Ingredients

• 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp Cajun/Creole seasoning
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1 c. thinly sliced or julienned carrots
• 1/4 thinly sliced celery
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
• 1 can (14 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
• Cooked rice (about 2 cups should work)

Instructions

1. Place chicken in a medium bowl, sprinkle with thyme and seasoning, toss well. Set aside
2. Heat oil in a LARGE saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, carrots, celery and garlic. Cover; cook 10 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender, stirring once.
3. Add chicken and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
5. Add chicken broth and tomatoes (you can add a dash of hot pepper sauce if you like at this point). Bring to a boil over high heat.
6. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered at least 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and sauce is slightly thickened.
7. To serve: ladle into bowls and top with 1/2 cup of rice.

Notes

Ingredients

• Cornbread (I used Martha White cornbread mix)
• 1 egg
• ⅔ c. buttermilk
• ¼ - ⅓ c. bacon fat
• 3 or 4 sticks of celery, sliced thin
• 1 medium to large onion, chopped coarsely
• 1 stick of butter (BUTTER, not margarine!)
• chicken or turkey stock

Instructions

1. For the cornbread: preheat oven to 450°F. Instead of the oil in the recipe on the bag of mix, put about ¼ to ⅓ c. of bacon grease in an iron skillet. Put the skillet in the oven to melt the bacon grease. Combine other ingredients (egg, buttermilk, cornbread mix) in a bowl and mix lightly. When the fat is melted and hot, remove the skillet from the oven and pour the melted fat into the cornbread mix. Stir lightly to combine and immediately pour into the hot skillet. Bake. Remove cornbread from the iron skillet, because you need it for the next step.
2. Dressing: Using the same iron skillet, melt the butter and add the celery and onion. Cook until the onion is clear. Turn off the heat and add the cornbread (crumbled). Mix so that the onions and celery are evenly distributed. Add stock/broth to moisten. It should be fairly wet, since the dressing will be baked afterward.
3. Move the dressing into a baking dish. At this point, you can put it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. Bake at 350°F until hot all the way through.

Notes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 c. raw carrots, grated
• 4 Tbsp. hot water

Instructions

1. Blend sugar and oil. Add eggs. Beat well. Add hot water.
2. Sift dry ingredients. Add to sugar-egg mixture. Beat well.
3. Stir in grated carrots.
4. Pour into 3 (9-inch) greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350˚F for 25 to 35 minutes.
5. Cool cakes and stack with frosting.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
• 1/4 c. margarine
• 1 (1 lb.) box confectioners sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. chopped nuts (pecans)

Instructions

1. Work cheese until soft. Add softened margarine. Beat in sugar gradually. Add flavoring ana nuts. Mix and spread.

Notes