Need to add some easily-made comfort to your meal? According to my kids (and many others), my homemade cabbage hits the spot. Preparation is simple and it can be pretty much left alone to do its thing while you’re preparing the rest of the meal. You haven’t had cabbage until you’ve had this mama’s cabbage. I may be biased, but try it and find out!

Ingredients:

Directions:

Fill a large pot with all ingredients, except the salt. Fill to a couple inches from brim with water. Then, heat the mixture on high until it’s boiling. Turn it down to medium-low heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Add salt to taste, if desired. Boil for another 15 minutes. Note that if the water boils below the food during cooking, you should add more water as needed.

Pairs well with:

Mama’s Spicy Meatloaf
Mama’s Country Soul Food Cornbread
Mama’s Mashed Potatoes
Mama’s Country Soul Food Green Beans and Potatoes
Mama’s Wings Seven Ways
Texas Style Smoked BBQ Ribs
Southern Style Potato Salad

Sometimes family get-togethers need a little spicing up. That's when I make my special guacamole dip. Friends and family have tried for years to get the recipe out of me, but to no avail. Now, I've finally gone and revealed it. Enjoy Mama's Spicy Guacamole Dip. But remember to use all organic and non-GMO ingredients for the full experience.

Ingredients:

4 Large Haas Avocados (They are best when the outside skin is dark and they have a soft, but not mushy feel.)
4 ripened Roma tomatoes
1 bunch of green onions/scallions
3 Serrano hot peppers (They are green like jalapeños, but are longer and skinnier)
Black Pepper (Crushed, in a shaker)
Garlic Powder (Powdered in a shaker)
Sea Salt
Tortilla Chips

Preparation:

Making the Pico de Gallo portion of the recipe:

Dice the tomatoes nice and small. Place them in a bowl.

Next, you'll need to get the green onions. Cut off the green part right above the area that splits to branch off. Discard the green area you cut off. There will still be some green left on your onion. Then, hold it upright and slice it halfway down the middle. Then, holding it together, slice halfway down the middle in the other direction. Your top half should be split in fourths. Hold it together and chop it up that way. Then, repeat the process until the entire green onion is cut up. You'll need about 4 of these. Put it in with the diced tomatoes.

Next, get the Serrano peppers. Slice off the top and bottom and discard those pieces. With the remaining middle sections, slice them much in the way of the green onions, only you'll need six sections. Once they are all cut up, dump them into the onion/tomato mixture. Blend those together and set them aside.

Making the spicy guacamole portion of the recipe:

Get out a separate bowl for your guacamole. First, cut the avocados in half, working the knife around the pit, but not trying to penetrate the pit. You should have the avocado as you can see in the avocado picture after pulling the sections apart. Do this to all four avocados.

Now, pull out all the pits and discard them or save them to plant. Then, get a spoon and scoop out all of the avocado out of the skin and into the bowl. If you see any brown parts, do not use those parts. The part you use should be green and soft.

Now, using a potato masher or a whisk, pound and smash the avocados until they are smooth. There should be no lumps at all. Now, you need to dump in  the pico de gallo you just made. Next, add garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. You will generally need more garlic than salt and pepper.

Optional: Add fresh cilantro to taste

Now, your guacamole is ready to eat.

Enjoy!

Servings:

Well, that depends on how long it lasts. One person will usually eat enough for three! This recipe should generally serve 6-8. But again, people tend to eat more of this than they should.

Storage:

You should eat Mama's Spicy Guacamole Dip right away after preparing it. Don't count on leftovers, but if you happen to have any, refrigerate the guacamole in a sealed container. This usually only lasts 24-48 hours, longer if wax paper is placed in between the lid and storage container to create a better seal. Before sealing and refrigerating, you can use a couple squirts of lemon or lime juice as a preservative to help prevent browning.

Try with the following recipes for the Superbowl or other parties:

• Mama's Seven Layer Dip
• Texas Style Smoked BBQ Ribs
• Mama's Wings Seven Ways
• Southern Potato Salad
• Your Favorite Mexican Foods

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

by Rena McGee, Contributing Writer

One of my favorite snacks is crab puffs. They are extremely easy and fun to make. This recipe is mostly assembly so these measurements are not very exact and are easy to adjust.

You are going to need:

1 Package of wonton wrappers (small ones)
8 oz. of cream cheese
1 can of crab meat (about 8 oz.) 
Oil
Frying pan
Tongs and/or a spatula
Fork and/or spoon

Assembly:

First, combine crab meat with cream cheese. Mix until you have a fairly even consistency. Take one of your wonton wraps and put about a teaspoon of your crab and cream cheese mixture, and place it slightly off center on the wonton wrapper. Fold the wonton into a triangle and then fold the side corners of the triangle toward the center. (This is the way that I usually fold them. Feel free to experiment.)

Cooking:

Fill the pan with oil. There should be enough that the crab puff will be mostly submerged. It should be hot enough that the crab puff immediately starts sizzling. Set each crab puff into the oil folded side down. Fry for about thirty seconds on both sides. (You will know you need to flip the crab puff when the edges start to bubble and change color. Please do not go wandering off this is not something that can be left unattended.) When the crab puff turns golden brown on both sides, remove the crab puff and set it on a plate with a paper towel to drain.  

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Alternate versions: You can leave out the crab meat entirely or substitute with a can of shrimp or salmon.

Rena is a freelance writer and blogger. She has published articles on many topics. She is a Phoenix Web Design Examiner with Examiner.com and has been published on Yahoo Voices.  
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