Thank You for Your Suppport

We hope you enjoy these family recipes from each of our staff members. Collecting family recipes is the perfect way to keep a strong, loving connection to our past while creating new traditions and hope for the future. 

Charlie's Pecan Pie

This is one of our family’s must-haves each year. My grandpa developed the recipe and after he passed, my grandma took on the tradition. She taught me how to make it in college and it’s now my responsibility to carry on the tradition!
Heather Hails
From the Kitchen of Heather Hails

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup Karo syrup (we use dark)
  • 2 Tbs. butter (melted)
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups cut up pecans (can top with whole pecans if desired)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400*.
  2. Beat eggs. 
  3. Add other ingredients.
  4. Mix well. 
  5. Pour into 9 inch pie shell. 
  6. Bake 15 minutes at 400* and then turn down to 350* for 40 minutes.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole – the easy way!

The best way to eat this dish is to take a giant scoop right out of the middle…at least that’s what my aunt and I always do and everyone hates it when we do that (lol) so it has been an ongoing joke for years in our family as to which one of us took the first middle scoop of broccoli cheese casserole.
From the Kitchen of Bethany Gower

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of minute rice
  • 16 ounces of broccoli florets
  • 1 can cream of mushroom
  • A big block of Velveeta
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 chopped onion (white or yellow)
  • ¼ cup of butter
  • 2 eggs
  • Garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9X13 baking dish. Cook down onions in the butter. Cook your minute rice. While your rice is cooking, combine all your ingredients into one pan to allow it to melt together. Once your rice is cooked, add to your other mixture and place in baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes.

Monkey Bread

A Christmas morning tradition at our house and it only takes 5 minutes to prepare! Rise time is 1/2 a day or you can let them rise overnight.
From the Kitchen of Sarah Baird

Ingredients:

  • 15 Rhodes frozen rolls
  • 3 ½ ounces instant butterscotch pudding mix (medium box)
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • ¾ cup chopped or wholish pecans (optional)

Instructions:

  1. The night before, spray the Bundt pan with Pam (the floured, baking variety)
  2. Spread 15 frozen rolls around the bottom of the pan.
  3. Sprinkle the packet of butterscotch pudding over top.
  4. Sprinkle brown sugar (and pecans if you use them) over.
  5. Drizzle the melted butter over everything, saturating as much sugar/powder as possible.
  6. Cover with towel and let rise over night.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
  8. Let cool a bit and invert on a nice serving dish with some kind of lip (the butter will run).
Recipe serves 6.

*For a sugar free version, substitute 1 cup of Splenda brown sugar and 2 small boxes of sugar free instant butterscotch pudding.


Granny's Chocolate Cake

From the Kitchen of Becky Bryan

Cake Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ C. Sugar
  • 2 C. Flour
  • 3 Tbsp. Cocoa
  • 1 C. Miracle Whip
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 3 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 C. warm water
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting ingredients:

  • 1 ½ C. Sugar
  • 2 C. Flour
  • 3 Tbsp. Cocoa
  • 1 C. Miracle Whip
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 3 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 C. warm water
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Cake Instructions:

  1. Set oven to 350
  2. Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat (medium speed) for 2 minutes. 
  3. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan
  4. Bake 30 minutes at 350.

Frosting Instructions:

  1. 1 C. Sugar
  2. ¼ C. Cocoa
  3. ¼ C. milk
  4. ¼ tsp. salt
  5. ¼ C. margarine (or butter)
  6. 1 tsp. vanilla (add at end)
  7. Put in sauce pan or deep skillet, Stir to mix. Boil 2 minutes. Now add vanilla and cool.
  8. Beat until creamy & spread quickly. (We poke holes in the cake before pouring it on so it makes small wells of Yum

Easy Sweet Potato Casserole

A classic Thanksgiving holiday side dish made easy! The praline topping is irresistible! This recipe is similar to the one I used to help my grandma make before she passed.
Brittany Herndon
From the Kitchen of Brittany Herndon

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs sweet potatoes
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons butter melted cooled
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

  1. Butter 2 quart casserole dish. Set aside.
  2. Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Cook in a pot with water until soft.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  4. Once potatoes are cooked, drain and mash. Add butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt and eggs. Mix well. Using a whisk helps. Spread potato mixture in prepared casserole dish. Set aside.
  5. In another mixing bowl, mix together sugar, flour, salt and nuts. Add melted butter and stir with a fork, until it forms crumbly dough.
  6. Sprinkle the topping over the mashed potatoes.
  7. Bake casserole for 25 minutes. If desired, add mini marshmallows. Place dish back in the oven and bake until the marshmallows are toasted, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  8. Cool before serving.

 

Notes: To reheat a sweet potato casserole, preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, to prevent the brown sugar pecan topping from burning, and bake for about 15 minutes.

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400*.
  2. Beat eggs. 
  3. Add other ingredients.
  4. Mix well. 
  5. Pour into 9 inch pie shell. 
  6. Bake 15 minutes at 400* and then turn down to 350* for 40 minutes.

Ranch Oyster Crackers

This is a recipe my mom makes every year and it's a huge hit.
Alyson Smith
From the Kitchen of Aly Smith

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 (1 ounce) package Ranch-style dressing mix
  • 1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
  • 1/4 tsp. lemon pepper (optional)
  • 1/4 t tsp. garlic powder (optional)
  • 5 cups oyster crackers

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
  2. Mix together vegetable oil, dressing mix, dill weed, lemon pepper, and garlic powder in a large bowl. Add oyster crackers; toss to coat. Spread evenly on a baking sheet.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes; stir gently after 10 minutes of baking.
  4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Smoked Turkey

It's great for the actual Christmas meal, but it's even better as leftovers for turkey sandwiches the next day! Experiment with various rubs and sauces to suit your own taste!
David Quirk
From the Kitchen of David Quirk

Ingredients:

  • wood chips of choice, soaked in water or pellets (if using a pellet smoker)
  • 8 3/4 pounds bone-in turkey breast
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning (such as McCormick®)
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • disposable drip pan, if desired

Instructions:

  1. Preheat a smoker to 350 degrees. Add water according to manufacturer recommendations.
  2. Unwrap turkey breast and pat dry with paper towels.
  3. Combine butter, salt, steak seasoning, smoked paprika, onion powder and black pepper in a bowl to create a seasoned butter.
  4. Gently separate skin from the muscle of the turkey breast and rub seasoned butter between the skin and the muscle, keeping the skin intact. Use about 1/4 of the seasoned butter on each side, and rub the remaining seasoned butter all over the outside of the turkey breast.
  5. Place prepared turkey breast directly on a smoker rack, and place the disposable drip pan on the rack below, if recommended by the manufacturer. The drip pan should not rest on the chip pan or the water pan.
  6. Close and secure the smoker, lower thermostat to 225 degrees F (105 degrees C), and smoke 3 1/2 hours to 4 hours, adding wood chips and water as needed.
  7. Use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature. Smoke until turkey registers 155 to 161 degrees F (68 degrees C to 71 degrees C). Wrap turkey breast in heavy-duty aluminum foil, then wrap in several layers of thick towels, and allow to rest for about 45 minutes. The residual heat will finish cooking the turkey breast to a safe temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
  8. Slice and serve warm.