to dry and sprinkle with kosher salt. Sprinkle tomatoes with ½ teaspoon of Cajun seasoning. Add parmesan cheese to panko crumbs. Dip the tomato slices into the flour, then egg wash and then panko parmesan cheese mixture on both sides. Carefully add to the hot oil and fry in the oil until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot and with dill mayo.
Dill Mayonnaise
Ingredients:
¾ cup mayonnaise
1½ tablespoon dried dill
¼ teaspoon Slap Ya Mama (Cajun seasoning)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Directions:
Combine all ingredients.
Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Honey Mustard
Ingredients:
½ pound bacon, diced
16 ounces fresh Brussel sprouts
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 Tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat, drain and reserve 1 tablespoon bacon drippings. Trim the ends off the Brussel sprouts. Cut in half, lengthwise. Place the sprouts in a steamer basket. Place in a saucepan over ¾ cups of water; bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 4-6 minutes, drain. Heat skillet over medium heat and add bacon drippings and garlic. Cook garlic over medium heat until fragrant. Add sprouts, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the butter, honey and mustard. Drizzle over sprouts and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Toss with bacon and season with salt and pepper.
Any greens or combination of greens can be used for this recipe. The sisters love greens of any kind. In the south it is a tradition to have greens on New Year’s Day. Traditionally, southerners eat collard greens on New Years. I wanted something a little different so I chose turnip greens. Greens symbolize economic fortune in the New Year. We not only eat greens on New Year’s Day but all year long. We have not been blessed with economic fortune yet but we have been blessed with so much more. Another tradition is to eat pork. Pigs symbolize progress. So we have added plenty of pork to this recipe. Happy New Years to you and we wish you all, large fortunes and progress in the New Year.
Turnip Greens and Roots (Crock Pot)
Ingredients:
1 pound Smoked pork neck bones
5 chicken bouillon cubes
3 quarts water
2 pounds turnip greens, washed, cut and stems removed
1 pound turnip roots, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced, or more to taste
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Directions:
Place the neck bones in a large pot. Add 3 quarts of water and the chicken bouillon cubes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for one hour. Wash greens thoroughly and discard stems. Place greens, roots, onion, garlic, salt, and vinegar. Pour the broth and meat over the greens. Cover and cook on high until greens and roots are tender, about 2 ½ – 3 hours. Serve with plenty of hoe cakes for sopping the pot liquor.
Every spring and summer we visit this great restaurant in Grayton Beach. They have a wonderful stuffed eggplant. We order it every time we visit. We decided to make one of our own and it is fabulous. This recipe is so versatile. I chose shrimp but you could use any seafood, combination of seafood, you can leave the seafood out and add beef or chicken or omit all of the meat. This can be used for a side dish or a main course.
Stuffed Eggplant
Ingredients:
2 large eggplant
Olive oil to coat eggplant
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup fresh mushrooms, rough chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon basil
3 tablespoons alouette garlic and herb cheese (or cream cheese)
¾ cup finely grated parmesan
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and diced
1 egg, beaten
½ cup Italian bread crumbs
Extra parsley, chopped (for sprinkling)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve the eggplant lengthwise. Place them in the baking dish, cut sides up. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season to taste. 
Bake for 20 minutes or until tender. Scoop out the eggplant flesh with a spoon and mash it gently with a fork. In a skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. When it is hot, add the chopped garlic and onion to it. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring often, for 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, bay leaf, basil salt, and pepper.
Cook stirring often for 3-4 minutes and then stir in the eggplant flesh. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes or until the mixture is pulpy. Discard the bay leaf. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Stir in cheese, parmesan, parsley, shrimp, salt, and pepper into the eggplant mixture. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the beaten egg and bread crumbs. Fill the eggplant shells back with the stuffing. Return the shells to the baking dish. Sprinkle with olive oil.
Bake the eggplant for 30-40 minutes or until shrimp is done and stuffing is hot. During the last 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle the reserved parmesan on top of the eggplant and sprinkle with parsley.
Cajun Black Eyed Peas
Ingredients:
1 pound dried black-eyed peas 
½ pound Cajun sausage, sliced thin
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup onion, diced
½ cup celery, diced
½ cup green bell pepper, diced
3 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 ½ tablespoons flour
4 – 5 cups chicken stock
½ tablespoon of chicken bouillon granules
½ cup sliced green onions
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste
Slap ya Mama to taste, Cajun seasoning
Louisiana Hot sauce to taste
Directions:
Rinse the peas once in cold water, removing any debris. Drain peas and set aside. In a cast-iron Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add smoked sausage and sauté 3 -5 minutes. 
Add onions,celery, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté 3-5 additional minutes,stirring occasionally. 
Sprinkle in the flour and blend well into the vegetable mixture. Add peas, stock, chicken bouillon and season using salt and pepper.
Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook until peas are tender, about an hour to an hour and half. 
When peas are tender, add green onion, parsley, season to taste using salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and Louisiana Hot Sauce.
Sass! 