My love of cooking comes from my mother who was a master in the kitchen. She wasn’t a fancy cook like many of today’s chefs, but she was an excellent home cook who could stretch a penny. Looking back, I really don’t know how she did it. We were a family of five, and her household allowance was $50 a week. How can you feed a family of 5 for $50 dollars a week? She made smart shopping decisions and constantly looked for sales, so she rarely paid full price. One particular savings time I can remember is that we arrived to the Piggly Wiggly early on Thursday mornings because that’s when they marked the milk down to 25 cents a gallon because the expiration date was up. She then brought the milk home and froze it. I can remember having several gallons of milk in the freezer at any given time. As a child, I never knew we didn’t live like kings. We always had great food. She was the best.
Mama's Squash Dressing
Ingredients:
2 packages Jiffy cornbread mix, prepared according to package directions then crumbled
1 cup water
4 cups thinly sliced squash
1 stick butter
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the squash in the water with a little salt until tender. Drain and set aside. (If you have some picky eaters, run the squash through the food processor so the squash will disappear in the dressing) In a large skillet, melt the butter and then add the onions, bell pepper and celery. Cook until tender. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the soup, milk, eggs, salt and pepper. Add in the squash and the cornbread. Mix well. Transfer to an 8 1/2 x 11 baking dish. Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the center is set. Serve alongside cranberry sauce.
