Flavors of Fall

Photos by BRANDY CRUZ and courtesy of WENDY LeVALLEY

We are kicking off our reader-submitted recipe page with fall recipes. Submit your Christmas and New Year’s treat recipes with Tex Appeal by Oct. 25. We ask readers submit a short story with their recipe and a photo, if you have one. Email recipes to editor@texappealmag.com.

Mummy Hot Dogs

Submitted by Grace Walker

Halloween has always been a big deal in our neighborhood, with houses decked out in cobwebs, skeletons and pumpkins as far as the eye can see. But for my family, the real fun begins in the kitchen. Every year, we try to outdo ourselves with spooky treats, and one year, we decided to make mummy hot dogs.

It was a dark and stormy October night (OK, maybe it was just cloudy), and we were in full Halloween mode. My kids were excited as we gathered in the kitchen to create our creepy cuisine. We started wrapping the hot dogs with crescent roll dough, making sure to leave a little space for the eyes. But as we worked, the mummies started taking on a life of their own. One had a crooked bandage, another had a wide, surprised look, one even had a “hat” made from a piece of dough that accidentally fell on its head.

As we sat down to eat our deliciously spooky creations, we couldn’t stop laughing. My youngest, Sam, said each mummy had its own personality. The mummies looked so ridiculous, but it was a Halloween we will always remember — filled with fun, food and a whole lot of giggles. Now, every year, the mummy hot dogs make a return, each with a new personality and story to tell. It’s become a family tradition to see who can create the funniest-looking mummy.

Ingredients
1 can (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent roll dough
8 hot dogs
Mustard
Ketchup

Directions
Preheat your oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll the crescent roll dough and cut it into thin strips. Take each hot dog and wrap it with the dough strips, leaving a small gap near the top for the mummy’s “face.”

Place the wrapped hot dogs on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly. Use mustard or ketchup to dot on eyes. I just use a toothpick to dot on the eyes. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces and enjoy the laughter that follows when your mummies take on personalities of their own!

“Homemade” cornbread stuffing

By Brandy Cruz

The year before my grandma “Maw” passed away, I finally asked her for her cornbread stuffing recipe she would make every year for the holidays. As serious as can be, she looked at me and said, “Don’t you dare tell Paw!”

After promising not to tell, she revealed that she uses box cornbread stuffing mix and adds her own mirepoix to it. She would also bake a cast iron skillet of cornbread, so he always believed she made it from scratch. Hey, it may be a cheat, but it’s good!

Before passing, she told him the truth about the stuffing because she didn’t want to take any secrets to her grave. It didn’t matter to him that it wasn’t homemade, as long as it came from the heart.

Ingredients
Boxed corn bread stuffing
Turkey broth
Onions
Celery

Directions
Sautee a mirepoix of onions and celery until the onions are soft. Add the boxed corn bread stuffing to the mixture, following the recipe instructions on the back of the box. Do NOT use water though, use your turkey broth. Add enough broth to your desired consistency. Maw used to make it very moist. She would also shred up some of the turkey and put it into the stuffing. Place the stuffing inside your turkey for presentation or serve on the side.

Tip: If you have leftover onions or celery throughout the year, chop them up, place them in the freezer and use that for your mirepoix.

Mammaw’s Green Beans

Submitted by Wendy LeValley

When I was growing up, the only grandma I had that actually cooked meals that didn’t come out of a box was my dad’s mother, Mrs. Alma Wilson. I loved to go over to her house on the weekends and spend time with my cousins and the rest of my family. They lived on a farm, so there was always something to be done.

When Mammaw still had her garden, I would help her with picking whatever it was that needed to be picked, but usually it was green beans, strawberries, grapes, and figs (I use to get into trouble for eating those off the tree). When the green beans had been picked, it was then time to sit around and sort them and snap of the ends. That used to be my favorite part because then I got to sit around and listen to the adults talk and find out what had been going on in the family while I was at my moms, and what cousin had gotten into trouble for doing something.

As Mammaw got older, she stopped gardening and started buying her vegetables from that store. Every time she would have people over or we would go to a church function she would always bring something and usually it was her green beans. People always asked her how she made them and she would say it is the easiest thing in the world to make!

She would say, “Get you some cans of green beans, (I use the cheapest ones I can find), then you get you some canned potatoes and you cut those up if you want to. So fry you up some cut up bacon and once it is done, with that grease still hot in the pot, you pour those potatoes in there and fry them up for a few minutes and then you pour in your cans of green beans. Add some salt and pepper if you need to and once it is all hot, there you go!”

There are no measurements in any of the recipes I learned from my Mammaw because she never used them and that is how she taught me how to cook. I hope you enjoy this family favorite!

Ingredients
2 cans of green beans
1 can of potatoes
1 pound of bacon
Salt
Pepper
Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasoning (optional)

Directions
Dice up the bacon and add to a pot to start to fry. Once the bacon is done drain some of the grease if you would like (I don’t and neither did Mammaw).

Add in the drained and cut up potatoes. Don’t cut them too small, she just cut them in half. Add them to the pot and let them kind of fry in the bacon grease.

Once the potatoes have cooked for about three minutes, add in your cans of green beans. I drain mine, but Mammaw never did. I just don’t like all of the juice in the pot. Let cook for a few minutes and then taste to see if you need salt and pepper. I don’t usually use that because the bacon is salty.

At this point I also like to add some Slap Ya Mama seasoning to give it a kick, but that is totally up to you.

Once everything is heated through, it is ready to serve!